Being immersed in the Holy Spirit brings a new way of thinking and responding to the Lord, said Father Jim Livingston, pastor of St. Paul in Ham Lake.
For example, in Matthew 18:3, Jesus didn’t intend for his followers to literally become children, but to emulate the simple wisdom through which a child sees the world, Father Livingston said.
Father Livingston told Patrick Conley, host of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, in an episode set to air at 9 p.m. May 30 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, “Within us there is an innocence that we go through, and as children. I think there’s a phase in life where we’re kind of binary. We’re either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Do you believe, or do you not believe? Are you obedient or are you not obedient?”
Father Livingston said the Psalms broadly teach through a binary lens.
“I do think that there is a loyalty, an innocence, a kind of simplicity that is actually quite childlike when it comes to that,” Father Livingston said. “You can look at the example of Jesus in the desert being tempted by Satan. Satan’s got all kinds of cynical reasons, sort of jaded reasons why Jesus should not believe and should not trust his heavenly Father. And Jesus just isn’t having it. He’s not going to be swept into the pseudo wisdom of Satan because his (Jesus’) heart is so simple.”
Father Livingston said that heavenly wisdom is simple. “Demonic wisdom” throws shades of gray, he said, and the nuances can lead the faithful away from the simplest wisdom, away from the innocence of a child, away “from that clarity and certainty.”
“Obviously, we live in a gray world all the time,” Father Livingston said. “But there’s something to the core of our spiritual life that is life-giving when it’s that kind of simple.”
Father Livingston said the faithful have a clear objective, which is faith and trust in God.
“It is our Father in heaven. He is the one who created the heavens and the Earth,” Father Livingston said. “Our God is worthy and true and wise and beautiful. … We have to work through and kind of get past that emotional, subjective image of God and get back to the real, true image of God, the one we can trust, the one we can obey.”
To hear more from Father Livingston about becoming like children, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. May 31 and 2 p.m. June 1.
Also on the program, Archbishop Bernard Hebda discusses how individual gifts from the Holy Spirit are part of God’s plan. And Katie Steiner, a WCCO meteorologist, shares her perspective on living the faith boldly.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, “Practicing Catholic” can be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
