My previous blog post was about my need to  pray before writing a homily.   I also pray before writing, and then separately before posting a blog.  This weekend I have seen some rather shocking blogging going on with regard to one specific matter.  Happily, to date, only one blogger has raised the matter but I fear there may be more.

I’d  noted in recent weeks a trend of referring to the Holy Spirit as ‘she’.  The reasoning behind this is the Hebrew noun ר֫וּחַ or ‘ruach’ is a feminine noun.  I have pointed out to those with whom I debate the matter that when a noun has a gender it’s the noun, and not the subject.  I always use the example from good old O’level school French of ‘la chemise’ and ‘le chemisier’ to make my point.  ‘La chemise’ is the shirt, a feminine noun for an item of clothing associated with men where ‘le chemisier’ is a blouse, an item recognised as being associated with women unless it’s prefixed by ‘big girls’.

This has always been respectfully received and debated with Christian love.  I entered into the same conversation on Friday with two priests.  What followed from others was unedifying, I was shocked to the core.

Attempts to justify poor, unchristian behaviour have resulted in no less than three blog posts (to date) condemning one of the chaps with whom I debated the matter.   So it made me think; has prayer been employed before these posts? Do I pray always before I post a blog?

I believe I do, but that’s believe, I am not one hundred per cent certain I always have in the past.  In the past I have discussed this with my spiritual director, he has underlined to me the vital importance of making sure christocentricity is not missing from anything, anything at all, that I share via this medium.

I debated this with him, I asked how writing about my garden, or my shed, would be Christocentric, he told me as long as there is not a lack of love, I am ok.  He reinforced this to me shortly after when I posted a blog, he text me and said “did you pray before writing that?”

I replied I definitely had, he responded

“well the devil’s got to your spellchecker”

There was a howlinging inappropriate misspelling in the post, thank goodness so few of you read this!

Praying before blogging is vital.  Praying before posting is equally so.  In the early days I neglected this on too many occasions and those blogs have been removed from An Idiot On Board.  Today being Trinity Sunday I have implored the whole Trinity to help me.  They sent the Holy Spirit, He helped me.

(I hope SillyPhyllis is motivated to mention this on her HCOOH feed)