Thursday, May 23, 2013

Mary TV Daily Reflection 5/23/2013


The voice of the Holy Spirit
 
(c)Mary TV 2013
The sweet voice of the Holy Spirit!

J.M.J.
May 23, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children, also today, in a special way, I invite you in this time of grace to open your souls to the Holy Spirit. Dear children, do not permit the world to lead you. Therefore, may the Holy Spirit lead you. Pray, persevere in prayer, that the Holy Spirit may descend upon your families who are in darkness. The mother prays together with you, intercedes before her son for you. Thank you, dear children, for responding to my call today." (Message given through Ivan on May 20, 2013, on Apparition Hill with his prayer group)

Our Lady tells us: "Dear children, do not permit the world to lead you. Therefore, may the Holy Spirit lead you." She seems to think that we are probably being led by something or someone! This is a function of how we are made. We have a desire deep within us for the good and we try to find it and follow it. But there are many counterfeits and number one on the list is the world. We know the kind of pressure there is to follow the world. We are constantly tempted and teased and even bullied by the corporate world to desire their products. We are lured by celebrities and movie stars to want to live like they do, to own what they do, and to look like they do. Politicians want us to vote for them, and to value what they value. Educators want us to think like they do and trust their opinions. The world is presented by the media, in all its power and hype.   We can't get away from it.

Are we being led by these forces? Do we desire what they offer? If so, we are probably being torn apart by them. We are being led into slavery through them, slavery to selfishness, idolatry and emptiness.

Yet we cannot just shut down. We cannot live only in the negative. We know we are born to journey somewhere. We need to be moving forward, but if not towards the successes of the world, then what?

Of course, we know the answer. We are moving towards God and eternity. And the only way to get there is by being led by that very God we are seeking. Our Lady wants us to learn to be led by the Holy Spirit, because He wants to bring us into our eternal reality, our heavenly kingdom where every true heart's desire is fulfilled!

How does the Holy Spirit lead us to our heart's desire, true goodness? Through inspiration! He gently nudges us forward, suggests to us the road we should take, the turn at hand, the choice before us! He is our companion and friend on the way we need to go. He speaks to our hearts moment by moment.

Fr. Jacques Philippe writes:

Before going over the criteria that enable us to discern the motions of the Holy Spirit, there is one important point to emphasize here. Ultimately what will help us to recognize and respond to God's motions most easily and promptly is the interior development of a sort of "spiritual sense," which to begin with we may not have at all or may have only in a very rough form. We can develop this sense by experience, and especially by faithfully and resolutely following our Lord.

This "spiritual hearing" is a kind of ability to recognize, among all the multiple, discordant voices that we can hear inside us, the unique, unmistakable voice of Jesus. This sense is like a loving instinct that makes it easier and easier for us to distinguish the voice of the Spouse, in the chorus of sounds that greet our ears.

The Holy Spirit uses, for each of us, a "tone of voice" that is his alone. It has particular gentleness and power, purity and clarity, which, when we are accustomed to hearing it, gives us near-certainty in singling it out. Of course, the devil, aping what he can of God's ways, can sometimes try to imitate the voice of the Spouse. But if we are truly accustomed to the voice of the Spirit by loving familiarity and by a constant, pure seeking after God's will, we will easily distinguish the voice that, even if it's a good imitation, sounds wrong in some way and so is not the voice of Jesus.

In St. John's Gospel Jesus promises us that the Holy Spirit will give this spiritual sense to us progressively. Speaking of himself as the good Shepherd, he says: "The sheep follow him, for they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10:4-5) (Fr. Jacques Philippe. "In the School of the Holy Spirit." p. 45-46)

We need to recognize the voice of our Shepherd so that we can follow Him. The Holy Spirit's tone of voice will become familiar to us as we spend more time in prayer, and practice responding to His inspirations. The fruit will make it clear to us! The voices of the world will pale in comparison to the beauty of the voice of God! We will find ourselves in peace, guided by His gentle leading!

Come, Holy Spirit! Lead us!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013





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