By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM
Part 4
In this article, we consider the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Every day at Mass — or at least every Sunday — we say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” But, I ask, how many of us have taken time to really know the Holy Spirit? Some theologians call Him, “The Great Unknown One.” And He gives us His Gifts, which sanctify us and prepare us for our eternal destiny, Heaven.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are virtues that enable us to act like Jesus. Remember the question, WWJD? “What would Jesus do?” It is not a matter of guesswork, trying to imagine Jesus standing next to us, holding His chin and thinking about what to suggest to us to do in a given set of circumstances. No. The gifts of the Holy Spirit truly help us act as He would act. It is just as sanctifying grace, which the gifts accompany, makes our souls to be like that of Jesus.
This is the best goal in our lives: to acquire the Christian virtues that empower us always to act in a Christ-like way. Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we perform virtuous actions, which are far more than just any “virtuous action”: our virtuous actions become just like the actions Jesus would perform were He in our place.
Once we practice those virtues on a stable manner, we can say with St. Paul, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
Having said that, I must also add that no one, but no one, can know with absolute certainty that he is in the state of grace: “Man does not know whether he be worthy of love or hatred” (Ecclus. 9:1). In previous articles, we refuted Luther’s heresy that sola fide, or faith alone, is sufficient for salvation. It is a grave sin of presumption to say with absolute certainty that one is already saved.
This is so because, since grace is supernatural, above our nature, it escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. Some folks may feel deeply within themselves that they are “saved,” but one cannot rely on mere feelings or even one’s good works to reach the happy — but false — conclusion that one is already saved.
St. Paul declares, “I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judges me, is the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:4). It may happen that, by dreadful pride or spiritual blindness, a person is guilty of mortal sins, especially of omission, but is unaware of it, especially in these days of widespread ignorance of the faith.
But, you could ask me, aren’t there some indications that our lives are pleasing to God? Must we always live in suspense, in uncertainty, in doubt? Where does love of and confidence in God come into it?
No worries. The great St. Thomas Aquinas gives us three signs we can consider to figure out how we are doing on the journey by narrow road to be pleasing to God our Lord.
Let us ask ourselves these questions:
a) Do we find contentment and delight in the thought of God, i.e., in reflecting on His goodness and loving care of us, in uplifting our mind and heart in prayer, and in frequenting the sacraments? That is, do we spend time in meditation on religious topics? Do we read good books and spend time raising our heart in the consideration of what we read and in prayer? Do we pray the rosary? Do we go to Mass frequently, or at least on Sunday and days of obligation? Do we go to Confession and Communion often? Do we desire to be God-like, virtuous, and strong in faith, hope, and charity?
b) Do we despise earthly things? (That is a tough one.) That is, are we are detached from pleasures and riches, not desiring them for their own sakes but for use in the service of God? Or, at least, do we desire to be detached from pleasures and riches, and only desire them according to God’s will and in His service?
c) Are we aware that we have no unforgiven mortal sin in our conscience? Are we sorry for our past sins? Or, at least, are we sorry that we are not sorry enough?
Your next question might be, “OK, I think I am going that way, at least in my recent past. But I remember I have fallen away before. How can I keep going on the right road?”
There is an easy way to persevere: Keep up on your good words, because your good works are your virtues put into practice. You and I, dear reader, are adults and therefore have come to the full use of reason and cannot retain sanctifying grace, unless we prove by our actions that we are friends of God.
Christ said to His apostles:
“Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21). And also, “He that has my Commandments, and keeps them; he it is that loves me. And he that loves me, shall be loved of my Father: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).
In one sentence, to live as true friends of Christ, we must be obedient to His words as conveyed to us by His Holy Church in her 2,000-year Tradition of teaching. We must bring forth the fruit of good works, and perform them with a supernatural motive, purpose, goal. Any works we perform with the purpose of giving glory to God and saving souls are supernatural good works.
The next step is to realize that sanctifying grace is increased in us by our good works. It is a beautiful virtuous cycle: Sanctifying grace helps us perform good works, and the good works increase sanctifying grace in us.
Through sanctifying grace we are made living branches of the vine of Christ: “I am the vine,” He says, “you are the branches. . . . Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He [God the Father] takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1).
This is an incredibly beautiful reality: Just as the sap that runs through the vine also runs through the branches, the sanctifying grace that runs through Christ also runs through us, if we are faithful to His love.
But remember: God also prunes the branches, so that it may give more fruits. And, sometimes, the pruning hurts. It is the daily cross we bear.
Thus, the branch that bears fruit will be given greater strength; its divine life, which is sanctifying grace, will continue to increase in proportion to the good works it produces.
Next article: The Sacred Liturgy.
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(Raymond de Souza, KM, is available to speak at Catholic events anywhere in the free world in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Please email SacredHeartMedia@Outlook.com or visit www.RaymonddeSouza.com or phone 507-450-4196 in the United States.)
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