Day: January 10, 2018

May your soul breathe in His Spirit!

(c)Mateo Ivankovic 2017   J.M.J. January 10, 2018 Dear Family of Mary! “Many of my children on earth do not know my Son, they do not love Him; but you who do love my Son, you who carry Him in your heart, pray, pray and in praying feel my Son beside you. May your soul breathe in His Spirit…” (January 2, 2018) What a beautiful invitation Our Lady gives to us! She calls us to pray and pray until in prayer we feel her Son beside us! In fact, we will be so close to Him that our souls will breathe in His Spirit, as if we were close enough to Jesus for His breath to cover us! The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 691) speaks of the Holy Spirit as breath: The term “Spirit” translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God’s breath, the divine Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the breath of God. When we are close to Jesus we do breathe in His Spirit!! We receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus, even as He breathed upon the Apostles and they received the Holy Spirit! “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (Jn: 20:22). The Holy Spirit communicates to us God’s love and power. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son to fill us with grace! St. Faustina has described just such a closeness with Jesus and the Holy Spirit (the Breath of God) in her Diary: I got up how much earlier than usual and went to the chapel, steeping myself in the love of God. Before receiving Holy Communion, I silently renewed my religious vows. After Holy Communion, the infinite love of God swept over me. My soul was in communion with the Holy Spirit, who is the same Lord as the Father and the Son. His breath filled my soul with such delight that it would be useless for me to try to give even a faint idea of what my heart experienced. Throughout the whole day, wherever I was and regardless of with whom I talked, a vivid presence of God accompanied me; my soul was drowned in thanksgiving for these great graces. (Diary, 1781) Our Lady wants us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, to breathe in the Holy Spirit as we stay close to Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit, who gives us healing graces, conversion graces, and all sorts of gifts, like wisdom, knowledge, fear of the Lord, understanding, and on and on! She tells us many people on earth today do not know her Son and do not love Him. So we need to be those children who are filled with the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, so that we can share with them the truth about His love. We can carry Jesus’ love with us into the world that does not know Him. “Pray, and in praying feel my Son beside you! May your soul breathe in His Spirit!!” In Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Cathy Nolan ©Mary TV 2018