Today is the Solemnity of the Pentecost or the coming of the Advocate, also known as the Holy Spirit that our Lord Jesus Christ pointed out so many times that if he doesn’t return to his Father in heaven, the Advocate will not come. You can read today’s Gospel reading in your Bibles in John 15:26-27; 16: 12-15.
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 26 “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. 27 And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
12” I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
It was prophesied in Isaiah 11:1-2 that the Messiah would possess the fullness of the Spirit from which springs a seven-fold gift. Let me point out that the word “Christ” is not the family name of our Lord Jesus as during Ancient times, they didn’t use family names. Christ actually means, “The Anointed One”, which is why Jesus always says that he came from the Father who anointed him and through him the Holy Spirit comes to us, who proceeds from the Father.
Just to refresh your memory, when the Pentecost was fulfilled, Mother Mary and the Apostles were in the upper room when suddenly there came a loud noise from a strong wind that filled the entire room, then it appeared to them as Tongues as of Fire which parted and came to rest on each one of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Tongues of Fire on top of their heads was a sign of God’s love, which moved all of them to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Today, the Pentecost still comes if and when you take a Life of the Spirit Seminar (LSS).
As we have already discussed the events of the Pentecost in the previous years, I think it is time for us to talk about the various gifts of the Holy Spirit and let me point out clearly that what we’re printing here is not my own thoughts, rather this is what is being taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church a book that all Catholics should have side-by-side their Bibles, or you can get a shorter and cheaper version called the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are the gifts of wisdom, counsel, understanding, fortitude, piety, knowledge and fear of the Lord. Without going into so much detail, allow me to explain each divine gift for your better understanding. Let’s start with the Gift of Wisdom as it is the highest of the seven gifts, which gives us the ability through the Holy Spirit to “see things the way God sees it.” This gift allows a person to shift from simple charity to heroic acts to bring forth peace to their fellowmen.
The Gift of Knowledge allows us to judge correctly which is Divine Truth vis-a-vis Human truths. It gives us an idea that materialism is an endless desert and thus allows us to trust completely in the Will of God. Then there’s the Gift of Understanding, which does not make geniuses out of us, but rather, it gives our souls the hidden meaning of Scripture and reveals many of the mysteries, the symbolisms that our Lord Jesus used in his teachings. I confess that as a Layperson, this is one of the Divine Gifts that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon this lowly servant, otherwise, how could I write our Sunday Gospels without this precious gift?
The Gift of Counsel is a special gift given mostly to elders or Servant Leaders who must counsel others when they discern on important matters that leads to a better spiritual life of their communities. The Gift of Piety is bestowed upon a person who surrenders him or herself to God’s will… many of them priests, nuns and deacons or even Lay Ministers, who in their meekness is endowed a childlike faith, which often when they learn more about God, they completely abandon that childlike faith.
The Gift of Fortitude gives us the inner strength to endure pain and suffering with patience and joy and helps us when we are lukewarm to the service of God. Finally there’s the Gift of Fear of the Lord, not because we are scared that our disobedience will incur his Divine Wrath, but rather, the Fear that our sinfulness would distance ourselves away from the Lord. This Fear becomes a fear to commit sin and avoid occasions of sin. These gifts of the Holy Spirit are infused into our souls. Some are lucky to have all the seven gifts; others have two, yet they might not realize that they have it.
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