In the Church's liturgical calendar, we are approaching the great Feast of Pentecost, which will be celebrated in two weeks. Pentecost is known as the "birthday of the Church" because on that day, in the Upper Room, the Apostles and Mary received the promised Holy Spirit, which animates the Church. It is like the battery that keeps it running (as I heard in a homily this morning). Indeed, the Catechism states in paragraph 688 that the Holy Spirit can be found in all of the below aspects of the life of the Church.
- in the Scriptures he inspired;
- in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;
- in the Church's Magisterium, which he assists;
- in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;
- in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;
- in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;
- in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;
- in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.
The Spirit is the Third Person the Blessed Trinity, the love between the Father and the Son. He is Love itself, the love we have been invited to share in through our Baptism. He has been present, yet hidden, from the beginning of the world, indeed from eternity. However, as with the rest of the Trinity, he was fully revealed in a full way in the time of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Specifically, he was revealed at Pentecost, as the Catechism says in paragraphs 731 and 732:
On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance. On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.
As members of the Church, therefore, the Holy Spirit is now, after Pentecost, open and available to each of us. We received the Holy Spirit at our Baptism, and that gift was completed and ratified at Confirmation. What are the effects of having the Spirit in us? Well, we can see from the above that the Holy Spirit helps us pray as we ought, he intercedes for us, he gives us charisms to be used for the blessings of others and the build-up of the Church, and he helps us become saints, which really is the end all be all of life itself.
To do all this, the Holy Spirit does not leave us to our own devices. He gives us gifts. On May 15 of last year, the feast of Pentecost, I wrote the following on the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of these seven gifts in Paragraph 1830. The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Here are the seven.
1) Wisdom Wisdom is the gift that allows us to value the truths of the Faith, and see the world through the eyes of that faith. We see creation as God's gift to us, we see our place in relation to God, and our need of a Savior, the reality that Jesus Christ is that Savior, and that He founded One Church for the salvation of all men.
2) Understanding Understanding is indeed similar to wisdom, but slightly different. Understanding goes beyond just accepting and valuing the truths of the Faith, but it allows us, as it implies, to "understand" them a little bit, although that will be impossible to do 100% this side of eternity.
3) Counsel Counsel is the gift that allows us to judge what we should do in a particular instance, almost by instinct. It is like, as it implies, that we have a "counselor" inside us, giving us very good advice.
4) Fortitude Fortitude is connected to counsel, because it gives us the grace to follow through on the counsel we receive. It gives us the strength to do what needs to be done, even if it involves possible suffering.
5) Knowledge The gift of knowledge is a result of the gift of wisdom. Whereas wisdom allows us to desire the things of God, and therefore see the world and our life in it accordingly, knowledge is our actual seeing of those aforementioned things.
6) Piety Piety is the gift of desire to please God by worshiping and serving Him, this God whom we have come to know and understand a little via the other aforementioned gifts of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. It gives us the grace to practice true religion.
7) Fear of the Lord This gift gives us the desire not to offend God, and the certainty He will give us the grace not to. This is analogous to our relationship with our parents. We do not want to hurt them, not because we are afraid of them per se, but rather, because we respect them because of how much they mean to us.
This year, I will devote an individual post to each of the above gifts. I think it is high time that we become more familiar with the Holy Spirit, and how he operates in our life. Hopefully, by looking into each of these gifts in a little more detail, they will become more operative in each of our lives. There is no better way to prepare for, and celebrate Pentecost, then by coming to understand, appreciate, and use the gifts of the Spirit to make our lives more holy, and make the Church radiate more fully the splendor of Christ.
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