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THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE CONSOLER!

The one thing I find most frustrating is poor instruction guides, or it could be that I simply overcomplicate things?! I recently assembled a bookcase for my son's room. The diagram that accompanied the product was not very helpful. I spent a good half-hour figuring out the missing steps. The bookcase is simple and relatively easy to assemble. Still, the shelves are designed to fit together abstractly so that each frame has a different shape. That is where it gets tricky to get the structure to fit together as an off-centre cross. 

Bookcase fully assembled

Each shelf fits into the other using a dual support system: a set of dowel pins and screws. When the bookcase is assembled, the dowel pins are hidden, strengthen, and support the bond between the planks of wood. These dowel pins keep the structure aligned and ensure a tight fit. The bond between the shelves is strengthened by those tiny dowel pins, yet it is not visible to the eye once assembled. 

I am convinced the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives is no different! We can accredit most of our spiritual life to the workings of the third person of the Trinity. Yet, these workings can go by entirely unnoticed. The Old Testament proclaims God the Father clearly. For example, in the burning bush story, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to test if he fears God. Here, God takes on more of a Fatherly figure. The New Testament reveals the Son quite visibly. We know Jesus was a man that walked the streets, ate food with his disciples, and worked with his hands. Also, in the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river, a voice from heaven proclaims Jesus as the beloved Son.

In the New Testament, we see a glimpse of the divinity of the Spirit. Notably, when the Angel of the Lord allayed St Joseph's fears to take Mary as his wife: "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:20) Another instance is the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Our Lord tells his first disciples: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses … to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

If we reflect back on the bookcase. The shelves, dowel pins, and screws form one bookcase, although it comprises different parts. We may refer to the pieces according to their strengths or purpose in the bookcase.  For example, the screws are visibly seen to keep the respective external connections in place. The dowel sticks lie hidden between shelves to form internal links. Yet, if I removed the dowel pins in assembling the bookcase, it would eventually break from the weight of a few books. 

Instruction guide to assembling the bookcase

We do something very similar when talking about God in the Trinity. When we refer to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit differently. However, the distinction highlights different relationships we have with the same God. Although, we can only know the Father by first receiving the Holy Spirit, who leads us to the Son, and then the Father.

To know Christ, we first need to be touched by the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit. If you bear God's Spirit, you are led to the Word (the Son of God), and the Son presents you to the Father. We can't approach the Son without Holy Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son! Knowledge of the Son is obtained by the Spirit!  (CCC, 683)

St Joseph was told by the Angel, "do not fear," and Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son "to test if he fears God." The best way to see the seemingly invisible action of the Holy Spirit is through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:

  1. WISDOM – we need to try to put God first in everything before the things of this world. A helpful ordering of life's essential priorities is God first, family second, and work third!    
  2. UNDERSTANDING - the Holy Spirit will grant understanding in the areas of faith through obedience in the little things. When we make time daily for some quiet prayer, few minutes of spiritual reading, or to pray the Rosary. New ground is discovered in the landscape of our spiritual life. 
  3. COUNSEL - when we order God first and try to develop a deeper relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit will develop the gift of counsel within us to carefully listen to a friend, family member, or colleague in some trial or challenging time they are experiencing. We will be granted the appropriate advice to help them in this situation. 
  4. KNOWLEDGE - the fortitude to know and discern the appropriate course of action to take in different situations. Sometimes we meet the crossroads of a difficult circumstance, and we may be unsure about the appropriate path to take in this regard. By abandoning this problem to God in prayer, the Holy Spirit may help us "know" what to do in this situation.
  5. FORTITUDE - to persevere in our daily life despite the naturally occurring difficulties and to ensure that we never let ourselves be overwhelmed by anxiety. The Holy Spirit enables us to trust the workings of life into the providence of God. 
  6. PIETY - deep love for Our Lord in the Eucharist and desire to come to know him more deeply and more fully in the Mass and Eucharist adoration. The realisation that we are children of God and we adore our Father in heaven. 
  7. FEAR OF THE LORD – the Holy Spirit will help us fear God not out of fear of punishment but with a love that totally trusts in the Lord. Like Abraham and St. Joseph put God's will for their lives above everything, they never looked back on it.

 

—God is my Father! If you meditate on it, you will never let go of this consoling consideration.

—Jesus is my intimate Friend (another re-discovery) who loves me with all the divine madness of his Heart.

—The Holy Spirit is my Consoler, who guides my every step along the road. Consider this often: you are God's… and God is yours. 

(Point 2, The Forge)

 

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