Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
I have been listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz. Recently, the topic covered was the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. I was reminded of this topic when reading today’s scripture, since a number of the gifts of the Spirit are mentioned in the first reading. The gospel reading helps me discover that when I listen to the words of Jesus and seek Him in prayer and sacrament, I open myself up to receive the Gifts of the Spirit, so I can share God’s goodness with the world around me.
In the first reading, St. Paul is telling the community in Colossae how he is praying that its members will be filled with spiritual blessings. He prays that they will receive wisdom, knowledge of God, understanding, and be strengthened with every power. He also prays that the people will bear good fruit and joyfully give thanks to God. St. Paul realizes for this early Christian community to flourish, the people need to be filled with the Spirit in order to become members of the Kingdom of Jesus.
The podcast on the Catechism reminded me that the 7 gifts of the Spirit are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. The fruits of the Spirit are: Love, Joy. Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness, and Self Control. (Gal 5:22-23) The Catechism adds Goodness, Modesty and Chastity to that list. We bear the fruits of the Spirit in our lives when we use the Gifts of the Spirit that we receive. I learned about these Spiritual blessings during my preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation, but like many of us this sacrament was received many years ago and the details seem fuzzy. This scripture from St. Paul reminds me of how these gifts/ fruits are an important part of living a life of discipleship.
Today’s gospel reading supplies some insight for me as I search for ways to grow in the Spirit. Jesus teaches the crowds in today’s gospel, and then asks the disciples to “Put out into the deep water.” After this, Jesus calls the fisherman (Simon Peter, Andrew, John and James) to follow Him- and they leave everything and follow him. How could these men leave behind their livelihood so readily? The scripture gives me clues to their great act of faith. They hear first hand Jesus’ preaching as He stands in the boat. They also experience the abundance of His blessings as they “put out into the deep” and bring in a catch that almost breaks their nets. Simon Peter demonstrates how he puts aside his will, and “at your command” follows Jesus directives. Because of their openness, surrender, and the Spirit of God, these men transform from fisherman into the apostles of Jesus’ ministry here on earth.
We do not live at the time of Jesus, but we are still called to follow Him. Jesus offers us similar ways to grow. Through scripture we can listen and learn from the teachings of Jesus. Jesus invites us to “put out into the deep” through our prayer, as we develop our relationship with God. Our church offers the sacraments as opportunities to grow in Spirit of God. We are given the gifts of the Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation, but every time we celebrate the other sacraments, we are provided an increase in God’s grace, and therefore our life in the Spirit grows. Similar to Peter, we need to be open to receive and surrender to God’s call for us to become true disciples of Christ.
These readings (and the podcast) have raised my awareness about the gifts/ fruits of the Spirit. I realize that God desires to abundantly bless all those who are open and willing to receive these blessings. Today, let us pray for one another as St. Paul prayed for the Colossians. May God send down His Holy Spirit, so the gifts and fruits of the Spirit lived in our lives will bear witness to the goodness of God in our world!
-Marylynn Herchline