June 8, 2003

The Resurrection of Christ and the Descent of the Holy Spirit brought the Church into being, and so Easter and Pentecost were the first two great feasts. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit gave the Church seven spiritual gifts and these are given to each Christian in the Sacrament of Confirmation: Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, and Fear of the Lord. These are not altogether what they mean in ordinary speech, and it is good to read about them and to use the season of Pentecost to pray for their increase.

We can offer communions and confessions for their increase, and this bears results. The baptisms in our parish have increased 30% over two years ago and are 80% more than twenty years ago. The increasing number of confessions creates a nice symmetry: The more confessions are offered for the good of others, the more others come to confession. Can you think of a better place for spreading God’s grace than right here in our parish in the heart of Manhattan? This is a big responsibility: Our Lord told us that more is required from those to whom much is given.

The Holy Spirit leads into all truth. Pope John Paul II has called the loss of a sense of truth the greatest calamity of the age. When the Holy Spirit is driven from the soul by pride, the ego and its counterfeits for Catholic truth take over. “God wants this or that” becomes a falsely pious way of saying, “I want this or that.” Bogus invocations of the Holy Spirit have led to a decrease in faith, with resulting sadness and moral chaos. There can be no true joy without the truth of God. It is remarkable that there seems to be such an increase of faith in so many in a time of such confusion, but that is a paradox of the Holy Spirit’s mercy for us. Nonetheless, those who propose reforms for a decadent society will fail if they seek legal and political solutions without the help of the Holy Spirit. The media have exercised their proper office in demanding accountability for the moral failings of Christians. They have done poorly themselves. Our major city newspaper, not reluctant to find fault with the Church, has had major ethical scandals recently and has refused to fire its editors. Nor has it ever apologized for having defended characters like Stalin and Castro, or for having cast a largely blind eye on the early reports of Nazi genocide. The list goes on. Truth is not a theory but a fact. It is not determined by opinion. It is found by humility. The ideologue says, “That may be fine in practice, but how is it in theory?” The Christian says, “Come Holy Spirit, enlighten our hearts, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.”

Fr. George W. Rutler