In this month dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus, as I file away a meditation for a most ancient novena for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, I prepare for June 27, the last Friday of the month’s devotion, which falls on the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
We Catholics could have novenas, meditations, dedications and consecrations going on 365 days a year. Some of us do, and that’s a good thing! Yet this age-old Christian novena to the Holy Spirit sinks into my mind and heart. Do I really hold and work these gifts for my good and the good of others? To what degree or intensity am I living these gifts and bearing the fruits of the Spirit?
On the weekend of Pentecost, although I didn’t preach, I heard a lot of preaching. Due to my deacon duties, I assisted at a couple of Masses in different venues. Although the homilies were diverse, they were instructive in their own ways on how the Holy Spirit can, has and will continue to work in the lives of the faithful.
Apparently, I didn’t have enough homiletics from the pulpit. In the evening, I tuned in to a couple more podcast versions while preparing an all-inclusive nutritional “breakfast smoothie.” I learned this nourishing habit from my grown-up, health-crazed kids and kids-in-laws. I listened to the various messages and pearls about the Holy Spirit that the homilists were presenting to their listeners. They brought up questions that I inquire about: How do I know the Holy Spirit is at work in me? How can I talk with and encourage others about the gifts and fruits, so that in Catholic Watchmen language: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Prov 27:17).
We can learn by turning to the Acts of the Apostles to read about Pentecost and the activities that followed, which demonstrate the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit that dwelled in the hearts of Jesus’ followers as they gained new disciples throughout the vast lands they traveled. Peter Kreeft, a philosophy professor at Boston College and a prolific Catholic writer, reminds us that the Acts of the Apostles has been called “the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.” He defines this empowerment of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as the “secret of the Church” — giving the first Apostles the supernatural wherewithal to make more disciples for Jesus. Kreeft explains how we need to “recapture the forward-looking optimism of the apostles in the Acts.” Dishonesty, hard-heartedness, viciousness, pridefulness and many problems of the human condition exist today as much as back then. To endure, Christians need to use the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, which help provide the “staying power” we need until Christ comes again.
Many times the remedy offered to keep that staying power alive is simply to be Catholic. I’m not an expert defender of the faith and certainly not a biblical scholar, but that’s not a copout answer. It’s actually a pretty good response. I would supplement that response — in Catholic Watchmen speak — with the basic disciplines of our movement that help nourish and express the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Catholic Watchmen keep daily practices of praying persistently and with devotions to the Holy Family, reading the Bible to know and encounter Jesus and striving to be a spiritual father like St. Joseph. These display gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially piety, knowledge, fortitude and wisdom, but also fear of the Lord, understanding and good counsel. Love is a fruit of the Spirit that our Lord and the Holy Family taught us by the way they lived, as well as joy, fidelity and kindness. Additional fruits are peace, patience, gentleness, goodness and self-control. Do this as a family, because you want to emulate the Holy Family. As we speak, my wife and I are devoting 10 to 15 minutes each day to a double novena (i.e., 18 days) leading up to the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Weekly and monthly? We express many gifts and bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit by simply going to Mass and serving those in need — spiritually and physically — at least weekly. Monthly, it is fruitful for Watchmen to go to confession and to gather in fellowship with other men — keeping each other accountable. If you’re already in a small weekly group, all the better.
Read the fifth chapter of Galatians for insight on the fruits of the Holy Spirit. A quick internet search turns up some of St. Thomas Aquinas’ insight into the question: “What are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and why do they matter?”
Deacon Bird ministers to St. Joseph in Rosemount and All Saints in Lakeville and assists with the archdiocesan Catholic Watchmen movement. See heroicmen.com for existing tools supported by the archdiocese to enrich parish apostolates for ministry to men. For Watchmen start-up materials or any other questions regarding ministry to men, contact him at gordonbird@rocketmail.com.
