Light a Fire in Your Heart

"It is necessary that we return to the Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit may return to us.” St. Elena Guerra

Years ago, I read a book titled “The Sanctifier” by Archbishop Luis M. Martinez. He talked about our soul having a soul, and that soul is the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit is truly the soul of our soul,” he said. I found it fascinating to think that my soul has a soul. Now, I must allow Him to teach me and guide me so I can discern where God is leading me. The Holy Spirit “teaches us by pouring himself into us gently and penetratingly,” said Martinez. “He teaches us as mothers teach their children, with kisses of love, with an indefinable outpouring of tenderness. We learn from him as we perceive the fragrance of a perfume, as we savor the sweetness of a fruit or enjoy the caress of a breeze that enfolds us.” I always pray to the Holy Spirit for discernment and inspiration before I write, and then, I just allow Him to direct my thoughts so that He may perfect them and glorify them.

Our Lady experienced the Holy Spirit when she conceived a Child by His Power. Just as in the Incarnation the Holy Spirit formed in her virginal womb the physical body of Jesus, during Pentecost the Holy Spirit gives life to the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. Mary received the Spirit at the Incarnation, and she renewed the gift of the Spirit in the Upper Room so she could carry on the mission that Jesus entrusted her at the foot of the cross, to become our spiritual Mother. During the Incarnation she became the Mother of the Son of God, and during Pentecost she became the Mother of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI said that “there is no Church without Pentecost and no Pentecost without the Virgin Mary” (Regina Coeli, 5/23/2010).

Today the church celebrates a saint who allowed the Holy Spirit to guide her. Saint Clare of Assisi was born in the year 1194 on Assisi, Italy. At the age of 18, she joined the convent of the Benedictine nuns. Saint Clare knew that a life built without the guidance of the Holy Spirit would be destined for sadness, emptiness and death, but that a life built under the leadership of the Holy Spirit would be safe and reap great benefits. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies of San Damiano, which is now known as the Order of Saint Clare.

You can read more about St. Clare of Assisi on this website: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=215

Another saint whose special mission was to bring the Holy Spirit to the heart of Christian life was Saint Elena Guerra. She was born in 1835 in Lucca, Italy, and she founded the religious congregation of the Oblates of the Holy Spirit. She exchanged a number of letters between 1895 and 1903 with Pope Leo XIII. She told him that only he could ensure that “Christians return to the Holy Spirit, so that the Holy Spirit returns to us.” The Pope responded with his Encyclical Divinum illud munus, an important treatise on the Holy Spirit. In 1959, Elena was beatified by Pope John XXIII as the “Apostle of the Holy Spirit.” She was canonized by Pope Francis on October 20, 2024.

You can read more about St. Elena Guerra on this website: www.cenacletotheholyspirit.org

The Holy Spirit is love and when we make room for the third person of the Trinity in our lives, just like the Virgin Mary, St. Elena Guerra and St. Clare of Assisi, we will experience the Father’s love in a very profound way. We must allow the soul of our souls to light a fire in our hearts so that we in turn can set the world on fire.

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