“There was a constant war in my life for the past fifty years or so”. Mr. Denis shared. Mr. Denis is a white male, married twice and divorced from both the wives. He believed in God but couldn’t conform to the teachings of any human organization. Religion, for Denis is a strictly human organization. He is an independent thinker and wanted to satisfy his own whims and fantasies. Denis thought that he is right all the time. He never sacrificed his free will. He belonged to a motorcycle gang. Did drugs and every available vice. Denis is confined in a hospital. His body is colorfully tattooed. Denis is dying of Aids. He has only little time left in his life. He suffers from pneumonia and other related illness.
“ I feel bad. I have given this deadly illness to my wife too although we are not living together. There are many other women who may have contracted this disease from me and might have transmitted to other people and I feel bad about it” Denis said Denis was controlled by “human nature that results in death” Romans 8.6 He is dieing now. “I want to straighten up my life but I have little time left” Denis looked through the window. “I shouldn’t have messed up my life. Tomorrow I am turning sixty-five ” and at this age, Denis lives in fear and anxiety. The sixty-fifth birth day he wanted to make different because “ This could be the last”. I sympathized with Denis but I felt bad at his present condition. Denis is not the only Aids infected person I have ministered to at the death bed. I have classmates and fr! ieds who died of Aids. But ministering to Denis was different. He led his life the way he wanted. “Those who live as their human nature tells them, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants” Romans 8.5. Denis now wants to make a difference In life, because he was an enemy of God. “ A person becomes an enemy of God when he is controlled by his human nature, for he doesn’t obey God’s law”. Romans 8. 7 “ I want to make my last birthday different” Denis continued “but there is a kind of Spirit in me that tells me that God could make it different. What do you say father”. I have validated. “You are right Denis”. “Could you pray for me”? an unusual request! This man who had his life the way he liked, wants to make a difference now. He is torn between the desires of his human nature and the desires of the Spirit. Now the Spirit influences Denis. “Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants” Romans 8.5 and the Spirit in Denis wants him to make some change. “I want to have some peace in my life” Denis said which was reminiscent of the Pauline teaching “To be controlled by Spirit results in life and peace” Romans 8.6. If a person wants to live as the Spirit tells him to do, he should have God in him or her. “You live as the Spirit tells you to- if, in fact, God’s Spirit lives in you”</S! PAN> Romans 8. 9. Denis desired to be right with God. He wanted to be justified in God, although none of these theological axioms were clear to him. He yearned to hear the Word of God. I read to him “ If Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin” Romans 8.10. Denis fell silent. He grabbed some tissue papers and dried his eyes. Peacefulness on his face. The Word of God touched him. “Yes sinfulness made me die this kind of death” and I listened carefully to him, sympathized with him, validated his fears and anxieties. His newfound freedom in God through Jesus made some difference in his thinking as I saw. “ What shall I do father so that I will not go to Hell”, Denis asked me and that was reminiscent of “Sir what shall I do to be saved” Acts16.30. He was afraid of Hell and punishment. “I am sorry I have gone form God”, Denis said. I mentioned to him about the Holy Spirit. We talked about Jesus who “ will give life to your mortal body by the presence of the Spirit in you” Romans 8.11. Denis was deeply touched. He asked me “ Will God save me through His Spirit” “Yes , you are redeemed in the precious Blood of Jesus”. I said. Denis opened up a great secret “Father I am a fallen away catholic. I need to get back to the sacraments”. The war was over in him. The war between the evil and the Spirit of God settled in Denis. He humbled himself. He wanted to follow the desires of his nature but now he has changed. Denis wants to follow the desires of the Holy Spirit. Our conversation took a different shift. I praised and thanked God for His powerful Word that saved a confused man. He was torn between the desires of the flesh and the desires of t! he Spirit and at last he got the right Spirit to discern what God wants in his life. God wanted him to make a difference on his birthday. Denis is alive as I write this. He is struggling. This morning he told me “I am happy I am at peace with God” And that reminded me “ those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons” Romans 8.14 and they are at peace. St Paul reminds us about our obligation in life and that obligation is “We have an obligation, but it is not to live as our human nature wants us to” Romans 8.12. If we have the capability to opt and to decide what we should do with our life, it is to live as the children! of God. “Those who are led by the Spirit are God’s children” Romans8.14. God’s Spirit joins our Spirit when we cooperate with the Spirit of God. “ God’s Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are the children of God” Romans 8.16. Denis found a different meaning in the course of our conversation and that meaning was about his suffering. “ For if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share his glory” Romans 8. 17. Denis doesn’t complain as he used to do. He is resigned to God’s will. Praise God. Fr Thomas Mathew/June 3rd 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com. **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. To unsubscribe, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to this mailing list, visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet For automatic help, send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************************************************
