THE SECRET AGENT
OF EVANGELIZATION

 BY FATHER MICHAEL SCANLON

A Protestant friend of mind keeps telling Me I need a personal relationship with Jesus. Do I? Pope Paul VI:  The Holy Spirit is indeed the principal agent of evangelization. He strongly connects the Holy Spirit and evangelization in Section 75 of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, “On Evangelization in the Modern World.” 

“Evangelization will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spirit.  Jeus’ own ministry did not begin until the Spirit descended following his baptism.  It is not by chance that the great inauguration of evangelization took place on the morning of Pentecost, under the inspiration of the Spirit” 

He continues “It is the Holy Spirit who, today just as at the beginning of the Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows himself to be possessed and led by him.  The Holy Spirit places on his lips the words which he could not find by himself, and at the same time the Holy Spirit predisposes the soul of the hearer to be open and receptive to the Good News and to the Kingdom proclaimed. Even the best evangelistic techniques could not replace the gentle action of the Spirit.” 

“Without the Holy Spirit, the most convincing dialectic has no power over the heart of
man.  Without him the most highly developed schemas resting on a sociological or psychological basis are quickly seen to be quite valueless.” 

Pope Paul VI exhorts all evangelizers, whoever they may be, to pray without ceasing to the Holy Spirit with faith and fervor and to let themselves prudently be guided by him as the decisive inspirer of their plans, their initiatives and their evangelizing activities.  

How should we pray for this empowerment?  Pope Paul VI in 1974 addressed the Synod of Bishops with these words:

“Now we direct our attention to the principal conditions for the gift of God par excellence.  This gift is precisely the Holy Spirit, whom we know, “breathes where he wills.” But he does not reject the longing of anyone who waits for him, calls on him and welcomes him.

What are these conditions?  Let us simplify a difficult answer by saying that the ability to receive this “sweet guest of the soul” exacts faith. It demands humility and repentance.  Normally it requires a sacramental act.  In the practice of a religious life, it requires
silence, recollection, listening and, above all, invocation, prayer, as the apostles did with Mary in the Cenacle.  It is important to wait and to cry out: “Come, Creator Spirit; come, Holy Spirit.” 

In his great enclyclical on the Holy Spirit, “The Lord and Giver of Life” (Dominum et Vivicantem, 1986) Pope John Paul II teaches about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and prayer. “The breath of the Divine Life, the Holy Spirit in its simplest and most common manner, expresses itself and makes itself felt in prayer.” The Holy Spirit is present in prayer. He breathes prayer in the heart of man in all the endless range of the most varied situations and conditions, sometimes favorable and sometimes unfavorable to the spiritual and religious life. 

“For 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). Therefore the Holy Spirit not only enables us to pray, but guides us from within in prayer.  He is present in our prayer and gives it a divine dimension. Thus he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Rom 8:27). 

A Prayer of submission from Cardinal Desire Mercier of Belgium follows. He advocates spending five minutes daily with our imagination quiet, our eyes shut to all things of sense, and our ears closed to all earthly sounds so as to be able to withdraw into the sanctuary of the soul, the temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Oh Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I adore you. 
Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. 
Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do it. 
I promise to be submissive in everything that you ask of me
and to accept all that you permit to happen to me, only show me what is your will. 

Cardinal mercies believes that submission to the Holy Spirit is the “secret of sanctity.”

 A MEDITATION ON

 BLOCKING OUT THE DARKNESS
OF THIS VALLEY OF TEARS

Sing the new song I have placed in your soul. Block out the darkness of life in this valley of tears! Listen to its lilting melody. Be lifted up by My new song in your heart. Listen to My new words for you. I have placed them in your heart in response to your call to Me. Let these new words overpower the negative ones that have crippled your spirit. 

Feel My life in your soul. Let it replace death in your heart. I bring you new life. It is My life generated through the love of My Most Holy Spirit. 

I am Jesus. Let Me sing My words of redeeming Love to your troubled spirit. They will lift you up to My Sacred Heart where I will love you to life through the power of My loving grace filled presence of My Most Holy Spirit. 

Dance with Me, My loved one. It does not matter if you are staring death in the face. We will waltz through death. My new life within you will lift you out of life in this valley of tears. There will be no more death. There will be no mourning. There will be no more tears. 

Behold I make all things new through My Symphony of Love in your soul. I do not forget you. I have been waiting to be given a place on your dance card. Thank you for inviting Me to dance with you.

We are now at My Banquet of Love.
We will dance on forever and ever.
We are one in My Most Holy Spirit. 

Love Me with all your heart. I always love you with all My Heart. Be revived by My Love. Be refreshed by My New Life. Be born again for all eternity. 

Love, 

The Most Holy Spirit 

BRAVE THE BRIDGE 

Brave the bridge. It crosses into My new world for mankind. Rush ahead blindly seeking after My love! Trust My voice calling to you in the fog of your psyche.

I am real.
I am alive.

Strike out boldly towards Me. Let Me be your eyes for a while. I will not lead you astray. Trust Me even though you cannot see Me. Trust Me when all of your humanity cries out doubt. 

I am here.
I am alive.
I am real. 

Lift your voice in praise to Me. I will remove the fog of desolation that surrounds and suffocates you.  Reach out to Me. Let your hands grope through the smoke of extinction.

I will grasp your hand. I will lift you through the storm of doubt. I am the window of your soul. The clarity of what is to be is seen through My eyes. Let Me be your eyes just for a while. 

The cloud of self surrounds your mind. You cannot think clearly. You constantly get in the way. Let My Spirit rule your mind. Only when My Spirit rules your mind will you have the clarity of thought essential to maintain My vision in your soul. 

Let Me lift the cloud of you that hides My face from you. Let Me open the windows of your soul and free you from the prison of your mind's eye. It is your mind's eye that contains the prism of negativity and finity.

Let Me pluck out that eye which constantly distorts My reality. I wish to free you from all distortions of mind, body and spirit. Then, and only then, will you see the path across the abyss between your selfish world and My eternal world. 

Brave the elements that seek to confine you to mortality. Step out across My eternal walkway. I call you in the silence of your heart. Come to Me. Be not afraid. I go before
you. I clear away all obstacles to your union with Me. Come, My little one. Bravely step forward to Me. 

There now! You are home with Me. You are safe in My arms of love. You are home. You are home. 

Love, 

The Most Holy Spirit

Follow along one day at a time

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Each month I will present a book of meditations free
 for you to read.

Double click on

Book of the Month for this set of meditations.

I’ve started a newsletter page.

Double click on the Newsletter Page to read them.

Check Out Our Store.

There are Books of These Words.

They were written just for you.

Store

There are more Words of the Day on

Catholic New Evangelization net

Catholic New Evangelization com

 Click on these links if you wish to read more.

Who creates these sites?
Read

About Us

For visitors to the original Holy Spirit within Site you can link to these older sites on our links page.

Links

Return to Home to begin the reading for this month.