An obstinate heart commits a grave sin against the Holy Spirit: it does not allow the grace of Redemption to touch his inner being. Redemption is God’s great gift to humanity, purchased for us through Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Yet, because we have been created with free will, we have to say “yes” to receive this gift. Our “yes” means we are willing to participate in our Redemption by opening our hearts wide to Christ, so that, through His Blood, the Spirit can cleanse us, purify us, and empty us to make us a new creation in God’s image and likeness.

An obstinate heart denies the Holy Spirit the gift of self-knowledge. It denies the Holy Spirit the grace of self-discovery into the recesses of his heart to encounter the false I—the person we have all become that we are not.