When we realize that the Apostles despite having been Baptized, despite receiving the Eucharist, despite engaging in daily prayer and acts of Charity, did not become fearless warriors for Jesus Christ until after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we likewise must resolve to beg for the Holy Spirit as they did………with Mary. It was the spouse of the Holy Spirit, Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ, who led them during that time to properly receive this great Gift of the Love between the Father and the Son, so that the Holy Spirit finally and completely changed their lives to imitate Christ the way Mary did. Why would it be different for us?
Elizabeth Kindelmann explained how God poured out a powerful stream of Grace into her soul. She stated: “He poured out the wonderful Grace of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Power, and the wonderful light of the Holy Spirit enlightened my soul.”
We have discussed previously in this Series on the Holy Spirit that part of the reason that the Graces from our Baptism and Confirmation have not been fully released is our failure to know and love the Holy Spirit the way we should. While we have heard, even many times before, the role of the Holy Spirit, most of us must admit with God’s Grace that we have little studied nor spent time getting to know Him. Few of us have an intimate, loving relationship with the Holy Spirit as a Person, who lives in our soul and has the Virtues, Gifts, and Charisms waiting to bestow on us for our Sanctification and to help build the Kingdom of God. Even the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love given at our Baptism are smothered over time if we do not come to know and love the Holy Spirit! We must in all humility accept the truth of God’s Word in Scripture which states: it is only the Holy Spirit who fully reveals the knowledge of the Father and Son; and only The Holy Spirit can bring us into a loving relationship with Each such that we can be the praise of the Glory of the Father by being transformed into the Son.
Here are the two key insights from Scripture that should convict us and unveil why we progress so little despite our best human intentions: “No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit,” and “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.” So, we must admit that the Holy Spirit is the One who must fully reveal the Son and the Father to us, but how can this happen if we do not truly know the Holy Spirit and have an intimate relationship each day, each moment, with Him?
The Servant of God, Archbishop Luis Martinez, has written a masterpiece on the Holy Spirit entitled, “The Sanctifier”. He describes in great but understandable detail the role of the Holy Spirit in our soul and in our day to day life. Since God is Love, and to Love is to give, God the Father and God the Son give the Love between Them to us through Baptism and then strengthened again through Confirmation and then a continuing share in Their Divine Life through the Most Blessed Sacrament, the other Sacraments, Prayer and our acts of Charity. The Holy Spirit lives in us (assuming we are in a state of Grace) not only to possess us, but to be possessed by us! The Holy Spirit is ours…as pure unmerited Gift! He is the First Gift! We have the Divine Life within us! But without our cooperation through a constant, loving disposition (desire and effort), we cannot release His Love and Gifts into our souls to truly know the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit groans because His Love is unrequited and He can NOT perform His appropriated role of fully revealing the Father and the Son. Sadly, we are not willing to sell all and buy the field with the Treasure…the Pearl of Rare Price! We stand next to the woman at the well and listen as we hear: if you but knew the Gift of God!
So, because the Holy Spirit is so little known, and forgotten by those who do know Him, the Father wanting us to know and glorify Him through the Son, has raised up Exemplars like Elizabeth Kindelmann, Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, St. Hannibal di Francia, and Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, as well as the Renewal or Pentecost Movement within the Church, so that we can know, desire and love the Holy Spirit as a Person, in order to truly know the Son and the Father!
Archbishop Martinez was given this powerful insight…an insight coming from something simple we have heard thousands of times….and it is such a powerful insight that hopefully it will change our life from this moment forward! Jesus, the Incarnate Word, was conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary. He explains: “That is the way Jesus is always conceived. This is the way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the fruit of Heaven and Earth…Two Sanctifiers are necessary to souls: the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, for they are the only ones who reproduce Christ.” Think about this! Ponder this! This is God pouring out His Wisdom and Love for us in this insight! We cannot glorify the Father without being transformed into the Son! But we cannot be transformed into the Son without a loving, intimate relationship with both Mary and the Hoy Spirit!
Now, they do sanctify in different ways. The Holy Spirit sanctifies by His Essence, because He is God, who is Infinite Sanctity. The Virgin Mary is the perfect cooperator, the indispensable instrument chosen by God for His Plan. She perfectly models the Holy Spirit and demonstrates it is possible for us, because she was a human being like us though free from sin from her conception by His Grace! But the Mother wants to give what she has and God wants/needs to Give new Gifts!
So, what does this practically mean to us? We must have both the Holy Spirit and Mary in our daily life to perfectly form Jesus within us for the Glory of the Father. Thus, those in the Renewal Movement who reject, ignore or downplay Mary will never progress as God desires! Similarly, those in the Marian Movement who reject, ignore or downplay the Holy Spirit will never progress as God desires! Mary and the Holy Spirit can and will lead us into the life of Jesus Crucified where His Sacred Heart beats in the Most Blessed Sacrament so we can perfectly fulfill the Will of the Father and be a praise of His Glory…so we can be a perfect copy and truly say: It is no longer I who live, it is Christ who lives in me.
So, let us commit today to do three things every day: beg the Father and Son for the Holy Spirit; learn all we can by reading and hearing all we can about the Holy Spirit; and pray with Mary to the Holy Spirit each day in a loving personal way and acknowledge Him in our soul throughout the day with a loving smile and frequent aspirations to know and love Him better… so He will reveal the Father and Son fully to us! Fiat!
The Divine Antidote 