Showing all posts by Elija

Holy Spirit, today I come to you with a special request which darkens the lives of many people.

The sense of chastity has been lost and for too many people it seems to be a relic of times gone by. If one speaks of it, one is often met with complete incomprehension, and even in ecclesiastical circles it not infrequently evokes a pitiful smile. Yet chastity is a fruit of life with You and a glorious gift that strengthens the dignity of the person immensely!

Why, O Holy Spirit, are we so little receptive to the beauty of chastity? Do we no longer have eyes to perceive the dignity of chastity? Have we already become so sexualised and thus indifferent to perceive its nobility, its inner strength, the integrity of a virgin?

Chastity does not mean a tense relationship to the sphere of sexuality, a fearful blocking of all natural impulses or the absence of any attraction to this vital area, but it does mean the ability to deal with it in a sensitive way.

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Now you have come, beloved Holy Spirit. This time you came in a violent wind (cf. Acts 2:2), not as you did with your friend Elijah (cf. 1 Kgs 19:11-13). Then it was more hidden, as you usually work in the souls of the people who let you in. But today it was different as the Holy Scripture reminds us. How wonderful and convincing was Your work! The apostles spoke and proclaimed in their own tongue, but everyone else understood them in their own language.

“At this sound (a sound as of a violent wind) they all assembled, and each one was bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely,’ they said, ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; residents of Rome- Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs, we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’” (Acts 2:6-11) Read More

Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten us, for You are the light that makes our darkness bright. Take away from us all our spiritual blindness, so that we may better recognise You and perceive reality in Your light. There is a big difference between recognising You in the work and only seeing the natural reality.

You know, Holy Spirit, we actually understand very little!

For us, life is made up of many different impressions, with which we try to build a coherent picture of reality. Sometimes we notice an inner line, and in faith we also know that such a line exists. But we easily lose this line during the day when we are involved in different activities and are too absorbed by them.

So how can we stay in touch with You and become more aware of You in our lives?

Prayer, talking to You and even more listening to You are very helpful.

Maybe we are not so used to it. We talk more with Jesus or with our Heavenly Father or also with Mary, the Mother of God.

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Beloved Holy Spirit, one of Your wonderful gifts is peace. It is a peace that the world cannot give (cf Jn 14:27), but neither can it take. This points to a peace different from the peace we usually know – it is a peace that lasts.

The world talks so much about peace, but cannot find it! There is always war somewhere, and the peace achieved is often fragile. But where is peace to come from? With all good will, one does not reach that dimension of peace of which Jesus speaks.

Peace is not only the absence of the concrete war, important as it is. Peace is more: It is the conformity of life with the truth of being and gets its creative power from there.

In these reflections we come to deeper questions, Holy Spirit, for it is true when it is said that peace must first begin with us!

So where does peace come from?

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Holy Spirit, it is said of You that You are a kind and human loving Spirit, and that a fruit that You make grow in the human soul is kindness!

Kindness is an agreeable attitude of man by which one easily wins the other person and makes him feel loved and acknowledged! And if this kindness is without falsehood – which it is without doubt, if it matures in the soul as a fruit of Your work – then it is a sun in the life of man! It reflects the attitude with which God meets us, because God does not only want us to recognize Him as our Father, but He also wants to be our trusted friend!

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