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Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit: Keys to a Transformed Life and Joyful Heart
What a marvelous difference drawing close to the Holy Spirit makes in our lives!
Regardless of our past, or the trials afflicting us now or those we may face in the future, when we draw near to the Holy Spirit, our lives change for the better. Closeness with the Holy Spirit is the “secret” of holiness and happiness.
In this short yet penetrating work, Sr. Mary Ann Fatula reflects on how tenderly and powerfully the Holy Spirit offers us the precious gift of intimacy with Himself. Through the graces of our Baptism and Confirmation, the Holy Spirit— the Third Divine Person who is the Father’s and Son's sublime Love for Each other — gives Himself to us to be our “Beloved,” our mighty Healer, our intimate Friend and Consoler, our constant Companion and Strength, our gentle Teacher and Guide.
Every page of this exquisite book will speak to your heart. Using the Church’s hymns and prayers, you will learn to pray to the Holy Spirit with love and tenderness, entrusting Him with your every concern, and inviting Him to possess you and anoint your every breath and moment of your life.
The saints show us how the Holy Spirit truly is our fierce “Protector” who loves us and “fights” powerfully for us. When we are weighed down with problems and worries, when we long for more joy and serenity, the Holy Spirit invites us to draw close to Him and let Him do for us what we cannot do ourselves.
It is the Holy Spirit who lifts us up when we are discouraged and fills us with His comfort and peace when we are sad and lonely. The Holy Spirit is the One who deepens our intimacy with the Father and the Son, and who gives us a heart full of empathy for others.
Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit invites you to taste the sweetness of the Holy Spirit and savor in your own life the wonders He accomplishes in those who draw close to Him.
Regardless of our past, or the trials afflicting us now or those we may face in the future, when we draw near to the Holy Spirit, our lives change for the better. Closeness with the Holy Spirit is the “secret” of holiness and happiness.
In this short yet penetrating work, Sr. Mary Ann Fatula reflects on how tenderly and powerfully the Holy Spirit offers us the precious gift of intimacy with Himself. Through the graces of our Baptism and Confirmation, the Holy Spirit— the Third Divine Person who is the Father’s and Son's sublime Love for Each other — gives Himself to us to be our “Beloved,” our mighty Healer, our intimate Friend and Consoler, our constant Companion and Strength, our gentle Teacher and Guide.
Every page of this exquisite book will speak to your heart. Using the Church’s hymns and prayers, you will learn to pray to the Holy Spirit with love and tenderness, entrusting Him with your every concern, and inviting Him to possess you and anoint your every breath and moment of your life.
The saints show us how the Holy Spirit truly is our fierce “Protector” who loves us and “fights” powerfully for us. When we are weighed down with problems and worries, when we long for more joy and serenity, the Holy Spirit invites us to draw close to Him and let Him do for us what we cannot do ourselves.
It is the Holy Spirit who lifts us up when we are discouraged and fills us with His comfort and peace when we are sad and lonely. The Holy Spirit is the One who deepens our intimacy with the Father and the Son, and who gives us a heart full of empathy for others.
Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit invites you to taste the sweetness of the Holy Spirit and savor in your own life the wonders He accomplishes in those who draw close to Him.
117 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2021
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27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 15, 2025
I read this as part of Father Mark Goring’s Saint Mark’s School of Reading. It is an excellent read. It was read transitioning into Lent, with part of the volume before Ash Wednesday and about half the lessons after. It was hard to stay at just a chapter a week with the School of Reading, but it was worth it to slow down with this volume. The beginning of the description of this book states:
“What a marvelous difference drawing close to the Holy Spirit makes in our lives!
Regardless of our past, or the trials afflicting us now or those we may face in the future, when we draw near to the Holy Spirit, our lives change for the better. Closeness with the Holy Spirit is the "secret" of holiness and happiness.
In this short yet penetrating work, Sr. Mary Ann Fatula reflects on how tenderly and powerfully the Holy Spirit offers us the precious gift of intimacy with Himself. Through the graces of our Baptism and Confirmation, the Holy Spirit-- the Third Divine Person who is the Father's and Son's sublime Love for Each other -- gives Himself to us to be our "Beloved," our mighty Healer, our intimate Friend and Consoler, our constant Companion and Strength, our gentle Teacher and Guide.”
The chapters in the work are:
Introduction
1. The Gift of Intimacy with the Holy Spirit
2. Loving the Person of Love
3. Prayer Inspired by the Holy Spirit
4. Our Healer and Comforter
5. Intimacy with the Holy Spirit and Our Baptism and Confirmation
Select Bibliography
Index of Scriptural Citations
Index of Names and Subjects
About the Author
About the author we are informed:
“Sr. Mary Ann Fatula, O.P., Ph.D., served as a professor of theology at Ohio Dominican University and for more than thirty years taught theology there. Sr. Mary Ann is the author of Catherine of Siena’s Way, The Holy Spirit: Unbounded Gift of Joy, and Thomas Aquinas, Preacher and Friend. Her most recent book is Heaven’s Splendor, published by Sophia Institute Press.”
I highlighted a few passages while reading this work, some of them are:
“Intimacy with the Holy Spirit is the “secret” of holiness, and of true happiness.”
“Intimacy with the Holy Spirit is at the very core of our Christian life (Gal. 5: 25) and is the blossoming within us of the most profound graces of our Baptism and Confirmation.”
“And, just as intimacy with the Holy Spirit inflamed the apostles’ zeal in proclaiming the risen Lord, it fills us also with a peace and joy that cannot help attracting others to the Lord.”
“The insights in this small book are drawn from saints whose secret of holiness and happiness was their own intimacy with the Holy Spirit. May these saints, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, help us to realize that the same “mighty Champion” who was victorious in them also wants to fill us with His transforming love and joy (Rom. 5: 5; Gal. 5: 22–23).”
“By our own experience, we learn that intimacy with the Holy Spirit is the secret of a transformed life and a joyful heart.”
“When we ask the Holy Spirit to possess us, we, too, will experience the immense difference that closeness with the Holy Spirit makes in our lives. Not only in the good times, but also when everything seems to be going wrong, let us give ourselves and all of our problems, all that causes us worry, stress, and anxiety, completely to the Holy Spirit. If we rely not on ourselves but on the Holy Spirit’s strength and grace, we, like the saints, will find that wonderful changes that we are powerless to achieve by our own efforts alone, the Holy Spirit will accomplish in us and for us.”
“Closeness to the Holy Spirit is not a reward offered to holy people but rather a healing remedy and precious gift meant for every one of us.”
“Many of us already have experienced wonderful blessings of the Holy Spirit’s intimate love for us, even if we have not always realized that the Holy Spirit is the One who has so tenderly imparted them to us.”
“We begin to “see” more deeply the wonders of our Baptism and Confirmation, the mercy given to us in the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick and the beautiful sacraments of Marriage and Ordination. Our desire grows to do something good with our lives, to have more love in our hearts for those close to us and for those who are in need.”
“How consoling it is to realize that the love that is charity does not depend on our feelings but on the Holy Spirit, who permeates our will with His love. Because our love comes from the Holy Spirit of love within us, the closer we draw to the Holy Spirit, the easier and more delightful it is for us to give this love to one another.”
“The more intimate our friendship with the Holy Spirit becomes, the more the Holy Spirit’s love gives us the contentment and grace to be freed from destructive relationships. Increasingly, we are healed of the need to use or to depend on other human persons for our happiness.”
“The ancient hymn “Come Creator Spirit” 61 suggests to us some of these “sweetest of names,” which we can use in prayer that calms our hearts and brings peace to our souls: “Most dear Holy Spirit, my Comforter, heal my heart.” “Sweet Love, possess my soul.” “Most sweet Holy Spirit, protect me from all evil.” “Dear Holy Spirit, fill me with Your love.” “Most sweet Holy Spirit, draw me close to the Father and the Lord Jesus.””
“It is no wonder that, as we draw near to the Holy Spirit in prayer, our love for our Father and trust in His provident care for us also deepen.”
“These varying kinds of prayer, inspired by the Holy Spirit within us, help us to form a habit of prayer throughout the day. Whatever we are doing, we can be humming, singing, or praying in our hearts. The Holy Spirit may inspire us to pray to our Father, to rest in His love, to thank and praise Him for His tender care and providence.”
“It is the Holy Spirit who increases our desire to attend Mass more frequently, to receive the precious gift of the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, and even to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, nourishing our souls with Sacred Scripture and with writings of the saints.”
“Let us simply ask the Holy Spirit to heal us and our loved ones, to free our minds and hearts, to heal our bodies and souls, our thoughts and memories, our emotions and desires.”
“The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is another powerful means of healing for us, not only for our sins but also for the pain and wounds that often cause our sins.”
“Wondrous sacrament of mercy! Through the sacred words of the confessor, Jesus Himself forgives us, and we are made free by the power of the Holy Spirit!”
“Enfolding us in His love, the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, is at work in every event of our lives, gently drawing us home to Heaven’s joy.”
“Regardless of how young we were when we were baptized, or how old we are when we begin to treasure and cooperate with our baptismal graces, it is never too late to ask the Holy Spirit to bring them to marvelous fruition in us.”
“After Pentecost, the apostles lived always in the intimate presence of the Holy Spirit, their constant Companion and beloved Friend.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. Many, many years ago when I was a first year student in University there was a very popular book by Pentecostal minister Benny Hinn, called Good Morning, Holy Spirit, and though I neither endorse the book or author now, I remember the transformative power it had at the time on those who read it. This volume will have that same power, but is built upon the history of the church and the saints down through the ages. It is a book that can have lasting impact to change lives and through those changed lives to influence and help inspire change in others.
This book will inspire us to grow in our relationship with the third member of the trinity, and through that growth, have even better relations with the Father and the son. It is a book that will challenge, but in a good way and inspire change. It will help us grow in understanding and in living our faith.
This was an excellent read as part of Father Mark Goring’s Saint Mark’s School of Reading. And again this time there was a guest talk by Sr. Elizabeth Marie. It is an excellent volume. I encourage you to pick it up and read, and maybe join the school of reading and watch the videos that correspond to each chapter. This is a volume that has the power to change lives!
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
“What a marvelous difference drawing close to the Holy Spirit makes in our lives!
Regardless of our past, or the trials afflicting us now or those we may face in the future, when we draw near to the Holy Spirit, our lives change for the better. Closeness with the Holy Spirit is the "secret" of holiness and happiness.
In this short yet penetrating work, Sr. Mary Ann Fatula reflects on how tenderly and powerfully the Holy Spirit offers us the precious gift of intimacy with Himself. Through the graces of our Baptism and Confirmation, the Holy Spirit-- the Third Divine Person who is the Father's and Son's sublime Love for Each other -- gives Himself to us to be our "Beloved," our mighty Healer, our intimate Friend and Consoler, our constant Companion and Strength, our gentle Teacher and Guide.”
The chapters in the work are:
Introduction
1. The Gift of Intimacy with the Holy Spirit
2. Loving the Person of Love
3. Prayer Inspired by the Holy Spirit
4. Our Healer and Comforter
5. Intimacy with the Holy Spirit and Our Baptism and Confirmation
Select Bibliography
Index of Scriptural Citations
Index of Names and Subjects
About the Author
About the author we are informed:
“Sr. Mary Ann Fatula, O.P., Ph.D., served as a professor of theology at Ohio Dominican University and for more than thirty years taught theology there. Sr. Mary Ann is the author of Catherine of Siena’s Way, The Holy Spirit: Unbounded Gift of Joy, and Thomas Aquinas, Preacher and Friend. Her most recent book is Heaven’s Splendor, published by Sophia Institute Press.”
I highlighted a few passages while reading this work, some of them are:
“Intimacy with the Holy Spirit is the “secret” of holiness, and of true happiness.”
“Intimacy with the Holy Spirit is at the very core of our Christian life (Gal. 5: 25) and is the blossoming within us of the most profound graces of our Baptism and Confirmation.”
“And, just as intimacy with the Holy Spirit inflamed the apostles’ zeal in proclaiming the risen Lord, it fills us also with a peace and joy that cannot help attracting others to the Lord.”
“The insights in this small book are drawn from saints whose secret of holiness and happiness was their own intimacy with the Holy Spirit. May these saints, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, help us to realize that the same “mighty Champion” who was victorious in them also wants to fill us with His transforming love and joy (Rom. 5: 5; Gal. 5: 22–23).”
“By our own experience, we learn that intimacy with the Holy Spirit is the secret of a transformed life and a joyful heart.”
“When we ask the Holy Spirit to possess us, we, too, will experience the immense difference that closeness with the Holy Spirit makes in our lives. Not only in the good times, but also when everything seems to be going wrong, let us give ourselves and all of our problems, all that causes us worry, stress, and anxiety, completely to the Holy Spirit. If we rely not on ourselves but on the Holy Spirit’s strength and grace, we, like the saints, will find that wonderful changes that we are powerless to achieve by our own efforts alone, the Holy Spirit will accomplish in us and for us.”
“Closeness to the Holy Spirit is not a reward offered to holy people but rather a healing remedy and precious gift meant for every one of us.”
“Many of us already have experienced wonderful blessings of the Holy Spirit’s intimate love for us, even if we have not always realized that the Holy Spirit is the One who has so tenderly imparted them to us.”
“We begin to “see” more deeply the wonders of our Baptism and Confirmation, the mercy given to us in the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick and the beautiful sacraments of Marriage and Ordination. Our desire grows to do something good with our lives, to have more love in our hearts for those close to us and for those who are in need.”
“How consoling it is to realize that the love that is charity does not depend on our feelings but on the Holy Spirit, who permeates our will with His love. Because our love comes from the Holy Spirit of love within us, the closer we draw to the Holy Spirit, the easier and more delightful it is for us to give this love to one another.”
“The more intimate our friendship with the Holy Spirit becomes, the more the Holy Spirit’s love gives us the contentment and grace to be freed from destructive relationships. Increasingly, we are healed of the need to use or to depend on other human persons for our happiness.”
“The ancient hymn “Come Creator Spirit” 61 suggests to us some of these “sweetest of names,” which we can use in prayer that calms our hearts and brings peace to our souls: “Most dear Holy Spirit, my Comforter, heal my heart.” “Sweet Love, possess my soul.” “Most sweet Holy Spirit, protect me from all evil.” “Dear Holy Spirit, fill me with Your love.” “Most sweet Holy Spirit, draw me close to the Father and the Lord Jesus.””
“It is no wonder that, as we draw near to the Holy Spirit in prayer, our love for our Father and trust in His provident care for us also deepen.”
“These varying kinds of prayer, inspired by the Holy Spirit within us, help us to form a habit of prayer throughout the day. Whatever we are doing, we can be humming, singing, or praying in our hearts. The Holy Spirit may inspire us to pray to our Father, to rest in His love, to thank and praise Him for His tender care and providence.”
“It is the Holy Spirit who increases our desire to attend Mass more frequently, to receive the precious gift of the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, and even to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, nourishing our souls with Sacred Scripture and with writings of the saints.”
“Let us simply ask the Holy Spirit to heal us and our loved ones, to free our minds and hearts, to heal our bodies and souls, our thoughts and memories, our emotions and desires.”
“The sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is another powerful means of healing for us, not only for our sins but also for the pain and wounds that often cause our sins.”
“Wondrous sacrament of mercy! Through the sacred words of the confessor, Jesus Himself forgives us, and we are made free by the power of the Holy Spirit!”
“Enfolding us in His love, the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, is at work in every event of our lives, gently drawing us home to Heaven’s joy.”
“Regardless of how young we were when we were baptized, or how old we are when we begin to treasure and cooperate with our baptismal graces, it is never too late to ask the Holy Spirit to bring them to marvelous fruition in us.”
“After Pentecost, the apostles lived always in the intimate presence of the Holy Spirit, their constant Companion and beloved Friend.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. Many, many years ago when I was a first year student in University there was a very popular book by Pentecostal minister Benny Hinn, called Good Morning, Holy Spirit, and though I neither endorse the book or author now, I remember the transformative power it had at the time on those who read it. This volume will have that same power, but is built upon the history of the church and the saints down through the ages. It is a book that can have lasting impact to change lives and through those changed lives to influence and help inspire change in others.
This book will inspire us to grow in our relationship with the third member of the trinity, and through that growth, have even better relations with the Father and the son. It is a book that will challenge, but in a good way and inspire change. It will help us grow in understanding and in living our faith.
This was an excellent read as part of Father Mark Goring’s Saint Mark’s School of Reading. And again this time there was a guest talk by Sr. Elizabeth Marie. It is an excellent volume. I encourage you to pick it up and read, and maybe join the school of reading and watch the videos that correspond to each chapter. This is a volume that has the power to change lives!
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
April 2, 2025
I really enjoyed this book . I thought it would be dry and a drudge but far from it. The Holy Spirit , for me , is One I often forget about and the LOVE of the HS. The HS is the Breath of Life. When we are creative we tend to say we are full of the HS or ask God to fill us with the delight and inspiration of the HS.
Sister Mary Ann Fatula, OP draws her information from the saints and the gospels -with many reference notes.
The Holy Spirit inspires us to do many things I never thought of. I underlined and wrote in the margins (not something I usually do). Read with an open Heart and fill you with light and the overflow from Heaven.
I read this for the Lenten read with the School of Reading with Fr Goring
Sister Mary Ann Fatula, OP draws her information from the saints and the gospels -with many reference notes.
The Holy Spirit inspires us to do many things I never thought of. I underlined and wrote in the margins (not something I usually do). Read with an open Heart and fill you with light and the overflow from Heaven.
I read this for the Lenten read with the School of Reading with Fr Goring
April 21, 2025
I would like to say that I drew closer to the Holy Spirit, but slogged through this, well, I did, and I wanted to like this more than I did. Not really sure why this didn't hit the mark for me.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews