Pentecost was a feast day for the Jewish people. On this day, many Jews were known to have made a special pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. At first, the feast was celebrated as a day of thanksgiving for the harvest, and subsequently it also became a commemoration of the Ten Commandments that were given by God to Moses. Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover.
Jesus’ return to his Father makes it possible for God to come to us in a way more active and more powerful than before. Only the second person of the Blessed Trinity became incarnate. Thus everyone was able to see Jesus. However, the Holy Spirit can only be experienced by those who are believers. Jesus now lives and rules through the Catholic Church, which the Holy Spirit brings to life. From the Church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ brings every believer to a new existence, to deeper intimacy, and directs our deeds and our journey to eternal life.
“And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them” (Acts 2: 2-3).
Too often when we speak about the Holy Spirit, many people assume that some rather deeply emotional and visible experience needs to take place. Too many people think that they have not experienced the power of the Holy Spirit unless they have been made to fall on the ground or to begin speaking a strange language. For many, the Holy Spirit is unknown and misunderstood.
Although it is true that the Holy Spirit can make his presence known through external signs and special gifts for the sake of unbelievers, our personal Pentecost begins with the sacrament of Baptism and is made deeper through the sacrament of Confirmation. Too much emphasis on special and private experiences can cloud, confuse, and distort the way the Holy Spirit lives in us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Through the sacrament of Baptism, original sin is washed away, and we become temples of the Holy Spirit, children of God, and living members of the Church. Through the sacrament of Confirmation, baptismal grace comes to completion. It is through this sacrament that we are bound more perfectly to the Church and endowed with a special strength of the Holy Spirit to fulfill those promises made at Baptism.
Through these sacraments, the Holy Spirit enlightens us with ten special gifts. The three gifts that we receive at our Baptism are faith, hope, and charity. The seven gifts we receive at our Confirmation are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
We need to remember that through these sacraments we have received an amazing treasure of gifts. It is through our daily spiritual life that these gifts allow us to persevere on our journey to eternity and allow us to be effective and courageous witnesses of the Gospel.
The gift of faith allows us to see the invisible in the visible world. Hope gives us the ability to trust in God who is our Father. Charity provides us with the grace that we need to love God above all things and to love our neighbor just as Jesus loves us.
Wisdom detaches us from the things of this world and causes us to desire only the things of Heaven. The gift of understanding helps us to penetrate the truths of our Catholic Faith. Counsel enables us to see and choose correctly those actions that will help us give glory to God and ensure our own eternal salvation. Fortitude gives us the strength to overcome those obstacles and difficulties that present themselves during our sojourn on earth. The gift of knowledge shows us the path to follow and alerts us to the dangers that we must avoid in order to attain eternal life in Heaven. Piety enlightens us with a tender and filial confidence in God and allows us to joyfully embrace all that pertains to our discipleship with Christ. Finally, the gift of fear of the Lord fills us with a deep respect for God and makes us dread anything that may offend Him.
Along with the wonderful gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, we need also to remember the fruits of the Holy Spirit that we experience as consequences of the gifts. The fruits are signs or manifestations of his presence in our soul. St. Paul enumerates these fruits of the Holy Spirit as charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. Certainly, as we read this list, we can see how beautiful our lives can be when we allow the action of the Holy Spirit to permeate our entire being.
On this Pentecost Sunday we need to open our hearts to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But, of all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the one gift that we really need to always work on, is the gift of charity. Charity is the essential virtue of christianity.
As we consider the virtue of charity, we immediately remember St. Paul’s celebrated definition: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7). It is here, in this text that we find the components of the virtue of charity.
Charity, like all other virtues, is something very practical for our daily lives. Let us take a close look at St. Paul’s definition and apply each part of it to our daily circumstances. To do this we must take a close look at ourselves. As we examine our daily actions, we can ask ourselves these questions: Have I been patient and kind to everyone? Have I been arrogant and rude? Have I been irritable? Have I been harboring resentment against anyone?
There are two major obstacles to living out this virtue: our ego and our moods. We need to be selfless and we need to get our moods under control. Too many people in our contemporary society only live for themselves and too many people live from one mood swing to another. Authentic Christianity is only possible when we die to ourselves.
A healthy family life is the best way to develop the virtue of charity. Interaction among family members takes place most frequently at the dinning room table. Families need to have dinner together every night. Excessive involvement in sports and after school activities robs a family of the intimate social life that helps to keep families alive.
Aside from excessive activities, too much television viewing causes family members to isolate themselves into their own little shells. This is particularly true when parents allow children to have their own television set in their bedrooms.
There are two effective ways to change the quality of family life; the first, is to have dinner together every night and the second, to control the use of the television. If you are not doing these two things, try them, and you will be amazed with the results.
In many parts of the country, especially in South Texas, summer has already begun. Many families have already started their vacations. Now that school is over, children will be spending a lot of time at home. The summer is a beautiful occasion to foster and develop the splendid virtue of charity.
Here is a simple story that illustrates just how practical the virtue of charity really is.
A small boy at a summer camp received a large package of cookies in the mail from his mother. He ate a few, and then placed the remainder of the cookies carefully under his bed. The next day, after lunch, he went to his tent to get a cookie. The box was gone.
That same afternoon a camp counselor, who had been told of the theft, saw another boy sitting behind a tree eating the stolen cookies. “That young man,” he said to himself, “must be taught not to steal again”.
The counselor returned to the group and looked for the boy whose cookies had been stolen. “Billy,” he said, “I know who stole your cookies. Will you help me teach him a lesson?”
“Well, yes…but aren’t you going to punish him”, asked the surprised boy.
“No, that would only make him resent and hate you,” the counselor explained. “I want you to call your mother and ask her to send you another box of cookies”. The boy did as the counselor asked and a few days later received another box of cookies in the mail.
“Now,” said the counselor, “the boy who stole your cookies is down by the lake. Go down there and share your cookies with him”. “But,” protested the boy, “he’s the thief. He stole my cookies”. “I know,” said the counselor, “try it and let’s see what happens”.
Not too long after, the camp counselor saw the two boys come up the hill from the lake, arm in arm. The boy who had stolen the cookies was earnestly trying to get the other boy to accept his pocketknife in payment for the stolen cookies, and the boy with the cookies was just as earnestly refusing the gift from his new friend. (http://www.inspirationalstories.com)
Baptism and Confirmation – Our Own Personal Pentecost
Father James Farfaglia is pastor of St. Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. May 29, 2009
Pentecost was a feast day for the Jewish people. On this day, many Jews were known to have made a special pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. At first, the feast was celebrated as a day of thanksgiving for the harvest, and subsequently it also became a commemoration of the Ten Commandments that were given by God to Moses. Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover.
Jesus’ return to his Father makes it possible for God to come to us in a way more active and more powerful than before. Only the second person of the Blessed Trinity became incarnate. Thus everyone was able to see Jesus. However, the Holy Spirit can only be experienced by those who are believers. Jesus now lives and rules through the Catholic Church, which the Holy Spirit brings to life. From the Church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ brings every believer to a new existence, to deeper intimacy, and directs our deeds and our journey to eternal life.
“And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them” (Acts 2: 2-3).
Too often when we speak about the Holy Spirit, many people assume that some rather deeply emotional and visible experience needs to take place. Too many people think that they have not experienced the power of the Holy Spirit unless they have been made to fall on the ground or to begin speaking a strange language. For many, the Holy Spirit is unknown and misunderstood.
Although it is true that the Holy Spirit can make his presence known through external signs and special gifts for the sake of unbelievers, our personal Pentecost begins with the sacrament of Baptism and is made deeper through the sacrament of Confirmation. Too much emphasis on special and private experiences can cloud, confuse, and distort the way the Holy Spirit lives in us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
Through the sacrament of Baptism, original sin is washed away, and we become temples of the Holy Spirit, children of God, and living members of the Church. Through the sacrament of Confirmation, baptismal grace comes to completion. It is through this sacrament that we are bound more perfectly to the Church and endowed with a special strength of the Holy Spirit to fulfill those promises made at Baptism.
Through these sacraments, the Holy Spirit enlightens us with ten special gifts. The three gifts that we receive at our Baptism are faith, hope, and charity. The seven gifts we receive at our Confirmation are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
We need to remember that through these sacraments we have received an amazing treasure of gifts. It is through our daily spiritual life that these gifts allow us to persevere on our journey to eternity and allow us to be effective and courageous witnesses of the Gospel.
The gift of faith allows us to see the invisible in the visible world. Hope gives us the ability to trust in God who is our Father. Charity provides us with the grace that we need to love God above all things and to love our neighbor just as Jesus loves us.
Wisdom detaches us from the things of this world and causes us to desire only the things of Heaven. The gift of understanding helps us to penetrate the truths of our Catholic Faith. Counsel enables us to see and choose correctly those actions that will help us give glory to God and ensure our own eternal salvation. Fortitude gives us the strength to overcome those obstacles and difficulties that present themselves during our sojourn on earth. The gift of knowledge shows us the path to follow and alerts us to the dangers that we must avoid in order to attain eternal life in Heaven. Piety enlightens us with a tender and filial confidence in God and allows us to joyfully embrace all that pertains to our discipleship with Christ. Finally, the gift of fear of the Lord fills us with a deep respect for God and makes us dread anything that may offend Him.
Along with the wonderful gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to us through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, we need also to remember the fruits of the Holy Spirit that we experience as consequences of the gifts. The fruits are signs or manifestations of his presence in our soul. St. Paul enumerates these fruits of the Holy Spirit as charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. Certainly, as we read this list, we can see how beautiful our lives can be when we allow the action of the Holy Spirit to permeate our entire being.
On this Pentecost Sunday we need to open our hearts to the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But, of all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the one gift that we really need to always work on, is the gift of charity. Charity is the essential virtue of christianity.
As we consider the virtue of charity, we immediately remember St. Paul’s celebrated definition: “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7). It is here, in this text that we find the components of the virtue of charity.
Charity, like all other virtues, is something very practical for our daily lives. Let us take a close look at St. Paul’s definition and apply each part of it to our daily circumstances. To do this we must take a close look at ourselves. As we examine our daily actions, we can ask ourselves these questions: Have I been patient and kind to everyone? Have I been arrogant and rude? Have I been irritable? Have I been harboring resentment against anyone?
There are two major obstacles to living out this virtue: our ego and our moods. We need to be selfless and we need to get our moods under control. Too many people in our contemporary society only live for themselves and too many people live from one mood swing to another. Authentic Christianity is only possible when we die to ourselves.
A healthy family life is the best way to develop the virtue of charity. Interaction among family members takes place most frequently at the dinning room table. Families need to have dinner together every night. Excessive involvement in sports and after school activities robs a family of the intimate social life that helps to keep families alive.
Aside from excessive activities, too much television viewing causes family members to isolate themselves into their own little shells. This is particularly true when parents allow children to have their own television set in their bedrooms.
There are two effective ways to change the quality of family life; the first, is to have dinner together every night and the second, to control the use of the television. If you are not doing these two things, try them, and you will be amazed with the results.
In many parts of the country, especially in South Texas, summer has already begun. Many families have already started their vacations. Now that school is over, children will be spending a lot of time at home. The summer is a beautiful occasion to foster and develop the splendid virtue of charity.
Here is a simple story that illustrates just how practical the virtue of charity really is.
A small boy at a summer camp received a large package of cookies in the mail from his mother. He ate a few, and then placed the remainder of the cookies carefully under his bed. The next day, after lunch, he went to his tent to get a cookie. The box was gone.
That same afternoon a camp counselor, who had been told of the theft, saw another boy sitting behind a tree eating the stolen cookies. “That young man,” he said to himself, “must be taught not to steal again”.
The counselor returned to the group and looked for the boy whose cookies had been stolen. “Billy,” he said, “I know who stole your cookies. Will you help me teach him a lesson?”
“Well, yes…but aren’t you going to punish him”, asked the surprised boy.
“No, that would only make him resent and hate you,” the counselor explained. “I want you to call your mother and ask her to send you another box of cookies”. The boy did as the counselor asked and a few days later received another box of cookies in the mail.
“Now,” said the counselor, “the boy who stole your cookies is down by the lake. Go down there and share your cookies with him”. “But,” protested the boy, “he’s the thief. He stole my cookies”. “I know,” said the counselor, “try it and let’s see what happens”.
Not too long after, the camp counselor saw the two boys come up the hill from the lake, arm in arm. The boy who had stolen the cookies was earnestly trying to get the other boy to accept his pocketknife in payment for the stolen cookies, and the boy with the cookies was just as earnestly refusing the gift from his new friend. (http://www.inspirationalstories.com)