St. Matthew Catholic Church

Weekly Message     

       Lifestyle: Spiritual Vs. Holistic

Dear brothers and sisters,  

      I wish you a Sprit filled day of Pentecost! It’s the “Birthday” of the Church. Jesus founded the Church on Peter’s faith and gave the keys (Mt. 16:18-19); and said, “wait until you receive the Holy Spirit.” (Lk.24:49; Acts 1:4).

On this day, the Church began the Christian lifestyle.      Through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are saved, filled, sealed, and sanctified. He reveals God’s thoughts, teaches, and guides believers into all truth. He helps Christians in their weakness and intercedes for them. He can guide our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger. He is known as the Comforter and can calm our fears and fill us with hope. In short, a Christian needs the Holy Spirit for his/her whole being. In Him, we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28) He works from with-in a person!

    A holistic lifestyle considers the whole individual, including emotional, social, vocational, intellectual, and environmental factors - along with physical well-being. One example of a holistic lifestyle is movement, dancing, singing or chanting, sound, drumming, prayer, meditation, mindfulness, and touch. These are examples of activities that are included in holistic living. These work from “without” in a person! In Christian life, the Holy Spirit works from “within” a person and makes a person holy.

     A priest had a glass and asked, “How can you get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" The priest replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions, the priest smiled, picked up a water pitcher, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." Thus, the victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there but by being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is what is done by the Spirit!

Be filled by the Spirit!  Blessings!

Msgr. Xavier                       
                                       Please pray for vocations to the priesthood &
                                               for the Priests of our Diocese

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