THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

480th Meditation

“The Holy Spirit is always ready to enlighten and strengthen you” (Message of the Father to Sr. Eugenia Ravasio).

The great gift of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, causes our soul to be enlightened by the supernatural light of God, so that we learn to see everything from the perspective of our Heavenly Father. He is the light of light, and as soon as we turn to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to enlighten us, He will open our inner eyes so that we can better see and perceive the glory of the Father.

But not only does the Holy Spirit enlighten us, He also gives us that strength which far surpasses human courage, so that we can persevere on the path of following Christ, with our gaze fixed on the Father, and with His help we can overcome the difficulties and obstacles that we encounter on this path.

The Holy Spirit calls us to make a firm resolution never to give up in our following of the Lord, and He gives us all the help we need to do so. Then what St. Teresa of Avila affirms about the life of prayer happens: once we have decided to take this path and have made the firm decision never to throw in the towel, we are already halfway there.

The unfolding of the spirit of fortitude in us comes from trust in our heavenly Father. When we sincerely confess to Him that despite our firm resolve and good will, we are still so lacking in understanding and weak, and humbly ask for His help, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us will always be ready to come to our aid so that we can live by His power and thus glorify the Heavenly Father.