A Conversation With God Dearest Father, I always have a lot of questions for you, and I am knocking on your door. “Seek and You Shall Find”. Yes, I am always seeking you Father. I love contemplating the wonders of God and all the perfect creations you have made. I know that when St.Patrick, our great Irish teacher went to Ireland to teach the druids about Christianity it is said he used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. Yes, the three in one God. Such a sweet example of the Trinity . . .three petals and one stem. I have been meditating on the Holy Spirit and what part of God is the Holy Spirit? I am coming to an understanding of the Holy Spirit because of you, Father. . . .and the Holy Spirit is very complex, yet direct. Part of the Holy Spirit is inspired works. Have you ever done something that astounded you so much that you could do it? Something that you did not feel capable of? Have you ever said, “I surprised myself, it turned out so good.” That is the Holy Spirit. It is God working through you. I will give examples of the Holy Spirit: When the music composer Handel wrote “The Messiah”, he said, “I did not do that, I am not capable of creating something so beautiful and complex.” When an actor accepts an award and says “I give the thanks to God because I could not have done that on my own.” When a writer says, “I don’t know how I wrote something so beautiful, I am not capable of it.” When an artist says, “I don’t know what inspired me to paint that.” They are works that make you awestruck with their beauty and goodness. Anything less than that is not the Holy Spirit. The Bible is inspired writing from the Holy Spirit, working through the authors who wrote it. The Holy Spirit can work in grand ways and small ways. St. Therese did no wake up one day and say, “I want to become a Saint.” She became a saint because she was inspired by the Holy Spirit to become little. If you read her writings you can hear the Holy Spirit working through her. By not letting her ego take over and say, “I did this”, but giving the credit to God working through her is what humility is. Just like Mary saying, “I am the handmaiden of the Lord”, she gives God credit and this is humility. The Holy Spirit makes us humble, and that is how we learn about humility. People become saints when they learn humility and do not let their egos take credit for the work of, and spirit of God. Have you ever seen the little plaque that says, “How can I be humble when I am so great”? Well, you can’t be humble if you think you are great. You are not great, only God is great. You can say, “Abraham Lincoln was a great President”. But he was only great because he was guided by the Holy Spirit and let that light shine through him. He had to work at being saintly. St. Therese had to work at becoming a saint. By letting God work through her she became holy. Our souls need to aspire to holiness and that takes work, effort, and focusing on God. When you let God work through you, great things will happen. That doesn’t mean that you will have a comfortable life, wealth, prosperity, or more lavish vacations. Those things are pleasures, not holiness. God does give us pleasures because He loves us. But to be truly happy and content you must be holy. The state of contentment you are in will show you your state of holiness. If you are going through trials it is because God is trying to get you back on track to holiness. The more you suffer, the cleaner your soul will become, and sometimes we bring suffering to ourselves. That is because our souls are conflicted, they haven’t learned how to find holiness in God. Have you ever read that martyrs do not suffer when being tortured and persecuted? How could that be? Because they are holy. They have no fear of death because God removes the fear. The Holy Spirit fills them with great graces and works through them. They would tell you, “I am not that great, only God is that great. I could not endure that kind of suffering”. But they give credit to God and humble themselves, therefore letting the Holy Spirit work through them. That is being inspired by God. These are different ways of the Holy Spirit working through you. This is the third part of the Holy Trinity. What gives us the confidence to trust in God and receive these graces? Faith gives us this confidence. That is why faith is so important. Faith makes us stronger and more focused on God. Prayer is the lifeline and communication with God that gives us the ability to receive His grace. Without faith there would be no prayer. Sometimes we think God does not answer our prayers, but we have to trust in God that he knows what is best for us. Just like little children do now know what is best for them. You must keep your hearts open to God in order to hear him speak to you. That is why quiet time is important. We need to listen in our hearts without being distracted. More examples of the Holy Spirit. It is the force of God. For instance, watching a flower unfold. A blade of grass coming up through the ground. A bolt of lightning crashing to the ground, the sound of thunder, the echo of the birds. That is also the Holy Spirit at work. You could say nature is being inspired by God. It is just a part of God’s eternal love.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful reflection on the Holy Spirit. It gives me much food for thought.
Thoughtful, true, peaceful, and gentle! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the Faithful, and kindle in us the fire of Your Love!
