DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT by Casmir U. Okwara

 DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

Devotion to the Holy spirit is the golden key where with the soul gains free access to His infinitely rich treasures chambers. From this treasuring, the Holy spirit dispenses graces upon graces with boundless liberality. In His infinity love, He desires to à souls happy, more than a mother desires to gladden her child.

WHAT IS DEVOTION

Most christians use these terms to refer to one-on-one time spent in prayer, reading the bible and meditating. Devotion is the time a follower of God sets aside to grow their faith by spending time with God. It is a strong religious feelings.

WHO IS THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy spirit is the third person of the blessed trinity, the person of divine love. He is called the spirit because He proceeds from the God the father and God the son. God the father and the son loves one another with an infinite love and this love is a person, the person of the Holy Spirit, who is bond of union.

The Holy spirit is the third person of the blessed trinity, the person of divine love.he is called a spirit because He proceeds from the God the father, and God the son. The father and the son loves one another with an infinite love and this love is a person, the person of the Holy spirit, who is bond of union.

The Holy spirit has seven gifts that He gives to us and we recieve these gifts through baptismwith the three theological virtueswhich are, faith,hope and charity.the seven gifts of the Holy spirit includes the following:

WISDOM

Which is the highest and most privildged gift of the Holy spirit. St Bernad calls it the supernatural gift of the Holy spirit which enables us to know God and to rejoice in perfect love.

UNDERSTANDING

This is another gift of the Holy spirit which enables us to comprehend the mysteries and doctrines of our holy religion.

COUNSEL

Counsel is a gift of the holy spirit which moves the soul to choose what is most conducive to the glory of God and to it’s own salvation.

FORTITUDE

Fortitude banishes all timidity and enhances human respect, strengthens souls to hate sin, to practice virtue and give us strength to accept persecution, fulfil the will of God and to undertake greatest sacrifices of our salvation.

KNOWLEDGE

By the gift of knowledge, the Holy spirit enlightens us with an inner light, that we may know and may choose the fittest means to overcome sin and not been of the world.

PIETY

Piety inclines us to love God as the best of fathers; love His beloved son and the Holy mother Mary. It also makes us to love the saints and as well our feloow men.

FEAR OF GOD

This gift is like that of a childlike fear which causes us to dread no misfortune so much as that of displeasing God.

HOW TO BE DEVOTED OR SHOW DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

I can remember in the bible when peter was asking the lord after their breakfast by the sea, “how can i be sure i won’t fail you again? Where will i find the power find the sheep and shepherd the lambs?” And Jesus answered or said “wait, and the power will be given to you” also in Lk.24:49 when Jesus said to the disciples “stay in the city until you have clothed with power,from above”

The Holy mother of God and the apostles where the first to practice spical devotion to the Holy spirit. St Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit more than a hundred times in his epistles. And all holy fathers of the church have followed in the footsteps of the apostles. 

Devotion to the Holy spirit seeks to awaken in us a consciousness of the presence and indwelling of the Holy spirit not only in the churuch as a whole but in each of us. Most catholics do not honor the Holy spirit, we should keep in mind that our body is the temple of the lord and the Holy spirit dwells in us, when we destroy it through sin , we are gruadly loosing the Holy spirit as God do not stay in a dirty place.

According to Fr.ED Broom, OMV, he listed the following ways by which we can be devoted to the Holy spirit;

READ THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 

Acts of the apostle which has twenty-eight chapters and is beeen attributed to saint luke. Just as in the past weeks till now, you can notice that the readings centers more on the acts of the apostle. However, the capital importance of reading and mediating upon this book is the presence of the Holy spirit , as it is often referred to the “ gospel of the Holy Spirit”

PRAY OFTEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

For one to be devoted to the Holy Spirit you have to been praying often to the Holy Spirit. There are many prayers that can be said to the Holy Spirit such as “come Holy Spirit and fill the heart of the faithful” try to memorize at least one of these prayers.

BE FAMILIAR WITH THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Just as i have mention earlier the gifts of the Holy Spirit, know them and beg the Holy Spirit that these heavenly giftsd will become more and more active or operative in your daily life.

MAKE SIGN OF THE CROSS ALWAYS

Make sign of the cross frequently as this includes or symbolizes God the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

READ ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

If you want to know something or get facts about something or somebody, you have to make researches about the person or thing. Therefore, read more about the Holy Spirit, articles and books etc on the Holy Spirit.

IMITATE MARY’S LOVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Finally invoke Mary in all you do as she is our intercessor. Beg her that the Holy Spirit might come into you. The blessed virgin Mary was at all times and place open to the workings and operations of the Holy Spirit right from the beging, because through her Jesus came into the world by the power of the Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION

God speaks through His Holy Spirit into every single circumstance in our lives, to provide answers to the questions and concerns we face. We should know and and understand that devotion to the Holy spirit awakeßness our spirit to know that the Holy Spirit dwells in us and not in the church therefore we should keep ourselves holy.

BABEL VS PENTECOST by Jeremie Tshibakenga

   

BABEL VS PENTECOST

Jeremie Tshibakenga

In the history of the world as people, the course of time had always presented to us to reality that can help us to make a choice for the following time, the first one is about what has been done and the second what supposed to be done. In this way we find what we can do if things were done was no good. And also to learn to progress. All these came out because of the title of our topic: Babel vs Pentecost.

Babel vs Pentecost is whereby we are going to compare two reality of faith; to accept to be led by God and to hope to himself without in putting God aside. This topic also is about to understand to the maturity of the revelation and the role of the Holy Spirit, One of the three persons in God. In this topic we are going to compare Babel and Pentecost. 

However before to begin fully our topic the first point shall be first of all the clarification of concepts: Babel and Pentecost in which the point will lead us to the second point which is the opposition between Babel and Pentecost and the third one will be the disposition to receive the Holy Spirit. The character this reflexion is meditative.

CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS

Babel, when we are talking about it, we are referring to the Tower of Babel in the Bible (Genesis 11:1-9). This pericope of the Tower of Babel is talking about the beginning of the Human civilisation also in a mythic way some scholars admit that it meant to explain awhy the world’s peoples speak different languages. According to the Bible, the city was named Babel which means in Hebrew to jumble or to confuse.

According the mythic legend, a united human race speaking a single language and migrating to the land where they agree among themselves to build a city whereby they will build also a Tower with its top in the sky. They wanted to do so because they were hoping themselves instead to hope in God the Almighty; they were full of pride.

That is why, God from Heaven observing their city and tower, confounds their speech with the aim that can no longer understand each other and so that what happened. After confusing them, He scattered them around the world. So this means that Babel was a sign of division.

Pentecost, coming from the term Pentecost in Greek, means simply “fiftieth”. Furthermore, this word refers to the Jewish festival of Shavuot celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover. To avoid plenty information, let us move to early Christians. 

The Pentecost which we want to talk about is the one the narrative in Act 2 of the Pentecost. Disciples were afraid to go to preach after united together in the “upper room” and praying; the result was they were strengthening by the Holy Spirit and through these disciples were able to united people the same word of Good new and people hearing them could be able to understand that Good news in their own language each other.

BABEL VS PENTECOST

Babel opposite to Pentecost is about first before to do anything what we supposed to do. The disciples were send to preach the Good News (Matt 28: 18-19) but since they were afraid after the Ascension of the Lord, they disposed to lock all the doors so that nobody will come to disturb them; this happened in Jerusalem. It is after that to gather together and they went to the upper room. In this they received the Holy Spirit. In the same charism that united them through the power of the Holy Spirit, the preach the Gospel.

Contrary to Babel; Babel was division and pride that jumbled them together but after because the purpose was not the on the unity, resulted by division and confusion. But for the disciples gathering together, they committed themselves to God and He sent them Spirit. Here we can understand now that the opposition of these two words in the sense of that the fruit of the unity for Pentecost and the fruit of division and confusion

DISPOSITION TO THE FORTHCOMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Contrary to the people of Babel, in seeing the courage the disciples, this gives us how we can now dispose ourselves to the coming of the Holy Spirit. As a feast of obligation, Pentecost requires us for the preparation three steps of devotion. 

First of all, to work for the Unity in the same way is also an occasion if it was not a desire, to decide one thing good to do for the society; secondly to pray in imploring the support of the Holy Spirit and lastly to prepare ourselves worthily that means to go to confession so that the Spirit in founding our heart cleaned our decision will lead us to our right vocation. 

In conclusion, Babel it was a fact of development but with pride and confusion, Pentecost is about unity and to permit people to make their own decision and opinion.

THE CHARISMS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by Sr Patience Danjuma OP.

THE CHARISMS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Sr Patience Danjuma OP.

God's love for us is so great that he has provided us with every good gifts( spiritual and physical) to make us better. The holy spirit is the bearer of God's spiritual gifts thus it's best if we understand who the Holy spirit is.

Who is the Holy Spirit? 

The Holy spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity he is present and equal in strength. The Holy spirit is the beautiful and powerful part of God he is God's power in action, his finger his breath, his crafts man, God moves in the spirit . The Holy spirit is the least understood person of the Trinity usually mistaken for a Force, a ghost or even a god. But the holy spirit is a person who has feelings he can be sad, angry, happy , insulted, he loves,he communicates, he teaches, he shows willfulness, and discretion, he prays this are what distinguish him as a person.(Acts 23:2, Romans 8:26_27).The Holy spirit is man's closest friend because he lives in us to guide our hearts and decisions, to comforts and gives us hope he inspires us to be truly human not just to live but to live well thus, he gave us gifts and charisms to aid us.

The gift of the holy spirit differs from the charisms of the Holy spirit.The gifs of the Holy spirit which are; Wisdom, knowledge, Understanding, Council, Fortitude, Piety, and the Fear of the Lord, are given to us for our personal sanctification helping us become better Christians and strengthen our relationship with God.

WHAT IS A CHARISM?

A charism is an extraordinary power given to us by the Holy spirit for the common good of the church and for the service is others. There are 24 charisms of the Holy spirit which are;

Evangelism

Encouragement

Faith

Giving

Healing

Helps

Hospitality

Intercessorsry prayers

Knowledge

Leadership

Mercy

Missionary

Music

Pastoring

Prophecy

Service

Teaching

Voluntary poverty

Wisdom

Administration

Celibacy

Craftsmanship

Discernment of spirits

Inspirational writing.

Charisms are not our talents or specialty in some areas of life they are truly gifts of the Holy spirit to be used for the common good of the church and for the service of others.(1st Corinthians 12:17).

Thus, our charisms are not gifts to be preserved but they are to be used for the common good centered on love, justice, peace, and Holiness. So our charisms are directly dependent on Grace and connected to our relationship with God. In religious communities, charism is the soul of the community which gives purpose, motivation, and animates action.

Factors that affects manifestation of our charisms.

Cynism

Sin

Familiarity

Pride

The spirit of error

Refusal to obey the promptings of the Holy spirit in us.

Surpressing his voice in others.

Four simple steps that can help re enkindle our charisms and gifts.

Receiving baptism in the spirit ( starting anew with Christ)

Develop an intimate and personal relationship with God.

Hunger for gifts of the spirit.( 1st Corinthians 12:13, 14:1_39)

Take action by faith.( Matthew 25:14_30).

I will end with a quote from pope Francis.

" The Holy spirit wants to stay with us he's not a passing guest who comes to pay us a courtesy visit he is a companion for life a stable person he is a spirit and desires to dwell in our spirits. He is patient and stays with us even when we fall. He remains because he truly love's us and never leaves us alone when things gets difficult no he is 

faithful, transparent, and authentic."

Thank you remain blessed. Sr Patience Danjuma OP.

HOLY SPIRIT, MARY AND THE CHURCH by ANOSIKE PATRICKMARY

 HOLY SPIRIT, MARY AND THE CHURCH.

ANOSIKE PATRICKMARY OF HIS REAL PRESENCE CONCEPT

Everything in Catholic Christianity tells us, that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the blessed Trinity, that He is one in nature with the Father and the Son, and that He existed from all eternity.

The best way to understand what the Church understands by the Holy Spirit is to compare it with what we believe about the Son of God. In God there is an intellect and will, corresponding to our faculties of thinking and loving in human nature. Sacred Scripture and Tradition identify the mind of God with the Word of God. That is why St. John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). “Consequently, just as the word of God is the Son of God, so the Love of God is the Holy Spirit” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed, Article 8).

Who exactly is the Holy Spirit? He is one in substance with the Father and the Son. No less than the Son is the Wisdom or the Word of God, so the Holy Spirit is the Love of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both persons. God’s Wisdom is of one substance with the Father. So God’s Love is one in substance with the Father and the Son.

Once we believe in the perfect equality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son, we are logically to worship Him equally with the First and Third Persons. That is why St. John declares that “true adorers shall adore the Father in Spirit and in Truth” (Jn 4:23). This is also the reason why Christ told His disciples to “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). In biblical language, the name stands for the nature. Thus the three Persons of the Trinity have only one divine nature. To make sure there is no doubt about the perfect equality of the divine Persons, the Nicene Creed has the statement about the Holy Spirit, “who together with the Father and the Son is equally adored and glorified.”

Except for the Holy Spirit, there is nothing which God has revealed that we could believe. It was the Holy Spirit whom Christ promised when He said, “The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete (Advocate), whom the Father will send in my name, will Himself teach you all things and will bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you” (Jn 14:26). It was Jesus Christ, the first Advocate, who revealed the mysteries of God. But it is the Holy Spirit, the second Advocate, who enables us to understand what Christ had revealed.

It is not enough to believe what Christ has revealed, nor even enough to understand the mysteries of divine revelation. We are to put our faith into practice. This means we must observe the commandments with our wills. That is why, already in the Old Testament, God foretold that “I will put my Spirit in the midst of you.

And he first put the Spirit in Mary through her faith which resulted in her conception of Jesus Christ the head of the church.

When we say that Mary is the Mother of the Church, we first of all mean that she is the Mother of Him who instituted the Church:

who is the invisible Head of the Church.

who suffered and died on the Cross to confer grace on the Church.

who made the Church what she is, the universal sacrament of salvation.

who, together with us His members, forms the Mystical Body which is the Church.

This, then, is the first meaning of Mary's title. She is the Mother of the Church by giving us the One, without whom there would be no Church.

This bears emphasis. God had to become man to bring into being the Church He instituted. And it was Mary who gave Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the human nature that the Son of God assumed, and assuming became Incarnate, and being Incarnate, then proceeded to incarnate the Church.

Moreover, when we say that Mary is the Mother of the Church we mean that she, in her own way, always subordinate to Christ, contributed to the forming of the Church.

She was the Mother of Christ not only in giving Him birth, but through all His years at Nazareth, then in Palestine during His public ministry, and especially on Calvary.

And again, with emphasis, Mary was uniquely appointed Mother of the Church by her Son as He hung upon the Cross. As we have heard so often, but never too often to repeat, the apostle John represented all of us when the Savior told him, "Behold your Mother". She is therefore Mother of the Church by a clear, unique and irrevocable designation. It was the dying Redeemer who told her to care for us as her children; and told us to look upon her as Our Mother.

The place and occasion were perfect: Under the Cross for Mary, and on the Cross for her Son.

Mary is never more important as our Mother than when we are under, perhaps best under our cross, in our effort to be like her Son.

Once again, Christ decided to go to heaven ahead of His Mother. There was a reason. He wanted her to remain on earth for some fifteen years (as tradition has it) before her own Assumption. Why? So that, just as she had been Mother to the Physical Christ together with the Holy Spirit her beloved spouse, she might continue as Mother of the Mystical Christ, His Church also with the Holy Spirit, in the Church's infancy . And the history of the young Church as described in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of Saint Paul surely needed a Mother's loving care and the Presence of the Holy Spirit.

Mary continues to Mother the Church from heaven, where she is our powerful intercessor with her Divine Son as well as the Holy Spirit the advocate. Saints tell us that just as Christ is the universal Mediator with the Heavenly Father, so Mary is the mediatrix with her Son and Holy Spirit.

As Catholics, we believe that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was sent into the world to redeem the human race and restore our friendship with God. But we also believe that the Third Person of the Holy Trinity was sent by Christ on Pentecost Sunday to sanctify the church and world which He had redeemed by His blood.

The primary mission of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is to make us holy, which means to enlighten our minds and enliven our wills with the grace of God.

With out the Holy Spirit the church is just like a club, but with the Holy Spirit she has become a movement that is spreading the life of Christ in the world. This life of Christ will not be possible without the Holy Spirit, hence the reason for them to wait at the upper room under the loving care our blessed mother until the Holy Spirit comes on pentecost.

Christ’s Promise of the Holy Spirit

On the way to His ascension, Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit on His followers. He told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to “wait there for what the Father had promised.” He reminded them: “It is what you have heard me speak about. John baptized with water, but you, not many days from now, will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then still more clearly, He predicted what the Holy Spirit would do in their lives. “You will receive power,” Christ assured them, “when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses, not only in Jerusalem, but throughout Judea and Samaria and indeed to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).

In the original inspired text of the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus promised the disciples that they would be “my martyrs.” If there was ever an age in Christian history when the followers of Christ would need the strength of martyrdom, it is today.

Our Lord could not have been more clear. He told us, “If you wish to be my disciples, take up your daily cross and follow me.” The source of strength to suffer for Christ comes finally from the Holy Spirit with our eyes upon our Mother Mary as our model and spouse of the Holy Spirit. In the language of the New Testament, this power is the same kind of power by which miracles are performed.

Christ’s promise of the Holy Spirit was the assurance that we would witness to Him before the world in which we live. The essence of being a martyr is to be a witness. And we know what a witness does. He gives testimony publicly that something he saw or heard is true. He has experience of a fact or an event, and as a witness he declares that what he says or signs his name to is so. He gives evidence to others that what he testifies to should be believed. Why? Because he personally knows.

We are liable to miss the preceding adjective “my” in the clause, “You shall be my martyrs.” This prefix is crucial. Those who are martyrs are witnesses to Christ. They testify, if need be with their blood, that what they believe is true because they have known Christ. The implication is that in order to be a witness, even to martyrdom, one must have experienced Christ, in a way comparable to what Peter told the early Christians: “You did not see Him, yet you love Him. And still without seeing Him, you are already filled with joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe” (1 Pet. 1:8).

So it was in the apostolic age, and so it is in ours. In order to witness to Christ we must believe in Him so strongly that we are filled with His joy. This joy which comes from the Holy Spirit is not devoid of pain just like in the life of Mary our model and spouse of the Holy Spirit.

But the joy is genuine and unmistakable. It is also profoundly communicable. In fact, one of the paradoxes of martyrdom is the positive happiness that a strongly committed follower of Christ has in suffering for Christ.

This is brought out dramatically by St. Luke, the evangelist of the Holy Spirit, in describing the summons of the apostles before the Sanhedrin. They had been warned not to preach about the Savior. So the apostles were flogged and warned not to speak in the name of Jesus. As they left the jail where they had been scourged, they were “glad to have had the honor of suffering humiliation for the sake of the name” (Acts 5:40-41).

Most Catholics know that at baptism, we receive the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit. What many do not know is that these fruits are the twelve joys which the Holy Spirit gives us, already here on earth, a foretaste of the joys of heaven. Every time we cooperate with the will of God, He rewards us with a happiness of spirit in the measure that we are faithful to His grace. What an apparent contradiction! The more painful our cooperation with the divine will, the more joy we receive from the Holy Spirit just Mary our model, Mother of the church and spouse of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you my brothers and sisters we have come to the end of today's reflection May the Holy Spirit whom we are about to receive afresh, reactivated in our lives once again the fresh water of our baptism so that we will live our lives in fullness as Christians looking at Mary as our Model and Mother of the church. Through Jesus Christ our Lord Who lives and reigns with the Father and Holy Spirit God forever and ever Amen.

PEACE AND GOODNESS.

Veni Sancte Spiritus by Sr. Gloria Ene Godwin

Veni Sancte Spiritus

 Sr. Gloria Ene Godwin,OP. 

Introduction 

Veni Sancte Spiritus ( come holy spirit) is known also as “Golden Sequence,” the Veni Sancte Spiritus is a beautiful, powerful prayer to the Holy Spirit that dates back to the thirteenth century. It is attributed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton.

When Jesus was about to go to the Father, He tells His disciples that He would not leave them alone. He would send another of the same kind as He to be with them. It was the Holy Spirit. “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) Jesus saw it necessary for the Holy Spirit to come and live in believers, because the New Covenant has a new way of life: human beings operating with the Holy Spirit within. Unfortunately, many us live our lives ignoring the Spirit. Yet, it is not possible to live the life Jesus wants us to live without the help of the Spirit.

Reasons why we need the Holy Spirit

1. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses of Jesus:

One of the reasons the Holy Spirit came is to give us power and boldness to be true witnesses of Jesus Christ. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses …” (Acts 1:8) Many of us are afraid to speak about Jesus or believe they are unqualified. If you we saved, we have a testimony of how God saved us. we need the Holy Spirit to give us boldness. If we are speaking to someone who is sick, we need power to pray for them to be healed. If we ignore the Holy Spirit, then how can we possibly be good witnesses for Jesus?

3. The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural gifts:

The Christian life is supernatural. Every believer has been given a supernatural gift by the Holy Spirit. Think about it! The Holy Spirit has given you a spiritual, supernatural manifestation. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” (1 Cor 12:7-11) Unfortunately, most us Christians never use our gifts. Which gift do you have? If you don’t know, ask God to activate the gifts in you and to provide circumstances where your gifting will come out.

Testing the Spirit | Michael-Ferrer, OP.

 TESTING THE SPIRIT

(A Pentecost Reflection on the manifestation of the true Spirit of God against a false spirit)

                                                                                                         Michael-Ferrer, OP.

As people of the resurrection and being regenerated into new life in Christ, our connection and relationship with God are spiritual, and not canal. It a relationship that benefits us with the Divine Truth but not falsehood. Therefore, with help from His Holy Spirit that lives in all believers, we can learn to worship God in our spirits and become the “true worshippers” that God seeks. But how can we now test and acknowledged whether such spirit is of God or from the evil one?

Importantly, the idea of “testing” or “to test” could be understood as a practice and a process of making objective judgments regarding the extent to which a thing, a system (device), or a reality meets, exceeds or fails to meet stated objectives. In simple words, it is about revealing the capability and the authenticity of something or someone. Contrary, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains one of the titles of the Holy Spirit “Paraclete” literally as “he who is called to one’s side.” (CCC, 692) This means that the spirit can be beseeched and be made available to those who inwardly avail themselves to Him. Nevertheless, believers of Christ should not be ignorant of the fact that there are two spiritual forces surrounding us. But for the sake of Christ’s love for his redeemed ones, he has sent the Holy Spirit and many angels commanding them “to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Heb.1:14). Consequently, in the first letter of John, he identifies two different spirits. The first is called “a spirit from God,” “the Spirit of God,” and “the Spirit of Truth.” The second is identified as “the spirit of a false prophet,” “the spirit of antichrist,” and “the spirit of falsehood.” (1 John 4:1-6) The primordial function of the Spirit of God is to lead us into the eternal truth. The Holy Spirit will never deceive us or otherwise lead us astray. Instead, He will always lead us into the truth and a closer walk with God. On the contrary, the second spirit John highlighted in his letter is a deceitful spirit, a fallen spiritual being working through a false prophet or teacher whose purpose is to lead God’s children astray from the truth. This spirit may look and sound very appealing (2 Cor 11:14), but under their sheep’s skin, they are vicious wolves looking to devour the flock; you will know them by their deeds (Matt. 7:15-16). 

HOW TO TEST THE SPIRIT

Now, in our spiritual journey in the Lord, whenever we receive a prompting of any sort in our spirits, we need to pause and test whether it is from the Holy Spirit or from the evil one. How do we go about it? Now, we can test the spirits by asking some few quick questions.

• Is this in line with God’s Word and His character? 

• Does this lead to the Fruit of the Divine Spirit? 

• Am I experiencing a supernatural peace?

• Have I waited enough to ensure I am not being impulsive?

• Will I be responding in love and humility?

• Will this ultimately glorify God or people?

• Or we can simply ask through prayers, “Holy Spirit, is this from You?”

WHAT THE SPIRIT DOES

• He communicates as a still, quiet and gentle prompting

God is a self-communication Being from the beginning of creation and in the salvific history of humanity. St Thomas Aquinas posited that both the Father and the Son are one principle of the Holy Spirit (S.T, q. 36, art.4), it follows then that God as the source of all things continues to community Himself through the activities of the Holy Spirit in us. Moreover, God is spirit and He will connect with us spiritually. God’s voice is gentle, His “voice” will often feel like a gentle knock on the door of our hearts or a “knowing” in our spirits.

• His promptings are always in line with the Word of God

The Holy Spirit will always convey things that are in line with God’s Word and His will for us. He bases his message on the scriptures, scriptural and teachings or sermons to “speak” to us and help us to always remember the ways of God. John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

• He brings supernatural peace

God’s spirit is not a spirit of distraction and fear. We will experience a deep peace and certainty when we “hear” from the Holy Spirit.

• He brings about the Fruit of the Spirit

As we heed the Holy Spirit’s promptings to follow God’s higher ways, we will be transformed in our thinking, passions and love for others. There will increasingly be the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23.

WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL NEVER DO 

• The Spirit will never bring a sense of “heaviness”

Again, St Thomas Aquinas will say that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the higher habitus that perfect the virtues. Hence, virtue aim at the perfection of an individual by free will. Therefore, there is freedom and rejoicing when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. There is never a feeling of heaviness or sorrow (Isaiah 61:1,3). The Spirit will not cause us to feel fatigued and worn out. There is always a lightness and sense of joy.

• He will never accuse or condemn us (Romans 8:1-2)

The Holy Spirit will lovingly correct and guide us but He will never accuse, blame, shame, belittle or condemn us. It is Satan, the accuser of believers, the accuser of the brethren who accuse us before God to distract our prayers. He who denounces us, not God.

• He will never lead us to sin or to gratify fleshly desires (Gal. 5:17)

God is Holy and nothing unholy is found in Him. Consequently, the Holy Spirit desires to sanctify us and free us from sin. The spirit brings us closer to the Holiness of God therefore, He will never lead us to immoral desires or behaviour.

• He will never cause division in the Body of Christ (Jude 1:19-20)

One of the major things the devil cannot stand is unity. He always seeks confusion. When we ask the Holy Spirit for revelation and guidance on a subject, He will deliver and confirm the same message to all who ask. There is always unity in the Spirit. He never causes confusion, conflict or division.

• He will never impose rigid religiosity (2 Cor 3:17)

The Holy Spirit always brings spiritual joy and freedom. He works according to the free will of a person. He is never legalistic, stifling or rigid.

CONCLUTION

As catholics, by the virtue of the sacraments of baptism and of confirmation we have access to the Divine Spirit of God and that leads us to the truth through His Church. Nevertheless, in the course of our journey in faith, it is very needful for us availing ourselves for the true spirit of God. When this happens, we therefore we need to subject the spirit to an objective judgement by testing the spirits. There are indeed many false prophets out in the world today deceiving many children of God. We should not be victims of their deceptions. We should be vigilant and learn to recognize the spirit of these false prophets and their teachings so as not be taken in by them. 

As we tune our spirits to become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we will walk in greater confidence in the Lord. He will help us to experience God’s peace, joy and hope. And may the Divine Spirit of God continue to strengthen and guide us into perfect truth, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT | Soyemi Temilola John

THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Soyemi Temilola John

Introduction

The life of a Christian is a life of Zoe not a life of Bios. This is evident because he or she lives no longer for his or herself but for God who is the causer of his or her being. Furthermore, the name Christian means the follower of Christ but one cannot be an authentic follower of Christ without the baptism of the Holy Spirit which was promised by the Lord after his resurrection and ascension into heaven. The apostles who were afraid after the death and resurrection of Jesus went into hiding for fear of what the Jewish leaders will do to them, but when the Holy Spirit was poured out on them, they became fearless, because the Holy Spirit made them Soldiers of Christ. Therefore, in this paper we shall discuss about the fruits of the Holy Spirit, but before we begin, we shall clarify the terms: Holy Spirit and fruits, for a better understanding.

Clarification of Terms

The Holy Spirit

The word Holy is a derivative from the English word Holiness. Furthermore, the word Holiness is the English word for qōdeš, derived from the Hebrew root qdš, common to all Semitic languages and having essentially the same meaning. The concept of holiness is not established etymologically from the root; it comes from the sense in which its derivatives are used. Hence it signifies ‘‘separateness’’ from the nonholy or profane. What is ‘‘clean’’ or ‘‘pure’’ is also related to ‘‘holy’’ in a ritual sense, i.e., free from defilement by the profane and in a potentially holy state. The profoundest sense of holiness is that proper to God, absolute holiness consisting in His ‘‘otherness’’ or His uncreated transcendence and majesty, a meaning related to His GLORY. Then the primitive terms used to designate spiritual reality, such as the Sanskrit atman, the Hebrew rûah, the Greek pnévma, and the Latin spiritus, originally referred to air as breathed from the lungs; the soul left the body at death almost as air escaped from the mouth. We can say that the holy spirit in a literally sense means the breath of life. Furthermore, in the teaching of the Catholic Church there are three Divine Persons in the Trinity and the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. Therefore, according to Augustine in his work De Trinintatae (on the Trinity) says “The Father is a Spirit; the Son is a Spirit. The Father is Holy; the Son is Holy.” Therefore, Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is a name applied to the Third Person of the Trinity. The name of the Holy Spirit according to Aquinas is “Love.” The Father and the Son love each other by the Holy Ghost, not, however, as though the Holy Ghost were the principle of this love; for God is love by His essence, and not by a Person. He says that the name “Gift” is proper to the third Person of the Trinity. A gift is the fruit of love. Love itself which dictates the giving is the first gift. Hence, as the Holy Ghost has the proper name of ‘love,’ He is also properly called ‘gift.’

Fruits

The word Fruit comes from the Latin word Fructus whose root is Frui which means ‘to enjoy.’ In a Greco-Roman mythology, it is known as Carpus which is a minor character associated with fertility and springtime. Furthermore, it is known in Hebrew as P’ri.

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

According to the etymology above the fruit of the Holy Spirit is to enjoy the relationship with the third Person of the Trinity. In the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 5:22-23, he says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We shall discuss these fruits individually so as to have an understanding of each of them.

Love

The concept of love in the secular world is different from the concept of love in Christianity. When we talk about love as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, we can see such love portrayed by Christ himself when he says to his disciples in the Gospel of John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment love one another as I loved you.” However, Robert Sternberg a psychologists formulated a triangular theory of love and argued that love has three different components: intimacy, commitment and passion. We can see these attributes been expressed by the early Christians because they lived their lives after the commandments of the Jesus Christ himself that was why the disciples were called Christians because they allowed the Holy Spirit be the force that directs their action. Furthermore, today Christians do not allow this love which is an essential fruit of the Holy Spirit to direct their actions. Imagine a Christian who is afraid of loving. The reason why we experience troubles in our world is because we have allowed the world to define love for us. And Jesus in the Gospel of John 15: 19 warned us as he says “if you belong to the world the world would love its own.” So we need to allow the Spirit of Love to permeate our lives and propel us to live according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Joy

When we talk about Joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, we are not saying that the life of a Christian will be sweet without sorrow. For one cannot claim to be a Christian without a cross. For Christ said in the Gospel of Matthew 16:24 “if you want to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.” A Priest once made a joke when he saw someone taking too much sugar that it seems his life is bitter that is why he is taking too much sugar. The Joy of the Holy Spirit gives is that type of Joy that in the midst of trouble and tribulation we still remain rock solid because our joy is not built on material things which does not last. The Joy of the Lord is our strength always for he gives us the Joy the world cannot give and cannot take away.

Peace

The Holy Spirit comes to us in our daily lives in the midst of and despite constant turmoil and uncertainty as a fruit. The peace of the Holy Spirit brings well-being, contentment and wholeness whatever the circumstances. But like other fruit of the Holy Spirit, we cannot produce this kind of spiritual peace on our own, because we are weak and in need of the Grace of God. We can however, ask the Spirit to work on our hearts to grow the fruit of peace that allows confident living and service to humanity. And we can be assured that the Spirit will give us the peace of God, which transcends all human knowledge and understanding and which guards our hearts and minds in relationship with Jesus Christ our Lord and Master.

Forbearance or Patience

When we talk about patience as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, we view at it from the perspective of how we become more like Christ who is patient. Patience comes from a position of power. A person may have the ability to take revenge or cause trouble, but patience brings self-restraint and careful thinking. Losing patience is a sign of weakness. We are patient through trying situations out of hope for a coming deliverance; we are patient with a trying person out of compassion. We choose to love that person and want what is best for them. The opposite of patience is agitation, discouragement and a desire for revenge. God does not want any of his children to live a life of agitation. He does not want any of his children be vendettist, instead He wants us to love everyone. Therefore, God who is patient wants us to be patient. When we are patient, we leave room for God to work in our hearts and in our relationships. In this way we let God be God of in all aspects of our lives.

Kindness

In the letter to the Ephesians 4:31-32, St. Paul admonished us to get rid of every bitterness or bad temper or anger or shouting or abuse but we should be generous to everyone, sympathetic, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave us in Christ. If we take a look at the aspect of relationship, for such relationship to endure and it must be nourished by kindness. Kindness begins with caring, being tenderhearted and compassionate. This could be in a form of paying for someone’s lunch or breakfast or writing a note of encouragement to a friend. This could also include words of encouragement, comfort, courtesy and compliments because it requires action. Therefore, our act of kindness should not be restricted to the people who are close to us, it should go out to all even to those whom we describe as our enemy.

Goodness

While growing up I thought that to be good is all about helping my mother with the house chores or getting good grades in school. But I found out that it is more than that. When we strive to be good for our benefit, it is a selfish way of living. However, when we act out true goodness is when we obey the commandments of God and seek the benefit of others. Then our actions become selfless because we place the needs of others before ours. The life of Jesus is a perfect example of goodness, as He died for the sins of humanity in order to give us the gift of eternal life.

Faithfulness

When we talk about faithfulness, we talk about steadfastness, constancy or allegiance. However, we are tempted to look at faithfulness in human terms such as being faithful to our friends, colleagues etc. This faithfulness is certainly necessary, however, this fruit of the spirit of faithfulness is actually referring to our faithfulness in Christ. This is foundational for all Christians necessarily to live a godly life. We know that God’s promises won’t fail and that his Word stands true for all ages. For He says that His Word will not return to hum empty until it has achieved what it was sent to do. There may be many times when we may not feel God’s faithfulness to us, but we must choose to trust and obey for there is no other way, because all that we are and have was given out of His love and mercy.

Self-control

The word self-control means inner strength. While this is the last of the fruit to be listed it is certainly not the least. In fact it takes a great deal of self-control to exercise the other eight. Daily, we all face temptation to sin, but people often lack the self-restraint and inner strength to stop when they should. Many of us find ourselves tempted to overeat, overdrink, overspend or overindulge. In the book of proverbs there is a comparison of someone who values self-control and the one who does not. Proverbs 25:28 “an open town, and without defenses; such is anyone who lacks self-control.” And Proverbs 16:32 “it is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win self-control over yourself than over whole cities.” Some people mistake self-control with patience; however, they are starkly different. Self-control allows us to keep our mind focused on God while avoiding the temptation of our desires. Many worldly temptations can be strong, but our spiritual self-control can be stronger with the help of faith.

Conclusion

We have seen that the Holy Spirit the promised Advocate is truly a companion for the life of a Christian. Without His presence in our lives we will only be working for God instead of walking with God. These fruits of the Holy Spirit just like the physical fruit need time to grow because it will not ripen in our lives overnight. This is the mistake most Christians make because they have prayed for a particular fruit of the Holy Spirit and they see themselves not practicing it they get discouraged forgetting that when you plant a seed it takes time to germinate. Using the analogy of a farmer who plants a corn. He tills the land, manures it and then plant. Every day he goes there to water it and when he sees the shoot, he is happy. For some of us we stop here, forgetting that the journey has just begun. Some of us stop when the ear is out. At this point we allow the cares and worries of this life to overshadow this fruit. Then, when the full grain in the ear, at this point we begin to bear other fruits in sixty and hundred folds. It is my Prayer that the Holy Spirit our Advocate, our friend will fall afresh on us through Christ our Lord Amen.

Song: Spirt of the Living God Fall afresh on me. Come wake me, fill me, touch me, mold me. Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me.

Song:

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,

From Thy clear celestial height,

Thy pure beaming radiance give:

Come, Thou Father of the poor!

Come, with treasures which endure!

Come, Thou Light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,

Visiting the troubled breast,

Dost refreshing peace bestow;

Thou in toil art comfort sweet,

Pleasant coolness in the heat,

Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal! Light divine!

Visit Thou these hearts of Thine,

And our inmost being fill;

Where Thou art not, man hath naught,

Nothing good in deed or thought,

Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour Thy dew;

Wash the stains of guilt away;

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on those who evermore

Thee confess and Thee adore,

In Thy sevenfold gifts, descend:

Give them comfort when they die,

Give them life with Thee on high,

Give them joys that never end." Amen

Bibliography

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Kurt Selles. “The Holy Spirit and Peace.” ReFrame Ministries. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.todaydevotional.com/devotion/theholyspiritandpeace.html.

Lauren Abraham. “Weekly Devotional: Fruit of the Holy Spirit - Goodness.” Osprey Observer. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-fruit-spirit-goodness.html.

Mulhern, P. F. “Holy Spirit, Fruits of.” in The New Catholic Encyclopaedia, Edited by Bernard L. Marthaler and Gregory F. LaNave. 2nd ed. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2000.

Valdes, Kelly Wise. “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit: What is Faithfulness.” Osprey Observer. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.ospreyobserver.com/2020/09/the-fruit-of-the-holy-spirit-what-is-faithfulness.html.

̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶. “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit: What is Kindness.” Osprey Observer. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.ospreyobserver.com/2020/09/the-fruit-of-the-holy-spirit-what-is-kindness.html.

̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶ ̶̶̶. “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit: What is Self-control.” Osprey Observer. Accessed May 14, 2023. http://www.ospreyobserver

.com/2020/09/the-fruit-of-the-holy-spirit-what-is-self-control.html.