Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord sounds like a pretty good deal to me…..Not bad for a ten minute weekly investment - Right?

Today at Holy Mass we hear from the Gospel of John….Jesus tells his friends that soon the Holy Spirit will come to them…”The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you”…..Catholic teaching tells us there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord…..But how do we access these gifts?…We need to create a clean heart within us by regularly going to a Sacramental Confession (say once a month) with a priest…And receive the Blessed Sacrament at the minimum once a week at Sunday Mass….Is that so hard?….Notice what Jesus says today through the Scripture to his friends……The Holy Spirt will…..”teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you”……..Before that happens, we must cooperate with God….Utilizing what I like to call the “one-two punch”…..Frequent Sacramental Confession and Reception of the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…This is the “one-two punch”………..From there the sky is the limit!…The very life of God will fill you…….Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord……There are people who have “fancy degrees”…Who have high IQs…And all of them put together can not hold a candle to what the Holy Spirit can give to you……If you only allow God to work in your life…….All this is and MORE is free

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him”

I have been a daily communicant for many years…For those who do not know what a daily communicant is…That means I go to Mass just about every day….Before I was marriage for 13 years I traveled actively for work as well as traveled on my spare time all over the world…I say that because I have been to Mass all over the United States and in the far corners of the world - From Sunday Mass in Cambodia to Daily Mass in West Virginia - And every place in between…..And one of the things you notice when you go to Mass during the week, you meet other daily communicants who possess the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit…Some of these people could be very simple…Like a janitor going to Mass in San Francisco before work….Or…You may meet an Investment Banker going to Mass on his lunch hour in Chicago….The people may differ as much as the locations - What they do for a living may differ…But the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are the same….Are we convinced God is real?….Because if we are convinced - Especially if we are convinced that Jesus is fully present in the Blessed Sacrament - Why would we not want to receive him every day?……If you are reading this and you do not believe what I just stated - That is ok?….Your in good company - The twelve apostles did not believe it either at first….So how do we remedy this?…..Carve out time each week - Say ten minutes - Can you spare ten minutes a week?…..Go to a Catholic Church when no one is in it….And sit before the tabernacle…For those who do not know what the tabernacle is…..Its the metal container (looks like a box) where the consecrated Eucharist is stored, which is usually right behind the altar….Just sit in front of the tabernacle in silence for ten minutes each week - Again, can you spare ten minutes? - And when you do, say these words: “Lord - If you are there, help me to see you”…..That’s it, say nothing more! - Then sit there for ten minutes in silence and come back next week and do it again…..Here is my bet - Before you know it, God will reveal himself to you and start you on the greatest adventure of your life….Not to mention, once you “strap in” for the ride of your life - You will be given seven gifts: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord….Not bad for a ten minute weekly investment - Right?

“The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal”

Today Jesus at Holy Mass tells us that after he ascended to the Father in heaven, he will send us “the Advocate”….What is an advocate?….Its someone who stand beside us always - Someone who guides us - Someone who assists us in everything we have to do…This is the Holy Spirit…..Why would you not want such a person in your life?…And if you are reading this reflection and “think” everything I just stated is nonsense…..I invite you to take me up on my challenge of making a ten minute weekly investment - Siting before the tabernacle in silence in a Catholic Church and saying these words - “Lord - If you are there, help me to see you”……My bet is, if you do what I just suggested, you won’t “think” what I just stated is non-sense…….But that is up to you….In the mean time…..Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord sounds like a pretty good deal to me…..Not bad for a ten minute weekly investment - Right?