Pentecost is a celebration for many reasons: it marks the end of the Easter season, is the birthday of the Church, and reminds us of the power that the Spirit has on us, bestowing on us different gifts to strengthen the Church and bring about unity.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;”
1 Cor 12:4
It’s for these reasons that it is a great opportunity for us to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, & fear of the Lord. It is by searching within ourselves for these gifts that we can truly feel renewed by the Spirit, as our Responsorial Psalm reminds us from this weekend.
“Lord, send out your spirit and renew the face of the earth.”
Psalm 104:1
As we all try to find a new “normal” in this recovery period from the restrictions of the pandemic, how can we create a fresh start? How can we find hope? Well it’s using those seven gifts. It’s the wisdom and understanding that comes from God. It’s using the gift of counsel to make better decisions. It’s the fortitude to be strong, courageous and take risks. It’s using the knowledge we are given to live up to the ways of God. It’s channeling piety to find a willingness to worship and to serve God in all we do, and the fear of the Lord to understand His greatness and awesomeness and that there is a reason for everything that he has done… including the pandemic.
My prayer for you is to find your own sense of renewal on this feast of Pentecost. God bless.
