MAY 19-20, 2018
4:30 PM (SAT), 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM ORDINARY FORM (ENGLISH) MASSES
12:00 NOON EXTRAORDINARY FORM (LATIN) MASS AT RUTHERFORD, HOLY FAMILY
The rock band Pink Floyd was founded in 1965, and is distinguished for its extended compositions, philosophical lyrics, and sonic experimentation – making it one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in pop music.
A peculiar phenomenon was first observed in the 1990s concerning Pink Floyd’s 1973 albumThe Dark Side of the Moon (that’s the album cover with the triangular prism on it,) and the 1939 classic movie The Wizard of Oz. Supposedly, if you watch the movie with the sound turned down while starting the album at the third roar of the MGM lion, the music seems to match up with the movie.
This effect, known in popular culture as The Dark Side of the Rainbow, or The Wizard of Floyd, has been described as a synchronicity by it’s promoters; and as apophenia – that is, mere confirmation bias – by it’s detractors.
Nonetheless, it has become a bit of a pop-culture phenomenon over the last 25 or more years; and even has its own Wikipedia page.
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Fifty days since the end of the Paschal Triduum. Pentecost marks the end of the Easter Season.
Pentecost is associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit. And for most of us, we know that there are Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Fruits of the Holy Spirit … and perhaps you can rattle them off like a well-memorized lesson. But how do these affect you in your daily life? What is the place of these gifts and fruits for an Average Joe and Mary Catholic?
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1831) “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit … complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them.”
Which requires us to take a step back. If these gifts complete and perfect the virtues, what are the virtues?
The “big three” are easy: The theological or supernatural virtues are Faith, Hope, and Love. We receive these in Baptism, and they are strengthened in us through our exercising them in our daily lives; as well as through our worthy reception of the Sacraments, most especially the Holy Eucharist.
So, what do Faith, Hope, and Love do for us?
Like the scarecrow, the tin-man, and the lion – we all need a little boost. Not from a wizard, but rather from God. Faith affects the mind, Hope affects the soul, and Love affects the Heart.
In a similar way, the first three human virtues of Prudence, Temperance, and Fortitude allow us to properly apply and use our mind’s thoughts, express moderation in our body and soul, and persevere when things become difficult.
Justice, the fourth of the human virtues allows us to balance the actions within our lives by giving of ourselves to God, and to neighbor … in an appropriate mix and measure
These seven virtues – which we possess in varying quantities – are in turn completed and perfected by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The virtues of the heart are perfected by the gifts of Wisdom and Fortitude. Wisdom allows us to make appropriate choices in prudently discerning between the desires of our heart, and Fortitude helps us to have courage as well as to follow through and persevere.
The virtues of the mind are perfected by the gifts of Knowledge, Understanding, and Counsel. Knowledge being what fills our mind, Understanding being how our mind processes what it knows within itself, and Counsel being the application of our mind to help others and affect external events.
The virtues of the soul are perfected by the gifts of Fear of the Lord and Piety. Fear of the Lord allows us to show proper reverence for God, and Piety allows us to respond to God’s grace in serving both God and neighbor.
And finally, “[t]he Fruits of the Holy Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory.” By sharing in the Divine Life of God, the Fruits of the Holy Spirit become a foretaste of Eternity for us in our daily life.
As we grow in virtue by ordering our minds, souls, and hearts to God … the Holy Spirit perfects and completes our efforts through God’s grace. The end result, then, of living a Christian life is holiness – expressed in our lives as the twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ … let us pray for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to be poured out in our lives … to complete and perfect our virtues … and as we conform our lives more and more – day by day – to God’s Holy and Perfect Will, may we experience the Fruits of Holiness in our lives through the Power of the Holy Spirit.
