Pentecost Sunday - May 15, 2016

Homily for Pentecost

May 15, 2016

Confirmed in the Spirit

 

            My brother is a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and just this past week he graduated from college seminary and is now going to study in Rome for the next five years. They have a tradition at his college seminary that on the last day of college, they hold a special Mass called the “Donning of the Clerics” Mass where all of the graduating seniors are allowed to wear the black-and-white uniform of a priest (called “clerics”). For them it is quite an exciting time! It’s one step closer to being able to live out their vocation of priesthood.

            Every profession has a training period. Before a man becomes a major league ballplayer, he has to spend some time in the minor leagues. But everyone in the minors longs to be in the majors! I certainly remember having a burning desire to become a priest while I was in seminary! If you are being trained to be a cop or an IT professional or a psychologist, you have to endure training – not always pleasant – for the joy of actually fulfilling your role. The training period is necessary, but we always ache to have it end and get started on the mission.

            At Pentecost, the Apostles’ training period ends. For three years they had trained under Jesus Christ Himself – learning how to think like Him, love like Him, have a passion for the conversion of souls like Him, how to pray like Him…and now, as they receive the Holy Spirit, it’s as if they are given their commission, they have graduated from school, they have been released to fulfill the mission that Christ has entrusted to them – not with their own power or strength or talents, but in the power of the Holy Spirit.

            Pentecost is often called the “Birthday of the Church” because it was this day that the Apostles went from being a fearful band of hunted men to fearless evangelists, filled with faith and the Spirit. The Church, founded on these fearless Apostles, started its mission of going out and making disciples of all nations on Pentecost Sunday. They needed the gifts of the Holy Spirit – gifts like courage, and the gift of tongues – to be effective!

            But where does that leave you and me? Well, we have been filled with the Holy Spirit as well…twice, as a matter of fact. We were first filled with the Holy Spirit at our Baptism – the birthday of our own discipleship. But as good as it is to be a disciple – a follower of Christ – all of us are called to more than that. We are also called to be Apostles, to go out and bring the world to Christ and Christ to the world. For this new mission, we need a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit – which we receive at Confirmation.

            It’s like this – at Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit for our own holiness and salvation, so we can belong to Christ. But at Confirmation, we receive the Holy Spirit for others’ holiness and salvation, so that we can bring all those around us to Christ. Baptism is for us, Confirmation is for others.

            So, if you have been confirmed, then you have been given a mission. The Holy Spirit gives people special gifts called charisms – a gift or talent that is to be used for the building-up of the Kingdom of God, to bring souls to Christ. There are many varieties of gifts: St. Paul mentions such gifts as teaching, administration, wisdom, great faith, healing, speaking in different languages. Some people have the gift of praying for others (called intercessory prayer), some people have the gift of working with the poor. Some people have the gift of wealth, which is given to them by God so that they can be generous with it. Some people have a gift with youth or the elderly or those with mental illness. Some people have the gift of a sense of humor, or are natural leaders, or are good at being the behind-the-scenes person. Some people have a gift of music or some other technical skill like carpentry or auto mechanics. All of these are gifts given to us, not just so we can make a living, but ultimately so that they can be used to bring souls to Jesus Christ.

            So, what is your gift? I’m quite sure everyone here who is open to the Spirit has a gift they can use for the building-up of the Kingdom. At the end of our lives, we will have to give an account before God of how well we have used these charisms. Have we served our neighbor, loved God, or supported the Church through our charism? Or have we wasted it on ourselves or ignored it? It’s not too late!

            Some amazing things happen when people offer their gifts and charisms to the Lord. There was a priest in Baltimore who was praying for a person to help him build a music program. He kept praying and praying that the right person would come along, and on Easter Sunday, a visitor stopped him after Mass and said, “Father, my family and I just moved from Texas, where we were worship leaders at our former church. We would love to serve here in leading music if you’d like.” He was overjoyed and welcomed him immediately. But after the man left, the priest was filled with doubt, because there wasn’t any money in the budget to hire him as a music director. He went back into the church to pray about it – and after the next Mass, another man stopped the priest and said, “Father, my family and I have been very blessed financially, and we believe this church deserves good music. We would like to pay for a full-time music director.” The priest was floored – God raised up the people who had the gifts!

            Other gifts lead to serve in other ways. When five-year-old Hannah Taylor from Winnipeg, Canada saw a homeless man eating out of a dumpster, she was so shocked that she started painting old baby food containers like ladybugs and going around to local businesses asking for spare change for the poor. By the time she was ten years old, she had raised over a half-million dollars towards ending homelessness. Now 18, Hannah Taylor and the Ladybug Foundation have raised three million dollars, and helped thousands on the streets through food, clothing, and shelter. She had a real gift and passion for working with the poor – a true charism of the Holy Spirit!

            God has given every confirmed Catholic enough charisms to make the Church the most dynamic, living, powerful force for good in the world. The question is, why aren’t we using those charisms we have been given? If you’re Confirmed, then it’s up to you to take up Christ’s mission. What is your charism – and how can you use it to bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth?