Thought for Today

Posted on 04. Jun, 2010 by ossory team in Thought for the Day

Getting the Spirit

The word “sinner” really signifies not moral inferiors as much as people who do not know who they are and whose they are, people who have no connection to their inherent dignity and importance. They have to struggle for it by all kinds of futile performances. What a waste. Thus, do not hate “sinners” or look down on them. We just feel sorry for what they are missing out on!

There is nothing you can do to lose the Holy Spirit; the most you can do, as Ephesians cleverly says, is to “grieve” the existing Presence that is “sealed” within you (4:30). You can, therefore, be totally ignorant of your “birthright” and your adoption as sons and daughters of God. You can neglect the gift, and thus not enjoy its wonderful fruits.

But there is nothing you can do to “get” the Holy Spirit either. Why? Because it comes with the product! All you can do is fan the gift into flame that inherently lies within you, and within everything that God has created.


Adapted from Richard Rohr
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See