The Reality of Intimate Union with the Holy Spirit: the Need to Know the Theological Virtues

Part of the reason for the “Divine Antidote” is to prepare us for the Triumph of the Mother of God and Reign of the Holy Spirit, and especially the life of suffering love we must embrace before the New Pentecost of the Holy Spirt is poured out. The more we are prepared by what we should know and do in our spiritual life, the more benefit we will obtain for ourselves and countless others. In order to achieve the transforming union and then the additional Grace of the Mystical Incarnation or living with the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we must learn all we can about the Holy Spirit and beg for the complete, intimate relationship the Trinity desires for us with each Person, but especially the “Unknown Person”, the Holy Spirit, who is the Sanctifier!

The reality or purpose of our day to day life is to allow the Theological Virtues, which were infused in our souls at Baptism, to become completely active to achieve the holiness God desires for us, which means we must know them, desire them and beg God to activate them as we correspond to His Grace. The more we appreciate them and their purpose, the more we will grow in them. Yet, most of us think very little about them, and would struggle to explain them to others in any depth. Elizabeth Kindelmann was set on fire when God unleashed the Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love within her soul.

Why are the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Love so critical? Let us listen to Archbishop Luis M. Martinez from “The Sanctifier”. He teaches us we must know and understand these Three Virtues, because they are the only source of Divine Power given to us, which allow us to know and touch God intimately! The other virtues purify the soul and add to its beauty, but only these Three Virtues have God as their object and allow us to enter into and have a true, personal relationship with the Divinity…to touch the essence of God and be absorbed into eternal Love!

Let us listen to a mystical but real understanding of how we must come to know and love these “Three Foundations God has Planted in Your Soul”:

“Faith is lit in your soul at the first news you received about the Supreme Being of Love. Faith grows and develops by means of the constant ascension of your soul toward God your greatest good. Faith gives you the supernatural (beyond natural reason) ability to see the light coming from the Divine attributes, which you desire to possess. Your soul sees the Truth of the Supreme Goodness of God and is given the assurance that it can have this God and He can possess you….by your Faith.

“You then begin to long to obtain what your Faith sees and knows, this longing we call Hope, the second Theological Virtue planted in your soul through Baptism. Now, we investigate all the means available by our Catholic religion to obtain such a great reward and we continue to long all our life to possess God for all eternity in Heaven, knowing we will obtain this Great Good if we persevere in our longing and in learning all we can about this God of Love who chose to create us!

“Finally, the light of Faith and the energetic longing of Hope placed in our souls produce the substance of Charity, the willingness to give of ourselves completely…agape Love! For the greatest of these is Love! Without Love, Faith and Hope would not exist, just as without fire there could neither be heat nor light.”

These Three Virtues then allow us to enter deeply into our relationship with the Three Persons, and especially the Divine Guest always in our soul! Archbishop Luis Martinez describes what we should visualize and make permanent in our intellect, memory and will: “But our chief concern and duty toward the Divine Guest is to seek to be with Him (as the Person we are closest to on earth!). It is good to wash the feet of a guest, to seat him at table and prepare a banquet for him. But it is even better to treat him affectionately, to be with him while he is under our roof, to look at him and listen to him, to give him signs of friendship and love. And if He is the Beloved, the only Love of our heart, may our eyes never lift from His beautiful countenance, our hands never rest from caressing Him, our loving heart never cease to pour itself into His Heart.”

This loving, daily, constant intimacy is what we are called to obtain; and we will if we stay focused on begging for Grace always, learning all we can about the Holy Spirit and praying each day through our Mother, His dear Spouse, who contains Him in her Heart to give Him to those who desire Him completely! It is in begging for light to better know God (Faith), in begging to long more and better to obtain Him now and for all eternity (Hope), and begging to give of ourselves completely in agape Love (Charity) that we will obtain the transforming union, as all other Virtues proceed from these Three. For the light of Faith, the longing of Hope and the self-giving of Love will allow us to see and implement the daily reality of a deep, overwhelming, and intimate relationship with the Three Persons, but one steeped in sacrifice and suffering out of love and imitation of Christ and our Mother, since this is the ultimate self-giving which they gave to us!

Let us always remember the words of our Lord…..”Love Me as I have loved you”.

Now, He waits for our love in the Tabernacle, and the Holy Spirit waits for our love at each moment in our soul….so let us hear these words constantly and respond with agape Love….”I thirst….Give me to drink.” Will we respond with more time and effort to be in Love with the Divine Guest in our soul? Will we learn all we can about Him? Will we beg our Mother for Him?