DISCOVERING AND INVITING THE HOLY SPIRIT

If you’re like me, and tens of millions of Catholics of all ages are, your faith formation did not help you know exactly who the Holy Spirit is, what the Holy Spirit does and how the Holy Spirit can work in your life. For most of us Catholics, we seem to think the Acts of the Apostles section of the Bible is purely historical and has little if anything to do with us.

Saint Paul, at 1 Corinthians 12:7, writes: “To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” So every one of us baptized Catholics has the Holy Spirit and at least one of the Holy Spirit’s gifts.

These gifts, called charisms, are abilities and talents we have which, even if we develop them, are given to us by God and have a special impact when used. They are given us not for our benefit but for others, to build up the body of Christ. The gifts can be extraordinary, such as those listed by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 12: wisdom, knowledge, healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc. Or they can be more normal, such as teaching, serving, cooking, music, managing and leading.

The Holy Spirit functions like an orchestra conductor, a maestro. He prompts the usage of all of His gifts and links the gifts together, to make beautiful music. In Acts of the Apostles, we are told, “The Spirit said to Philip” and “The Spirit said to Peter.” After prompting us, just like the apostles, the Spirit connects the members of the Body of Christ. In Acts of the Apostles, Peter is connected with Cornelius. Paul is linked to Ananias. The Holy Spirit does this with all of us, if we are attentive to His prompting and respond to His instructions.

One of the great needs in the Catholic Church is for a major change in the culture of the parish. When we think of what we like or don’t like about a parish, we think about the preaching, the music at Mass, the architecture of the church, the friendliness of the parishioners. Most everything revolves around the pastor.

Viewed from a perspective of discipleship, the life of the parish should be based upon the discovery and identification of each parishioner’s charisms and then a determination of how these gifts can be linked together to build up the body of Christ. When this takes place, people come to Mass not just because they’re commanded to keep the Lord’s Day but also because each person is valued and has a significant role to play.

Here are some prayers to the Holy Spirit which can help us be ready for the Holy Spirit to lead us and for us to have the power of the Holy Spirit when we follow His lead:

“O Divine Spirit, I give myself entirely to You. Take possession of my soul, direct me in everything, and grant that I may live as a true child of God, as a true member of Jesus Christ; grant that, born of You, I may totally belong to You, be totally possessed, animated and directed by You.”  (Saint John Eudes)

“O Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will. (Cardinal Mercier)

“O Holy Spirit, come down upon me like a new Pentecost and bring me an abundance of Your gifts, of Your fruits, and of Your grace; unite Yourself to me as the most sweet Spouse of my soul.” (Saint Carmela of the Holy Spirit)

When we allow the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives, our love for Jesus grows in a whole new way. We will always love Him because He died on the cross for us. When the Holy Spirit leads us to do things we never would have done on our own, we discover that God’s love for us is personal and that His plan for our lives is filled with HIs benevolence, and we love the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit even more.