Charismatic / Holy Spirit
Drawing on more than thirty years of ministry experience, Father Dave Pivonka, T.O.R., walks readers through a new way of relating to the Holy Spirit by sharing personal encounters, including an experience that changed his life. What he learned along the way will lead readers to have their own unique encounter and discover the joy of living a life moved by the Spirit.
Catholics know God as their father and Jesus as their friend, yet most bypass the third person of the Holy Trinity in their spiritual lives. In this essential guide for those who want to recognize and receive the Holy Spirit, Franciscan priest Dave Pivonka takes readers on his journey as a twenty-something Catholic encountering the Holy Spirit and Charismatic movement for the first time.
Breath of God: Living a Life Led by the Holy Spirit dives into the scriptures that convinced Pivonka to pursue a life in the Spirit and shows readers how God’s Spirit is present and active in everyday life. Pivonka’s experience and compelling stories of faith from the lives of those to whom he ministers demonstrate how receiving the Holy Spirit allows the love between the Father and the Son, which animated Jesus’ life on earth, to pour into the hearts of God’s people.
Through the lives of the apostles and saints, Father Andrew shows the presence of the Comforter in every step of our spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit is always there, bestowing or withholding consolations to as to cultivate our faith and love for God. By his wisdom, he leads us through the three stages of spiritual development, from the beginning to the perfection of our holiness: the purgative stage, the illuminative stage, and the unitive stage. The reflection questions that follow each chapter encourage us to examine the state of our spiritual lives and challenge us to increase our efforts in pursuit of the source of true Christian joy, the Cross.
Guided by Father Andrew's kindly and experienced teaching, discover how the Holy Spirit's consolation draws us more deeply into a relationship with God and leads us through the three stages of spiritual development. Discern the difference between spiritual and earthly joy. Be inspired by the lives of the apostles as Father Andrew leads the reader, step by step, through the "dark night" along their path to sanctity. Learn how the Holy Spirit can make pain easy to bear and suffering a joy to endure.
Only by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will we uncover the paradox of the Cross, where suffering produces joy and death gives way to life. Yet, with his help, we can embrace any suffering and surmount any obstacle that comes between us and Christ. Father Andrew's insightful commentary on the Holy Spirit's role in our spiritual lives compels us to a deeper appreciation and love for him.
In the Bible, the Holy Spirit staggers us with its unexpectedness. The Holy Spirit is not just about speaking in tongues, spiritual gifts or "fruits"--but also about our deepest breath and our highest human aspirations. Popular teacher Jack Levison brings a scholar's knowledge of this complicated biblical topic to a wide audience that crosses all denominational boundaries. His new book aims to do nothing less than clarify 2,000 years of confusion on the topic of who the Holy Spirit is, and why it matters. Provocative and life-changing, Fresh Air combines moving personal anecdotes, rich biblical studies, and practical strategies for experiencing the daily presence of the Holy Spirit. In brief chapters, the book finds the presence of the Holy Spirit where we least expect it--in human breathing, in social transformation, in community, in hostile situations, and in serious learning. Fresh Air will unsettle and invigorate readers poised for a fresh experience of an ancient, confusing topic.
Who is the Holy Spirit? What role does the Spirit play in the life of the Church and of the individual Christian? Beginning with the belief in the Holy Spirit as a Person of God, and not just a "force," this book reveals the Catholic understanding of the presence and influence of the Spirit God in every aspect of the Christian life. The book focuses on the unique aspects and development of Catholic devotion to the Holy Spirit from antiquity to the present, culminating in a look at Catholic theology of the Holy Spirit today and the new and exciting ways the Spirit is working among Catholics and all Christians in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Acclaimed spiritual writer Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen presents insightful reflections on the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity, emphasizing the importance of the Spirit in the life of a Christian. He illustrates that the Holy Spirit desires to live in us so that we can love God and others with God's own love. As the Holy Spirit descended upon the early Church at Pentecost to set the world ablaze with the fire of divine love, so He wants to do with us.
God, who is One, also desires the Church to be one, Fr. Stinissen writes. The Lord wants to unify all Christians in one holy Church, and all people in one body. The Holy Spirit is the great unifier, he says, for it is he who makes the Father and the Son one God. If Christians let him live within them, they will grow in unity.
How do you let the Spirit work in you to bear good fruit when you're dealing with the never-ending drama of social media, a frustrating coworker, or the aggravating next-door neighbor? How do you stop letting stress and anger take control of your life?
Using the nine fruits of the Spirit as a guide, bestselling author Gary Zimak will help you free yourself from anger and stress to find peace and to live the life God has planned for you.
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" Galatians 5:22-23.
In Let Go of Anger and Stress!, Catholic author and self-proclaimed expert worrier Gary Zimak reminds us that the Holy Spirit is gifted to us by God in Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation. Because of that precious gift, we have everything we need to produce Christ-like fruit in our lives. And it's by those fruits that we will be judged at the end of our lives. "No good fruit = no heaven," Zimak writes.
Zimak shares his own story of overcoming destructive habits that caused anger, drama, and stress by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in his life. Throughout this practical and engaging book, you will discover
Many of us fail to recognize that obtaining the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to getting to heaven. We often block their reception through our own faults. We fail to see how they are passed on or strengthened in the sacraments. And, sadly, we forget to petition God in prayer to bestow these gifts upon us.
In these pages, Dr. Kevin Vost best-selling author of The One-Minute Aquinas provides us with a substantive yet readable introduction to the seven gifts and how we can humbly submit our wills to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit.
As Dr. Vost explains, these God-given gifts help us to conform our lives to His image, intellect and will. They prevent us from being drawn into frustration and possibly self-destruction by following our own sensual appetites. Indeed, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the only path to being fully happy on earth and in the life to come.
Whether you are just about to make your Confirmation or you made it over 50 years ago, there is more to know and cherish about the awesome gifts of the Holy Spirit. Reading and reflecting on Bishop Serratelli's words will enable you to be more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Through history, art, Scripture, and Catholic documents, you will appreciate and grasp more fully how the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit can help you to live a truly authentic Christian life filled with peace and joy.
By Edward Leen
First published at the outbreak of World War II, The Holy Ghost (renamed The Holy Spirit for this printing) answers the need of many people for a deeper and more accurate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's role in creation as the fountain of life and the first of God's gifts is studied along with the Spirit's mission, divine filiation, and the principles of supernatural growth.
Your Life in the Holy Spirit offers a popular and comprehensive explanation of the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. In this book, a new edition of Hearts Aflame, best-selling author Alan Schreck presents the Spirit as the "friend closest to our heart," who leads us in prayer, directs our mind with truth, and makes us holy. Schreck shows how the Spirit equips us to draw others to Christ, build up the church, and generate unity among its members. Readers will learn how to renew their life in the Holy Spirit, understand and receive spiritual gifts, and grow in love, joy, peace, and other fruits that are the sign that the Spirit dwells in us.