The role of the Holy Spirit

This illumination of the Holy Spirit is part of the re-ordering of the monk's heart and mind, at first simply to combat thoughts which arise from the devil and from the disordered self, but eventually as enlightenment about the mysteries of the faith in the form of contemplation. The Spirit is at work in the heart of the ascetic who interacts with scripture. Meditation on scripture works not simply because the practice involves focusing on one thing. Meditation on scripture works because the Spirit enlightens those who encounter the mysteries hidden within it.—Ascetic Pneumatology from John Cassian to Gregory the Great, page 49

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Amen and amen! Without the Holy Spirit, our meditation on scripture is just a form of head knowledge, enabling us to one-up others or pat ourselves on the back. It is only as we rely on the Holy Spirit to quicken scripture to us that we can truly understand it.
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