Core Value #4: Called to be Docile to the Holy Spirit

Image courtesy of jplenio (Pixabay)

Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.
1 Samuel 3:9 NABRE

Through Faith and Sacraments, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the “down payment” of salvation, and we strive to cooperate with His movements within us. We regularly ask God to renew His Spirit within us. We pray, “Come Holy Spirit!” and ask for His charisms to build up the Body of Christ. We ask God for the Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Eight Beatitudes. We pray for the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
SPSE “Called to be docile to the holy spirit” official description

At St. Paul Street Evangelization, we strive to be docile to the Holy Spirit. The root word, “docilis” in Latin, means “easily taught.” Docility to the Holy Spirit is a readiness and responsiveness to promptings from God. It is a willingness to be taught and led by the Holy Spirit. Divine promptings can and should guide the speech and actions of every Christian. Practically speaking, as street evangelists, we need to be responsive to insights that God gives at the moment when we are evangelizing someone. Before I evangelize, I typically start with a prayer that goes “Lord, give us the words to say. Help us to lead souls closer to You.”

In some cases, certain SPSE evangelists receive a spiritual gift of knowledge or of prophecy while they evangelize. An evangelist might pray with someone and suddenly have a word or a scene pop into his or her mind, leading to a prayer intention. For example, I recall an instance when I was with Andrew, another SPSE evangelist, and we were praying with a woman on the street. Andrew heard the word “hip.” He asked the woman if she was having issues with her hip. She replied “yes, I’ve had severe hip pain for a couple of weeks now.” We prayed for this intention and, thank God, her hip pain was greatly diminished.

All in all, we simply strive for greater sharing in the various gifts, fruits, and charisms of the Holy Spirit. We do this through praying for them, and seeking greater intimacy with God, moment to moment. We know that it is necessary for the work of evangelization to which we’re called. And so we hold it in high importance and make “called to be docile to the Holy Spirit” one of our core values.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:1-2 RSVCE

In [Christ] you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14 RSVCE

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23 RSVCE

Since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church.
1 Corinthians 14:12 NRSVCE

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-10 RSVCE

To be born from above is to be born with the strength of the Holy Spirit. We cannot keep the Holy Spirit for ourselves; we can only allow Him to transform us. And our docility opens the door to the Holy Spirit; it is He who changes us, who works this transformation in us, this rebirth from on high. This is the promise that Jesus makes: to send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is capable of wondrous things that we cannot even imagine.
Pope Francis, Homily “The Holy Spirit: Master of Harmony”, 21 April 2020