Pentecost Novena: Day Two

The Pentecost Novena, itself, can be found here. 
 
"Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine." - From the Veni Sancte Spiritus, Sequence for Pentecost

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . . . Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. . . . Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:3, 5, 8)." The possession of the Holy Spirit in our souls is what makes us the richest of all the people of the earth! And this is because we have a Treasure that not only can never be lost, even after death, except through our own negligence and fault, and because He satisfies every part of our being.

The Holy Spirit can only enter into the heart of the poor, not necessarily the poor monetarily, but the poor in spirit. And this is because when He enters a soul He conforms it to the image of Jesus Christ. The less the soul bears its self-image the greater we say it is poor in spirit, and the more it harbors selfishness and acts for its own interests, the greater its spiritual poverty is! The Holy Spirit is the source of all our store, He is the source of any real treasure we may possess, for earthly luxuries will only satisfy us insofar as we see them as reflecting God, our final end.

Nonetheless, this view, this insight can only be had when we possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially those of counsel and understanding, for these will allow us to see the will of God and allow us to see His reflection in His creation. But we primarily think of these as intellectual faculties, whereas we have just said the Holy Spirit can only enter the poor in spirit, since they are the only ones with room for him, and poverty of spirit comes not from the mind, but from the heart!

Charity, then, is the basis of our being made fit vessels for the Holy Spirit to enter into us. This is only appropriate, for the greater the treasure, the more precious we desire its vessel to be, and the way to become the greatest is by exercising the greatest charity, for as our Lord said, "He who is greatest among you shall be your servant (Matthew 23:11)." But this is not with a stewardship of monetary service or bondage, but one of love.

And charity brings with it a self-emptying, for in order to serve others, we must deny ourselves. Then, as we become more and more involved with serving others, we find an emptiness within ourselves, but this emptiness is not the end, as certain philosophies, especially some of the Eastern ones, think. Rather, the end follows this, for we must then be filled through service of God, which does not end the service of neighbor, but rather completes it. Of course, in serving God, first through prayer, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, that Divine Fire.

In the days of this novena, then, let us pray that we may be emptied of all our self-love and be open to receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts on the day of Pentecost. For in this reception, He shall then begin to shine forth in our service, so that it will not be us who serve, but Christ Who serves through us. Then, as the Apostles before us, we shall spread and witness the Gospel to all nations of the earth!