49. Feast-day of the Holy Spirit
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When I pointed to the Bride with love and admiration, in Her spirit She quickly turned my attention away from Herself and directed it to the Holy Spirit of God. The day after Pentecost was the feast day of the Holy Spirit. With Her keen sense of order, the Bride honors saints following their major events. For example, she celebrates John the Baptist the day after Epiphany, the baptism of Christ.
'Major event' would be an understatement for Pentecost! In fact, for Christ's supernatural Bride it's Her birthday. When God poured Himself as the Person of the Holy Spirit into humankind, He attempted to recreate man in His image and likeness. Supernatural God-filled people, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man but of His Will would form His one holy catholic and apostolic Wife, His help-meet.
Even though Her year officially starts in September, when the world was created, the Bride of Christ, the Church, measures time by weeks after Pentecost, when She was born.
I have known the Holy Spirit forever, in fact for me, He is the Person of God that I relate to the most. Getting to know Jesus better down here has been fascinating. Jesus is like the Holy Spirit in a body. Maybe that is why Jesus said He had to leave so that He could send the Holy Spirit to His people.
"Hey there! Who are you talking to? Wanna celebrate with me?"
"Poppy!" I exclaimed with more glee than I thought I was capable of. "It's so good to see you again! What are you doing here in Jerusalem?"
She replied, "I came to fetch you and take you back to the 21st century Washington, D.C. I heard you have been wandering around, and we decided it was time to return to America. Come on, I'll race you!" With that, Poppy shot off like a bullet. There wasn't a challenge yet that I would turn down. Besides, Poppy didn't give me time to, so off I went into the wild blue yonder, wondering if I would pass the Holy Spirit on the way.
We landed simultaneously on Garfield Street; it was a dead heat. Poppy said, "Let's go inside. Tell me if you see whether the Holy Spirit still lives in the people after all these years."
Poppy and I flew into the big familiar stone building to find a sparse congregation. The chanter and his sidekicks were crooning away, sometimes in tune and sometimes not. The people stood and sat, stood and sat in a rhythm, and the priests went in and out, in and out of the altar. They were following the script closely. Sometimes I saw their hearts trying to mean what they were saying and sometimes their minds carried them very very far away from the words. It was so easy for the chanters and priests to hide behind the script, and for the people in the pews to drift as well.
Of all the times I had been in here I never before noticed such a cacophony of spirits and wandering of minds and hearts. I supposed that the experience of Pascha and Pentecost had changed me. I think it made me more sensitive to the Spirit of Truth. This church was named after the Holy Wisdom of God, which is also the Holy Spirit, but I didn't recognize as much Wisdom as I had seen in Jerusalem.
I turned to Poppy and asked, "Poppy, is the Holy Spirit here? I can't tell?"
Poppy replied, "He tries to be. The people want everything that He offers. They want it very much and for some, that is why they come here, they hope to find Him here.
When He dwells within them and they acknowledge His presence and care for Him in their souls, they can access His Fatherly attributes."
"Is the Holy Spirit then the Father of the Bride that cares for them?" I asked.
"Yes, but as with earthly father's some are heeded and respected and some are just given lip service." Poppy replied somberly, then added, "As an indwelling father, the Holy Spirit is the very best companion a human can have. Children of God need Him like they need water and food and air. The Bride needs the indwelling Holy Spirit to survive this world of dark forces and of deteriorating matter. To the people of the Bride He is:
The Spirit of truth
Giver of Life
Comforter
Intercessor
Standby
Strengthener
Counselor
Teacher
Helper
Healer, and
Provider
"That's amazing! Who wouldn't want that!"
"Some people do and some don't want it enough to let go of their pride and egos." replied Poppy. "But it is easy to tell the difference between those people who treasure the Holy Spirit and those who only pretend to."
"How?" I asked.
"Well, by their fruit, silly! The people who are the best hosts of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them produce His fruit! They manifest His qualities and characteristics."
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Long suffering
Mildness
Fidelity
Modesty
Continence
Chastity
"Do the people of the Bride know this?" I wondered.
"Yes," replied Poppy, "but what helps them the most is when the Holy Spirit gives them gifts that help them to be real through and through and not double minded or double hearted. It is much harder to live on this planet without the gifts of the Holy Spirit."
"A gift giving Holy Spirit Father who dwells within! What are the gifts He gives?"
Poppy answered, "They are:
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety, and the
Fear of God.
The Holy Spirit gave birth to the Bride and He nurtures His Child every day of Her life if she will only open her heart to receive.
The people, even many of the people you see in this building would rather cling to their arrogance, their pride and false power. They can be rude to each other, complaining and combative. It is so sad." I could tell that Poppy was deeply grieved.
"What can they do?" I asked.
Poppy replied, "They should search their souls in humility and confess, and The Lord will forgive them and give them His gifts. But in this church they don't offer confession so much. So they have to try it on their own. There is no spiritual guidance, only services, where they all read the script together and hope for the best. I am afraid without the Eucharist they offer, they would be sunk."
Feeling pretty glum, I asked Poppy, "Do I have to stay here now.? Poppy, you have made me very sad and confused. I want to go back to Jerusalem where they really cared."
Poppy gave me an angel hug and said, "Welcome to earth, where flowers grow from mud. It will be okay. Just look around for the love and the light. Sift through the rest. Look there's a person who is trying to be a good host to the Holy Spirit. Go over to him. He will make you feel better. Now you know why the humans need fortitude, kindness, and the ability to be long-suffering!"
HAPPY FATHERS DAY HOLY SPIRIT AND ALL YOU FATHERS WHO ARE GOOD HOSTS TO HIM!