"Stir Into Flame The Gift of Faith." That was the title of my presentation to the Northern Colorado Men's Forum held on Friday evening at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Collins, Colorado. Although the snow was falling when I left Cheyenne, and the roads were a bit on the treacherous side, I am glad I made the trip. It was almost 8:30 P.M. when I began my presentation. Thankfully, that is about my "prime time." I prefer 8:30 P.M. versus 8:30 A.M. anytime. It was a tremendous blessing for me to gather with these men of faith to look at ways we can continue to grow in our spiritual journey.
A demonstration utilizing a glass of white milk with chocolate syrup served as the kick-off of my presentation. This was a powerful visual for me many years ago when I was in diaconate formation. The Catholic Charismatic Office of the Archdiocese of St. Louis provided those of us in diaconate formation with a Day of Recollection one year during either Lent or Advent. This visual was utilized to exhibit the need for zeal and passion. In short, we receive the Holy Spirit each time we receive the Sacraments. However, if we fail to cooperate with the grace of God through these movements of the Holy Spirit, we are like the chocolate syrup sitting on the bottom of the glass. It isn't making much of a difference. The milk remains predominantly unaffected by the chocolate syrup. It needs to be stirred up. Likewise, if we aren't allowing the Holy Spirit to be released in our day-to-day lives we are not walking in the life of abundance promised by God. (John 10:10)
Throughout the 40 minute presentation I did my best to "stir up" the fire of the Holy Spirit in all of us. What an awesome gathering it was. Men of Northern Colorado, keep the flame of faith burning brightly!
A demonstration utilizing a glass of white milk with chocolate syrup served as the kick-off of my presentation. This was a powerful visual for me many years ago when I was in diaconate formation. The Catholic Charismatic Office of the Archdiocese of St. Louis provided those of us in diaconate formation with a Day of Recollection one year during either Lent or Advent. This visual was utilized to exhibit the need for zeal and passion. In short, we receive the Holy Spirit each time we receive the Sacraments. However, if we fail to cooperate with the grace of God through these movements of the Holy Spirit, we are like the chocolate syrup sitting on the bottom of the glass. It isn't making much of a difference. The milk remains predominantly unaffected by the chocolate syrup. It needs to be stirred up. Likewise, if we aren't allowing the Holy Spirit to be released in our day-to-day lives we are not walking in the life of abundance promised by God. (John 10:10)
Throughout the 40 minute presentation I did my best to "stir up" the fire of the Holy Spirit in all of us. What an awesome gathering it was. Men of Northern Colorado, keep the flame of faith burning brightly!
Photos are the courtesy of the Northern Colorado Men's Forum.
RSS Feed
