COME, HOLY SPIRIT
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created;
And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. LET US PRAY.
O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen
O Holy Spirit, sweet Guest of my soul, abide in me and grant that I may ever abide in Thee.
Day 6
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
— John 6:67-68
A diagnosis of a disease can often bring with it a flurry of seeing doctors and specialists. One can become focused on the goal of finding the “right” doctor, and it would seem then all would be fixed. One can believe if the right medication or doctor is found, all will be solved, and one can go back to one’s life as it once was when the body was strong and healthy. Yet if the illness persists and no clear answer is found, the soul is left wondering, Now what? Hope begins to fade.
The soul then has a choice. It can fall into despair or find the meaning behind the suffering. In the suffering there is a call from Our Lord. For Our Lord is always calling us each day to Himself. The soul can turn away, or the soul can bend closer to the call and begin to respond. The illness in many ways speeds up the searching process. For the soul suffering, if it is a stubborn soul, it has traveled down many paths looking for alternative solutions. Thus, at the end when the suffering remains, the soul finally looks at the last path . . . the one that leads to God. When he travels down that path and finds God, the soul can say as Simon Peter said, “Master, to whom shall we go?” (Jn 6:68) In truth the soul has looked everywhere and exhausted all other ways. He knows there is no other path. In this the suffering soul was given a gift. The Lord in patience allowed the soul to have this time of searching, and when the soul is left still without the relief, he comes sheepishly at first to Jesus but then with much more resolve. This soul tried through suffering is now much stronger spiritually and is not likely to leave Jesus as others may do: “[M]any [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him” (Jn 6:66).
Goal: How blessed it is when we choose the path that leads to God.
Sit quietly for five minutes while thinking of Mary and Joseph who were far from home and all alone as Mary gave birth to Jesus in the cold.
Day 7
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
We know from the story that the father cautions Gabriel not to choose rotten wood for the fire. Indeed, it can be burned but with much less heat. Let us imagine that the rot of the wood is a visual image for our sin. Our Lord indeed can love each of us when we have drawn away from Him through our sinful decisions. Yet severe sin such as mortal sin is enough to drive Our Lord out of our hearts. It is not that God has stopped loving us but rather that we have at that moment fully rejected Him. We should take heed that we watch over the quality of our wood lest it should become rotten. If we see that rot has taken place, we should avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Mercy, which is Confession. Our Lord wishes to help us, but we need to seek such mercy; it will not be forced upon us.
Goal: Each person should guard their wood so as not to let rot set in, but if such should happen, we must hasten to remedy this through the Sacrament of Penance.
Sit quietly for five minutes while thinking of Mary gazing for the first time at Jesus in her protective arms.
Day 8
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
Over the next several days, we will focus on the wood of the fire. In particular we will explore the quality of the wood. Let us consider first the smallest of branches, the tiny twigs that grow from the larger trees. These branches will catch very quickly from a spark of fire. They burn brightly and very fast. They will be consumed quickly but have the wonderful effect of allowing logs much bigger than themselves to catch on fire. In these tiny branches there seems to be nothing to impede the fire from burning them.
These tiny branches are supplied with all their needs from the tree, in much the same way tiny children obtain all their needs from their parents. A little one thinks very little of his or her own strength in difficulties but rather looks immediately to a parent. The child has no misconception that whatever intimidating situation stands ahead needs to be faced alone. A child rightly goes straight for the help of a parent. Likewise, children naturally approach God with a similar confidence. It is with this trust and dependence that God can work freely in a soul.
As many have seen, suffering is not an experience exclusive to adults. Little children can become sick or have serious injuries. Sometimes these injuries or illnesses are so severe that the child dies. Such experiences are heart- wrenching. Often it is such moments of suffering in a little one that will tear most deeply at a parent’s heart. Here we see that, indeed, a child who suffers may have a deep effect on his or her parents and also a great many people both young and old around them. Many people may develop great fervor in loving God through witnessing the love and trust in a child for God in the face of great physical or emotional suffering.
Goal: The trust of a tender soul in the face of suffering is greatly pleasing to God.
Sit quietly for five minutes while thinking of how St. Joseph and Mary trusted in the Providence of God and how all their needs were met in the manger scene.
Day 9
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
We shall now consider the sapling. This is a young tree with a slender trunk. The word can also refer to an inexperienced person. The wood of a young tree has a great deal of sap running in it. The wood often is called “greenstick” as it is very difficult to snap; rather, it just bends. This tree is beginning to take on the appearance of the grand old trees that have been growing years longer, but it is far from mighty. It can support some weight, but one could imagine such a little tree might think its strength is greater than it is in reality.
Such is the calamity of wood in its youth. It is this type of wood that is the hardest to burn. To dry out such wood will take considerable time. Burning this wood early results in considerable smoke and a hissing sound. While many fires seem to have the effect to draw souls toward the heat, the smoke and noise of this fire tend to decrease the appeal of resting near it.
Goal: Souls maturing in their youth can be much like a sapling in believing their inherent abilities are greater than they actually are; the souls see wisdom in themselves and look less to God for their guidance and strength.
Sit quietly for five minutes while thinking of how twelve-year-old Jesus returned from the Temple and submitted to His parents despite His own mental and physical abilities.
Resources
The retreat can be done using a physical book, watching one our videos each day or with our online Consecration journey. Both the videos and online readings are free to use so there is no obstacle to starting! We have a whole website designed just to support the Consecration journey.