VENI
CREATOR SPIRITUS
 

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• The ....... Receive The Holy Spirit - Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P. (E.D.M.)
• The Gifts of The Holy Spirit - Richard Foley, S.J.
• How To Stir The Gift of The Holy Spirit in Your Life - Christian author.
• The Understanding of The Whole and Entire Truth - M.M.P. message no. 450.
• The Time of The Holy Spirit - M.M.P. message no. 426.
• The Second Pentecost - M.M.P. message no. 428.
• Prayers - Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P. (E.D.M.)

            That we may the better realize this divine truth, let us see with what care God has prepared our souls to be the worthy tabernacles of the Holy Ghost. Many Christians too have little idea of the greatness and grandeur of their souls. We are composed of a body and soul. Our bodies are clay and into clay they return after death. Whatever beauty they have comes from the soul. Our souls are immortal, like to God Himself. Yet men, as an almost universal rule, give most attention to the care, the welfare, the happiness of their poor bodies. In every 24 hours, their main concern is for the needs, the comforts of these bodies. They rest them by long hours of sleep; they eat abundantly to nourish them; they give them every possible pleasure.  If these bodies suffer the slightest pain or discomfort, they hasten to relieve it.  They call doctors and use expensive remedies. The Exceeding Beauty of Our Souls. But in all the 24 hours of the day, many think little or nothing at all of their souls.
 

        Now let us see the immense value that our souls have in the eyes of God - the care, the love with which God has made them, how He has expended all the riches of His wisdom and power in adorning them and making them worthy residences of the Holy Ghost. Thus perhaps we shall more easily understand why it is that the Holy Ghost resides in us.
 

        One of the first questions of the Catechism is, "Who made you?" The answer is, "God made me. ' These few words do not impress us; they are not sufficiently explained to us, and as a consequence, few people have the faintest idea of the wonders of their creation. They never think of thanking God for all that He has done for them when bringing them into being.Instead of me, He might with the same facility have created a great saint or a glorious angel. Why did He create poor me?  Because He loved me with an infinite love.Let us pause to meditate on this first immense proof of God's love for us.
 
 

        God Himself created us with His own "divine hands." He created us simply because He loved us. He made us to His perfect image and likeness.  He did not create us as He created others of His creatures.  He created us with a special love.  He created us as His own dear children, children who will be His forever and forever, children who will be with Him for all eternity, seated on glorious thrones in His presence, enjoying His happiness and sharing in His glory. In creating us, He used His infinite wisdom, His infinite power, His infinite love, His infinite generosity in making us to His own perfect image and likeness.

Our likeness to God is not a merely external appearance; it is in the very essence of our being.  He made our souls spirits like Himself. He made our souls immortal like Himself.  Our souls will live as long as God lives. He gave us faculties like His very own.  He gave us a glorious intelligence like His divine intelligence.  He gave us a free will, independence in our actions, a will that nothing can coerce, a will so wonderful that, if we only use it rightly, its every act will have an eternal reward.  He gave us the power of looking at the past, the present and the future, as He Himself does. The soul of man, thus formed and fashioned by God, is the most wondrous thing in creation.
 
 

        His Divine Goodness was not yet satisfied with all the natural gifts He had given us.  He resolved to raise us by a new and still more wonderful creation to a divine rank.  He made us as gods. (St. Thomas Aquinas).In the words of the Apostle St. Peter, He gave us a real participation of His own divine nature. (2 Ptr. 1:4).  This sanctifying grace, this divine life, He pours into the substance of our souls, and thence into our faculties, making them capable of the highest supernatural acts. Looking on us thus radiant, thus transfigured by this divine beauty, He can well exclaim: "What could I do for my vineyard that I have not done" He made us, indeed, the masterpiece of His divine hands. St. John Chrysostom says that, before we receive the Holy Ghost, we are like a man weighed down with age and infirmities, but when the Holy Ghost comes into us, we are made young, beautiful and full of energy.Blosius says that, did we see our souls in the state of grace, we should be transported with joy and delight.St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi says that we should die of love did we see the beauty of our souls.
 
 

        One of the most beautiful and touching proofs of the love that God gives us is His personal care of each one of us. Since the moment of our creation. He has never taken His eyes off us. Nothing happens to us, not the least thing, without His divine consent. Not a hair falls from our heads without His knowledge or permission.  We are touched when we see the tender care and watchfulness of a mother who has her eyes ever on her little child, making sure that no evil happens to it. The mother's care gives us but the faintest idea of God's sweet care of each one of us. As we saw, God gave us all His love and attention at the moment of our creation.  This love and care has not ceased or diminished for one instant in all those long years of our life.  How little we prize this most tender and infinite love of God for us!
 
 

        At the moment we came into the world, God called one of His great princes, a glorious angel, and bade him guard and guide us.  He bade him devote all his angelic power, all his wisdom and love to helping us, to keeping us from harm and defending us against all dangers. This Angel loves us with unspeakably great love, first of all because God has given us to his care; secondly, because he loves us himself with all the strength and love of his angelic nature; thirdly, because we are in ourselves things so surpassingly lovely. We wonder, in reading the story of Tobias, when we see how good God was to send him the Angel Raphael to accompany him on his journey and obtain for him many great benefits.  Much more should we wonder that each one of us has a glorious Angel as companion, not for a week or a month, but for all our lives, an Angel who gives us all his care.  He never leaves us; he obtains for us all kinds of graces and saves us from countless dangers. It is because our souls are so perfect, so dear to Him that God gives us this Angel all to ourselves, to protect us, to help us, to love us.Yet many Christians do not realize the favour God has done them in giving them this glorious Angel to watch over them.  They never thank their Angel for all he is ever doing for them, nor for the dangers he saves them from, nor do they call on him for the help which he is only too ready to give them in their difficulties.
 
 

        Now that God has made the soul perfect with all these gifts of nature and grace and that it is indeed a worthy tabernacle for the Third Divine Person, the Holy Ghost then comes into it with ineffable love and makes it His living Tabernacle forever.
 
 

        He pours out on it His gifts and graces and infuses into it the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity; He gives us His Seven Gifts, which help us to follow His inspirations and which strengthen our natural powers so that we see better and act with more strength.  These Gifts are Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom and Counsel, which enlighten and help the intelligence, and Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord, which strengthen our wills. The Gift of Wisdom helps us to think less of worldly things and more of God and our spiritual life.
 

        These are called "Gifts" because we do not acquire or merit them.  They are given us freely by the Holy Ghost.  When we obey and follow the inspirations they give us, we receive the Beatitudes, that is, new ideas, new views, new activities, a new life.  We become more meek, more joyful, more peaceful and more clean of heart.
 

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
• Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.
• Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
• Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill.
• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
• Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.
• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
• Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

        From the Gifts and the Beatitudes flow the Fruits of the Holy Ghost, which are joy, Patience, Mildness, Benignity, Modesty, Chastity and other like graces [or virtues].  They are all those facts we do with peace, pleasure, joy and love. (St.  Thomas Aquinas).
These graces are called "Fruits" because they are the crowning favours, the result of all the Holy Spirit has been doing for us.  They are to our souls what the fruit is to the tree, what the flower is to the plant.  We thus become an object of delight to the Father and the Son, who come too and dwell in our souls, which thus become the home of the Blessed Trinity.

These Gifts, Beatitudes and Fruits we receive by prayer and good works, by Holy Mass, Communion and the Sacraments.  Strange that many Christians never think of asking for the Gifts, the Beatitudes, the Fruits of the Holy Ghost. These Gifts and graces do not make our lives sad or austere. Far from it, they fill us with a peace, a joy, and a consolation we never felt before. What was before difficult to us becomes now easy and delightful, for the Holy Ghost, as we have said, is the Spirit of joy, peace and consolation. He enlightens, He strengthens us, He enables us to know God as we never knew Him before.  He gives us a foretaste of Heaven, joy and consolation are in fact the chief characteristics of the Holy Ghost. Thus we read in the Acts of the Apostles, "The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost" St. Paul says, "I super abound in joy in all my tribulations"
Joy is a result of holiness, and we find the Saints the most joyful of mortals. St. Dominic, for instance, was always most joyful. He was never sad, except when he heard of the sorrow of others.
 
 

        There are other Gifts called "charismata," which are not given to sanctify the person who receives them, but are given for the help and benefit of others.  Such are the gifts of working miracles, healing the sick, the gift of tongues, the gift of prophecy - all of which are given when necessary. It is well to remark that we sometimes attribute to one or other of the Divine Persons works or perfections which in reality are common to all the Divine Persons.  We do this by what theologians call appropriation, that is, because these perfections seem to be more connected with the personal characteristics of that Divine Person.  We attribute Power and the work of Creation to the Father, because He is the Principle of the Son and Holy Ghost.  We attribute Wisdom to the Son, because He proceeds from the Father by the intellect.  We attribute the sanctification of souls, the Gifts and Fruits to the Holy Ghost, because He proceeds from the Father and the Son by Their mutual love.
 

        In preparation for the year 2000, Pope John Paul II has declared 1998 the year of the Holy Spirit. This initiative of the Holy Father makes now the perfect time to review the seven gifts we receive from the Sanctifier at Baptism and which are further reinforced and increased during Confirmation.

THAT DAY IN YOUR LIFE could be regarded as your "personal Pentecost"? It was the day you received Confirmation. For in this sacrament the Holy Spirit "comes down upon us" in a very special way. And what He does is give us a considerable increase in the seven special gifts we received initially from Him in Baptism. This sevenfold gift is traditionally listed as follows: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord. So rich in meaning is each gift that it amounts to a gold mine of theology, some choice nuggets from which we shall presently be considering. But first we need to ask ourselves: What is the purpose behind the sevenfold package we receive at Confirmation? What are the gifts as such, designed to do? The answer is that those gifts, each in its own way. supply us with essential equipment, so to call it, thus making us truly roadworthy for the journey of life. For that is precisely what life is. We are wayfarers in this world, Scripture tells us, pilgrims and strangers heading for the shrine of eternal life.But on our way to that glorious destination we have formidable enemies to contend with. That's why Saint Paul likens us to Christian soldiers engaged in daily battle with a trio of enemies: fallen angels, our fallen human nature, and a fallen world's temptations and seductions. For this reason the Church on earth is designated "militant" the Church at war with God's enemies and ours.The purpose then, of the seven gifts, each in its distinctive way, is to provide us Christian soldiers with much - needed additional protection and firepower. Let us now consider them one by one.

        This is the master gift. Through it the Holy Spirit helps us see all things in the light of eternity. Our life comes from the Creator and must flow back to Him. He is not only the God of our existence but its goal. And we must, at all costs relying entirely on divine help, attain that goal no matter what the world, the flesh and the devil may throw at us in the process. Therefore throughout our entire lives we are to pay God honour and service. We find that, even amid sickness and suffering, the bright light of Wisdom keeps our gaze fixed on the splendours of the world to come. It also illumines our daily path every square inch of which has been carefully charted out in advance by a loving providence. Our Lady Seat of Wisdom helps us keep our eyes on the goal and our feet on the road. She also defends us from the enemies of destiny.
 

        What, we must now ask, is the most precious and indispensable of all the good things coming from God'? The answer is: our faith. For it reveals essential truths about God and human destiny, truths without which we would be woefully wretched and lost as we journey down the years.The gift of Understanding's essential function is to help our minds and hearts penetrate deeper and deeper into faith's mysteries. Thereby we come not only to grasp them more clearly but to relish them, appreciating them as pearls of great price.Understanding naturally focuses its beams in a special way on the Eucharistic mysteries, because there, faith attains its topmost summit. The Holy Spirit of Under-standing will help us discern more and more clearly the true presence of the Eucharistic Saviour under his sacramental trappings. This gift will also counter any doubts and hesitations coming from the aforementioned trio of enemies. Mari Loli, the Garabandal visionary, is on record concerning an "Understanding" experience she had. In a letter written to a priest (October 13, 1963) she says about a certain locution: "The Virgin made me I understand the crucifixion in the Holy Mass. I now understand humility and sacrifice for the world."
 

        To do God's will in all things at all times is the secret of holiness. It is also the sure road to eternal life. Counsel is the operative gift in this area. Like a compass it points our way unerringly to life's magnetic north - the divine will. Through this gift, the Holy Spirit helps us to judge with supernatural prudence what we should say or do, especially in difficult circumstances. Thus Counsel regulates our words, actions and duties according to God'sdesigns, no matter how uncertain, perplexed or confused we may be initially. As we would expect, the powers of dark-ness do all they can to dim or even extinguish the light of Counsel that leads us to discern and do God's will. Those who have the charge and direction of other people should frequently resort to this gift. One thinks here of parents, educators. spiritual directors and Church leaders. A particularly sensitive area where Counsel is all - important is that of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Our Lady of Good Counsel should frequently be invoked when we needsound advice about anyone or anything. So, too, should our own Angel Guardian.
 

        This is in a special way the warrior's gift. When on life's journey we encounter trials, temptations and sufferings, we must keep soldiering on, regardless. And this demands that we be courageous, constant, firm, totally committed to God's love and service. It is the Holy Spirit of Fortitude who keeps us going day after day, strengthening us to be brave, patient, persevering and - above all faithful to duty, no matter what this may cost us in sacrifice. Pope John Paul II says in this regard: "The Holy Spirit supports the will even in extreme suffering, as happens especially in martyrdom: the martyrdom of blood but also of the heart as well as in the martyrdom of illness, weakness and infirmity."

        This gift makes of all created things so many mirrors in which we see a reflection of the Creator's goodness, beauty and power. It also helps us to enjoy and use created things in accordance with the divine will. Saint Francis of Assisi excelled at this. So too, did Saint Ignites Loyola. But someone who failed dismally was Saint Paul's companion. Deems: by putting creatures before Creator he rejected the principals of Knowledge. In Saint Paul's words, "He fell in love with the things of this world" and made shipwreck of his Christian calling (cf2 Tim 4:10).
Knowledge also assists us with regard to faith, helping us to see and determine the content of revelation. Besides, it enlightens us how best to explain our beliefs to inquirers and torefute those who deny them.

        This gift kindles in our hearts a child-like love and affection toward God, making us delight in His praise, worship and service. At the same time it inspires us to love and respect all persons and things consecrated to God. Thus everyone from the Holy Father down to the humblest member of the Church falls within the outreach of this gift.
So, too, do all those who in different ways are vested with God's authority. This applies variously to parents, religious superiors, and civic national leaders. But it is to things as well as persons that Piety reaches out. Here, we think of sacramentals rosaries, medals, crucifixes, holy pictures,holy water, scapulars, relics, wedding rings, etc. Indeed, the Garabandal apparitions provided us in this respect with a feast of Piety. For Our Lady taught us there, to reverence and cherish all things even the simplest that raise our minds and hearts to God.
 

        Aware though we are of God's goodness and love, we are at the same time all-too-aware of our weakness and fragility. We carry the treasures of heaven in the frail earthenware of our humanity (2 Car 4:7). So with good reason we are apprehensive lest we offend our loving God by breaking His commandments. All this do we owe to Fear of the Lord. Far from being servile and cringing, however, it is filial; that is, it is steeped in love and brimful of confidence in our good and merciful Father. Because it avoids sin like the plague and focuses its gaze on eternal life, Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom (Prov 1:7).
 
 

        Do this together with other believers and when you are alone in prayer and meditation. Do it while at work and while driving. Keep a whole collection of songs to sing. Some could be praise choruses and others could be scriptures put to song, others could be songs of the spirit in unknown tongues. This is the fastest way and best way to "get in the Spirit" like John was on the Lord's day in Rev 1. The times we feel most anointed and full of the Spirit are the times when we spend a couple hours in prayer and praise. Prayer and praising in the Spirit, increases the power of the Spirit on and in you. It creates the atmosphere that is conducive to manifestations.
 
 

        This is the most difficult to come to an understanding. 'Envy' and 'jealousy' are seen as negative feelings (and indeed they are). How could these things bring about the manifestations of spiritual gifts. The story of Elijah and Elisha comes to mind. Elisha longed for the gifts and anointing of Elijah. The story recounts how he asked for and received a 'double portion' of the anointing of Elijah. This shows how that desiring for the gifts and the manifestation of the Spirit will actually bring them forth. We do not believe that this indicates an envy or jealousy of another person, but an envy and jealousy for the gifts and anointing of the other person. Hence, this falls in with the common notion among many Pentecostals and Charismatics that if you follow a certain minister, you will have his anointing and gifting rub off on you. That is why many orders in the same religion exist to cater for different characters and experiences. So, it is the 'zeal' or 'envy' or 'jealousy' for the gifting that causes this to happen. So in this way, if you want gifts to manifest in your life, follow a minister who is operating the gifts you envy and are zealous for. Attend his meetings, get into his services and even volunteer to aid in the service and the ministering line.
 

The words 'eagerly desire', here are translated from the Greek word 'zeloo'; from where we get our word 'zeal'. It is elsewhere translated 'jealousy' and 'envy'.
 
 

        It is a difficult day for most when they come to realize that they are going to have to part company with a fellowship because it is no longer feeding them or meeting their needs. If you are in a fellowship that does not follow the Spirit and does not worship in Spirit and truth, depart and find one that is moving in the Spirit, the gifts, and faith. It is going to come down to you will either leave on your own, or they will ask you to leave. You will not fit in. If you want to move into the power and Spirit, and your fellowship wants to remain in dogma and ritual.. move on.

        Jesus used love to stir up the gifts in His life. Here we are not loving the gifts but the recipient of the gifts. Love brings the gifts to the needy. When stirring up gifts with envy, the object of the envy is the gift. When stirring up gifts with love, the object of the love is the needy.
 
 

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DIVINE MERCY THE