On realizing the other day that it was my turn to write another blog post, I asked myself the question, “what have we been doing lately that I can write about?” The answer came to me quickly: Confirmation prep. For the last month or so, Shannon, Matt, Emily, and I have been flooded with Confirmation-related work. We have spent five days in Ballyvaloo leading retreats. We are teaching weekly Confirmation lessons to six groups of 6th class students. We’ve had all sorts of discussions about what we believe as Catholics, and how to live out our faith every day as followers of Jesus. This work will continue through the end of March, when the 6th class students will finally receive the sacrament.
One discussion that I myself have led around nine times now, between retreats and class lessons, is about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is safe to say at this stage that I will never forget them! I’ll give a little refresher on the gifts and their descriptions if you haven’t heard them in a while.
Wisdom– the gift of seeing things as God sees them; to look at life from a perspective of faith; knowing how to live a good life and trying to do that; to make decisions according to God’s will
Understanding– the gift of being able to know and learn more about God; knowing how to apply Jesus’ teachings in daily life
Counsel/Right Judgment– the gift of being able to make the right choices in life according to Christian values, sometimes despite what our friends, society, and culture might say; to understand right from wrong and make decisions in accordance with that understanding
Courage/Fortitude– the gift of having the strength to make the right choices in life; to stand up for your beliefs in Jesus and the Church, even in the face of criticism
Knowledge– the gift of deeply knowing and understanding God’s truth and God’s plan for us; the power to see all created things and all life as worthy and valuable through God’s eyes
Piety/Reverence– the gift of showing respect for God, and showing respect for God’s creation, including other people and the environment; treating God and people with honor and respect
Awe and Wonder/Fear of the Lord– the gift of seeing the work of God in both ordinary and extraordinary ways, of acknowledging the ways in which God works in our lives, through the church, and in creation; the power to recognize God’s greatness
These are big, abstract ideas that can be hard to conceptualize even for adults who have already been confirmed, let alone twelve-year-old students. But I have been amazed by the ways that the students have tackled this topic. For example, at our retreats, we asked the students to listen to the descriptions of the gifts, and pick one that resonated with them or that they wanted to pray for during our time in the chapel. The most common choice was courage, which is very fitting for that age. I was also impressed by some of the other frequent choices, including wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
Another breakthrough moment with this topic came when Shannon and I taught this lesson to the students we work with on Sunday mornings. They are a quiet bunch, and it has been hard to gauge where they are at with some of the topics we’ve been discussing. However, this past Sunday, we played a Gifts of the Spirit Jeopardy game. The questions were examples of real-life situations where the gifts of the Spirit can help us. One read, “A classmate walks up to you and begins to mock you about your Catholic faith and belittles it. Through the gift of ____, you can rightfully defend your faith.” The two teams worked together, with the help of a cheat sheet of the definitions, to answer the questions (courage, in this case). Throughout the game, the group was talking, laughing, and seeing the ways in which our faith applies to things that happen in our everyday lives. It was such a wonderful moment. And it renewed my belief in the importance of having practical discussions about how various faith topics pertain to our lives, especially when reaching out to lapsed Catholics.
Of course, all of these discussions have made me reflect on the ways in which I notice the gifts of the Holy Spirit in my own life. There are two that I recognize most often. Awe and Wonder is the first, because of how deeply connected to God I feel through nature, especially when we are surrounded by so much natural beauty here in Ireland! Piety/Reverence is the second, as I firmly believe that every person is made in the image and likeness of God and, for that reason, deserves respect and love. Other gifts, like wisdom, counsel/right judgment, and understanding, can be more difficult, and I’ve found myself praying for an increase of those virtues in my life.
As we’ve told our students, these gifts of the Spirit are freely given by God out of His love for us. And when we give physical gifts to other people, we hope that they will use and love them. In that same way, God desires that we use these gifts in our lives as we work to love and serve both Him and others. Especially in this time of Lent, when we are called to turn our hearts and minds back to God, recognizing and using the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives is an excellent way to grow closer to God. In the coming weeks, I invite you to join me in reflecting on these gifts and where they appear in your life.
