Pope Francis and Prayer to the Holy Spirit

This reflection is drawn from an address Pope Francis gave in a General Audience on May 15, 2013; the theme was "Be guided by the Holy Spirit."

Then,  as Jesus promised,  the Holy Spirit guides us "into all the truth"  (John 16:13);  not only does he guide us to the encounter with Jesus,  the fullness of the Truth, but he also guides us "into" the Truth -- that is, he makes us enter into an ever deeper communion with Jesus, giving us knowledge of all the things of God.   And we cannot achieve this by our own efforts.    Unless God enlightens us from within,  our Christian existence will be superficial.  The Church's tradition asserts that the Spirit of truth acts in our heart, inspiring that "sense of the faith"  (sensus fidei) through which, as the Second Vatican Council states, the People of God, under the guidance of the magisterium, adheres unfailingly to the faith transmitted, penetrates it more deeply with the right judgment, and applies it more fully in life (see Lumen Gentium,  # 12).

Let us try asking ourselves:   Am I open to the action of the Holy Spirit?   Do I pray to him to give me illumination,  to make me more sensitive to God's things?   This is a prayer we must pray every day:  "Holy Spirit, make my heart open to the word of God,  make my heart open to goodness, make my heart open to the beauty of God every day."   I would like to ask everyone a question:  how many of you pray every day to the Holy Spirit?  There will not be many, but we must fulfill Jesus' wish and pray every day to the Holy Spirit that he open our heart to Jesus.