All who open their hearts to the action of God�s Spirit have all
the gifts of the Spirit, not just a gift.
Too many think that they are not favored by God with even a gift
because they are too unworthy, or too unintelligent, or are not good
enough. And yet our God gifts
all who say �Yes� to Him, all who ask, all who open their hearts to
Him, all who desire to do His work, all who reach out to share what they
have been given or have received from Him.
People who lived 2000 years ago were not much different than we are
today. We still struggle, go
through trials, try to overcome our weakness and our emptiness.
But our God has given us the Isaiah gifts to make us mighty in the
Spirit of God, to know who we are in Christ and to have the strength to
live the full Christian life as true disciples of Jesus. We receive these gifts at our Confirmation.
We need only to understand what we have received and grow in these
gifts.
When
we give control of our lives to the Lord we receive what we call the
baptism or the release of the Holy Spirit.
From
this point on we may begin to exercise the Corinthian gifts that are given
by the Spirit for the building up and strengthening of the People of God,
the Church.
Spiritual gifts are evident throughout the pages of Scripture, both
in the Old and New Testaments. The
Patriarchs of old such as Noah and Moses, the prophets, the judges, the
apostles and disciples, all exercised gifts of the Holy Spirit of God, who
is always active, always present, who only awaits the invitation to be
active, to move freely.
At Pentecost we saw the transformation of the apostles and
disciples who went forth from the Upper Room as witnesses, joyfully and
boldly proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord.
There was no doubt that Jesus had risen from the dead, that He was
alive, that He had given them power from on high, the Spirit who was to
remain with them. The Spirit
came with power, gave power, prompted the proclamation of the Good News
with power, with signs and wonders following.
The Church grew boldly and rapidly, because of the love and power
evident in those who accepted Jesus as Lord.
Countless numbers gave their lives for their faith in Jesus; the
Church grew. Today, there is
a fresh outpouring of the Spirit. Will
you build the Church; renew the Church today by your acceptance of Jesus
as Lord in your life? Will you let the Spirit of God work through you to
build up the People of God? Will you not limit the Spirit of God, but have
faith and be witnesses to the Truth?
Let
there be a fresh outpouring of the Spirit today, tomorrow, and the next
day, and the next, and the next.
Condensed
from Understanding the
Charismatic Gifts by Fr. Peter B. Coughlin, � 1998.
Fr. Coughlin is the Director of Service for the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal Services of Ontario, Canada.
By clicking
on the blue type, you can read other articles in the January
2001 issue of