THE
WONDERFUL GRACES
WE RECEIVE FROM THE
HOLY GHOST
What
we wish above all to make clear is that the Holy Ghost does not only give His
wonderful help to Apostles, to martyrs, to missionaries, but to all Christians
without exception, if only they ask Him as they should. This many fail to do with
the saddest consequences.
The
happiness of our lives depends on choosing the proper state in life. If we
follow the vocation God wishes us to follow, we have a guarantee of success.
God gives us graces for every step of the road He has marked out for us. These
graces we do not receive if we choose a manner of life different from what God
has chosen for us. How are we to know what He wills us to do? Simply by praying
earnestly to the Holy Ghost for light and guidance.
This
applies very especially to girls and boys when beginning life. If a boy, called
on by God to become a priest, or a girl to become a nun, choose instead a
secular life, they cannot expect God's help on the wrong way they are
following. One reason why so many marriages are unhappy is that boys and girls, never intended
by God to marry, blindly follow their own caprice and choose the married state.
Boys
and girls should
earnestly ask God to manifest to them His Holy Will in this most important step
of their lives. They should know if they ought to marry or not. They must ask
God also, in case He wishes them to marry, to help them choose the proper
partner, for this also is a frequent cause of unhappy marriages, viz., marrying
the wrong person.
Parents have the greatest responsibility in the
education of their children. They are to blame countless times for the faults
and unhappiness of their boys and girls, and many times for the loss of their
children's souls.
Once
more, the reason is that parents do not think of asking the Holy Ghost to
enlighten them in this grave responsibility.
Businessmen frequently embark on serious enterprises
never dreaming of or seeking the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Hence, so many
failures.
The
following incident, one of the many we might quote, shows how true this is.
Two
merchants in the city of Lyons, engaged in the same line of business, had their
establishments on the same street.
Both
worked hard, both were shrewd businessmen, but whereas one prospered, the other
lost heavily.
This
latter, confiding in his more prosperous rival, explained his difficulties and
asked his advice.
"My
dear friend," was the reply, "you are fully as clever and keen as I
am, and it seems to me that you work even harder. I attribute all my success to
the fact that I hear Mass daily and ask for the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Do
the same and you will succeed."
Surprised
and disappointed at this answer, the less fortunate merchant returned to his
home and related the fact to his wife. She gave him the sage advice to follow
his friend's counsel. This he did, with the happiest results.
Professional
men in every branch of
life succeed marvellously in their various callings if they pray earnestly to
the Holy Ghost.
Eminent
doctors hear Mass and receive Holy Communion before performing important operations.
This they do to ask God's help.
The
ablest statesmen
attribute their success to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, whose help they
invoke.
St.
Louis, King of France, who labored perhaps more strenuously than any man in his
kingdom and who was one of the best and most glorious sovereigns who ever ruled
over France, found time to hear two or three Masses every day.
Some
of the courtiers suggested that he was overtaxing himself with so many Masses.
The King replied: "You forget, my good friends, that by hearing Mass I
confer the most important benefits on my
Kingdom, many more than I could possibly do in any other way."
Salazar, the Prime Minister of Portugal, who
has done prodigies in the uplifting of his country, is a devout Catholic and
places his trust in God's help.
General
Franco, who has not
only saved Spain from the gravest crisis in her history but who has helped to
save Europe from ruin, is known to spend long hours of the night praying before
the Blessed Sacrament when faced with grave difficulties.
Mr.
de Valera, the Irish
Premier, hears Mass and receives Holy Communion daily. He too is a
distinguished statesman and has succeeded in doing great things for his
country.
The
bravest and most successful generals have
had recourse to God for help and light to gain their victories.
At
Valverde, the celebrated Portuguese general one of the greatest of his day-Nuno
Alvares Pereira, was trapped and surrounded by immensely superior forces of
the enemy, who while holding him on lower ground, occupied the vantage points
on surrounding hills. All seemed irremediably lost. Advance meant death,
retreat was impossible, surrender, he would not think of.
In
the midst of the battle, when the contest was fiercest, the Portuguese
commander fell on his knees. In answer to the cries of his captains who
conjured him to get up and save them, he calmly replied:
"My
friends, let me finish my prayers." Then, rising as a man inspired, imbued
with a new vigor and courage, he leaped on his horse, shouted his battle cry,
and pointing to the very center of the enemy lines, he led the attack. Small in
stature but herculean in strength, he hewed down with his own hands the leaders
of the enemy. The conflict was rude, but the battle was won.
This
great general heard three Masses every day and obliged his men to hear one, and
this, even during his constant campaigns, for he had ever care to have priests
with. his army.
The
famous general and hero, Simon de Montfort, with only eight hundred
horse soldiers and very few foot soldiers, was unexpectedly surrounded in the
town of Muret by an enemy army of 40,000 men, led by the King of Aragon and
Raymond, the Count of Toulouse. He sought help from God and was hearing Mass
when his officers came to announce that the besieging army was marching to
attack the town.
"Let
me finish the Mass first," he replied, "and then I will be with
you."
Full
of trust, he ordered the gates to be flung open, and he charged right at the
heart of the approaching army, threw it into utter disorder, struck down the
King of Aragon himself, and won a glorious victory.
Emperor
Lothaire heard three
Masses every day, even when he was on the battlefield with his troops.
A
notable case in modern times was that of the French Marshal Foch, who
heard Mass every morning, even when the fighting was fiercest.
On
one occasion, when the Prime Minister went to consult him on a matter of grave
military importance, he was informed that the Marshal was hearing Mass. The
aide-de-camp suggested calling him. "No, no," replied the Prime
Minister, "we must not disturb him in his devotions. I will wait."
As
we have already said, it is by prayer, by receiving the Sacraments and by
hearing Holy Mass that we receive the graces and blessings of the Holy Ghost,
His light, His guidance and His help.
கருத்துகள் இல்லை:
கருத்துரையிடுக