God the Holy Spirit “Supernaturalizes” Us!
Dear Parish Family,
Even with Covid anxieties subsiding, there are a number of unsettling things happening in the world right now. There are the recent shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, the war in Ukraine, public institutions pushing anti-Christian ideologies, the effect inflation will have on the poor, the threats of abortion advocates to a post-Roe nation, the challenges our children and families face, among many other things, and of course the usual stresses of an overscheduled life.
Does all that’s happening discourage and worry you or make you anxious or even afraid? It would only be natural to experience some discouragement, anxiety, and fear in the face of these things. Who wouldn’t? The dangerous temptation in the face of increasing hostility is to let it all overwhelm us, rob us of our peace, and drive us to despair. That of course is what Satan and his minions would want.
As natural as reactions of discouragement, anxiety, and fear may be to these unsettling things may be, God does not want us to remain in those states. He calls us to live on a supernatural level, and we do that with his grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. He does not want us to ignore or deny those initial natural reactions, but rather embrace them as Jesus embraced the Cross, but overcame them by his divine life in which he invites us to share.
Let’s be clear. We do not have the power to do that on our own; it takes a power that is beyond our own. It takes the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit animating our souls. So if you find yourself in despair in the face of discouragement, anxiety, and fear, perhaps that is a sign that we’re living simply on that natural level and not on the supernatural level that God the Holy Spirit empowers us to live.
How do we live the life of the Holy Spirit? First of all, we’ve got to want it. We’ve got to desire that we be wholly surrendered to God and his will. Authentic faith and desire are what stirs up the graces of the Holy Spirit given to us in the sacraments of initiation. Then we have to take the time to dispose ourselves to receive the supernatural gifts the Holy Spirit offers. These include those gifts that allow us to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2): wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
As God the Holy Spirit transforms us, we begin to bear in our lives the very things the world need most, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which include: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Boy, do we need a lot more of those things in the world to counter the very opposite spirits that are all too prevalent! Man was never meant to live apart from God, but was always meant to be united to him. Without that union, we become less human and thus less humane to one another.
So how do we dispose ourselves to receive these supernatural gifts and bear all that good fruit? Two things, both of which you can do at our Pentecost Prayer and Praise this Sunday night, June 5 at 7:00 p.m.! Number one, ask the Holy Spirit to heal the wounds that can be obstacles for the Holy Spirit to move and work freely in your life. Number two, ask God the Holy Spirit to enter your life more deeply and intensely and ask for those gifts or charisms! So come and ask God the Holy Spirit for both his healing and his gifts, so that we can bear the fruit that Jesus desires for us to experience and to give to the world!
In the power of the Holy Spirit,
Fr. Chas