Upon reading this book entitled Still Riding the Wind authorized by Fr. George T. Montague, S.M.,
my interest of knowing more about the Holy Spirit was brought to its surface. I
was injected also with some doctrinal ideas which suit to my needs as a
Christian Person. This book consists of seven chapters which depict personal
experiences of the author and fresh insights regarding the role of the Holy
Spirit. Each chapter of this book would try to awaken the readers on how our
lives as being Christians have a significant
meaning with the way we perceive the work of the Holy Spirit.
Chapter one of this book narrates stories of the
author on how he spiritually encountered the Spirit of God through such a
spiritual healing. He shared also his story about the gift of tongue he first
received in a convent of the Sisters of Divine Providence in Castroville while
joining the prayer meeting held by the sisters. Through witnessing some
powerful inner and outer healings, the author could assure also that he
experienced the same healing in himself.
As I went over the next pages of this book, from
chapter two up to chapter six, Fr. George would try to offer some of his
personal reflections on the life of the Spirit. Chapter one would emphasize
more on the clear explanation of the correlation amongst three dimensions of
human beings, namely body, soul and spirit. The author gives a down-to-earth
explanation of each dimension of human beings which all of them are
inseparable. As I may humbly quote one line which strikes me sounding that to be truly human, then, and truly alive, I
must accept myself as body, soul, and spirit.
Chapter three which is entitled The Language of the Christian would offer three dimensional
languages, namely body language, soul language, and spirit language. We can see
the tight correlation of these three as it is written that to learn to speak the language of the spirit not to despise the
language the languages of the mind or the body but to make them most
meaningful. The word, through the Spirit, becomes the prophecy. And the body, through
the Spirit, becomes the bridge of encounter that is completely human and completely
Christian. Chapter four talks about the
Spirit and the Word wherein the author said that the Spirit would reach its
fullest meaning if it is spoken out in form of words. Chapters five and six
would tell us how we could tackle some unpleasant and chaotic moments in our
daily lives by means of prayer, witness, service, healing in order to acquire a
fruitful growth of the Spirit granted by God. This growth in Spirit must align
us to holiness in wholeness, meaning to say that we are sanctified wholly; our
body, soul and spirit.
Eventually, chapter seven is about Mary and Learning the Ways of the Spirit. From
Mother Mary we can learn two basic aspects of the Christian life: faith in the
Lord’s word and docility to the Holy Spirit. From the author we can know the
reflection on Mary; the experience of
Mary, then, is one of the most precious gifts of the Spirit. She is the charism
of the Spirit in person. From her I learn to believe more purely, to discern
the Spirit more clearly, to listen to the word more intently, and to wait more
creatively the hour of the Lord’s coming.
I
learn from this book that the Holy Spirit is truly a gift from God and I must
have a Marian faith to posses the Spirit of God. Many times I realize, because
of my unworthiness, I need to live my life more faithfully in front of God to
acquire this Spirit. However, it is through the grace of God I can be a humble
witness who learns the ways of the Spirit wholly. And eventually, with all my
lacks, I submit my life to Him, to form me, and to help me function the
so-called three dimensions of my human person; body, soul and spirit, so that I may be able to obtain a holiness
in wholeness. The Spirit of God makes this true.
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