Friday April 13, 2018

Today we will begin studying the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit, followed by the 12 fruits of these gifts.  All this will be done to first, fully appreciate what the sacrament of Confirmation is and our duties as confirmed Christians and second, prepare for the upcoming feast of Pentecost which is May 20th this year.  As we begin, let us draw some inspiration from today’s readings.

This entire week has been spent detailing how the Apostles, inspired by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, challenged the Sanhedrin by refusing to follow their command to stop teaching about Christ and His Resurrection.  Today’s first reading is one of the strongest examples of why I – we – should have to the courage to believe this is all true…

A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,
stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time,
and said to the Sanhedrin, “Fellow children of Israel,
be careful what you are about to do to these men.
Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important,
and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed,
and all those who were loyal to him
were disbanded and came to nothing.
After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census.
He also drew people after him,
but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.
So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.

For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.  The fact that I’m sitting here this morning drawing inspiration from the “acts of the apostle’s” should be proof that in fact this endeavor/activity is not of human origin, but was/is ordained by God.  The fact that still to this day, men and women of all races are willing to give their life in evangelizing the unbelieving into believing the truth that Christ truly died and rose from the dead tells me that this endeavor/activity is not of human origin.  It is this truth, this message of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension into heaven that I/we must spread today and to do that, we need to strength and gifts given to us by Christ through the Holy Spirit.  And so we begin.

III. THE GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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.

1831 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.¹⁰⁹ They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.

Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.¹¹⁰For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.¹¹¹

109 Cf.Isa 11:1-2.

110 Ps 143:10.

111 Rom 8:14, 17.

They make the faithful docile?  Docile simply means easily taught (Merriam-Webster).

The first gift mentioned is the gift of Wisdom.  What is “Wisdom”? Again, I’ll refer you to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.

Let’s go deeper…again, what is “wisdom”?  I found this on the web Christian Bible Reference site.

I hope you understand why I use all of these hyper-links.  I am not the most proficient typer  in the world and it’s a quick way of putting a lot of information at your fingertips.  Please take the time to explore not just these, but go and find your own information on any of these topics.  It is my hope that you find the information helpful but more than that I pray that this blog inspires you to do more to build the kingdom of God – today, tomorrow, forever.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid….

After recalling the Apostles, they had them flogged,
ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus,
and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.

Jesus, I trust in you.