The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-05-12
DeOofon 10 the
boIy Ghost

THE HUMAN SOUL CANNOT RE
INDEPENDENT

THE HUMAN SOUL CANNOT BE
INDEPENDENT.
The soul Of man is spirit. vet a
spirit Of peculiar nature. 1t is SO con-
sututed that it must Of necessity be
under the power Of another spirit, su-
perior to itself. 1t can never be its
own master. Even when it attempts
10 throw aside all law and break
through every restraint, it becomes. by
that very fact, the most servile of all
slaves. For whatsoever commits sin
becomes the slave of sin. and. through
SIN, the slave Of the devil. 1t is only
by the voluntary observance of Gods
holy law that it enters into an honor
able and reasonable service, meriting
an eternal reward hereafter. Yes. the
human soul cannot be independent. II
must be controlled, either by a good
spirft-even the Devine Spirit Himself
or by an evil spirit-the very demon
Of hell.
GRACE MAKES THE SOUL THE
ABODE OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT
SIN THE ABODE OF THE EVIL
SPIRIT.
When the soul Of man is in the state
Of grace, God the Holy Ghost. the Di
'll4C o4lllIL, UNVEILS WlIHln the SOUL in q
special manner, ennobling and perfect
ing mans whole being, endowing him
with supernatural light and strength,
and making him yield forth abundant
frult Of virtue and good works; in
snort guiding and assisting him in
every way so that he may finally reach /
MS everlasting home in heaven. Yet
no sooner does man willfUlly yield to /
grlevous sin, than he at once drives (
away from his soul the Divine Spirit, /
and deliberately casts himself reckless
y INTO the power of the evil spirit, /
who comes and takes possession of his |
soul
Oh. what fearful thing is this, The
soul, which, by grace, had been the
blissful abode of the All-Holy Spirit of
God, now, by sin, has become the
dwelling place Of the demons of in
Equity. That soul, once so bright and
beautiful in the sight Of God. now pre-
sents most hideous and loathsome
sight. That soul, once replenished with
the JOY and peace Of heaven. is now a
Veritable he'll; and what will be the
result?
Where the Holy Ghost dwells there
Is Faith, Hope and Charity. But the
soul that has given itself wholly into
the power Of the evil spirit. is slowly,
Yet surely. drifting to Infidelity, will,
in the end, die in Despair. and then
ia - IOLr It's OW SELL anu oil t4ll4l6Ss I
with an everlasting Hate, in the
flames Of hell.
Alas, how many are there not VINO
heap sin upon sin and yet think moth
Ing Of it, In the sight OF man they
appear comely and attractive wearing d
the mask Of virtue and honesty, and {
even passing as honorable men, But I
what are they in the sight of God? I
They are an abominatiOn which words 5
fail to describe. And yet, devout read
or, do you ever seriously reflect upon Y
these things? By which spirit are you, f
at this moment actually possessed? {
TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WE OWE J
EVERYTHING DIRECTLY. I
God the Father made us, and destined
US for His own bright home in heaven;
for we are His children. His External =
Son came on earth, sent by the Father, T
10 merit for us. by His bitter Passion r
and Death, Divine grace. He 1t is t
Who prepared all the means for our \
eternal salvation. But it is the Holy {
Ghost Who is sent to us by the Father
md the Son, to directly infuse into our
s0uls the grace of our Divine Redeem
r. it is the Holy Ghost Who brings g
within our reach all the means of sal n
-atiOn and Who enables US so to en- b
hoy them as to actually save our i'm d
Mortal souls. Now all this the Holy s.
ihOSt does by His personal indwelling o
n our souls. Oh, consider how great G
dignity is this: to have the Divine c.
'pirit abiding as a guest in our soul. s,
n order to enrich your poverty out OF o.
he plenty of His riches, and to fill u
-ou with heavenly peace for time and p
or eternity. T
How can we think of all this, and m
ct remain cold and Indifferent in re- G
ard to this Divine Spirit to Whom we ia
we SO much, yea, everything! How is
an we thing of His special love for US Sc
'ithout feeling our own hearts touched G.
nd set on fire with love Of Him. How to
an we yield to sin when we reflect 10
hat, thereby, we pull God the Holy
host down from His rightful throne
! our hearts and deliberately cast out
be Divine Spirit to make room for the ot
DiTits of darkness and iniquity.
How can we grow sad and become d.
cary in well-doing, when we bear IN 81
lind that the very author of all peace ~
nd comfort, the very source OF All ~
race and virtue, is actually dwelling ~
thin our soul for no other purpose vi
ian to be the Helper in our trlbula- IN
onS, our stay and our support! "
Why, then, is this Divine Spirit OF vi
owe so little known and loved? Does
e not deserve a special tribute OF our se
We and devotion? @
Look around YOU The world is