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Acts 2:1-14 38, 41; Isaiah 11:1-3 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Galatians 5:16-23
I always feel like the Holy Spirit helps me whenever I write. After all, if it gave the Apostles the power to speak many different languages, it ought to help those who use the gift of writing for the Glory of God. I also often think of the Holy Spirit whenever I feel a gentle breeze. We may not be able to see the Holy Spirit, but it’s always present through the various gifts that it gives us and the fruits that we bear from using those gifts.
According to the Catechism: “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.”
In other words, the gifts of the Holy Spirit help us to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self- control, chastity.” The Catechism says that these gifts are “perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.”
The fruits of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the passage from Galatians, can help us counter our more selfish desires. Have you ever prayed for patience and found yourself in a situation that called you to practice patience, like being stuck in traffic or having to deal with a temperamental child? It’s so annoying because we just want to have patience and we want it now! However, since patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, it’s something that we need to practice and not just something we can have right away. Thankfully, we can ask the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of understanding so that we can see the bigger picture and be able to practice patience with a more willing heart.
If you are afraid that you don’t really have any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and think that the fruits that you cultivate are lacking, fear not. We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our Baptism. Whether we realize it or not, the Holy Spirit is guiding us. Whenever we give good advice, it’s because the Holy Spirit is giving us the gift of counsel. Whenever we are faced with the unknown but move forward anyway, the Holy Spirit is gifting us with fortitude.
We may not always be aware that the Holy Spirit is at work, but trust me when I say that it is always there, just like a gentle breeze. All we have to do is just go wherever the wind takes us, with the Holy Spirit being our compass.
Reflections
Which of the seven gifts do you feel are your strongest talents?
Which fruits of the Holy Spirit do you think need more cultivating?
How do you think your gifts can help you bear more fruit?
Action:
Pray this prayer whenever you need inspiration.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
