Cleanse me, O Holy Spirit!
Fire, water, wind, a dove, light, etc. Throughout the Scriptures, The Holy Spirit is described in a variety of ways, using a variety of images. Some of the most prevalent and memorable are those I just listed. In this stanza and the next, we beg the Holy Spirit to help us in ways that correspond to two of these images – water and fire. This week, we ask him to cleanse, water, and heal – three properties of the spiritual water which is the Holy Spirit. Next week, we ask him to bend, fire, and correct – three properties of the spiritual fire or light which is the Holy Spirit.
This week’s antiphon:
Lava quod est sordidum,
riga quod est aridum,
sana quod est saucium.
Cleanse that which is unclean,
water that which is dry,
heal that which is wounded.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus refers in two places to a “living” or “spiritual” water. When he is speaking with the Samaritan Woman by the well, he says, “…but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Then, while he is in Jerusalem for the feast of Booths, he teaches, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” John then explains, “Now this he said about the Spirit…” (John 7:37-39). Jesus was preparing his followers to receive a gift from him – the Holy Spirit – a gift that would cleanse them, quench their thirst, and heal them, granting them eternal life.
This water comes to us through faith in Christ, and sacramentally through the saving waters of Baptism, which are an effective sign of our spiritual cleansing by the Spirit’s power. Sin – both the Original Sin and our personal sin – is that terrible thing in our lives which causes us to be unclean, dried up, and wounded. As Catholics, we believe in the further beautiful Sacrament of Reconciliation, through which we are sacramentally cleansed of any sins, particularly the grave sins, committed after Baptism. The prayer of Absolution retains this theme of water as we hear the priest solemnly pray, “God the Father of mercies, through the Death and Resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins…” (added emphasis).
The Lord renews our souls through these sacraments by cleansing us, watering our souls so that the Word of God can grow there in a healthy way, and healing us.
I think, however, that as Catholics, we easily fall into the trap of thinking that the only time I need to ask God to cleanse me, heal me, water me, or forgive me is when I decide to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. While that sacrament may be necessary (as in the earlier-mentioned case of any mortal sins), and even highly encouraged (regular reception of this sacrament, even for only venial sins, is very good for us), we can also always very fruitfully ask for the Lord’s forgiveness and the cleansing and healing presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Spiritually speaking, possibly the cleanest I have ever felt was during one of my retreats in seminary. My director was speaking with me about praying with the scene of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, and my director asked me, “Have you allowed Jesus to wash your feet?” I went and spent another hour praying with that passage, and in my imagination in prayer and in reality, Jesus did wash my feet. I had distinct interior impressions of him holding my feet and washing them, patiently taking splinters from them, and bringing healing. The splinters weren’t wood though, they were small sins, the effects of my sins, and the wounds caused by them. This experience of prayer brought me freedom and peace. I believe the Holy Spirit was directly involved in facilitating this prayer, and I include it here as an example of further spiritual healing after and outside of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Any time we ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse us, we can invite him into specific wounds and areas of sin in our hearts and minds and memories. He wants to come, to enter where we allow him, and bring us new life, freedom, and peace so that we can better praise him, glorify him, and serve him. Come Holy Spirit, set us on fire with your love!