"Come, Holy Ghost..."

     Pentecost is here. A beautiful High Feast in the Liturgical Year. Pentecost Sunday is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church! Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Here we know that the Holy Spirit instituted His Seven Gifts. 

     "The holy mystery of the day of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost, is to be understood in the following manner: the spirit of man must be completed and perfected by the Holy Spirit, that is, it must be sanctified, illuminated, and divinized by the Holy Spirit..."

" This holy mystery is realized continually in the Church of Christ and because of this the Church is really a continuous Pentecost.... From Holy Pentecost, the day of the Holy Spirit, every God-like soul in the Church of Christ is an incombustible bush which continuously burns and is inflamed with God and has a fiery tongue within it."

-St. Justin 

     I don't pray to the Holy Spirit as much as I should. Did you ever notice that the Holy Spirit seems to get neglected? I pray to the saints, I pray to Jesus, I pray to the Blessed Virgin - but for some reason, prayers to the Holy Spirit seem to always be forgotten. But think of how much He does for us! Think of the inspiration and guidance He gives us! Josemaria Escriva says that, "You are not alone....the Holy Spirit, living in your soul in grace – God with you – is giving a supernatural tone to all your thoughts, desires and actions." How beautiful. The Holy Spirit, living in your soul in grace – God with you. God is living in our soul!! Think about that! The Holy Spirit is there - now - guiding our thoughts and actions and helping us with the hard decisions we face everyday! 

     In one of his sermons at Pentecost, Josemaria Escriva profoundly states that, "The Holy Spirit comes to us as a result of the cross - as a result of our total abandonment to the will of God, of seeking only his glory and renouncing ourselves completely." Have you ever thought about it in that perspective? 

     But I love his next point...

"Only when a man is faithful to grace and decides to place the cross in the center of his soul, denying himself for the love of God, detaching himself in a real way from all selfishness and false human security, only then - when a man lives by faith in a real way - will he receive the fullness of the great fire, the great light, the great comfort of the Holy Spirit."  If we accept our cross and offer to God all our sufferings, we will receive the fullness of the great fire. If that isn't inspirational, I don't know what is! I want to burn with the fire of the Holy Spirit! I want to be a soldier of Christ and fight the Great Battle with Him! Do you? 

Listen to one of my favorite Pentecost songs. Your day will be immediately better. I promise!