The Holy Ghost ~ Our Greatest Friend

Each day we are in need of the inspiration and wisdom of the Holy Ghost. We, who are wives, mothers, friends, teachers will lead the souls we are in charge of so much more efficaciously if we lean heavily on the Holy Spirit each day. Let us nurture our devotion to Him and we will be able to see the fruits of such a devotion in our daily journey!

by Father Paul O’Sullivan, The Holy Ghost Our Greatest Friend

The doctrine of the Holy Ghost is without doubt the most important of all the Church’s teachings because, if we do not know and love the Holy Ghost, we cannot possibly understand the other great truths of our Holy Religion.

Without the Holy Ghost we are blind. Not only is this doctrine the most important, it is the most wonderful, the most consoling, the most sublime of all doctrines, for with the Holy Ghost we can do all things easily and well.

He is the Spirit of Love, of Peace, of Joy, the Spirit of Divine Consolation. He is the Light of Our Souls and the Strength of Our Wills.

Yet, strange to say, this doctrine is little understood by great numbers of Christians. Some have a vague knowledge of the Holy Ghost, but very few indeed have a real grasp of all the Holy Ghost has done for them and is most ready to do if only they allow Him.

We love and honor the Eternal Father whenever we say the Our Father, and this not once, but many times a day. Whenever, too, we speak of the Great Creator of Heaven and Earth, the God of the Universe, we think of the Eternal Father.

We pray to the Son, not only when invoking the Blessed Trinity, but when praying to Our Lord Jesus Christ. We honor His Incarnation, His life, His Passion and death. We honor His Sacred Heart, His Holy Name, and above all we honor Him in the Holy Eucharist.

 But many rarely or ever think of the Holy Ghost! They know very little about all the wonderful things He is ready to give them—the peace, the immense joy, the consolations, the love He is offering them.

“How extraordinary,” Cardinal Manning exclaims, “it is that Christians know so little about the Holy Ghost though He is the Author of our Sanctification, the Giver of all Joys and Consolations!”

His Eminence was in his youth a sincere Protestant. He became, with the help of the Holy Ghost, a fervent Catholic. Under the same divine guidance, he became a priest, a bishop and finally a cardinal.

He ever cherished a great devotion to the Holy Ghost and solved all his doubts and difficulties by praying to this Holy Spirit. When called on to make any important decision, he first of all bent his head in silent prayer. If the problem were graver, he devoted more time and fervor in asking for guidance.

Thanks to the graces he thus received, he was able not only to attain high personal sanctity but to render great services to the Catholic Church in England. He wrote two beautiful books on the Holy Ghost.

Cardinal Newman gives us a touching example of love for the Holy Ghost. He, too, was brought up by his parents in the Protestant religion. Unfortunately, he had the strongest prejudices against the Catholic Church.

At an early age he began to see that his own religion could not be the true one, so full was it of contradictions and errors. He spent years trying to find the Church of Christ. He read history, he argued with eminent divines and consulted many learned friends, but all in vain. He failed to recognize in the midst of so many claims the religion given us by Jesus Christ.

 Finally, one day he received from God, who was pleased with his good intentions, an inspiration. “What have I been doing!” he exclaimed. “I have labored much, I have studied, I have read many books, I have consulted good friends, but I have not prayed enough, I have not sufficiently asked God’s light and guidance.”

Then falling on his knees he prayed fervently. The clouds of doubt began to disappear, and he at last saw the truth of the Catholic Church.

He describes his conversion in the following beautiful hymn, written not long before his conversion. Lead Kindly Light Lead Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home—

Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene—one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor pray’d that Thou

Shouldst lead me on,

I loved to choose and see my path; but now

Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will:

remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still

Will lead me on,

O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those angel faces smile

Which I have loved long

since and lost awhile.

He became a Catholic, and following his example, more than a thousand Protestant ministers were converted and a very host of laymen.

 Cardinal Gibbons had the following experience when still a parish priest: He was called to see a distinguished American senator who was gravely ill. Unfortunately, the sick man did not believe in the existence of God.

He listened, however, attentively to Father Gibbons, who spoke to him of the goodness of God and His love for us, proving at the same time God’s existence with several cogent arguments. These, however, made no impression on the Senator.

Father Gibbons finally asked him whether, if such a good God as he had been describing did exist, he would believe in and love Him?

“Most certainly,” was the answer.

“Well then,” said Fr. Gibbons, “will you say the following little prayer sometimes: ‘O God of infinite goodness, if You exist, make me know You.’ ”

This the sick man promised to do, and then came a flood of light! Some days after, Fr. Gibbons was once more summoned to the bedside of the dying man, who on seeing him, called out, “Father, I believe, I believe!”

And for the remaining weeks of his life he manifested the liveliest faith in and love for God.

A priest who is devoted to the Holy Ghost does more than a thousand others. The writer met one such priest recently. He was extremely modest and unpretentious, yet he got through a prodigious amount of work.

He not only worked successfully himself, but he had the gift of attracting and inspiring others to work with him. In the course of conversation he mentioned that he had great devotion to the Holy Ghost, to whom he attributed all his success.

When Catholic universities commence the year’s work, when law courts begin their annual sessions, at the opening of parliaments and other important corporations, the Mass of the Holy Ghost is solemnly said and His Divine guidance invoked, and as we shall see afterwards, individual members of these corporations beg light and help from the Holy Ghost in all grave emergencies.

We, too, should make it our practice to seek in all things the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Go to Bed. If I can go to bed and get up at consistent hours, it helps a lot. It’s important for the kids to do the same. Summertime is a season of later bedtimes. We loosen up the night time schedule and relax for a spell. It is quite refreshing….for a time. I notice how much it affects the next day, these inconsistent and later schedules. That’s okay for a while during the summer but you wouldn’t want to do that during school days. So regularity on getting to bed is important. -Finer Femininity

Running a house, while schooling, making meals, etc. is no little task. So…we roll up our sleeves and dig in each day. THIS is what we are called to. Let us not get distracted thinking we should be doing great things, learning about great matters of the world. NO. St. Therese calls us the do the “little things” each day. And really, it is a great thing to accomplish all the “so-called” little tasks….

PENAL ROSARIES!

Penal rosaries and crucifixes have a wonderful story behind them. They were used during the times when religious objects were forbidden and it was illegal to be Catholic. Being caught with a rosary could mean imprisonment or worse. A penal rosary is a single decade with the crucifix on one end and, oftentimes, a ring on the other. When praying the penal rosary you would start with the ring on your thumb and the beads and crucifix of the rosary in your sleeve, as you moved on to the next decade you moved the ring to your next finger and so on and so forth. This allowed people to pray the rosary without the fear of being detected. Available here.

Book Set of 20: Mary Fabyan Windeatt

Available here.

A beautiful little book “all about the Holy Ghost,” including prayers to Him. Shows He really and truly dwells in every soul that is in the state of grace. He aids all Christians without exception, if only we will ask His help. Enlightening and encouraging! ~ Available here.

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