Feed My Lambs
by Bishop
William K. Weigand
May 17, 2008
The Holy Spirit as source of spiritual life and power
The Easter season reached its climax on Pentecost, May 11. Poured forth by the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit gave birth to the Church and continues to be “the Lord, the giver of life.” (Creed). Making us sharers in the divine life, the Spirit identifies us with Jesus as brothers and sisters, and, therefore, sons and daughters of the Father. We are reminded of this, too, by the great number of people currently receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, through which the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is fortified.
Sealed by the Holy Spirit, our life in God is awesome. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you”? (1 Cor. 3:16) The Spirit breathes forth in us divine life and power to enable us to live as Christians. At Confirmation, the Bishop prays: “Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide. Send them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.”
The Holy Spirit cements us together as “living stones, built as an edifice of spirit.” (1 Peter 2:5) “You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord.” (Eph. 2:20-21) The Spirit forms us into the living Church.
In another biblical image, we are the body of Christ, of which Jesus is the head and we all are the members. “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one and, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body….and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:12-13)
Each one of us is enlivened by the Holy Spirit to have a role in the Church. “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?” (1 Cor. 12:17) Happily, the Holy Spirit continually pours out his gifts in the Church to enable us to fulfill the unique roles and functions which each of us has been given.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” — that is, for the building up of the whole. (1 Cor. 12:4-7) So it is in every diocese, in the Church universal, in the parish, as also in the Christian family.
The effects of the Holy Spirit’s action are diverse. St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes: “The Spirit makes one a teacher of divine truth, inspires another to prophesy, gives another the power of casting out devils, enables another to interpret Holy Scripture. The Spirit strengthens one person’s self-control, shows another how to help the poor, teaches another to fast and lead a life asceticism, makes another oblivious to the needs of the body, trains another for martyrdom. His action is different in different people, but the Spirit himself is always the same.” (Liturgy of Hours)
God empowers the Christian community today, too, with whatever gifts of the Holy Spirit are necessary in order that we be fully and vibrantly his body. “It is not only through the sacraments and the ministrations of the Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads them and enriches them with his virtues. Allotting his gifts according as he wills, he also distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church…” (“Lumen Gentium” No. 12, Vatican Council II)
For our lives to be energized by the Spirit, and our diocese and parishes to be continually enlivened, we should call upon the Holy Spirit frequently and fervently. Pentecost has graced us to be ready and open to the Spirit’s action in our midst. As St. Hilary writes: “This unique gift (of the Spirit) which is in Christ is offered in its fullness to everyone. It is everywhere available, but it is given to each person in proportion to his readiness to receive it. Its presence is the fuller, the greater one’s desire to be worthy of it.” (Liturgy of Hours)
Jesus encourages us: “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened;…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask.” (Lk. 11:9, 13) At different hours of the day, one’s need for a specific kind of spiritual power will vary: now for power to love or forgiveness, now for courage or patience, now for chastity power, now for insight, wisdom or understanding, etc. “Ask and you shall receive....” Let’s try it — and keep doing so until we have developed a habit of frequent, prayerful SOSs! “Power from on high” does makes a difference!
