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Show I Devotion to tin I : Gofy Gbost I I THE HUMAN SOUL CANNOT BE I INDEPENDENT. The pouI of man is a spirit, yet a spirit, of peculiar nature. It is so con- I atituted that it mim of necessity be under the power of another spirit, superior su-perior to itself. It can, never be its own master. Even when it attempts to throw aside all law and break I through every restraint, it becomes, by j that very fact, the most servile of all 1 slaves. For whosoever commits sin becomes the slave of sin. and. through Fm, the slave of the devil. It is only I by the voluntary observance of God's holy law that it enters into an honorable honor-able and reasonable service, meriting an eternal reward hereafter. Yes. the human soul cannot be independent. It . luniiuu, enner oy a good spirit even the Devine Spirit Himself I or by an evil spirit the very demon of hell. GRACE MAKES THE SOUL THE ABODE OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT, SIN THE ABODE OF THE EVIL SPIRIT. "When the soul of man in the state ' of grace. God the Holy Gho?t. the Divine Di-vine Spirit, dwells within the soul in a ppecial manner, ennobling and perfecting perfect-ing man's, whole being, endowing him with supernatural light and strength, end making him yield forth abundant fruit of virtue and good works; in Fhort. guiding and assisting him in every way so that he may finally reach his everlasting home in heaven. Yet no sooner does man willfully yield to grievous s;n, than he at once drives euay from, hi? soul the Divine Spirit, and deliberately casts himself recklessly reckless-ly into the power of the evil spirit, who comes and takes possession of his Oh! what a fearful thing ia this! The 8 -jI, which, by grace, had been the blissful abode of the All-Holy Spirit of Gnii, now, by pin, has become the dwelling place of the demons of iniquity. in-iquity. That soul, once so bright and b'-autiful in the sight of God, now pre-f pre-f nts a most hideous and loathsome ficht. That soul, once replenished with the joy and peace of heaven, ie now a veritable hell; and what will be the result? Where the Holy Ghost dwells, there is Faith. Hope and Charity. But the "ul that has given itself wholly into the power of the evil spirit, is slowly, y t surely, drifting to Infidelity, will, iu the end, die in Despair, and then, curse God, its own self, and all things, with an everlasting Hate, in the flames of hell. Alas! how many are there not who lK-ap sin upon sin and yet think no-thing r.f it: In the sight of man they a T 'pear comely and attractive, wearing tho inask of virtue and honesty, and even passing1 as honorable men. But what are they in the sight of God? Thr-y are an abomination which words fail to describe. And yet, devout reader, read-er, do you ever seriously reflect upon these things? By which spirit are you, at this moment, actuallv possessed? TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WE OWE EVERYTHING DIRECTLY. . God the Father made us, and destined us for His own bright home in heaven; f'T we are His children. His Eeternal Son came on earth, pent by the Father, t" merit for us, by Hiss bitter Passion and Death. Divine grace. He it is Who prepared all the means for our eternal salvation. But it ls the Holy Ghost Who is sent to us by the Father end the Son, to directly infuse into our fiuls the grace of our Divine Redeemer. Redeem-er. It is the Holy Ghost Who brings within our reaeh all the means of salvation, sal-vation, and Who enables us so to em-piny em-piny them as to actually save our immortal im-mortal smils Vnw nil fliis. the Holv Ghost does by His personal indwelling in i.ur souls. Oh! consider how great a dignity is this: to have the Divine Spirit abiding as a guest in our soul. In order to enrich your poverty out of ' the pferity of His) riches, and to fill you with heavenly peace for time and for eternity, e How can we think of all this, and yet remain cold and indifferent In regard re-gard to this Divine Spirit to Whom we owe so much, yea, everything! How j can we thing of His special love for us ; without feeling our own hearts touched i end set on fire with love of Him! How ; can we yield to sin when we reflect j that, thereby, we pull God the Holy Ghost down from Hi! rightful throne ! in our hearts and deliberately cast out j the Divine Spirit to make room for the l spirits of darkness" and iniquity! j How can we grow sad and become !j weary in well-doing, when we bear in J mind that th-a very author of all peace and comfort, the very source of all grace and virtue, is actually d,welling within our soul for no other purpose than to be the Helper in our tribulations, tribula-tions, our stay and our support! Why, then, is this Divine Spirit of Love so little known and loved? Does He not deserve a special tribute of our love and devotioji? ook axouxui jou. Tfc world Is oSel n n vice. This is an I Hy and & 1 ,-be proud of- Infidel-direcTlv Infidel-direcTlv 1?lmoraJlty. vices which are so. Spirit nrr oprOEition. to the Divine Sllv r ruUl and Holiness, are es- infldeiitv n,?ant- And Elde bv s'Id of the m '"d lmmorality. you will find ot D&hiv 3019 Cf superstition and tue Th, " Shb cant of Platonic vir-I version oAU lave a wholesale per- troth r?tO-err0J under the ise of bSe oVrtUe.ha9 PUt the Sm- ChrWnnH Vlciss,tude9 the Father of Hia chiMrm COmes forward to warn ahead liTi f the neer that are edv Aa2d Drescribe a specific rem-emv rem-emv it "What J3 this Par'tleular rem-tioit rem-tioit n ,tdvtffi? 11 ls gpecial devo-savs devo-savs in w?a oly Ghost' Hence. he "S3.?,!tf?lS,:cal UP011 the sub- mav ilfiur earnest de?ire that piety thl and be inllamed towards the Holy Ghost, to whom, especially, the n,th- )Vf the srace of following me paths of truth and virtue." vow .f."" soing to hear the fan V thi: Father? They will not Jy ise and prudent. WHAT IS MEANT BY DEVOTION TO HOLY GHOST. itD,eV?li0n is the devotedness. It lfttS Upon a right aDnrpf-iat ion nf , "al'ties of the object of one s devotion and implies an earnest 1 1 a a P'mpt readiness to do all estV be d0ne 10 advance its imier-lf. imier-lf. then, we think often of the Holy r-.,T a"d contemplate His Divine Per-we Per-we ow ve .attentively consider all finf.nl Jmmeaiateiy -to His benign in-?ew: in-?ew: Tl'aUy if endeavor to "ff,.21?111 always keep before our uHhir Vvlls and Patient indwelling within, us; how could we refuse to praise love and thank Him in a very si-ecial manner.' Rather shall we ab animated with a holy desire to pay Him a special tribute cf our love and adora-;-e shall thank Him most sin-teieij sin-teieij for Hus cona;anc and unwearied kindness towards us. We shall pray to wim in a special manner, since He is , "a ana Comforter in every ?v?land.8or,:oiv- We shall heed His Dnine inspirations, bv which He guides us imernally. e ahaU eub-?l eub-?l .ut0 i' .Iawfu' authority, especially rMm Kme authority of God's Holy n ' bi;.w hich He guides us ex-rnaU:; ex-rnaU:; TI e fhall take care lest we fenee Him by wilful neglect by e-otn and lukewarmness, or even "ex-K'.' "ex-K'.' the Are of His Divine Love p leldmg to grevious sin. We ihall be faithful in Hia Divine Service, honor Him daily by some devout exercise of piety, make reparation for all the eaghtis and insults He receives from the sons of men, and make use of every means at our disposal to make Him j more known and loved by all. Behold I thja is what in meant bv devotion to the Holy Ghos:! Why not endeavor to cultivate this apecial devotion? Does not the Holy Ghoct deserve it? Will it not be most beneficial to ourselves? TRUE DEVOTION ESSENTIALLY INTERNAL. There can be no true devotion unless it nas its root deep within the eoul. A devotion which contents itself with mere outward observances, is not only false, but also very dangerous, inasmuch inas-much as it often degenerates into rank superstition. This holds good with regard to every kind of devotion. It also applies to devotion to the Holy Ghost. If, therefore, we wisih. to practice genuine , devotion to the Holy Ghosi, we mut-t be careful that this devotion really comes from our very heart. Let our memory recall to our mind all we owe to this Divine Spirit of Love. Let our understanding dwell upon His Divine Perectiorba, and especially upon Hict Infinite Lcve and Bounty in our regard. Let our Will be ready to devote de-vote itself to His Divine 'service, to hear and obey His voice, and to spread among others the love and homage or His Divine Person. DEVOTION AIDED BY EXTERNAL OBJECTS. Although genuine devotion mu?t ea-eeratially ea-eeratially be internal, still it cannot, at present, remain wholly spiritual and internal. This arises from our very nature, inasmuch as we are composed of a spiritual eoul and a material body. Our mind, though spiritual, cannot at prent. act independently of the imagination imagi-nation which is a fsnsible factulty. Our thoughts, even cf cpiritual things, will clothe themselves, however obscurely, in some sensible image. Our will aleo, which is a purely spiritual faculty, cannot, a t present, act without the corresponding cor-responding movements of the passions. Love or hather, hope or despair, every affection of the will, naturally betrays itself in some outward form in the body. DEVOTION TO THE HOLY GHOST AIDED BY OUTWARD MEANS. The Holy Ghost ie a pure Spirit; we cannot, therefore, represent Him to ourselves in any visible or tangible form: and etill, on account o our compound com-pound nature, we cannot think of Him without giving Him some kind of a j sensible shape of our imaginotion. If. then, we had some distinct outward mean-3 to help our imagination, these would, no doubt, be of great u?e to us to foster and promote bevotion to the Holy Ghost. And such outward means are to be had. . - ' His very name primarily denotes some-thing sensible. Spirit meanp breath; and He is called the Divine Spirit to express the manner in Avhich He proceeds from the Father and from the Son. For He proieed& from the Father and from the Son by way of ppiration. that i. breathing, and is, therefore, called the Spirit, that is, the Breath, of the Father and of the Son. In like manner, certain appellations are given Him. which again directly express some sennible . object. lie is. or instance, called a Cloud. For as a Cloud by it refreshing shower irui -flee the earth. e?o the Holy Ghost fructifies fructi-fies the human soul by the refreshing lowers of His Divine Grace. ni on those different occasions, when. He descended upon this earth for a Fpedal purpose. He did en in an outward form. At the) Baptism, of, Jesus Christ He descended upon Him in j the form of a dove: and on the day of Pentecost. He descended upon the Apostle? in the shape of fiery tongues. We will here mention certain outward out-ward aids which will af.iat the faithful faith-ful in practicing bevotion to the Holy Ghost. They are: The Pious Union; the Chaplet and Beads; the Badge; the Medal: the Manual; the Monthly Onran. THE PIOUS UNION. The Holy Ghost is deserving of onecial honor on the part of all men. not only individually, but also in a body. It would therefore be a most desirable thin'g to see men bind tihem- aMvo? together for the express purpose of promoting devotion to the Holy Ghot Now such a Union is an accomplished ac-complished fact. The title of the association as-sociation is, '"Pious Union in honor of the Holy Ghostt." tit is devised upon the simplest plan, and is duly approved ap-proved by ecclesiastical authority. That wch a union will be a powerful means to promote devotion to the Holy Ghost, gees without eaying. The very fact that one is not working alone, but is united with a multitude of others, so 3" to nraise and honor the Holy Ghost in a"body.is a sufficient motive to persevere and increase in devotion to the Divine Spirit. THE CHAPLET AND BEADS. Hte Holiness, Leo XIII. writing on devotion to the Holy Ghoet, says: What should be chiefly dwelt upon, nnd clearly explained, is the multitude and greatness of the benefits which have been bestowed and are cor.tftant-lv cor.tftant-lv bestowed upon us by this Divine Giver." Now the "Chaplet of the Hc' Ghost" will wonderfully aid us in this matter. For ii vividly bring before our mind the chief benefits of the Holy Ghost. The Chaplet is composed of five mysteries, mys-teries, embodying the five principaJ operations op-erations of the Holy Ghost. Th'5"" flv mysteries are: . ' First By the Holy Ghost is Jesus conceived of the Virgin Mary. See Luke I.. 35. Second The Spirit of the Lord rested upon Jesus' at His Baptism. See Matth. III., 16. Third By the Spirit la Jesus led into the desert and is tempted by the devil. See Luke IV., 1, 2. j Fourth The abiding Presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church. See Acts II.. 1, 4, 11. Fifth The abiding presence of the Holy Ghost within the soul of the just man. See I. Cor. V., 19; I. Thesal. V., 19; Ephes. IV., 30. ihe Chaplet is recited after the manner man-ner of other Rosaries. While reflecting I upon the mysteries and making suit- I able applications, one says for each mystery once the "Our Father" and ' "Hail Mary" and seven times the j "Glory be to the Father." Beads are not essential. Still, a special set of beads has been devised which will be found very useful in its recital. THE BADGE. The badge represents the Holy Ghost in the form of a Dove with outstretched wings, hovering within a triangular space, from which rays dart forth all around. It shows the Holy Ghost descending de-scending from the Besom of the Godhead God-head to bring peace and blessings to men here below. Seven tongues of fire express His Seven, gilts, and, twelve stars represent His twelve fruits. The i is novering above the tiara ana papal arms, which represent the Church, and, in a special manner, the Sovereign Pontiff. For it is through the Church, and particularly through its Head, the Pope, that the Holy Ghost speaks and operates. The papal arms uphold an open Bible and a Chalice with the Sacred Host. Here we have the Sacred Scriptures, the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Ghost, and the Eternal Word of God, made Flesh, hidden under the lowly forms of the Bread and of the Wine in, the Holy Eucharist, likewise brought about by the operation of the Holy Ghost; Sacred Scripture and the Holy Eucharist are, indeed, the two chief outward manifestations of the Divine operations' of the Holy Ghost, and' both are confided to the safe keeping of the Church, the very life of which is1 the Holy Ghosu. Underneath is the invocation: "Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love!" Several copies of this Badge were presented at a special audience May 13th, 1S99. to His, Holiness, Leo XIII., who blessed them with his own handri and, by word of mouth, sanctioned and approved the design. THE MEDAL. The Medal bears on, one side the design de-sign depicted- on the Badge, and, on the reverse aide, the image of the j I iiessea lrgm Mary, the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Ghost. For as the Holy Ghost is indissolubly united to Mary. His pure Spouse, so- likewise devotion to the Holy Ghost is inti-mately inti-mately bound up with devotion to the great Mother of God. Junrt as the Holy . Ghost gave us Jesus through Mary, so ! now He imparts to us the grace of Jesus Christ through Mary's most powerful intercession. THE MANUAL. The Manual, entitled "The Paraclete," Is composed of three parts. Part I. is devoted to a series of instructions in-structions concerning the nature, person per-son and work of the Holy Ghost, written writ-ten in an easy, pwlain and popular style. Part II. contains the ordinary daily and occasional prayers of the Christian, so that the Manual is also, at the same time, a complete prayer book. - Part III. gives a variety of charming devotions, in honor of God the Holy Ghost; daily invocations, weekly exercises,- monthly practicest We may mention as a special feature a devout No vena in honor of the Holy i Ghost, giving prayers and points of mediation for each day of the Novena, j It is plain that such a book will prove to be a valuable help to acquire and practice genuine devotion to the Holy Ghost. Priests and Religious will find it especially useful. THE MONTHLY ORGAN. To bring the work of the Pious? Union more prominently before the public, the l Reverend Editor of "St. Anthony's Messenger," Mes-senger," published by the Franciscan I Fathers? of Cincinnati, O., has kindly and charitably set aside a few pages each month for an article on devotion to the Holy Ghnst and special notices , concerning the Pious Union, so that the j "Meswenger" may be looked upon as the ; special Organ of the Pious Union, and j is. therefore, as Puch, highly to be rec- ommended to all the devout servants of j God the Holy Ghost. N, B. The center of the Pious Union is St. Anthony's House, Franklin, Ind. For particulars concerning the Pious Union, application should be made to Superior, O. M. Cap, St. Anthony's House. Franklin, Ind. j Book on Pious Union fEnelish and ' German). Manual. Badge. Medal, Beads ' may also be obtained from the same j source. j For subscription to the Messenger, j apply to Rev. Editor of St. Anthony's : Messenger, Queen City avenue, Cincin- j nati, O. i i Leo XIII on the Novena of Pente- j cost, gays in hia Encyclical: "We de- cree and command that, throughout the Church, this year, and every subsequent subse-quent year, a Novena shall take place befort Whit-Sunday in all Parish Churches." The book entitled "The Paraclete" contains, besides many other beautiful devotions to the Holy Ghost, a special Novena in preparation for Pentecost Sunday, with complete directions direc-tions both for public and private use, and is, therefore, especially recommended recommend-ed for that purpose. Pentecost Sunday occurs this year j (1900) on Sunday, June 3. The Novena should commence Friday, May 25. ! |