Week Three // O Holy Spirit, Beloved of My Soul
O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You.
Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me.
Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders.
I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me.
Let me only know Your will. Amen.
Week Three Intention
We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our local communities and dioceses.
Week Three // Day One
O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you.
In the beginning of Tolkien's masterpiece The Hobbit, Gandalf shows up on Bilbo’s doorstep unannounced and uninvited. Like all hobbits, Bilbo was quite content with his quiet life, as it was full of simple, familiar comforts. However, Gandalf saw that Bilbo was meant for more. Unbeknownst to Bilbo, Gandalf invites a dozen plus dwarves to the hobbit hole. They invade every part of the home, creating beautiful chaos before inviting Bilbo to play a key role in their upcoming adventure. Assured of great risk and possible death, Bilbo instantly refuses.
Despite the rejection, Gandalf and the dwarves leave behind a contract which silently beckons the hobbit. Bilbo finally concedes, acknowledging the desire for adventure buried in the depths of his soul. He leaves everything, chasing after something that made no sense to those around him.
Something similar once happen to me. I was in college, minding my own business, when the Holy Spirit swooped in, created compelling chaos, and offered a summons. I had just received absolution and was leaving the confessional when the priest stopped me because he wanted to talk further.
“Do you like Nursing?” he asked. I hemmed and hawed as I tried to rationalize my dislike for my major when he cut me off mid-sentence.
“... but does it set you on fire?”
His words burst open the doors of my heart, letting light shine on a desire I didn’t even know existed. Like Bilbo, I was enjoying comfort. I had chosen my major based on safety and assurance. But it wasn’t what I actually wanted.
What I really wanted was risky. It made no sense to those around me. I wouldn’t even be assured of a job if I graduated with a theology degree. Still, the idea of doing it made me come alive. Like Bilbo, I left everything to chase after this adventure.
The Holy Spirit—the Breath of God—gives us life (Job 33:4). This life is abundant, more than mere existence. He, as the beloved of our souls, knows us better than we know ourselves. It’s why He invites us to turn our lives upside down and pursue things that make no sense to the rest of the world. It is in this way, and only in this way, that we can ever experience the sensation of being fully alive.
How could we not adore a Person who wants to give us a life like this? In following Him, adventure always awaits.
Don’t avoid today’s promptings from the Holy Spirit out of fear or because it doesn’t seem logical to follow them.
Prayer + Discussion for Prayer Partners
Would making a conscious effort to view the Holy Spirit as the “beloved of your soul”— the One who brings you “life”—change anything about the way you live? How?
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