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| The Shepherd of Hermas or the Good Shepherd 3rd century Catacombs of Rome |
The Holy Spirit of Hermas.
COMMENT: At the Night Office, Second Reading,
the Pastor of Hermas directed his thoughts to the Holy Spirit (8 occurrences).
TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY
First Reading
Micah 3:1-12
Responsorv Lam 4:12-13; Mi 3:12
No one believed any adversary, any foe, would ever enter the gates
of Jerusalem. + This happened through the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests.
V. Because of you Zion will become plowland, Jerusalem a heap of rubble, and the temple mount a wooded hill. + This happened ...
Second Reading From The Pastor by Hermas
One who questions a false prophet upon any matter is a foolish
idolater, ignorant of the truth. For no spirit given by God needs to be questioned.
Possessing divine authority, it always speaks spontaneously, for it comes from
above, from the power of the Holy Spirit.
But the spirit that has to be questioned and speaks according to human desires
is earthly, fickle, and without authority; if it is not questioned it says nothing.
Then how, Lord, I ask, are we to distinguish the true from the
false prophet? Listen, he says, to what I am going to tell you about both
prophets, and that will teach you how to test the true and the false. Test
whether prophets have the Holy Spirit
by their lives. In the first place, one who has the Spirit from above is gentle, peaceable and humble. He refrains from
all evil and the vain desires of this world. He makes himself inferior to all
others and gives no reply when he is questioned, nor does he speak
independently. The Holy Spirit does
not speak at the will of any human being, but only when God wishes him to do so.
Some who think they possess the Spirit exalt themselves, claiming the highest rank, and then
immediately become bold, impudent, and loquacious. They live amid great luxury
and many other delusions, accepting payment for their prophecies. Unless they
are paid they refuse to prophesy. Can the divine Spirit really accept payment to prophesy? The prophet of God cannot
possibly do this, but such people are possessed by an earthly Spirit. So test those who claim to be
inspired by the Spirit by their
deeds and their lives. Trust the Spirit
that comes from God and has authority, but distrust the Spirit that is earthly and vain, since it has no authority, but
comes from the devil.
Let me give you an illustration. Take a stone and throw it at
the sky; see if you can hit it. Or again take a syringe and squirt a jet of
water at the sky, and see if you can make a hole in it. How, Lord, I ask, can
these things be done? They are both impossible. Just as these things are impossible,
he says, so also are earthly spirits weak and powerless. Now take the power
that comes from above. Hailstones are the smallest of pellets, but when they fall
on your head how painful they are! Or again, take the drops of water that drip
from the roof to the ground and wear a hole in the stone. You see that the
smallest things falling to the earth from above have great power. So too is
there power in the divine Spirit
that comes from above. Put your trust in this Spirit, then, but have nothing to do with the other.
Responsorq 1 In 4:1; Mt 7:20
Do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they come from God; for t there are many false prophets about in the
world.
V. You will know them by their fruits. t There are many ...
The
Shepherd of Hermas
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| The Shepherd of Hermas |
Pictures
Some Contemporary Texts
·
Secret Book of James (100-150 A.D.)
·
Preaching of Peter (100-150 A.D.)
·
Gospel of the Ebionites (100-160 A.D.)
·
Gospel of the Nazoreans (100-160 A.D.)
·
Shepherd
of Hermas (100-160 A.D.)
·
2 Peter (100-160
A.D.)
·
Odes
of Solomon (100-200
A.D.)
·
Gospel of Eve (100-200
A.D.)
·
Thunder, Perfect Mind (100-230 A.D.)
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