In this final article on the bad habits of smoking, drinking and using drugs we will go at length in rededicating our lives. "Surely, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1Corinthians 3:16)

"Do not get drunk with wine which will only ruin you, INSTEAD BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT." Ephesians 5:18 We, human beings need spiritual company but we settle for the easy way, for other spirits: like, human spirits (human relationships), hot spirits (drinking, smoking, drugs) or evil spirits (evil thoughts, earthly pleasures, bad physical habits, and addiction to erroneous media.) Man wants to keep himself busy with some of the above-mentioned activities. St. Paul suggests the 'Best company' to be busy with, the company of the Holy Spirit. The ultimate alternative for the company of the human spirit. For we are the 'breath of God.' If we are drunk with 'hot spirits' (wine), there are a lot of bad consequences and after effects like, hangover, withdrawal symptoms, brain cell damage, loss of equilibrium etc. but when we are filled with the Holy Spirit there are no negative consequences, rather peace, joy and true blissful life.

We should daily fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit otherwise unknowingly we will be filling ourselves with other spirits. St. Paul says "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters.. present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to the standard of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. (Then we will receive four gifts.) You will be able to know, then: (1) The will of God, (2) What is good, (3) What is acceptable to Him, (4) What is perfect." (Romans 12:1-2) "Sin must no longer rule in your mortal bodies, so that you obey the desires of your natural self. Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, and surrender your whole being to Him to be used for righteous purposes. Sin must not be your master." (Romans 6:12-14)

How can we fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit? Though there are various ways and means to fill us with the Holy Spirit, I suggest eight methods. These are very simple methods. But we neglected them in the past. From now on let us take these simple steps seriously and be filled with the Holy Spirit daily.

1. Personal Prayer

Basically we should understand prayer is not only petitions but a relationship.

(a) A one to one personal relationship with God the Creator, as our FATHER. Jesus taught His disciples, "Pray then in this way; Our Father in Heaven." (Matthew 6:9)

(b) With Jesus the Redeemer as our FRIEND. You are My friends. I do not call you servants any longer. but I have called you friends." (John 15:14-15)

(c) And with the Holy Spirit the Counsellor (John 14:16,26; 15:26) for our FELLOWSHIP. (2 Corinthians 12:14) Only the company of Jesus, as our friend, will satisfy the hunger of our heart and quench the thirst of our soul. It is only through prayer that God will fill us with the Holy Spirit and break the chain of our slavery to addiction. In personal prayer we should pour our hearts out to God as Hannah did. (1 Samuel 1:9-18) That is why Jesus told us, "Whenever you pray, go to your room, shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 14:22-25) So pour out your heart to Jesus for at least half an hour daily. Within that half an hour, discuss with Him the whole day's programme; the decisions to be made, people to meet, activities to be done and the rest of the time table of the day, listen to Him attentively to know His desires and plans. (Luke 10:38-42)

2. Word of God

The second way to fill our lives daily with the Holy Spirit is by reading the 'Word of God', the Bible. When the disciples were listening to Jesus, they said to each other: "were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking to us on the road while He was opening the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32) "While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the Word." (Acts 10:44)

We should spend daily at least fifteen minutes reading the Word of God. This is the way to listen to Jesus speaking to us. Everyday He will give us new messages through the Holy Spirit. Though we were Christians in the past we did not find enough time to read the Bible. That led us to an improper lifestyle and wrong decisions. Jesus tells us, "How wrong you are! And do you know why? It is because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power." (Mark 12:24) So hereafter read God's Word daily to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the power of God. It is so discouraging to see Christian families having no time for the Bible when they can make time for newspapers, magazines, TV, parties and websites. If you look into the life of those who are addicted it is clear that they have lost track of personal prayer and the Word of God in their lives. They substituted these by all other bad habits.

3. Family Prayer

You must be knowing the old saying "The family that prays together stays together" but are you following this daily? That is what I want to point out to you now. "When two (husband and wife) or three (with children) are gathered, I will be there with you." (Matthew 18:20) Jesus has truly promised and He will always keep His promises. Have you done your part? It is when we come together as one family under the head of Jesus Christ, all our tensions will be released, misunderstandings will melt away, sadness, worries and fatigue will vanish. We will experience the powerful presence of the love of God, the Holy Spirit, moving everyone's heart to be united as one family.

In Acts 10, we find the family of Cornelius with his relatives, friends and neighbours come together to pray and listen to God's word. Thus the family was anointed by the gift of the Holy Spirit. As you come together for a family prayer, first sing a hymn, then each family member should praise and thank God for all the good things God has done for him, next read a passage from the Bible slowly and meditatively and then offer all your intercessions one by one. Finally, sing a hymn or read a Psalm and let the elders of the family bless the younger ones. "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your heart sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:15-17)



4. Rosary

You can add the Rosary in your family prayer, but I want to deal with this as a special Prayer to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Rosary is the richest form of prayer, at the same time, the simplest form of prayer. It will be useful in the hand of a theologian for contemplating the whole life of Jesus. At the same time an uneducated person can pray the Rosary, meditating on the love of God, which came down in human form as Jesus. I mean every human being on this earth can use the Rosary to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Pope John Paul II testifies to the power of the Rosary on his 25th year of his Papal Jubilee. To strengthen the whole church, he has added five more mysteries of light, and the year Oct 2002 to Oct 2003 is the year of the Rosary.

As we pray the Rosary daily,

(1) we are praying the words of God the Father given to mankind through the angel Gabriel. (Luke 1:28)

(2) We are praying the words Jesus taught to us as the ideal prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13)

(3) We are glorifying, praising and thanking God for the salvation He has given to us.

(4) As Mary, you too will be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:35, 42, 46) Hereafter as you are kept waiting for transport, as you travel, when you don't get sleep, pray the Rosary. I don't need to tell you the importance of praying the Rosary. It is better that we should put it into practice.

5. Sacraments

Jesus instituted the sacraments that we may be anointed with power from above to face the world in our everyday situations. In a special way the sacrament of reconciliation (Confession) and the Holy Eucharist (Holy Mass) are the best means to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life, Vatican II, Lumen Gentium No. II. As we receive the body of Christ in Holy Eucharist or wash off our sins in the blood of Jesus in Confession, be sure you are filled with the Holy Spirit." (Read Luke 24:30-31, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Psalm 32:3-5, John 20:22-23)

6. Join an Association

I don't mean joining any clubs or political parties. Rather, I mean, a pious association like Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, Sodality of the Immaculate Conception or Parish Prayer groups. Where you can come together for the weekends to pray together and work together for the glory of God, salvation and service of others and for your own personal growth in spiritual life. (Acts 2:44-47, 4:31-32) You know the weekends are the tempting days when we look for worldly pleasures; often we end up in bad company and sad at the end. (James 4:4) Hereafter let our weekends be a source of blessings for our Parish Community, keeping ourselves busy in our Lord's work, filling ourselves with the Holy Spirit.

7. Fasting and Penance
When Jesus taught us to pray 'The Lord's prayer,' the last two petitions were. "Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:10:13) "I am not asking you to take them out of the world but I ask you to protect them from the evil one." (John 17:15) To be protected from the evil one, we have to control our own physical urges and emotional needs. (James 4:7-10) Voluntary self-denial will be the best way to cast out the evil desires and evil inclinations (Ref. Catechism of the Catholic Church Nos. 2846 to 2851.) Jesus says "This demon can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29) In the Bible we have three mighty characters, Samson (Judges 13:7 24, 25), Daniel (Daniel 1:12-17) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15.) They denied themselves the pleasures of this world. So God raised them in glory - with power.

8. Be a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus

Anyone who is touched by Jesus and is transformed in his life should become a disciple of Jesus. By spending your time, talents, energy and money and keeping yourself busy with the work of the Kingdom, you will be easily freed from the clutches of evil habits and can be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. An idle mind is the devil's workshop. In the past you might have come out of evil habits but you did not do anything to utilize that time and money. Hereafter, this time and money we have, should only be spent for good purposes, for the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 6:6-10) "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right." In the Gospels, we find people who were touched and healed by Jesus, they went around the towns and told everyone what Jesus did for them. (John 4:29, 39; John 5:15) Like that, we too should become the messengers of the Love and Power of Jesus. Be an evangelizer! Go about telling others about Jesus, and what He has done for you. May be you can visit the hospital nearby, spend your wealth in orphanages, spend your time in the old age homes, visit the poor people, and help them to come up in their lives, spend money to educate the poor children. Instead of me listing one or two ways for the ministry, you yourself will be inspired by the Holy Spirit to find a lot of ways if you remain faithful in

Personal Prayer.

To conclude, in Divine Retreat Centre we have a De-addiction Centre recognized and assisted by the government. We have a high percentage of success. The secret of our achievement is our 'inspired therapy' we call it Prayer Therapy. We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God and in prayer. Be convinced of the power of God. Jesus said, "everything is possible for the person who has faith." (Mark 9:23)

"You can decide whether you can be loyal to Him or not. He has placed fire and water before you, reach out and take whichever you want. You have a choice between life and death; you will get whichever you choose."(Sirach 15:11-20).

"So then have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing, which will be given you. Do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. Instead be Holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is Holy. Spend the rest of our lives here on earth in reverence for Him." (1 Peter 13:17)

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