HOLY SILENCE

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call ... grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it is said, 'When he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men' ... And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory" (1 Tim 3:16). Ponder: Where in my own embodied life, in the ordinary flesh of my days, am I being invited to see Christ made visible, and where have I missed Him by looking only for the spec

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Heb 9:13-14). Ponder: What specific thoughts play over and over in

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). Ponder: Where in my life am I living as though death has the final word? For example, in my vocation, my dreams, and my relationships? How does it make me think differently about my body, kn

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : "The Holy Spirit teaches us everything. It sanctifies us. It assimilates us to God. When we have the Spirit of God, we become incapable of all sin, incapable of sinning. When we have the Holy Spirit, we cannot do evil. We cannot be filled with anger or hate or speak evil. We must become filled, replete with the Holy Spirit. This is where the essence of spiritual life lies. This is an art — th

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : "If the Holy Spirit is peace of soul ... as He is in reality, and if anger is disturbance of heart, as it actually is ... then nothing so prevents His presence in us as anger" (St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent , Step 8: On Freedom from Anger, #14). Ponder: Anger is a killer that destroys our relationship with God, self, and others. Here are a few steps we can take to reduce or e

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : "Do not go outside, return within yourself; in the inner man dwells truth," (Bl. Augustine, On True Religion ). Ponder: Augustine's call to turn inward reminds us that the Holy Spirit is the indwelling presence of God. In other words, the third person of the Most Holy Trinity does not remain aloof and closed up in the heavenly kingdom. He also lives within us and permeates our body, mind, and

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness." Ponder: This portion of Romans 8:26 translates the Greek word synantilambánetai as "helps." Such a vivid compound word literally means 'to take hold of something alongside someone,' like two people carrying a heavy object together. It doesn't mean 'doing it for you', but 'with you' . In other words, the help in this sentence is directed at weak

A short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : " Illumination : 'That you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light' (1 Pt. 2:9). " Understanding : 'I bless the Lord who gives me counsel' (Ps. 16:7), for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of guidance and understanding. " Knowledge of the principles of truth : This is one of the essential attributes of the nature of the Holy Spirit and it is

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit. Read : "Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy." - Written by Saint Augustine (b. 354 - d. 430) Ponder: The Holy Spirit hears u