lies, lies, and more lies
"Many false prophets have appeared in the world." —1 John 4:1
"You have conquered the false prophets. For there is One greater in you than there is in the world." —1 John 4:4
We are being bombarded with lies. We lie to ourselves to justify our enslaving compromises with the world and the flesh. Others lie to us to make themselves feel better or to take advantage of us. The devil, the father of lies, "has never based himself on truth; the truth is not in him. Lying speech is his native tongue" (Jn 8:44). Lies, lies, and more lies!
We cut through all these lies by committing our lives completely to Jesus, the Truth (Jn 14:6). He will then baptize us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8), the Spirit of Truth (e.g. Jn 14:17), Who will guide us to all truth (Jn 16:13).
The Spirit of truth will dispel the fog and smoke of deceit by bearing witness to Jesus (Jn 15:26) and by acknowledging Jesus as having come in the flesh (1 Jn 4:2). Also, the Holy Spirit will cry out in our hearts: "Abba" (Gal 4:6). The Holy Spirit will lead us into the love in the Trinity. "Thus do we distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of deception" (1 Jn 4:6).
Come, Holy Spirit! Come, Spirit of truth! Come, true Christmas Spirit!
Prayer: Father, make this the best Christmas season ever.
Promise: "They carried to Him all those afflicted with various diseases and racked with pain: the possessed, the lunatics, the paralyzed. He cured them all." —Mt 4:24
Praise: John Neumann was the first bishop in the U.S. to introduce the Eucharistic devotion of the "Forty Hours."
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, June 1, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 9, 1997