9781644135945

The Light of the World
“Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit,” as Mary was and as the apostles were after the descent of
the Holy Ghost. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, who inspired awe and reverence in all who saw
them who had been transformed by His coming. Instinctively men recognized that some divine
power was operating in them. The very purpose of our receiving baptism and confirmation is
to be filled with this same Holy Spirit. Before our baptism the priest breathed upon us and
said: “Depart, thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete.” Then the
priest traced the sign of the cross on our forehead. After putting blessed salt on our tongue, he
prayed: “I command thee, thou impure spirit, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost, to depart from this servant of God. May He who walked upon the waters
and extended His right hand to the sinking Peter, command thee to go forth, thou accursed
and damned spirit.” The Holy Spirit entered our soul at the moment of our baptism and filled
it with His light and sanctity.
When we were led to the sacrament of confirmation, the bishop received us with the words:
“May the Holy Spirit descend upon thee, and may the power of the Most High defend thee
from sin. Amen.” What was accomplished in the apostles at Pentecost, was repeated again in
us at confirmation. We received the Holy Ghost as a protection in our fight with the devil, as a
means of coming to the full knowledge of Christ and His doctrine, as a means of developing and
perfecting ourselves in Christian virtue and holiness. The bishop extended his hand over us and
called down upon us the Spirit of truth and understanding, the Spirit of wisdom and strength,
the Spirit of knowledge and piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, which is the foundation
of all true spiritual life. Then the bishop anointed us with chrism and prayed: “Establish and
confirm what Thou hast wrought in Thy holy temple.” We have become temples of the Holy
Ghost; we should daily increase in perfection.
“Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit.” The evil spirit no longer has any claim over us.
The spirit of worldliness and our purely natural outlook on life must also be put aside.
We may no longer act from purely natural motives and for purely selfish ends, or for the
satisfaction of our purely natural feelings, ambitions, and desires. Our guiding principle
must now be the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us and rules us. Our purely natural way
of thinking and living must now be replaced by a deeper and more vital faith. Our hope
now rests on a joyful and unshakable trust in the love of God our Savior, and on our
childlike trust in the powerful and all-embracing providence of our heavenly Father. Our
will becomes so absorbed by the divine will that the latter becomes the mainspring of all
our thoughts, desires, and actions. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we live continually in the
fear of the Lord. We fear sin and flee from it and from the slightest negligence and unfaithfulness;
we know that we belong entirely to God and that we must save and sanctify
our soul at any cost. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we live in the love of Christ. We maintain
a tender and vital communion with God, our Father and friend. We live always in His
presence and devote ourselves completely to His praise in thanksgiving and complete
surrender. We forget ourselves entirely and devote ourselves with burning zeal to Him
and His interests. We believe that our highest good and our most precious possession
is to be pleasing to Him and to live according to His will and good pleasure. We cling to
Christ with a tender and childlike love, considering His incarnation and the mysteries of
His life on earth. We are devoted to Holy Mother the Church and all that the Holy Spirit
works through her in her sacraments, her life, and her prayer.
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