God Listens. Lorene Hanley Duquin

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СКАЧАТЬ and that we receive the Holy Spirit in a special way in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Some Catholics might be able to list the seven gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgment), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence), and fear of the Lord (awe); based on Isaiah 11:2. But too many Catholics never think of praying to the Holy Spirit or allowing themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Even Pope Francis has observed that a lot of Catholics do not understand the powerful ways the Holy Spirit works in their lives.

      “The Holy Spirit is the one who moves us to praise God, to pray to the Lord, the one who is within us and teaches us to see the Father and to call him ‘Father,’” Pope Francis explains. “The Spirit does everything, knows everything, reminds us what Jesus said, can explain all about Jesus.… The Holy Spirit makes real Christians. The Spirit takes life as it is and prophetically reads the signs of the times pushing us forward.”

      Whenever you feel as if you are being called by God or inspired to do something, it is usually an action of the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis explains that the Holy Spirit “guides us in the way to think, to act, to distinguish between what is good and what is bad; he helps us to practice the charity of Jesus, his giving of himself to others, especially to the most needy. We are not alone! The sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is also the peace that Jesus gives to his disciples: ‘My peace I give to you’ [John 14:27].”

      There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is moving in the lives of the people who contributed to this chapter. Their stories reflect some of the profound ways the Holy Spirit has touched them as a result of their own prayers or through the prayers of others.

      Discovering the Holy Spirit in Scripture

      Here are some Scripture passages that help us to better understand how the Holy Spirit works in our lives:

      • The Spirit will speak through us when we don’t know what to say (Matthew 10:19–20).

      • The Spirit helps us understand everything that Jesus taught (John 14:26).

      • The Spirit comforts us when we are sad and alone (John 14:16–19).

      • The Spirit guides us in the way of truth (John 16:13).

      • The Spirit dwells in us and gives us life (Romans 8:11).

      • The Spirit prays for us when we don’t know how to pray (Romans 8:26).

      • The Spirit shows us the good things God has planned for us (1 Corinthians 2:9–11).

      • The Spirit allows us to experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).

       The Holy Spirit Will Guide You

      Several years ago, my marriage of nineteen years was over. That alone was enough to test my courage and fortitude. As the weeks unfolded, I found myself scared, confused, and hurt. Why me? I was the faithful one.

      Suddenly my self-confidence waned. I had been part of a “couple” for so long. Everywhere I looked there were couples … my parents, my sibling, my friends. I was single now. How would I fit in? I forgot just how much I had shared with my ex-spouse — from the material goods in our home, the parish we belonged to, and the list goes on. I had to start over, but where and how?

      I prayed like never before, or at least I thought so. Oh, how I talked to God. “Help me, Lord, to get through this day.” My mind was so cluttered.

      Since I chose to move out of “our” house, my parents were wonderful, letting me move back in with them until I got my feet back under me. I had never lived alone. I had moved from my parents’ home to “our” home once I was married. But now I needed a place to call “my” home.

      One day after the divorce was final, I got up the courage to make an appointment with a real estate agent. I was scared to death. A voice in my head kept telling me, “You can’t do this. You’re much too cowardly. There are budgets, bills, maintenance, and upkeep. How do you plan to do this on your own? What if some noise scares you in the night? Who will come to your rescue?”

      As all this was going on, I stopped by my parish to drop some materials off, and I met Sister Marilyn, our director of religious education. When I confessed my troubles to her and told her I was praying, she said, “You are praying. But are you listening? Let God speak, and the Holy Spirit will guide you.”

      That was THE turning point in my prayer life. All my life, I had been so busy trying to solve my own problems by telling God what I needed. I honestly don’t remember ever asking the Holy Spirit to guide me. I went into the cathedral and stared at the crucifix to catch my breath. I felt a calm come over me, maybe for the first time ever.

      I don’t think a day has gone by since that encounter with Sister Marilyn in the parish parking lot that I haven’t asked the Holy Spirit for guidance. “Guide me in helping someone … Assist me in making this decision … Help me to see what you want for me … Let my words be your words.…”

      I remind myself to listen, too.

      As for my house … I prayed to the Holy Spirit to guide me to a place I could feel safe, secure, and happy — a place I could call home to start my new life. It took a few weeks, but I walked into this house, looked around, and I knew that the Holy Spirit led me here.

      — Jill Adamson

      Learning to Listen

      Listening to the Holy Spirit is not something that comes naturally, but it is something that can be learned. Start by jotting down, after Mass, any spiritual insights that came to you in the readings, homily, music, or in your Communion meditation. Before long, you will begin to see how the Holy Spirit is guiding you.

      It’s also a good idea to set aside a specific time every day for listening. Start with ten minutes in the morning and another ten minutes before you go to bed. In the morning, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through the day. Then empty your mind and spend some quiet time, slowly praying the name “Jesus” until a calm sense of God’s presence comes over you.

      In the evening, think back on the day. Reflect on how the Holy Spirit may have been speaking to you through people and things that happened. Listening will open you to an exciting new awareness of the Holy Spirit, who leads us down paths that we never would have chosen for ourselves!

       The Day We Couldn’t Pray

      There can be times when a person cannot pray, not even the Holy Name, simply because terror can strike unannounced in a split second.

      My daughter and I had spent a great summer day up in the Adirondack Mountains and were motoring toward home in the early evening. We were traveling a flat stretch of highway flanked by high brush on both sides of the road. We were keeping to the speed limit, meeting no traffic, except one car a good distance behind us.

      And then, in a flash, a huge, dense, perfect circle of pure fire rolled out from our right, across the front of my pickup truck, and kept on rolling into the brush on the opposite side of the road. It was as high as the engine hood and equally as wide.

      My daughter let out a prolonged, horrific, blood-curdling scream, while I was so frozen in fear, all I could do was strangle the steering wheel. Neither of us spoke or even looked at each other until we stopped at the next village to calm down.

      Why СКАЧАТЬ