Ruth's Book I
Secular Franciscans and the Holy Spirit
Why is Pentecost the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ? Why not December 25, the day Christ was born?
Because, until Pentecost there was no “Good News” to proclaim — only the distressing tale of a man who had preached, died in ignominy, and was buried. It was the end, or so it seemed, at that moment.
But suddenly things began to happen. He burst forth from the tomb, ALIVE and forty days later He ascended into heaven in His glorified body. After His Ascension came the electrifying fulfillment of His promise, when on Pentecost Sunday the Holy Spirit came down with a roar of wind and a flash of flames and the “Good News” became a living reality; a message of faith and hope and love to be proclaimed to all the world. This is exactly what the apostles and disciples did with zest and zeal that first Pentecost day, when 3,000 people believed. That was the birth of the Church — those 3,000 people, the people of God, the Church. They were then, as we are now, the Church.
What has this to do with our Secular Franciscan Order?
The Holy Spirit floods us with grace — a pure gift. We can’t buy it. We can’t earn it. We receive it gratis. And that is where the parable begins to have meaning for us, because, through the grace of God, we can begin to develop our God-given talents.
Every living person is blessed with a talent or talents. To strive to develop these to the best of our ability brings a smile and a joyful “Well done” from God.
Let no person say he or she has no talent. God has gifted each one of us with something special.
For most of us, our abilities are not all that great. But, ability we have, because as human beings, created by God, we have been endowed with a body to enable us to work, an intellect to enable us to know what it is we need to do and a free will to spur us on and an immortal soul to lift us up higher than ourselves.
Irradiated by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we accept from the Holy Spirit the gift of Faith. We believe in God and receive the gift of Hope — we can reach beyond our human capacity to a share in that which is Divine. And, we receive the gift of Love which is the Holy Spirit within us.
As Franciscans we accept the gifts the Spirit gives us with gratitude. Most of us do not ask for greater gifts. The more spectacular ones of the Holy Spirit, which are His alone to give are the gift of tongues, discernment, prophecy and the supernatural. Most of us, humbly and obediently, are satisfied to receive the “Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit” which are ours for the asking — and ask we should. These are ordinary gifts, if any gift from the Holy Spirit can be called ordinary. I’m not talking about phenomenal gifts, I’m talking about the basic gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Fortitude, Counsel, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
First of all let us ask for the gift of “Wisdom,” which is a beginning. Let us pray intensely for this one, which, when God told King Solomon he could ask for whatever he desired, Solomon replied that he would like Wisdom so that he could rule his people wisely and justly. God was enormously pleased with his reply. Wisdom is to know the way, the truth and the life of Jesus that He gave to us when He walked the earth.
From the gift of “Wisdom,” we can move on to the gift of “Understanding.” With this gift we receive a greater understanding of our relationship, as humans, to a God who is our Loving Father, our Savior and our Love and Consolation.
With the gift of “Understanding” we move on to the gift of “Knowledge” where we have a greater knowledge of Jesus in our lives. We are bringing Him alive out of the pages of the Gospels into our daily living. We are now in the position of what St. Paul was talking about when he said, …“we have complete victory through Him who loves us! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from His love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers; neither the present nor the future; neither the world above nor the world below — there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8: 37-39)
The gift of “Knowledge” is given to us so that we understand what his message is for each one of us individually, so we may grasp the how, the when and the wherefore of His message as we live day by day in this our secular world of existence.
Next is the gift of “Fortitude” which gives us the courage, and stamina to stick to our convictions, not only through good times; but in particular, through bad times — times of heartbreak, trials, frustrations, sufferings, disappointments, and depression of the spirit. We are fixed, firm and immovable, set in concrete in His love. No pain, no sickness, no heartache, no frustration, no ridicule or put-down; nothing can take it from us. It is ours to have and to hold, and this powerful fact is implemented in us by our gift of “Fortitude.”
With the gift of “Counsel” we are now able to transmit this “Good News,” we have come to understand. We can show other people how to evangelize, not necessarily by words or preaching, but simply by our example. Our light now is shining clearly before men so that we can, through wisdom, understanding and knowledge, have the necessary know-how to share Christ’s way and truth. This is our gift of “Counsel.”
The gift of “Counsel” is bolstered by the gift of “Piety” as we reach towards the level of St. Francis (at least we are striving towards it).
Thomas of Celano said of him: “He was a man so steeped in love for Jesus Christ that he had Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his ears, Jesus in his mouth, Jesus in his hands, Jesus in every member of his body.” This is what we strive for through the gift of “Piety.”
And finally, the gift of “Fear of the Lord.” This one may seem difficult. Fear of the Lord? I don’t fear the Lord. What is it, to fear the Lord? To some it is one thing, to others it is something else. To my understanding, it is love, a deep-seated, pervasive love of God that makes us fear, above everything else, our own human weaknesses that could make us vulnerable to influences that could come between us and His love. It is the fear that unless we are constantly on our toes spiritually we may separate ourselves from Him, and the fear that something we might do or neglect to do, or say, will hurt Him who has already been so terribly hurt by all of us down through the centuries.
It is like that dear, lovable, rough fisherman, Peter, who hurt Him. Remember that day when the cock crowed and Jesus looked at him and that look stabbed deep down into Peter’s heart and he stood there aghast at what he had done, his head dropped down to his chest and he remained there sobbing like a little boy who realizes he had done something awful that hurt his beloved father.
What Peter felt was not fear. It was contrition born of true love — deep, deep love. Fear of the Lord is such a love.
All this is ours because this is what it is to be a Franciscan and walk the Way of the Gospel. We are rising out of our mundane drabness and lifted high above our own poor abilities into the realm of the Divine.
It is thrilling and a real marvel that this should be ours; we who are just little ordinary people, the minor brothers and sisters, the poverelli. We do not aspire to perform center stage under a spotlight. We are content to use our little natural talents in a supernatural way. This is the tremendous message of St. Francis.
God grant that we use our minds and hearts and wills to bring the Fear of the Lord to a very pinnacle in our lives so that God can call out to us joyfully some day and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Said his master. You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness! (Matt. 25: 21).
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, giver of life and light,
Help us who take part in any gathering
to serve you both in the Church
and in the world.
Grant that we may think honestly and
speak wisely, and make us ready
to listen to others.
Bestow on us and on all your people
your bond of unity and peace; that all may
know us as Jesus' followers,
because we have love for one another.
May we, with one heart and one voice,
glorify the eternal Trinity,
God blest forever more.
Amen.