For me Facebook has been an experience of witnessing God’s power, particularly in the status posts the Lord has been continually giving me throughout these years. The subject of these Facebook posts is none other than He, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter!
The Bible amply attests to the Holy Spirit’s power. Suffices to recall some verses that reveal His undisputed strength as God. The Book of Job says of the Holy Spirit: “By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent” (Job 26:13). Whereas in the Book of Psalms we find: “When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground” (Psalm 104:30). The Holy Spirit is mostly seen at work in both the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Lukan Gospel the Angel Gabriel says to Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35). Whilst Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, writes: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you” (Rom 8:11).
From my pastoral experience the Lord is teaching me a life transforming prayer to pray every day, not only for myself but also to offer it as a gift to those who are suffering and are sick. Here is the famous prayer: Holy Spirit, Charge Me!
Whenever I share this prayer with people in need many of them spontaneously tell me: “Oh! How much I need to be charged!” There are some who, due to their profound humility of heart, would confess to me: “Oh Father! I need to be overcharged!”
Upon listening with interest to these intriguing pastoral responses regarding my Spirit-suggested prayer, I naturally make the following question: If the Holy Spirit is the real Charger of the human person in what way He charges people? This practical question set me off to find some engaging reasons in various patristic and theological contributions.
The Holy Spirit is my real life Charger because, as the late professor and Schemamonk, Costantine Cavarnos, recorded in his work Guide to Byzantine Iconography, Vol. 1, the Holy Spirit is my spiritual light who come to me with calm and joy. He writes: “The power of the Holy Spirit, which is bestowed upon him who loves God and keeps His commandments, does not appear visibly in the form of fire, nor does it come with a loud sound like a violent wind - for this happened only in the time of the Apostles for the sake of the unbelievers. Instead, it is seen spiritually in the form of spiritual light, and comes with all calm and joy”.
Moreover, the Holy Spirit is my real life Charger because He anoints my very words as He did with Christ. Thus, the Holy Spirit transforms my lips into those of Christ himself! Saint Romanos the Melodist, in his hymn On Pentecost says: “Brothers, we shall hymn with praise the tongues of the disciples, because, not with elegant speech, But in divine power they have revived all men. Because they took up His Cross, so that they might again use words as fishing lines and fish for the world Since they had speech as a sharp fishhook, since the flesh of the Master of all has become for them a bait, it has not sought to kill But it attracts to life those who worship and praise the all-holy Spirit”.
Finally, the Holy Spirit is my real life Charger because He makes us know Our Father in Heaven. Saint Silouan the Athonite in Wisdom from Mount Athos, writes: “If the Lord has left us ignorant of the ordering of many things in this world, then it means it is not necessary for us to know: we cannot compass all creation with our minds. But the Creator Himself of heaven and earth and every created thing gives us to know Him in the Holy Spirit”.
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap