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Faith Under Fire
The latest book by Andrew White.
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Dear friends,
'The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not Rationed.'
These are not the words of some great Charismatic leader, they are the words of the Blessed Pope John Paul II, and they need to be known and accepted by all.
Here in Baghdad, it is only the presence of the Almighty that sustains us. It is the Holy Spirit within that directs us into all truth, gives us the power to do the work of G-d and provides us with hope for the future.
Perfect love casts out all fear
Just yesterday, we heard from some of the Bishops here that we Christians in Iraq live in total fear of murder, kidnap and torture. The threats are real, but we do not live in fear when we are filled with the gifts of G-d's Holy Spirit.
We are surrounded by G-d's love and the love of his people. The love is perfect and 'perfect love casts out all fear.'
This is what Pope John Paul's encyclical on the Holy Spirit said: "G-d does not ration His gift of the Spirit."
In his intimate life, G-d "is love," (1Jn 4, 8) - the essential love shared by the three divine Persons: personal love is the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Therefore he "searches even the depths of God,"(1Cor 2,10) as uncreated Love-Gift.
It can be said that, in the Holy Spirit, the intimate life of the Triune God becomes totally 'gift', an exchange of mutual love between the divine Persons and that, through the Holy Spirit, G-d exists in the mode of gift. It is the Holy Spirit who is the personal expression of this self-giving, of this being-love. He is Person- Love. He is Person-Gift. Here we have an inexhaustible treasure of the reality and an inexpressible deepening of the concept of person in G-d, which only divine Revelation makes known to us.
We are not afraid, we do not live in fear and yet we are in the most dangerous place in the world for Christians. Hearing G-d I have been praying with some of the young people here that they may hear G-d more clearly. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit. One of the young people closest to me is Lina. She will come and be an intern with me next year. This morning when she phoned she was desperate to tell me something. "Last night Daddy, I had a vision not once but twice. An angel came to me and said 'tell Daddy not to go out today and rest another day.'"
Having had my stem cell treatment on Tuesday, today I had not planned to rest but to start working normally. I realized that our Lord was speaking to me through one of the young people who I am simply 'Daddy' to.
I was reminded of the great words in Joel:
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
She is one of the young people seeing visions.
May we all know the presence of G-d's Holy Spirit today and every day.
With love and blessings from Baghdad,
Andrew Canon Andrew White
Andrew White, the dedicated 'Vicar of Baghdad', encounters daily tragedy...
- What happened to his faith when a young girl in his congregation died, after much hope and prayer?
- Every time he returns to Iraq he may be saying goodbye to his family for the last time. What do they think?
- He suffers from MS. How does he remain cheerful despite his physical weakness, and its progression?
- What does he say to God, alone in his study, late at night? Looking ahead, can he be optimistic about the future?
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Verse of the week
Philippians 4: 6-7 | |
'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' |
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