What I have yet to tell you is that my Friend “sheds a ray of light divine” and tears the dark night. That is also what He did for me. His radiant light illuminated my life and led me to Jesus, our Saviour – I can never thank Him enough!
But He is not content with enlightening and leading me, a poor man, to salvation. He radiates His light into this world so that all people may recognise the Messiah whom the Heavenly Father has sent to us. Read More
My divine Friend does not come to dwell in me only when I have already put my inner house in impeccable order. On the contrary, if I ask Him to do so, He Himself helps me with that. He does not shrink from anything; He is ready to show me the dirty corners that I would not even be able to discover, and He Himself gets down to work, but always with charming kindness and great perseverance. He wants to remain forever in my soul and prepare it for eternity. There it will stand firm forever and can never be derailed again. Read More
I want to tell you about my divine Friend, because He is so good to me that I really have to share about Him with you. It is not that I think that you do not know Him and that He is exclusively my Friend – of course not! But if I tell you about Him, perhaps you will know Him a little better. Indeed, the more we hear about Him and the more time we spend with Him, the better we will know Him. Read More
If the gift of understanding enables us to penetrate the divine mysteries, the gift of wisdom grants us a “delightful” knowledge of God. “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” -exclaims the psalmist (Ps 34:8). First he invites us to taste, and only then to see. Read More
“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. Read More
“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. Read More
“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. Read More
“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. Read More
“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. Read More
Today, on the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit.
What an extraordinary change we see in the apostles! They, who were faint-hearted and fearful, become, thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit, powerful messengers of God’s love; and they fearlessly proclaim the Gospel. The great miracle that each of the listeners – coming from the most diverse corners of the world – could understand the message of the apostles in their own language (cf. Acts 2:6) was a sign for the future. It was as if for a moment the confusion of tongues had been abolished, so that when the apostles proclaimed the wonders of God, all people could understand them. Read More
