The Spirit and love

"These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us." (Romans 5: 4-5)

The love of God has been truly poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. How I rejoice in this truth. Once upon a time, I considered myself the most selfish man on this planet. And then one day in a confession, a priest reminded me of this great truth. If the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love is dwelling in you, how can you consider yourself the most selfish man on earth? I understood immediately that my idea of me does not make sense. The love with which I love is the love poured into my heart by the Holy Spirit. This love is so much unlike the love of the world. With the Holy Spirit in us, we love as God loves us. We love as God wants us to love. We love our neighbor as ourselves. We love the poor and the weak who have no means to say "thank you." This is the love the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts.

Simony

"When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the imposition of the hands by the apostles, he offered them some money, "Give me the same power," he said, 'so that anyone I lay my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit." (Acts 8: 18-20)

The temptation of Simon, the magician is the lure to buy and sell spiritual favors. We cannot buy the Holy Spirit. We cannot buy spiritual gifts. We cannot purchase our salvation. All the promises of God are meant for us. They are freely given. We receive in direct proportion to our readiness to receive and our boldness in asking for the favor.

Holy Spirit and power to witness to Jesus

"God himself confirmed their witness with signs and marvels and miracles of all kinds, and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the various ways he will." (Hebrews 2: 4)

The Spirit and His gifts

What power manifestation of the Spirit am I seeking today? I am seeking for power to witness to Jesus Christ in word and deed. St. Paul says in regard to this:

"Of course I can dare to speak only of the things which Christ has done through me to win the allegiance of the gentiles, using what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God." (Romans 15: 17-19)

What is say and what I do must bear witness to Jesus Christ. I am a work-in-progress.

No Holy Spirit No Conversion

"We know, brothers loved by God, that you have been chosen, because our gospel came to you not only in words, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with great affect." (1 Thessalonians 1: 4-5)

I paraphrase the above scripture thus: Although we used words to convey the message of the gospel, those words were imbued with power by the Holy Spirit. That is why they were very effective in your case.

When we share the gospel with people, the gospel is effective in proportion to the control of the Holy Spirit in the process. The more we let go and let the Holy Spirit, the more effective is our witness. The Holy Spirit is not just the power behind the words, He is the effective cause of conversion. No Holy Spirit, not conversion.

Convincing power of the Holy Spirit

"I came among you in weakness, in fear and great trembling and what I spoke and proclaimed was not meant to convince by philosophical argument, but to demonstrate the convincing power of the Spirit, so that your faith should depend not on human wisdom but on the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2: 4-5)

How do we demonstrate the convincing power of the Holy Spirit in our work of sharing the good news? First, we allow the Holy Spirit to take control. We do this by invoking His help through prayer. We call to mind what Christ said to Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) This truth banishes fear, doubt and worry from our mind.

There are only two ways we can work for God: through the energy of the flesh or through the convincing power of the Holy Spirit. The flesh is futile and has nothing to offer. All that we need is the Holy Spirit.

Spirit of signs and wonders

"So I can be proud in Christ Jesus, of what I have done for God. Of course I can dare to speak only of the things which Christ has done through me to win the allegiance of the gentiles, using what I have said and done, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God." (Romans 15: 17 – 19)

The Holy Spirit is the prime mover in all works of evangelization. He produces signs and wonders in our life to help us win people for Jesus Christ. In Romans 15: 17 – 19, Paul probably refers to miracles as signs and wonders. Such miracles are reported in Acts of the Apostles. Signs and wonders continue to accompany the work of evangelization today. I would call great teaching or preaching that move people to conversion signs and wonders.

The Spirit and hope

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in your faith, so that in the power of the Holy Spirit you may be rich in hope." (Romans 15: 13)

Why is God described here as the God of hope? What is the implication of being rich in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit? What is hope?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines hope in paragraph 1817 as:

" Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life."

God has made us for Himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. This is why God is the God of our hope. We are rich in hope when our faith in final union with God is unshakable. We believe we shall attain to this blessed hope "relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit."