We presently have full accessibility to the abundance of grace flowing from the Heart of Jesus as he agonized over his ‘thirst’ for love of us, beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane, all the way to His last breath on the Cross. Matthew 26:36-55

This can become for us a beginning place of prayer meditation and contemplation. We may enter fully into this biblical, historical event with Jesus right now, as though it is happening here in this present moment, since God is outside of time. This is true of all Scripture. Saint Teresa of Avila teaches that “there is an exercise of both the intellect and the will in mental prayer: the intellect seeks to convince the soul that God loves her and wishes to be loved by her; the will, responding to the divine invitation, loves. That is all.” For more guidance on prayer meditation see Father Timothy Gallagher on his website www.discerninghearts.com and the Hallow App; Imaginative Prayer, Spiritual Exercises and Daily Contemplation.

Our Mission as Christians is to bring Glory to God through the living out of our purpose, and to aid Him, in the way He makes known to us, the salvation of souls. We pray to be good receivers of Gods love so that we will have this great eternal treasure to give away. We begin to experience, little by slowly, Jesus’ ‘thirst’ for love of souls as He infuses us with His grace, to the very depth of our hearts. This is pure gift.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that we might encounter Him in prayer to be perpetually led by His Spirit. Saint Paul teaches us in the book of Romans chapter 8 beginning in verse 26: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And 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.”

Firstly, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to bring Glory to God in and through our lives by keeping our focus and energy fixed on the “immeasureable greatness of His power in us who believe” (see Ephesians 1:15-23) that He may be our constant guide, as often as we turn our gaze toward Him on the way of our personal path to sainthood. “Come Holy Spirit, inspire me in all my decisions and never let me neglect your inspirations.” Father Jacques Philippe

Secondly, to be of maximum service to all our fellowman whom He places on our journey. I cannot know how to best serve my family, friends and all the people that God puts right in front of me unless I first call on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He knows all the intricacies of each individual human heart and how we are all accustomed to hearing from Him. We ask for the Holy Spirits words before we speak. The Holy Spirit will also instruct us when we are to remain silent and just listen. We are given the grace to know when to place boundaries around our own heart if a subject gets too painful to participate in. Perhaps it touches on a wound that is in the process of healing, we have to honor that and gently yet swiftly change the direction of the conversation. The Holy Spirit will do this for us, equipping us with the courage to take the lead, protecting everyone involved.

To be proactive in love is to ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we may be the one to take the lead in love. To avoid falling into the temptation of ‘wait and see’ how someone else is going to treat us first, and then reacting accordingly. This is a very common temptation, especially among us women. When we ask, the Holy Spirit will always show us how to act (smile) and what to say (be an encourager).
Maybe we need an ‘ice-breaker’. The person we are meeting with simply needs a smile with a few words of encouragement to be assured of our love for them; a real sense of belonging. WHEN WE GET TO THE ROOT OF OURSELVES WHAT WE ALL WANT IS TO FEEL AS THOUGH WE BELONG. We can bring that to others in the simple way in which they need it. It is almost always something very simple.

Now we are in a position to receive the love of God so we will have this Divine Treasure to give away to all our fellowman. Absent of all judgement. No one is excluded.

“He destined us in love to be his sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:5

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