Prayer to Holy Spirit

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billcu1

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When we pray are we supposed to pray to the Holy Spirit? Jesus said I will send the comforter and after he leaves the scene, everyone is praying and receiving from the Holy Spirit. When I pray I speak to the holy spirit “cosubstaintial with the father and son one God…” It seems right to me. Do we approach the father through the Holy Spirit?

Bill
 
billcu1 said:
When we pray are we supposed to pray to the Holy Spirit? Jesus said I will send the comforter and after he leaves the scene, everyone is praying and receiving from the Holy Spirit. When I pray I speak to the holy spirit “cosubstaintial with the father and son one God…” It seems right to me. Do we approach the father through the Holy Spirit?

Bill
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You can pray to God the Father, God the Son, and/or God the Holy Spirit, for He is God.

Often, in thanksgiving, I find myself praying to God the Father; when at Mass, more prayers to God the Son, and in peaceful prayer, God the Holy Spirit. Othertimes, I say ‘God’, and not specify. During Advent and Lent, I find myself praying more to the Father and the Spirit, as I await the arrival of Jesus Christ bbhn in the Nativity, or preparing for His Sacrifice.

When I was a kid, I always thought the Holy Spirit got the least amount of attention. The Lord’s Prayer was both for Jesus and the Father; so I would pray the Glory Be because that prayer mentioned the Spirit. Don’t know why I really thought that; but I’ve always rooted for the ‘underdog’ and when I was little, it felt to me like the Holy Spirit got the least amount of attention.

We are so blessed that He comes to us in the Trinity!
 
I ask the Holy Spirit every single morning before I even lift my head from the pillow to show me what God would have me do this day.
Inevitably something important needs attending to, or a person needs assistance.
So cool.
Peace.
 
It is always easier to talk with a person you know - same with the Holy Spirit, who is a Person.
And who is “He”? Maybe what is He is better, at first…
Aquinas pictures Him as the Will of God actualizing the union with what the Will of God loves. He is God uniting Himself with the Beloved, and pictured in the image of God’s Breath going out and into the Beloved, so the Beloved breathes in the Lover Himself. One proper name given for the Holy Spirit is “Love” (actualized, or “satisfied”) So the Father and Son have a Satisfied Love with us in that they themselves, in their “Breath”, are in us, united to us (which is what a Lover Wills, union with the beloved).

With the Holy Spirit within you, received and in fullness from your Baptism and Confirmation, you have literal union to the Father and Son within you, animating your own soul with Faith, Hope, Charity, so that you also can will union with God, and willfully satisfy union with Father and Son. We do our works of will through our bodies, meaning our actions, words, thoughts. So for us to actualize our Love, our desire to be one with God, we may pray, we may help someone in need, we may go to Mass to participate with Him in the Sacrament, we may sing, we may tell others of Him.

So there can me many ways of addressing the Person who is the “Father united to you” (4 words are the Holy Spirit, not the word Father by itself), not the “Father in Heaven”, but the Father who is in with YOU, and to address “Jesus united to you”.

You have “Union” with the Father and the Son when you have the Spirit. Love requires Union, being One. When Love is “satisfied” there is Oneness. When you say, “Father” and understand he is right in front of you saying, “Yes, I am here with you”, then you are praying “In the Spirit”, in Union with Him, which is the Holy Spirit. Same with Jesus. This is different that trying to visualize him being in front of you, it is knowing he is with you so you don’t have to try and visualize anything.

I’ve been rambling a bit, trying to organize my words, but I guess it is too late tonight for that. Hope this all fits your question.
 
Hi bill,

You can pray to whomever you want. I agree with Christina, poster cc. 🙂

Sometimes I address each member of the Trinity in my prayers. What I mean by that is that I will pray to Jesus, or God or to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I will address the Holy Trinity in my prayers, and will address all three. It just depends on my particular prayers at that time.
 
John_Martin said:
It is always easier to talk with a person you know - same with the Holy Spirit, who is a Person.
And who is “He”? Maybe what is He is better, at first…
Aquinas pictures Him as the Will of God actualizing the union with what the Will of God loves. He is God uniting Himself with the Beloved, and pictured in the image of God’s Breath going out and into the Beloved, so the Beloved breathes in the Lover Himself. One proper name given for the Holy Spirit is “Love” (actualized, or “satisfied”) So the Father and Son have a Satisfied Love with us in that they themselves, in their “Breath”, are in us, united to us (which is what a Lover Wills, union with the beloved).

With the Holy Spirit within you, received and in fullness from your Baptism and Confirmation, you have literal union to the Father and Son within you, animating your own soul with Faith, Hope, Charity, so that you also can will union with God, and willfully satisfy union with Father and Son. We do our works of will through our bodies, meaning our actions, words, thoughts. So for us to actualize our Love, our desire to be one with God, we may pray, we may help someone in need, we may go to Mass to participate with Him in the Sacrament, we may sing, we may tell others of Him.

So there can me many ways of addressing the Person who is the “Father united to you” (4 words are the Holy Spirit, not the word Father by itself), not the “Father in Heaven”, but the Father who is in with YOU, and to address “Jesus united to you”.

You have “Union” with the Father and the Son when you have the Spirit. Love requires Union, being One. When Love is “satisfied” there is Oneness. When you say, “Father” and understand he is right in front of you saying, “Yes, I am here with you”, then you are praying “In the Spirit”, in Union with Him, which is the Holy Spirit. Same with Jesus. This is different that trying to visualize him being in front of you, it is knowing he is with you so you don’t have to try and visualize anything.

I’ve been rambling a bit, trying to organize my words, but I guess it is too late tonight for that. Hope this all fits your question.
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I find this a very good post. Especially with your mentioning of Thomism. It’s that Jesus gave us the gift of the holy spirit. It never leaves I guess even in sin when grace does.

Bill
 
We can pray both to and through the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul noted the latter case, when he wrote in:
Romans 8:26 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.”
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As well, the Church has long had the following prayer to the Holy Spirit before reading the scriptures (for which there is a plenary indulgence available):
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful
and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
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V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.

R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
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Let us pray.
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O God, Who didst instruct the hearts
of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant us in the same Spirit to discern what is right,
and ever to rejoice in His consolation.
Through Christ our Lord.

 Amen.
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The Holy Spirit is rightly called the forgotten member of the Trinity. Fr. Robert Barron describes Him as 'the mutual sigh of love when the Father and Son gaze upon one another."

A deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit will profoundly change you.
 
po18guy said:
We can pray both to and through the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul noted the latter case, when he wrote in: As well, the Church has long had the following prayer to the Holy Spirit before reading the scriptures (for which there is a plenary indulgence available): The Holy Spirit is rightly called the forgotten member of the Trinity. Fr. Robert Barron describes Him as 'the mutual sigh of love when the Father and Son gaze upon one another."

A deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit will profoundly change you.
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What does Thomism happen to say about this? I want to understand these 3 personages and their similarities differences and how they are separate and together as God.

Bill
 
billcu1 said:
What does Thomism happen to say about this? I want to understand these 3 personages and their similarities differences and how they are separate and together as God.

Bill
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Thomism is not an area of my expertise. Others here will pipe up. But, a good beginning is the catechism.
 
billcu1 said:
What does Thomism happen to say about this? I want to understand these 3 personages and their similarities differences and how they are separate and together as God.

Bill
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It is too long to post here, but here is my blog explaining the three from my learning from the Summa Theologica of Thomas: softvocation.org/2013/12/27/the-trinity/

The purpose of my blog is making Thomas available to everyone using common language (at least what feels like common language to me) that all can navigate.
 
billcu1 said:
I find this a very good post. Especially with your mentioning of Thomism. It’s that Jesus gave us the gift of the holy spirit. It never leaves I guess even in sin when grace does.

Bill
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Being in sin, “when grace leaves you”, may not be the best image to have in mind.

If we say that the soul animates the body, including the brain, including conscious thought, then if you were in an accident, unconscious, your soul is not at that time able to move your thoughts - your hurt body cannot at that moment be the vehicle of conscious thought, cannot be moved to thoughts by your soul, even though it tries.

If we sin, our soul in a manner, is somewhat like that hurt body, not being animated with inspiration by the Spirit. The Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love, are constant inspirations by the Spirit - so it is not so much that they “leave” when we sin, but more like they are not flowing in for a time (hopefully short). It is like a concussion of the soul that we cause in ourselves. The Spirit tries, just as our soul tries when we are physically unconscious to return conscious thoughts to our minds. His success is when we begin to remember Him and see our sin as sin. Then in contrition seek forgiveness.

(and thanks, Bill, this post jumped me in to the “Regular Member” status)
 
John_Martin said:
Being in sin, “when grace leaves you”, may not be the best image to have in mind.

If we say that the soul animates the body, including the brain, including conscious thought, then if you were in an accident, unconscious, your soul is not at that time able to move your thoughts - your hurt body cannot at that moment be the vehicle of conscious thought, cannot be moved to thoughts by your soul, even though it tries.

If we sin, our soul in a manner, is somewhat like that hurt body, not being animated with inspiration by the Spirit. The Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love, are constant inspirations by the Spirit - so it is not so much that they “leave” when we sin, but more like they are not flowing in for a time (hopefully short). It is like a concussion of the soul that we cause in ourselves. The Spirit tries, just as our soul tries when we are physically unconscious to return conscious thoughts to our minds. His success is when we begin to remember Him and see our sin as sin. Then in contrition seek forgiveness.

(and thanks, Bill, this post jumped me in to the “Regular Member” status)
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Well I do admit I struggle with a pornography problem. And when I fail it seems like I’m dealt with then more than when in a state of grace. 🤷 I know I am unable to partake of the body and blood until absolution but things seem fine then.

Bill
 
Listen to the Holy Spirit by advancing your prayer life to include contemplative prayer.

Explanations of the three expressions of prayer – vocal, meditative and contemplative – are given in CCC 2700-2724. I think it’s funny that so many Catholics, including myself for the longest time, have never heard of contemplative prayer even though this section in the CCC talks about it more than the other two forms combined.

A neat book on prayer, affordable, fairly short and reads very easily and human-like. was written by a Jesuit and has imprimatur, and covers all types of prayer including 1) talking at God, 2) talking to God, and 3) listening to God.

Armchair Mystic: Easing into Contemplative Prayer.

MS
 
billcu1 said:
Well I do admit I struggle with a pornography problem. And when I fail it seems like I’m dealt with then more than when in a state of grace. 🤷 I know I am unable to partake of the body and blood until absolution but things seem fine then.

Bill
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Well then, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that you will defeat this sin. If offering the prayer to the Holy Sprit daily was not a good practice, the Church would not offer a plenary indulgence (under the usual conditions) for it.
 
Mystical_Seeker said:
Listen to the Holy Spirit by advancing your prayer life to include contemplative prayer.

Explanations of the three expressions of prayer – vocal, meditative and contemplative – are given in CCC 2700-2724. I think it’s funny that so many Catholics, including myself for the longest time, have never heard of contemplative prayer even though this section in the CCC talks about it more than the other two forms combined.

A neat book on prayer, affordable, fairly short and reads very easily and human-like. was written by a Jesuit and has imprimatur, and covers all types of prayer including 1) talking at God, 2) talking to God, and 3) listening to God.

Armchair Mystic: Easing into Contemplative Prayer.

MS
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The contemplative prayer you mention it speaks of in §§2700-2724 talks about communion with Jesus that would be the Word, not the holy spirit that is will and comforter. He said he would send the holy spirit. That’s what my thread is about. I’m a little confused now.

Bill
 
billcu1 said:
Well I do admit I struggle with a pornography problem. And when I fail it seems like I’m dealt with then more than when in a state of grace. 🤷 I know I am unable to partake of the body and blood until absolution but things seem fine then.

Bill
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Here is a short little booklet (1 to 2 hours to read if you read straight through, and short one page chapters, so you don’t have to read straight through, sort of like a blog of the 1600’s by Brother Lawrence) called The Practice of the Presence of God. ccel.org/ccel/lawrence/practice

I found out about it from Peter Kreeft’s little book, Prayer for Beginners, and between the two books my wife and I are working at a life of “praying without ceasing”, and it is explained in a practical way for those of us living an “active life” rather than “contemplative”. Most of our time is in activities, that could make us forget God’s presence, but this booklet gives a different way of looking at it. I understand your comment; this booklet helps me every day.
 
billcu1 said:
The contemplative prayer you mention it speaks of in §§2700-2724 talks about communion with Jesus that would be the Word, not the holy spirit that is will and comforter. He said he would send the holy spirit. That’s what my thread is about. I’m a little confused now.

Bill
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Jesus said he would send the Comforter, yet you do not see him ever talking “to the Spirit”. He tells what will happen to us in reference to the Spirit, that it will come upon us.

But the Spirit is, in a way, “satisfied” when we talk to the Father or to the Son.
The Spirit proceeding from the Father to the Son is “the Father united to the Son within the Son.”
The Spirit proceeding from the Son to the Father is “the Son united to the Father within the Father”
The Spirit proceeding from the Father and from the Son to you, Bill, is “the Father and the Son united To You within You”.
And your words, proceeding from you to the Father and the Son is “You uniting yourself to the Father and the Son within Them”
And when you don’t have the words you need, the Spirit utters your words for you to the Father and the Son, aiding to “unite you to the Father and the Son within them”.

When the Father hears your word, which is your will making real what you desire (to be heard by God), he does not then talk to the word he hears from you - he keeps that word of your prayer with him, inside him. It is you united to him. But he instead answers back to you, from whom that word of your will came.
The Spirit is the Will of God making real his Love. And it comes upon you. And you keep it inside you, like the Father keeps your word inside Him. And knowing this, just as the Father knows your prayer, while holding tight to his Spirit, you talk back to the Father in answer.

Hope that all makes sense.
 
billcu1 said:
The contemplative prayer you mention it speaks of in §§2700-2724 talks about communion with Jesus that would be the Word, not the holy spirit that is will and comforter. He said he would send the holy spirit. That’s what my thread is about. I’m a little confused now.

Bill
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Yes. I was talking about contemplative prayer as an invitation to the Holy Spirit to prepare us to be transformed. To get our “wedding attire” on for the feast, maybe.

Prayer to the H.S. I don’t do that much but I have to go awk for a bit so maybe I’ll think of how to define it more interestingly.

MS
 
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