The
Gift of Gifts, the Sanctifier, the Interior Master, the Finger of God,
Paraclete, Sweet Guest of the soul, the bond of love between Father and
Son, Consoler and Counselor, the Soul-life giving principle of the
Church, the Light from on high—all of these are descriptive titles of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the most Blessed Trinity.
Let
us venture into deep waters as we strive to get to know, to fall in
love and establish a deep and dynamic rapport and relationship with the
Holy Spirit. He desires to enter into deep communion and friendship with
you as soon as you open your mind and heart to His Presence. Now is the
time!
THRUST
AND PURPOSE OF THIS ESSAY. The thrust and purpose of this short essay
is to help us to become more familiar with the often Forgotten Person of the Most Blessed Trinity: The Holy Spirit. Our
growth in holiness, our sanctification, our salvation depends upon many
things, but of primary importance is our intimate union and friendship
with the Holy Spirit who desires very much to be our most intimate and
best of Friends!
1. ACTS
OF THE APOSTLES. This book of the Bible following the Gospels,
containing twenty-eight chapters and attributed to Saint Luke, is a
spiritual masterpiece to say the least! However, of capital importance
in reading and meditating upon this book that is read during the 50 days
of the Easter Season, is the presence of the Holy Spirit. It has
actually been called “The Gospel of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, open up the text and read and meditate upon it prayerfully.
2. UNDERLINE OR HIGHLIGHT REFERENCES TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. During the course of your perusal and meditation upon The Acts of the Apostles you might underline or highlight, or even copy into your notebook, all the different references made about the Holy Spirit. With that, reflect upon the different ways that the Holy Spirit acts or operates according to the specific context. This will serve to help you get to know the Holy Spirit better and become more cognizant of His workings in the early Church, in individuals, and how He can work in your own spiritual life!
2. UNDERLINE OR HIGHLIGHT REFERENCES TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. During the course of your perusal and meditation upon The Acts of the Apostles you might underline or highlight, or even copy into your notebook, all the different references made about the Holy Spirit. With that, reflect upon the different ways that the Holy Spirit acts or operates according to the specific context. This will serve to help you get to know the Holy Spirit better and become more cognizant of His workings in the early Church, in individuals, and how He can work in your own spiritual life!
3.
PRAY OFTEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. There are many prayers that can be said
to the Holy Spirit; try to memorize at least one of these prayers and
pray it often. Learn the classical or traditional prayer to the Holy
Spirit:
“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle within us the fire of your divine love.”
V: “Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created,”
R: “And you shall renew the face of the earth.”
Let
us pray: “O God, who did instruct the hearts of your faithful by the
light of the Holy Spirit, grant us that we might be truly wise and
always rejoice in His consolation, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”
4.
GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Get to know the seven Gifts of the Holy
Spirit and beg the Holy Spirit that these Heavenly Gifts will become
more and more active or operative in your daily life. The
following are the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Knowledge,
Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. Six of
them are found in the writings of the Prophet Isaiah. Pray the following
prayer that I myself wrote for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit…
Prayer to the Holy Spirit …
Come
Holy Spirit, come fill my heart with your heavenly love. Enlighten my
mind so that I may know the Truth, live the Truth, and be willing to die
for the Truth.
Come
Holy Spirit, come in the dark and lonely moments of my life, come to
console me and comfort me. You who are the Sweet Guest of the soul, make
me aware of your constant and living presence, so that I recognize that
I am never alone because you are with me as a Faithful Friend.
Come
Holy Spirit, come, you who are the Interior Master, teach me how to
pray. I do not know how to pray well. I implore you to intercede for me
with ineffable groans so that I can cry out: “Abba, Father!”
Come
Holy Spirit, come in moments of doubt and confusion, be my light and
counselor. Help me to make decisions, not according to my will but
according to your holy will.
Come
Holy Spirit, come in moments of weakness, give me strength. You who are
the courage and strength of the martyrs, obtain for me interior
strength to fight against sin, my fallen human nature, and anything that
is not pleasing to you.
Come
Holy Spirit, come, grant me a filial love for you and a sincere love
for my neighbor, especially for those I live with and meet every day.
Set my heart on fire with love.
Come
Holy Spirit, come, sanctify me with your presence. You who are the
sanctifier, attain for me an ardent yearning for holiness of life. “Be
holy as your heavenly Father is holy.” May I attain holiness of life so
as to attain the promise of eternal life.
Come
Holy Spirit, come, produce in me a reverential fear that motivates me
to avoid all that is displeasing to you, and to avoid any persons,
places, things, or circumstances that could damage my friendship with
you.
Come
Mary, Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit, Temple of the Holy Spirit,
you who had the most intimate and constant union with the Holy Spirit,
pray for me so that my knowledge and love of the Holy Spirit will grow
daily until I am with you forever in heaven, worshiping forever the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
5. BEG THE HOLY SPIRIT TO MAKE YOU A SAINT. One of the many titles given to the Holy Spirit is that of the Sanctifier—which means: to make one holy. Vatican II, Chapter V of Lumen Gentium asserts the universal call to holiness. All of us, despite our age, culture, condition, or specific vocation, are called to become great saints. Jesus states this clearly with these words: “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy.” Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta expressed the universal call to holiness as such: “Holiness is not the privilege of the few, but the duty of all.” Saint Pope John XXIII added: “The saints are the masterpieces of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, with all the energy of your heart and fiber of your being humbly beg the Holy Spirit to make you a saint!!!
6.
THE SIGN OF THE CROSS: THE TRINITY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. They can become
commonplace, jaded, mechanical, perfunctory, and nonchalant—our prayers
and prayer gestures. This can easily be the case when we start all of
our prayers with the Sign of the Cross. +++ Perhaps it is time to stop
and reflect upon the meaning of the Sign of the Cross related to God,
related to the Trinity, related to the cross and our redemption, and
related to the Person of the Holy Spirit. It could be helpful to recall
upon making the Sign of the Cross that you are truly the living and
vibrant Temple of the Holy Spirit! Saint Paul exhorts us: “Glorify God
in your bodies.”
7. IN
TIMES OF TRIAL AND AFFLCITION CALL UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT. One of the
most powerful and beautiful examples of the powerful Presence of the
Person and the action of the Holy Spirit is in one of the trials of
Saint Joan of Arc. (Read Saint Joan of Arc written by Mark Twain.) The
maid of Orleans is being tried as a heretic, and will eventually be
burnt at the stake, and she is asked this trick question: “Are you in the state of grace?”Enlightened and moved by the Holy Spirit, the saint responds: “If I am, thanks be to God; if I am not, may God put me there!” Bingo!!!
Without time to reflect and study, the Holy Spirit with great alacrity
inspired her with a response that even the greatest of theologians could
not have surpassed!
8.
READ CLASSICS ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. Make an intellectual effort to apply
your mind to study one or more of the classics on the Holy Spirit. Often
it is the case that we do not know basic truths about our Catholic
faith due to mental lethargy, mental laziness, mental inertia. Let us
fight against a lazy mind! The following are some suggestions for your
intellectual pursuit: “In the School of the Holy Spirit” by Jacques Philippe; The Sanctifier by former Archbishop of Mexico City, Luis Martinez; Catechism of the Catholic Church referring to the Holy Spirit #683-747; The Spiritual Life by Adolphe Tanqueray #1307-1357, the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Primer Pars, Questions 36); and finally the Encyclical of Pope Saint John Paul II on the Holy Spirit, Dominum et Vivificantem, May 18, 1986. These sources should keep you busy at least over the weekend!
9. SACRAMENTAL
THEOLOGY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. Within the context of the Church, the
Holy Spirit’s role is essential in the Church which is the Mystical Body
of Christ. Jesus is the Head of the Mystical Body; we are the members
of His Body. But what about the role and Presence of the Holy Spirit?
His role is key to say the least! The Holy Spirit is actually and truly THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH!!! In philosophy the soul is defined as “the life-giving principle—that which gives life! Without
our soul we are dead, a corpse. Without the Holy Spirit the Church
cannot exist. It is the Holy Spirit that gives life to the Church and
all of its members! Here is a study for you to undertake! In the
administration of the Sacraments, how often does the presence of the
Holy Spirit come into play??? Much more than we are aware of!!! Read the
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1091-1109)
10.
MARY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. Finally, let us invoke Mary most Holy and
beg for her intercession that we might be more open and docile to the
workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Blessed Virgin Mary was at
all times and places open to the workings and operations of the Holy
Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit intervened in three key moments in the
life of the Blessed Virgin Mary: The Immaculate Conception, the Virginal
Conception, and Pentecost—the birthday of the Church.
A word on each. In the
Immaculate Conception of Mary in the womb of her mother Saint Anne, Mary
was preserved from the stain of Original Sin by the working of the Holy
Spirit. In the Virginal Conception, in which Jesus was conceived in the
womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was through the overshadowing of
the Holy Spirit that Mary conceived Jesus. (In Hebrew the shekinah—the overshadowing).
Finally, fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the
Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, but through the presence,
fasting, prayers, and good example of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For that
reason, Saint Louis de Montfort enthusiastically asserts: “Those who love Mary, the Holy Spirit flings Himself into their souls.” Mary
is the Daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and Mary
is the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit. To love the Blessed Virgin
Mary is to open a floodgate of graces and the powerful invasion of the
Holy Spirit in your life. Let us pray often: “Come Holy Spirit, come through the Heart of Mary.”
Fr Broom