Tag: Holy Spirit

Love is the Language of the Holy Spirit

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

May 27 – 28, 2023

Gospel:  John 20: 19-23

Remember last week I talked to you about the Ascension and how the human nature our good Lord took from the Blessed Mother was assumed into His divine nature.  It’s the same nature that He suffered with, healed with, died with, was resurrected with, and took to Heaven.  So, if Christ’s human nature is in Heaven, how does He continue to do His work in the world?  Fair question.  Well, He takes our human natures and uses them.  Through the Holy Spirt, He takes all our human natures and forms His new Body which is the Church.   With His new Body, He continues to teach, sanctify, heal, and bring His love to the world.  His new Body will continue for generations until the end of the world.   In the Book of Acts, our Lord says, “Paul, why are you persecuting Me?   He didn’t say, “the church” or “a Christian Group.”   He said, “Why are you persecuting Me?”   He said, “Me” personally because we are a part of His body.   

All those who are baptized are baptized in Christ.  You are part of His new body extended throughout the Ages.  That’s why it’s blasphemy when someone says, “Oh, I am reconciled to God but not His Church” or they say, “I love God but not the Church.”  Absolute blasphemy.  You love the head but not the body.  That makes no sense.  You cannot love one without the other.  It’s a whole Person . . . a package deal.  Christ takes our human natures which are offered by us or by our parents at our Baptism.  He assumes our human natures into His new Body to become whatever part of His Body that represents our vocation to bring God’s word to others, to heal, teach, and sanctify.  Whatever the vocation, Holy Orders, Religious, married life, or lay life – whatever part of His Body – we are called to build it up. 

Christ uses our human nature to reach out and to bring His love to the world . . . to speak the universal language   At Pentecost, Peter spoke to the crowd, and everyone heard him in their own language.  Everyone hears the language of Christ.   Now, I am not gifted in tongues.  If you have ever been to the 12:15 Mass, you know that I do not have that gift.  I speak Spanish with French accent.  French is my second language.  Believe it or not, I took Intermediate Conversational French in college, but my aunt who is 95 years old corrects my French.   I had to relearn French because my family was French Canadian and did not speak the French you learn in books which is Parisian.  While I cannot speak many languages, I know a priest who speaks five of them.  We are all called, and we are all able, to speak the most important language – a language nobody hears – and that’s the language of love and of Christ living in the world.  Whatever vocation and whatever circumstance in which you find yourself, bring Christ in.   Be the Good Samaritan.   Everybody sees that love.  Everybody can translate that language . . . . the universal language of Christ. 

I’ve told you this story before.  I don’t have that many years left as a priest, so I’ll share with you the stories I’ve got.  One day I was making my rounds in hospice at the VA, and two EMT’s wheeled in a patient.  They wanted to know which room the patient was going in.  The nurses were busy, so I told them and went down to the room with them.  To transfer a patient onto the bed, it really takes three people. One to grab the sheet, another to hold the head, and another to hold the feet.  Since there were only two EMT’s, I helped transfer the patient by holding his feet.  After we moved him, I went to the sink to wash my hands since I hadn’t used gloves.  One of the EMT’s who had been fairly rude to me earlier came over and said, “Thank you, Father.”   It was a big change from when they first came in even though I hadn’t done anything special.  One time a nurse asked me if I would help clean out a trachea tube which is not a real fun thing to do if you don’t have a strong stomach.  Sure.  “What did you do after that, Father?”  Lunch.  Cleaning the trachea tube didn’t bother me, and a man’s got to eat.  Anything you do to help someone, those acts of love, will be noticed.   They are things we do instinctively and perhaps with no forethought at all.  Something as simple as helping somebody with their shopping cart at Walmart by putting the cart back in its proper place so that it doesn’t go careening through the parking lot.  People will see those little acts of love.  It truly makes a difference because nowadays it’s so unusual.  But we are all called to do this as members of Christ’s Body. 

We are called to teach, evangelize, and to build up His Body which is His Church.  You were given the gift of tongue in Baptism because you were brought into the Body of Christ.  The gift of tongue is not a bunch of babbling.  Get some medicine, and you’ll be fine.   You don’t have to be a linguist . . . you have to be holy.  The gift of tongue is the gift of love by which we bring Christ’s love to the world.  God can work through even such a sinful creature as I am to bring Christ’s love and goodness to people.  You are no different than me – except better looking – God’s grace enables us to speak that one beautiful language of the Holy Spirit which is Christ and love.  And when people ask you how you can do that, you can tell them the reason is your Faith.  By the way, the reason is a Who and not a what.  So do those small acts of love; they always have an effect.  You never know.

Father’s Reflections . . . 

I learned from a highly placed, confidential source that things are crazy at Walmart.  It is Memorial Day weekend, and you can get great deals on all sorts of stuff like cars, mattresses, linens, appliances, and furniture.  It makes me so proud that I fought for our country!

How will you apply this message to your life?  ___________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the church Facebook page at ola.catholic.church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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