This is why many inactive Catholics (as well as Baptists) are so resentful of their upbringing in the Church. For them, religion means frustration, failure, and guilt.
Somehow they, and I, missed the good news about Pentecost. OK, we Catholics celebrate the feast every year and give it an honorable mention in Confirmation class, but lots of us evidently did not “get it.”
Because if we “got it,” we’d be different. Bold instead of timid, energetic instead of anemic, fascinated instead of bored. Compare the Apostles before and after Pentecost and you’ll see the difference the Spirit makes.
The gospel is Good News not just because we’re going to heaven, but because we’ve been empowered to change now, to be new people, to share in the character of Christ. Vatican II made clear that each of us is called to the heights of holiness (Lumen Gentium, chapter V). It’s not will power that’s going to make this happen. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. Holiness consists in faith, hope, and especially divine love (charity or agape)” These are “virtues,” literally “powers,” that are gifts, graces of the Holy Spirit. As if they were not enough, the Spirit gives us seven further gifts which perfect faith, hope, and love, and make it possible to live a truly supernatural, charismatic life. Some have argued that this is only for the chosen few, “the mystics.” St. Thomas Aquinas taught, quite to the contrary, that the gifts of Is 11:1-3 (wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord) are standard equipment given to all in baptism, that all are called to be “mystics.”
Vatican II also taught that every Christian is called to participate actively in Christ’s mission. We need power for this too. And so the Spirit distributes other gifts, called “charisms.” These are, teaches St. Thomas, not so much for our own sanctification, as for service to others. There is no exhaustive list of them, though Paul mentions a few (I Cor 12:7-10 and Rom 12:6-8) ranging from tongues to Christian marriage (1 Cor 7: 7). These gifts are not doled out by the pastors; rather they are given directly by the Spirit through baptism and confirmation, even sometimes outside of the sacraments (Acts 10:44-48).
Do I sound Pentecostal? That’s because I belong to the largest Pentecostal-Charismatic Church in the world. After the idea was expressed on the floor of St. Peter’s that the charisms were just for the apostolic church, the Council forcefully taught the contrary: “Allotting His gifts “to everyone according as He will” (1 Cor. 12:11), He [the Holy Spirit] distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank…. These charismatic gifts, whether they be the most outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation, for they are exceedingly suitable and useful for the needs of the Church” (LG 12).
Powerful gifts, freely given to all. That might sound like a recipe for chaos. But the Lord also gave to the Church the sacrament of holy orders that imparts to the Apostles and their successors a unifying charism of headship. The role of the pastors is not to supplant or control the charisms given to the laity. Rather, they are to discern, shepherd, and coordinate them so that they mature and work together for the greater glory of God (LG 30).
So what if you, like me, did not quite “get it” when you were confirmed? I’ve got good news for you. You actually did get the Spirit and His gifts. Have you ever received a new credit card in the mail with a sticker on it saying “Do not use until you call this number and activate?” The Spirit and His gifts are the same way. You have to call in and activate them. Do it today and every day, and especially every time you attend Mass or go to confession. Because every sacramental celebration is a New Pentecost where the Spirit and His gifts are poured out anew (CCC 739, 1106).
That’s why the Christian Life is an adventure. There will always be new surprises of the Spirit.
Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He appears weekly on radio and TV reaching six continents and his books, tapes, videos, and CDs are internationally distributed. Information on his free resources, talks, CDs, videos and books is available on his website, www.dritaly.com.
For Dr. D’Ambrosio’s special resources on enriching your experience of the Easter Season and Pentecost, and for his new CD series “A Catholic at Heart” visit www.dritaly.com or call 1-800-803-0118.
(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)
