 |
| Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) |
***
As I start
I'd like you to keep in mind St Paul's words, “no one can say
'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 12:3). It's
obvious that anyone can speak the words, “Jesus is Lord” by
reading them off a piece of paper. So St. Paul has something deeper
in mind.
I'm going to talk about my relationship
with the Holy Spirit, and how it developed over time.
Several times, the Bible refers to the
Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Truth” and that relates to the
first part of my journey back home into the Catholic Church. I was
baptized and confirmed in the Church, but after high school I drifted
away. I no longer went to Mass. Many years passed. Then as I was
watching C-SPAN, a journalist asked a rhetorical question, and I
pondered that question. I went beyond the question, and I came to the
insight that contraception was morally wrong. That insight did not
make me popular; all of my friends at the time would have strongly
disagreed with me. The point here is that this was a moment of
intellectual honesty. I did not believe this truth because I wanted
it to be true. The Catholic Church upholds this truth, and as time
went on, I came to discover more truths that the Church upheld.
I came to accept that the Church taught
the truth and that she was guided in truth by the Holy Spirit.
Shortly after I returned to the Church
and started attending Mass again, I attended a Proud2BCatholic event,
where I picked up a plastic Rosary in a plastic pouch. With the Rosary
was a set of instructions on how to pray the Rosary. And so I
starting praying the Rosary. When at home, I would look up the scripture
passages related to the mysteries, and then I would pray the rosary.
A few years later, I was introduced to
True Devotion to Mary written by St. Louis de Montfort. I cannot fully
express how life changing this was for me. You're probably wondering
why I'm talking about these Marian practices of the Rosary and True
Devotion to Mary. St. Louis de Montfort writes:
The
more [the Holy Ghost] finds Mary, His dear and inseparable spouse, in
any soul, the more active and mighty He becomes in producing Jesus
Christ in that soul, and that soul in Jesus Christ. [TD no. 20]
And elsewhere he writes,
When the Holy
Ghost, her Spouse, has found Mary in a soul, He flies there. He
enters there in His fullness; He communicates Himself to that soul
abundantly, and to the full extent to which it makes room for His
Spouse.[TD no. 36]
I could talk hours about this dimension
of my relationship with the Holy Spirit. But I'm going to shift from
the Marian topic to that of some of the consolations I've received
from the Holy Spirit. These consolations are feelings of well being,
and they don't happen all time, and for some, like Mother Teresa,
they experience long periods of spiritual dryness.
One time, before confession, I asked
the Holy Spirit to help me make a good confession. It was probably my
second or third confession since returning to the Church. And this is
important, I asked from my heart; I sincerely meant it. It was a cold
autumn afternoon, but as I sat down praying the assigned penance
after confession, it felt as if a weight were lifted from me, and
that a warm blanket had enveloped me.
Another consolation happened a few
years ago, as I was taking a course in natural theology. Natural
theology is about what people can come to know about God through
reason alone. I loved that course. It was awesome. That is, it
re-awakened awe and wonder about the Creator and His creation. At the
same time, I was scheduled as an adorer at St. George's in Worcester.
My hour of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was after midnight
on Friday mornings. And on one night, something clicked within me,
and I felt the urge to hug Jesus in the Sacrament. I wanted to run
across the room to do it. Of course, I didn't. I physically couldn't
since Jesus in the monstrance was enclosed by a plastic shield.
That was a temporary feeling, but I
have a more permanent one. My soul is on fire for Jesus. And I share
with Jesus a desire to spread that fire. Do you remember that “no
one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit”?
So what might you take away from my
experience with the Holy Spirit? 1) Learn to pray. And be honest in
your prayers with God. 2) Learn more about Jesus. You can never learn
enough. And remember, the Church is your teacher. 3) Go to confession
often. Free yourself from sin. And 4) I recommend developing a
relationship with Mary through prayer. I pray the Rosary daily.
And finally, let God transform your
heart. In the Old Testament, in Ezekiel, God promises:
A new heart I will
give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; I will take out of
your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel
36:26)
