Our Faithful Advocate

Recently, I received the sacrament of Confirmation. The night was absolutely incredible! I had prayed that the Holy Spirit would truly come within me, and that I would not close myself off- but be open to the graces the third person of the Trinity would bring with Him when He came to abide more fully in my body and soul. And I was not disappointed. God blessed me with a wonderful sense of peace, and I could feel the Holy Ghost slowly and gently taking over my mind as He pushed fears, doubts, and sins away to make room for Him.
But, I am posting today not only to praise the Lord for what He did for me- but also to encourage all of you in what the Spirit is doing for all of us every day. As Pentecost approaches, the Mass readings start to prepare us for the Spirit's promised arrival. Fr. Robert Barron, a priest in the Archdiocese of Chicago who publishes his homilies online, along with many other helpful resources, gave a beautiful explanation of today's first and second reading. He talked about how the "Holy Spirit's gifts are given to us for a mission." The Holy Spirit comes upon all of us at Confirmation, giving us the necessary tools to carry out whatever we were put on Earth to do. He left everyone with two questions to ponder: "What gift has the Spirit given you?" and "What is this Advocate prompting you to do?" Whatever it is God is calling you to, whether it is missionary work, a religious order, married life, political service, or something else, call upon the third person of the Trinity- the embodied Love between the Father and Son- and He will supply the needed graces to complete the task.

I highly suggest all of you listen to Fr. Barron's talk at: The Spirit of Power and of Truth. I also suggest looking around the rest of Fr. Barron's site (http://www.wordonfire.org/Home.aspx) because he is doing truly amazing work for the Church and to help all of those striving to live holier lives in Christ.

May the Holy Spirit ignite our hearts and guide our actions!

Picture courtesy of http://www.olsj.net/holy_spirit_index.htm.