The Gift of Gifts, the Paraclete, the
Counselor and Consoler, Sweet Guest of the soul, Interior Master, the Finger
of God, the Divine Architect, Friend, Sanctifier, Third Person of the Blessed
Trinity—all of these are different titles given to the Person of the Holy
Spirit. In an earlier article we
explained the power of the Holy Spirit to transform sinners into great
saints—as we saw in the Apostles, and especially Simon Peter. Saint John XXIII
actually said: “The saints are the
masterpieces of the Holy Spirit.” A
future saint can be you and me!
In this article we would like to
point out ten specific ways that we can deepen our knowledge, love, intimacy
and union with the Holy Spirit and thereby allow Him to do the work of
transforming us from sinners into saints. It can be done if we become docile
instruments in the hands of God who is the Holy Spirit! “Come Holy Spirit, come, through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary!”
1.
PRAYER! Form the habit if praying to the Holy Spirit
on a frequent basis! You could pray the 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.”
If you like the hymn in Latin: “Veni Creator”; or the Sequence prayed on
Pentecost “Veni, Sancte Spiritus.” Or
you might sing the classical hymn to the Holy Spirit, “Come Holy Ghost.” Or it
might appeal to you to pray the Litany of
the Holy Spirit. Never forget, you can pray and talk to the Holy Spirit
using your own words, simply speak to Him from your heart.
2.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Read the book from the Bible, “The Acts of
the Apostles”. Written by the Evangelist Saint Luke, this book clearly shows
the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles—especially Saint Peter
and St. Paul—as well as the formation of the primitive church. As you read be
keenly attentive to the presence and workings of the Holy Spirit and beg Him to
work powerfully in your own personal life! “Come Holy Spirit come….”
3.
GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Get to know the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
You received the Gifts of the Holy Spirit the day of your Baptism. These Gifts
were fortified the day of your Confirmation. However, these Gifts must be used
and exercised. This saying is true: “If you do not use it you lose it!” If these Gifts are not used then they become
rusty, dormant, and inactive. Memorize them and study them. Here they are: Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel,
Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord.
These gifts, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, perfect our intellect and
our will—so that we can know God more clearly and love Him more ardently.
4.
SILENCE. We must cultivate zones of silence in our
daily lives, even though many of us have to combine the Martha and Mary (The
Active and the Contemplative) in a harmonious balance. Still the danger is to
launch ourselves into a frenetic activism whereby there is little time for
prayer and much less for silence. The
Holy Spirit speaks to a heart that is ready to listen in silence. With Samuel
in the temple we should pray: “Speak O Lord for your servant is listening.”
5.
DOCILITY. Silence is a prerequisite to move on to the
next step—docility to the Holy Spirit. A
person who is living in the state of grace, honestly pursuing a life of
holiness and seeking perfection will be exposed to heavenly inspirations that
come from the Holy Spirit. The key is an ability to listen to these gentle but
insistent inspirations, discern them coming from God and then the most
difficult is to follow and obey these inspirations! The Holy Spirit is so to speak a “Gentleman”
and will never force Himself upon anybody. Rather, He waits patiently for us to
respond and then He can work very powerfully only if we are silent, humble and
obedient!
6.
SPIRITUAL READING. Highly to be recommended, with respect to
learning to be docile to the Holy Spirit, is the reading of a spiritual
masterpiece “The School of the Holy
Spirit”, written by the French spiritual master Jacques Philippe. The essence of this book is very clear and
simple. If we want to arrive at sanctity of life we must get to know the Holy
Spirit, love the Holy Spirit and manifest this knowledge and love by being
docile to His heavenly inspirations! Purchase
and read! You will never regret it!
7.
BE CAREFUL AND ALERT! The work of the devil is to discourage us,
make us sad and to push us into desolation and then despair. Be aware of the
workings of the Holy Spirit. The workings of “The sweet Guest of the soul” are
the direct opposite of the devil. How
does the Holy Spirit work? St. Ignatius of Loyola in his rules for discernment
specifies how the Good Spirit works. He
strengthens our resolve to follow Jesus and fortifies our faith, hope, charity.
He infuses peace and joy and energy to follow the Lord. He encourages us to
lift our mind to heaven. He consoles us with the thoughts of the eternal
salvation of our soul. Therefore, do not allow the devil to discourage you, but
let the Holy Spirit encourage and strengthen you!
8.
PRAYER, PENANCE, POWER, PERSEVERANCE,
AND PERFECTION. Try to connect these “5 P’s” to union with the Holy Spirit; all
are necessary for a constant and growing union with the Holy Spirit. We must pray to the Sanctifier. Also, as Mary
and the Apostles acted in the Cenacle for this powerful novena, we must
practice penance or self-denial. This
will give our will power--- or if you like “Will-power” to do good. However,
the journey can be long and cumbersome, we must persevere and if we fall bounce
back! Then if we are faithful to the first 4’P’s the Holy Spirit will bring us
to perfection in the following of Jesus.
9.
LONELINESS? PROBLEMS? If you experience loneliness and are weighed
down by many problems then never forget to enter into the depths of your soul
and speak to the Holy Spirit whose name is “Sweet Guest of the soul”. You will recognize that you are really not
alone and that your problems and crosses are not as heavy as you think. Rather,
the Holy Spirit can help you to resolve your problems or at least help you to
cope with them.
10. MARY AND THE HOLY
SPIRIT. Mary is the Daughter of God the
Father, the Mother of God the Son, and she is the Mystical Spouse of the Holy
Spirit. St. Maximilian Kolbe has written brilliantly on the intimate relationship
between Mary and the Holy Spirit. Also Saint Louis de Montfort has gone so far in
saying: “Those who love Mary, the Holy Spirit flings Himself into that soul,” if
you like, as a powerful Frisbee cutting through the air going from one hand to
the next. If you want to have a powerful
invasion in your heart of the Holy Spirit,
a personal Pentecost experience in your life, then why not turn to Mary.
As the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles the day of Pentecost through
Mary’s prayers and presence, He can descend into your soul through the prayers
and presence of Mary. “Come Holy Spirit,
come, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
