Walking with the Holy Spirit

How many of us pray to the Holy Spirit?  We say the “Our Father” every time Mass is said; we probably prayed to Jesus from our youth.  When do we pray to the Holy Spirit exclusively?  Of all the persons in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, I think, is the most elusive.  It is hard to imagine Him, and so we conceive of Him on the default setting of seeing Him as a dove, a remnant from our childhood.

In the back of the church, we have two bookmarks that offer prayers to the Holy Spirit.  One begins with “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love…”  The other is a prayer from Bianco da Sienna, “Come down, O Love Divine…”  Unless a compilation of prayers are used, generally the Holy Spirit is tacked on the ritualized ending of other prayers, like the “Glory be…”

Just as it is difficult to know which pronoun to use in His reference, so is it difficult to attempt to know His personality.  He is evident, present, but is He an entity or an energy?  We speak of the Holy Spirit within us, that our bodies are temples of the Spirit, that the Spirit moves us as He is shown to do with Christ’s encounter in the desert or at His appearance at Pentecost.  We pray to Him in the Nicene Creed, but do we make an effort to include Him in the prayers we say during the day or at night before we fall asleep?  Is it His Spirit that animates us, the fire of the Spirit that we house in our bodies when we take our first breath or that leaves us when we die?

Wisdom is associated with the Spirit.  We pray for wisdom; we associate it with the flames of Pentecost, and how the Spirit inspired the disciples of Christ to preach the Gospel to foreigners, to the point that they could speak in different languages so that many nationalities could understand them. The Spirit was a necessity for the spreading of the Gospel.  Perhaps we can ask ourselves how integral is He to our lives?  On what occasions could we pray for His guidance?  I have found that when I need help in self-expression, clarity of thought or speech, I pray to the Holy Spirit, and that He makes me better than I am.

So perhaps this Lent, we might say a prayer to the Holy Spirit so that He too can guide us in our daily pursuits and become close to us in our hearts.

This is one prayer that I have created.  I encourage you to compose your own.

May the Spirit of God flow in me, around me, and rush through my soul

   With a holy fire of intent,

        Of love and responsibility,

        Of wisdom and compassion.

Come, Holy Spirit,

Renew me,

Replenish me,

Revitalize my intentions,

Infuse my soul with grace.

Be with me always, Spirit of God.

Direct my ways, my words,

        My hopes and desires.

Bless me with your presence

         In my heart and mind.

Inspire love in me always.

Amen.

S. Becker