Recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit

WE are familiar with the saying that “familiarity breeds

contempt.” It continues to hold true even today. In fact, it is even

much more so nowadays when many people, even the so-called religious

ones, have become indifferent to the things of God.

            Christ himself suffered this fate. He returned to his

hometown one day and started to preach in the synagogue, but his own

people could not believe that one of their own could acquire such

knowledge and wisdom that he displayed on that occasion. In fact, they

took offense at him. (cfr Mk 6,1-6)

            Thus, Christ said those famous words: “A prophet is not

without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in

his own house.”

            We have to remember that God is always with us. Our life

cannot but be a shared life with God. He is in us and in everything

around us. In fact, being our creator and the maintainer of our

existence, God is always prompting us through the Holy Spirit.

            We have to be wary of our tendency to take things for

granted because we consider these things as routine to us or are just

so simple and ordinary that they do not merit any particular

attention.

            If we are always aware, as we should, that God is always

intervening in our life, we should also be aware that even in our

daily ordinary events, usually made up of small details, the Holy

Spirit is conveying very important messages to us. Or he is giving us

divine impulses so that we will always be in the dynamic of love and

not fall into boredom and the like.

            We have to do everything to keep this awareness of the

Holy Spirit’s abiding interventions in our life alive and operative.

This duty and task is not meant for some special people only but

rather for all of us. And this we can do if we try to keep ourselves

always in the presence of God, constantly asking him and consulting

him.

            “Oh, Holy Spirit,” we may start asking, for example, “how

should I understand this thing that is happening to me now, how should

I react and behave, what are you trying to tell me in this particular

event and circumstance, etc.?”

            If we ask these questions with faith, we know that we are

not simply talking to the wind. We would be convinced that we are

engaged in an intimate conversation with someone who is everything to

us, the one who actually is the main shaper of our life.

            We therefore have to learn to recognize the voice of the

Holy Spirit. Again this we can do if try to develop a contemplative

life, study the doctrine of our faith as taught now by the Church,

avail of spiritual and ascetical means to keep our relation with God

alive.

            It would be good if we develop the habit of reading and

meditating on the gospel, the catechism, some spiritual books, etc.,

and avail of some plan of continuing spiritual and doctrinal

formation.

            These are very helpful to discern the true voice of the

Holy Spirit which can come to us amid many confusing elements that,

sad to say, are proliferating these days. These elements can even

appear good and holy, and quite attractive in the sense of giving us

certain advantages and conveniences.

            But the voice of the Holy Spirit can somehow be discerned

if we experience what St. Paul termed as the fruits of the Holy

Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self control.

            These are opposed to the works of the flesh: fornication,

impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,

anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness,

carousing...(cfr. Gal 5,19-23)