Blessed Pope John XXIII
declared, “The masterpieces of the Holy
Spirit are the saints.” The Gift of
Gifts, The bond of love between the
Father and the Son, the Consoler and Counselor, the Finger of God, Sweet Guest
of the Soul, and the SANCTIFIER--- all of these are descriptive titles
for the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Most Blessed Trinity.
Jesus commanded us to be saints, with
these words: “Be holy as your heavenly
Father is holy.” The grammatical tense
used is not the imperfect, nor the conditional, nor present nor future, but
rather, “Imperative.” Of course the
Imperative means it is a command! That
being said, we should use the most efficacious means to attain this imperative,
this command, this ultimate goal of our life!
THE HOLY SPIRIT. Devotion to the Holy Spirit is essential to
carry out this awesome but necessary task.
At Baptism we become Temples of the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of
Confirmation fortifies the Presence of the Holy Spirit, also strengthening the seven-fold
Gifts. Therefore, it is incumbent upon
every disciple of Jesus and “Temple of the Holy Spirit” to tap into the
infinite reservoir of grace and power which is God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In his short masterpiece on the Holy
Spirit, titled, IN THE SCHOOL OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT, Jacques Philippe
offers ten short counsels in chapter two
of his book on how to foster being open
to “Inspirations” of the Holy Spirit.
Following is a short summary of these superb counsels, if followed could
lead to deep union with the Holy Spirit and true fruits of Holiness. Indeed all of us are called to be “The
Masterpiece of the Holy Spirit--- saints”--- in the words of Blessed Pope John
XXIII.
1.
PRACTICE PRAISE AND
THANKSGIVING. God is very pleased with
a grateful heart as well as a heart longing to praise His Almighty
Goodness! The Psalms abound in hymns of
praise. St. Ignatius in Principle and Foundation points out our purpose in life
and the first is to “Praise” God. The
ten lepers Jesus healed, but only one returned to thank Jesus for the gift of
health. The door of our heart is open
to “The Gift of Gifts” the Holy Spirit when we exercise praise and
thanksgiving. “Give thanks to the Lord
for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.”
2.
DESIRE AND ASK FOR THEM. When we really desire something ardently we
can go through huge sacrifices to attain it.
A little child that has his heart on going to the circus or Disney or
Sea-world, will remind his parents to the point of exhausting them, about their
promise. The most ardent yearning of
our heart should be for God. “As the deer yearns for the running streams so my
heart longs for you O Lord my God.”
“Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will
be opened to you.” (Mt. 7:7). Beg for
the “Gift of Gifts”, the Holy Spirit.
3.
RESOLVE TO REFUSE GOD NOTHING. Magnanimity is a key word in Ignatian
spirituality which means a total openness to God’s grace. St. Therese of Lisieux made a decision to
refuse God nothing and that is why God poured most abundantly His Holy Spirit
and His inspirations transforming Therese into one of the greatest
“Masterpieces of the Holy Spirit.”
4.
PRACTICE FILIAL AND TRUSTING
OBEDIENCE. Children must obey their
parents, Religious their Superiors and all catholics the teachings of the Pope
and the Magisterium. A humble, docile
and submissive disposition of heart attracts the Holy Spirit and His heavenly
inspirations.
5.
PRACTICE ABANDONMENT. Fr. Phillipe calls this “Obedience to events”. St. Ignatius calls
this “Holy Indifference”. In the words
of Ignatius we should not prefer long life to short, health to sickness, riches
over poverty, nor honors above humiliations, but to prefer what is most
conducive to the end for which we were created--- to Praise God in this life
and in heaven for all eternity.
6.
PRACTICE DETACHMENT. Disordered attachments to persons, places,
things, even set ways of thinking can block the easy flow of inspirations from
the Holy Spirit. Hands clasping to mud,
fists full of sawdust, renders it impossible to deposit diamonds within them. If our hearts have a disordered attachment---
especially to any form of sin—then the Holy Spirit with His inspirations recoil
and flee to a more receptive heart! The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, commenting on prayer, points out that often
our distractions in prayer can be our disordered attachments that the Holy
Spirit is pointing out for us to release.
7.
PRACTICE SILENCE AND PEACE. A heart absorbed in constant noise, movement
and confusion cannot attune his spiritual ear to the voice of the Holy
Spirit. Jesus, speaking as the Good
Shepherd, says that the sheep hear His voice and follow Him. A necessary condition is that of exterior
silence and interior silence of the heart.
With the young Samuel let us pray, “Speak O Lord for your servant is
listening.”
8.
PERSEVERE FAITHFULLY IN PRAYER. The great football coach Vince Lombardi
coined this immortal sports adage: “When
the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Why not apply this “sports wisdom” to the demands of the spiritual
discipline. Tough times should not
hammer and pulverize our prayer discipline to dust but rather augment our
prayer life to a higher level. The best
example is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Garden of Olives, when plunged
into a sea of sorrow and abyss of desolation. The Evangelist emphasizes that
Jesus prayed all the more INTENSELY… The Holy Spirit will help us to pray with
His heavenly inspirations. “We do not
know how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit intercedes with ineffable
groans so that we can say Abba, Father”…(Romans 8)
9.
EXAMINE THE MOVEMENTS OF OUR
HEARTS. Often the Holy Spirit attracts
us to Himself by interior movements of our hearts. Through silence, frequent Confession and
adequate Spiritual Direction these movements can be discerned, understood, and
received. Peace and interior joy--- fruits of the Holy Spirit—manifest the
Presence of the Good Spirit and His heavenly inspirations.
10.OPEN OUR HEARTS TO OUR
SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. As one climbs the
mountain of sanctity the devil and his temptations become all the more subtle.
Such is the case that the evil spirit can even at times suggest a good thought
so that he can eventually pull us away from our proper end which is God. ( The
Second Week Rules of Discernment of St Ignatius). Therefore attaining a good spiritual
director, periodically meeting with him, true sincerity and transparency in
conversation and true openness of heart allows for the action of the Holy
Spirit. Finally, Mary who is the
“Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit”, who conceived Jesus through the power and
grace of the Holy Spirit can be an invaluable help to fostering inspirations of
the Holy Spirit and becoming that “Masterpiece of the Holy Spirit” that we are
all called to become.
