Those of us who are Baptized, who believe and call ourselves Christian, who attempt to follow our Lord, Jesus Christ, have received the Holy Spirit in full measure at our Baptisms. Nothing was held back at our Baptisms. Whether we were 5 minutes, 5 months, 5, 10, or 25 years old at Baptism we received the exact same Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came with gifts. Another word for those gifts are charisms, because those gifts we received weren't chocolate cake or a US Savings Bond. They are interior gifts. We received all of them at Baptism.
At this point what runs through my mind is--why then do a bunch of Baptized people run through this life like a pack of God Forsaken Hooligans? The answer would be, I think, that they never opened the gifts, they never unwrapped the packages. Just as a blender, still wrapped in Christmas paper can't make milkshakes, so the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be waiting. The giver of the blender would urge the recipient to open it, so the Holy Spirit urges us to open up the gifts.
In the Catholic Church we have the sacraments, instituted by Christ to give grace that stir up the gifts. We receive Christ in the Eucharist, we meet Him in Penance, and at Confirmation we are anointed and armed with these gifts. At Confirmation we are supposed to awakened the gifts of the Holy Spirit and ready to defend and live out our faith.
Sadly, many people go through these grace filled events as though they were sheep following the herd. Their soul is not engaged in their life with Christ and the gifts lie fallow. The charisms are there, but undeveloped. As we look around the world today, even within our own church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit lie fallow.
As Paul says--stir up those gifts that have been given to you....
And ask yourself--which of the gifts of the Holy Spirit do I use--wisdom, understanding, prophesy, teaching, administration, tongues.....
Because if you are employing the gifts of the Holy Spirit then the fruits of the Holy Spirit should be manifest in your life--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness,....
At this point what runs through my mind is--why then do a bunch of Baptized people run through this life like a pack of God Forsaken Hooligans? The answer would be, I think, that they never opened the gifts, they never unwrapped the packages. Just as a blender, still wrapped in Christmas paper can't make milkshakes, so the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be waiting. The giver of the blender would urge the recipient to open it, so the Holy Spirit urges us to open up the gifts.
In the Catholic Church we have the sacraments, instituted by Christ to give grace that stir up the gifts. We receive Christ in the Eucharist, we meet Him in Penance, and at Confirmation we are anointed and armed with these gifts. At Confirmation we are supposed to awakened the gifts of the Holy Spirit and ready to defend and live out our faith.
Sadly, many people go through these grace filled events as though they were sheep following the herd. Their soul is not engaged in their life with Christ and the gifts lie fallow. The charisms are there, but undeveloped. As we look around the world today, even within our own church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit lie fallow.
As Paul says--stir up those gifts that have been given to you....
And ask yourself--which of the gifts of the Holy Spirit do I use--wisdom, understanding, prophesy, teaching, administration, tongues.....
Because if you are employing the gifts of the Holy Spirit then the fruits of the Holy Spirit should be manifest in your life--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness,....