In addition to wishing everyone a holy Pentecost, I would like to welcome back our group of ladies that have experienced a true outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the course of the ACTS retreat they have been on the last few days.
I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with them over the course of the retreat. Based on what I saw, I have no doubt it was a spirit filled retreat full of joy, full of peace, and full of love.
How fitting that they would have such a strong encounter with the Holy Spirit in tandem with our celebration of Pentecost today. The day we celebrate the birth of the Catholic Church when the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary, the Apostles and other disciples in the Upper Room.
This is the same room Jesus celebrated the first Mass and instituted the Holy Eucharist at Passover. The Last Supper occurred fifty days prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of which we heard about in our first reading.
I’d like to give you a bit more historical and spiritual context around what we celebrate today.
Let’s go back in time to the first Passover, as the Hebrews were beginning the Exodus out of Egypt. At that time, God prescribed exactly how the Hebrews were to participate in the Passover (meaning how the Hebrews were to participate in the sacramental life of the Old Covenant). In doing so, God said all generations had to observe the Passover.
Fifty days later, on Mount Sinai, there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had come down upon it in the appearance of fire.
This event is known as the Great Theophany of the Old Covenant as the Hebrews received the law written in stone, namely the ten commandments to be lived through obedience.
Roughly 1,500 years later, at the Last Supper, Jesus prescribed exactly how Christians are to participate in the Passover (meaning how Christians are to participate in the sacramental life of the New Covenant through the Eucharist). In doing so, He said “Do this in memory of me.”
Fifty days later, in that same Upper Room on Mount Zion, now gathered around the Virgin Mary, 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.
This is the Great Theophany of the New Covenant as the Christians received the law written on their hearts. The power of the Holy Spirit to live the beatitudes in love.
This Flame of Love that came to rest on each of the early Christians in our reading today, is the same Flame of Love that is meant to rest on each of us at our Confirmation. The Flame of Love that enables us to boldly proclaim the mighty acts of God and to be His agents in renewing the face of the earth.
This message is still unfolding today. Now we are not obligated to believe private revelation, but on March 24, 1963, Jesus said to Elizabeth Kindelmann, “Through the Flame of Love…faith will take root in souls, and the face of the earth will be renewed, because nothing like it has happened ever since the Word became Flesh (the Word was made flesh when the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary in her personal Pentecost, if you will). The renewal of the earth, although flooded with sufferings, will come about by the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin.”
Brothers and sisters, we are called to be an active part of this renewal of the world for the glory of God through the fires of Pentecost…the Flame of Love. In fact, listen to the words of Saint Louis de Montfort:
“The Holy Spirit, finding His spouse (Mary) present again in souls, will come down into them with great power. He will fill them with His gifts, especially wisdom, by which they will produce great wonders of grace…loving and glorifying Jesus.
These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be chosen to oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all sides.
They will be ministers of the Lord who, like a flaming fire, will enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love. They will become, in Mary's powerful hands, like sharp arrows, with which she will transfix her enemies.”
Then, as if speaking to the Lord, he said, “When will it happen, this fiery deluge of pure love with which you are to set the whole world ablaze and which is to come, so gently yet so forcefully, that all nations…will be caught up in its flames and be converted? When you breathe your Spirit into them, they are restored and the face of the earth renewed.”
Brothers and sisters, all of us received this breath of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, although (if you were like me) we may not have had the correct intention nor disposition at the time for the graces of Confirmation to be activated in our lives. I believe these women had graces activated this weekend.
Still, the question for all of us becomes, how do we stoke the Flame of Love within us and continue to become the beautiful soul described by Saint Louis de Montfort?
The answer is in how the disciples responded to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The disciples did not just stay in the Upper Room once they received the Holy Spirit. They did not limit their expression of faith to the place where they celebrated Mass. They took their faith out into the world.
The same is true for us. We receive our charisms and other spiritual gifts through the Sacraments of Initiation (particularly Baptism and Confirmation) and they are strengthened as we thoroughly live the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church, particularly our reception of the Eucharist with the correct intention and disposition.
Every baptized Christian receives charisms. The charisms are given to the Christian not for their personal sanctification, but rather for the building of the Kingdom of Sacred Heart…so they may make God’s love visible.
Charisms are meant to advance the kingdom and glorify God. Charisms are given for the benefit of the Church, the body of Christ.
While the benefit of having charisms is not our own, acting in our charisms is a life giving experience for us. Exercising our charisms makes us feel a greater sense of joy, a greater sense of fulfillment, and a greater level of energy compared to when we are not acting through our charisms. Further, acting in our charisms can make us more open to sacramental grace in our lives, which can then be further activated.
There is true danger in ignoring or even rejecting a charism God has given us. Think of the “Parable of the Talents”. The first two servants used the talents given to them by the master, the third did not. When the master returned, he was very pleased with the first two servants and he gave them more talents. The master was not pleased with the third servant because he buried the talent. This servant did not receive more talents. In fact, the one he had was taken away and given to another.
These talents represent the charisms and spiritual gifts God has given us. Strengthening one gift now may be the key to utilizing another gift in the future.
These are gifts God has given us that we can be free to follow Him in His plan for us….plans that the Prophet Isaiah said include a prosperous and hopeful future.
You may be wondering how you can identify your charisms. The short answer is that we come to understand our charisms through the lived experience of making God’s love visible. But, there are some practical things we can do.
First, the parish website has a Spiritual Skills Inventory. This is a wonderful tool that can be used to help you start thinking about what your charisms might be and give you some practical thoughts on how to act in those charisms.
Based on the results of the inventory, I encourage you to join a couple of ministries that would give you a chance to act from the charisms you have.
Joining ministries is important because, if we are not helping to extend the Kingdom of Sacred Heart into the world around us in some fashion, if we are not making God’s love visible, it is very likely we will never come to truly understand what our charisms are, let alone use them in a vein similar to the first two servants from the parable.
The good news is that we have dozens of ministries here at the parish. Give the Holy Spirit a chance to bear witness to how He wants to act through you (via your charisms) by taking action in one or two of these ministries.
The key is to truly participate in the ministry. Just having your name on a ministry roster or even showing up at ministry meetings but passively sitting in the corner will not activate or strengthen a charism.
It is only through active participation in service and other ministerial work that we can truly come to know what our charisms are, how to employ them sufficiently by the grace of God, and to be truly set ablaze by the Flame of Love.
The Catholic Renewal Center also routinely offers workshops and programs based on the charisms that can be very helpful in learning about and discerning the charisms you may have. These events can be found on the Archdiocesan website.
A spiritual director can also be very helpful to sort through your experiences to discern what your true charisms are. Here are some considerations for reflection that can be good conversation with a spiritual director:
When you attempt to exercise a specific charism, does there seem to be an inherent life-giving and energizing dimension to the act?
When you attempt to exercise a specific charism, do you generally experience a superabundance of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)?
When you attempt to exercise a specific charism, does the parish community respond with feedback indicating they recognize a gift from God is present in what you are doing?
What are some things that you currently avoid or even outright fear? This one may seem strange. However, sometimes, the very thing we might avoid or fear could be the very charism that could bring us the greatest fulfillment in this life. The evil one often tries to put obstacles in place to discourage us from activating our charisms.
Consider the priesthood, many young men have received the charism of the priesthood, but the evil one is often successful in dissuading them from acting through that particular charism. Many of us encounter similar ploys from the evil one when it comes to the charisms in our life.
It can be a bit of work to come to understand what your charisms are and it can take a bit of courage to start putting them into action, but it is completely worth it.
Finding ways to make God’s love visible through your charisms is ultimately a path to living a life that is truly happy, joyous and free.
Saint Catherine of Siena said, “Be who you are meant to be, and you will set the world on fire.” Take that as your invitation to experience a personal Pentecost.
Thanks be to God!
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