Explore Gifts Of Holy Spirit, Understand How Spirit Moves In Our Lives

“One theologian has called the Holy Spirit the ‘neglected middle child’ of the Blessed Trinity. Unfortunately, that description has merit,” write Albert Haase, O.F.M., and Bridget Haase, O.S.U., in Enkindled: Holy Spirit, Holy Gifts  (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2001, ISBN 0-86716-409-3, paper, 80 pages, $5.95). Enkindled discusses this “neglected middle child” and demonstrates how important the Holy Spirit is in people’s lives.

The authors explore the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord) in the first seven chapters, and in five additional chapters the Haases outline ways to understand the Holy Spirit, how the Spirit helps people and how prayer stokes the fire of the Spirit in people’s lives.

Through anecdote and example, Enkindled shows how the Spirit moves and works in the lives of ordinary people. It will inspire anyone trying to get closer to God through the Spirit. This treatment of the Holy Spirit is written for people who reflect and pray on the go, for those who belong to parish discussion groups and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, for those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation and for those who celebrate the Gift‑giving Spirit. The prayers and reflection questions at the end of each chapter are written for use by small groups or individuals.

The Haases summarize the mission of Enkindled this way: “It is our hope that through reading, personal reflection and prayer, all of us might daily feel the warmth of the fire that God…lit inside each of us the day we rose from the waters of Baptism. That fire penetrates all creation and unites us to each other—and to God.”

Albert Haase, O.F.M., author of the award-winning Swimming in the Sun: Discovering the Lord’s Prayer With Francis of Assisi and Thomas Merton (St. Anthony Messenger Press), holds a Ph.D. in historical theology from Fordham University. Since 1992, he has been living and working among the Chinese people in Asia.

Bridget Haase, O.S.U., has been a missionary in Appalachia, Africa and Mexico. She holds an M.A. in religious studies from the University of the Incarnate Word. She presently serves as pastoral minister to multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) patients and teaches in a Learning Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Enkindled: Holy Spirit, Holy Gifts and other resources about the Catholic faith can be ordered from St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1615 Republic St., Cincinnati, OH 45210. To place an order, phone toll-free 1-800-488-0488; to request a review copy, call John Koize, ext. 130. Visit the St. Anthony Messenger Press Web site: www.AmericanCatholic.org.

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Permission is granted to reprint this release.