As we celebrate the Feast of the Pentecost, I wish to ask a few questions to my self – Who is Holy Spirit to me? Not from what I have learned in my classes during the seminary days – not from what I have read from the books – not from what I have heard from the homilies and sermons, but from my experiences who this Holy Spirit is?
The Holy Spirit is the source of energy enabling us to live our Christian life fully as intended by Jesus Christ our Lord. Without the energy that the Holy Spirit gives us, we find ourselves inadequate on our own.
It is said, “There is something wonderfully mysterious about the Holy Spirit.” With the eyes of reason, when we search for the Holy Spirit, we may find the Holy Spirit mysterious but may just rationalize the Holy Spirit missing its wonderful part. With the eyes of faith, when we search for the Holy Spirit, we may find the Holy spirit wonderful but may just spiritualize the Holy Spirit missing its mysterious part. Let us therefore use the reason and faith and experience for ourselves how this Holy Spirit is mysteriously wonderful! Reason appeals to Mind – Let us understand the Mysterious Holy Spirit with our Mind and Faith appeals to heart – Let us love the wonderful Holy Spirit with our heart.
To explain about someone, as to who he or she is, we always take the aid of imagery that he looks in this way or she looks in that way or he looks like that person or her features resemble someone. The imageries usually help us understand the reality of the person, especially the one, whom we have not yet seen. Yes, the with the physical eyes, I have not yet seen the Holy Spirit but with the eyes of faith, I have experienced the Holy Spirit in my life. Let us try and understand the Holy Spirit with an imagery – various imageries are used fire, dove, wind, etc – we can also use a human imagery!
I take here the imagery of “Holy Spirit as the closest companion” whom I can ever have in my life. Companion – who is a companion? The other word could be a friend, an associate or a mate. I would further elaborate the concept of a companion to be someone who is with you all the time, someone who you can never part with, someone you may choose to ignore, you may choose to pay no attention to but one who would never leave you! Holy spirit is that someone who is with you always, no matter, even if you choose to disregard his presence within you!
The scripture tells us, “The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you. (Jn 14. 28).” So, friends, we have not been left alone in our lives. Right when we are in the midst of trouble and difficulty, searching through the maze of life to find a path, let us not look for a companion anywhere and everywhere, but the Spirit is there with you, in you and around you – showing the right path! Someone describes the Holy spirit as the divine antidote to the feeling of loneliness! Someone else said – holy spirt is a divine necessity.
It is my experience that the Holy Spirit, as a companion, constantly speaks to you, prompting you to do that one right thing! Now – it is important that you and I listen to this prompting and act in return as a faithful companion to the Holy Spirit.
We see, this God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit was in union with Jesus Christ our Lord as His Companion. Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. The life that Jesus led till he was 33 was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God’s spirit led him to the desert where he fasted and prayed for 40 days, God’s spirit was with him when he received the Baptism, God’s spirit was with him when he started his public ministry, God’s spirit was with him when he was in Gethsemane, God’s spirit was with him when he was condemned to die on the cross. God’s spirit was with him as he lay in the tomb devoid of the human spirit, God’s spirit raised Him from the dead. We see how God’s spirit accompanied Jesus in every moment of his life and we also how Jesus faithfully adhered to God’s spirt in him.
It is true that none of can live our lives as islands. We are dependent! We need one another! We can’t just live alone. If this is true of our human life on earth. it is so true even in our faith life, our life with God, we can’t without the Spirit of God. At times, Jesus fully divine and fully human that he was, needed assurance, the assurance came with the Spirit. In our life, faith life, we need to live with the Spirit who has been given to us as God’s Gift. Jesus says in the Gospel, “The spirit will guide you to all truth”.
Let us then brothers and sisters be convinced that we have been given the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit is in all of our being, entire being and whole being. This is for reason that we are called the temple of the Holy spirit. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; It is my experience, personal experience, that I am always guided in my decision making, adopting choices from choosing little things of life to some major things as I would by a human companion. There is a God’s companion within me prompting to do the good, to choose the right – as adults – as Christians brought up in faith – this shall be your experiences too that you have power within that guides you, leads you to do good. While the nature of the Spirit within me is to guide me on God’s path, my human nature has to choose! – either to listen to God’s spirit or ignore and go the way I want to. The gifts of the Holy Spirit, do not let us down but lead us forward: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
There have been times in my life where I have regretted my decisions sometimes, my actions other times – my words sometimes and my choices other times. My feeing then, “if only I had listened to my companion within”. It is not that when I was about to make a bad choice, whatever the context it might be” this companion – the holy spirit was mute or inactive but it is me who chose to ignore, avoid, detach and disobey! Holy Spirit is God’s gift – to get a human companion, we would say it is a gift – The Holy Spirit has been given to us as Gift by God himself. So let us not waste on this God’s gift, going about in our life, asif we do not have a companion within but let us sharpen our eyes to look within for the companion, let us sharpen our ears to listen to the companion within, let us open our hearts to relate to the companion and let us sharpen our minds to understand that we do have a companion within.
This process of sharpening is not however an automatic guarantee. This process has to be worked out – we need to be tuned in – finely tuned in – which is possible through prayers, participation in the Eucharist, reading the word of God, faithful observance of devotions and leading a life that is pleasing in God’s Sight. So, when we lead a faithful, prayerful life, we will not miss to recognize the Companion, we will not miss to listen to the companion and we will not miss to be guided by the companion but we will be filled with the Holy Spirit/
What a blessing to live with the Holy Spirit in this way. He is our Companion. We have intimate relationship. Holy Spirit e is always at our side to help, comfort, assist, counsel and guide me along the way. Being alive physically, everyone knows we are. Being alive spiritually as a Christian, you alone know!
johnsekarofm 