The Fruit of the Spirit
There are so many scripture passages that relate to the Holy Spirit and today’s feast of Pentecost, but my reflection will just focus on a few verses from the alternative Second Reading. It’s clear that those whose lives are guided by the Holy Spirit bear fruit in their lives - the fruit of the Holy Spirit, listed by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians.
There are twelve listed in the tradition of our Church, beginning with the fruit of
love or charity, words which are quite misused in our society. For Paul is referring to the love that God shows us by sending His Son into the world to die for us, which of course is much more than just the romantic love we toast on St. Valentine’s day! Charity, likewise, is often thought of primarily as a monetary donation to some poor person or “charitable” cause. But charity is anything that puts into practice that love we are meant to have in our lives....
It has been said that the infallible sign of the presence of God in a person is an unquenchable
joy. Pope Paul VI wrote a beautiful letter on Christian joy in the year 1975, in which he reflected on the life of Christ, which always shone forth with that Christian joy. Why? Because He was secure in knowing that He was loved by His heavenly Father. And so in spite of disappointment in His life, in spite of the hardships of His life, He always shone forth with the joy that marked the presence of the love of God in Him. Our lives should also sparkle with that joy, with that fruit of the Holy Spirit, so much so that others throughout the world, the people that God puts in our lives for a purpose, will be attracted by that joy.
Peace is another fruit of the Holy Spirit, and we recall the Lord’s words that He gives us His peace, not as the world gives, but a deeper kind of peace. More than just the absence of hostilities, Christ’s peace is Shalom, the sense of wholeness that comes when God is wholly with us.
Patience, even and especially when things aren’t going our way! In all of our lives, mishaps happen; in all of our lives, the unexpected occurs. And how we adapt ourselves, how we roll with the punches, shows how much our lives are bearing or not bearing the fruit of patience. So many of the Saints were secure in their patience, even in spite of numerous tribulations and tortures - what a formidable fruit that is!
And
kindness - certainly, all of us have experienced many times in our lives when the rudeness of others wore on us, and ate at our hearts, and soured our own outlook, clinging to us like a barnacle. But on the other hand, the kindness of others has often brightened our lives, and that sense of kindness is meant to be brought into every situation in life! No matter how rudely, no matter how inconsiderately others treat us, there is always a kind reply at our disposal, if we are attentive to developing and harvesting that fruit of the Holy Spirit, the kindness that the Lord gives us!
Goodness: the goodness that comes from modeling our lives on the life of Jesus, not being content with just a few good deeds daily, but having the goodness of Christ living in our life in a concrete way that is always inspiring us to see the goodness in others, as well as goodness in ourselves, the blessings of the Lord which are always meant to be shared with others. For if we hoard that goodness, what good does it do? But if we share it with others, it’s a multiplication of a fruit of the Holy Spirit!
Generosity, the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is, in a sense, the sharing of all of the other gifts, of all of those other fruits, the acknowledgment that God has given us more than we need, more than we can even use on our own! And so we have an obligation and a need to share all of our gifts, and not in a miserly way, but in a generous way, a pouring forth to others!
Meekness, an awareness that, instead of always standing up and claiming what is our due, all of us have to remind ourselves that “all is gift,” and sometimes that means we have to even forego what is our right, our justice under law, in order to help the world to appreciate the One who died on a Cross, even though He had done no wrong, the One meekly led like a lamb to slaughter.
Faith comes from the awareness that God is here with us. So we don’t have to worry about everything in this world, because our God is here with us! And we don’t have to have the answers to everything, of all the questions that come to us, because our God is here with us, and He knows the answers! We don’t have to have a sense of loneliness, a sense of being by ourselves, because our God is here with us! When that fruit of faith is clearly shining throughout our life, then the whole world sees us as people of faith, and that fruit helps others develop their fruits.
Modesty refers both to modesty of the body (how we dress, how we clothe our body and present ourselves to others) and modesty of soul. This spiritual modesty is the recognition that no matter what great gifts we have been given (and we all have been given such great gifts), that’s what they are - gifts! We would not have them, we would not have the gift of life, if it were not for our loving generous Father and Creator. And so to acknowledge Him as the source of all our gifts, of all our blessing and bear the fruit of modesty in our life.
The fruit of
self-control, of discipline in all aspects of life, reminds us that we need not and should not ever be slaves of passion or greed, for grace is never lacking to those who strive for self-mastery in God’s service.
The fruit of
chastity is derided by many in our as a rotten fruit, and yet how sweet it is when a person’s life bears that fruit of chastity! Not just the chastity of body, but also the chastity of heart, the chastity of recognizing all that we are as made by God, male and female, in His image, and so presenting His image as He wants it presented.
As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “you shall know them by their fruits!” If we live in the Spirit and follow the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will blossom in our lives as well!
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