That being said, we must still make a constant effort to grow closer to the Holy Spirit, to become ever more intimate with Him, for He is our Advocate and our Guide. He is the One Who inspires us. He is the One Who dwells within our souls when we are in a state of grace. He is the very Love that flows between the Father and the Son and from Them out to us.
To begin our quest for a deeper personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, we can pray the following simple yet meaningful prayer every day:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Let us pray. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
1. Come, Holy Spirit – We begin with an invitation, asking the Holy Spirit to come to us. We could stop the prayer right here if we say these three words with a loving, humble, childlike expectation and an open heart. The Holy Spirit will come to us when we ask Him.
2. fill the hearts of Your faithful – We continue to pray because we need to remember exactly what the Holy Spirit does when He comes to us. He fills our hearts. He enters the deepest part of our being and saturates us with the divine presence. That's exactly what we want: to be so filled with God that there is no room for anything else.
3. and enkindle in them the fire of Your love – The Holy Spirit starts a fire in us, a fire of love. Think about fire for a moment. It is a source of warmth and energy and life, but it also dangerous. God is like that, too. He is our Source of warmth and energy and life, but He is also dangerous. He is more powerful than we can ever imagine. When He enters our souls, He transforms us. He sets us on fire. He leads us into an intimacy with Him that we cannot fully grasp, and He guides us and sends us out into situations we never would have imagined we'd be in. A relationship with God is a risk. We can't control God. We have to let go of ourselves and surrender to His burning love. But it's a risk that's well worth taking.
4. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. - This sentence and the one that follows come from Psalm 104:30. Here we remember that the Holy Spirit was that breath of God that brooded over the waters at the beginning of the universe. God's Holy Spirit was active in creation, infusing the world with being and love.
5. And You shall renew the face of the earth. – God's Holy Spirit never rests. God keeps the world in being at every moment. If He stopped thinking about anyone or anything for even an instant, that person or thing would simply cease to be. But He doesn't. His Holy Spirit continually blows through the world, breathing new life into every place in which He is welcomed. This is especially true now the Jesus Christ has poured out the Holy Spirit upon those who believe in Him and follow Him. The Holy Spirit breathes in us, renewing us, refreshing us, and drawing us ever closer to the Blessed Trinity.
We will continue our reflections in the next post, but now let's pray again:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Let us pray. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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