Opening Prayer
Lord God, I address the Holy Spirit as my Indwelling Champion, who lives within me to provide the grace and love I need for the coming day. I acknowledge that Your Spirit is the substance of my hope and the foundation of my strength against the assaults of the Devil. Let Your presence fill me completely, banishing all darkness and warming my soul with Your fire.
I ask for new grace and new love to devote my entire life solely to the service of Your glory. Grant me the spiritual maturity to grow beyond the state of an infant, reaching a perfection that is worthy of Your indwelling. May I end this month anchored in the peace of Your Spirit, prepared for the journey that lies ahead in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
John 14:15-27
15If you love me, keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. 17The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him: but you shall know him; because he shall abide with you, and shall be in you. 18I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. 19Yet a little while: and the world seeth me no more. But you see me: because I live, and you shall live. 20In that day you shall know, that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them; he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22Judas saith to him, not the Iscariot: Lord, how is it, that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? 23Jesus answered, and said to him: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him. 24He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words. And the word which you have heard, is not mine; but the Father’s who sent me. 25These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you. 26But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
St. Cyril of Jerusalem evaluates that while the Spirit is one in nature, He distributes grace according to His will, turning the “soul in sin” into a “cluster of righteousness”. This is the pinnacle of our journey—the realization that the Divine Guest is not a visitor but an inhabitant. As we compare this Patristic wisdom with modern needs, we see that the Spirit is our Champion against the Devil’s false promises.
As this month concludes, we remember that the “Holy Spirit, our champion” remains within as a divine light. This light dispels your shadows and provides the grace to mature as spiritual infants into the full stature of Christ. We are not left to our own devices, but are continually sustained by the “indwelling Guest” who guides us toward the beatific vision.
“The echo is no longer around you, but within you; for the indwelling Spirit henceforth makes your mind a house of God.”
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Mary and the Magisterium
The Holy Spirit is our champion who defends and empowers us. Because of the Spirit’s unique indwelling, Mary became the first and greatest champion of the faith.
- Is my interior "temple" currently a place of "dust and disarray," or have I prepared it for the "Divine Guest"?
- How will I continue the "art of imitation" tomorrow, now that the "Summer of the Soul" is concluding and the harvest has been gathered?
Closing Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in my heart take up Your rest. Kindle in me the fire of Your love.
Amen.
