Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 3, 2024 - Tuesday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 2:10b-16 and Luke 4:31-37]The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. Among men, who knows that pertains to the man except his spirit that is within? Similarly, no one knows that pertains to God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God......But we have the mind of Christ. [1 Corinthians]
SEPTEMBER 3 ST. GREGORY THE GREAT
At various times, different aspects of our faith seem to come forward and capture widespread attention. The recent emphasis on the Eucharistic faith of Catholic Tradition is an example. Back in the 1960's and 70's, the "charismatic movement" brought forward the role of the Holy Spirit with an emphasis on some of the more spectacular aspects such as speaking in tongues. This movement has faded a bit from general public notice but the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the ordinary Christian deserves attention because the proclamation and witness to the gospel in everyday life depends on the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us "the mind of Christ," as St. Paul reminds us in today's first scripture.
What can be difficult is the discernment of the way the Holy Spirit is working in the life of an individual person or community. We can see an example of community discernment in the councils of the Church from Jerusalem (Acts 15:28-29) up to Vatican II. On an individual level, good spiritual direction can assist with this. St. Paul points out elsewhere in 1 Corinthians that there are many different "gifts of the Spirit" to be used for the building up of a Christian community. [1 Cor. 12:4-11]. One of the challenges of leadership is to help members of a community to see how a particular "gift" they have can be of significant value to the larger community. No human process of discernment is perfect because human desires and motives are always a factor, but an awareness of the presence of God's Spirit can be a powerful help. I rely on it every morning when I sit down to write THE WORD TO THE WISE. AMEN.