Recognizing and Thanking the Holy Spirit

It is hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is only a week and a half away. On Tuesday, the Feast of the Presentation, we are provided with readings that provide a nice summary of salvation history as we prepare to enter the Lenten liturgical season. There are several themes or thoughts that might serve as a focal point for any of us as we begin Lent.

There is always the overlying theme of "Obedience." Mary and Joseph followed the expectation of their day, and presented the Child Jesus in the temple. Our Catholic faith also expects things of us that seem difficult at times, but they aren’t really. One of the “precepts” or rules of the Church (not to mention the Third Commandment) is that we attend Mass on Sundays. I was reading a bulletin in one of the churches here in Bakersfield yesterday trying to find a Mass time that would fit into my schedule and I wasn’t really surprised to find out there was a Mass on Saturday evening, 4 Masses on Sunday morning, and a Mass on Sunday evening. Those were just the English language Masses. If you count the Spanish Masses, there is no excuse for not obeying this precept. So why do we sometimes try to use the excuse that Mass just doesn’t fit into our busy lives?

We might ponder how much we allow ourselves to be directed by the Spirit of God in our daily lives, which leads to another theme, that of recognizing and appealing to the Holy Spirit for direction on a regular basis. The Gospel makes reference to Simeon with the phrase, "The Spirit was upon him." (Luke 2:22-40)

Could anyone say that of us? There is no reason this should not be true. At Baptism, we all received the Spirit. After Baptism it becomes a choice to have Him with us or not. Actually, that's not accurate. He is always with us. The choice is whether we recognize Him and let Him help us or not. He won't force Himself on us, but I have found that life is a lot easier with Him. I often appeal to Him to be with me when I write this blog. I call on Him everytime I take Holy Communion to the sick in the hospital. And, as the Spouse of Our Blessed Mother, I often call on Him to help me understand and perform my responsiblities as a father.

And a final thought from the readings: Jesus did not help the angels; instead, the Father chose to redeem us poor mortals, which brings up the topic of "Thankfulness." (Hebrews 2:14-18).

We have been given so much! Maybe we could take a look at our spirit of thankfulness. Scripture is rich in spiritual direction! We just need to prayerfully read it often and listen to what the Spirit and the Church is teaching us through it!