Piddingworth Greg Benton |
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| 'Piddingworth...where St. George's Cross is not yet banned.' --Mark Steyn |
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| Thank you very much for your support! |
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| Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. St. Augustine |
| LOVE DIVINE |
| Symbols Of The Holy Spirit Water. The symbolism of water signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism. Anointing. The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. Fire. While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. Cloud and light. These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. The hand. Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them. In his name the apostles will do the same. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The finger. "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God," then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the "finger of the Father's right hand." The dove. At the end of the flood, whose symbolism refers to Baptism, a dove released by Noah returns with a fresh olive-tree branch in its beak as a sign that the earth was again habitable. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. The Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of the baptized. To believe in the Holy Spirit is to profess that the Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son: "with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified." Excerpted from: The Catechism of the Catholic Church The Holy Spirit is the Person of Love in the life of God. He is also like a breath, an aspiration of infinite Love, from which we draw the breath of life. On the day of Pentecost the Divine Spirit communicated such an abundance of life to the whole Church that to symbolize it "there came a sound from heaven, as of a violent wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they (the Apostles) were sitting." But it is also for us that the Holy Spirit has come, for the group in the Cenacle represented the whole Church. The Holy Spirit came to remain with the Church forever. This is the promise of Jesus Himself. He dwells in the Church permanently and unfailingly, performing in it without ceasing His action of life-giving and sanctification. He establishes the Church infallibly in the truth. It is He Who makes the Church blossom forth with a marvelous supernatural fruitfulness, for He brings to life and full fruition in Virgins, Martyrs, and Confessors those heroic virtues which are one of the marks of true sanctity. Blessed Abbot Columba Marmion, OSB |
| Come down, O love divine, seek Thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with Thine own ardour glowing. O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing. O let it freely burn, til earthly passions turn To dust and ashes in its heat consuming; And let Thy glorious light shine ever on my sight, And clothe me round, the while my path illuming. Let holy charity mine outward vesture be, And lowliness become mine inner clothing; True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part, And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing. And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long, Shall far outpass the power of human telling; For none can guess its grace, till he become the place Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling. Bianco de Siena, 15th c. Trans. Rev. R. F.. Littledale, 1867 Tune: 'Down Ampney' Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906 |
| The month of April in the Catholic Church is dedicated to 'The Holy Spirit'. Surely one of the most beautiful and favoured of hymns is 'Come Down, O Love Divine', not only for it's wonderful melody but these words that appeal to the mysterious and sublime power of God's dwelling within us. It is a prayer for the illumination of and desire for holiness in a humble human heart. |
| The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit Wisdom Understanding Counsel Fortitude Knowledge Piety Fear of the Lord |
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