Confirmation Reflections

     The prophet Joel prophesied that in the age of the Messiah, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all believers, including you and me : “I will pour out my spirit on all mankind.  Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men see visions.” (Joel 3 : 1-2)

In the New Testament, St Peter says that this prophecy was fulfilled in the miracle of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out like tongues of fire, and like the sound of a wind (Acts 2).  In the Gospels it says that the Spirit came down on Jesus like a dove.  The Holy Spirit is obviously not a dove or a flame, or a wind, but a person, a being regarded as an individual!  We say a person is as strong as an ox, but this does not mean the person is an ox – obviously.  Nor is the Holy Spirit a dove!

THE PERSON OF HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force either, but a person who speaks, (Rev.2:7), intercedes (Rom.8:26), testifies (Jn. 15:26), leads (Acts 8:29), commands (Acts 16:6), guides (Jn. 16:13), can be lied to (as Ananias and Sapphira did in Acts 5, and were punished by death), can be insulted (Heb. 10:29), can be blasphemed (Mt.12:31), can be grieved (Eph. 4:30).  So, as we can see, the Spirit is a person with all the attributes of personality, but is a divine person (Acts 5:3); the third person of the Trinity (i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit)

HOLY SPIRIT EXALTS JESUS

Though a member of the Holy Trinity, the Spirit always exalts Jesus Christ, never himself (Jn. 16:14).  Where the Spirit is in control, Jesus is proclaimed the Head, and the Holy Spirit his executive, as well as equal to the Father and the Son.  We may not put power, gifts or, in fact, anything ahead of Jesus.  To do so is to end up in fanaticism (1).  The Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:9, Phil. 1:19, Acts 16:7).

The Holy Spirit did not come to make us Holy Spirit conscious, but Christ conscious.  If one picture is better than a thousand words, then Jesus is the greatest visual, that God has – and this Jesus is all over the Bible – hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New, and detected in nature, for all things were created for Him and in Him (Col. 1:16) and by Him (Jn. 1:3)– God’s greatest visual aid!

The Bible shows the Holy Spirit acting in a twofold way: 

     1.  Giving Charismatic gifts

 2. Giving the fruits of the Spirit (sanctification or making holy, or transformation in    Christ)

1.  CHARISMATIC GIFTS

Firstly, the Charismatic gifts by which the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon certain people is the ability to perform actions, or utter words beyond their human abilities. The Spirit can come upon a person and fill them with wisdom;  He confers artistic gifts on another person to embellish the Temple (See Exodus 31:3-6; 35:31-33).  He comes upon someone else and confers the gift of prophecy (See Micah 3:8), or the gifts of extraordinary ability in governing, the charisms of ruling found in Isaiah 11:2-4.  Traditionally these are known as the Isaiahan Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and the fear of the Lord) and are part of the charismatic action of the Holy Spirit (2).

The Second Vatican Council said that priests must help the laity to discover their charismatic gifts (P.O. 9).  So we will examine the charismatic gifts and then at roles, e.g. no everybody has the charism of healing (1 Cor. 12), but everyone has a role to play in praying for the sick – “all believers will lay hands on the sick and heal them” (Mark 16:18).  Not everybody has a charism of intercession or evangelisation, but everyone has a role of interceding or sharing the faith with others.

CHARISMATIC GIFTS – explicitly mentioned in Scripture, and the names of some great Christians who used them:

1.            ADMINISTRATION (1 Cor. 12)

2.            APOSTLE  (1 Cor. 12) e.g. Bishops.

3.            CELIBACY (1 Cor. 7:7, 32; Mt. 19:12; Lk. 18:29-30 e.g. Priests and sisters.

4.            DEACON (Phil. 1:1)

5.            DISCERNING OF SPIRITS (1 Cor. 12) e.g. St Ignatius of Loyola, St Benedict the Black ofm

6.            EXHORTATION (Rom. 12) e.g. Christian  counsellors

7.            EVANGELIST (Eph. 4) e.g. St Bernadine of Sienna, St John Capistrano,

               Billy Graham

8.            EXORCISM OF DEMONS (Acts 16:16-18) e.g. Fr Gabriel Amorth

9.            FAITH (1 Cor. 12) e.g. St John Vianney

10.          GIVING (Rom. 12) e.g. Tom Monaghan of Domino’s Pizzas

11.          HEALING (1 Cor. 12) e.g. St Francis of Assisi, St Anthony, St Colette

12.          HELPS (1 Cor. 12) e.g. Parish typists!

13.          HOSPITALITY (1 Pet. 4:9-10)

14.          INTERCESSION (1 Jn. 5:16; Jam. 5:16)

15.          INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES (1 Cor. 12)

16.          KNOWLEDGE (1 Cor. 12)

17.          LEADERSHIP (Rom. 12:6-8), St Joan of Arc

18.          MARRIAGE : The gift of being called for the two ends of marriage –

               Unitive and creative (1 Cor. 7:7)

19.          MARTYRDOM (1 Cor. 13:3) e.g. St Ignatius of Antioch, St Charles Lwanga and the Ugandan martyrs

20.          MERCY (Rom 12) e.g. Mother Theresa

21.          MIRACLES (1 Cor. 12) e.g. Padre Pio; Don Bosco; St Columbo of Iona

22.          MISSIONARY (Eph. 3:7) e.g. St Junipero Serra, St Francis Xavier  

23.          PETRINE CHARISM (Mt. 16:13-20; Lk. 22:32) e.g. The Popes

24.          PRIEST (Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:4-9) St John Vianney

25.          PROPHECY (Rom. 12; Acts 11:28, 21:10) e.g. Sr Briege McKenna

26.          SERVICE (Rom. 12) Every Church has these quiet servants.

27           TEACHING (Rom. 12) e.g. Sunday School catechists

28.          TONGUES (1 Cor. 12, C.C.C. 2003) e.g. St Hildegaard of Bingen;

               St Theresa of Avilla

29.          VOLUNTARY POVERTY (1Cor. 13:3) e.g. Mother Theresa

30.          WISDOM (1 Cor. 12) e.g. St Catherine of Sienna

CHARISMATIC GIFTS DEFINED (3)

1.            Administration:  The gift of administration is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to understand clearly the immediate and long-range goals of a particular unit of the Body of Christ and to devise and execute effective plans for the accomplishment of those goals. (1 Cor. 12)

2.            Apostle: The gift of apostle is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to assume and exercise general leadership over a number of churches with an extraordinary authority in spiritual matters that is spontaneously recognized and appreciated by those churches. (1 Cor.12)

3.            Celibacy:  The gift of celibacy is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to remain single and enjoy it; to be unmarried and not suffer undue sexual temptations. (1 Cor. 7:7, 32;  Mt. 19:126)

4.            Deacon:   Called for dedication to the people of God in the service of the liturgy, Gospel and works of charity (Phil. 1:1;  1 Tim. 3:8-13)

5.            Discerning of Spirits:  The gift of discerning of spirits is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know with assurance whether certain behaviour purported to be of God is in reality divine, human or satanic. (1 Cor.12)

6.            Exhortation: The gift of exhortation is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to minister words of comfort, consolation, encouragement and counsel to other members of the Body in such a way that they feel helped and healed.  (Rom. 12)  

7.            Evangelist:  The gift of evangelist is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women become Jesus’ disciples and responsible members of the Body of Christ. (Eph. 4)

8.            Exorcism:  The gift of exorcism is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to cast out demons and evil spirits.               (Acts 16:16-18)

9.            Faith:  The gift of faith is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to discern with extraordinary confidence the will and purposes of God for the future of His work. (1 Cor. 14)

10.          Giving:  The gift of giving is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to contribute their material resources to the work of the Lord with liberality and cheerfulness. (Rom. 12)

11.          Healing:  The gift of healing is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to cure illness and restore health apart from the use of natural means. (1 Cor. 12)

12.          Helps:  The gift of helps is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to invest the talents they have in the life and ministry of other members of the Body, thus enabling the person helped to increase the effectiveness of his or her spiritual gifts. (1 Cor. 12)

13.          Hospitality:   The gift of hospitality is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to provide open house and warm welcome for those in need of food and lodging. (1 Pet. 4:9-10)

14.          Intercession:  The gift of intercession is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to pray for extended periods of time on a regular basis and see frequent and specific answers to their prayers to a degree much greater than that which is expected of the average Christian. (1 Jn. 5:16; Jam. 5:16)

15.          Interpretation:  The gift of interpretation is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to make known in the vernacular the message of one who speaks in tongues. (1 Cor. 12)

16.          Knowledge:  The gift of knowledge is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to discover, accumulate, analyze and clarify information and ideas that are pertinent to the growth and well-being of the Body. (1 Cor. 12)

17.          Leadership:  The gift of leadership is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to set goals in accordance with God’s purpose for the future and to communicate these goals to others in such a way that they voluntarily and harmoniously work together to accomplish those goals for the glory of God. (Rom. 12)

18.          Marriage:  The gift of being called for the two ends of marriage – unitive and creative.  (1 Cor. 7:7)

19.          Martyrdom:   The gift of martyrdom is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to undergo suffering for the faith even to death while consistently displaying a joyous and victorious attitude that brings glory to God.  (1 Cor. 13:3)

20.          Mercy:  The gift of mercy is the special ability that  God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to feel genuine empathy and compassion for individuals, both Christian and non-Christian, who suffer distressing physical, mental or emotional problems, and to translate that compassion into cheerfully-done deeds that reflect Christ’s love and alleviate the suffering. (Rom. 12)

21.          Miracles:  The gift of miracles is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to serve as human intermediaries through whom it pleases God to perform powerful acts that are perceived by observers to have altered the ordinary course of nature. (1 Cor. 12)

22.          Missionary:  The gift of missionary is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to minister whatever other spiritual gifts they have in a second culture. (Eph. 3:7)

23.          Petrine Charism:  The gift of leading the Church as St Peter did, and serve it by strengthening and confirming the faith. (Mt. 16:13-20; Lk. 22:32; Jn. 21:15)

24.          Priest:  Sanctifies, teaches and shepherds the faithful assigned to him by the Bishop (Apostle). (Phil. 1:15; Titus 1:4-9)

25.          Prophecy:  The gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people through a divinely-anointed utterance.

              (Rom. 12; Acts 11:28, 21:10)

26.          Service:  The gift of service is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to identify the unmet needs involved in a task related to God’s work, and to make use of available resources to meet those needs and help accomplish the desired goals. (Rom. 12)

27.          Teaching:  The gift of teaching is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to communicate information relevant to the health and ministry of the Body and its members in such a way that others will learn. (Rom. 12)

28.          Tongues:  The gift of tongues is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ (a) to speak to God in a language they have never learned and/or (b) to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people through a divinely-anointed utterance in a language they have never learned. (1 Cor. 12)

29.          Voluntary Poverty:  The gift of voluntary poverty is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to renounce material comfort and luxury and adopt a personal life-style equivalent to those living at the poverty level in a given society in order to serve God more effectively.              (1 Cor. 13:3)

30.          Wisdom:  The gift of wisdom is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to know the mind of the Holy Spirit in such a way as to receive insight into how given knowledge may best be applied to specific needs arising in the Body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12)

The Bible says that each of us has been given his own spiritual gift or charism    (1 Pet. 4:10; Eph. 4:7; 1 Cor. 12:7) or talent to use for the good of Christ’s Body, the Church.  On the Day of Judgement we will be asked how we have used this gift (Mt. 25:14-30).  So obviously we need to find out our talent or charismatic gift, and use it.  How?  One starting point is to look around and see what needs you can identify.  Then try to do something to meet a need.  Look for the needs of other people.  Look for the needs of the Church.  Find out where you can be useful in any way, and do it.

Be available for any job around the church you might be asked to do.  When you get an assignment, undertake it in prayer.  Ask the Lord to show you through that experience whether you might have a spiritual gift along those lines.  Persevere in it and ‘work hard and willingly, but do it for the sake of the Lord, and not for the sake of men’ (Eph. 67:7).  Discovering charismatic gifts does not usually come easily.  Give each job a fair chance and do not give up easily!  

CHARISMATIC GIFT AND ROLE

We should note well that even though we may not have received the special gift of healing, or the charism of missionary etc., yet every  Christian has a role of praying for the healing of the sick (Mark 16:17-18) or a role of being a missionary at work or at school, because these things are expected of all Christians.  Nearly all 30 charisms have a corresponding role, except, for example, the gift of tongues, marriage etc., as they have no corresponding role.  I would like to give some examples of two charisms and their roles, namely: celibacy and intercession:

1.            CELIBACY : CHARISMATIC GIFT AND ROLE.

Paul describes it: “each has his own gift” (1 Cor. 7:7-8.  See Matthew 19:10-12; 1 Cor. 7:32-35).  The gift of celibacy is the special ability that God gives to some members  of the Body of Christ to remain single and enjoy it; to be unmarried and not to suffer undue sexual temptations.

The role corresponding to the gift of celibacy as it affects

1.   Unmarried People:  Abstinence from all sexual intimacy until one is married                                                               (1 Co r. 6:13-20)

2. Married People:  Short periods of mutually agreed abstinence for the purpose of special devotion to prayer (1 Cor. 7:5)  (4)

I dwell on these two charisms of marriage and celibacy deliberately because most of us get confirmed as teenagers and this is the time to pray and discern God’s will as regards these two gifts.  Many people have not taken time to discern and got married unhappily, once or twice when perhaps they were really called to be single in the Service of God, and did not have a vocation to marriage.

2.            CHARISM OF INTERCESSION

This gift is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to pray for extended periods of time on a regular basis, and see frequent and specific answers to their prayers to a degree much greater than that which is expected of the average Christian (1 Jn. 5:16; Jam. 5:16).

But the average Christian also has a role to pray for others, especially when asked to do so.  A beautiful example of the Holy Spirit’s charism of intercession is provided by an anonymous fourth century spiritual writer:

   “Those who by God’s gracious gift have become his children, born again from above of his Holy Spirit, possessing Christ within themselves to illuminate and recreate them, are guided in the many and varied ways of the Spirit, as grace works in their hearts invisibly and in peace of soul.

   Sometimes, they are, as it were, in grief and lamentation for the human race, and pouring out prayers for the whole race of Adam, they give way to tears and grief, burning with the love of the Spirit for mankind.

At another time they are inflamed by the Spirit with such joy and love that, were it possible, they would take all mankind, good and bad alike, into their hearts.

   Then again, they are thrust down below all men in the humility of the Spirit so that they look on themselves as the most abject and least of all.

   At other times they are sustained by the Spirit in a joy beyond words”. (5)

In his charismatic action, the Spirit works through. not for, a person; he does not come to improve the individual’s spiritual state, but rather for the benefit of the community.  A person may not become any holier through the charism received, but actually abuse the charism so that the gift becomes a reason why he or she is condemned as we can see:

1.         Firstly in the Old Testament in the stories of King Saul and King Solomon – both anointed and gifted by God, but they fell away and were condemned.

2.         Secondly in the New Testament we have the puzzling words of Jesus when he says on the last day some great charismatics will cry out “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy, cast out demons, work mighty miracles in your Name?”, and Jesus will say to them: “I never knew you; depart from me you evil people”. (Mt. 7:22)

It is possible to have spiritual experiences and even exercise spiritual power, but fail to do the will of God for our lives, e.g. to fail to be sanctified or made holy by the Holy Spirit “the Sanctifier”.  “Being precedes doing”.  We must be good people before doing good deeds.  Could such people really be acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit, people may well ask?  Seemingly “yes”, because a validly ordained priest can be a profligate, but the life-giving Sacraments can be life for others, but a misfortune for him.  In a sense, God’s call and gifts are irrevocable. (Rom. 11:29)

Quote:

 “The Holy Spirit can give every kind of gift without being present Himself; on the other hand, He proves that He is present by grace when He gives love.” (St Fulgentius) P.L.65,797

SUCCESS WITHOUT HOLINESS:

Ralph Martin says it is possible to be effective in service on Jesus’ behalf without actually being under his lordship.  It is possible to have spiritual experiences and even exercise spiritual power, but fail to do the will of God for our lives.  If we are using spiritual power to gratify our ego or to make a name for ourselves, if we are not denying our very self and taking up our cross each day and following Christ, we are deluding ourselves.  The result can be blessing for others, but damnation for us.  These are the clear and forceful words of Jesus in the Gospel.  (6)

Whilst on this sombre matter, it is important to remember Jesus’ words that the sin against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven (Mk. 3:27) for we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) as some people have done who, having received the Holy Spirit and the Sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist) as well as the charismatic gifts, fall away from the Church, the body of Christ (Heb. 6:4).  Jesus calls the Church “My Church”.  (Mt. 16:18).

“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come. (Heb. 6:4-5)

ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA:

The shocking story of the death of Ananias and Sapphira, (Acts 5:1-11) that profoundly shocked the early church, is a reminder of the danger of resisting or not co-operating with the Holy Spirit: “You are always resisting the Holy Spirit”, St Stephen complains (Acts 7:51).  We must not take lightly the promises we make to the Holy Spirit at Confirmation.  We are called to exercise our charism and also to grow in holiness.

Judith Tydings wrote: “Reading through Church history, I had come across many examples of people who seemed charismatic without being especially distinguished for holiness.  On the other hand, I never found holiness (or sanctification) without evidence also of charisms”. (7)  The Church has never canonised anybody for great charismatic gifts, but only because of holiness of life and “heroic virtue” (Col. 1:11).  What a person is, is more important than what he does.  So we need to strive for holiness above all else for “without holiness no-one can ever see God” (Heb. 12:14).  We read in Leviticus “I am the Lord.  I sanctify you!” (Lev. 20:8).  Or, in other words: “I am the Lord who wants to renew you with my Spirit!  Let yourselves be renewed by my Spirit!”  (8)  

2.  THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

“The followers of Christ are to have the fruits of the Spirit for their sanctification” (Vatican II L.G. 40)

“What are the good fruits of the Spirit?  In practice, all of the new life in Christ is a fruit of the Spirit.  But St Paul lists some fruits in particular: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).  The fruit that encompasses all the others is the one listed first: love agape.  Love is the “new commandment” (Jn. 13:34) that makes human beings new singers of the new song   (Ps. 96:1), and men and women of the new covenant (Lk. 22:20).  It is the fruit par excellence of the Spirit, so much so that, wherever love is, it encompasses everything: “Make love your aim” (1 Corinthians 14:1a).

We need, in short, to carry out the transition from what is described in 1 Corinthians 12 to what is described in chapter 13 – that is, the transition from the charisms to the fruits of the Spirit.  Moving from charisms to fruits of the Spirit does not mean abandoning charisms to focus on fruits, but joining charisms to fruits, undergirding the charisms with the fruits of the Spirit!  We need to move from the sporadic exercise of this or that charism – or even of all of the charisms (supposing someone had all of them) – to a charismatic life, one permanently lived in the Spirit, minute by minute.  Holiness has a connection with this second approach, but not with the first”.  (9)

HOLINESS AND CHARACTER:

To become a holy person, a good character should be our aim.  Derek Prince says that charismatic gifts express ability, fruit expresses character and character is more important than ability.  The exercise of gifts is temporary.  As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13, “there will come a time when gifts will no longer be needed, but character is permanent.  The character we develop in this life will determine what we will be throughout eternity.  One day we will leave our gifts behind; our character will remain forever”.

“Gifts do not exclude fruit, fruit does not exclude gifts.  Rather they are intended to complement each other.  Gifts should provide practical expressions for character, just as they did perfectly in the person of Jesus Himself.  Fruit then expresses character.  When all nine forms of spiritual fruit are present and fully developed, they represent the totality of Christian character.” (10)

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. Alexis Carrel, said that in a character “moral beauty is a very striking phenomenon.  He, who has contemplated it but once, never forgets its aspect.  It is far more impressive than the beauty of nature and of science.  It gives to those who possess its divine gifts a strange inexplicable power.   It establishes peace among people.  More than science, art and religious rites, moral beauty is the basis of civilization”.

In a similar vein, Raniero Cantalamessa says that people are in general not humble; but “they can instantly recognise someone who is humble and they cannot resist such a person”. (11)

Alexis Carrel says that ‘moral beauty is the basis of civilisation’ and Dietrich von Hildebrand T.O.S.F. in his study of moral values would agree when he maintains that in a character “goodness, purity, truthfulness, humility of man ranks higher than genius, brilliancy, exuberant vitality, higher than the beauty of nature or of art.  What is realised and what shines forth in an act of real forgiveness, in a noble and generous renunciation, in a burning and selfless love is more significant and more eternal than all cultural values.”  He believes rightly that reverence in a character is the most important value of all and St Paul tells us ”to prize what is of true value” and that it is only a man of the Spirit who “is able to judge the value of everything”. (1 Cor. 2:15)

JANE AUSTEN:

Jane Austen, English literature’s most Christian novelist and phenomenally popular author today, puts a great emphasis on the importance of character.  In Mansfield Park, the story Jane Austen loved best, there are two characters that crystallise what Carrel and von Hildebrand say of character – that moral values rank higher than cultural ones.  Mary Crawford is a rich, beautiful, highly accomplished, sophisticated lady, and a talented classical musician, but unfortunately a moral imbecile.  Fanny Price, on the other hand, is humble, poor in spirit, pure of heart, merciful and immovable when others try to divert her from the right path. (12)  She unshakably resists every seduction and temptation.  She is an exemplary character.  It is obvious that Jane Austen’s sympathies lie with her and not the accomplished Mary Crawford.

The Holy Spirit of God gives us the courage and strength to be of good character “in a world sunk in vice”. (2 Peter 1:4)

Quote:

“Of all the marks of modernity there is none more menacing and dangerous than the exaltation of very small and secondary matters of conduct at the expense of very great and primary ones.  If there is one thing worse than the modern weakening of major morals, it is the modern strengthening of minor morals.  Thus it is considered more withering to accuse a man of bad taste than of bad ethics”. (G.K. Chesterton)

HOLY SPIRIT, THE SANCTIFIER:

The second way in which the Spirit works (the way of sanctification) is shown in the Old Testament after the Exile to Babylon and consists in transforming or sanctifying or making holy the person who receives the Spirit.  Ezekhiel  speaks of a “new Spirit” that will change our hearts and make us able to keep God’s laws. (Ezek. 36:26-27) and in Psalm 51 the Spirit is called “holy” for the first time and inward purification and renewal are attributed to him. (13)

The sanctifying work (or making holy) of the Holy Spirit can be seen in Paul: “God chose you from the beginning to be saved through the sanctification by the Spirit” (2 Thess. 2:13) and in Peter: “sanctified by the Spirit” (1 Pet. 1:2).  This consists in new life in the Spirit, particularly in love.  The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier.

Paul talks of the twofold action of the Spirit when he  speaks of the charisms, and then of love (1 Cor. 12-14), which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  He insists on the superiority of love to the charisms e.g. he says one can have the charismatic gifts of tongues, or prophecy, or faith to move mountains, or martyrdom, but  without love it is  nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3).  But Paul also insists that love and charisms are both necessary for building up the Body of Christ, the Church:  “You must want love more than anything else, but desire for the spiritual gifts (charisms) as well” (1 Cor. 14:1)

Later Catholic theologians will call a charism ‘grace freely given’ by God and love ‘grace that makes one acceptable to God’.   So best to have the gift that makes one acceptable to God than just receive a gift!

PENTECOST:

 We can see the two distinct operations of the Spirit (the charismatic and the sanctification) on the Day of Pentecost which has parallels with what happened in the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod. 19f)

For example, the Holy Spirit came upon the Church on the day when Israel was celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses, shows that He is the new law, ‘the law of the Spirit’ (Rom. 8:2) written not on the tablets of stone, but on the hearts of people.  The transforming operation of the Holy Spirit (sanctification) is seen above all in the fact of the radical change that took place in the apostles.  From that moment onwards they quite literally appear as ‘new men’ (Eph. 4:24)

To say that ‘they were all filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:4) means that they were all filled with the love of God, that the apostles had an overwhelming experience of being loved by God. (14)

Paul explains Pentecost in this way: “The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5).  According to St Thomas Aquinas, the love Paul is speaking of is at the same time the love with which God loves us and the love with which he makes us capable of loving him in our turn. ‘We are to love then because God loved us first’ (1 Jn. 4:19).  When the apostles were filled with the love of God, they were at the same moment filled with love for one another.

GOD’S LOVE:

One of the most striking fruits of the operation of the Holy Spirit is an experience of God’s love.  Obviously an experience like this does a lot for one’s self worth and self esteem!  Self esteem does not come from psyching oneself up in front of a mirror and saying ‘I must have self esteem’ again and again!  Self esteem comes from  a  personal experience of God’s love for each one of us as unique beings created, not by a remote distant God, but one who passionately cares for each one of his creatures.

Quote:

“To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances, to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him the greatest achievement”. (St Augustine)

ENJOYABLE AND SATISFYING:

People often think that the exercise of the charismatic gifts (like tongues or prophecy) is what makes Christianity most rewarding.  In fact, it is the awesome process of sanctification, or transformation, that makes Christianity really enjoyable and satisfying.  Aquinas said that “no-one can live without delight in something, and that is why someone deprived of spiritual joy goes over to carnal pleasure”.  It is the Spirit that gives us the delightful fruits of love, joy, peace, self-control etc. (Gal. 5:22)

NEW LIFE:

It is the Spirit that moulds us into the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:17-18).  “All of the new life “in Christ” is a fruit of the Spirit” (Cantalamessa). (15)  Jesus said: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev.  21:5).  We become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15); we ‘put off the old man’ (Col. 3:9), to assume the new man (Eph. 4:24). With a new mind (Col. 3:2; Rom. 12:2) that takes ‘every thought captive to obey Christ’        (2 Cor. 10:5) for ‘whatever does not proceed from faith is sin’ (Rom. 14:23), no longer conforming abjectly to the world but becoming conformed to the image of Christ     (Rom. 8:29).  We become people of the new covenant (Lk. 22:20) keeping a new commandment (Jn. 13:34).  “If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Cor. 5:17).

ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO:

This is an exhilarating and wonderful new life brought about by the process of transformation, or sanctification, as we learn to live and move in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) or learn to live and move ‘in Christ’.  “For all practical purposes, to be or to live ‘in the Spirit’ is the same as to live ’in Christ’.” (Cantalamessa) (16)  St Paul uses the phrase ‘in Christ’ 164 times in his letters.

Learning to do everything ‘in Christ’, our eating and drinking, walking and sleeping, working and recreating, raises our humdrum lives to a new dimension as we realise ‘in everything God works for good with those who love Him’ (Rom. 8:28).  We can experience in our daily grind a sense of meaning and purpose, as well as a joy and peace that cannot be expressed.  All this and heaven too!  Through the indwelling Spirit we believers in Jesus even now experience “the life of the age to come” – eternal life. (Jn. 17:3; Heb. 6:5).  But it is important to remember: “None can understand the grace, till he becomes the place, where the Holy Spirit has His dwelling” (Bianco of Sienna)

PEACE, JOY, SELF-CONTROL:

This new life also includes Peace, Joy and Self-control (Gal. 5:22 – fruits of the Holy Spirit).  We experience a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7), that endures even when we experience trials and tribulations of all sorts.  We experience too, a joy and happiness that come from doing God’s will and can intensify as we overcome a temptation or do something good when we would prefer not to do anything.

Self-control is another wonderful fruit of the Spirit.  In the Bible we read “to be master of myself was a thing I could not do” (Wis. 8:20) because ‘the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’ (Mk. 14:38).  If we are not in control of our passions and instincts, they will control us. 

People often say “I’m as strong as an ox, but when temptation comes I am as weak as a baby!”

What is the answer?  The Spirit of Jesus comes to help us in our weakness (Rom.8:26) again and again and again.  He releases his power into our lives and transforms our lack of self-control into victory over all unruly emotions and desires that can destroy us.

Nicky Gumbel gives a good introduction to three of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, love, joy and peace, that really make our Christian faith wonderful and enjoyable in a way no other religions can do.

“The first and most important fruit of the Spirit is love.  Love lies at the heart of the Christian faith.  The Bible is the story of God’s love for us.  His desire is that we should respond by loving him and loving our neighbour.  The evidence of the work of the Spirit in our lives will be an increasing love for God and an increasing love for others.  Without this love everything else counts for nothing.

Second in Paul’s list is joy.  The journalist, Malcolm Muggeridge, wrote: ‘The most characteristic and uplifting of the manifestations of conversion is rapture – an inexpressible joy which suffuses our whole being, making our fears dissolve into nothing, and our expectations all move heavenwards.’   This joy is not dependent on our outward circumstances; it comes from the Spirit within.  Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned for many years and frequently tortured on account of his faith, wrote of this joy: ‘Alone in my cell, cold, hungry and in rags, I danced for joy every night ... sometimes I was so filled with joy that I felt I would burst if I did not give it expression’.

The third fruit is peace.  Detached from Christ, inner peace is a kind of spiritual marshmallow full of softness and sweetness, but without much actual substance.  The Greek word and Hebrew equivalent shalom means ‘wholeness’, ‘soundness’, ‘well-being’ and ‘oneness with God’.  There is a longing within every human heart for peace like that.  Epictetus, the first-century pagan thinker, said, ‘While the Emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief and envy. He cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns more than ever for outward peace’ ”.

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT:

LOVE is the Key – JOY is Love singing – PEACE is Love resting – PATIENCE is Love enduring – KINDNESS is Love’s touch – GOODNESS is Love’s character – FAITHFULNESS is Love’s habit – GENTLENESS is Love’s self-forgetfulness – SELF-CONTROL is Love holding the reins.

           

            LOVE ........................................ Mark 12:30-33

            JOY  .......................................... Psalm 30:11-12

            PEACE ...................................... Philippians 4:6

            PATIENCE ................................ James 1:2-4

            KINDNESS ................................ Matthew 25:34-40

            GOODNESS .............................. James 3:13

            FAITHFULNESS ........................ Revelation 2:10

            GENTLENESS ........................... Luke 10:3

            SELF-CONTROL ........................ Proverbs 16:32

SANCTIFICATION BY SACRAMENTS:

The Holy Spirit of Jesus satisfies us primarily by the Sacraments, but, not exclusively.  (“It is not only through the Sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people of God, leads them and enriches them with His virtues”.(Second Vatican Council – Vat. II L.G. 12))  The Word of God which is the ‘Sword of the Spirit’ (Eph. 6:17) lists no fewer than twenty-five references to the Sacraments in John’s Gospel alone, showing their importance. St Leo the Great said that “what was visible in Christ passed over into the Sacraments of the Church”.

A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace within the Church.  The Holy Spirit is ‘the Spirit of Grace’ (Heb. 10:29).  There are seven Sacraments and three categories of these:

   (A)       Sacraments of Initiation

   (B)       Sacraments of Healing

   (C)       Sacraments of Vocation

The following outline of the Sacraments is a very brief one pertaining to sanctification:-

 A.  SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION:

These three Sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) lay the foundations of every Christian life.  For the early Fathers of the Church, Justin Martyr, Origen, Didymus and Cyril of Jerusalem, Christian initiation was a synonym for baptism in the Holy Spirit. (18)  Baptism in the Holy Spirit “is a renewal and reactivation and actualization not only of baptism, but of all that Christian initiation involves” (19) (cc sp. p.54)

            1.  BAPTISM:

Jesus says that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5).  The Ignatius Bible commentating on this says that “Jesus is speaking not of two separate births, one by water and another by the Spirit, but of a single birth through the working of water and Spirit together”.  (Ignatius Bible, p.166). See the account of Peter going to baptise the pagan Cornelius, and before he pours the water, the Holy Spirit came down on Cornelius and all his household, and then Peter, in obedience to the Lord, still baptises him with water (Acts 10:44f) – a “single birth through the working of water and Spirit together”.

St Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, uses the expression ‘baptised in the Spirit’ for water baptism: “For by one Spirit we were all baptised...... and were made to drink of one Spirit”.  Baptism renews (Titus 3:5) and refreshes us through the Spirit (Jn. 7:37-39) as does the spiritual ‘drink’ of the Eucharist (1 Cor. 10:4) of which Jesus said: “He who eats me will draw life from me” (Jn. 6:57).

St Ambrose of Milan called baptism “the sacrament of the cross” (20).  When early missionaries went to Russia, they had to translate the Bible into Slavonic, and wondered how to translate the word baptism into this language.  They finally decided to translate baptism as to ‘take up your cross’.  A Christian is a ‘cross-bearing person’, a person who dies to self to live only to God in Christ. “When we were baptised in Christ Jesus, we were baptised in his death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life” (Rom. 6:3).

2.  SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION  (Confirming or appropriating our baptism)

Quote:

 “For our part through faith and the sacraments, we must lay hold on the grace Christ won for us and live in obedience to Him”.  (St Charles Borromeo)

   1  What is confirmation?

 Confirmation is the second stage of our initiation into the mysteries of faith; it is our personal Pentecost, a descent of the Holy Spirit to claim us as witnesses for his Christ.

John 14:16-17; 15:216-27; Acts 2:1-4

2   How is the sacrament related to our baptism?

It completes and perfects our baptism; for in baptism we do receive the Holy Spirit as the source of the new life in Christ that we have been considering; whereas in confirmation the Spirit comes on a special mission with a fresh out-pouring of his gifts, so to strengthen us in our faith that we are ready to stand up for Christ before an unbelieving world.

Acts 8:14-17; 19:1-7; John 16:33; 1 John 5:5-7

3  Who is the minister of confirmation?

Priests may confer the sacrament in cases of necessity, but the bishop is the normal minister; and this is fitting, because he is the successor of the apostles, and committed as such to spreading the faith, not only in his own community, but ‘to the ends of the earth’.  Acts 1:8; LG 11

4  How is the sacrament conferred?

The baptismal vows are solemnly renewed, hands are imposed, and the forehead is anointed with the oil of chrism in the sign of the cross; “Be sealed”, the bishop says, “with the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

2 Cor. 1:21-22 

5  How does the sacrament affect our lives?

We are sealed with this mark or character that calls us to defend the faith, a seal that cannot be effaced, whether we are loyal or not; we have to put up with our share of difficulties, like good soldiers of Christ Jesus, withstanding the great opposition that certainly besets us, always supporting the faith by word and example, never ashamed of it.

2 Tim. 2:3; 1 Thes. 1:6; Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:15; Mark 8:38; DH 14; LG 11; AA 3; AG 11

6  As a sacrament of growth, what does confirmation imply for us Catholics?

It implies that, even though the sacrament is not essential for salvation, we are bound to receive it because our sense of faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth; and it implies that we should try to acquire a deeper understanding of the faith we practise, so the better to identify with Christ as our

teacher; for growth is gradual, and how can we emerge as faithful witnesses unless we grow apace in knowledge as in holiness!

1 Pet. 3:15-16; Col. 1:27-28; AG 11; CIC can. 890

(Msgr. Michael Tynan, Catechism for Catholics, Four Courts Press)

SOLDIERS FOR CHRIST:

Traditionally the bishop in confirmation gave the candidate a slight symbolic tap on the cheek – a reminder to be strong and brave in spreading the faith like the apostles after the Day of Pentecost.  St Paul writes to young Timothy ‘share in suffering as a good soldier’ (2 Tim. 2:3).  But our weapons as Christians are not guns or knives or suicide bombs, but the weapons of the Gospel (2 Cor. 6:7), like prayer, fasting, good example – spiritual warfare, in fact.

But how can we be brave and strong like the apostles (nearly all of whom died as martyrs) in the face of persecution, pain and torture?  Jesus gives us a clue in Matthew 10:16 when he says do not worry about what you are to say in such occasions, as the Holy Spirit will give you words.  The Spirit who always “comes to help us in our weakness” (Rom. 8:26) will also give us strength and power.  Besides, the Spirit of God never tests us beyond our ability to endure (1 Cor. 10:13).

CHARISM OF MARTYRDOM:

In recent times more Christians were martyred than in all the previous centuries put together.  Perhaps we may be called to give our lives for the love of God like the many martyrs extolled in the Letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 11. For “they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11)

All through 2000 years of Christianity we see the Holy Spirit coming to the help of Christian martyrs in their weakness.  For example, one of the glories of the early Christian centuries, a young pregnant woman by the name of St Felicity (died in 203 AD), was in prison awaiting martyrdom, and she cried out in labour pains on giving birth to a daughter.  One of the soldiers taunted her thus: ‘If you feel so much pain now, what will it be like when you are thrown to the lions?’  She replied: ‘Now the suffering is mine.  But when that happens, there will be someone else inside me suffering in my place, because I will be suffering for Him’ – the Spirit of Jesus.

Then there was the saintly Jesuit, Fr. Alfred Delp, who was executed by the Nazis in 1945, who wrote as follows: “Very often during the suffering and disturbance of these last few months, and bent down under the weight of violence, I have been conscious of peace and joy invading my soul with the victorious power of the rising sun”.  Joy and peace, of course, are fruits of the Holy Spirit.

St Peter, the first Pope, who died a martyr like e very single pope up to the fourth century, wrote to his fellow suffering Christians in Rome during the persecutions:

“My dear people, if you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed.  It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you will have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting in you” (1 Pet. 4:13)

Finally, the saintly Jewish-Christian pastor, Richard Wurmbrand, author of the best- selling book Tortured for Christ, would concur with St Peter’s sentiments when he wrote of his barbaric treatment at the hands of the Communists:

“One great lesson arose from all the beatings, torturing and butchery of the Communists: that the Spirit is master of the body.  Often when tortured, we felt the torturing, but it seemed as something distant and far removed from the spirit which was lost in the glory of Christ and His presence with us...... alone in my cell, cold, hungry and in rags, I danced for joy every night.  Sometimes I was so filled with the joy (of the Spirit) that I felt I would burst if I did not give it expression”. (22)

3.   SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST:

Jesus said that “he who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit”     (Jn. 15:5) – the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  Jesus also said that “he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in my and I abide in him”. (John 6:56).  In this same Chapter 6, Jesus tells us four times that if we do not eat the consecrated bread and wine, we do not have life in us, we cannot be saved, and states that “whoever eats me will draw life from me” (Jn. 6:57).

The life that Jesus imparts is not natural, but supernatural.  It elevates us to become sharers in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).  This is the doctrine of deification or divinization, and this extrao0rdinary participation in the divine life is a gift that comes to us through the sacraments (C.C.C. 1692).  It is especially in the Eucharist that we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity (C.C.C. 1129; 1996-2000) and this is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 13:2 shows the Holy Spirit working powerfully during the liturgy (leitourgeo) of the Eucharist. This Acts 13:2 can be translated: ‘while they were engaged in the liturgy (leitourgeo) of the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to them’.  In celebrating the Eucharist, the priest consecrates the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, invoking the Holy Spirit and holding his hands over the gifts to symbolise the Holy Spirit coming down (the epiclesis).

We are sanctified by the blood of Jesus: “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered... (Heb. 13:12).

Jesus, at the Last Supper, said: “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19).  He spoke this in Aramaic and this can be also translated: Every time you do this, you bring me back!  Perhaps this is the reason the lonely Apostles, and the community, after the Ascension of Jesus to Heaven, celebrated the Eucharist every day. (Acts 2:46)

If these chosen apostles needed the Eucharist regularly, then so do we.  To miss Mass deliberately on a Sunday is a mortal sin (1 Jn. 5:16), as there are 168 hours in a

week, and if we can’t afford one hour out of 168 for the Lord, then our faith is in serious jeopardy.  Keeping the Lord’s Day holy is one of the Ten Commandments and Jesus said “if you love me, keep my commandments”. (Jn.15:10)

B.  SACRAMENTS OF HEALING:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that these are (1) the sacrament of Reconciliation and (2) the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick (C.C.C. 1421).

1.  SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION (OR CONFESSION):

After the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, He appeared to His disciples, breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained”. (Jn.20:22)  Obviously, for the apostle to know what to forgive and what to retain, demands that the person confess audibly his sins and not confess them privately to God.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin so we can repent: ‘When the Spirit comes, he will convince the world of sin’ (Jn. 16:8) – so it can repent.  However, the sin against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven (Mk. 3:29) for we are not to grieve the Spirit         (Eph. 4:30) as some people have done who, having received the Holy Spirit and sacrament of initiation (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist) as well as the charismatic gifts, fall away from God” (cf. Heb. 6:4-5).  The shocking story of Ananias and Sapphira is a reminder of the danger of resisting or not co-operating with the Spirit. (Acts 5:1-11)  Jesus said that ‘the sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this age or in the age to come’ (Mt. 12:32)

2.  SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK:

     (Mk. 6:7-13; James 5:14-15)

This sacrament heals physically, emotionally and spiritually.  People with the charism of healing say that the greatest obstacle to a person being healed is lack of forgiveness.  It seems this is the greatest barrier to the healing work of the Holy Spirit.  This sacrament forgives sins committed by the sick who are anointed and so allows the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29) to work unhindered to heal the person, body and soul.

C.   SACRAMENTS OF VOCATION:

The two sacraments of vocation are the sacrament of Holy Orders, and the sacrament of marriage.  These invite the ordained and married couples to become icons of God in different ways.  (An icon in the sense of a person regarded as a representative symbol):

1.  SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY:

St Paul says it is a charism (1 Cor. 7:7).  The early Christian writing of about 250 A.D., the Didascalia, says “Through baptism the spouses receive the Holy Spirit, who is ever with those that work righteousness, and does not depart from them by reason of natural issues and the intercourse of marriage, but is ever and always with those who possess the Spirit and keeps them”.

St Ambrose (339 – 397 A.D.) describes marital intimacy between a man and his wife in the sacrament of marriage, as ‘holy communion’.  The Bible knows nothing of ‘recreational sex’.  The Law presupposes that sexual relations outside of marriage are unlawful: virginity is the proper state of unmarried persons (Isaiah 62:5).  The New Testament is adamant that fornication (sexual relations outside the Sacrament of Marriage) excludes one from the Kingdom of Heaven. (Eph. 5:3-5) The Bible condemns divorce (Malachi 2:16) and remarriage (Mt. 5:31; Mk. 10:9).  The Church teaches the Biblical doc trine of the two ends of marriage: unitive and procreative – that marriage is for sexual pleasure as well as the creation and raising of children for God and not for sinful contraception or abortion of the unborn. (CCC 2370)

The couple are called to work diligently for the sanctification of one another and their family – the domestic church, and embrace the vocation to marriage and family with a sense of mission.

2.  SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS:

Jesus said “You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48).  To be perfect or holy is to be separated from the profane or the worldly and be consecrated (or sanctified) – to be in the world, but not of the world.  (cf. Presbyt. Ordinis 12)

Priests are bound by a special reason to acquire this perfection.  They must be submissive to the impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit and who, because of their intimate union with Christ and their holiness of life, are able to say with St Paul: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).  Priests are to strive always towards the greater holiness that will make them daily more effective instruments for all God’s people (22). (P.O. Vat II, no. 12)

Pope John Paul II, commenting on St Paul’s assertion that those who do not marry ‘will do better’ (1 Cor. 7:38), said that this opinion was held by all tradition, but that the superiority of continence for the sake of the Kingdom of God does not mean a devaluation of marriage in any way (23) (Weekly Archivae, 7 April 1982).

Scott Hahn writes:

“The unmarried state is the most conducive to serving the Lord with undivided attention.  Paul highly recommended virginity to both men and women, although he did not require it of believers; he suggested that the unmarried are better suited to give of themselves completely to God than their married counterparts (1 Cor. 7:25-35; 1 Tim. 5:22)” (Catholic Bible Dictionary p.942)

Of course this discounts tartuffism, the practices of a hypocritical devotee for “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23)

POST CONFIRMATION:

After our Confirmation we should not get disappointed if we think nothing has happened or has changed in us for the Spirit can work in mysterious and hidden ways.  In the 4^th century, Messalians or false charismatics identified the grace of the Holy Spirit with a psychological experience – good vibes, nice feelings, consolations etc.  In opposing them the Fathers of the Church said that the Holy Spirit can act in a hidden, mysterious way – even when one is afflicted or desolate.  We should not rely on feelings, which go up and down, but should trust the promises of God – if we obey the Word of God then God will keep His promises to give us the Holy Spirit if we thirst for Him.  Paradoxically it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to obey the Word of God.

After our Confirmation we should go on praying that we may fan into flame the gift we received from the Holy Spirit when the Bishop laid hands on us.  Listen to St Paul: “That is why I am reminding you now to fan into flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the spirit of power, and Love and self-control.  So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord... bear the hardships for the sake of the good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy”. (2 Tim. 1:6-9)  St Paul also reminds Timothy – and us – “you have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you... when hands were laid on you; do not let it lie unused”. (1 Tim. 4:14)  These texts, of course, refer to ordination, but since we too had hands laid on us at confirmation, we can see them as referring to us, and the need to fan into flame the gift that God gave us at Confirmation.

‘DO NOT LET IT LIE UNUSED’:

In the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church, a sacrament can be ‘bound’ or ‘unreleased’, and revives once the obstacle is removed and a missing element of it supplied so that there is no longer any hindrance to the full enjoyment of the grace the sacrament gives. (24)

Fr Cantalmessa says that the clearest example of this is the sacrament of marriage or of priestly ordination received in the state of mortal sin.  Once repentance and confession have taken place, there is no need to repeat the rite; the sacrament revives and confers its grace.  In the case of the sacrament of baptism, the obstacle, of course, is not sin but the lack of personal, adult faith and commitment.

The same is true of Confirmation: there must be adult faith and commitment.  The Catechism says “By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.  With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer.  Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, ‘the obedience of faith’. (C.C.C. 143)  We must yield by faith the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals” (C.C.C. 154) like Abraham, Sarah, Moses etc.  Job gives us a remarkable example of faith when he says ‘even if God kills me, yet will I trust in Him’. (Job 13:15)

TOTAL SUBMISSION:

I personally believe that nothing really deeply happens in our spiritual life (and after confirmation) unless we make this personal commitment and total submission to Jesus, putting our hand to the plough and never looking back (Lk. 9:62) like the American Catholic writer, Rose Sweet.  She was a nominal Catholic until adversity and trouble came into her life.  An old saying states that “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity” and Rose Sweet was at her wit’s end.  She decided she had nothing more to lose, and so decided to commit her life entirely and unreservedly to Jesus.  She writes: “The words came silently on their own: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee... and I offered Him every area of my life.  In that act of surrender, I expected to feel differently, to hear bells, or to maybe sense the presence of angels.  There was nothing like that... little did I know that in that precious and intimate act of communion with God, I had conceived a new spiritual life and that little dying ember in my heart was beginning to fan into a blazing flame”.

“My non-Catholic friends had always encouraged me in my personal relationship with Jesus, but it was the Catholic Church who called me into full communion with His Body and the gifts of the sacraments.  In surrendering my heart to Christ, I willingly surrendered to His Church as well”.

“Immediately I began to have an insatiable hunger for a deeper knowledge of Scripture, of the Church’s teachings, and of the lives of the saints”. (25)

This wonderful new life in the Spirit is free for the asking – sincere asking – “If you seek me you will find me if you seek me with all your heart”. (Jer. 29:13)

Fr Cantalamessa says that this entails a personal decision : “Those who say, and mean ‘Jesus is Lord’, practically, are saying to Him ‘You are my Lord; I submit myself to You, I freely acknowledge that You are my saviour, my head, my master, the one who has every right over me’.  It is to give Jesus the reins of one’s own life”. (26)

REBELLION:

Unfortunately, in all of us, there lies a spirit of rebellion, preventing us from humility before God, holding us back from bending the knee before the mystery of God and the Church He established.  Modern man prides himself on his autonomy and hates to admit his dependence on One greater than himself. That’s why we need to “go on being filled with the Holy Spirit” everyday as  St Paul says (Eph 5:18), to daily exorcise this spirit of rebellion in our hearts and realign ourselves with the Father’s will. In a sense the deepest sin of all is our failure to let Christ rule our lives. Who is ruling my life, self or Christ? We need daily to be emptied of self and yielded to Christ day by day.

Countless Christians throughout the centuries have experienced new life by undergoing conversion.  “The Gospel has spoken of conversion as a decision and apostolic teaching has spoken of conversion as an awakening”. (27)  So whether it is an awakening of sacramental grace, appropriating the grace of baptism, the release of the Spirit or the fruit of prayer, the important thing is that it happens. (28)

Less felicitously, ex Anglican Archbishop, Bill Burnett of Cape Town, said: ‘Whatever it is, get it!’  The Holy Spirit, of course, is not an ‘it’, but a person.

In Matthew 13 Jesus gives us the parable of the ‘pearl of great price’.  This illustrates the zeal with which the Kingdom should be pursued.  It expresses the great value of the Kingdom, the joy that it brings, and the total commitment that it deserves.  To win the pearl of great price, we need to make this personal commitment and total submission of mind and heart to God ‘taking the Kingdom of God by force’ as Jesus says in Matthew 11:12.

Barclay says that no-one drifts into the Kingdom which only opens its doors to those who are prepared to make as great an effort to get in as men do when they storm a city.  Only the man in whom the violence of devotion matches and defeats the violence of persecution will in the end enter into it.  St Irenaeus, writing about the year 200 A.D., interprets this as meaning we need to storm heaven, take it by the force of prayer. (29)

Pope Pius XII interprets it in a similar way when he says we need “daily assiduous unremitting effort to our very last breath” to gain the Kingdom of Heaven. (30)

Gaining Heaven is not a cakewalk in the park, or a picnic. It involves a struggle. Jesus says “Strive to enter by the narrow gate” (Lk.13:22) as the gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear and many choose to travel it (Mt. 7:13).  ‘Strive’ comes from the same word as the English word ‘agony’ is derived.  The struggle to enter can be intense, it can be described as an agony of soul and body.

Quote:

“In our Christian growth poetry eventually replaces grammar, gospel replaces law, longing transforms obedience as gradually as the tide lifts a grounded ship.” (C.S. Lewis)

It is crucially important that conversion and filling by the Holy Spirit happen with the happiness it brings, because as Aquinas said “no-one can live without delight” in something.  Without delight in God our Christianity becomes “white knuckle” Christianity – we grit our teeth and clench our knuckles to fulfil our duty to God.  It becomes a religion of ‘must do’, fulfilling obligations to pray and worship with no delight in God, or relish for His will, ..... Like the first vineyard labourers (the Jews) in Jesus’ parable (Mt. 20:1f) whose religion was seen as a burden in the heat of the day and not delight in serving God as we find in the psalmist who delights in God’s law.

St Francis of Assisi said that when a person’s spirit is lukewarm and gradually cooling to the Spirit’s grace, flesh and blood needs seek their own.  What is left, when the soul finds no delights in God, but that the flesh turns to its kind.  And the animal appetite uses the argument of necessity as a pall or an excuse.  Then the carnal sense shapes a person’s conscience (31) so that what began in the Spirit can end up again in the flesh. (Gal. 3:1f)

As mentioned above, countless Christians throughout the centuries have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in becoming a new, happier person.  Here is a composite model drawn from a number of sources, putting together in one sequence the experiences of many.

CONVERSION: A COMPOSITE MODEL OF NEW LIFE IN THE SPIRIT:

Sarah was a nominal Christian teenager, and a rebellious phase had taken an ugly turn as Sarah got in with a bad crowd.  She was trying drugs, contemplating suicide and dabbling in witchcraft.  Though pretty enough, she suffered from that bane of many a girl’s existence: her looks.  Her devout Christian parents were frantic and enrolled her for a Christian weekend camp, storming the heavens for her conversion.

She attended the weekend reluctantly, and was desperately unhappy, envying the staff members at the camp who seemed happy, well-adjusted people.  She was prepared to give life a last chance and so listened attentively to all the talks.  These consisted of an overview of salvation history: God creating us in love, man’s fall into sinfulness, unhappiness and separation from God till Jesus came to save us from the great chasm that had opened between God and mankind, and His expectation that we give our lives to Him when He stands knocking for entrance.

CONVERSION:  Sarah, in spite of herself, was touched by the sincerity of the speakers and their testimonies, as they seemed sincere people without guile.  She now felt sorry that she had grieved Jesus and her loving parents, and felt convicted of her sin and selfishness in thinking only of herself instead of her anxious family and friends.  Convicted by the Spirit, she decided to go and make a general confession in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to rededicate her life to Jesus completely, as she was now convinced there was no one like Jesus and He deserved to be obeyed and followed.

The retreat over, she went home on the school bus which dropped her off outside her family flat.  Her parents anxiously scanned the bus windows for her face.  As she came off the bus she was beaming widely, or rather ‘glowing’, her delighted parents said later, as they mused on God’s amazing grace in turning their once rebellious, suicidal daughter to a young woman of grace, joy and peace – in just a weekend.  She felt as if she were a new being as she was now so happy and at peace with herself.

COMPASSION:  Sarah’s compassion for her poor, long suffering parents spilled over into love for the poor and the needy, so loved by God, as she discovered in her personal Bible study.  She began visiting the poor regularly to bring food and a word of encouragement. Once despairing, she was now a person of hope, abounding in hope, in fact, and she faced the future with joy and confidence, instead of as before, with fear and trepidation.

LIGHT:  Her inner life, which once seemed enveloped with darkness, now seemed bathed with light.  She said it was as if the light had suddenly been turned on and she could see things for the first time.  This inner life, which once seemed chaotic and depressing with a multitude of clashing interests, now seemed reconciled and at peace.

JESUS:  She attributed her new life to Jesus and became ‘bananas for Jesus’, seeing him in everybody and everything, especially in the beauty of creation.  The vast expanse of the sky which once filled her with dread, now filled her with love and awe for “in Him were created all things and He holds all things in being” (Col. 1:16).  All of nature seemed to point beyond itself to spiritual realities.  Nature was so transfigured by the presence of God that sometimes she felt like Eve in Paradise!  She found a poem by J.M. Plunkett, which captured this and stuck it on her wall:

            I see his blood upon the rose,

            And in the stars the glory of his eyes;

            His body gleams amid eternal snows,

            His tears fall from the skies.

            I see his face in every flower;

            The thunder and the singing of the birds

            Are but his voice and, carven by his power,

            Rocks are his written words.

            All pathways by his feet are worn,

            His strong heart stirs the even beating sea.

            His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,

His cross is every tree.

SACRAMENTS:  Church services (once boring) and the Sacraments, now came alive for her, especially Confession and the Eucharist, and she decided to attend Mass every day like the apostles in Acts 2.  The Eucharist was a source of great strength and consolation for her, and the demon that had troubled her for some time with thoughts of suicide quickly disappeared.

HUNGER FOR SCRIPTURE:  Sarah was delighted that she now had a ravenous appetite for Scripture, and read it on the bus to and from school, and in free periods at the school library, much to the amusement of her peers.  But peer pressure was now a thing of the past, and she shrugged off criticism with good humour.  Sarah discovered that some Scripture passages glowed on the pages as if addressed to her personally by God.  She was to discover later that those were rayma, or the individual Scriptures which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need.

Another fruit of the Spirit revealed to her was self-control, as she used to have a foul temper, and there was a mark on the kitchen door where she had thrown a metal object at her brother in anger, and missed!  Purity or chastity seemed so much easier now, she discovered, as the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness again and again.  Now she was in control of her body and passions, and not them in control of her.

GOD’S LOVE:  One night as she slept she heard ethereal music and had a profound experience of God’s love poured into her heart by the Holy Spirit, and once she experienced this tender love of God with “her heart throbbing and full” (Is. 60:5), she began to long for God as a deer for running streams.  This longing or thirsting for God grew to such a pitch that she wanted to be gone like St Paul to be with Christ. (Phil. 1:23)

Prayer became a hunger instead of something boring, and she spent a good deal of time engrossed in it in thanksgiving, praise and worship.

She once wrote in her spiritual journal:

“All my life long I had felt unloved.  The next day that feeling vanished entirely as I felt myself immersed in a new experience of the love of God, and from that day, it has never left me”.

HOLY TRINITY:  This experience included actually experiencing the Holy Trinity: the Fatherhood of God, the love of Christ and the power of Spirit.  Her feelings of self hate disappeared as she realised she was a beloved child of God, and this obviously did a lot for her self-esteem and self-confidence.  So much so that she would frequently repeat to herself the Psalm verse – ‘How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?’  In gratitude she wanted to give her whole life to loving and serving God and her neighbour.

TESTING:   But, she also had her pruning and testing, as Satan obviously is not pleased in losing a soul to the enemy – God.  Instead of feeling paranoid by Satan’s tricks (Eph. 6:11), she rebuked the evil one constantly and laughed at the proud creature’s “wiles”.

Sarah’s life was filled with an inner ardour from waking in the morning to going to bed at night, an ardour which lasted at least a year.  Satan, however, never gives up – she had overcome the grosser forms of sin, but was now tempted to pride and to feel occasionally superior to those not as spiritual as herself.

However, she was grateful to God for the first experience of exuberant joy which set her alight and more grateful for the subsequent modifications of that first joy which made her dip beneath mere experience to reality itself – God.  She had enjoyed the gifts of God and now sought more the God of gifts, and a closer walk or union with Him.  With an abiding trust in God she realised that “in everything God works for good with those who love Him”

 (Rom. 8:28)

Quote:

Raniero Cantalamessa says “at the beginning of a spiritual journey grace is experienced in gifts and great consolations so that a person may become more detached from the world and make a decision for God.  But afterwards, once a person is detached from the world, the Spirit urges that individual to go the “narrow way” of the Gospel, the way of mortification, obedience and humility” (32)

Quote:

“The God who made you without your co-operation will not save you without your co-operation.” (St Augustine)

It is important for us all at Confirmation to appropriate the wonderful gifts Jesus has won for us by His sacrifice, and to take our baptism seriously.  Pope Paul VI has stated that “today there is a very large number of baptised people who for the most part have not formally renounced their baptism, but who are living entirely indifferent to it” (Evangelisation no. 56).  He stated that many in the Church need to be evangelised for the first time!  Cardinal Suenens says that many Christians are over-sacramentalised, and Popes John Paul II and Francis said “if you are not evangelising others, you have not been evangelised yourself.”

BAPTISED PAGANS:

In the 1970’s, the 9^th European Catechumenate Conference at Mill Hill, London, had a paper on the possibility of some rite of re-initiation for those already baptised!  This is recognised by that doyen of U.S. Catholic orthodoxy, Fr James Kilgallon, in his best-seller, “Becoming a Catholic Even if You Happen to be One”.  Reviewing his book, Fr David Watson, a Catholic priest, said:  “Over the past twenty years, the Catholic Church has rediscovered the nature of Christian conversion.  This has left Church leaders with a major problem:  how to communicate the new vision to those people who already consider themselves Catholic.”  There are many socio / cultural Catholics in the Church who are there, not because they freely entered, but because of social or cultural reasons (for instance, “cradle Catholics”), Fr David Knight maintains.  “It must be personal and deep; not just a part of one’s social identification with others.  We don’t accept Jesus because our family does, or because it is taken for granted in the Church we grew up in.  I believe what is lacking in our understanding of religion is a clear recognition of the need every Christian has, at some point in his or her spiritual life to make a conscious, explicit, radical and affective act of acceptance of Jesus Christ,” Fr Knight states.  The Second Vatican Council has also stressed that the work of God accomplished in Christ should be received by people consciously, freely and gratefully, and shown forth in their whole lives (P.O.2).  It is obvious, says Fr Watson, that an individual encounter with the risen Christ accompanied by a reception of His Holy Spirit, has never actually taken place in the lives of many Christians.

The practical demands of the decision to totally surrender and follow Christ in the obedience of faith should, in the vision shown by the New Testament books, lead to a radical change in one’s life.

Quote:

“Every Christian soul, in its journey to God, treads Israel’s path: it breaks with the old way of life, it suffers a time of testing, it emerges purified”. (Jerusalem Bible)

As previously mentioned, Sarah’s story is a composite of the conversion experiences of different people, e.g. Fr Jock Dalrymple, Cassie Bernall (Columbine High School victim), Fr Bede Griffiths, Maria Orsala Bussone etc.  Sarah’s conversion was a process and did not all happen at once.  Pope Gregory the Great saw three stages in this process:  “in the beginning : the charms of sweetness; in the middle : the contests of temptation, and in the end, the fullness of perfection”.  The ‘contests of temptation’ include testing by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit may test us many times to see if we really mean business.  He may even call on us to surrender something in principle that He really does not want us to surrender in fact, but which He wants us to be willing to surrender (33).  Remember God testing Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac?

Quote:

Remember that our fathers were put to the test to prove their love of God.  Remember how our father Abraham was tested and became the friend of God after many trials and tribulations.  The same was true of Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all those who met with God’s favour.  They remained steadfast in the face of tribulations of every kind. (Judith 8:216)

“Our pilgrim life here on earth cannot be without temptation, for it is through temptation that we make progress and it is only by being tempted that we come to know ourselves.  We cannot win our crown unless we overcome, and we cannot overcome unless we enter the contest, and there is no contest unless we have an enemy, Satan, and the temptation he brings.”  (St Augustine)

The above four people all recorded their conversion experiences and that is how we know of their experiences.  It is a good thing for us also to record our experiences of God’s love and mercy in our own lives, otherwise we will forget, and if we forget, we will go back to our old ways, and perhaps be lost. (See Hebrews 6:4)

Quote:

“There are even times when through His operating grace the Holy Spirit enkindles temporarily an unwonted fervour of soul which is a kind of passing contemplation.  What fervent soul has not at times felt these sudden inspirations of grace when all it had to do was to receive the divine motion and follow it?  It may have been while reading the Gospels or some devout book, on the occasion of some Communion or of a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, at the time of some retreat or when making a choice of a state in life, at the time of ordination or religious profession, that is seemed to us that the grace of God sweetly and strongly carried us along.”  (A. Tanquerey,  The Spiritual Life No. 1314)

MAKING A CONSCIOUS ACT OF FAITH IN JESUS:

Quote:

“Since you have accepted Christ as Lord” (Col. 2:6)

Cardinal Dearden, at a Synod in Rome, said that our children are “in that secular society which makes the need for a passage from a Christianity of culture to a Christianity of choice”  (34).  Each one of us needs to make a personal, unconditional choice for Jesus and his body, the Church.  This is necessary in today’s world, as things have changed radically because of unbelief in the Church, and a lack of expectancy that we can, and should, experience God’s power, as was the case in past centuries of faith.

The Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church (1962-1965), which was a meeting of the Pope and Catholic bishops worldwide, spoke of ‘the need for each person to establish a personal relationship with God in Christ.’ (Ad Gentes No. 13), and every pope since has repeated this urgent call.

POPE PAUL VI:

Exhorts us to “make an explicit act of faith in Jesus Christ, Our Lord, that we might experience Christ in us:  and thus we invite all to make a living, profound, conscious act of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord” (Ecclesiam Suam No. 26)

POPE JOHN PAUL II:

“Open the doors of your heart and your life to Jesus, the true hero, humble and wise, the prophet of truth and love, the companion and friend of young people.  In Christ you will discover the greatness of your own humanity.  Christ has the answer to all your questions”.

“Only those who deeply know the Lord and are converted... who experience him personally, feel an irresistible desire to proclaim Him to everyone”. (Sunday Homily 28/2/90)

“Evangelisation involves a personal and profound meeting with the Saviour...  Conversion means accepting by a personal decision, the saving lordship of Christ and becoming His disciple”.

POPE BENEDICT XVI:

“Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est)

POPE FRANCIS:

“I invite all Christians to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ... to do this unfailingly each day”.  (The Joy of the Gospel, n.3)

“Being a Christian is an encounter with a person.” (The Joy of the Gospel, n.7)

Making an act of surrender to Christ is easy, Michael Cassidy, the South African evangelist, says, and that “this is an act of receiving Jesus into our lives... to be even more Biblically accurate at this point, we should say that we receive the Spirit of Jesus.  Acts 16:7) (35)

A young Catholic student in America, Levi Matus, gives us an example.  For Levi, God’s response was immediate, but it is not so always.

“I prayed, “Jesus, if you’re real and you love me, then I’m sorry for what I’ve done.  Please show me your love.”

Almost immediately I felt a sense of peace, love, and joy wash over me.  I knew instantly that it was Jesus, his Holy Spirit.  After that my life changed.  I no longer felt like I needed the approval of others.  I knew that when times got hard I could always rely on Jesus and his love for me.

He gave me a strength to carry on when times were difficult and a courage to stand up for my faith when I felt drawn to compromise to gain the support of others.

Yet things were never easy.  I still struggle, but I’ve always been able to rely on Christ for my strength.

Looking back at my past I had plenty of religion teachers in my life.  All of them approached the topic of religion and faith as a fact to be memorised and learnt so that I could be tested on it later.  (36)

Pope John Paul II would probably agree with this young Catholic’s views on religion in catechism class:

Pope John Paul II has stated on a visit to Lituania:

“Catechism teaching must help people to meet Jesus Christ; to talk to Him and immerse themselves in Him.  Without this lively meeting with Jesus, Christianity becomes a lot of religious traditions with no soul.  This soulless religion cannot defend the precious faith of a child against the attractions of the world, or other religions.  This meeting with Jesus is not taught or produced by dry lessons alone, but rather ‘caught’ by the power of a living witness”.

(29.9.99)

Jesus said, ‘Behold I make all things new’ (Rev. 21.5), as we saw above, and that includes boring catechism classes at Sunday School.

The theologian, Raniero Cantalamessa, says that:

“The Holy Spirit, who makes all things new, can renew the dogmas of the Church.  The Spirit does not make new things: rather, the Spirit makes things new.  The Spirit does not give us new dogmas about Christ, but rather makes the old dogmas new, making them a pertinent reality effectively at work today, as much as they were in ancient times.  Kierkegaard wrote: ‘The dogmatic terminology of the primitive Church is like an enchanted castle where, locked in slumber, lie the handsomest of princes and the loveliest of princesses.  They only need to be aroused, for them to leap to their feet in all their glory’.  The Holy Spirit is the only one who can wake them from their age-long slumber.” (37)

CONTINUING IN THE NEW SPIRITUAL LIFE:

“Go on making more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants”. (1 Th. 4:1)

“Let your present state always leave you dissatisfied if you want to become what you are not yet.  For whenever you feel satisfaction, then you will stop.  Say that it ‘is enough’ you are lost.  You must always look for more, look beyond make progress”.

The American Life in the Spirit Seminars, and the British Alpha Programme have helped many Christians to come into a deeper life in the Holy Spirit, by being ‘baptised in the Spirit’.’ Fr Francis Sullivan S.J., in Charisms and Charismatic Renewal says that Luke has used “as synonyms for ‘baptise in the Spirit’, ‘to send’, ‘to pour out’, ‘to give the Spirit’; equivalent expressions for ‘being baptised in the Spirit’ are ‘being clothed with’, ‘receiving’, ‘being filled with’ and having the Spirit ‘come’ or ‘fall upon one’.  To say that Jesus ‘baptises’ in the Holy Spirit then is simply a biblical metaphor for saying that He sends or gives us the Spirit.  To be ‘baptised in the Spirit’ is to receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or more literally, to receive the gift of the Spirit,” Fr Sullivan maintains.

St Paul commands us in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Spirit or go on being filled with the Spirit.  Paul uses the imperative mood – it is a command or obligation to go on being filled again and again by the Spirit all though our lives.  There are many fillings with the Spirit.

Nicky Gumbel of the Alpha Programme writes that “being filled with the Spirit is not a one-off experience. Peter was filled with the Spirit three times in the space of chapters 2-4 in the Book of Acts (Acts 2:4; 8, 31)”.  (38)

Alan Schreck, in his book Catholic and Christian, says that to speak of the “baptism in the Spirit” is misleading if it implies there is only one event in a person’s life that could be properly called by that name.  God can pour out the Holy Spirit in a new and significant way many times in a person’s life if He wishes.  The first time that this happens to a person is often the most dramatic, Schreck says, because it can be experienced by the person as a totally “new thing”. He says that God can and does pour out this Holy Spirit many times in a person’s life, often in response to faith-filled prayer.  Fr Sullivan agrees and says he is convinced that “there will never be a time during our pilgrimage on earth when the Lord could not give us a powerful new gift of His Spirit that would really move us into some new act or new state of grace”.

The person who is truly “Spirit-filled” is one who “lives” and “walks” by the Holy Spirit; who has put to death the “works of the flesh” and manifests the “fruits of the Spirit”.  This is what it means to be a “new creation” in Christ Jesus - “the old has passed away – behold, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17).

But the New Testament sounds a warning note – a rather frightening one about Christians who fall away from this wonderful new life in the Spirit (Heb. 6:3-8 and 2 Pet. 2:20-22)

“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and yet fall away” (Heb. 6:3-8)  The Ignatius Bible says: “even a baptized Christian can forfeit salvation and end up cursed rather than blessed 6:8.  This dreadful prospect is noted elsewhere in Hebrews 10:26-31 and 12:15-17”.

“And when a person has escaped from the wicked ways of the world by learning about our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and then gets tangled up with sin and becomes its slave again, he is worse off than he was before.  It would be better if he had never known about Christ at all, than to learn of Him and then afterwards turn his back on the holy commandments that were given to him”. (2 Pet. 2:20)

St Peter says that we should work valiantly to make God’s call, and His choice of us a permanent experience, and if we do so we will never fall away (2 Pet. 1:10).  So, in our spiritual life, if we do not avoid what the Bible calls ‘occasions of sin’ (Ezek. 18:30), we endanger our chances of remaining alive in the Spirit and can lose the Spirit’s anointing altogether.  In fact, if we do not progress, we regress or backslide.

There are four practices we need in our lives in order to grow and persevere:

Prayer, Community, Study and Service.

PRAYER:                                

We should spend time with the Lord in prayer every day.  Personal relationships do not grow without two people spending time together, so we have to spend time with the Lord to grow in our relationship with Him.  When we pray, we talk to God; when we read the Scriptures, He talks to us.  But we need some silence in our lives to hear God speak and get to know him more deeply: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).  We need to set aside time every day for prayer and scripture reading – for a “quiet time” with God. (See Appendix on “Praying with the Bible”.

COMMUNITY:

Many Christians are accustomed to viewing salvation in individualistic terms whereas Jesus intended us to live as a community.  It was not for nothing that Jesus lived always surrounded by companions and only sought solitude to be able to return refreshed to the company of His companions.  Hal Miller contends that the Great Jerusalem Commune (Acts 2:42-44) was not just a “freak” thing, but was meant to be an essential way of life for all Christians.

Often we don’t find community ready-made.  We often have to uproot like Abraham and step out in faith not knowing where God is leading us.  The Seminars warn us that “the Lord does not want us to leave the Church, but to become more active members of it”.  Pray and work with the Holy Spirit to build a community with other Catholics in your parish who are also seeking the same experience of faith.

STUDY:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching people to be holy”   (2 Tim. 3:15).

Study of our faith is one of the fundamental means of growth.  If a baby is to grow properly, it must have the right food.  If we are to grow strong in the Christian life, we also need the right kind of nourishment.  God in His love and wisdom has given us this food in the Bible – especially in the gospels.  Our knowledge and love for Him will grow as we find out more about Him.  As Catholics we interpret the Old Testament in the light of the New, and the New Testament in the light of the early Fathers of the Church and the magisterium.

Our friendship with Jesus will deepen as we spend time listening when He speaks to us.  Our faith in Him will grow stronger as we discover more of His power and love.  In the act of surrender to God, we suspend all our previous notions, beliefs and values, and re-think the whole of life according to the mind of Christ and His teachings.

SERVICE:

Every Christian is saved to serve.  Faith without good works is dead (James 2:26).  We are disciples and servants of Christ.  Our one aim in life should be to please and serve Christ.. We can serve Him at home by being helpful, thoughtful, patient and loving.  The home is not an easy place in which to be a Christian, because we are known only too well, and so it is the place in which to begin.

Of course, “charity begins at home”, but it does not stay there.  We need to be in active service at work too.  People will watch us like hawks to see if our lives back up what we say with our lips.   We should be prepared to put our body where our mouth is!  We are exhorted by St Paul over 164 times to do everything “in Christ”, including our work: “Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as if it were for the Lord and not for men” (Col. 3:22ff).  As we work at doing everything “in Christ”, we learn to pray all the time as Jesus exhorted us to do.  This can bring a great and abiding sensed of joy as nothing seems irrelevant to our life with God.  If we are exhorted to do all our work in Christ, then if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well and efficiently.  We should be honest in all our dealings.  We should keep calm when our faith is attacked or laughed at.  We should be ready to speak out at injustice or racial discrimination.  Obviously, if we live alone we tone down our moral stance as loneliness amplifies our fears and worries, whereas in a community these are minor matters.  We should always be ready to share with others what Christ means to us when an opportunity arises, but always with courtesy and consideration.

Of course, we should use any charismatic gift we have received for building up the Body of Christ, the Church.

TRANSFORMATION, SANCTIFICATION, BEING MADE HOLY:

Do not be conformed but transformed by the renewal of your mind (Rom. 12:2).  “And all of us, with our unveiled faces like mirrors reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the image that we reflect in brighter and brighter glory; this is the work of the Lord who is the Spirit”. (2 Cor. 3:18)

In the Bible transformation means “change or renewal from a life that no longer conforms to the ways of the world to one that pleases God” (Romans 12:2).  This is accomplished by the renewing of our minds, an inward transformation that will manifest itself in outward actions.  The Bible presents the transformed life in Christ as demonstrated through our “bearing fruit in every good work (and) growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).  Transformation involves those who were once far from God being “drawn near” to Him through the blood of  Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

Moreover, evidence of transformation within us is seen in the way we increasingly reflect the likeness and glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

NOT OPTIONAL:

Transformation is not optional, for the Christian, Ralph Martin, maintains.  He says that “the source of all our unhappiness and misery is sin and its effects, and the sooner the purification of sin and its effects can take place in our life, the happier we will be and the better able to truly love others.  Only then will we be able to enter into the purpose God has for our life.  Truly, in this case, better sooner than later.

And finally, it’s important to realize that there is only one choice; either to undergo complete transformation and enter heaven, or be eternally separated from God in hell.  There are only two ultimate destinations, and if we want to enter heaven we must be made ready for the sight of God.  Holiness isn’t an “option”.  There are only saints in heaven; total transformation is not an “option” for those interested in that sort of thing, but is essential for those who want to spend eternity with God.

Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.  (Heb. 12:14)

The whole purpose of our creation, the whole purpose of our redemption is so that we may be fully united with God in every aspect of our being.  We exist for union; we were created for union; we were redeemed for eternal union.  The sooner we’re transformed the happier and the more “fulfilled” we’ll be.  The only way to the fulfilment of all desire is to undertake and complete the journey to God.

In the Old Testament it was clear that to actually see God in our untransformed human condition was to be destroyed.

Then Moses said, “Do let me see your glory!”  God answered, “I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, “LORD”; I who show favours to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will.  But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives.” (Ex. 33:18-20, NAB)

It is only Jesus who sees the face of the Father, and it is through Jesus that we can be made ready to share in His vision of the Father.  It is through our union with Jesus, our contemplation of His “face,” that we are, little by little, transformed and made ready for the beatific vision, which is so much more than what we commonly understand as “seeing”; it is indeed a participation in the ecstatic knowing and loving of the Trinity, a participation in Love itself.”

Martin says that over the centuries various attempts have been made to classify the stages of the spiritual journey to God and the predominant classification is the three-stage division of purgative, illuminative and unitive:

“In brief, the purgative stage or way includes the initial phases of the spiritual life, including coming to conversion, turning away from sin, bringing one’s life into conformity with the moral law, initiating the habit of prayer and the practices of piety, and maintaining a relatively stable life in the Church.

The illuminative stage is one of continuing growth.  It is characterized by deeper prayer, growth in the virtues, deepening love of neighbour, greater moral stability, more complete surrender to the lordship of Christ, greater detachment from all that is not God, and increasing desire for full union.  It is accompanied by various kinds of trials and purifications and sometimes by great consolations and blessings, including what are commonly referred to as “mystical phenomena”.

The unitive stage is one of deep, habitual union with God, characterized by deep joy, profound humility, freedom from fears or suffering or trials, great desire to serve God, and apostolic fruitfulness.  The experience of the presence of God is almost continual; great insight into the things of God is experienced; and while not without suffering, suffering now becomes primarily the grace of sharing in the redeeming suffering of Christ rather than the suffering of purification.  This deep, habitual union is variously described as a “spiritual marriage” or “transforming union.”  (39)

Once again it is necessary to emphasise that transformation in Christ is not an optional extra.  Without it we will not have the wherewithal to dwell in heaven.  As Martin says above, seeing God in our untransformed human condition was to be destroyed.

In Matthew 22 in the Parable of the Wedding Feast of heaven, not having wedding garments (the garment of transformation) was to be excluded.  In early Christian symbolism the butterfly represented the Resurrection and baptism.  The butterfly has three phases during its life: the caterpillar which seems to eat continually and be pre-occupied with its physical needs.  Secondly the cocoon or chrysalis stage, and thirdly, the butterfly.  Some people, like the caterpillar, never seem to move beyond the caterpillar stage and material needs, and without the dying to self or entombment stage, they never receive the wings to soar above the earth to heavenly realities.  No transformation, no transcendence!

The unitive stage is the precursor to complete union with God in heaven.  In the unitive stage St Paul can say: “I live now not I but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20) and “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).  So if we can’t say ‘to live is Christ’, then we won’t be able to say either ‘to die is gain’!  Dying to self, growing in Christ is the way to eternal life and happiness.  Although death gradually overtakes our body (outer man) through privations, injuries and aging, our soul (inner man) is increasingly enlivened by the Holy Spirit.               (2 Cor. 4:16): “Though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day”.

The famous composer, Mozart, certainly could say that ‘to die is gain’, as we can see from a very edifying letter he wrote to a friend before his early death: “as death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years much closer relations with this best and truest friend of mankind, so that his image is no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling.  And I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness.  I never lie down at night without reflecting that – young as I am – I may not live to see another day.  Yet no-one of all my acquaintances could say that in company I am morose or disgruntled.  For this blessing I daily thank my Creator and wish with all my heart that each one of my fellow creatures could enjoy it”. 

REFERENCES

1.             D. Wilkerson, A Christless Pentecost, 1982.

2.             Fr Raniero Cantalamessa Ofm Cap, Come Creator Spirit, p.63.

3.             cf. Peter Wagner, Your Spiritual Gifts, Regal Books, p.259f.

4.             p. Wagner, pp.63, 91.

5.             Divine Office I, p.484.

6.             Ralph Martin, Will Many Be Saved?, Servant, Ann Arbor, p.32.

7.             Judith Tydings, Gathering A People : Saints In A Charismatic Perspective, Logos Inc N.Y. 1977, p.i.

8.             R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication of the Spirit, Vol I, p.41.

9.             R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication of the Spirit, Vol 2, p.14.

10.          Derek Prince, The Teaching Legacy, Vol XV, Issue 5.

11.          R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication, Vol I, p.37

12.          Alexis Fabrizio, Jane Austen and the Religion of Her Time, p.33 www.

13.          R. Cantgalamessa, The Meaning and The Fruits of Baptism in the Spirit, International Colloquium

(ICCRS) 17.3.2011

14.          Ibid.

15.          R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication II, p.14.

16.          R. Cantalamessa, Come Creator Spirit : Meditations on the Veni Creator, p.107.

17.          Nicky Gumbel, Questions of Life (Alpha), p.150/1.

18.          K. McDennell & George Montagne, Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit : Evidence from

                The First Eight Centuries, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, p.1991.

19.          R. Cantalamessa, Come Creator Spirit, p.54.

20.          Scott Hahn, Signs of Life, p.33.

21.          Michael Tynan, Catechism for Catholics, Four Courts Press, Dublin 1983, p.44.

22.          R. Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ, Hodder, 1967, p.41.

23.          Weekly Audience, 7/4/1982.

24.          R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication Vol I, p.41f.

25.          Matthew Pinto, Freedom : Twelve Lives Transformed by the Theology of the Body, Ascension Press 2009, p.6f.

26.          R. Cantalamessa, Colloquium, p.11.

27.          R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication Vol II, p.16.

28.          cf. Ralph Martin, The Urgency of the New Evangelisation, O.S.V. 2013, p.55.

29.          A.J.M. Maysolfe, Saint Companions, St Paul’s, p.215.

30.          Divine Office III, p.104*.

31.          Thomas of Celano, Second Life, No.69.

32.          R. Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication Vol I, p.71.

33.          W. Graham, The Holy Spirit, Nelson 1978, p.144.

34.          Southern Cross, 9/12/90.

35.          Michael Cassidy, Chasing the Wind, p.165.

36.          Alive, May 2014, No.200.

37.          R. Cantalamessa, Come Creator Spirit, p.364.

38.          Nicky Gumbel, Questions of Life, p.174. 

39.          Ralph Martin, The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God based on the Wisdom of Saints,       Emmaus Road, Steubenville, Ohio, 2006.    

Appendix 1

PRAYER FOR THE RELEASE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

”.... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth. (Acts1:8)

Come Holy Spirit, and fill me with the fire of Your love.  I want to be filled with Your Spirit.  I need Your power in my life.  Please come, and fill me now.  You are the vine and I am a branch of the vine.  All that you are is within me.  My life flows from You.  I believe that as I yield and ask, You will release Your gifts in me, which I received in the Sacrament of Confirmation, but which often remain unused within me: the gifts of wisdom and understanding, counsel and fortitude, knowledge and piety and reverence for the Lord.  I need these gifts in my life, to grow as a Christian.  I need them to witness to a hurting world.  Only in Your power, guided by Your Spirit, can my life be fruitful.  Holy Spirit come.  Holy Spirit, come.  I want it all, wrapped in the greatest gift of all: love. “... the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).  AMEN.

Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me.  Give me opportunities to use Your gifts to reveal Your love and mercy.  Stretch me, Lord.  Holy Spirit expand my capacity.  Work in me in a powerful way.  I want every purpose God has for my life to be fulfilled, and I need You, mighty Spirit of God, to bring that purpose to fulfilment.  Come, Holy Spirit.  Come.  AMEN.

As You flow through me to minister to others, I know that You are flowing within me to heal my life too.  Flood the deep places of my life with Your electric love.  Wash and cleanse any wounds and scars from the past that still have the power to dominate my thoughts and suppress my physical and emotional freedom.  Bring light into the shadows, and warmth to any cold, dark rooms in my soul.  Compassionate Holy Spirit come and draw out the uncried tears, the unfinished grieving, the pain of loss, the traumas, the fear, the emotional hurts so painful that they are “buried inside me”.  Spirit of Wisdom come into the root cause of any chronic failures.  Gentle Holy Spirit, walk through my early years and face the past with me.  Remind me that the love of Jesus was always there, filling in the gap between the love I needed and the love I received.  AMEN.

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for Your presence with me, flowing freely in me and through me.  Thank You for being my friend, my teacher, my comforter, my counsellor, my intercessor, my healer, and the giver of extraordinary gifts.  Holy Spirit, free me.  Holy Spirit, empower me.  I praise You.  I thank You.  I adore You.  AMEN.

Take some quiet time to thank the Holy Spirit in your heart for any specific graces He has given to you.

To invite the Holy Spirit to come, close your eyes and sing:”Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me/us. (x2).  Break me/us, melt me/us, mould me/us, fill me/us.  Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me/us.”

(Rom 5:5, Joel 2:28, Mt 3:11, Lk 11:13, Jn 14:26, Gal 4:6, 1 Cor 2:13, Jn 16:13,  Rom 8:11, Zec4:6, Acts 2:2, Rom 8:9, 1 Cor 3:16, Is 55:1, Mt 25:35-36, Mt 10:8,       1 Peter 4:10)

The above prayer is my adaptation of Linda Schubert’s prayer for the Release of the Holy Spirit in her booklet “Miracle Hour” page 14-16 : Fr Dominic Hession O.F.M.

OTHER PRAYERS:

THE MIRACLE PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I come before you, just as I am.  I am sorry for my sins, I repent my sins, please forgive me.  In your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me.  I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works.  I give you my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever.  I invite you into my life, Jesus, I accept you as my Lord, God and Saviour.  Heal me, change me, strengthen me, in body, soul and spirit.  Come Lord Jesus, cover me with your precious blood and fill me with your Holy Spirit.  I love you Lord Jesus.  I praise you Jesus.  I thank you Jesus.  I shall follow you every day of my life.  Amen.  Mary my mother, Queen of Peace, all the Angels and Saints please help me.  Amen.

(Say this prayer faithfully, no matter how you feel. When you come to the point where you sincerely mean each word with all your heart, something good spiritually will happen to you.  You will experience Jesus and HE will change your whole life in a very special way).  (Fr P. Rookey OSM)

Lord, fulfil your promise.

Send your Holy Spirit to make us witnesses before the world to the Good News proclaimed by Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

(RC, Opening Prayer of the Confirmation Mass : ICEL)

Lord, I want more of your Holy Spirit.  Activate aspects of His work that have been dormant in my life.  Bring me into a deeper relationship with you.  Give me greater zeal to be a witness for you and live a life of prayer, love, and service.  Pour out your Holy Spirit on the whole Church!  We need you Lord!  Come!

(Ralph Martin)

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

I am going to reveal to you a secret of sanctity and happiness.  For five minutes every day quieten your imagination, close your eyes to everything visible and your ears to all external sounds and withdraw into the sanctuary of your baptised soul which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  There, speak to the Holy Spirit and say:-

O Holy Spirit,

soul of my soul,

I adore you.

Enlighten,

guide,

strengthen and console me.

Tell me what I ought to do

and command me to do it.

I promise to submit to everything

that you ask of me

and to accept all

that you allow to happen to me.

Just show me what is your will.

If you do this your life will be happy and serene.  Even in the midst of troubles you will experience great consolation, for grace will be given to strengthen and help you to cope with every difficulty.  This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.   (Cardinal Mercier)

APPENDIX

THE NEW MAN:

When man accepts the Spirit of Christ, he establishes a way of life that is totally new and gratuitous.

The Holy Spirit, present in the soul of the Christian, makes him a partaker of the divine nature and intimately unites him to the Father and Christ in a communion of life which not even death can break (cf. Jn 14:23).  The Holy Spirit heals man of his spiritual weaknesses and infirmities, frees him from the slavery of his passions and of immoderate self-love by giving him power to keep the divine law, strengthens him with hope and fortitude, enlightens him in the pursuit of the good, and infuses in him the fruits of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, longanimity, humility, fidelity, modesty, continence, and chastity (cf. Gal 5:22-23).  This is why the Holy Spirit is invoked as the guest of the soul.

Justification from sin and God’s indwelling in the soul are a grace.  When we say a sinner is justified by God, is given life by the Holy Spirit, possesses in himself Christ’s life, or has grace, we are using expressions which in different words mean one and the same thing, namely dying to sin, becoming partakers of the divinity of the Son through the Spirit of adoption, and entering into an intimate communion with the Most Holy Trinity.

The man belonging to the history of salvation is the man ordered to the grace of filial adoption and to eternal life.  Christian anthropology finds its own proper character in the grace of Christ, the Saviour.

From:  The General Catechetical Directory (1971)

NOVENA OF PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

NOVENA:  Nine days of public or private prayer made in preparation for a feast or for special graces.  This is in imitation of the Apostles who prayed for nine days from Ascension Thursday to the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost.

We read in Acts I that after Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, Mary and several women, the Apostles and disciples walked down the Mount, over the Kidron Valley up to Mount Zion to the Upper Room where Jesus had celebrated the Last Supper. There they remained “in continuous prayer” for nine days (the first novena) until they were “clothed with power from on high”. (Luke 24:29)

In Ephesians 4 St Paul, in talking of the Ascension of Jesus says “When he ascended to the heights... he gave gifts to men”. (v.8) He says that each of us has received “a special gift” (v.7). St Paul, writing to Timothy re ordination, tells him  “to fan into flame the gift that God gave you” (2 Tim. 1:6) and “you have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when hands were laid on you, do not let it lie unused”. (1 Tim. 4:14)  The same could be said to us having hands laid on us at Confirmation by the Bishop.

This is the purpose of this novena of prayer: to pray for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. In Eph. 5:18 St Paul commands us to go on and on being filled with the Holy Spirit – not once, but again and again. St Peter was filled with the Spirit 3 times we read in Acts (2:4; 4:8,31). Paul in Ephesians used the imperative mood – it is a command or obligation to go on being filled again and again by the Spirit all through our lives. There are many fillings with the Spirit.  All we need to do to receive the ‘living waters’ of the Spirit is to thirst. (See John 7:37-39; 1:33 & 1 Cor. 12:13; Rev. 21:6; 22 : 1; 22:17)

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

Instructions for use:

1.         Prayer, ‘Come Holy Spirit

2.         Prayer of the Day.

3.         Fiat Prayer

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.

V:  Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.

R:  And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let Us pray:

O God, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same spirit we may always be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen

LOVE             1^st day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of love. Help me to love you so much that I will always be grateful for all that you have given me and done for me. Help me always to remember that YOU gave me life and everything that makes life worth living, and most of all that you gave me Jesus to be my Saviour, my Model, my Lord and my Friend. Help me to love my fellowmen so much that I will no longer be self-centred, but will find the way to happiness in doing things for others. This I ask in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

JOY                           2^nd day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of joy. Help me always to be happy and cheerful. Help me still to smile, even when things go wrong, knowing that you are Lord of my circumstances. Help me always to look on the bright side of things, so that I don’t grumble and complain. Don’t let me be a pessimist and a wet blanket. And help me to find my happiness, not in doing what I want, but in doing what you want. Give me a spirit of praise, a sense of awe and wonder, and a prayerful heart. May my faith in You bring me Easter joy always. I ask this through Jesus Christ, my Lord.  Amen.

PEACE                      3^rd day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of peace. Help me not to worry, but to take things as they come, a day at a time. Help me not to be timid and nervous, but to keep cool when I have something difficult or important to do, trusting in your power always. Keep me calm and steady, so that I will never be shaken in my faith, and so that others may be able to rely on me when they are up against it. This I ask for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

PATIENCE               4^TH day

O God, give me the fruit of patience. Help me to have patience at my work and in my enterprises so that I will never give in but always persevere. Help me to have patience with people, so that I may never lose my temper and never grow cross or irritable or blaze into angry words. Help me not to give up when something takes a long time to do, and when it does not come out right the first time or the second time. Help me to keep trusting in your grace. Let the joy and peace you have given me express itself in difficult times in the virtue of patience. This I ask, in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

KINDNESS              5^th day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of kindness. Make me quick to see what I can do for others, and make me eager and willing to do it. Make me always obliging and willing to lend a hand. Help me never to be mean or selfish, but always to be ready to share whatever I have, even if I do not possess very much. Help me never to speak unkind words and never to do cruel deeds. Help me to think the best of others, and always to be willing to forgive rather than to condemn. This I ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

GOODNESS 6^th day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of goodness. Help me to be, in everything I do and say, a good example to others. Keep my words honest, pure and sincere. Keep my actions fit for you to see, and help me never to keep anything that I would need to keep secret. Keep all my thoughts clean and honest and grant me the grace to be humble, may I offer a smile to everyone. In everything keep me from pride and from self-conceit; and help me to do at least one good deed every day. Hear this, my prayer, for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

FAITHFULNESS     7^TH day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of faithfulness. Keep me always true to myself, true to my friends, true to those who love me, and true to you. Grant that nothing may ever make me tell a lie of any kind, whether by exaggeration or understatement. If I say that I will do something, grant that others may be able to rely absolutely on me to do it. Help me always to stand by my friends and never to let them down; and help me never to grieve or disappoint those who love me and those whom I love. Make me faithful in my duties within and outside the family, in my personal prayer, my study of God’s Word, my use of the charisms, my service of the parish and of society, and my work. This I ask through Jesus Christ my Lord.  Amen.

GENTLENESS        8^th day

O God, give me in my life, the fruit of gentleness. Help me never to speak an angry word, and never to hurt or wound any person or any animal. Help me not to be rough, stern or severe in my behaviour with others, but compassionate towards all. Make me specially gentle and thoughtful with those who are sick, sad, old, weak and easily hurt. This I ask, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

SELF-CONTROL    9^th day

O God, give me in my life the fruit of self-control. Please take control of me, so that I am controlled by your love alone. Help me always to control my temper, my tongue, my feelings and my impulses. Grant that I may never be swept away in a moment of anger or passion. Help me to control my thoughts, so that no bitter or unclean thought stays in my mind. Help me overcome habits of self-abuse, smoking, alcoholism, and all immorality. Help me to control my impulses and passions wisely, not by repressing them, but by channelling them to works of mercy. I make this prayer in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

FIAT PRAYER

Most Holy Spirit, help us, in union with Mary, to relive the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries of Jesus. Grant that we may be inspired by the faith of our Baptism, nourished by the Eucharist, renewed in the grace of Pentecost; so as to live in word and deed, always and everywhere, as faithful witnesses of Christ and of the love of His Divine Heart.  Amen

PRAYERS YOU CAN SAY

1. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your  faithful, and enkindle in them the  fire of your love.  V. Send forth your Spirit and they  shall be  created,  R. And you shall renew the face of the  earth. Let us pray    O God, who by the light of the    Holy  Spirit, did instruct the hearts of  your faithful,  grant  that by the same  Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise, and  ever  rejoice in his consolation, through  Christ our Lord, Amen.

2. Let us Pray, Father, your Son Jesus Christ has told us that no father would give his son a stone if he asked for bread, or a snake if he asked for a fish, or a scorpion if he asked for an egg. And if we who are evil know how to give to our children what is good, then how much more will you Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. (Lk 11) Father your servant Luke has told us that Peter was filled again and again by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4, 4:8,31) and your Apostle Paul commands us to go on being filled with the Spirit. (Eph.5:18) Father, we your children, wait for what you have promised – for power from on high. Lord fill us again with the Spirit to convict us of sin, give us the Fruits  and Charisms of the Spirit and so by our lives glorify your son Jesus that he might have pre-eminence in all things for He is Lord for ever and ever. AMEN

3. The Miracle Prayer By Fr Peter Rookey. O.S.M.

Lord Jesus I come before you, just as I am, I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I give you my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever. I invite you into my life Jesus, I accept you as my Lord, God and Saviour. Heal me, change me, and strengthen me in body, soul and spirit. Come Lord Jesus, Cover me with your precious blood, and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I love you Lord Jesus. I praise you Jesus. I thank you Jesus. I shall follow you every day of my life. Amen

Say this prayer faithfully, no matter how you feel, when you come to the point

where you sincerely mean each word, with all your heart, something good

spiritually will happen to you.

You will experience Jesus, and He will change your whole life in a very special way.

Appendix 2

FROM THE RISING OF THE SUN TO ITS SETTING,

GREAT IS THE NAME OF THE LORD  (Psalm 113:3)

“What is more blessed than that a person as soon as day dawns should rise and pray and worship his Creator with hymns and canticles?  And as day begins to brighten to take up our labours, uniting them everywhere to prayer, and with hymns, as with salt, give flavour to our toil.  For the solace of hymns brings with it a cheerful and untroubled state of mind”. (St Basil the Great. b.329)

            MORNING GLORY

            “In the morning you shall see the glory of God”.  (Ex. 16:7)

            “Each morning He wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple.  (Is. 50:4)

“To give you thanks Lord, we must rise before the sun and pray to you when the light begins to dawn”.  (Wisdom 16:28)

*Jerusalem Bible Footnote:  “Such was the Jewish practice”.

“At dawn and with all his heart man resorts to the Lord who made him; he pleads in the presence of the most High.  He opens his mouth in prayer and makes entreaty for his sins”.  (Ben Sirach 39:6)

“The favours of the Lord are not all past nor his kindness exhausted; they are new every morning for great is his faithfulness”. (Lamentations 3:22)

“Lord have pity on us, we hope in you.  Be our strong arm each morning, our salvation in time of distress”.  (Is. 33:2)

“I say this prayer to you Lord, for at daybreak you listen for my voice, and at dawn I hold myself in readiness for you. I watch for you”.  (Ps. 5:3)

*Jerusalem Bible Footnote:  “The morning is regarded as the time of God’s favour”.

“Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love Him, give thanks to his holy name. His anger lasts a moment, his favour all through life.  At night there are tears but joy comes with dawn”. (Ps. 30:5)

“As for me I will sing of your strength and each morning acclaim your love, for you have been my stronghold, a refuge in the day of my distress”.  (Ps. 90:14)

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to make music to your Name O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night”.  (Ps. 92:1-2)

“I rise before dawn and cry for help, I hope in your word.  (Ps. 119:14)

“In the morning let me know your love for I put my trust in you.  Make me know the way I should walk, for to you I lift up my soul.  (Ps. 143:8)

“Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun”.  (Ecclesiastes 11:17)

“But for you who fear my Name, the Sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays”.  (Malachi 3:20)

“The loving kindness of the heart of our God who visits us like the rising Sun”.  (Luke 1:78)

“In the morning, long before dawn, Jesus got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.  (Mark 1:35)

Pray as the sun rises:

Morning prayer gives believers “an interior charge” that enables them to face an often hostile world, Pope John Paul has said.  Despite the dangers and disappointments that each day brings, those who faithfully turn to God experience a “wave of serenity and joy” knowing that he is at their side. (Southern Cross 13.06.2011)

Keep Looking to the East:

“However, do not consider pointless the words, that he sprinkles the blood towards the east (Levit. 16:14).

Your propitiation came from the east. From there comes the man whose name is the Dawn, who became the mediator between God and man.

This invites you to keep looking to the east, where the sun of righteousness rises for you, where light is always dawning for you; so that you may never walk in darkness, nor the last day find you in darkness; so that the black night of ignorance may not creep up on you; but that you may always walk in the clear light of knowledge, always have the day-light of faith, and always obtain the light of charity and peace”.  (Origen, Hom. 9,5.10)

PRAYING DAILY WITH THE BIBLE

“From the holy scriptures you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy...  This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work”.  (2 Tim. 3:15)

The Lord speaks to us in the Scriptures.  So when we pray with the Scriptures we are not setting out to analyse the text, but to listen to God and allow him to speak to us directly.

You need personally to fix a time and a quiet place. Some people prefer to pray in the evening whilst others prefer the early morning like Jesus who followed the Jewish practice.  (See quotations. P.T.O.)  For people with a young family it is impossible to get up early without waking the whole family and bringing the quiet time to an end.  So if they wish, they can stay in bed to read and meditate there.  The Psalmist did.  See Psalm 63:6!

In the place you choose, you can put the Bible in a visible place to remind yourself to read and pray daily.  Leaving it open at John 1:1 is an idea : “In the beginning was the Word”.

When we read, God speaks to us.  When we pray, we speak to God.  You can also have        a candle, a cross or an icon.  Even incense is an aid to prayer. See Psalm 141 – the ‘incense psalm’ or Apoc. 8:4.  ‘Incense is reserved for God alone’ (Exod. 30:37)

To pray with the Bible relax at the time and in the place you have chosen.  Choose your text – a chapter or just a few verses e.g. Matthew 6:24-34.  As people of the New Covenant it is best for us to begin with the New Testament and the Good News.  “The New Testament is concealed in the Old; the Old Testament is revealed in the New”. (St Augustine)

First invoke the Holy Spirit in prayer to enlighten your mind.  The Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit and so we need the same Spirit to help us understand it.

·         Read the passage through slowly.

·         Read it again even more slowly. Mull over each word or phrase that touches you or catches your attention. When the Virgin Mary is said by Luke to “ponder” in her heart the mysteries of her Son’s birth (Luke 2:19), the word used is symballo, meaning that she was putting things together and seeing the pattern in them.

·         Stay with whatever feelings, inspirations, thoughts come to you.

·         Allow God to speak to you in silence. “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10)

·         Respond to God, share your feelings and thoughts with him. You may want to offer a prayer of praise or thanksgiving. In MENTAL PRAYER we unite our hearts with God while thinking of His holy truths. Mental prayer usually begins with MEDITATION, which means thinking about God to move our hearts to love him. Our hearts then speak to Him in our own words or even without words. Then we listen to God in silence, not only of lips, but of heart. This is the highest form of prayer.

Traditionally the 4 elements of prayer are:

Adoration.  Contrition.  Thanksgiving.  Supplication or ACTS.

·         Decide if there is something you may put into practice as a result of your prayer. It is good to note this down in a notebook lest you forget. Also note people and things to pray for, especially enemies if we want to avoid psychosomatic problems!               (See Mt. 5:44;  Rom. 12)  Niggling things e.g. uncollected items at the dry cleaners : note it down, then deal with it later.

For beginners the Quiet time can just be 5 to 10 minutes.  But beware – it becomes addictive! We may not feel any different after it, we may even battle to stay awake.  But be assured – the day ahead of you will be blessed at work, school or at home as you put God first in your life for God honours those who honour Him.  And remember : ‘Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Jesus’. (St Jerome)

NOTE OF EXPLANATION : Some books may be missing from your Bible e.g. Tobit, Sirach, Wisdom, Maccabees etc. These books are called the Deuterocanonicals and were in the Septuagint Bible used by Jesus & the early Church. The Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, removed these books from his Bible as well as the Apocalypse, Hebrews, James and Jude from the New Testament! On his death his fellow reformers, mindful of Apoc. 22:18, quickly put back the New Testament books but not the Old Testament ones – yet!  Since Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans revere the Deuterocanonicals, and they make up the majority of world Christians, so the majority of Christian Bibles contain those books.