Monthly Spiritual Message, May 2006
By Friar David M. Huebner O.F.M. Conv.
My brothers and sisters in Francis and Clare, as we journey through the Easter season towards the Feast of Pentecost let us focus in on the Holy Spirit, the one whom Francis invoked as the Minister General of our Order.
At this time one question that we can ask ourselves is, “Have I prepared adequately to receive a new outpouring or renewal of the Holy Spirit within me?” “Am I ready to experience my Paraclete, my Helper, my Comforter in a deeper and more profound union this Pentecost?”
Whether we receive the interior outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a new way, or not, depends very much on our openness and response to his guidance. You may have heard all of this before, so we need to put this fresh outpouring concept into perspective. I’m not talking about a mental acceptance about facts or proposals that have been stated. What I am on about is a practical response.
One way we measure the reality of our ongoing Christian, Franciscan, practical response to God, or our ongoing conversion, is by examining our life to see if our relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord has actually deepened since this time last year. And a good guide to help us answer this question is to read again the Major Life of St Francis by St Bonaventure.
Bonaventure sees the Holy Spirit at work throughout Francis’s life in an ongoing way from his initial major conversion right up to his Transitus. Therefore the need for us Franciscans to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit is paramount if we are to deepen our fraternal bond with one another, deepen our relationship with the Lord, and prepare ourselves to enter eternity. We can see Francis taking this journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Major Life.
What Bonaventure presents to us is a love story between Francis and his beloved Trinity. It is a journey of ever deepening intimacy. God is love, indeed love is the fullness of the Law. If you or I love, it is because we choose to. Therefore love has to do with the will. Additionally, if we love someone our natural tendency is to give to that person.
The Holy Spirit is the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for the Father fully expressed. The Holy Spirit is the gift of the divine self given to us (at Baptism and strengthened at Confirmation), and the One in whom all other spiritual gifts are given to us in order to grow in the spiritual life. One only need read the index of the Catechism of the Catholic Church under Holy Spirit, to see how primary and fundamental the Paraclete’s role is for our lifestyle. But in order for us to allow ourselves to be led to heaven by our true Minister General, with the fraternal aid of our brothers and sisters in Francis; we need to be self-aware in order for this to take place.
Some guides to the self-awareness needed to grow spiritually for ongoing conversion in the ways of love:-
Firstly, we need to be aware that every sin in some way deforms the human personality. Deforms ourpersonality and blocks our ability to love. Sin twists our mind so that we cannot think clearly about spiritual or moral matters. Sin twists our emotions so that our feelings become more and more self-centered, and it weakens our will to love in an ordered way.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit make our power for doing good stronger. For example the gift of piety helps us to overcome our envy of other people.
The seven gifts help us to suffer with the same patience that Jesus or Francis had.
The Holy Spirit and his gifts help us to act more effectively by turning us away from wrong choices and thoughts, towards carrying out God’s will.
Finally, the Holy Spirit and his gifts help us to contemplate. And for Franciscans the primary focus of our contemplation necessarily need be the Crucifix and the Eucharist.
Conversion via self-awareness, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit impels us forward from a life focused on the things of this world to a feeling for the things of God. Do we take the time to do this?
Francis during his own conversion understood the need to come out of the noise of worldly affairs in order to make it easier for the Holy Spirit to work in his life. I urge you to read again the Major Life, but this time put yourself into the story. See what Francis did and ask yourself the question “Have I done that?” or “Will I do that?”
Ultimately, the Holy Spirit led Francis to have the seal of likeness to the Crucified imprinted on his body. Like his Lord and Brother Jesus, Francis was able and willing to suffer for our Father and for others. What about us? Are we truly committed to a life of ongoing conversion? Are we truly committed to a life that leads to eternal life?
Let our answer be yes! But let our answer also be a practical one, not an empty do-nothing one. Let us become more self-aware of our sins and take time away from the noise of the world to pray, as Francis did, to the Holy Spirit, our Paraclete, and allow him to guide us away from a world passing away in any case, to the glory of the resurrection. Let us prove our love for God true, by again giving him all of ourselves and holding nothing back. Amen.
Friar David M. Huebner O.F.M. Conv.
National Assistant SFO – Oceania
