Flower of Devotion

CHAPTER VI
How Man Should Prepare to Receive the Holy Ghost

St. Gertrude learned from revelation that whoever wants to receive the Holy Spirit must recognize how much God loves us, that from eternity He has predestined us to be His children and servants; and that every day, in spite of our ingratitude, he bestows innumerable blessings upon us. In the same way, he should consider all that the Lord Jesus did for our salvation during His thirty-three years on earth. And the fire of His love should be kindled by the fire of that love which the Lord Jesus had when He said to the Apostles, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you to do the will of God in all things.” She also knew that whoever did so would undoubtedly receive the Holy Spirit just as the disciples of the Lord Jesus received Him through His breath.

Two symptoms of the approach of the Holy Spirit

On one occasion the Blessed Mother said to St. Bridget:
“Just as the approach of the sun is accompanied by two things, namely, light and heat, both of which do not take place in a dark shadow, so in like manner with the coming of the Holy Ghost two graces enter the heart of man: the fire of God’s love and full enlightenment in the things of the Catholic faith.

The work of God’s spirit as opposed to the work of the evil spirit

On one occasion the Blessed Mother said to St. Bridget:

“The Spirit of God presents the world to man as a lesser thing, whose charms have no meaning for the heart. Secondly, it makes the God of the soul pleasing and cools all the joys of the body. Third, it gives us patience and makes us boast that we have God. Fourthly, it moves the heart to love one’s neighbour and even to mercy towards one’s enemies. Fifthly, it inflames the heart to purity in all things, even in those permitted. Sixth, it produces trust in God in all sorrows and the strength to rejoice in them. Seventh, it grants the desire for death in order to be united to Christ rather than to enjoy happiness in the world and to have the stain of sin upon it.

The evil spirit, on the other hand, produces seven other things, namely, first, that it presents the world in a charming light, and that it abhors heavenly things. Secondly, it makes man thirst for glory and forget his destiny. Third, it evokes hatred and impatience in the heart. Fourth, it makes man bold before God and recalcitrant in his resolutions. Fifthly, it presents sins as light things and acquits them. Sixthly, it gives man recklessness of spirit and all impurity of the body. Seventhly, it inspires the hope of a long life and an aversion to confession.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Blessed Mother gave the Venerable Mary of Jesus the following teaching concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

“The first gift of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, imparts understanding and taste for the things of God, awakens in us a heartfelt love for them. It makes us seek and desire in everything that is the best, the most perfect and the most pleasing to God. With this gift man should cooperate in such a way as to give himself unreservedly to the Divine Pleasure and to despise everything that interferes with it, however attractive and desirable it may be to him.
The second gift, reason, helps to this cooperation; which gives a special light to the penetration of matters subject to reason. With this gift man should cooperate by detaching himself and keeping away his attention and thoughts from all useless and harmful ideas. Satan suggests it to him, either by himself or by means of other creatures; to the distraction of his reason, and to the refraining from dealing with the truths of divine things and from studying them. Such vain ideas are a great obstacle, and the two ways of dealing with them are incompatible. Besides, man’s power of comprehension is limited, and when it is divided into and occupied with many objects; Hence he understands each of them less precisely than when he devotes himself to a single object. In this respect, the statement of the Scriptures that no one can serve two masters is true.
When the soul has turned to the recognition of the good and entered into it, then it needs power, which is the third gift. It helps to carry out with firm determination all that reason has recognized as holy, perfect, and pleasing to God. The gift of power overcomes the obstacles which hinder this accomplishment, in such a way that the soul undertakes all the forces of intensity and the heaviest hardships, rather than allow itself to be deprived of the true and supreme Good which it has come to know and love.
But since it often happens that man, through his natural ignorance, through his doubts and temptations, does not accept the conclusions which he ought to draw from the divine truths which he has recognized; consequently he cannot make a firm determination to carry out the good he recognizes, or to use the means necessary for it. That’s when the fourth gift comes to his aid: skill. This gift gives man the light he needs to distinguish one good from another; It also teaches us to peel what is better and more reliable.
With this gift comes piety. This gift moves the soul with gentle power to incline to all that pertains to the service of God and to pleasing God. It urges spiritual effort for the good of one’s fellowmen, and this in such a way that man does it not merely because of some natural inclination to do so, but because of a holy, perfect, and virtuous desire.
And in order that the soul may act and behave wisely in all things, it receives the sixth gift, that of counsel. He stimulates the intellect in such a way that, for his own sake and for the sake of others, he reflects on everything and receives the appropriate means for the attainment of good and holy ends.
The last gift is the fear of God, which preserves and strengthens all these gifts. This gift causes the heart to flee from everything and to put away from itself everything that is imperfect, presumptuous, and incompatible with virtue. Hence this gift of the soul serves as a a kind of defensive fortress. But it is necessary to understand well the object and measure of this holy fear, so as not to go too far in it, and not to fear where there is no need to fear anything. It sometimes happens that Satan tries to create in the soul an improper fear in place of holy fear, even of the gifts received from God.
It is true that the wisdom of the fear of God is the fruit of the special action of the gifts of God and of the soul of man, but God gives it to the soul in connection with sweetness and peace, and this is precisely for the purpose of recognizing and appreciating these His gifts. For everything that proceeds from the hands of the Most High is great and precious. True and holy fear does not hinder the soul from knowing and recognizing the gifts and benefits obtained from God; on the contrary, it impels the soul to give thanks for these gifts with all its might, and to humble itself as much as possible. The childlike fear of God is man’s guiding star, guiding him safely and securely on his pilgrimage through the earthly valley of tears.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit with thanksgiving for the graces received from Him

The words of St. Gertrude

Holy Spirit, Divine Paraclete, I give thanks to you through the merits of Him who through you became man in the womb of the Virgin. Namely, because You have bestowed upon me, unworthy, all Your sweet and undeserved blessings. And I am convinced that you have done me so much good for no other reason than the ineffable love in which they reside, from which they come, and from which all kinds of benefits come to us. Amen.