Meditations on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary: First Series, Jesus in the Rosary: XIII. The Descent of the Holy Ghost—The Spirit of Jesus
THE apostles were assembled together in one place, awaiting in recollection and prayer the effect of the promises of Jesus. For He had said: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself; that where I am you also may be.... And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete [comforter or advocate], that He may abide with you for ever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not nor knoweth Him; but you shall know Him, because He shall abide with you and be with you” (John xiv. 3, 16, 17). Ten days after the Ascension of our Lord a mighty event took place. It was the fulfilment of the promise, and is thus recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them cloven tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon each one of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak” (Acts ii.)
O wonderful prodigy! But a moment ago these men were ignorant and could not clearly understand the doctrine of their Master; now they possess a full knowledge of the most sublime truths. At one moment they express themselves in a weak and stammering manner; the next they are filled with a marvellous eloquence. At one moment they are weak and timid even to the extent of cowardice—they hide themselves, so as not to be involved in the misfortunes of their Master; the next they come forth boldly, and fearlessly proclaim their faith and love, and this, too, before a people who load them with injuries and drag them before their tribunals. They seem at one moment ungrateful and almost without hope; the next they are devoted to the words of their Master, even unto death. Now they are sad and downcast; all at once their hearts abound in hope and joy. What has happened? The Holy Ghost, having descended from heaven, has brought to perfection in the souls of the disciples the spirit and form of the Christian life, which until now were only in a crude, inchoative state. This is His special mission. The holy Fathers have sometimes called Him the “perfective force.”
Learn from this, O Christian soul! that the effusion of the Holy Spirit is as necessary for thy salvation as is the application of the blood and merits of Jesus Christ.
“The end of man, which is to see God and possess Him eternally, is beyond the powers of nature,” says St. Thomas of Aquin; “our reason cannot conduct us to it, if its natural movement does not bring to its aid the instinct and motion of the Spirit of God.” It is so necessary for us that without it we possess only the rudiments of the Christian and supernatural life.
Jesus, the divine Architect, makes of our souls His temples, having purified them with His precious blood. It is the Holy Ghost who consecrates us in marking us with His character, and conferring upon us the unction of His love and the illumination of His gifts. Pentecost is therefore, in the Church, a universal and perpetual festival. Our baptism is a pentecost; our confirmation is a pentecost. Besides this, as St. Thomas teaches, the divine Paraclete returns constantly in His secret visits, to illuminate, strengthen, and beautify with His gifts the souls of the just.
But let us hear attentively the word of God: “The Lord does not come in times of disturbance” (3 Kings xix.) We must have peace in our souls; we must remove the agitation of vain thoughts and of vain desires, if we would receive the Spirit of God. Let us await His coming, like the apostles, in recollection and prayer.
It is not likely that God will surprise us by sudden visits of His light and grace; in the ordinary workings of His providence He only sends His Holy Spirit to us when we say with earnest fervor: Come! Veni Sancte Spiritus!
Let us invoke Him, then, in the dark night of temptation, in the agony of doubt. When, enveloped in the darkness of ignorance and drawn on by the glare of creatures, our uncertain spirit asks for the truth to guide it; and when, desirous of the knowledge and light of faith, we desire to penetrate the divine mysteries, let us invoke the Holy Spirit, for he is indeed the “Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.”
When we are moved to determine and fix our vocation in life, when we are about to perform some work in which our consciences are deeply concerned, or if it is our duty to direct souls in the ways of God, let us invoke the “Spirit of counsel.”
When we feel the love of God languish in our hearts, or even when we are moved by a holy zeal and we wish to love God with good effect, let us invoke the Holy Spirit, for He is truly the “Spirit of piety.”
When the power of evil attacks us and the world persecutes us, when passion torments us, and when sorrow oppresses us, let us earnestly call Him to our assistance, for He is the “Spirit of fortitude.”
When the abyss of sin is open before us and ready to engulf us, let us invoke Him with all our strength, for He is the “Spirit of the fear of the Lord.”
In all our sufferings let us invoke Him, for He is indeed the Paraclete—the Comforter.
Against the slavery of all evil habits that weigh down the will let us invoke Him, for “where the Spirit of God is, there is true liberty.”
Has He come? Then let us meet Him with attention, vigilance, and profound respect. Let us not “grieve the Spirit of God by our faults and imperfections.”