The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything
I trace the origin of my ministry in the church to a Life in the Spirit Seminar, Sandee and I experienced in 1985. The Charismatic Movement was still in its early years and the excitement surrounding enthusiastic worship, speaking in tongues and personal encounters with the Holy Spirit was traveling through the church like a wind swept fire.
For me, it was a conversion experience. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit when they laid hands on me, I trembled and started speaking in tongues. The days and weeks that followed, I was filled with an indescribable euphoria. I grew to understand the Holy Spirit as a force within that was transforming me from inside out.
Over the following months and years, that fire gradually changed from a wild fire to a channeled force that directed us into various church ministries. But the memory of the blaze of those early months have never left me. I know the Holy Spirit.
So when I read the words of this week’s Gospel John 14: 23-29 ‘the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.’ I understood deeply their meaning.
On occasions when I attend a Charismatic Prayer session and hear the praise and worship songs, I feel the stirring of that fire within. Fueled, it can take over my being and transform me. It is a fire that can blaze up and engulf me. The Holy Spirit fire can heal and empower us for ministry. It is transformative. I wish everyone can experience this Holy Spirit fire.
Yet, this is not the only way the Holy Spirit animates us. He can be experienced in a less dramatic way in the Sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, during silent prayer like Christian Meditation and meditative prayer like the Rosary.
The Holy Spirit is like the breath of God that we breathe and fills every cell of our being.
Writing this post has made me realize how often I rely on my own strength and forget to call on the Holy Spirit in the small, ordinary moments of daily life. If you are like me in this regard, let us make a renewed commitment to invite the Holy Spirit into every part of our day. May we learn to draw more deeply from His strength and power, trusting that He is always ready to guide, comfort, and empower us for the path ahead.