If we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit (Gal 5.25)

If you live by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence……If you are led by the Spirit, no law can touch you…what the Spirit brings is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5.16ff)

Let me add my welcome to you all among the many welcomes you must have already received since arriving at WYD. It is good to be with you and to have this wonderful privileged time together. There are many good things to see, enjoy and experience while we are here at WYD, but let us not forget why we have come here, who has drawn us here in the first place. Many of us, I am sure, are here because we have come to know the person of our Saviour through prayer, through the teaching of the Church and through personal experiences. We have been drawn, led, directed towards Jesus. But we have not done this on our own. Friends, companions, members of our family, priests, sisters, brothers, peers – all have played their part, all have walked with us to this place. However, we must not miss out one vital person – the third person of the Trinity, the Spirit of Jesus. Without him we would never have found Jesus, we would never be able to recognise who he is; we would never have been able to declare: Jesus is Lord. For we know No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’, except by the Holy Spirit.

I think, I hope I speak for us all when I say that we have been led here, drawn here by the Sprit of God. Already, in some way we are living out the reality of the quote from Galatians which launches our thoughts for today – If we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit (Gal 5.25).

I don’t want to begin by quibbling about translations, but the version of the bible I use for my prayer and study renders this as: Since the Spirit is our life; let us be directed by the Spirit. In a way this makes more sense to me; for St Paul is making a very bold statement in the first part of the quote – this is what God has done for us, he has caused the Spirit to be our very life, that which animates, vivifies, sparks us, if you like, is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus. This is something new; this is something fresh and very much the result of the gift of salvation won for us through the Paschal mystery – the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. If we allow God’s will to be fulfilled in our lives – if we live by the Spirit – since the Spirit is our life – then we cannot help but be driven to be guided by the Spirit, be directed by the Spirit. Through the power of the Spirit, God makes possible the life he demands. In other words, let God be God at the very core of your liberty – and it is the power of the Spirit that will bring this about.

I have on several occasions in my own life found myself in the wrong place, somewhere I did not intend to be either through misunderstanding or because I was lost. Certainly on two occasions I am certain it was where God wanted me to be and as a result good things happened (Illustrate – King St instead of Kings Avenue)

As we begin our time together, let us ask ourselves some fundamental questions. Let us look at the role and function of the Holy Spirit, recognising not only his role in the history of Salvation but also in our personal journey towards Jesus and our own salvation history.

The Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity, equal with God the Father and the Son. Traditionally the Spirit has been defined as the love which exists between the Father and the Son, which proceeds forth as the unique person of the Spirit.

The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the Church’s faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him.

In the very beginning the Spirit brought about creation and order from violent chaos. In the Scriptures the Spirit is symbolised as the “breath of God” which transmits the life of God in the creation of Adam:

Yahweh God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being.

We receive the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Baptism. The Spirit, the life-giving love of God, imparts the life of God himself to us, making us his children. In traditional terminology, baptism frees us from the power of original sin, restoring us to a right relationship with God. The Spirit also imparts the gifts of faith, hope and love; enabling us to grow in our relationship with God and with one another. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation the work of the Holy Spirit enhances our growth towards maturity in our lives as Christians.

The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, in order that through all those works which are those of the Christian they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the power of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvellous light.

The gifts of the Spirit – wisdom, understanding, counsel, piety, fortitude, knowledge, fear of the Lord – are known as the sanctifying gifts; they serve to enable us to live holier lives, to mature according to God’s will for our lives. The Spirit also strengthens us to take an active role in sharing responsibility for the work of the Church.

Our Catholic understanding is that every Christian has the Holy Spirit living in their lives as a result of Baptism and the Spirit has a vital role working within individuals and working through them.

The Spirit works within individual Christians by empowering them to live as children of God.

And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.

Our lives are intended to reflect the glory of Christ through our personal holiness. We grow in this as we mature. However, this is not accomplished by our own human efforts alone; it requires our working with the grace of the Holy Spirit. By co-operating with his work within us our lives will bear the fruits of the Spirit which Paul lists as:

What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There can be no law against things like that, of course.

The Spirit also works through individual Christians, empowering them to be effective members of the Body of Christ, the Church. The Church is called to carry on the work of Jesus in proclaiming the Gospel and bringing salvation to all the world. This mission cannot be accomplished by human effort. It too requires the power of the Spirit working in the Church. Every member of the Church shares in the responsibility for the work of the Church. We each play an important role in working together to evangelise the world and to work for the renewal of the social order.

The Spirit gives each member of the Church special gifts which enables them to fulfil their roles in an effective way.

The Holy Spirit…. distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts, he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.

The life of the Holy Spirit within us is vitally important to our personal lives and to the effectiveness of the whole Church.

The power of God’s love dwells within us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. And he desires to transform our lives, the Church and the world. But, perhaps we do not experience this transforming power even though we were baptised years ago?

With our knowledge of the love of the Father, we may know about the Spirit’s role and power, without being open to experience it. We may limit our experience because we expect the Spirit to work only within certain parameters:

It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the People, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11), he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank.

The Spirit is free to work in any number of ways and we should be eager to experience his power in whatever way he desires to express it.

While the Holy Spirit is able to transform us – and through us, others – he needs our openness and cooperation:

The wind blows wherever it pleases; you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. That is how it is with all who are born of the Spirit.’

In other words, we must be flexible in our lives to allow the Spirit to lead us and transform us as he wills. This requires trust – trusting in the Spirit’s ability to do what we cannot do, to work in ways that do not make sense to our limited understanding.

Some of us may struggle with certain obstacles getting in the way of being open to the Spirit. One obstacle is resisting because we do not intellectually understand. We should realise that we do not always understand God’s ways and that we will grow in our understanding as we experience his working in our lives. Through faith we trust fully without understanding.

Or perhaps we are withholding forgiveness from someone who has hurt us. We need to rely on the Lord’s strength and to choose to forgive – just as he has chosen to forgive us.

Some feel as though they are not worthy or holy enough. The fact is no one is holy or worthy enough. God’s grace is a gift, not something we deserve or earn. We should humbly accept it.

The Holy Spirit is the life giving Love of God. He has begotten us as children of God and is capable of transforming our lives into clear reflections of God’s glory. He invites us to open our lives to his ways. It is through the Spirit that Jesus is present to us and the Spirit permits us to meet him and know him.

I think most of us will have seen the famous icon painted by Rublev. One interpretation is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are sitting round a table and the side of the table at the front of the picture is empty. The icon is painted in such a way that we are beckoned, welcomed, attracted into it. We are being drawn to take the empty space at the table. In a way, this is the work of the Spirit of God. He draws, welcomes us and attracts us to participate fully in the very life of the Trinity.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, breath of the living God.
You were breathed into clay to give life to Adam
and breathed into the Apostles to give the new life of Christ.
Thank you for the life you give to me,
the very life of my loving Father.

Holy Spirit, I desire to be made new in every way.
I want my Father’s plan to be fulfilled in me
so that I may do my part in renewing the Church and the world

And yet, like that lump of clay, I myself am nothing.
I have no strength, no power of my own.
I try to change myself and others,
yet accomplish little.

Holy Spirit, your ways are not like my ways.
Your thoughts and designs are far different from mine.
So I often resist and struggle,
yet I realise that it is only by your ways
that the power of God can work.

I give myself over to your will for me,
to your ways in my life,
to your gifts in me and through me.
Breathe your life into me in a new way
and make me a new creation for your honour and glory.

I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.