NURTURING THE GIFT OF GOD WITHIN US
The gift of salvation and all the individual gifts of the Holy Spirit need daily nurturing. They are like seeds planted within our hearts and minds. Unless we care for them well, it will be a struggle for them to bear fruit. The gift of salvation usually comes to us in the first instance, like a realization of the truth – a little bit of a surprise that we know is true and which we know we need to accept. Then comes the hard part, which is nurturing this truth so that it can develop into fullness in our life as a Christian disciple.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit similarly need to be nurtured and practiced. If we do not regularly put them to use, they will atrophy like any unused muscle in the body. It is important to seek out opportunities to exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we have been given and that we do not shy away from expressing them when we get the chance to do so.
Paul often encourages the communities he founded to put the gifts of the Spirit to work. St. John Chrysostom laments that he can no longer see the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested in the life of the Church. I wonder what he would think of the Church today?
It is up to us to keep alive the gifts and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our communities so that the Church is not bereft of its beauty and power. There is power available to us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit — the power to heal, to work miracles, and to prophesy encouragement and the Word of God to His people. However, unless we take up the call to develop these gifts and use them, they will remain as latent potential. Let us develop the gifts we have been given.Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you know what gifts of the Holy Spirit you have been given? Do you use them in the work of proclaiming and living the Kingdom of God?
Holy Spirit, awaken in me Your gifts so that I will be able to use them for the Kingdom of God and for the good of my brothers and sisters in the faith.
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