On this Pentecost Sunday I would like to offer a bit of a reflection:
We receive the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and seal them in Confirmation! They are Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Piety, Fortitude, Council and Fear of the Lord! Is. 11:2
We receive all of these gifts at one time. Each day and season of our life we need one gift more then the others. It is sort of like a tool box. While a carpenter needs all the tools in his toolbox, he doesn’t use them all at the same time. He might use a plane, a pencil, a saw and then hammer and nails. He uses all of the tools as he needs them. It is the same with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we have all the gifts at our disposal, but sometimes we need one gift more then the others.
Along with the gifts of the Holy Spirit God gives us the fruits of the Holy Spirit which grow as we practice our faith and make use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is kind of like a fruit tree. First you prepare the ground and dig the hole, plant the tree, water, fill in hole and continue to water and fertilize the soil. In time the tree will bear fruit! The fruit we receive when we practice and grow in our faith is:
love, joy, peace,patience, kindness, generosity,faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Gal. 5:22-23
I would like to end with a copy of the Pentecost Sequence:
Sequence — Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.