 |
| St. Cyril of Jerusalem |
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop
Taken
from a catechetical instruction by St. Cyril
The
Living Water of the Holy Spirit
The water that I shall give him will become in
him a fountain of living water, welling up into eternal life. This
is a new kind of water, a living, leaping water, welling up for those who are
worthy. But why did Christ call the
grace of the Spirit water? Because all
things are dependent on water; plants and animals have their origin in
water. Water comes down from heaven as
rain, and although it is always the same in itself, it produces many different
effects, one in the palm tree, another in the vine, and so on throughout the
whole of creation. It does not come
down, now as one thing, now as another, but while remaining essentially the
same, it adapts itself to the needs of every creature that receives it.
In the same way the Holy Spirit,
whose nature is always the same, simple and indivisible, apportions grace to
each man as he wills. Like a dry tree
which puts forth shoots when watered, the soul bears the fruit of holiness when
repentance has made it worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit never changes, the
effects of his action, by the will of God and in the name of Christ, are both
many and marvelous.
The Spirit makes one man a
teacher of divine truth, inspires another to prophesy, gives another the power
of casting out devils, enables another to interpret holy Scripture. The Spirit strengthens one man’s self-control,
shows another how to help the poor, teaches another to fast and lead a life of
asceticism, makes another oblivious to the needs of the body, trains another
for martyrdom. His action is different
in different people, but the Spirit himself is always the same. In
each person, Scripture says, the Spirit reveals his presence in a particular
way for the common good.
The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his
fragrance. He is not felt as a burden,
for he is light, very light. Rays of
light and knowledge stream before him as he approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a
true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to
strengthen, to console. The Spirit comes
to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him,
the minds of others as well.
As light strikes the eyes of a
man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly
things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the many
counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things
beyond the range of human vision, things hitherto undreamed of."
Taken from
the Liturgy of the Hours, According to the Roman Rite, Ordinary Time, Catholic
Book Publishing Corp. New York, 1975
No comments:
Post a Comment