The Unprofitable Servant: Who is This Holy Spirit?

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Who is This Holy Spirit?

My daughter asked me this question the other day after her little friend told her that Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity. I told her what a priest once told me - that in every relationship, there is a third person, which is love. So the Holy Spirit may be seen as the love between the Father and the Son. Jesus also told the Apostles He would send them the Advocate, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit by Whom they would be given what they were to say. So once again, despite what the Witnesses want to believe, there is direct scriptural evidence for the Trinity.

She asked me why the dove is so often used to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Again, there is scriptural reference to this. In the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of the Lord, both Luke and Matthew talk about the spirit coming to rest upon Jesus in the form of a dove.

When I made my Confirmation, we spent weeks and months preparing. The IHM nuns who taught us told us that we would be made soldiers of Christ on this day. We would not be soldiers who carried guns, but warriors who carried the spirit of God's truth and enlightenment. I think this was a pretty good analogy considering what happened to the Apostles after Pentecost. In strictly human terms, I see the Easter season in stages. The ecstasy of discovering that Jesus had indeed been raised from the tomb. The sadness in having Him leave the disciples again to ascend to His Father. And finally, the comfort and strength He promised them to carry out The Great Commission on the day He sent them the Holy Spirit.

In my own life, I can sit around feeling sorry for myself and pining for the day God calls me home, or I can get up off my duff and resolve to carry out His Will, whatever that may be. It is the love that a Father had for His children that He sent His only-begotten Son to win salvation for us that helps me carry on. It is the love that a Son had for His Father and for His Father's children that compelled Him to accept and carry the cross to Calvary. It is the love the Father and the Son have for us that they know what trials we suffer here on earth that They sent Their Spirit to us to comfort us and fortify us for the battle.

When I see a wrong and refuse to take part in it, I know that it is by the Grace of the Holy Spirit that I'm able to recognize this. When I see a person who is down-trodden and in need of help and I drop what I'm doing to lend assistance, it is by the Grace of the Holy Spirit that I'm able to recognize Christ in the face of this hopeless person. When I embrace suffering in my life rather than retreat from it, it is by the Grace of the Holy Spirit that I recognize this trial as having been sent directly from the Hand of God. When I see my brothers and sisters destroying their bodies and souls by sexual promiscuity and depravity in the name of gay pride, it is by the Grace of the Holy Spirit that I have the courage to tell them they are sinning against God.

There will be no drama at Mass today with tongues of fire descending from the rafters (what a hazard that would be if the rafters are wood!) but we will be served an important and needed reminder that we are not in this alone, and that the courage and fortitude we need to carry out God's Will is there for the taking, if only we ask.

We do not have a ceiling at church from which rose petals can be dropped upon us, so I was looking for something creative for children for Pentecost and came upon this adorable and aptly-named blog. Check out the Tongues of Fire cupcakes!

3 comments:

PatriciaJune 12, 2011 at 11:12 AM
Joyce, what name did you take at Confirmation? I was so unaware of the significance of the Sacrament that I actually took my best friend Jean's name -- simply because she was my BF. Years later, I was grateful to find that Jean is a derivative of John. So now I think of the Beloved apostle as my patron. And of course, John of the Cross.

When I became a secular Carmelite, I got it right though: Marie-Therese. : )
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TLWJune 12, 2011 at 1:28 PM
Good question Patricia! I took the name Bernadette. My mother let me stay up "late" one Sunday evening to watch "Song of Bernadette" and that was that. Interestingly, my daughter Rebecca also chose that name after watching the movie and reading about the little visionary nun from Lourdes.

In case you hadn't guessed, I love your Carmelite name :)
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MannyJune 12, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Also on the dove, see John chapter 1, verse 32. John the Baptist sees the spirit come like a dove.
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Mary, Queen of Peace

Ever glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins, Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love He had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from His cross He recommended thee to the care and protection of His beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of every kind whatsoever. Thou art the Mother of Mercies, the sweet comforter and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, wither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; Through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine Will, thou gavest thy consent, and whom, after the expiration of nine months thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit the world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives, when He besought His eternal Father to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the garden, whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre of His death and sufferings. I ask it, through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith He was bound and scourged, when stripped of His seamless garment, for which His executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it, through the scoffs and ignominies by which He was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death, and which He bore with heavenly patience. I ask it, through His bitter tears and bloody sweat; His silence and resignation; His sadness and grief of heart. I ask it, through the blood which trickled from His royal and Sacred Head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed and pierced with His crown of thorns. I ask it, through the excruciating torments He suffered, when His hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it, through His vehement thirst, and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it, through His dereliction on the cross when He exclaimed, "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" I ask it, through His mercy extended to the good thief, and through His recommending His precious soul and spirit into the hands of His eternal Father before He expired, saying, "It is consummated." I ask it, through the blood mixed with water, which issued from His Sacred Side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it, through His immaculate life, bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and the darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it, through His descent into hell, where He confronted the Saints of the old law with His presence, and led the captivity captive. I ask it, through His glorious victory over death, when He arose again to life on the third day, and through the joy which His appearance for forty days after gave thee, His blessed Mother, His Apostles, and the rest of His Disciples; when in thine and their presence He miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, infused into the hearts of His Disciples, when He descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the gospel. I ask it, through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world, by fire. I ask it, through the compassion He bore thee in His life, and the unspeakable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me, (Mention your prayer intention here...) And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honour thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and His filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear Him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, beside the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignominies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolutions, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament of the Church worthily, and die in thy friendship and favour. Lastly, obtain through thy Son, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting, from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Lord God Almighty, to Whom be all power now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

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God Bless You!

The Unprofitable Servant

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Who is This Holy Spirit?

3 comments:

Mary, Queen of Peace

St Michael the Archangel

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross