Because we have been baptized and received the Holy Spirit, there is no doubt that every believer shares in the gifts of the Spirit. Often believers are not fully conscious of these gifts. Often Christians transform the gifts of the Spirit into self-serving ways of feeling better than others.
The ministry of St. Paul has a lot to teach us about this. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul often talks to the members of the Church at Corinth as if they were competing in a “wisdom contest” or a “feeling context.” Corinthians formed little groups, or “cliques” as we often call them in Church, to show that one group was more superior than another.
Don’t we all know people who go out of their way to show off their knowledge of the Bible or the Catechism? Or who think that their way of devotion is the one everyone should follow?
Near the end of his ministry, Paul, in another letter, tells us what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are. He says in Galatians 5:22-23: “In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” We should study this list. Paul’s signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit are the ways we grow spiritually in our own lives and, just as important, the way we help build up the growth of others in Christ.
On the one hand, if we stayed in Church all day and said our prayers, that would not be the full expression of the Spirit’s gifts. How our gifts enrich others is probably a more important criterion of the presence of the Spirit’s gifts in our lives.
Can Our Gifts Grow?
We demonstrate evert day the ability we have to grow in various skills. Children learn to run a new program on the telephones; adults learn the best way to avoid traffic congestion. In the office, we grow in our ability to work together as a team to accomplish things more readily. Of course, the most surprising way we see our gifts is through the way we deepen our affection and attachment for one another.
Think about how this growth happens. We discover some need or something that we desire. We try it out. And then we apply ourselves through something analogous to practice and gradually improve. A few years ago, hardly anyone heard of pickleball. Now hundreds of thousands of people are playing it, and improving their playing, because they both take an interest and put in the effort. Even thousands of golfers who have a very hard time experiencing consistent success continue to practice so that the desired shot will come at just the perfect time.
The gifts that Paul describes to the Galatians might seem “innate” and automatic—we either have patience or we do not. But as we look at our lives, we find incremental steps of growth—all of which help us do desired good actions because we have reflected, directed ourselves, and grown in our external practice. We dedicate ourselves to be kind to a co-worker who tests our patience; we therefore see ourselves grow in certain areas.
In our Christian faith, because we know that our gifts are precisely that—gifts—we ultimately ascribe the gifts we have to the grace of God, that is, God’s generous and unmerited love of us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnxYqCdx2rw But this does not mean we cannot help our gifts grow by consistent application, just as an artist builds up a natural gift in painting or poetry through discipline and practice.
We cannot grow in spiritual gifts by ourselves. We grow in them by exercising them with reference to others. As we accompany people, they pull out from us the kinds of actions that slowly show change in our lives.
As we find certain spiritual gifts grow in us, they change our attitudes and direction. Paul givess some markers in his list of the gifts of the Spirit. We are growing when we find ourselves in greater joy, peace, patience, kindness, and faithfulness. When we are not experiencing peace and joy, we need to go back to the drawing board.
On the one hand, if we stayed in Church all day and said our prayers, that would not be the full expression of the Spirit’s gifts. How our gifts enrich others is probably a more important criterion of the presence of the Spirit’s gifts in our lives.