Let us be filled with the Holy Spirit
Beloved Friends,
God has revealed Himself to us as Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the Love between the Father and the Son. Therefore, it follows that wherever the Holy Spirit is, there also is the Father and the Son.
Now, this Love, that is the Holy Spirit has been poured out into our hearts. We have been set ablaze with Divine love. At our Baptism, we were immersed into the life of the Blessed Trinity; a Communion of Love. At the holy sacrifice of Mass, we consumed Love Himself, the Body, and Blood of Christ. At our Confirmation, we were sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit; Love Himself was poured into our hearts. Therefore, Love is our origin and our destiny.
Love is the essence of Christianity, and the Holy Spirit is the assurance or the guarantee of Christianity. St. Paul says in the Epistle to the Corinthians, “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit” 1Cor. 12:3. It is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom that preserves unity, holiness, faith, and love in the life of the Church. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires new vocations to married life, to the priesthood and to consecrated life. It is the Holy Spirit that inspires a great love and extraordinary devotion to God. Without the Holy Spirit nothing is possible. It is by the Holy Spirit that we can discern right from wrong.
This fire of Divine love that burnt in the Church in her beginning and the storm that swept through her making her irresistible, still prevails today. Therefore, we should never be discouraged, but keep the faith. St. Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, recounts the great event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2). The Apostles were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues. It was so unbelievable that the Jews got confused. They were so astounded that some began to scoff, saying, “they have had too much wine.” They were drunk! Well, there are two ways of getting drunk; one, by the Holy Spirit, and the other, by drinking too much wine. So, let us get drunk with the Holy Spirit, this fire of Divine love. Let us be saints for our time. The days are evil, and we need to do something about it.
And here is a prayer of one who was so inflamed with the fire of Divine love,
Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity;
“O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, descend into my soul and make all in me as an incarnation of the Word, that I may be to him a super-added humanity wherein he renews his mystery; and you O Father, bestow yourself and bend down to your little creature, seeing in her only your beloved Son in whom you are well pleased.
O my `Three', my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in whom I lose myself, I give myself to you as a prey to be consumed; enclose yourself in me that I may be absorbed in you so as to contemplate in your light the abyss of your Splendor!” St. Elizabeth of the Trinity (carmelitedcj.org)
Let us, therefore, remember the powerful words of St. Paul to the Ephesians, “Brethren: See to it that you walk with care: not as unwise but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not become foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit” Eph. 5:15-21.
We, therefore, call upon you Most Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, the Comforter and Advocate, the great Teacher of all Truth. From the depth of our hearts, we call upon you Holy Fire of Divine Love, Giver of every good gift, Spirit of Wisdom, and Knowledge, to come and fill our hearts, and set us ablaze of your Divine Love.
Amen.
Given on the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost.
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