The Holy Spirit, the binding force of unity of God’s family

Jesus proclaimed before Pilate: "The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth. Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice." [John 18: 37] Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, wrote: “I wish their hearts to be strengthen and themselves to be closely united in love,

enriched with full assurance by their knowledge of the mystery of God—namely Christ—in whom every treasure of wisdom and knowledge is hidden.” [Colossians 2: 2] Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of the Father, and the hidden wisdom of God revealed in the fullness of time. One of the truths that Jesus revealed is the Mystery of the Holy Spirit. Is it a new teaching? Unclear to us, yes, but new, no. Our difficulty lies in the truth declared by Jesus when he referred to the Holy Spirit, saying “the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot accept since it neither sees him nor recognizes him." [Matthew 14: 17] The Holy Spirit, powerful as he is, is an invisible force, moving the hearts of the believers but imperceptible to an unbelieving world; as the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Power of the Almighty God, allowing the believers to persist in the truth, to choose light over darkness, and to live in accord with Our Lord’s doctrine of love; as he is the ‘glue’ that binds the community of the faithful, who are baptized in the name of the Triune God. Jesus confounded the difficulty when he said, “Whoever says anything against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever says anything against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” [Matthew 12: 32] This is so because the Spirit continues the work of salvation in an unbelieving world, moving the hearts of men to respond to Jesus’ Gospel of life and in so doing, continues to spread the Good News of salvation to the ends of the earth, employing the baptized to heed Jesus’ parting command before his Ascension to heaven-- “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16: 15) The Holy Spirit who has been sent to the world by the Father through the God-Man liberates men from falsehood and lies of the devil, as his in-dwelling in the hearts of the believers endow them with supernatural life that celebrates the truth by faithfully living the vocation to love; as negating his work is the greatest offense to the Triune God, as this unforgivable blasphemy is a stumbling block to God’s overall plan for his human likeness as the appointed heir of the heavenly realm. On the other hand, blasphemy against the God-Man is forgivable because Jesus himself prayed for this when he was hanging on the cross with the unbelievers taunting and cursing him. This sin is covered by the Son of Man’s suffering and death, for as he had said, “The healthy do not need a doctor, sick people do. I have not come to invite the self-righteous to a change of heart but sinners.” (Luke 5: 31- 31) This conversion of heart is precisely the work of the Spirit, reminding sinners of the words of Jesus that has the power to convict them of wrongdoing. Thus, blasphemy against the Spirit hampers this work, which reaches the greatest level of harm when communities of believers in whatever parts of the globe are summarily condemned as workers of evil, which was the same condemnation that Jesus received when he cured a possessed man who was blind and mute. The Pharisees charged that Jesus expels demons with the help of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. In response, Jesus said: “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I expel demons, then the reign of God has overtaken you.” (Matthew 12: 24, 28) In fact, it was in this same scene where Jesus defined the unforgivable sin against the Spirit, for the Pharisees had ascribed his work as devilish in origin. The same reality awaits God’s workers, for in doing God’s will, they are giving witness to the one source of their power, in faithfulness to Jesus’ command: “As you go, make this announcement: ‘The reign of God is at hand!’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, heal the leprous, expel demons. The gift you have received, give as a gift.” (Matthew 10: 7- 8) Thus, it is understandable that to defy the Spirit is to earn a stain in the soul that cannot be cleansed by the blood of Our Savior; as to negate his work is to deny the truth about God’s loving mercy that led to the sacrificial death of the Son of God, and thus, preventing the realization of the Father’s plan which is to bring creation under the kingship of Christ Jesus. In the end, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, in essence, the denial of the truth that is leading creation to its divinely appointed end, diminishing the work of the Triune God who wants all men to be saved. Thus, it is not surprising that this sin is the worst offence that men can commit against God, as the Spirit is the love-force between the Father and the Son; as it is not possible to blaspheme the Spirit without doing the same to the Father and the Son. In the most fundamental sense, blasphemy against the Spirit, who is tasked to bring to completion the Father’s plan for his human likeness, is the ultimate rejection of God, as this most grievous of sins is justly rewarded in hell. Having stated the importance of the Holy Spirit in the Father’s plan, how is it that the Third Person of the Trinity, seems to  

be an unknown God in ages ago, as he had only made his presence known after the Ascension of Jesus when he descended on the Apostles as tongues of flame? Unrecognized but not unknown, as this seeming ambiguity stems from the fact that man has difficulty understanding the symbolic language in Holy Scripture. The Holy Spirit was referenced from the beginning, as written in the Book of Genesis. “Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” [Genesis 2: 9] I heard it said that the tree of life is the pre-figurement of the tree of the cross. Others thought that the tree of life was a source of a supernatural fruit that would keep our first parents from experiencing physical death. Both explanations are wrong, as the proponents miserably failed to understand the wisdom of God for his human likeness. The first argument infers that God had all along anticipated the fall of man, thus the reference to the cross; which erroneously implied that from the very beginning the cards were stack against the creature from dust; and that he was trapped with no way out, for he was fated to say ‘yes’ to the devil by eating the forbidden fruit and “no” to grace, which was symbolized by the tree of life, the fruit of which could sustain a life pleasing to God. In other words, the creature made in the image of the Triune God was doomed from the start, as he was preprogrammed to fail the test. If this was so, what happened to the gift of free-will? Man was created free and thus, in keeping with his freedom, two choices were laid before him, the fruit of tree of life and the tree of death. Without these choices, how could it be said that man was created with a free-will. The gift of free-will means the freedom to choose between good and bad. Good is God’s will and bad is the devil’s lies. Therefore, to choose good is to choose God as Lord of life, and to choose bad is to prefer the devil as the master who offers false illusions that undermine the law of God. There is no third choice, as in ‘all of the above’, as one cannot say “yes” to truth and lies at the same time. Jesus said, “No man can serve to masters. He will either hate one and love the other or be attentive to one and despise the other. You cannot give yourself to God and money.” [Matthew 6: 24] Clear as day are the choices laid out before man and so are the direct consequence of his choice, as Jesus had said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” [Matthew 12: 30] The other aspect of this divine gift is the inescapable burden of choice that exempts no one. Man is always confronted with choices as the direct result of the gift of free-will; as its exercise is but proper to the creature who was judged to be “very good” at the time of his creation; as this is the law that he must uphold by his life-choices, as this law, inherent in his being and fundamental to who he is as God’s image, preceded all the other laws that came much later. Not to choose to commit to a particular course of action when circumstance or circumstances demanded it, is not a leisure that the creature created in God’s likeness can indulge in, nor it is an excuse that God will accept, again because free-will equals choice equals action. Non-action is in itself a choice that merits judgment as it proceeds from indifference to the truth about his divine pedigree, who is tasked to uphold the good in himself and the world around him. Thus, free-will equals judgment, as every man must account for the movement of his will, in thought, word and deed, all to be displayed in full on Judgment Day. Jesus told a parable about the man who was going on a journey and who left funds to his servants according to each man’s abilities. The one who chose to do nothing and instead bury the funds was judged worthless and thrown in the darkness outside. (See Matthew 25: 14- 30) Life demands action and inaction is not a way out of the responsibility of being human, made in the image of the Creator-God. Life offers no bleacher seats for spectators; no rewards for bystanders either innocent or not, as life is a call to action, for life is not a spectator-sport, but the one arena where all men are called to participate as combatants in the all-out war between truth and lies. To live is to choose and to choose life is to live according to God’s will. It was Adam’s choice and his alone to die by choosing the forbidden fruit, just as his choice condemned the human race to a life without God, as his sin made the Holy Spirit inaccessible to him and his descendants. This is the reason why the Third Person of the Trinity remained unrecognized till the time came for man’s liberation from sin, as He cannot work his power in hearts perverted by sin. The second explanation offered by some for the

presence of the tree of life in Eden, as the potent against death, is the stuff of legends, folklores, and storylines of fantasy movies straight from Hollywood. There is no magical fruit that can keep the mortal body from dying and returning to dust from which it came. The cycle of birth and death is divinely ordained, as the short human lifespan is the invitation to make the most of life, to live it to the fullest and to find joy and fulfillment despite its fleeting nature. If physical death is out of the equation, then man is in the wrong planet. There will not be enough space on Planet Earth to support a race of immortal humans, for small as it is, 71 percent is covered with water and the 29 percent land mass is not 100 percent habitable. There are lands locked in ice, arid wastelands without water, mountains with rarefied atmosphere and ravines and gorges that only mountain goats can scale. Without physical death, the world’s population would be in trillions by now, not enough real estate nor food to sustain it. Man would have to turn to plants for food as the main source of sustenance and hope to evolve with stomachs like that of herbivores, which can process cellulose. And this will be against nature and therefore, a contradiction of the natural laws that govern the planet, as each animal group is provided the means to live and thrive. There is not an iota of contradiction in the works of God, for contradiction implies that God is an imperfect Being. No can do! Man’s home on planet Earth is the intersection of time, place, and divine will. There are no accidents or happenstance in God’s plan for mankind. We are where we should be; we are where God took the dust that he used to create man; we are in a most unique biosphere in the cosmos that can sustain God’s plan for his human likeness. Our appearance in the geological timetable on the third ‘rock’ from the sun is right on point because God planned it all for the crowning glory of his creation. The ‘life or death choice’ as signified by the two trees in Eden refers to man’s supernatural life in God. Disobedience is death or the separation from God and obedience is life with God-- always has been and always will be. Like in the case of Adam and Eve, this choice is presented to every man, thanks to God’s merciful love. No one lives or dies unknowingly; as no one goes to heaven or hell by chance, as this life-defining choice is the action of grace, seemingly defeated by Adam’s sin but restored to the fullest measure by Jesus sacrificial death, as its efficacy is retroactive to the first sin, just as it covers all inequities to the last man. The choice of life or death is the supreme act of free-will, both for men and angels; as this is the singular operative principle of life for all creatures gifted with free-will, unchanging from before time began when angels were given the same choice, to either uphold or defy; as it will continue to the last generation of men at the end of time. So, what is the meaning of the tree of life that God planted in Eden? After the fall, the Lord God underscored its importance when he said after man’s fall from grace: “Therefore, he must not be allowed to put his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever.” [Genesis 3: 22] The tree of life is the analogy to the life-force of God, made available to man by his merciful love and that is none other than his Spirit or as Jesus had revealed-- the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit. It is the life-giving Spirit that will allow man to live forever with God because apart from God, there is no life, only death, which can be defined as merely existing, worse for eternity because of his immortal soul, but without the prevailing sense of fulfillment of his one reason for being and that is to be God’s image by upholding good and rejecting evil. It is also the Spirit of Truth, Wisdom and Love that provides an effective shield and protection from the lies of man’s mortal fiend, the devil; as its fruit is the sustenance of man’s undying soul, nourishing his likeness to God, which the Church listed as: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, modesty. Obviously, man’s embraced of Satan’s lies and his disregard for God’s truth, disfranchised him to receive the Holy Spirit, the one gift that would have fulfilled his ultimate reason for being and that is to be the image and likeness of God. To possess his Spirit is to become like God and like God, to live forever but only if man will live according to God’s command. The same rule then, the same rule now and the same tomorrow. In Eden, the one single command was simple and uncomplicated. It was a natural law, a prohibition from eating a particular fruit from amongst all the fruits in the garden, as this law was at par with the level of man’s consciousness at the dawn of time. Man failed. To allow him to eat from the fruit of the tree of life after

eating the forbidden fruit was to say that sin has no consequence and that it is alright to disobey God. Modern man has a way of putting this—"eat the cake and have it too”. No can do! Life, as stated earlier, is a choice toward God or away from God, always has been and always will be. After the fall, there was no way to reclaim what was lost. There was a cherubim with a fiery revolving sword guarding the way to the tree of life, as man was judged unworthy to partake its fruit. A fearsome sight indeed and an insurmountable obstacle that no man can prevail against; as the sin that lives in his flesh demands the fulfillment of its carnality, as his mind is caught in a web of deceit and falsehood expounded by Satan, as the spirit’s free-will is dethroned by his new master who commands an all-consuming allegiance, biding him to live according to the tenet of pride, the primal sin at the dawn of time, which advanced the fatal notion that he possessed a god-like status by his knowledge of good and bad, and as such, he could persist in accord with his own laws that best protect his interests, as safeguarding these was his new life-goal. Barred but not forever, otherwise, Satan would have won and the fatal infection he brought to man by his own sin of disobedience would have thwarted the will of God for his human likeness. Love must prevail, as good prevails over evil, as light shines in darkness and overcomes it. God tried to contain the deadly malady by the flood water in Noah’s time (Genesis 7: 6- 24); fire from heaven that consumed the cities of the plain in the time of Abraham (Genesis 19: 1-29); and the earth opening its mouth to swallow alive the rebellious faction in the time of Moses while the Israelites were wondering in the dessert (Numbers 16: 25- 34) but all to no avail. All natural remedies—water, fire and earth were no match for the plague of evil and wickedness that continued to spread unabated, as man’s spiraling descend into perversity was caused by the predisposition to sin, felt on his three levels of being; turning man into a zombie-like creature whose one desire was to thrive regardless of others, and to consume anything and everything as long as it was profitable to him and his tribe. What could God do, as the good earth was turning into a warzone of conflicting interests? Man’s illness was specially complicated, to say the least, as he had gained through disobedience an arbitrary and self-serving knowledge of good and bad, which falsely gave him the power to do as he pleased without fear of God because of his belief in his god-like power. The crowning glory of creation, judged to be very good at the time of his creation, became the undoing of creation, as he was corrupted to core of his being by lies. Jesus told the following parable, showing God’s ultimate response to evil. “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. At vintage time he sent a servant to the tenant farmers to receive his share of the crop from them; but they beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent a second servant whom they also beat. Him too they sent away empty-handed, after treating him shamefully. He sent still a third, whom they likewise maltreated before driving him away. The owner of the vineyard asked himself, ‘What am I to do now? Perhaps if I send the son I love, they will respect him.” [Luke 20: 9- 13] We know how this story ended historically, when “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” [John 1: 14] God himself had to provide the way back and that was nothing less than the Incarnation of his only begotten Son to save man from himself. But for God to do this, he must prepare the way, as his Son had to have a human genealogy. The chosen lineage of the Messiah was spared from the deadly infection, call it vaccination of some sort. God did this by sending his sanctifying Spirit selectively to those who would play primary roles in the salvation of man, preeminently, Abraham, our father in faith. This culminated in the birth of the sinless virgin, the Blessed Mary. This same Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, spoke to the prophets of old, announcing the coming favor from the Lord, our God. In the Second Epistle of Peter, he wrote: “There is no prophecy contained in Scriptures which is a personal interpretation. Prophecy has never been put forward by man’s willing it. It is rather than men impelled by the Holy Spirit have spoken under God’s influence.” [2 Peter 1: 20- 1] Thus, the whole body of prophesies, contained in Holy Scriptures was the blueprint of God’s plan, revealed to man by the Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit that was inaccessible to man from the time he ate the forbidden fruit -- the Spirit of truth, wisdom and love who was guarded by a cherubim with a fiery revolving sword. Is there any contradiction in this? Can this be cited as an example of God unfairly playing favorite? If playing favorite means that God broke through the vicious cycle of sin by sparing a lineage of men in order to save mankind, then the answer is

yes. But it was not unfair for all the recipients of this grace underwent testing, beginning with Abraham, for God would not give his spirit unless the heart was proven worthy to receive what was withheld from the rest; as their faith-response to God justified them to share in the redemptive act of his only begotten Son, yet to be born in the fullness of time, in the likeness of man. Secondly, God’s action of selecting individuals to participate in his rescue plan for his human likeness, is infinitely justified as it will save all men who will accept the grace of redemption and be sealed by the Holy Spirit against divine judgement at the end of time. Jesus gave an insight into this when he told this parable: “The reign of God is like the case of the owner of an estate who went out at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. After reaching an agreement with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them out to his vineyard. He came out about midmorning and saw other men standing around the marketplace without work, so he said to them, ‘You too go along to my vineyard and I will pay you whatever is fair.’ At that they went away. He came out again around noon and midafternoon and did the same. Finally, going out in later afternoon he found still others standing around. To these he said, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day. ‘No one has hired us,’ they told him. He said, ‘You go to the vineyard too.’ When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workmen and give them their pay, but begin with the last group and end with the first.’ When those hired late in the afternoon came up they received a full day’s pay, and when the first group appeared they supposed they would get more; yet they received the same daily wage. Thereupon they complained to the owner, ‘This last group did only an hour’s work, but you have put them on the same basis as us who have worked a full day in the scorching heat.’ ‘My friend,’ he said to one in reply, ‘I do you know injustice. You agreed on the usual wage, did you not? Take your pay and go home. I intend to give this man who was hired last the same pay as you. I am not free to do as I please with my money, am I not? Or are you envious of my generosity? Thus, the last shall be first and the first shall be last.’” [Matthew 20: 1- 16] The full day’s pay referred in the parable is the Holy Spirit whom God will bestow on all who have worked in his vineyard. God is free to bestow his Spirit to whomever he wants as long as the individual has responded to God’s invite, early or late in life, even those who are on the brink of death like the repentant thief in Calvary. No one can find fault in God’s generosity, as those who have worked little received the same pay as those who have labored for long hours, for the Spirit cannot be apportioned like a commodity. And yet, an important clarification is needed here for some might think that there is only one state of blessedness in heaven and thus, there is no need to strive for perfection. In the parable, all received the same pay because the length of service either long or short, is not the true measure that will eventually determine the full “pay-package” at the end of time, for the parable is only showing God’s unmerited generosity versus man’s faulty metrics regarding reward and compensation. So, if the length of service is not the true measure, then what is? The unmerited gift of the Holy Spirit is given to all who have served but that does not mean that the fullness of this gift is the same for all the recipients. It is not the length service but the quality that counts as quality is not measured by time but by the movement of the heart in response to God’s call. To use length of time as the basis of ‘compensation’ is unjust because of the varying length of men’s lifespan. This truth was expounded by Our Lord in the parable of the seed in Matthew 13: 4-23, where the word of God was sown but received different responses. Only the last group where the word of God was taken to heart bore fruit. But even in this group the yield varied from 30, 60 and 100-fold. Why the difference in yield, for after all, all have responded? The one answer—the level of self-giving to the Word planted in one’s heart, which varies from one person to the next, even amongst those who are working in God’s vineyard. The more one gives himself to his vocation whatever that might be, by faithfully doing God’s will, the more he is emptied out of anything that is not of God. In other words, the more he dies to himself, the more he frees himself from any form of self-interest which can hinder his response to grace. In essence, God’s will is the death of self- will, which not all men will live-by in the same way, as some will embrace their call fully as in 100 percent or sixty or even as low as 30. Thus, the radicality of the response equals the difference in yield, which directly translates to the

varying levels of fullness in the life to come when all the blessed will receive their just reward. The invite is the same for all which comes with all the grace needed to answer the call faithfully, but men’s response varies depending on the degree of self-denial, as the latter is but the way of pain and suffering. Worse off are those who have seemingly answered the call but did not go through with the initial step of self-denial, which is represented by the third group where “worldly anxiety and the lure of money choke it off.” To have received the Word but did not bear fruit is the worst fate, as they wasted the grace of conversion, which is re-creating them into the likeness of the Creator-God. It is no wonder that self-denial is the all-important first step to Christian discipleship, which is but the requisite for the journey to spiritual purgation which the cross and the faithful following in Christ footsteps are the effective means to such lofty end. Jesus said: “Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my footsteps.” (Luke 9: 23) Self-denial allows one to embrace his cross fully, not once but daily, as this vocation to be like Jesus places the heart in the crucible of suffering, as the cross-bearer follows Jesus’ footsteps to Calvary where death awaits. Self- denial is not a one-off process but a continuous fiat to the grace that is re-creating him in the image of his Triune God. Thus, the more one answers the call to losing one’s life for Jesus, to be emptied of all created things for the love God, overflowing to one’s neighbors, the more one will experience fullness of life in the Spirit in the never-ending blessed state of being in heaven, which is symbolized by the varying yield in Jesus’ parable. In the end, if self-denial is lived to fullest, then the purgation or the emptying out of the soul, which only grace can do, will come to pass, which in itself is a miracle for no man can do it, as the disciple’s task is to allow the miracle to happen by his faithfulness to Jesus, measurable in his thoughts, words and deeds. A simple analogy might be necessary here. If two glasses are filled to brim with water, the one that is totally empty will have more water than the one with lots of things inside it. Again, emptiness is the true measure of fullness, for even if both glasses are full to the brim, it is only the empty glass that is truly filled with water. God does not discriminate in bestowing his gift, for he has given man the free-will to answer his call to fullness of life by his response to Jesus’ call to discipleship. These various levels of fullness, dependent on man’s response to grace, is the explanation for Jesus’ revelation about the many dwelling places in his Father’s house in Luke 14: 2, as each dwelling represents a different state of being. Each of the elect in the heavenly mansion experiences different levels of fullness, though it is the same Spirit that all have been blessed. All are full, which does not mean that all are at the same level of blessedness, as the latter which has many levels is defined by the degree of union of the elect with the Triune God, which in turn is predicated on how much the heart had been expanded by grace while in the realm of time; for the human heart is created in the likeness of the divine heart, so much so that it has a limitless power to love and to suffer for love. This miracle of the heart can only happen if the disciple had been faithful to the basic act of self-denial, as the heart cannot expand if constricted by mundane concerns, which reaches its worst state when it answers to two masters, as Jesus said: “No man can serve two masters. You cannot give yourself to God and money.” (Matthew 6: 24) This is not an either-or situation as if one is either for God or money, for even those who have accepted the radical call to discipleship might be tempted to reach out for money as a safety net against want or the many imagined needs that the unforeseeable tomorrows might bring; as this is the sin against faith. These temptations if acted upon will compromise the call, numbing the heart to the action of grace that is leading it to the summit of perfection, which can only be reached if the heart has been totally purged of all created things, all towards one end-- to love as Jesus loves. Jesus said: “I warn you then: do not worry about your livelihood, what you are to eat or drink or use for clothing.” (Matthew 6: 25) Of course, modern men have more complicated needs, though they proceed from the same basic concerns of food and drink, clothing and shelter, and livelihood. God’s merciful love gave man a second chance at life eternal, starting with the first man, for the sacrificial death of Jesus covers all sins except the one whom he said was unforgivable. “That I assure you, is why every sin, every blasphemy is forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Matthew 12: 31) This second chance is not like the first that Adam

and Eve lost. Theirs was a one-shot deal, no room for errors and no second chances either. Paul wrote in his Letter to the Ephesians: “But God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. By this favor you were saved. Both with and in Christ Jesus he raised us up and gave us a place in the heavens, that in the ages to come he might display the great wealth of his favor, manifested by his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” [Ephesians 2: 4- 7] Now, like Adam and Eve before the fall, our freedom is restored and we can make the life-defining choice freely, which comes to us not once but daily. “Oh, that today you would hear his voice: ‘Harden not your hearts as in Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” [Psalm 95: 7- 9] Thus, the choice of life or death is now in our hands, restored to us by Jesus’ sacrificial suffering and death. We cannot make Adam and Eve our escape goats, for what they did was already undone. Either we live or die is ours to decide; to either eat the forbidden fruit of disobedience or the fruit from the tree of life. Jesus Christ is our second chance and the surest way back to the tree of life, for Jesus’ suffering and death retired the cherubim with flaming sword. Access to the life of God through the in-dwelling of his Holy Spirit is now a living reality, as the fruits of the Spirit which can sustain a life pleasing to God are available to all who have been invited to work in his vineyard and so, live forever in the unbroken circle of love divine in the never-ending feast in heaven.

The Spirit helps in our weakness as a being created lower than the angels and endowed not with perfect but imperfect knowledge. Adam and Eve’s first foray in decision-making, which was disastrous, clearly showed the need for wisdom and grace from above, helping man not only to distinguish between good and bad per se, but also to make the right judgment in appraising a fruit of a tree, which is the metric that separates the good tree from the rotten one, especially necessary in today’s world because truth has been seriously compromised, even those expounded in the Gospel. Jesus said, “Declare a tree good and its fruit good or declare a tree rotten and its fruit rotten, one or the other, for you can tell a tree by its fruit.” [Matthew 12: 33] Sounds easy enough, but Adam and Eve despite the warning about the deadly fruit of the forbidden tree, still chose it over the good tree that sustains life. Their choice of the wrong fruit, of course at prompting of the devil, who was a fallen angel gifted with a powerful mind, displayed in the clearest of terms the limitations of the creature molded from dust, which God had anticipated beforehand. He knew his human likeness inside and out and his need for a supernatural power to offset his limited field of vision, brought about by his imperfect knowledge. He provided them a way out, right from the start by giving them access to the one tree that mattered the most, which was symbolic of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of which would give them the power to see through the machinations of his mortal enemy and to deal him a crushing blow. Adam received a natural law, which in essence was a divinely ordained moral law that he must uphold, more so as there was only one. He failed despite the advance warning about the fatal consequence of disobedience. So, what was at the heart of Adam’s tragic mistake that caused his fall from grace? (Noteworthy that it was Eve who fell first but his concurrence with her act doomed their fate and so, the first man called Adam symbolizes the fall of the whole human race from grace.) The answer--he appraised the moral law purely by his natural gift of intelligence, as his optical sense gave the fruit a positive rating. He saw the fruit as good for food and pleasing to the eyes. These sensual considerations were not induced on him by the devil. This was all his doing. We cannot blame the devil for everything, evil as he is. The devil saw a weakness in Adam, innocent as he was, and exploited it. Thus, the singular role he played was to up the game of seduction by suggesting that eating the fruit, which he found pleasing, would catapult him to a higher level of being with a bonafide demi-god status. Not true, but was totally in keeping with his perverted nature, being the father of lies. It was a win-win situation as appraised by Adam’s intellect, for more importantly, it was a magical fruit that could transform him into the likeness of God. What he and Eve did not know was that it was the other tree that could give them the supernatural power, as the tree of life stood for the Holy Spirit, which they could only have by being faithful to God. Poor Adam, too hard to resist the call to stardom even if it meant

disobeying God. He succumbed to the temptation, broke the one moral law in the garden and so died spiritually. The win-win proposition turned to a lose-lose situation-- spiritually dead and downgraded from a leisurely life of a landlord in Eden to the work-driven existence of a farmer, outside of paradise. He was ejected from that one real estate that needed no sweat from him, with his equally guilty wife in tow. Talk about total reversal of fortune! This fall from grace was not in God’s plan for his human likeness, for he had already provided him with the much-needed help by giving him access to the tree of life. Good as it was, the divine plan was temporarily defeated by sin, as there was a cherubim with a flaming sword that guarded the tree of life, making it inaccessible to man. God bided his time but all the while was forming a rescue scheme that would make sure that Adam’s tragedy would never happen again to the crowning glory of his creation; that man will have the power from on high to discern the truth and to triumph over his supernatural fiend, bound to defeat him at any cost by deforming him into his own likeness—the enemy of good and all things godly. This power was displayed by Jesus when the devil came for him, tempting him not once but thrice in the wasteland where he was in a vulnerable state, as he had not eaten for forty days. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4: 1) did battle with Satan and prevailed. This same power, once withheld because of man’s inequities, is again available to him but this time around, through faith in Jesus, which cleanses the believer of his sins and thus be able to receive the Spirit of God, the Almighty through the mediator of all grace, Our Lord Jesus Christ. He said: “the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will instruct you in everything, and remind you of all that I told you.” [John 14: 26] He went on to say, "If you love me and obey the commands I give you, I will ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete-- to be with you always: the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot accept, since it neither sees him nor recognizes him; but you can recognize him because he remains with you and will be within you.” [John 14: 15-7] Long before the coming of the Messiah who would take away the shame of his people, God’s final liberation plan was foretold in the Book of Joel: “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel; I am the Lord, your God, and there is no other; my people shall nevermore be put to shame. Then afterwards I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind.” [Joel 2: 27 – 3: 1] The descent of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ resurrection completed the Father’s salvific work for his most beloved creature, ensuring the triumph of his will for the appointed heir of the kingdom of heaven. Our Lord’s sacrificial suffering and death bore its greatest fruit by opening heaven to the creature from dust, allowing the original plan of God to succeed by the coming down of the Holy Spirit on the Christian believers, as this in-dwelling sanctifies the faithful to be God’s co-workers in the temporal realm and like the angels, do battle with the forces of evil. Jesus said: “See what I have done; I have given you power to thread on snakes and scorpions and all the forces of the enemy, and nothing shall ever injure you. Nonetheless, do not rejoice so much in the fact that the devils are subject to you as that your names are inscribed in heaven.” [Luke 10- 19- 20] Paul in his First Epistle to the Corinthians wrote: “The Spirit scrutinizes all matters, even the deep things of God. Who, for example, knows a man's innermost self but the man’s own spirit within him? Similarly, no one knows what lies at the depths of God but the Spirit of God. The Spirit we have received is not the world's spirit but God's Spirit, helping us to recognize the gifts he has given us." [1 Corinthians 2: 10- 11] The Holy Spirit is the spirit of power of the Almighty God, endowing man the wisdom to recognize the gifts that will transform him into the true image of God; as it is the seal of victory that will allow him to claim the glory that awaits in the kingdom without end, which starts in the here and now, as the Spirit gives man, even now, the transitory experiences of bliss in the eternal kingdom. This ever-abiding gift of wisdom and understanding opens vistas beyond the limits of temporality, allowing man glimpses of heaven while in this vale of tears, providing peace and joy even in the most difficult of times, and thus lightens-up the heavy cross of mortality. These fleeting encounters with the realm beyond time are not flights of the imagination but an actuality that anyone living in the Spirit is bound to be blessed with, transporting him beyond the limitations of the senses and to see what Jesus saw when he said that Solomon’s material grandeur was not arrayed as the splendor of the wild flowers of the field. (Matthew

6: 29) This power to perceive the majesty of life, beyond silver or gold, comes to a heart that has been weaned from materialism, and who has been taught by the Spirit of God to discern the immeasurable delight in the fleeting beauty of temporality and to find spiritual connection to the truth proclaimed in nature, as the world is but the canvass where God displays his love and generosity to his human likeness. In times of solitude, aware only of the cadence of the beating heart, in the quiet walks along byways and hidden paths with surprising encounters with God’s many creatures …. this grace comes. On a 

bus or train and glimpsing in quick succession the passing landscape, drape in myriads of colors from white to red and all hues in between….this grace comes. On hearing the flattering wings just outside the

window, of birds taking a bath on a pond of water on a hot summer day, or merrily chirping as they gather materials for their nest-building chores, this grace comes. Or witnessing the sun makes its final trek

before disappearing in the distant horizon, or staring at the night sky with a multitude of twinkling lights, impossible to count..this grace comes. At the sight of a child running with unbounded energy, laughing

with wild abandon or an old man walking with measured steps, gait uneven, constrained by arthritic pain or some middle-aged ladies’ merry encounter in a supermarket, possibly exchanging the latest news of the day…. this grace comes. Or on some rare opportunity, like sitting in a theater and watching the corps de ballet of a world-renown company moving gracefully as one or an artist fiddling his violin on a church’s steps, hat on the pavement, to receive whatever falls from generous hearts or an unexpected encounter on a narrow alley with artist bemoaning life’s many vicissitudes (“Triste” he said.) …. this grace comes. Or on a queue outside a historical landmark with a lady clutching her pocketbook tightly on seeing me behind her, thinking I was a gypsy and up to no good tricks or beholding a woman with a humble demeanor, her face etched with years of hard work …. this grace comes. Or painfully crawling to reach home after an 

accident and being reminded of my duty to embrace suffering especially so as it was the first Friday of Lenten season…. this grace comes. Or sitting on the side of the bed, confounded by the many hurdles and in tears with so many ‘whys’…. this grace comes. All moments of the day without exception, is a

divinely orchestrated chance to live the life that awaits in the great beyond, but only possible for those who are gifted with the spiritual power to rejoice in the infinity of the moment and to find fulfillment even in the transitoriness of mortality; as the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit is the foretaste of glory that is to come. This same power from on high gave clarity of understanding to the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading from Isaiah, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. (8: 26- 39) The Spirit instructed Philip to be the apostle of light to the Ethiopian and in heeding the Spirit’s call, led to the baptism of a new convert to the faith. This same scene awaits anyone, as the present moment is a call to conversion, as written in Psalm 95-- “if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”. But more than these, the Spirit gives us access to the mind of God which is important when seeking his will; as his will, specific to each person, fulfills his reason for being. To miss this is to miss the fullness of life that only the Spirit can bestow, as the Spirit consecrates the person to be God’s co-worker in the world by the living-out of the Gospel of Christ. But for the Word to take root, modern man must pause from his overwhelming preoccupation with himself and the passing world with its riches, which cause a spiritual insensitivity to the movement of the Holy Spirit, whose work is to lead everyone to a personal encounter with the Incarnate Word, Christ Jesus, for no one can be saved except through him, as no one can come to the Father but through him. (John 14: 6) Even now this miracle of redemption happens in the most unassuming way without fanfare or magic tricks. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where the Word of God is proclaimed, where regular bread and wine become the body and blood of Our Lord, is the most common way to have a personal experience of God’s redeeming love, as this hour-long ritual, instituted by Jesus in the Last Supper, as the commemoration of his sacrificial suffering and death, is nothing short of standing at the foot of the cross with Mary and the beloved disciple and beholding through the eyes of faith, the divine act that set men free. Sadly, the reception of the Eucharist has become a subterfuge, not to all but to an unknown number of communicants, who receive it with grievous unrepented sin or sins. This is sacrilege. But on the other hand, with a heart like Mary, this grace that comes daily is a humbling, life-giving experience. The gift of faith, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, allows the faithful to have a deep connection withJesus in the most fundamental way that only God can ordain, and thus, giving truism to his words: “Blest are your eyes because they see and blest are your ears because they hear. I assure you, many a prophet and many a saint longed to see what you see and did not see it, to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” [Matthew 13; 16- 7] Not only does the Christian see and hear what the prophets and saints of old had desired, but above all, he has Jesus as food and drink for the journey to life everlasting. The Holy Spirit, in every time and season, prevents the Word from going stale and meaningless, like words from a once favorite book that has now gone out of fashion. It keeps it alive, dynamic and in-sync with the prevailing consciousness of each and every generation, from Jesus’ time right to the end of time. It keeps the Word sharp as when it was first forged, like a double-edge sword that powerfully probes the heart, separating truth from lies. A good example was the case of Ananias and Sapphira whose duplicity was exposed by the Spirit. Peter in condemnation of their action said: “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart so as to make you lie to the Holy Spirit and keep for yourself some of the proceeds from that field?” (Acts 5: 3) Just as the Spirit exposes the lie, so does He proclaim the truth as Jesus said: “You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to give witness before them and the Gentiles on my account. When they hand you over, do not worry about what you will say or how you will to say it. When the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. You yourselves will not be the speakers; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” [Matthew 10: 18- 20] In keeping the Word alive in the hearts of the faithful, the Holy Spirit prevents civilization from collapsing into moral bankruptcy, spinning out of control and descending into a state of decay like Jeremiah’s rotten linen loincloth, good for nothing, (See Jeremiah 13: 9- 10) The psalmist wrote, “When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.” [Psalm 104: 30] Amen. Oh, come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth and re-create us into the image and likeness of our Triune God. Lastly, the spirit helps us in our communion with God, or prayer as commonly known. Paul wrote: “The Spirit groans for us. The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. He who searches the hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.” (Romans 8: 26- 27) This will be dealt in detail in the section about prayer. Suffice to say for now that man, imperfect as he is, has limited power of communication with God, whose ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than man. It is the work of the Spirit to be man’s divine intercessor and to groan, beyond words can capture, what it means to be human and need of grace in his journey to God. Paul wrote: “Yes, we know that all creation groans and is in agony even until now. Not only that, but we ourselves, although we have the Spirit as first fruit, groans inwardly while we await the resurrection of our bodies.” (Romans 8: 22- 23)