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Chapter 3

Come, Holy Spirit

Most Catholics can tell you that the Holy Spirit is the third Person in the Blessed Trinity, and that we receive the Holy Spirit in a special way in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Some Catholics might be able to list the seven gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgment), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence), and fear of the Lord (awe); based on Isaiah 11:2. But too many Catholics never think of praying to the Holy Spirit or allowing themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Even Pope Francis has observed that a lot of Catholics do not understand the powerful ways the Holy Spirit works in their lives.

“The Holy Spirit is the one who moves us to praise God, to pray to the Lord, the one who is within us and teaches us to see the Father and to call him ‘Father,’” Pope Francis explains. “The Spirit does everything, knows everything, reminds us what Jesus said, can explain all about Jesus.… The Holy Spirit makes real Christians. The Spirit takes life as it is and prophetically reads the signs of the times pushing us forward.”

Whenever you feel as if you are being called by God or inspired to do something, it is usually an action of the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis explains that the Holy Spirit “guides us in the way to think, to act, to distinguish between what is good and what is bad; he helps us to practice the charity of Jesus, his giving of himself to others, especially to the most needy. We are not alone! The sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is also the peace that Jesus gives to his disciples: ‘My peace I give to you’ [John 14:27].”

There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit is moving in the lives of the people who contributed to this chapter. Their stories reflect some of the profound ways the Holy Spirit has touched them as a result of their own prayers or through the prayers of others.

Discovering the Holy Spirit in Scripture

Here are some Scripture passages that help us to better understand how the Holy Spirit works in our lives:

• The Spirit will speak through us when we don’t know what to say (Matthew 10:19–20).

• The Spirit helps us understand everything that Jesus taught (John 14:26).

• The Spirit comforts us when we are sad and alone (John 14:16–19).

• The Spirit guides us in the way of truth (John 16:13).

• The Spirit dwells in us and gives us life (Romans 8:11).

• The Spirit prays for us when we don’t know how to pray (Romans 8:26).

• The Spirit shows us the good things God has planned for us (1 Corinthians 2:9–11).

• The Spirit allows us to experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).

The Holy Spirit Will Guide You

Several years ago, my marriage of nineteen years was over. That alone was enough to test my courage and fortitude. As the weeks unfolded, I found myself scared, confused, and hurt. Why me? I was the faithful one.

Suddenly my self-confidence waned. I had been part of a “couple” for so long. Everywhere I looked there were couples … my parents, my sibling, my friends. I was single now. How would I fit in? I forgot just how much I had shared with my ex-spouse — from the material goods in our home, the parish we belonged to, and the list goes on. I had to start over, but where and how?

I prayed like never before, or at least I thought so. Oh, how I talked to God. “Help me, Lord, to get through this day.” My mind was so cluttered.

Since I chose to move out of “our” house, my parents were wonderful, letting me move back in with them until I got my feet back under me. I had never lived alone. I had moved from my parents’ home to “our” home once I was married. But now I needed a place to call “my” home.

One day after the divorce was final, I got up the courage to make an appointment with a real estate agent. I was scared to death. A voice in my head kept telling me, “You can’t do this. You’re much too cowardly. There are budgets, bills, maintenance, and upkeep. How do you plan to do this on your own? What if some noise scares you in the night? Who will come to your rescue?”

As all this was going on, I stopped by my parish to drop some materials off, and I met Sister Marilyn, our director of religious education. When I confessed my troubles to her and told her I was praying, she said, “You are praying. But are you listening? Let God speak, and the Holy Spirit will guide you.”

That was THE turning point in my prayer life. All my life, I had been so busy trying to solve my own problems by telling God what I needed. I honestly don’t remember ever asking the Holy Spirit to guide me. I went into the cathedral and stared at the crucifix to catch my breath. I felt a calm come over me, maybe for the first time ever.

I don’t think a day has gone by since that encounter with Sister Marilyn in the parish parking lot that I haven’t asked the Holy Spirit for guidance. “Guide me in helping someone … Assist me in making this decision … Help me to see what you want for me … Let my words be your words.…”

I remind myself to listen, too.

As for my house … I prayed to the Holy Spirit to guide me to a place I could feel safe, secure, and happy — a place I could call home to start my new life. It took a few weeks, but I walked into this house, looked around, and I knew that the Holy Spirit led me here.

— Jill Adamson

Learning to Listen

Listening to the Holy Spirit is not something that comes naturally, but it is something that can be learned. Start by jotting down, after Mass, any spiritual insights that came to you in the readings, homily, music, or in your Communion meditation. Before long, you will begin to see how the Holy Spirit is guiding you.

It’s also a good idea to set aside a specific time every day for listening. Start with ten minutes in the morning and another ten minutes before you go to bed. In the morning, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through the day. Then empty your mind and spend some quiet time, slowly praying the name “Jesus” until a calm sense of God’s presence comes over you.

In the evening, think back on the day. Reflect on how the Holy Spirit may have been speaking to you through people and things that happened. Listening will open you to an exciting new awareness of the Holy Spirit, who leads us down paths that we never would have chosen for ourselves!

The Day We Couldn’t Pray

There can be times when a person cannot pray, not even the Holy Name, simply because terror can strike unannounced in a split second.

My daughter and I had spent a great summer day up in the Adirondack Mountains and were motoring toward home in the early evening. We were traveling a flat stretch of highway flanked by high brush on both sides of the road. We were keeping to the speed limit, meeting no traffic, except one car a good distance behind us.

And then, in a flash, a huge, dense, perfect circle of pure fire rolled out from our right, across the front of my pickup truck, and kept on rolling into the brush on the opposite side of the road. It was as high as the engine hood and equally as wide.

My daughter let out a prolonged, horrific, blood-curdling scream, while I was so frozen in fear, all I could do was strangle the steering wheel. Neither of us spoke or even looked at each other until we stopped at the next village to calm down.

Why didn’t the truck explode or burn to pieces? Why could I find not even a hint of charred metal on the truck’s hood? This huge fire had been right there, flush against us. We thanked God that we were okay.

Some months later, during a radio call-in show, a man related a similar happening in a Midwest field of grass. He wanted to know what it was. The answer was that this was a rare occurrence known as ball lightning, when ground-level, high-energy electrical forces come together. But the talk show host never explained why nothing burned in the man’s experience or in our experience.

My daughter and I speculated that maybe our guardian angels swept a hand down between an inch or so of the fire ball and the hood of my pickup. Or maybe the Holy Spirit was praying for us from deep within when we couldn’t.

— Elizabeth Fenn

The Prayer of the Holy Spirit

In his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul explains that in our weakest moments, when we are unable to pray, the Holy Spirit takes over and prays on our behalf. “We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).

My Prayer Was for a Husband

I was attending a Life in the Spirit seminar, where I was encouraged to regularly pray, read, and write. I was twenty-eight years old, lonely, and wanting to find love. Needless to say, my prayer was for a husband, and my requirements went something like this: “A Catholic man, who loves and respects his family as he will love and respect me, a man who values hard work and working together, a man who wants a family of children to raise with faith, kindness, and compassion.”

Six years later after finding the fulfillment of God’s love, I married my husband who was the completion of my prayer. My prayer was answered, and I now have a husband, selected for me by the Holy Spirit, and a family that I prayed for.

— Patricia Morgetano

What is a Life in the Spirit Seminar?

The purpose of a Life in the Spirit seminar is to introduce participants to the Holy Spirit. The sessions include prayer, music, talks, testimonies, and small-group sharing on a variety of topics such as God’s love, developing a relationship with Jesus Christ, recognizing the power of the Holy Spirit, using the gifts of the Spirit, rejecting sin, growing in faith, and carrying the Good News of Jesus into the world.

“You Will Be Accepted”

Whenever my husband, Jack, and I did volunteer work, it was always social work — beginning with migrant ministry. Jack reached a point where he no longer wanted to work in the family business. He wanted to do people work. So he applied to the School of Social Work at the University of Buffalo … but something went wrong. The person in charge of the admissions committee would not even talk to Jack!

That August, we went on a family retreat vacation. We prayed our hearts out for Jack to be accepted. On our last day, one of the other mothers had a medical emergency, and our friend Mary suggested that we go into the chapel and say a pray for her. So four of us — Mary, her husband, Jack, and I — knelt to pray. We had our arms around each other. Just before Mary started to pray in tongues, I said, “Let’s pray for Jack, too.” So we prayed, and I had tears running from my eyes like faucets.

Later that afternoon, I said to Jack, “I’m not sure how this will work — whether it is this September or next September — but you will be accepted at the University of Buffalo. I know it is going to happen!” A few days later, we got a call from the university. The man who refused to speak to Jack took a job in California, and the woman who took his place said, “I can’t understand why you were not accepted into the program. I am going to ask if I can boost you up on the list.”

On September 12, the woman from the university called again. “Can your husband come in tomorrow to start school?” she asked. “He is accepted.”

It was truly an answer to prayer.

— F. de Sales Kellick

What is Praying in Tongues?

Praying in tongues is a charism of the Holy Spirit that enables someone to pray in a language that had never been learned by that person, or that may not be a known language at all. Saint Paul described the gift of tongues in his first letter to the Corinthians as a means of speaking directly to God: “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 14:2). Many people say the gift of praying in tongues is a form of praise that carries them beyond the experience of reciting prayers or speaking to God in their own words.

The Gift of Calm

I was the principal of a Catholic school. It was the last day before Christmas break, and a special Mass was planned. I was surprised when the priest who had been scheduled sent a substitute instead. It was a priest I had never met before. I explained to him that I would stay for Mass, but that I had to leave immediately afterward because my mother was ill.

My mother was not the type to complain. The day before she had abdominal pain, no appetite, and was vomiting. I visited her, and we both thought she probably had a stomach flu. By evening she was very ill but refused to let us take her to the hospital.

The next morning, just before the priest arrived, I had talked to my mother and sister-in-law. Together we decided that my sister-in-law would take my mother to the hospital emergency room. I would meet them after Mass.

At the beginning of Mass, I introduced the priest to the students. During the prayers of the faithful, I was stunned when the priest announced that my mother was ill. He explained that he was a healing priest, and he asked me to come forward so that he could pray for my mother, my family, and me. I walked up to the altar. I had never been prayed over before, and I didn’t know what to expect. The priest put his hands on my head and began to pray. I felt an indescribable feeling of calm come over me. I remember thinking that this must be the Holy Spirit and my mother was going to be okay.

I left for the hospital as soon as Mass ended. After many tests, the doctors determined that my mother had a ruptured bowel caused by an obstruction, but they could not take her to surgery until they regulated her blood and heart. Without the surgery she would die, but there was also a question as to whether her heart was strong enough to withstand surgery.

My dad, my brother, my husband, my children, and their spouses came at once. Each family member had a chance to talk with my mother privately. A priest, who is a family friend, gave my mother the sacrament of the sick. She was ready for surgery.

Our family was gathered in the surgical waiting room when we heard the “Code Blue” announcement over the intercom. I knew immediately that it was for my mother. A short time later, the doctor told us that her heart had stopped and they revived her, but that it was impossible to continue with the surgery. They brought her back to the hospital room where we all gathered at her bedside. The doctor explained that she would not be able to speak, but that she would be able to hear us if we wanted to say good-bye. We were with her when she took her last breath. All I could think of was to comfort my father, brother, sister-in-law, and children.

The next day, overwhelming waves of grief consumed me. A deacon, who is a friend of the family and had been at the hospital with us the day before, stopped by the house to see how I was doing. I was surprised when he commented on how calm and strong I had been the day before. It was then that I realized the Holy Spirit had not come to heal my mother, but to instill in me a sense of calm and to sustain me during one of the most difficult days of my life.

— Rose Mary Buscaglia

What is a Healing Priest?

Technically, there is no such thing as a healing priest because only God can heal. But the Catechism of the Catholic Church recognizes that the Holy Spirit has given to some priests, religious, and lay people a special charism of healing “so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord.” Frequently, these healing ministries take place within the celebration of the Mass or during a prayer service.

“Carry Me Forth”

During the 2006 Pikes Peak Ascent Race, I had a personal goal of breaking three hours, which is typically accomplished by only 50 of the 2,000 runners. The top of the mountain was fogged in on the day of the race, so I didn’t have any references for my pace. At 2 hours and 50 minutes into the race, I asked God to guide me to the top, and I surrendered my three-hour goal to him for his glory.

Five minutes later, I could hear the crowd. I let God know that if it was his will, I would do my part to break three hours, and if I did, I would shout his glory from the top of the mountain. With one minute to go, I could finally see the finish line through the fog, but I knew I could not reach it on my own power. I said my third prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit, carry me forth.”

I don’t remember that final minute. I don’t remember touching the ground. I felt like I was walking on a cloud. Onlookers said I raced over the boulders to the top, which really surprised the crowd and caused great cheering.

At the finish line, I shouted with joy, and then I collapsed. My time was 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 51 seconds. I had reached the top with nine seconds to spare. A newspaper reporter wrote that it was the most exciting finish of the day.

— Pat Castle

National Life Runners Team

After the Pikes Peak Ascent Race, Pat Castle and his friend Rich Reich became the co-founders of the National LIFE Runners Team, which started with a dozen runners who wanted to join their love of running with prayers to end abortion. National LIFE Runners has grown to over 4,500 runners and walkers from ages one to one hundred one in all fifty states and twenty-seven countries.