Holy Spirit 101

I was quite advanced in age before I had a fairly firm grasp of the importance of the Holy Spirit. When I was confirmed, I certainly knew that the Holy Spirit was going to confer all sorts of wonderful gifts on me. I knew He was the third person of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. And I knew He was worshipped and glorified because I said so every Sunday at Mass.

I never thought much about what the Spirit’s part was in my baptism. Since I was an infant at the time of baptism, I just grew up assuming all things were in order. Pretty soon, I came to see the work of the Spirit in the creation and Pentecost, and moved a bit beyond the idea that the Spirit looked like a dove or tongues of flame on the heads of the apostles, although those are valid and very fine images.

But what does the Holy Spirit do? Just as the Holy Spirit is the last person of the Trinity to be revealed, so it was also last to be understood by my mind. One day in what could only be called an epiphany, I knew what the Holy Spirit did. My faith and my knowledge of the Father and the Son were only possible because of the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit that communicated these things to me.

The Holy Spirit is like the UPS deliveryman of heaven. God has a warehouse full of gifts for me, and He entrusted their delivery to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who reveals the Son. Because of this, the missions of the Son and the Spirit are inseparable. We see Christ, but it is the Spirit who has revealed Him.

It is on that day we call Pentecost that the Holy Spirit is fully revealed to us. The Spirit prepares us just as he prepared Mary to be the Mother of God, and made it possible for John the Baptist, still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, to recognize Christ in Mary’s womb. When we pray, it is the Spirit who opens our hearts and minds. St. Paul tells us that we cannot even say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).

It is the Spirit we encounter in the sacraments. Baptism makes us temples of the Holy Spirit, and in the Eucharist, we pray to the Father, "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ." In Confirmation, the bishop anoints us with oil and says, "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

If you are having a hard time in prayer or feeling discouraged, you must become “like a little child” and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. When you are in the state of grace, it is the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Let the Spirit fill you with the love of Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.

And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord.

Additional reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church: I Believe in the Holy Spirit, EWTN – Holy Spirit

Transformation

Today’s reading in Deuteronomy is a powerful reminder of our Lenten journey. We begin Lent with a good idea of what we want to accomplish. We have list upon list of all the things we are going to do to help us grow in holiness. Usually about this time, we come to the realization that we may have chosen to do more than we can handle.

Yet in today’s reading, we see what God has promised us. He is making an agreement with us and telling us we are to be a people peculiarly His own. He tells us to keep His commandments so He may raise us high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations. We are to be people sacred to the Lord.

God doesn’t tell us to read a certain amount of scripture each day or abstain from eating chocolate. He simply tells us to keep His commandments. The two great commandments are; love God and love our neighbor.

Reading scripture and giving up chocolate and all the other pious practices are good things to do. Far too often, however, the fundamentals of our Christian faith are ignored while we fret about what we didn’t manage to do in any given day. We become frustrated and sometimes even angry, not only with ourselves, but with others.

Past a certain point, there is nothing we can do to affect change in our lives. Inner transformation is a gift from God, originating from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Frustration, anger, and sadness block the goodness and grace of God.

As an alcoholic, I was taught how dangerous and destructive anger and resentment can be. Although others may entertain such emotions, they are deadly for an alcoholic. I believe they are deadly for everyone.

Psalm 119 – Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.

Body of Christ

The Church is both visible, and at the same time, spiritual. The visible Church is an institution with rules and customs. It also has a hierarchical government, what I like to call the “pecking order.” You can see the Church in the people who gather together to worship and who, hopefully, go forth to “love and serve the Lord.”

The spiritual aspect of the Church, often described as the Mystical Body of Christ, is guided and protected by the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” We became members of this Body of Christ by our Baptism, and as members, we are bound to believe this to be true.

When we read Acts of the Apostles, which tells us about the beginnings of the Church, we can see that it didn’t take very long for trouble to start. From the beginning, the Holy Spirit guided and protected the Church. Are we to assume something has changed since then? Is the Holy Spirit “missing in action?”

Some people today would like you to believe this preposterous supposition. It is becoming routine to hear folks refer to the “downfall of the Church”. Along these lines, we hear that bad liturgy, bad music, and bad Bishops will succeed in overthrowing the promises of Christ, and that ugly architecture and nasty vestments will prevent the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

There have always been problems associated with the visible aspect of the Church simply because it is made up of people, and people are flawed. As members of the Body of Christ, we are joined spiritually to all other members. By virtue of our baptism, we are all called to build up the Body of Christ - not tear it down.

I don’t like bad music or ugly architecture any more than the next person, but it would never occur to me to sound the death knell of the Church based on someone strumming a guitar. Our faith should inform us of the invincibility of the Church.

We are certainly free to discuss these and other problems of the Church, but it should be done in charity and with a view to solutions that are also rooted in charity. Ask yourself everyday what you are doing to build up the Mystical Body of Christ.

Holy Spirit at Work

My apologies for being so lax with my posts – not that I think they will make or break anyone’s day. I have still been able to read and appreciate all of your posts, and for that I give thanks.

My lady friend mentioned in my Oct. 26 post needed attention as to her living conditions. She has nursing help coming in, but she really needed to be where she could have more human contact. The retirement apartments most often recommended and already visited by another friend seemed to be the best option.

I called this morning and an apartment had just become available today. We buzzed by after her doctor appointment and we were both dazzled. There is a beautiful dining room, many wonderful activities, and transportation to doctor appointments, shopping, and other outside activities. Her apartment is a studio and has a wonderful view of the enclosed garden area. She wrote out a deposit check on the spot and will be able to move in when the painting is complete and new carpet is installed.

Another friend, who thinks he’s an atheist, was along and he remarked about how lucky we were. No Nameless friend, that’s not luck - that’s how the Holy Spirit works.

Are we not blessed to be able to see the hand of God at work in our lives??