A Fourth Sunday after Easter Thought to Start the Week Off Right
In the entry for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, The Inner Life of the Soul helps us better understand the Holy Spirit. It first grabs our attention with this rather unflattering observation:
"His name is in itself a partial explanation of our dullness."
This dullness comes from our lack or real understanding of our own soul. If we know that our soul is the part of us that will pass from this world intact after our poor bodies die, it only makes sense that we'd want to know more about it, doesn't it? And yet, few of us ever bother to make the effort to gain any understanding. We care about the soul, of course; but, without some theological background, it's kind of hard to wrap our mind around it.
After all, it's not like our body. That's made of matter, something solid that we can see and feel. The soul, on the other hand, remains a bit of a mystery. It's a spirit. We can say the word "spirit" and know that it's the part of us that will never die. But how much more do we really know about it? So no wonder when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we're kind of clueless.
But that doesn't mean we can't learn a thing or two about this Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, starting with what theologians tell us:
St. Bernard:
"The Holy Ghost is the sacred kiss of the Father and the Son, their imperturbable peace, their undivided love."
Cardinal Manning:
"God the Father is uncreated being, God the Son is uncreated intelligence, and God the Holy Ghost is uncreated love; and the uncreated being, intelligence, and love of God are God. God the Holy Ghost, Who is the love of the Father and the Son, perfects the mystery of the ever-blessed Trinity."
That helps a bit. More likely than not, though, if we have any knowledge of our Catholic religion, we already more or less knew this - even though we might not really understand it.
But even if we may not be able to fully grasp the Holy Spirit with our intellect, maybe we can gain a better understanding of Him another way: by considering how the Holy Spirit acts on us during our lives. To do that, as we might with a great artist, we look first at his great works. What - or really who - are the great works of the Holy Spirit? The saints, of course.
"How were the saints formed? By the personal action of the Holy Ghost on the individual soul. At this moment, as we speak or write, He is at work upon your soul and mine; no less than God Himself at work within our hearts...Let us kneel down, for we are actually in the real presence of God the Holy Ghost, and beg Him to reveal Himself to us, and teach us what is love and how to love. For love is the fulfilling of the law."
Even without a sure intellectual grasp (which, by the way, even theologians, don't really have), we can understand the wondrous fact that the Holy Spirit "is at work upon your soul and mine." It would behoove us to recognize this now, and refresh that recognition from time to time throughout the day. Our author goes so far as to suggest we kneel down - now - because we are, indeed "in the real presence of God the Holy Ghost."
Do we feel, or at least acknowledge that presence? Here on a Sunday, wouldn't this be the ideal time to do so? And with our recognition, perhaps we beg for the grace to retain this sense of His presence each and every day.
If we can keep this sense of the presence of this Holy Spirit, this Love between the Father and the Son, our daily fulfilling of God's law can be transformed from an act of obligation to an act of love. And for that we can thank the Holy Spirit.
Next Sunday will be the Fifth Sunday after Easter, the last Sunday before the Ascension. What greater joy can we have in these waning days of the Easter Season than knowing that, with the Resurrection of Our Lord, His Holy Spirit lives and works in us?
"His name is in itself a partial explanation of our dullness."
This dullness comes from our lack or real understanding of our own soul. If we know that our soul is the part of us that will pass from this world intact after our poor bodies die, it only makes sense that we'd want to know more about it, doesn't it? And yet, few of us ever bother to make the effort to gain any understanding. We care about the soul, of course; but, without some theological background, it's kind of hard to wrap our mind around it.
After all, it's not like our body. That's made of matter, something solid that we can see and feel. The soul, on the other hand, remains a bit of a mystery. It's a spirit. We can say the word "spirit" and know that it's the part of us that will never die. But how much more do we really know about it? So no wonder when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we're kind of clueless.
But that doesn't mean we can't learn a thing or two about this Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, starting with what theologians tell us:
St. Bernard:
"The Holy Ghost is the sacred kiss of the Father and the Son, their imperturbable peace, their undivided love."
Cardinal Manning:
"God the Father is uncreated being, God the Son is uncreated intelligence, and God the Holy Ghost is uncreated love; and the uncreated being, intelligence, and love of God are God. God the Holy Ghost, Who is the love of the Father and the Son, perfects the mystery of the ever-blessed Trinity."
That helps a bit. More likely than not, though, if we have any knowledge of our Catholic religion, we already more or less knew this - even though we might not really understand it.
But even if we may not be able to fully grasp the Holy Spirit with our intellect, maybe we can gain a better understanding of Him another way: by considering how the Holy Spirit acts on us during our lives. To do that, as we might with a great artist, we look first at his great works. What - or really who - are the great works of the Holy Spirit? The saints, of course.
"How were the saints formed? By the personal action of the Holy Ghost on the individual soul. At this moment, as we speak or write, He is at work upon your soul and mine; no less than God Himself at work within our hearts...Let us kneel down, for we are actually in the real presence of God the Holy Ghost, and beg Him to reveal Himself to us, and teach us what is love and how to love. For love is the fulfilling of the law."
Even without a sure intellectual grasp (which, by the way, even theologians, don't really have), we can understand the wondrous fact that the Holy Spirit "is at work upon your soul and mine." It would behoove us to recognize this now, and refresh that recognition from time to time throughout the day. Our author goes so far as to suggest we kneel down - now - because we are, indeed "in the real presence of God the Holy Ghost."
Do we feel, or at least acknowledge that presence? Here on a Sunday, wouldn't this be the ideal time to do so? And with our recognition, perhaps we beg for the grace to retain this sense of His presence each and every day.
If we can keep this sense of the presence of this Holy Spirit, this Love between the Father and the Son, our daily fulfilling of God's law can be transformed from an act of obligation to an act of love. And for that we can thank the Holy Spirit.
Next Sunday will be the Fifth Sunday after Easter, the last Sunday before the Ascension. What greater joy can we have in these waning days of the Easter Season than knowing that, with the Resurrection of Our Lord, His Holy Spirit lives and works in us?
Happy Easter!
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