May the spirit of fear, the spirit of despondency, and the spirit of pride and of all manner of malice withdraw from my soul. In it may all manner of excitement produced by the workings of the devil be extinguished.—St. Ephrem the Syrian,
A Spiritual Psalter #18
Will, this is indeed a wonderful saying, testifying to the nature of the Kingdom of God, in which we live, and to the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there is a posting on Gottesblog that says: “Lord God, since You threaten to punish all who break Your commandments, grant me the grace of Your Holy Spirit to fear Your wrath that I may not do anything against them; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
Can this and St. Ephrem both be right? Does one of them contradict the Gospel of the Kingdom?
I wanted to post a response on Gottesblog, but the editor, as is his right, chose not to accept it.
I wish you and Cindy a wonderful vacation, basking in the sunshine of our southern neighbor.
Peace and Joy!
George A. Marquart
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteGeorge