Day 46: Holy Spirit, might of God

Luke 1: 35  The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”

Every divine action begins from the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed in the Holy Spirit – St.Basil

Holy Spirit one among the triune God existed since creation. Out of abundant love the Father sent His only Son, our Lord Jesus for our salvation.  Through His birth, life and sacrificial death we have the forgiveness of sins, salvation of our souls and redemption of mankind. Before His ascension, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His disciples.

John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

Holy Spirit is referred by many names such as Spirit of God, Counselor, Wisdom, Conqueror, Mighty One and so on. He has all the power in heaven and on earth. He is also portrayed as wind, fire, dove , it shows how powerful He is, yet He is very gentle. We  have all been freely given this great gift through Baptism. That’s awesome right?

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a very powerful sacrament where we experience God’s mercy. One of the many ways we experience His Love is through the forgiveness of our sins.  What is the role of the Spirit here? Holy Spirit instigates the transformation of our hearts, to confess our sins and to reconcile with God and with one another. Holy Spirit reminds us of our shortcomings and helps us confess our sins completely thereby  opening the doors of mercy, grace and love from God.

I Corinthians 2: 10-11 These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 

Luke 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.

Ephesians 4:30-32 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

We all have experienced His power in the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist where the simple bread and wine is transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ. A powerful miracle that continues to happen at every mass and we believers get to witness this miracle. The Holy Spirit changes the substance of bread and wine into the Body of Christ and we are able to partake in the holy meal that Jesus Christ instituted and desired for us.

We again consciously, are anointed with the Holy Spirit through Sacrament of Confirmation where the Holy Spirit freely pours out His gifts for us. We all have access to these gifts. We can read them in 1 Corinthians: 12: 4-11( spiritual gifts) 1 Corinthians 14:1-25 ( gifts of prophecy and tongues), 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ( gift of love), Ephesians 4: 12 ( Gift of Ministry).

Acts 2:17 …I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 

Isaiah 11:2  The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

We also experience the Holy Spirit again in Holy matrimony and Holy orders. In Holy Matrimony the bond of the husband and wife is made one by God. The Holy Spirit is the greatest interpreter of the two souls, between the husband and the wife. The covenant is between man and woman and the Spirit of the lord seals it. 

Matthew 19: 6 …So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.

In Holy Orders the Holy Spirit acts as the covenant the religious have made at the altar. In Anointing of the sick the Holy Spirit provides healing, peace and grace for those who are sick and suffering.

The Holy Spirit is present all throughout our lives. We go to the gym to build our muscles. We take care of our diets to help maintain our health. We try and figure out what talents our children need to grow in and  we send them to classes so that they can excel in those areas. We give our time, effort and more to do all of those things and we see the outcome of it and we are happy. Let’s Praise God that we can do that.

It’s the same way with the Holy Spirit. God has given us this great gift but in order for us to experience and see His power manifest in our lives,  it is required that we build ourselves in prayer life and on the Word of God. For the Word of God enlightens our mind. And we have a better understanding of powerful Holy Spirit.

Let’s start by invoking the Holy Spirit everyday into our lives. Into everything we do and say. He will conquer areas that seem impossible. He has done that in the past. The Word of God is filled with testimonies to His might. The great power of God continues to this very day, as we hear all the testimonies from people and at times even get to witness them in our own life, with our own eyes. God will give us the wisdom and grace to understand the difficulty or suffering that is humanly hard for us to see or accept. Our lives will bear His fruit. That is the outcome of His presence and our prayer life.

Galatians 5:20 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  

All of our Saints suffered spiritually, physically and emotionally. They had difficult situations as well. They carried their crosses. Some of which is even very hard for us to even imagine but inspite of all that, they had joy,  peace and triumphed as Saints. How is that possible? Saints are the perfect role models, teaching us to build our lives on prayer and to be in constant communion with the Holy Spirit.

 I John 4:4 Little Children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

How can I see the Holy Spirit work in my life? 

How can I experience the Holy Spirit? 

How can I do something for the Lord’s kingdom with the help of the Holy Spirit? 

Let us give the Holy Spirit, all the visible and invisible areas of our life to be transformed and conquered.

Luke 14: 16-17  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him, You know him, because he abides with you and he will be in you.

Holy Spirit is our Conqueror. He will conquer, restore every area of our life that we are struggling with. He will conquer the battle we are fighting spiritually , physically and emotionally and restore peace and order in accordance with God’s Holy will for us. All we have to do is invite him everyday into every area of our lives. He has done it for the saints. He will do it for us as well. The Holy Spirit is the greatest friend of our soul. He will do everything to preserve that soul for our God, but that is ONLY if we desire it.

Romans 8-26:27  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit. Spirit of truth, you are the reward of the saints, the comforter of souls, light in the darkness, riches to the poor, treasure to lovers, food for the hungry, comfort to those who are wandering; to sum up, you are the one in whom all treasures are contained. Come! As you descended upon Mary that the Word might become flesh, work in us through grace as you worked in her through nature and grace. Come! Food of every chaste thought, fountain of all mercy, sum of all purity. Come! Consume in us whatever prevents us from being consumed in you. —St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witness…to the ends of the earth

Forget not the Holy Spirit at the moment of your enlightenment; He is ready to mark you soul with His seal…He will give you the heavenly and divine seal which makes the devil tremble; He will arm you for the fight; He will give strength –  St.Ephrem

Contributed by: Joan Chandran , St Jude Remond

• Litany of the Holy Spirit
• 500 Praises to the Holy Spirit (Pray a few of them as you can)