Fruit Trees and the Spirit

We built our home 18 years ago on 5 acres. Within the first 5 years we planted 3 pear trees, 1 apple and 1 cherry tree.  Our cherry tree has always produced fruit. It's still small, we might get enough to make one pie before the worms and birds get the rest.  We also had 3 girls in 3 years and 2 of them during those first 5 years in our home. Needless to say we were busy, the fruit trees were never pruned or taken care of properly.  We occasionally got a few apples and pears but not more than 6-8 from each tree.

But this year we had a bumper crop from our pears and apple!  I have no explanation of why or how it happened.  We don't spray our trees so they are truly 'organic'.  We did nothing to fertilize and certainly did not prune.  In fact, an unusual phenomenon happened on Halloween, it snowed. I went out and picked the rest of the pears so as not to waste them in the cold.

Bosco and a Pear Tree

This random bumper crop got me thinking of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, in human terms, has no rhyme or reason. It doesn't make sense. Just like this years crops had no reason to be so bountiful.  The Queen lyric "anyway the wind blows" comes to mind.  The Holy Spirit seeds blow where ever it wills and plants itself in the souls that are ready for planting.  .

My 'organic' apple tree.

Bountiful Fruit of the Spirit 

God's love is always bountiful and is ever ready for harvest.  If we prune our hearts properly, our fruit will be abundant.  What is the fruit that we bear?

• Charity (love)
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Long-Suffering (patience under provocation, enduring quietly the attacks of others)
• Gentleness
• Faith
• Modesty
• Self-Control (Temperance) 
• Chastity 

How can we grow this fruit?

We can ask the Holy Spirit to plant a seed in our hearts, pray that this fruit grow within you, be open to what ever promptings you believe are being asked of you.  If you mindfully and specifically ask for the Holy Spirit enter into your life, you might just find, for no rhyme or reason, that you have been transformed into a new tree that has abundant fruit to share.

Come Spirit Come!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

(St. Jerome used the Vulgate translation (Latin) that's why Catholics traditionally have 12.)

Do you pray specifically to the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in your life?

My Letter for Christian Unity

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I'm reading a book and keep going back to these passages quoted below. There are many denominations within the Christian faith. If we are to build up the Kingdom, we must understand that through our differences we have THE most important thing in common, Jesus Christ. Rather than tearing each other down with Bible verses and differences in dogma, why don't we cooperate in unity of the Holy Spirit to bring others to what the restless heart longs for, God? IMO many don't 'go to church' or become believers because they see that we, in the family of God, can't get along. "You have to come to MY church, if you go to THAT Church, you will go to hell."...how loving and hypocritical is that? Or we just enclose ourselves within our own church walls with the like-minded believers and don't look out the windows because that's easiest. Christianity IS hard and Jesus gives us that warning. "..you will be hated by all because of My name." Luke 21:17

It's very difficult to be Christian in our times, Christians are very counter-cultural and should be "Do not love the world nor the things in the world" 1 John 2:15. The world will not give you what you need. A true Christian understands that this world is just passing, yet there is a peace, love, joy, forgiveness that the heart longs for that can be obtained in the here and now. My plea and prayer is that in our little corner of the world, we do our worship on Sunday mornings separate, but the rest of the time recognize that we are all in this together. Let's treat each other in the Christian faith with respect. A wise person once told me "Everyone believes in God but they just don't know it." Many hands make light work in helping people discover this and building up Jesus' Kingdom.

"Let's get together, love one another, tolerate and support one another and see ourselves as all parts of the great whole, the great work of God, the Church of Jesus Christ. Let's not ignore our differences or be false with any truth, we don't need "Sloopy agape" but we need true love, believing in the one Lord, the one faith, the one baptism, the one God and Father of us all. Ultimately, all true evangelism is ecumenical and all true ecumenism leads to Christian unity."

"Only when Christians are one, will the world stand in awe and finding no other explanation of this unity, proclaim that Jesus is sent from God to reconcile man to God and establish a kingdom of PEACE AND LOVE AMONG MANKIND." -"A Portion of My Spirit" Rev. Michael Scanlan, TOR

If you made it this far reading, thank you and may God's blessings be abundantly poured upon you!

Come Holy Spirit!

In Christ,

Jenny Goeppner