Holy Spirit hummings...
- Monica Walton
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
I began writing this post after the Ascension of the Lord on June 1st with the plan to publish it at Pentecost. The first week of June rapidly became a very, very busy week for me with a number of unexpected major events -- the greatest being the birth of my 5th grandchild -- and my blog sat there alone and stranded in the cloud like a lost puppy, waiting for me to notice it and give it the attention it craved to reach the finish line. Here and there over these weeks, I added a note or two for the next celebrations ~ The Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi. They all fit neatly and make a wonderful gumbo of Faith. So, 26 days after I began this post, it is now the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and this seems the perfect time to bring these reflections to the Finish Line and see how they taste. Let's start at the beginning -- which is always a great place to start!
PENTECOST SUNDAY
Jesus said to His disciples, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it."
Our world doesn't seem to know the Spirit of Truth these days, does it? At least, it's much more difficult for us to wade and sift through the volumes of opinions and perspectives and discern which ones are true, which are skewed, and which ones are downright false.
"But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you."
If we know Jesus intimately, and know that He knows us intimately, then His Truth ~ the only truth that matters ~ remains with us.
"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him."
If we love Jesus and read and meditate on His word in Sacred Scripture, God will come to us and dwell in us. God is the source of love in all of us. He created us with love because He wanted us to be in the world. His love is embedded in our hearts and gives us the capacity to love as He loves.
"I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."
And the world received that great gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, guiding and teaching us. Jesus said it, so we know it is true! With the Holy Spirit, we are aflame with God's Love. What can we do to feel that every day? How can we grasp that God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit remains with us? How do we integrate that Truth into our daily living amidst the bills, chores, responsibilities, traffic, news, distractions, attractions, interruptions, disagreements, hardship, tragedy, and countless choices and decisions we face?
MOST HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY
Jesus said to his disciples: "When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."
How can we connect with the Spirit of Truth, so that we are guided to all Truth? How can we know which voice/thought/feeling is from God?
MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST SUNDAY
"They made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, Jesus said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets."
This is where the Holy Spirit hummings come into play.
The disciples wanted to dismiss the hungry crowd of more than 5,000 because they only had five loaves and two fish. Jesus told them to give them some food themselves. That math doesn't add up. When we have to do something very difficult, even seemingly impossible, and we find ourselves saying, "Hmmmm...what should I do here?" We can follow the example from this Gospel passage.
First, sit down. Pause before acting. Go to Jesus with the problem, then listen. Listen for the Holy Spirit humming. It's soft and gentle in your heart. Place the loaves of worry and scales of decisions that are before you into the hands of Jesus. Say to Him, "I love You, Lord. Here I am with my measly portion. It's kinda stale and messy and maybe a little smelly. I don't know how to solve this dilemma, respond to this situation, make this difficult decision. In light of the major events of the world, my stuff seems small. But, it's big to me and is weighing heavily on my life. I trust You to take what I have, bless it, break off the bad pieces, and turn it into abundant blessings. Hmmmm.....Holy Spirit, what should I do here? Lord, open my heart and send Your Spirit to guide me because I don't know what's best -- You do!"
We will know the humming in our heart is from Him because the result of our prayer will be a plan that will glorify God. We are His, and He will declare goodness to us. God is love, so His plan for us has to be a path of love.
St. Thomas Aquinas said we will recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit by four indicators: ~ subtleness of substance ~ ~ perfection of life ~
~ impulse of motion ~
and ~ hidden origin ~
Let us take Jesus up on His most generous offer to remain with us in this way. We won't hear the Holy Spirit amid loud and obnoxious voices, through things that destroy life, by making decisions only on our own merit, or by binge-watching news and presentations that are blatantly swaying viewers away from goodness, love, and peace.
This takes real effort. We spend so much time on other things, and adjustments will have to be made. When we sit down and write a list of what's most important in life, the ones at the top ought to be getting our best effort. Hopefully, God is #1!
Here are some suggestions that I find helpful to hear the Holy Spirit hummings:
Spend less time reading about, thinking about, researching, and discussing negative information. Spend more time reading about, thinking about, and researching Scripture and positive information that will deepen your Faith.
Spend less time perusing social media, binge-watching shows, and reading non-enriching materials. Make a playlist and watch Faith-based movies each week.
Make a commitment to spend time each day in silent contemplation, prayer, spiritual reading, and listening to Christian music and hymns.
Schedule on your calendar a Daily Mass and a little time sitting before the Tabernacle.
Set an alarm to take prayer breaks throughout the day.
Take a daily walk outside, away from noise, without a podcast or music playing.
Train yourself to name a Blessing in your life every time you hear, think, or say something negative.
Incorporating these changes will make a huge positive impact. They open us to greater awareness of the Holy Spirit in our daily life. We become more peaceful and less agitated, more joyful and less irritable.
The distractions and justifications will still come. Some are ravenous and jump in front of us, pulling us away from what is good and holy. They occupy large spaces in our mind and heart. Some sneak in very softly and subtly -- I find these the most dangerous because it's easy to think these habits aren't really bad per se, they just aren't the best option. Start making note of what gets most of your time and thoughts. Every time you go astray down a negative path, turn back to Jesus. Saying His name is a powerful prayer to invite Him to take over those moments.
MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS FRIDAY
"The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."
Read these words over and over again. Post them on the wall, make them your screensaver. Spend time looking at an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Look at it again and again until you feel His heart connecting with your heart. He is always seeking us, no matter what. Let this take hold of you, let Him capture your heart.
