Introduction

Fr. Andrew Apostoli talks about the spirit of joy, The Comforter. it is based on Fr. Apostoli's book called "The Comforter". he focuses on the spiritual joy and our need for that gift which the Holy Spirit gives us. He looks at the past century and mentions three things that he sees. He explains how this century was a century of suffering, change, and turning. He talks about how the Holy Spirit brings us joy and the joy of serving the Lord. What is the joy of the Holy Spirit? Fr. Apostoli talks about what it is not and what it is and how it comes to us. Sin does not long a satisfying heart. He talks about spiritual joy and what it does. We need this type of joy today. St. Francis of Assisi was an example of a joyful saint. He was happy to suffer for Christ. We must be ready to witness for Jesus.
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Joy of Our Lord and Blessed Mother

Fr. Apostoli looks at references to the joy of Our Lady throughout the scriptures. He talks about how their sharing in that joy makes their joy complete. He links joy together with love and explains how to do it. How to live in His love. No one can take away this joy that we have been given. No one can do anything to sadden the Holy Spirit, however, we can hurt Him by offending Him. We can't change God. He gives examples of joy in specific occasions. The joy of our Blessed Lady can be mostly founded in the first two chapters of St. Luke.
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Joy as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Fr. Apostoli focuses on the joy as the fruit that the Holy Spirit brings to us. He talks about the last supper and there are references to the Holy Spirit mentioned there. He talks about how the Holy Spirit helps and defends us and against what it is defending us against. Why do we refer to the Holy Spirit as the comforter? Fr. Apostoli talks about this. How does the Holy Spirit brings froth the gift of joy in our life? Fr. Apostoli uses St. Paul as an example and looks at what he has to say in scriptures. Joy springs forth from love and it shows that God is present within our soul. Peace goes along with joy. One affects the other.
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What Does the Comforter Do for Us

Fr. Apostoli looks at some of the things that the Holy Spirit does for us. He looks at how He brings us His grace, joy , and consolation in our needs. He helps us with our burdens that we face in life. He helps us to face up to them. We have to be careful because if we are burdened, we could lose our joy. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. He talks about what St. Paul has to say about this. God loves a cheerful giver. We need the consolation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit consoles us in our trials. There are examples of this in Scripture. If we are willing to share in the Cross of Jesus, we can be sure that we will experience the joy and peace that He will give us. We will be much more aware of Him. He helps us to pray. He talks about how through prayer, we can get a closer relationship with God. It is prayer that is the key. He also talks about the causes and benefits that result from dryness in prayer. The Holy Spirit is the director of our spiritual life.
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St. Francis and the Holy Spirit

Fr. Apostoli talks about the teachings of St. Francis in regard to the beauty of the spiritual joy that the Holy Spirit brings us. St. Francis was close to the Holy Spirit. He was a simple man. not a theologian like St. Thomas Aquinas or St. Augustine. However, he had a wisdom. Fr. Apostoli looks at what he had to say about spiritual wisdom. What he taught about spiritual joy was done by word and example. Fr. Apostoli talks about the Franciscan Rule and how St. Francis practiced spiritual joy.
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Joy and Suffering

Fr. Apostoli talks about joy and sorrow comes together in the Christian life. He talks about the presentation of the child Jesus in the temple and how Siemon proclaimed His glory and then proclaimed a sorrowful message to Our Lady. Siemon was under the Holy Spirit when he was talking to Mary and Joseph. Fr. Apostoli looks at the joyful and sorrowful message that he gave our lady and what it mean. It was a paradox. Joy and sorrow goes together. Through Mary's sorrows, other people would benefit. Her example would strengthen us. He then talks about the seven sorrows of our lady You can't have joy without sorrow and you can't have sorrow without joy. This is the paradox that we face and Fr. Apostoli talks about it.
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Spiritual Growth

Fr. Apostoli continues to explain the paradox of the cross and why it is a paradox. He shows how it relates to our growth spiritually. It was never a easy message. He looks at what St. Paul says of the message of the cross. Jesus has transformed the cross into a signal of joy and hope. In this sign we shall conquer. Fr. Apostoli then talks about the three different stages of spiritual growth and he looks at them. In each of these stages, the person grows a little more and you can see what is happening to the person. When he begins, a person is trying to overcome sin and goes through purification. He is trying to take the sin out of his life. He'll then move on to a stage where sin is put out of his life. He has a sense of conscience and the Holy Spirit operates in him more. Finally, he'll evolve into a loving union with God. Not many people make it this far. He talks about how the apostles went through these stages and how it is our guide to spiritual growth. It's not the way we begin but it's the way we end that is important.
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First Response to the Cross

Fr. Apostoli reviews the three stages of spiritual growth that he started talking about in the last episode and shows how the apostles went through these stages. They look at how they viewed the message of the cross and how they dealt with difficulties in their personal life, and what virtues they practiced. Using the apostles, we can learn about spiritual growth. Fr. Apostoli gives a few examples from scriptures showing how they used to be. They were struggling to be patient.
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Resignation and Abandonment

Fr. Apostoli continues to look at the spiritual growth of the apostles through the stages of Spiritual growth. He looks at them as they move from the first to the second stage and how they entered into it. To enter this stage, the dark night of senses will usually occur. When Jesus was taken away from the apostles, they went through their dark night experience. God will use it to help them advance and to purify them. He talks about resignation and being resigned to the lord. This should characterize us. Accepting that which the Lord gives us. He then talks about abandonment and what it is.
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Perfect Joy

Fr. Apostoli looks at the final stages that he apostles went through in their spiritual growth. This took place during Pentecost. Fr. Apostoli looks at what happened to them. He then looks at the last two stages in their growth which is having joy in their suffering and the perfect joy. Having perfect joy is the farthest that we can go in this world. He looks at what joy is and what it is not. He uses St. Maximilian Kolbe as an example to show what he is talking about. He talks about how the Holy Spirit will make it happen in us and how the love and joy affected the apostles at Pentecost. He looks at the change that took place to them. He also looks at the three things that show that a person has perfect love for Jesus.
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Perfect Joy among Saints

In the Last episode, Fr. Apostoli talked about three things that showed that a person had perfect love for Jesus. He looks at what characterized the apostles, and could be found in the Saints. He talks about these three things in more detail.
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Joy Springs from the Motive of Love

Fr. Apostoli talks about how we are all called to the perfect joy. He talks about how the Holy Spirit changes our sorrow and sufferings into joy. What motivates our willing to suffer? It's love! Fr. Apostoli looks at what are the motives and how love tends to give of itself. What is the motive of love that the Holy Spirit uses to change suffering into Joy. There are four ways and Fr. Apostoli looks at them.
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Our Lady Cause of Our Joy

Fr. Apostoli talks about our lady as the cause of our joy and how the Holy Spirit uses her to bring joy to her children. he talks about St. Maximilian Kolbe's views of the Blessed Mother. She was a masterpiece of work of grace. She was a special instrument of the Holy Spirit and Fr. Apostoli focuses on that and her role in the salvation and sanctification of souls. She fulfills her role in two roles as being a mother and an example. He gives examples of how she was both. She is an example of how we should act. He then takes a look at our lady's role in the salvation and sanctification from the Scriptures and recent apparitions of Mary. There are two examples that we can se see in the scripture of Mary's Help. he then talks about four apparitions of our Lady and what she asks or did during them.
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