"Be filled with the Spirit... giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything." — Ephesians 5:18,20
Walking in the Holy Spirit.
The soul emptied by repentance now receives. To walk in the Spirit is to live the great gratitude — taking nothing for granted, and receiving all as gift.
Empty, then filled. Surrendered, then carried. This is Be Grateful lived in the power of the third Person of the Trinity.
The wind blows where it wills; so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
John 3:8
Pillar III · Be Grateful
What This Pillar Means
Having humbled the will in repentance and been healed in deliverance, the soul is now emptied — and an emptied soul is made to be filled. This pillar is the receiving: the life lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity poured into our hearts at baptism and Confirmation.
"Be Grateful" is the texture of this life. The word Eucharist itself means thanksgiving — and a soul walking with the Spirit begins to see that everything is gift: all that God gives, provides, and even takes away. Gratitude is not the decoration on the spiritual life; it is the evidence that the Spirit has taken up residence.
Notice where Paul places it. Ephesians chapters 4 and 5 teach us to be filled with the Spirit; only in chapter 6 does it say put on the whole armour of God. The order is not incidental. We do not defend ourselves in our own strength — we stand in His. The armour is worn in the Spirit, so the Spirit comes first.
This is why "Be Grateful" stands between "Be Humble" and "Be Faithful." The emptied soul receives the gift; the gift-given soul can now stand. To walk in the Spirit is to be carried into the battle already equipped by the One who fights within us.
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
Acts 1:8
The Crisis of Our Age
Why This Matters Now
The modern Church has largely forgotten the Person of the Holy Spirit. We speak of the creed, the commandments, the moral law — and forget the living breath of God Who makes any of it possible. Many Catholics know about the Spirit without ever having learned how to walk with Him.
On one side, fear of excess has silenced the whole charismatic life; on the other, undiscerned enthusiasm has discredited it. The result is a Church that is either cerebral without power or emotional without substance. The pillar of Walking in the Spirit refuses both.
And a gratefulless age needs a grateful people. The culture is engineered toward dissatisfaction — to make us take everything for granted and resent what we lack. A soul walking in the Spirit is a direct contradiction: one who gives thanks at all times and for everything, whose joy does not depend on circumstances.
To learn to walk in the Spirit is to rediscover the Person at the centre of the Church's life — and to become, again, the kind of Catholic the world has not yet seen: free, joyful, fruitful, and unmistakably alive.
The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2
What the Church Teaches
The Doctrinal Foundation
The Person & Mission of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force but the third Person of the Trinity — poured into our hearts to make us holy, to guide the Church, and to glorify Christ.
Charisms for the Common Good
The Spirit distributes extraordinary and ordinary charisms among the faithful — not for private holiness, but to build up and serve the Body of Christ.
The Fruit of the Spirit
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Where the Spirit walks, fruit grows — the visible signature of an invisible life.
Be Filled with the Spirit
Paul's command is continuous: keep being filled. The life of grace is not a reservoir to draw down, but a river to be carried along by, daily renewed.
Before You Put On the Armour
Ephesians opens with 'be filled with the Spirit' before it closes with 'put on the whole armour of God.' We stand in His strength — not ours.
"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"Luke 11:13
He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Luke 3:16
Formation Path · Be Grateful
How to Walk in the Spirit
Five disciplines that turn the gift of the Spirit into the daily lived shape of the grateful life.
Stir the Baptismal Graces
Confirmation and baptism confer the Spirit. The first step is not to acquire the gift but to remember it — to fan into flame what is already given.
Pray in the Spirit
Abandonment of self is the atmosphere in which the Spirit moves. The daily surrender of the will (Be Humble) is the very prayer He answers.
Receive the Charisms
Ask, discern under obedience, and exercise what He gives — prophecy, healing, tongues, intercession, wisdom — always for the common good, never for pride.
The Eucharist as Thanksgiving
<em>Eucharist</em> means thanksgiving. The grateful life is the Spirit-filled life. Take nothing for granted; receive all as gift — including what He takes away.
Bear the Fruit
Walk so that love, joy, and peace follow you home. Where the fruit grows, you can be sure the Spirit has been walking — and the armour is already being put on.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things.
John 14:26
Daily Reflection · Be Grateful
"Since you live by the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit."
Galatians 5:25
You did not earn the breath in your lungs, and you did not earn the grace in your soul. The Spirit is gift — entirely gift. Walk gratefully, receive open-handedly, and let the fruit of your life be the proof that He has been walking with you all along.
Walk in This Pillar
Live the Great Gratitude
Ask the Father for the Spirit — He will not refuse. Keep being filled. Take nothing for granted. Let the charisms He gives be exercised for His Body, and let the fruit He grows be the witness to a watching age. The emptied soul that receives Him becomes the soul that can finally stand.