Daily Retreat 01/07/06

2006 Jan 7 Sat: Christmas Weekday/ Raymond of Peñafort, p

1 Jn 3:22--4:6/Ps 2/Mt 4:12-17.23-25

From today’s readings: "Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world... I will give You the nations as Your inheritance.... The people who dwell in darkness have seen a great light."

Testing the spirits

(I apologize that the reflection today might seem overly abstract because of the subject matter - do your best to stay with me here!)

Human beings were created by God with a body and a soul, and while it is almost impossible to ignore the corporeal aspect of our existence (body), there is an ongoing temptation to slight the spiritual dimension (soul) of our life. As a result, many, if not most, people fail to appreciate the spiritual facets of reality, which are both positive and negative.

For instance, everyone recognizes "physical" as a neutral adjective - there are good physical things and experiences (such as delicious meal), but there are also bad physical things and experiences (such as indigestion). But many people would call to mind only the positive denotations of the word "spiritual" - that which pertains to God or man’s higher faculties (intellect, conscience, will). But we must not forget that evil spirits are also part of the whole of spiritual reality!

Why is this such a crucial insight? Because so many people are spiritually impoverished, they automatically tend to welcome every spiritual experience as "positive," and neglect to "test the spirits" and evaluate whether the source is Good or Evil. For instance, a physical and spiritual euphoric experience can result both from marital intercourse and from an illicit union. In the first case, in conformity with God’s plan of creation, it is something good, but in the second case, involving an infraction of God’s commandment, it is something evil. However, the false prophets of this world, denying God’s dominion in matters of the flesh, would equivocate them both as equal spiritual experiences. But when we "test the spirits," and acknowledge Jesus Christ come in the flesh, we must recognize His dominion in this and every aspect of our life!