Most of us learn at a very early age that life is not always fair.  That is true even when it comes to the church calendar. We devote 51 Sundays of the year to Jesus, but only one Sunday, Pentecost, to the Holy Spirit. Is that fair? Are they not equal members of the Holy Trinity? Yes, they are; but there may be a very good reason why we keep the Holy Spirit sidelined for most of the year. It is for our own protection.

Jesus is an historical figure, who lived 2000 years ago. Thousands and thousands of books have been written about his life, his impact, his message, his parables, and the social, economic, political, and religious milieu in which he lived. Scholars have debated for centuries the difference between the historical Jesus and the Jesus of faith. Jesus is someone we can discuss and debate in the safety of our own heads. The Holy Spirit is different. The Holy Spirit cannot be confined to a particular time and place. The Holy Spirit only lives in the now. The Holy Spirit brings the life and message of Jesus into the present moment and demands that we pay attention to it. The Holy Spirit lights a fire under us. The Holy Spirit breaks through the barriers and walls we set up to protect ourselves from those who appear to be different. The Holy Spirit yanks us out of our comfort zone and pushes us into the marketplace. The Holy Spirit demands that we love God and love our neighbor with our whole being. In short, the Holy Spirit is dangerous. No one wants to have their life disrupted or their lifestyle questioned.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to completely marginalize the Holy Spirit for most of the year When we were baptized, we were given the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s presence was renewed when we were confirmed. While we may be successful at dowsing the fire of the Holy Spirit, we still possess seven gifts which the Spirit bestowed upon us. Since we are stuck with the Holy Spiri, I suggest that we make the best of it. If it is true that we are only fully alive when we are in the Lord, why not find out if it is true. Try sampling the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Choose the gift that most needs to be actualized in your life and unwrap it. Let it be your focus for the next twelve months. Ask the Spirit to allow that gift to be more present in your words and deeds, your priorities and choices, your relationships and your moral choices, which circles you blacken in the voting booth and how you spend your time and your money.

What are those gifts? Wisdom comes from the Latin word “to savor.” We use wisdom when we slow down and savor the goodness of God and the goodness of the people around us. Wisdom helps us see the difference between things that can be overlooked and things that matter in the long run. Understanding is the inner yearning to know more about God and about our place in God’s creation. It is about remaining hungry for God and the growth of God’s reign on earth. The gift of knowledge is the practical side of understanding. It enables us to get the most out of everything that happens to us in life, whether talking to someone about Christ, caring for those in need, or putting up with suffering or disappointment. Counsel helps us make decisions when common sense and reason are not enough. What is God asking me to do in this situation? Fortitude (or courage) enables us to do the right thing even when it costs us something. It is the gift that enables us to say “no” to the wrong thing when it is the easy thing to do.

When I was confirmed in the third grade, we had to memorize the Gifts of the Holy Sirit, and my favorite gift was piety, because it contained the word pie and I liked pie. But piety has nothing to do with pie or with acting pious. It is the old Roman virtue of being in right relationship with one’s family. Jesus expanded that virtue to include being in right relationship with God and the whole human family. Pope Francis expanded the virtue of piety to include being in right relationship with all of creation. Awe and Wonder (fear of the Lord) prevents us from losing our sense of amazement at who God is and the universe God created. It helps us to live with humility, being grateful for what we have and not being jealous of what others have.

If we all dared to choose one of the gifts and allowed the Spirit to unleash that gift in our life, it would make for a very dynamic faith community. All of the Gifts of the Spirit ask us to think about what is good for the Body of Christ and not what is good for me, and what is good for the Kingdom of God and not for my own little kingdom. Is the risk worth it?

                                               Fr. Joe