Spiritual Thesaurus

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:10b-16
Responsorial Psalm: 145
Gospel: Luke 4:31-37


Do you remember in school when you were first introduced to a thesaurus? I mean how great was this tool? Didn't it just take your writing to a new level? Before my papers had always just used the same boring words, but now with the thesaurus my papers almost sounded scholarly? In fact, they didn't just sound better they were better, I was using better words to describe things more fully than I was before. To this day, I am still a fan of this very useful tool; because lets face it, we don't always have the right words to describe something.

Today in the first reading today, Paul tells us that we have "put on the mind of Christ." After receiving the spirit, we are taking our lives up to a new level. By doing this, we are gaining greater understanding of our both the world and the spiritual realm. Paul says; "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak to them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms." (1 Cor 2:12-13) It seems as though from receiving the Spirit we not only realize where the source of who we are and all that we have is from, but we also seem to gain access to a type of "spiritual thesaurus." There seems to be much truth to this. I remember before my conversion, I would describe aspects of my life with terms such as; "I am so lucky," "This is what I am planning on doing,"or "I must be cursed or something." But now I use much different terms, such as; "I am so blessed, "This is what I am called to," "This is just a cross I am to carry for the glory of my Lord." I am sure as you have grown in your faith, you see the change in your thinking and in your descriptions of your life.

By changing our minds and our attitudes, we begin to change how we talk and act. This is why it is so important for us to keep "the mind of Christ." Let us ask the Spirit for access to our spiritual thesaurus so that we might gain greater understanding of our lives and that which is given to us by God. Let us use this access and the Spirit's guidance to describe our faith to all those around us and to tell of the glory of God.

Father in heaven, we thank you for the gift of our salvation and for calling us to something higher than what this world offers. Lord, let us always give you honor and glory for our lives and for calling us to you. Lord increase our faith so that we might gain greater understanding of how you wish to work in us. We pray for all those who are resisting you and pray that their hearts would grow softer to you. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.