Showing all posts by Elija

In Biblical Meditations

The gifts of the Holy Spirit (6/7): The gift of understanding

Author ElijaPosted on

“The Spirit explores the depths of everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10)

While the gift of knowledge helps us to withdraw from the attraction of creatures, recognising in an inner sight their nothingness (inasmuch as they were created out of nothing), and makes us realise that all life and beauty proceed from God; the gift of understanding helps us to penetrate the mystery of God with the light of the Holy Spirit Himself.

Our understanding is not capable of penetrating the divine mysteries with the help of faith alone, even if we hold fast to the revealed truths. For faith is, on the one hand, a great light, but, on the other hand, it is still dark. It is a light in that it conveys to us the truth about God and about all that we need for the path of following Christ. But it does not allow us to penetrate into the mystery of God himself, nor to understand his Being from within. The knowledge of God remains somehow obscure. St. Paul directs our gaze to eternity, where we will see God face to face:

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In Reflexion

The gifts of the Holy Spirit (5/7): The gift of knowledge

Author ElijaPosted on

“What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life?” (Mt 16:26)

Through the first four gifts (fear of the Lord, piety, fortitude and counsel), the Holy Spirit guides our moral life above all. Through the last three gifts (knowledge, understanding and wisdom) He directly guides our supernatural life, i.e. our God-centred life.

The first four gifts lead to the perfection of the cardinal virtues; the last three, on the other hand, complete the theological virtues. These last three gifts are related to contemplation, to the life of prayer, to unification with God.

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In Reflexion

The gifts of the Holy Spirit (4/7): The gift of counsel

Author ElijaPosted on

“Speak, O Lord; your servant listens” (1 Sam 3:9).

The Holy Spirit reminds us of all that Jesus said and did (cf. Jn 14:26). He dwells in us and teaches us what to do in the concrete situations of our lives. Thanks to the gift of counsel, we become able to perceive within us the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit and to distinguish it from other voices. However, this requires the capacity for inner silence and a willingness to detach ourselves from the hustle and bustle and chaos of so many different opinions and points of view, both outside and inside us.

By practising the virtue of prudence, we have learned to see everything from God’s perspective. However, because of the imperfection of our nature, there remains the uncertainty of whether we are really able to distinguish the voice of the Holy Spirit from our own thoughts or other voices. The action of the Holy Spirit within us is rather gentle and quiet, like a gentle breeze (cf. 1 Kgs 19:11-12). As we become more familiar with him, we learn to distinguish his voice more accurately. However, we need an increasing inner freedom, so that we are not so trapped in our own views, desires and illusions that the delicate voice of the Spirit cannot penetrate us. We need this inner light, which enables us to grasp in an instant the Will of God.

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

“LUMINOUS GIFTS”    

Author ElijaPosted on

‘O infinitely good God! You never deprive us of your gifts, unless we ourselves withdraw our hearts from you’ (St. Francis de Sales).

The wonderful gifts that God has given us, whether natural or supernatural, are meant to praise His glory and only reach their true splendour when we use them for this purpose. How empty art becomes when it does not glorify God! How vain are words if they do not praise God and edify men! How empty life becomes when it is lived with our backs turned to God!

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

“THE JOY OF THE LORD IS IN THE RIGHTEOUS”  

Author ElijaPosted on

“No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth.” (3 Jn 1:4).

These are words from the third letter of Saint John, addressed to a certain “Gaius,” about whom we have no further information. We can undoubtedly put these words in the mouth of our Heavenly Father. As this entire epistle attests, our life must be lived in accordance with the truth, both in word and deed, bearing witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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In Reflexion

The gifts of the Holy Spirit (3/7): The gift of fortitude  

Author ElijaPosted on

“So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed” (Lk 11:21).

The gift of fortitude is responsible for strengthening the soul to be ever more courageous in the service of the Lord. It gives us the strength to follow the motions and impulses of the Holy Spirit, to accept everything and to want everything that God wants.

The virtue of fortitude alone reaches its limits when confronted with the highest demands of the spiritual life. It can happen, for example, that we want to give ourselves completely to God, but we are still afraid to let go completely and abandon ourselves entirely to Him. Although we recognise what God wants from us, and in principle we want it ourselves, we are too weak to realise it. God then intervenes directly with the spirit of fortitude, thus helping us to take the decisive steps. The strengthened soul is then ready to do the will of the Father, even at the cost of great sacrifices.

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In 3 Minutes for God the Father

“FAITHFULNESS AND INNER LIFE”

Author ElijaPosted on

“Hold fast to me and enter into the depths of your being” (Inner Word).

If we want to follow the Lord, it is essential that we cultivate our inner life. Otherwise, we run the risk of remaining in an outward Christianity that does not reflect the beauty of the faith nor possess the strength of conviction necessary to help our Heavenly Father invite men to His Kingdom, to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

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In Reflexion

The gifts of the Holy Spirit (2/7): The gift of piety

Author ElijaPosted on

“The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16).

The gift of piety leads us to adhere to God with filial love, not wanting to offend Him in any way.

The spirit of piety touches and enlivens our spiritual life with a new, mild and gentle radiance. Under its influence, our relationship with God and with our neighbour will reach a new level of love. Piety wants to conquer the heart of God, whom it recognises as the most loving Father.

Therefore, it is not content with avoiding everything that could affect even in the slightest way the relationship with Him (which is the effect of the gift of fear); it goes further, wanting to please the Lord in all things. The man moved by the spirit of piety seeks to live as a true child of God. In this way, even the hardest and heaviest obligations can become easy and sweet. In this context, it is worth remembering a phrase of the venerable Anne de Guigné (who died in the odour of sanctity when she was only 11 years old): “Nothing is difficult if one loves God”.

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