Stanza 17 and Commentary on It in The Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross
My commentary on section 4
It only seems like yesterday that we celebrated Pentecost, but already how quickly the Holy Spirit seems to be forgotten. The pastor of our church gave a talk this past weekend in which he mentioned that in the Roman Catholic faith often the Holy Spirit isn’t emphasized as much as in the Orthodox tradition. For example, when they cross themselves, they use three fingers to cross themselves and in the name of the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son. It made me once again turn to the third person of the Trinity, as does this section from St. John of the Cross.
I grew up in an Assemblies of God church where, to my way of thinking, there was an overemphasis on the Holy Spirit but now I wonder if in my attempts to squelch those thoughts of overemphasis, I have squelched the Holy Spirit Himself. Whenever a mention of the Holy Spirit arises, do I turn off the ears of my heart even though that Spirit is the one falling on the gifts of bread and wine to make them the Body and Blood of Christ? How can I reject that Spirit?
Lord, if I have spurned Your Spirit, forgive me. Let Your Spirit animate me, breathe through my garden, as St. John of the Cross writes. Amen.
