Docility to the Holy Spirit
The more responsive we are to the Holy Spirit the more he will work in us.
There are different aspects involved in this area. The differences may be subtle, but together they form an overall quality that is open, receptive and responsive to the workings of grace.
One aspect is docility, which means the willingness and readiness to be taught, or guided. This is the desire to learn from God and to be formed and molded by his hands. It involves being open to the workings of God in one's life, and the willingness to cooperate with his grace and be malleable to the activities of the Holy Spirit.
A second aspect is responsiveness. This involves reacting quickly and positively to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. This means being flexible and willing to put aside one's will, plans and desires, and to accept and do whatever is God's will. It involves taking action as one becomes aware of God's desires in order to carry out his will.
The third aspect is obedience. This is compliance and submission to God's commands, requests or preferences. It is the desire to seek and conform oneself to the will of God at all times. Obedience has a negative connotation in our culture, but it is a virtue that Jesus himself practiced and taught. Obedience to our parents is part of the Commandment to honor thy father and mother. And obedience, along with chastity and poverty, make up the three evangelical counsels - the ways of perfection in the consecrated life.
The different aspects overlap and complement one another to create a disposition in which God has free reign to inspire, create and empower. It is like the cultivated, fertile soil, which is ready for whatever seeds God wants to plant. It is the nutrient-filled deep ground which soaks in water and sunlight and allows the seeds to grow rapidly. And as the plants grow, they are pruned so that they may flourish even more and bear much fruit that are of the best kind in appearance, taste and nutrition. This is the type of rich soil that God desires in every person.
In the Scriptures, we hear the prophets, the psalmist, and even Jesus, expressing this docility to the Father, "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will."
We too need to take on this disposition of openness, readiness, and willingness to do God's will at a moment's notice.
Mary's last words in the Bible emphasizes the importance of this disposition: "His mother said to the servers, 'Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5).'" Mary, doesn't say much in the Bible, but everything she says, is essential to us her children if we want to be true disciples of Christ.
Indeed Mary does not tell us to do anything that she herself does not practice. Mary was completely docile to the Holy Spirit, conforming her will to God's will at all times. At the Annunciation, Mary's fiat sets the tone for the rest of life: "Be it done to me according to thy word (Lk 1:38)." That was the beginning of many other "yes'" to follow. With her freewill, Mary never refused God anything.
Mary's blessedness comes not from the fact that she is the mother of Jesus, but that she is his most perfect disciple. A passage from Scripture emphasizes this point: "While he was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.' He replied, 'Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it (Lk 11:27-28).'" We too are blessed if we follow the word of God and live according to his will.
God gives us the initial grace to know his will and act upon it. If we do, then we receive additional graces to carry it out. But if we don't then we lose out on those potential graces. Mary never missed an opportunity to earn more graces. From the journey to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus, to the flight into Egypt to escape Herod, and to the foot of the cross to company with her son in his agony and death, Mary completed God's will with perfection.
God is revealing his will for us from moment to moment. We should see our life as a story, a play or a movie that is being unfolded, in which God is the author and director and we are the actors. The more we perform according to God's direction the better the story or the movie will become. But we have the freedom not to cooperate and do our own thing, but then our story would not turn out as well. As actors in our own story we still have much freedom to be creative and daring and to have fun in living out the saga that is the story of our life. In fact, the Lord wants our input and personality to shine through. When we do our part in full cooperation and trust that God is doing his part, the result will be an amazing adventure filled with surprises, heartbreak and joy.
We are to see God's will in the people and events of our life. And be open, docile and responsive to God's directions, inspirations and guidance. When we respond positively to God's inspirations, not only is our story taking shape according to God's plans, but we ourselves are being formed into the likeness of Christ - we are being made holy by the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. The more supple and malleable we are to God's transforming grace, the more graces he will pour out upon us to perfect us as his instrument and masterpiece.
