Introductory Prayer
Come, O Holy Spirit! Enlighten my understanding in order that I may know your commands; strengthen my heart against the snares of the enemy; enkindle my will. I have heard your voice, and I do not want to harden my heart and resist, saying, "Later . . . tomorrow." Nunc coepi! Right now! Lest there be no tomorrow for me. O Spirit of truth and of wisdom, Spirit of understanding and of counsel, Spirit of joy and of peace! I want what you want, because you want it, as you want it, when you want it.
Consideration
The gift of wisdom: making us know God and rejoice in his presence
I would say that, among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there is one that we all need in a special way: the gift of wisdom. It makes us know God and rejoice in his presence, thereby placing us in a perspective from which we can judge accurately the situations and events of this life. Had we been consistent with our faith when we looked around us and contemplated the world and its history, we would have been unable to avoid feeling in our own hearts the same sentiments that filled the heart of our Lord: "Seeing the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were bewildered and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd."21
Not that the Christian should neglect to see all that is good in humanity, to appreciate its healthy joys, or to participate in its enthusiasm and ideals. On the contrary, a true Christian will vibrate in unison with all the good he finds in the world. And he will live in the midst of it with a special concern, because of knowing, better than anyone, the depth and the richness of the human spirit.
A Christian's faith does not diminish his spirit or limit the noble impulses of his soul-rather, it makes them grow with the realization of their true and authentic meaning. We do not exist in order to pursue just any happiness. We have been called to penetrate the intimacy of God's own life, to know and love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and to love also-in that same love of the one God in three divine Persons-the angels and all men.
This is the great boldness of the Christian faith: to proclaim the value and dignity of human nature and to affirm that we have been created to achieve the dignity of children of God, through the grace that raises us up to a supernatural level. An incredible boldness it would be, were it not founded on the promise of salvation given us by God the Father, confirmed by the blood of Christ, and reaffirmed and made possible by the constant action of the Holy Spirit.
We must live by faith. We must grow in faith, up to the point where it will be possible to describe any one of us in the terms used by one of the great Doctors of the Eastern Church to describe Christians in general: "In the same way that a transparent body, upon receiving a ray of light, becomes resplendent and shines out, so the souls that are borne and illuminated by the Holy Spirit become themselves spiritual and carry to others the light of grace. From the Holy Spirit comes knowledge of future events, understanding of mysteries, comprehension of hidden truths, giving of gifts, heavenly citizenship, conversation with the angels. From him comes never-ending joy, perseverance in God, likeness to God, and the most sublime state that can be conceived, that of becoming God-like." 22
Together with humility, the realization of the greatness of man's dignity-and of the overwhelming fact that, by grace, we are made children of God-forms a single attitude. It is not our own forces that save us and give us life; it is the grace of God. This is a truth which can never be forgotten. If it were, the divinization of our life would be perverted and would become presumption, pride. And this would lead, sooner or later, to a breakdown of spiritual life, when the soul came face to face with its own weakness and wretchedness.
"And shall I dare to say, ‘I am holy'?" asks St. Augustine. "If I mean by ‘holy' that I bring holiness and that I need no one to make me holy, I would be a liar and full of pride. But if by ‘holy' I understand that one is made holy as we read in Leviticus, ‘You will be holy, because I, God, am holy,' then the whole body of Christ, down to the last person living at the ends of the earth, may dare to say, together with its head and under him, ‘I am holy.'" 23
Love the Third Person of the most Blessed Trinity. Listen in the intimacy of your being to the divine motions of encouragement or reproach you receive from him. Walk through the world in the light that is poured out in your soul. And the God of hope will fill you with all peace, so that this hope may grow in you more and more each day, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 24
Concluding Prayer
Holy and divine Spirit! Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, your spouse, bring the fullness of your gifts into our hearts. Comforted and strengthened by you, may we live according to your will and may we die praising your infinite mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
