A GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Childlikeness is an elemental and essential aspect of our human nature. Being human simply means having a drive toward childlikeness. Is this true? The deep philosophical foundation lies in our contingency as created beings ... No created being is self-sufficient. God alone is self-sufficient because he is the uncreated Being. As created beings, however, we cannot be self-sufficient and therefore depend on others for the perfection of our nature. The inherent limitations of our created nature point to our dependence on others, which is necessary if ever we want to reach beyond our limitations. This helplessness bound up with our very nature can, for the present, be called childlikeness.

Natural needs, natural talents, natural tendencies and supernatural gifts of grace are interdependent.

Childlikeness is a need of our nature. It is also, and even more so, a gift of the Holy Spirit, and that to an eminent degree.

If my childlikeness is to become deep and lasting, if it is to endure the trials of life, then I am in absolute need of the Holy Spirit for the gift of childlikeness. With ordinary virtues and graces alone I will not accomplish very much. The childlikeness to which we aspire presupposes a most extraordinary activity of the Holy Spirit in our souls. No matter how strong our natural disposition toward childlikeness may be, it will not endure on its own. If we want to become childlike quickly, deeply, perseveringly and heroically, and want to withstand ever more difficult trials, we need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must first take possession of our souls.

Only if the Holy Spirit steps in and firmly directs our inner lives, will we be able to live simply the “Abba, dear Father.” How noble our souls will then be! We will no longer be slaves; in the light of supernature we will then understand the often-quoted words of St. Francis de Sales: “On the ship of love there are no galley slaves but only free rowers.”

There are two stages in the development of my supernatural chiidlikeness. The first stage could be called: Ego cum gratia Dei. - I with the grace of God. My will power and my efforts stand in the foreground. The second stage could be called: Gratia Dei mecum. - The grace of God with me. This means that my soul is under the influence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In as far as chiidlikeness is a virtue, we must continuously exercise it; in as far as it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, we must strive for humility, the spirit of prayer, and confidence.

What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? They are supernatural, infused properties by which a soul in the state of grace is enabled and willing to say a prompt, persevering, and heroic yes to every, even the slightest movement and inspiration of God's Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of chiidlikeness. It is he who with unspeakable moanings utters the word “Father” in our hearts. He wants to bestow on us the status and attitude of childhood.

It is the Holy Spirit who works in our hearts as the spirit of sonship. “The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves, but the spirit of sons” (Rom 8:15).

Since God adopted us as his children, he also gave us the spirit of his Son, namely, the spirit of chiidlikeness. The Holy Spirit gently forces us toward genuine chiidlikeness (Gal 4:6).

We grow in likeness to the only-begotten Son, that is, in deep, selfless chiidlikeness, to the extent that we receive the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit deeply intervenes in a soul, the child has only one ideal and that is to fulfill the Father's wish, to live in conformity with God's will.

Childlike persons are able to master life if their chiidlikeness is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Unless the Holy Spirit takes perfect possession of my soul, it is unthinkable that I will be attached to God the Father with every fiber of my being.

If a person responds quickly and deeply to the thought “Father-child,” we may be convinced that the Holy Spirit, through his gifts, is most effectively at work in this soul.

Our Lady must intercede for us so that the Holy Spirit with his gifts may break through in our souls and lead us to such heroic chiidlikeness that we are only concerned about fulfilling the Father's will. We must become firm characters able to cope with life. Only the Holy Spirit can give this to us. He will teach us to say a prudent yes. At times he may want us to say no. Christ told his Apostles, “The spirit of your Father will be speaking in you when the time comes” (Mt 10:20). In difficult situations we cannot rely on human beings.

Without the Holy Spirit we are absolutely incapable of faithfully fulfilling the Father's wish throughout our entire lives and of fostering within ourselves the spirit of childhood, the spirit of sonship. It is far too great a goal for us to reach by human strength.

We realize that chiidlikeness is the greatest holiness possible because chiidlikeness, as the simplicity of one's mind, heart and will, necessarily is the perfect gift of wisdom. In this light we understand the words of Holy Scripture, “The Spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15). In him our attitude grows toward becoming strongly God-oriented. In receiving the precious gift of chiidlikeness, we become detached from ourselves, as far as this is possible on earth, and we center more and more on the Father.

When the gift of the Holy Spirit, that is, the gift of wisdom, fills our souls, we view all knowledge and life in a new light as though we had been blind before. It seems that this should stimulate us to petition and even beg, above all, Our Lady to intercede with the Holy Spirit for us. In what new perspective the child will then view the Father and understand him in his light amid the blows of fate!

Whoever plants a tree and wants it to grow, will see to it that the tree takes root. When we compare chiidlikeness with a tree, the roots symbolize holy wisdom. Therefore, our imperative is, “Strive for divine wisdom.” At the same time, this presupposes that we make every effort to pull out the roots of unholy wisdom.

Holy wisdom is the source of genuine childlikeness. It is the very wisdom which shows us God as the highest Good. It gives us the strength to seek this highest Good perseveringly and to avoid everything that would offend or displease the highest Good in any way.

The gift of wisdom is an extraordinary degree of knowledge coupled with great reverence and awe. The mystics tell us that the gift of wisdom is for the soul a light of extraordinary clarity and, at the same time, a light of extraordinary ardor.

What does the Holy Spirit give us when he captures our souls and sustains them? He gives us an exceedingly warm, faithful and tender love.

The more helpless and unworthy we feel to receive such gifts, the more abundantly will we actually receive them!

What is the reason that the saints lived in such close union with God? With the help of grace they struggled to surrender themselves to God. The virtues alone did not bring them that far. The Holy Spirit had to take possession of their souls. He had to give them an ardent and persevering love. We must pray much for tender and warm love, but also for persevering love.

Theologians tell us that the gift of wisdom brings about the transformation of a person in God, as far as this is possible on earth. This, however, presupposes an all-embracing detachment from one's self, from instinctive and selfish desires. The Spirit of God must effect both our total self-detachment and, at the same time, our transformation into Christ. He must work the detachment, the purification, because we ourselves cannot do it. The very same holds true if we want to become all light like Christ. If everything within us should be light, the Holy Spirit has to give it to us. Transformatio in Deum - Transformation in God. Here we are faced with the peak of holiness.

We are deeply sheltered to the extent that we are simple and childlike and that we muster up the confidence of a child. We are incapable of this unless the Holy Spirit enkindles the spirit of childlikeness within us. Therefore, we should pray a great deal. Let us see childlikeness much more as a gift of the Holy Spirit.

If my will is ultimately sheltered in God even at times of greatest suffering and grief, if my will is ultimately sheltered in God even when my heart and mind are being purified, then the Holy Spirit is at work.

God's Spirit is most powerfully effective in us if we are able to view the cross and suffering as gifts from the Father.

If I am heroic, if I always reach out for God's will, then I know that my soul is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

When a person has obtained the transformatio in Deum -transformation in God, then Christ truly reigns in that person. The God-Man has then taken form to an extraordinary degree in the child of God. Only then do we understand and experience correctly the meaning of the words: The Spirit himself, the Spirit of sonship, expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words (cf. Rom 8:26). Then we are children par excellence. Then we feel urged to say “Our Father.” Then we understand the words, “Unless you become like little children...” (Mt 18:3). Then we are children of God to the highest degree. The sonship of God has become our greatest good.

To some extent, the ideal state of extraordinary and fully developed childlikeness can be attained on earth only with the help of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Theologians usually say instead, “with the help of the grace of contemplation.” In that state, woman radiates an atmosphere of reverence, captivating, charming naturalness and simplicity. She is incomparably closed, yet open. She is invulnerable and self-protected while giving herself totally. Because of her uplifting self-possession and fortitude rooted in God, she can adjust with kindness, she understands others, she courageously helps and serves others; she valiantly endures blows of fate, arbitrary, unenlightened, human blows from others, whether from a God-given authority, co-sisters or those entrusted to her care.

Christ had such a state in mind when he said: “Unless you become like little children...” (Mt 18:3). Here, too, Christ is our example and he places himself as an ideal before us in the radiant reflection of his Blessed Mother. Such a state may be considered the perfect fruit of a serious, enlightened striving throughout life and of an abundance of grace.