Yesterday, I had a wonderful birthday and ended up giving an evening on prayer and contemplation for the Morningstar Renewal Center. The Presence of the Holy Spirit was tangible! Having done a fantasy exercise with them, I was amazed, as always, how God works through our imaginations. If we remember that the essence of prayer is God, we only need to surrender ourselves and let Him love us as He desires.
I really want to quote a passage from Clare Pratt, our Mother General. When she was here in the United States a couple of months ago, I asked her if I could quote her in my blog and she said I could; this is from her conference to those making their profession (final vows) in the Society of the Sacred Heart on Pentecost. She said:
"You pray 'Come Holy Spirit'. What does the Spirit do in us? To paraphrase a sermon by Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., the Spirit comforts us, cheers us up, encourages us, persuades us, exhorts us, stirs us, urges us forward, calls us to all that is good. Perhaps most of all, the Spirit within us loves, and the fire of that love cannot contain itself. Through us it spreads to others."
I felt that the Spirit was active in each of the group last night and, indeed, is active in me. Let us thank for this great gift of the Spirit as we begin the month of June.
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