Catholic Exchange

The Gift of Counsel!

Written by

Mark Shea

in

Proverbs 15:22

Without counsel plans go wrong,
but with many advisers they succeed.

One advantage of being a Catholic is that you don't have to make up the Christian faith as you go along.  Catholics have the happy advantage of being able to plagiarize freely from minds like Sts. Augustine, Thomas, Edith Stein, and Francis of Assisi.  So far from theft, it's just fidelity to the tradition.  And it's also common sense.  Nobody ever built a computer or a civilization by working from scratch.  It requires teamwork and especially team thought.  The Holy Spirit is, significantly, given to the Church, not simply to Me.  I need the counsel He gives others as much as the counsel He gives me, otherwise I'm missing out on the Big Picture and highly likely to do something stupid.  Conversely, I have insights from Him which I alone can give the Church and which I am obliged to share just as surely as I am obliged to help those who have less money than I do.  Today pool the insights the Holy Spirit has given you with the insights He gives His Church.  We'll all be the richer for it!

Comments

  1. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Merry Christmas and God bless you all,

    I am a non-practicing Catholic.  I have been out of the Catholic church since I was 15 or so.  I'm 51 now.  While I am out of the RC church, I have since accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and I consider myself a born again Christian.  I know there is a universe of arguement about why I may not be considered a "Christian" in the RC church, but I know in my heart that when I accepted God's call on my life, that I too received His Holy Spirit.  I attend an Evangelical Covenant church where I share in fellowship the counsel of His Spirit as you have stated in this column.  I think you are correct in saying that we need others who have His Holy Spirit in our lives.  Are you saying in your article that this is a gift only for Roman Catholics?   Could you please clarify this?  While I am no longer a practicing Catholic, I do highly value the writings of those who have come before me.  I have read the writings of Augustine and others.  I have gleaned much to add to my faith from them.  I don't mean to sound contentious, I don't want to offend anyone, but this is not limited to Roman Catholic Christians.  I love my Roman Catholic heritage and I take from it as much as I can to add to my practice in my present demonination.  The Holy Spirit uses me every day to bless the lives of others and I am so blessed by others in my church.  We too have His Spirit in our hearts.  I thank God for that. 

  2. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Welcome, Mark!

    I do not know where you got the idea that born again Christians are not considered Christian by the Catholic Church, but that is definitely not the teaching of the Church.

    I would invite you to explore what the Church actually teaches (versus what someone might say she teaches) and keep pursuing truth. This web site as well as the Vatican web site, or others which use the Catechism of the Catholic Church and actual Church documents are a good guide.

    God bless you and your family and Merry Christmas!

  3. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Dear Protect the Rock,

    Thank you so much for your kind reply.  I guess I don't really know where I got that idea exactly.   Maybe it's just an impression I got from other Catholics and from my readings over the years. 

    I definitely will pursue the resources that you have suggested.  I have a deep love for the Catholic church and there are often times that I wish I were still a practicing member of it.  I love the traditions and the history and I think it's sad that the protestant reformation caused such a rift between believers.  I don't think that is what Luther and others ever had in mind, but that was the result none-the-less. 

    I would love to see reconciliation among believers.  What a great witness that would be if we were all united.  I know it's a distant dream.  I know the RC church is attempting to bring back those who have left and I would love to come back.  I know I can overlook my differences.  It would be difficult for my wife and kids though.  It would be difficult for the folks at the church I am attending now as well.  I am planning on attending masses by myself at a local church here on Saturday nights.  I have attended a retreat at the Sacred Heart retreat center near here.  I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit there very strongly.  So…I continue my journey.  Thanks again and please keep me in your prayers.  God bless you and yours' in Christ.

    Mark

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