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billcu1
Guest
How do we listen to the holy spirit? We who have been confirmed have it. Does it speak when out of grace? I don’t know.
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Bruised_Reed
Guest
Prayer isn’t just saying stuff to God, it also means listening. And praying isn’t just prayers in which we address God directly because people with little or no faith hear God (so even people who are not confirmed can hear the Holy Spirit.) Consider those who ask, “if you’re out there God, show me that you’re real/that you love me/etc” and that prayer is answered and they “hear” the Holy Spirit. It might not always be dramatic but maybe it’s God enunciating carefully until we learn his language.
Another way of answering is that we have to talk to God (the communication has to go both ways) often enough to learn how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. In a book by Fr. Mike Scanlan, he writes that God will speak to us in a similar way from one time to the next so we learn his voice. I think about babies learning to speak; the parents will often understand what their child is saying because they are around and listen for the sounds that they understand. Or a person who has a severe speech impediment; if you listen to them enough the speech becomes easier to understand than when you initially meet them.
Another way of answering is that we have to talk to God (the communication has to go both ways) often enough to learn how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. In a book by Fr. Mike Scanlan, he writes that God will speak to us in a similar way from one time to the next so we learn his voice. I think about babies learning to speak; the parents will often understand what their child is saying because they are around and listen for the sounds that they understand. Or a person who has a severe speech impediment; if you listen to them enough the speech becomes easier to understand than when you initially meet them.
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Ohana
Guest
Aha, great question. Actually the answer is pretty individual. For me, it is often a thought that comes to me in quiet moments. Sometimes it is a woed, - simply a word or phrase- that jumps out at me from the Mass readings or homily. Sometimes it is in discussions with friends. Basically, it is those things in your life or interior reflections which draw you closer to God, to love Him more, to want to be what he wants you to be.
Like all wonderful things, it takes practice
As a start remember to say a morning offering - doesn’t have to be elaborate, just offer your Day to Him, ask Mother Mary to help you. Say some night prayers too, get to an occasional extra Mass if you can. No beating yourself up if you miss praying once in a while! Believe me, that Holy Spirit wants to speak in your heart and release all those gifts in you.
God Bless you grasshopper!
Like all wonderful things, it takes practice
As a start remember to say a morning offering - doesn’t have to be elaborate, just offer your Day to Him, ask Mother Mary to help you. Say some night prayers too, get to an occasional extra Mass if you can. No beating yourself up if you miss praying once in a while! Believe me, that Holy Spirit wants to speak in your heart and release all those gifts in you.
God Bless you grasshopper!
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the_phoenix
Guest
Recently, I was wondering how to handle something, and asked God how. That night, on my way to make a Holy Hour of Adoration, a song from 1978 came on the radio. An hour later, on the way back home from that same Holy Hour of Adoration, that very same song from 1978 came on the radio. The song really seemed to fit the situation I was wondering about.
What are the odds of that happening?
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What are the odds of that happening?
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