miniZibaldone

In carrying out its mission in the world, the Church needs the help of the Holy Spirit to avoid being deterred by fear and calculation, to avoid becoming used to walking within secure borders. From the angelus The fire of which Jesus speaks is the fire of the Holy Spirit, the living and and active presence within us from the day of our Baptism. It is a creative force that purifies and renews, it burns all human misery, all selfishness, all sin, transforms us from within, regenerates and makes us capable of loving. Jesus desires that the Holy Spirit may blaze like fire in our hearts, because it is only from the heart that the fire of divine love will flourish and advance the Kingdom of God. If we open ourselves totally to the Holy Spirit, He will gift us the audacity and fervor to proclaim to all Jesus and his consoling message of mercy and salvation, on the open seas.  The apostolic courage that the Holy Spirit kindles in us, like a fire, helps us to overcome walls and barri...

The central purpose of Jesus mission, which culminated in the gift of the Holy Spirit, was to renew our relationship with the Father. From the homily The Spirit is given to us by the Father and leads us back to the Father. The entire work of salvation is one of “re-generation”, in which the fatherhood of God,  through the gift of the Son and the Holy Spirit, frees us from the condition of being orphans into which we had fallen. In our own day also, we see various signs of  our being orphans: in the interior loneliness which we feel even when we are surrounded by people, a loneliness which can become an existential sadness; in the  attempt to be free of God, even if accompanied by a desire for his presence; in the all-too-common spiritual illiteracy which renders us incapable of prayer; in the  difficulty in grasping the truth and reality of eternal life as that fullness of communion which begins on earth and reaches full flower after death; in the effort  t...

I would like to say to the young men and women of nowadays who don't feel at ease – (who say) ‘But I’m not that happy with this consumerist and narcissistic culture ….’ ‘But look at the horizon! Look who’s there, look at our missionaries!’ Pray to the Holy Spirit who compels them to go far away, to consume or burn up their lives. From the homily He noted that Paul acknowledges the absolute mastery of the Spirit over his life who has always pushed him to announce the gospel despite the problems and  difficulties. I believe, the Pope said, this excerpt evokes for us the life of missionaries throughout the ages.  “They went forward compelled by the Holy Spirit: a vocation!  And when we went to the cemeteries in those places, we see their tombs: so many of them died at an  early age before they reached 40.  The reason is because they were not used to and couldn’t recover from the diseases present in those places. They gave up their  young lives: they had...

The Holy Spirit frees us from this ‘orphan-like’ condition which the spirit of the world wants to put us in. From the homily Christian life, Francis reiterated, “is not just an ethical life: it is an encounter with Jesus Christ.” And it is thanks to the Holy Spirit that this encounter takes place: "But we keep the Holy Spirit as a ‘luxury prisoner’ in our hearts: we do not allow the Spirit to push us forward, to move us. The Spirit does everything, knows everything, reminds us what Jesus said, can explain all about Jesus. There is only one thing the Holy Spirit can’t do: make us ‘parlour’ Christians (…) The Holy Spirit cannot make us ‘virtual’ Christians who are not virtuous. The Holy Spirit makes real Christians. The Spirit takes life as it is and prophetically reads the signs of the times pushing us forward (…), the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity” he said. Pope Francis urged all faithful this week to reflect on the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and...

Docility to the Spirit is a source of joy. From a homily "In days past, the Church has shown us how there can be a drama of resisting the Spirit: closed, hard, foolish hearts resisting the Spirit. We’ve seen things - the healing of the lame man by Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple; the words and the great things Stephen was doing … but they were closed off to these signs of the Spirit and resisted the Spirit. They were seeking to justify this resistance with a so-called fidelity to the law, that is, to the letter of the law."  In referring to the reading, Pope Francis said that "the Church proposes the opposite: no resistance to the Spirit, but docility to the Spirit, which is precisely the attitude of the Christian.” He continued: “Being docile to the Spirit, this docility is the yes that the Spirit may act and move forward to build up the Church.”   [link]   From an address We too are living in a time of martyrdom, and in the midst of a culture...

From the homily "We can negotiate some sort of peace ... but harmony is an inner grace that only the Holy Spirit can grant. And these communities lived in harmony. And there are two signs of harmony: there is no one wanting, that is, everything was shared. In what sense? They had one heart, one soul, and no one considered as his own any property that belonged to him, but everything was shared in common amongst them. None of them was ever in need.  The true 'harmony' of the Holy Spirit has a very strong relationship with money: money is the enemy of harmony; money is selfish.”   Proof of the first Christian community’s harmony, the Pope says, was shown in the fact that they freely gave of their own goods “so that others would not be in need." "The harmony of the Holy Spirit grants us the generosity to possess nothing as our own, while there is someone in need.” The harmony of the Holy Spirit, he adds, also fortifies us with courage. “‘With great power t...

Accept This Offering by Kenneth Stevenson   Vatican Council II  Vatican Council II vol 2   Mission and Evangelization by Michael Hayes The Gift of God the Holy Spirit by Andrew Apostoli Christus Victor by Gustaf Aulen Spiritual Theology by Jordan Aumann The Devil by Corrado Balducci Inquiring Faith by Tadeusz Dajczer The Graced Horizon by Stephen Duffy Church and Social Communication by Franz-Josef Eilers What is Liberalism? by Felix Sarda Salvany 

May those who dedicate themselves to the defense and promotion of life be able to show first of all its beauty. In fact, [as] “the Church does not grow by proselytism but ‘by attraction.’” From an address The good that man does is not the result of calculations or strategies, nor is it the product of the genetic order or of social conditionings, but it is the fruit of a well disposed heart, of the free choice that tends to true good. Science and technology are not enough: to do good, wisdom of the heart is necessary. [...]  “You have eyes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence” (22:17). This condition cannot change either in virtue of theories, or by the effect of social or political reforms. Only the work of the Holy Spirit can reform our heart, if we collaborate: God Himself, in fact, has assured His effective grace to one who seeks Him and is converted “with all his heart” (Cf. Galatians 2:12 ff.)....

From the homily Christians who say “it’s always been done that way,” and stop there have hearts closed to the surprises of the Holy Spirit. ‘It’s always been done this way’ is a closed heart, and Jesus tells us, ‘I will send you the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into the fullness of truth.’ If you have  a heart closed to the newness of the Spirit, you will never reach the full truth. And your Christian life will be a half-and-half life, a patched life, mended with  new things, but on a structure that is not open to the voice of the Lord—a closed heart, so that you are not able to change others.” [...] “Christians who obstinately maintain ‘it’s always been done this way,' this is the path, this is the street—they sin: the sin of divination. It’s as if they went  about by guessing: ‘What has been said and what doesn’t change is what’s important; what I hear—from myself and my closed heart—more than the Word of the Lord.’ [...] Habits must be renewed in the newness ...

From the homily And, finally, do not forget that the greatest inheritance that you can give your children is faith. Be careful that this is not lost,  so it can grow and leave as a legacy. Today, I wish, that in this joyous day for you all: I wish you are able to make these children grow in faith, and that the greatest inheritance they receive from you, really, is the faith. And only a warning: When a baby cries because he or she is hungry, to the mommies, I say: if your child is hungry, feed them here, with complete freedom.  [full text] From the angelus "The Holy Spirit is the principal architect in Christian Baptism, He is the one that burns and destroys original sin, restoring the beauty of divine grace. He is the One who delivers us from the dominion of darkness, that is, of sin, and transports us into the realm of light, that is love, truth and peace. This is the light. [...] [B] aptism date [is] to celebrate to reaffirm our adherence to Jesus, with the commitment ...

True Devotion to the Holy Spirit by Luis Martinez Christ's Appeal for Love by Josefa Menendez God is a New Language by Sebastian Moore Catholics and the New Age by Mitch Pacwa Filipino Cultural Values for the Apostolate by Wilfredo Paguio Our Lady in Catholic Life by Lawrence Lovasik Surprised by Truth by Patrick Madrid The Spirit Broods Over the World by George Maloney Blessed are the Barren by Robert Marshall

From the a ddress to Ugandan youth It seems that the microphone doesn’t work well. Sometimes we ourselves don’t work well. Yes or no? And when we don’t work well, to whom do we have to ask help? I don’t hear you. Louder! We have to ask Jesus. Jesus can change your life. Jesus can break down all of the walls that you have before you. Jesus can make of your life a service for others. Some of you might ask me: For this, is there a magic wand? If you want Jesus to change your life, ask him. And this is called prayer. Did you understand? To pray. I ask you: Do you pray? Are you sure? Pray to Jesus because he is the savior. Never stop praying. Prayer is the strongest weapon that a youth has. Jesus loves us. I ask you: Does Jesus love some people and not others? Does Jesus love everyone? Does Jesus want to help everyone? Then open the doors of your heart and allow him to come in. Allow Jesus to enter into my life. And when Jesus comes into your life, he helps you to fight. [full text] F...

The Meaning of the Creative Act by Nicolas Berdyaev   The Missionary and the Libertine by Ian Buruma   A Short History of English Literature by Sir Evans   Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan   Loving Jesus by Mother Teresa   Holidays in Hell by P. J. O'Rourke   An Introduction to Teilhard de Chardin by N. M. Wildiers   The Descent of the Dove by Charles Williams

Poetic Diction by Owen Barfield The Rediscovery of Meaning by Owen Barfield A Student's Guide to Intellectual Life by Jean Guitton  On Fairy-stories by J. R. R. Tolkien He Came Down from Heaven by Charles Williams