NOTES for Jo1 2:18-29

In the Sacrament of Baptism, the Holy Spirit is given to each of us. Why then do we trust so little? We look for answers in books, from people, we think, worry, and are troubled. We lose faith in ourselves if we do not find an answer and begin to grow despondent; and if we finally understand that the answer must be sought from God and in God, we fall into despair and nearly lose faith when the answer, the understanding, has to be awaited.

But the Spirit is in us. He is given and is never taken away: God does not take back His gifts. Through our sins we can so thoroughly "plug our ears" and "cover our eyes," fill with stones all the paths inside the soul that lead to our heart, that it becomes very hard to hear His quiet voice. We can so unlearn how to see that we fail to notice His signs and His words in our life and in the surrounding world. Our heart can be so stuffed with earthly attachments, interests in the affairs and things of "this world," that the Spirit of God is forced to huddle in the very corner and from there continue speaking to us.

But He lives in us, does not depart, does not leave us, comforts us, and does not fall silent.

And if for some reason we cannot hear Him, we need to wash our eyes and ears, clear the roads covered with stones and branches, free space in our heart, and then sit and listen. And not despair if we do not hear at once. We have unlearned, forgotten how this is done. Our inner hearing is tuned to our desires and impulses of soul, not to the voice of the Spirit. We need to wait and learn to listen. To wait and endure. Sometimes one must wait a very long time. But unlike us, God is faithful. At some point we will hear His voice inside our heart. We have already been anointed, and His anointing abides in us.