The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts originating with patristic authors, later elaborated by five intellectual virtues and four other groups of ethical characteristics. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (wonder).
Today is the feast of Pentecost. This is the day that Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles. It’s the birthday of the Catholic Church. Because this is the day that Jesus’ ministry truly started. This is the day he sent his followers out and put them to work.
We believe in the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Spirit. It’s easy to believe in God, the Father. He’s the main man. No one can really deny him. He’s the numero uno. Jesus is not hard to believe in. There are so many stories. He had touched so many lives. But, the Holy Spirit? He’s easy to forget about. I mean, he’s invisible.
I will tell you though that I do believe in the Holy Spirit. A lot. In fact, I give him credit for all kinds of things. Because I will tell you that I have seen the man in action. (I’m sure the Holy Spirit is only an entity. I just like that line “man in action”).
I remember being confirmed. I was confirmed in the third grade. The Bishop didn’t come around every year back then. So when he came he would confirm everyone who had made their First Communion. I remember two things about my confirmation: I got to wear this red beanie and from that point on I was to be a soldier of Christ. I always wondered why they didn’t give a sword or something. But I considered myself to be a soldier, just like the ones who fought in the Crusades.
Many years later I came to feel something when I needed something. I couldn’t explain it. But I would feel like there was something in my gut, giving me strength, giving me the ability to focus, helping me to figure out what was right and what was wrong. The time in my life that I was lost, I’m sure I ignored him so much that I didn’t accept that I had help right inside me. I turned my back on the Spirit and in doing so, turned my back on all that I knew. And it was only the Holy Spirit who forced my hand and forced me to acknowledge the person I was. Man, that’s happened more than once.
And then I started realizing that it was the Holy Spirit inside of me. I can remember being a lector at church and someone would come up after Mass and comment on how well a job that I had done. It didn’t take me long to realize that it wasn’t me, it had to be the Holy Spirit and he was only using me to convey’s God’s message. Even recently I can remember praying for help for someone and I could feel the Holy Spirit come into me. I can also remember telling the Holy Spirit that he needed to help someone else and honestly, I could feel him leave my body. That person called me an hour or two later and told me the good news I had prayed for. Believe me or don’t, it doesn’t matter, because I truly believe.
When my oldest daughter was being confirmed, her entire class went to Youth 2000 for a weekend retreat. I went along as a driver. I know that weekend was influential for her class but that retreat moved me beyond words. At the end of the weekend I had everyone in her class line up for a group picture. This group was to be confirmed in the next few weeks. When I printed the picture there were orbs above each of those kids’ head. You could not convince me that those orbs were not just like a flame of fire that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles at that first Pentecost.
Jesus expected his apostles and disciples to spread his word and he gave them the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus expects each of us to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit to spread his word. I don’t think he’s asking too much.