Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. Can you relate to Peter’s experience of being “hot” one moment and “cold” the next? Share an example of this in your own life. What caused you to go “cold”?
2. Why is it important “to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit from the whisperings of the devil or the well-intentioned but misled thoughts of our own mind”? Why is the devil called “the father of lies” and the accuser of the brethren”?
3. In the meditation we hear these words, “how difficult it can be to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit from the whisperings of the devil or the well-intentioned but misled thoughts of our own mind.” What are some of the characteristics of the way the Holy Spirit would speak to our minds, compared to the characteristics of how the devil (or our misled thoughts) might speak to us? Give some examples.
4. If you are in a men’s group, take some time at the end of your meeting to pray for one another using the prayer at the end of the article.
[Editor's Note: This is the fourth of a series of articles on the theme, “Being a Man of the Spirit.” Click here to find the first article, second article, and third article.]
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:27-35)
Have you ever had the experience of being “hot” one moment and then “cold” the next? First, everything is going just fine, and your reactions to every situation are dead right. But then, in the next moment, you make a terrible blunder and wind up in trouble.
This seemed to be St. Peter’s situation in response to Jesus’ question. First, he was hot, telling Jesus, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29). He sensed the Holy Spirit revealing something new about Jesus, and he was right. But then, just a few moments later, when Jesus told him that being “Christ” meant suffering and death, Peter turned cold. He gave a wrong answer that was not from the Spirit, and Jesus rebuked him harshly.
What a roller coaster! First, Peter is able to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit to give him divine knowledge of who Jesus is, and then he is being compared to the Father of Lies and the Accuser of the Brethren! What a dramatic illustration of how difficult it can be to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit from the whisperings of the Devil or the well-intentioned but misled thoughts of our own mind.
Like Peter, we too can ride a kind of roller coaster of faith. Sometimes we are in touch with the Holy Spirit, and sometimes we are dominated by ill will, self-centeredness, negativity, or resentment, as if we had absolutely no access to the wisdom or power of God.
As frustrating as this may sound, we can take comfort from the fact that we aren’t all that different from the man who ultimately became the leader of the whole Church. Over time, Peter did learn how to hear the Spirit, and so can we. Like him, we just need to do our best to stay close to the Lord every day. We need to examine ourselves to see if our thoughts and motivations, or that inner voice, are God-centered or self-centered. How can we tell the difference? One way is to ask yourself some key questions: “Are these the kinds of thoughts the Holy Spirit would give me? Would he tell me these negative thoughts about my wife (“She always…” “She never…” etc.)? Would he want me to complain or blame others for something I played a role in? Will these words tear down or build up? Are they negative or positive? It may take time to discern the voice of the Spirit, but we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit is with us, ready to teach us every step of the way.
“Dear Lord, teach me your ways. I ask for the grace to distinguish your voice from all the other competing voices that I hear during the day.”
Many thanks to The Word Among Us for allowing us to adapt material from daily meditations in their monthly devotional magazine. Used with permission.
(Maurice Blumberg is Executive Director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men. This article is part of NFCM's sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel. Contact NFCM at P.O. Box 86381, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or e-mail them at info@nfcmusa.org. If you would like to make a contribution to the NFCM, just click here.)
Reflection Questions on Page 2
