Remaining Open to The Holy Spirit

The arrival of Pentecost Sunday shifted the Liturgical Calendar away from the joy of the Easter season. However, the beauty of the Catholic faith is that with the end of the Easter season comes the renewal of The Holy Spirit in the celebration of Pentecost. The Church will now begins a period until the last Sunday in May where the role of the Holy Trinity and the Feast of Corpus Christi will take a focal point.

In my own personal faith journey, my parish just completed the Novena to The Holy Spirit, or The Burning Bush Novena, as it is also known. This is an ancient novena that the Catholic Church in general had moved away from, particularly in the United States, over the period of the last several years.

The Burning Bush Novena helped me immensely in the preparation for Pentecost because I felt a renewal of The Holy Spirit in my life, it helped me to reconnect with that after some busy weeks following Easter.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus promised us at The Ascension that He would send to us an Advocate, The Holy Spirit, which will remain in us until the end of time. Pentecost is the memorial celebration of the founding of the Holy Catholic Church. It is also a reminder to myself and to all Catholics throughout the world that The Holy Spirit dwells within us, and that every day we are challenged to remain open to the Spirit working in our lives.

I know that in my personal experience that has been a difficult task at some points, to remain open to The Holy Spirit working in my daily life. It is also, at the same time, a pretty mind blowing concept to think that the same Holy Spirit that lives in me was the same Holy Spirit that flowed through Our Lord Jesus during His time here on Earth.

It is humbling and awe-inspiring to think that the Lord loved us all so much that He gave us the gift and blessing of the presence of The Holy Spirit to guide our earthly steps. I know for myself it is a difficult concept to comprehend fully. I also know in my own experience that I tend to go through my daily routine which can leave me in a state where I am stuck in my own mind, thinking about all that I “have” to do during the course of any given day. I know many people who approach their daily life in the same manner.

Conversely, I take the time daily to pray at various points throughout the day to thank God for His blessings upon me. I am grateful that I am healthy enough to work and lead a busy and robust day-to-day lifestyle. I am also very motivated in the area of personal fitness and I exercise at my local gym daily. It is in those moments recently where I have encountered people at my gym or at work where the topic of faith has invariably come up in conversation. These small moments, these instances, are encounters where our lives can be changed by remaining open to the working of The Holy Spirit.

I often find myself being more receptive to The Holy Spirit during seemingly routine tasks such as going to the grocery store or a pharmacy. I will cross paths with other shoppers and offer to assist them in loading multiple items or help them put a few bags into the trunk of their car. It is in these small acts that we can make a big difference in the lives of others.

Too Organized

In reflecting upon the concept behind this article I found myself pondering the fact that so many of us, myself included, can start our days or our weeks with a plan which takes up the majority of that time. The time spent organizing or planning is not a misused activity but in remaining open to The Holy Spirit there needs to be a flexibility, an openness to letting things go down another path during the course of the day.

In fact, often times we all know the feeling of having a particular day go “off the rails” and move very far away from our own expectations for that day and for that time. That seemingly “off course” day could have been exactly where The Holy Spirit wanted you to be. It is challenging to remain that open, to relinquish control and put aside our own plans to allow someone else to steer the ship, so to speak, but that is what we need to do if, in the words of Pope Francis we are to remain “docile to The Holy Spirit”.

It is a challenge to remain open to the workings of The Holy Spirit but it is necessary in order to truly achieve one of the main teachings of Our Lord from the Gospels. The Ascension of the Lord has played an essential role over the course of many years during my faith journey in preparing me for the coming of The Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. I reflect upon Our Lord’s promise that he would send the Advocate (the Spirit) to remain within us and that He would also remain with us always, that is an inspiring and hope filled message!

Fifty Days

Our lives, all too often, become more about the order and process of things rather than living in the present moment. I have been reading and reflecting on other materials to supplement that time between Easter and Pentecost and in those 50 days I found a consistent message in these materials from authors and scholars from the Catholic media and across the spectrum: live in the present.

If we (myself included) focused more on the present moment and realized that the past is gone and the future is not promised to any of us, then our communities and our families would be changed in a profoundly positive manner. Jesus loved us all so much that the same Holy Spirit that He used to cure people from afflictions, cast out demons, and all sorts of other acts of faith resides in us as well. That is a pretty amazing and awesome realization!

The reason why we all, generally speaking, have difficulty accessing this openness to The Holy Spirit is due to the ways of the secular world. The secular world wants to drag you and me down with worry over the future or guilt for the mistakes of our past. That type of fear can be crippling and it is by design. Jesus taught us to not worry about the ways of the world because He overcame the world, as the Gospels teach us. The changes you need to make to become more open to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are more rewarding than anything the secular world can provide.

Remaining Open: Dedication & Prayer

It is at this point that you will ask: so how do you become more open to The Holy Spirit? The answer is slowly and with dedication. The incorporation of some quiet meditative prayer time at some point during your daily routine is the first step in the process. It will start to grow and move from there. The biggest component is to trust in the Lord and surrender all of your preconceptions. The next step is to read The Holy Bible and to reflect on the passage and see where that process takes you.

Finally, it is in sincere prayer from the heart that you ask “Come Holy Spirit” and you will find that your days are more fulfilling and your outlook will be more positive. You will find situations in your life that were once challenging have now become navigable. You will be able to help others through deeds, words, and gestures to know the love of their God. You will find your life improve in innumerable ways if you remain open to The Holy Spirit and live in the moment, live in the “here and now”; and most importantly you will be doing the work that the Lord intended for you to do.

I hope that these words will bring you all to a deeper relationship with The Holy Spirit during this renewal of the spring season and as by a New Pentecost we can bring others to discover The Holy Spirit in their lives as well. May the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you all and your families always.