Pentecost 2012
Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas
from Homiletic and Pastoral Review
April 27, 2012
from Homiletic and Pastoral Review
April 27, 2012
No one likes to be lied to. Even when the truth is inconvenient or uncomfortable, we still want it, on some level. The truth has a charm of its own; all the more, when we are speaking of the truth about the whole meaning of human life and existence, the truth of Jesus Christ.
Jesus promised to St. Peter, and the Apostles, that he would send them the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth. This stable gift of Jesus to his Church is not a thing, but a Person: the Holy Spirit himself. He proceeds from the Father and the Son. He is their eternal, mutual love. He knows the Father and the Son perfectly, and so he alone is able to guide the Church into the full truth.
What is the truth to which the Holy Spirit testifies? Certainly, we acknowledge all the creeds and teachings of the Church to be directed by the Holy Spirit. But we are not looking for just a collection of truths but all truth, that is, truth itself. In fact, Jesus Christ is himself the truth which we seek, the one to whom the Holy Spirit bears witness. All the individual truths of the Catholic faith, then, are not merely individual facts. Rather, they are aspects of the truth about Jesus Christ. When we study the Church's teaching, we are getting to know Jesus.
Since Christ promised to St. Peter, and the Apostles, that he would send them the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth; and since Christ has kept this promise throughout the ages to the Holy Father, and the Bishops, in union with him; why has the world not yet been converted? Why do we still find so much error and confusion? The only answer to be found is the hardness of human hearts, and our own sluggishness and fear. It's not that God is not doing enough; it's that we don't always cooperate with him. The Holy Spirit is not lying down on the job; we are failing to bear witness as we ought.
There are so many ways that we shy away from our Catholic identity. We sometimes fail to do the simplest things to bear witness to the truth. How often have we been too self-conscious to pray grace before meals in a restaurant? Are we embarrassed about some of the Church's teachings, or do we find ourselves ignorant of them? Do we make an honest effort to study and to learn the basics of the faith? If we ought to be willing to give up our lives in testimony to the truth of the Gospel, we must learn also how to testify in each and every aspect of our lives, in every corner of our minds and hearts.
Christ makes us his witnesses to the world, in our family, in political life, in our workplace. Christ also gives us the power to carry out this mission. He knows our weakness, our spirit of indifference and cowardice, and he gives us the most perfect remedy: The Spirit of the living God: Fire, Charity. He, the Holy Spirit, brings with him his sacred seven gifts. He gives us his divine strength to fulfill Christ's divine command.
In baptism, we received the Holy Spirit with his gifts, but our Lord, knowing so well our human nature, and the depth of our fear and weakness, has given us - through the Apostles and their successors, the Bishops - the great sacrament of confirmation. Confirmation, like baptism and holy orders, imprints a spiritual character on the soul. This character is a permanent mark. It is a firm, spiritual power that cannot be taken away. Through the sacrament of confirmation, the Holy Spirit increases the strength of his gifts and the virtues in us.
Those of us who have been confirmed, have been changed forever. We have received a special spiritual power that enables us to testify to the eternal truth in this world that is passing away. We can call upon the Holy Spirit to bring us spiritual life, to warm our frozen hearts, to overcome our fear with the strength of his love. The character that has been impressed on our souls is a guarantee that he will act when we call upon him.
If the Holy Spirit is with us, then we have all that we need. Let us never forget to call upon him, to act in our lives, and to increase in us, the sacred gifts we have received through baptism and confirmation.
'Thank you' to Deacon Kaas, for letting me post his reflection here.
More reflections:
Related posts:
- "Benedict XVI in Germany, My Take: Hope, Confidence, and Looking Forward"
(September 27, 2011) - "How Could God Floss His Teeth?"
(July 2, 2011) - "Speaking in Tongues and Getting a Grip"
(June 1, 2011) - "Listening to the Holy Spirit"
(May 29, 2011) - "Pentecost Sunday, 2009: A Reflection"
(May 31, 2009)
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