Holy Spirit exists in both fiery and quiet moments of faith

Published: June 11, 2022

By Father Jason Tyler
Diocesan Bioethicist

We celebrated Pentecost Sunday on June 5 this year. At Pentecost, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles after they were locked in the upper room in prayer for nine days following the Ascension of Jesus.

It’s one of the Church’s “moveable feasts,” meaning that it does not have a fixed day on the calendar but instead falls seven weeks after Easter Sunday on the 50th day of the Easter season. Officially, it’s one of the Church’s greatest celebrations, standing alongside Christmas and just behind the Easter Triduum in terms of its weight on the liturgical calendar.

Despite that official high standing, I would imagine few Catholics approached this year’s celebration of Pentecost with much thought about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in their lives or about the graces they received at their own confirmation. For many, the biggest difference that day was that the priest was wearing red vestments rather than the white we’ve seen for most of the Easter season.

Pentecost might be an under-appreciated celebration, but the role of the Holy Spirit does not have to be under-appreciated. In fact, it is important to remember the gifts of the Spirit throughout the year.

The gifts of the Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. You probably had to learn those when you were preparing for confirmation. Have you thought about them lately?

Have you considered how these gifts are necessary to make the decisions needed in our lives? When confronted with a decision to make, for example, we need wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge. Once the decision is made, fortitude helps us follow through on what we know must happen. Sometimes we think of the Holy Spirit acting in believers only in flashy, memorable ways.

Perhaps you can think of a time when you felt a sudden inspiration, or you can recall being “on fire” after a retreat or other clearly spiritual experience. Certainly, the Holy Spirit can and does act in moments such as those, but the Spirit is also active in our lives in other ways.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph 1830, “The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” These gifts, it says, are “permanent dispositions” that make us “docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, we acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in helping us to make good moral decisions.

Besides the moral life, the Holy Spirit is also active in our life of faith. As St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” When we pray, it is the Spirit who has drawn us to prayer, even if we do not think specifically about the Spirit at that moment.

If we know that the Spirit works in that way and that he is always active in our faith and our moral life, why not call upon him explicitly every day? The celebration of Pentecost is behind us, but the work of the Holy Spirit never ceases.

“Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit, and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.”

Father Jason Tyler is pastor of St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville, Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Lincoln and St. John the Evangelist Church in Huntsville. He is the diocesan bioethicist. This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic June 11, 2022. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.