Whispers of the Divine Wind

Sound Bites from Those the Holy Spirit Used Over the Centuries (Session 4)

The Waldenses (late 1100s):

We hold it as an article of faith, and profess sincerely from the heart that sick persons, when they ask it, may lawfully be anointed with the anointing oil by one who joins them in praying that it may be efficacious to the healing of the body according to the design and end and effect mentioned by the apostles; and we profess that such an anointing performed according to the apostolic design and practice will be healing and profitable.

Bridget of Sweden (1300s):

To have the knowledge of angels without charity is to be only a tinkling cymbal; both to have charity and to speak the language of angels was the happy privilege of St. Bridget. Alban Butlers Lives of the Saints (1756)

Vincent Ferrer (1400s), Dominican monk, greatest of the Spanish itinerant

preachers: Able to speak only Spanish, his sermons, though they were not interpreted, are reported to have been understood in France and Italy. The gift of tongues was ascribed to him by his contemporaries as well as the gift of miracles. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church

Ignatius of Loyola (1491 1556), founder of the Jesuits:

The Spirit of God breathes where he will; he does not ask our permission; he meets us on his own terms and distributes his charisms [grace-gifts] as He pleases. Therefore, we must always be awake and ready; we must be pliable so that he can use us in new enterprises. We cannot lay down the law to the Spirit of God! He is only present with his gifts where he knows that they are joined with the multiplicity of charisms in the one Church. All the gifts of this church stem from one sourceGod. What Paul says in the twelfth chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians is still true today! This should give us the strength to overcome every form of clerical jealousy, mutual suspicion, power-grabbing, and the refusal to let others who have their own gifts of the Spiritgo on their own way. That is what the Spirit wants from us! He is not so narrow-minded as we sometimes are with our recipes! He can lead to himself in different ways, and He wants to direct the church through a multiplicity of functions, offices, and gifts. The church is not supposed to be a military academy in which everything is uniform, but she is supposed to be the body of Christ in which he, the one Spirit, exerts his power in all the members. Each one of these members proves that he really is a member of this body by letting the other members be. 1
1

Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, translated by Karl Rahner (London: Herder & Herder, 1962) pp. 254-

255

Student Handout, Session 4 page 1 of 2

Whispers of the Divine Wind

Sound Bites from Those the Holy Spirit Used Over the Centuries (Session 4)

Teresa of Avila (1515 1582), Spanish nun, reformer, mystic, writer:

What I say about not ascending to God unless he raises one up is language of the Spirit. He who has had some experience will understand me, for I dont know how to describe this being raised up if it isnt understood through experience. Nor does the soul then know what to do because it doesnt know whether to speak or to be silent, whether to laugh or to weep. This prayer is a glorious foolishness, a heavenly madness where the true wisdom is learned; and it is for the soul a most delightful way of enjoying. In fact five or even six years ago the Lord often gave me this prayer of abundance, and I didnt understand it; nor did I know how to speak of it.

Student Handout, Session 4 page 2 of 2