The scriptures for mass have focused a lot on the Holy Spirit during the past few weeks and even though neither one of the readings for mass today discusses the Holy Spirit, the words of the scriptures today are absolutely permeated by the Spirit. The first reading for mass today says that “Wisdom breathes life into her children”.
That sounds a great deal like the way the Holy Spirit comes to us too. The Holy Spirit descends gently into our souls, bringing it alive in the Spirit, with a more deeply enhanced way of experiencing love for the Lord and for one another.
Did you know that the first of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is Wisdom? Wisdom is considered the first and greatest of these gifts, but some of the other gifts of the Holy Spirit are: Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Fear of the Lord, Fortitude and Piety. The first reading speaks of all of these things, not in clear specific language actually naming the Holy Spirit, but He permeates all the words that describe Him in practical terms. Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit existed in the time before Christ too, and is written about in more general terms in the Old Testament. You can click here if you are interested in learning what the Catechism of the Catholic church teaches us about the Holy Spirit’s existence before the time of Christ. The author who wrote the book of Sirach is named Jesus by the way. What a coincidence! The book of Sirach was written about 200 years before the birth of Christ though.
Back to the first reading for mass today.Each of the verses from the book of Sirach illustrates in very concrete ways how the Holy Spirit “teaches” us wisdom. It is interesting to note that, “wherever He dwells, the Lord bestows blessings”. The Holy Spirit usually works through the formal structure of the Catholic church, like the magisterium, which is the teaching authority of the Catholic church. We learn wisdom from the Catholic Church which is especially found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in our faith and traditions. However, today’s reading explains in very concrete ways how the Holy Spirit works in our lives individually in practical ways.
Many of the saints have described their journey to holiness in much the same way as the reading from the book of Sirach today too. They taught their readers about Christ in much the same way that the author of Sirach taught his readers about Wisdom. St. Theresa of Avila wrote about very similar processes in prayer and the pursuit of holiness and union with Christ, in her books, “The Progress of a Soul” and “Interior Castles”. The basic theme to what Saint Theresa tried to share with her readers and the author of the book of Sirach as well, is to pursue what you love.Pursue who you love, and what you love, with purpose and with passion. We shouldn’t put forth minimal effort toward what we desire the most, what we love the most, or who we love the most. Love, like Wisdom, is worth our best efforts.May we look back at the end of our lives and see that this common thread was woven throughout our days.
In the Gospel today, Jesus told John not to prevent a man they didn’t know from driving out demons, just because he was not from their group. And Jesus actually took up for the man. Why was that?John had a point to question this man, because he wasn’t taught by Jesus, so by what authority and with what knowledge or power did he use to drive out demons in his name? The answer could very well be that he already possessed the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit himself was acting through him. There was no need for Jesus to teach this man or give him power to drive out demons, because the Holy Spirit himself taught him and guided him and gave him the power to act in His name. Jesus never even bothered to question it. The Lord Jesus told them on more than one occasion that a person is known by their fruits and the fruits this man in today’s gospel produced, was very good. This might be a good thought for us to keep in mind today too. Not to look at other people’s appearance or even their actions, but look at the fruits they produce.
Maybe we should ask ourselves if we possess any of the fruits of the Holy Spirit? Do we need to improve in any particular areas? The fruits of the Holy Spirit are:charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continence and chastity. This is more than enough for us to think about today! But, hopefully most of us will already possess these gifts of the Holy Spirit and if not, we can work to progress on the rest, much like the author in the book of Sirach did in the pursuit of wisdom in the first reading for mass today.
