Docility to the Holy Spirit
One
You Have Already Received the Spirit
In Romans chapter eight, St. Paul tells us that if we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit then we will be set free from all slavery to sin and we will become saints.
Through Baptism and Confirmation, we received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwells within us. And with the Spirit come the seven powerful gifts: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. These are not abstract blessings. They are divine powers given to help us break free from the slavery of sin to live in the freedom of the sons and daughters of God and become saints.
If this is true, then why are we not free from sin, and why haven’t we become saints?
Two
Holiness Is Not Hard—If We Let God Work
Most people think becoming a saint is impossibly hard. But the saints say otherwise.
St. Faustina writes in her Diary (291), “Oh my Jesus, it is truly easy to become holy; it just takes a little good will! If Jesus finds this minimum of good will in a soul, He quickly gives Himself to that person... nothing can stop Him—neither our faults nor our falls. He hurries to help that soul.”
If we remain faithful to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, she says, we can ascend to great holiness in a short time. Why? Because God is generous, more generous than we dare to hope. The shortest road to holiness is faithfulness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
Three
Open to the Spirit, Be Led by the Spirit
Let’s be clear: it is impossible to become holy by your own effort. But nothing is impossible with God. The key is to open yourself to His action. The Holy Spirit is always at work, nudging, inspiring, and prompting.
St. Francis de Sales put it beautifully, “Those who keep their hearts open to holy inspirations are happy! They will never lack what they need to live their vocation with holiness. Just as every animal is given the instincts it needs to live, so too, God gives each soul the inspirations it needs to grow and thrive in the spiritual life.”
These inspirations are not rare or exceptional. They are the normal means by which God leads His children. As St. Paul says, “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom 8:14); and, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:25).
Four
Desire and Ask for the Spirit’s Guidance
Jesus says in Luke 11:9, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.”
Maybe we don’t sense the inspiration of the Holy Spirit because we don’t ask? Or we don’t pay attention. Or, if we’re honest, we don’t like what we hear and resist.
So ask! Ask in big things and small, ask in everyday routines and life-changing decisions. Ask even on the most monotonous “Groundhog Days” of life.
I like this little prayer, “Lord, inspire me in everything I do and never let me miss even one of Your inspirations.”
The Holy Spirit wants to guide your thoughts, your work, your parenting, your suffering, and your joy. But He waits to be invited. And then we must pay attention and respond generously.
Five
Come Holy Spirit, Come Through Mary
The Holy Spirit does everything through Mary. At the Cross, Jesus gave Mary to all believers as their spiritual mother. From that moment, the maternal mission of the Holy Spirit, who forms Christ in us, was to be carried out through Mary. She is not divine, but she is the perfect human expression of the Spirit’s work: her feminine receptivity mirrors the Spirit’s divine receptivity, her maternal care mirrors the Spirit’s life-giving love.
As the Spirit overshadowed Mary to conceive Christ in her womb, so the Spirit continues to overshadow her to conceive Christ in us. This is why Popes and saints speak of Mary as the “Mediatrix of all graces.” St. Maximilian Kolbe writes, “The Holy Spirit exerts no influence on souls except through her.” She is, in the words of Cardinal Ratzinger, the “place of passage of all graces,” or as John Paul said, the visible and maternal face of the Spirit.
Thus, Mary is not just a channel but a sacrament of the Spirit, an efficacious sign through whom divine life is dispensed. Whether we know her or not, the Spirit forms Christ in us through her. But to welcome Mary consciously, like the beloved disciple, is to welcome the Spirit more fruitfully.
Simply stated, if you want to be led by the Spirit, then turn to Mary because the Spirit does all things through her. That’s why this simple prayer is so powerful, “Come Holy Spirit, come through Mary.”
Suggested Resolutions:
Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
This week, spend time in awareness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord, praying specifically for their aid.