Matthew,
Chapter 14, Verse 22-27
22
Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After doing so, he went up on the
mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening, he was there alone. 24Meanwhile
the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves,
for the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the
night, he came toward them, walking on
the sea. 26When
the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,”
they said, and they cried out in fear. 27At
once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I;
do not be afraid.”
The disciples,
laboring against the turbulent sea are saved by Jesus. Jesus shows his power
over the waters by his walking on the sea during the
night. This happen during the fourth watch of the night-time:
between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. The Romans divided the twelve hours between 6 p.m.
and 6 a.m. into four equal parts called “watches.” Christ further demonstrates that he is divine
by stating “it is I” or “I am.” This reflects his hidden identity of Jesus as
Son of God.
Fear of Ghosts[1]
Peter Kreeft,
professor of philosophy at Boston College, while acknowledging that the
Catholic Church does not teach specifically about “ghosts” or spirits,
speculates that there are three different kinds of ghosts:
We can distinguish three kinds of ghosts, I
believe.
First, the most familiar kind: the sad ones,
the wispy ones. They seem to be working out some unfinished earthly business,
or suffering some purgatorial purification until released from their earthly,
business. These ghosts would seem to be the ones who just barely made it
to Purgatory, who feel little or no joy yet and who need to learn many painful
lessons about their past lives on earth.
Second, there are malicious and deceptive
spirits and since they are deceptive, they hardly ever appear malicious.
These are probably the ones who respond to conjuring’s at séances. They
probably come from Hell. Even the chance of that happening should be
sufficient to terrify away all temptation to necromancy.
Third, there are the bright, happy spirits of
dead friends and family, especially spouses, who appear unbidden, at God’s
will, not ours, with messages of hope and love. They seem to come from Heaven.
Unlike the purgatorial ghosts who come back primarily for their own sakes,
these bright spirits come back for the sake of us the living, to tell us all is
well. They are aped by evil spirits who say the same, who speak “peace, peace,
when there is no peace”. But deception works only one way: the fake can
deceive by appearing genuine, but the genuine never deceives by appearing fake.
Heavenly spirits always convince us that they are genuinely good. Even the
bright spirits appear ghostlike to us because a ghost of any type is one whose
substance does not belong in or come from this world. In Heaven these spirits are
not ghosts but real, solid, and substantial because they are at home there. “One
can’t be a ghost in one’s own country.”
How to Outwit the Six Ghosts
of Fear[2]
BEFORE you can put any portion of this
philosophy into successful use, your mind must be prepared to receive it. The
preparation is not difficult. It begins with study, analysis, and understanding
of three enemies which you shall have to clear out.
These are INDECISION, DOUBT, and FEAR! The
members of this unholy trio are closely related; where one is found, the other
two are close at hand.
INDECISION is the seedling of FEAR! Remember
this, as you read. Indecision crystalizes into DOUBT, the two blend and become
FEAR! The “blending” process often is slow. This is one reason why these three
enemies are so dangerous. They germinate and grow without their presence being
observed.
There are six basic fears, with some
combination of which every human suffers at one time or another. Most people
are fortunate if they do not suffer from the entire six. Named in the order of
their most common appearance, they are:
·
The fear of POVERTY
·
The fear of CRITICISM
·
The fear of ILL HEALTH
·
The fear of LOSS OF LOVE OF SOMEONE
·
The fear of OLD AGE
·
The fear of DEATH
All other fears are of minor importance, they
can be grouped under these six headings. The prevalence of these fears, as a
curse to the world, runs in cycles.
Breaking the cycle of fear of poverty
“Each year you shall tithe all the produce of your
seed that grows in the field; then in the
place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name you
shall eat in his presence the tithe of your grain, wine and oil, as well as the
firstlings of your herd and flock, that you may learn always to fear the LORD, your
God.” Deuteronomy 14
God wants you to celebrate life; you shall eat in his
presence the tithe of your produce. Imagine what the world would be like if
everyone did this! If we all took time off with a tenth of the money, we made
to celebrate with God and our family and friends together. What a different
world it would be. Imagine all the celebrations you would attend. Maybe we
should all strive to take a 40-day retreat/celebration. Save your money for
this! What is on your bucket list; perhaps the Lord wants you and me to cross
off some of those things in His presence. If I were young again this is how I
would budget: 10% for His Presence (30 to 40 days’ vacation); 10% for
charity/church; 10% savings and live off the 70 percent; that is after the
government takes their 50%. Imagine if there was a fair tax……. that bequeathed
everyone $5000 above the poverty level for a family of 4 of $29,420 to invest. A good resource for
financial advice is a book entitled, “The Richest Man in Babylon”[3]
Daily Devotions
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