THE HOLY SPIRIT’S GIFTS
TO THE CHURCH
“So that she can
fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit bestows upon the Church varied
hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her.”
(Catechism of the
Catholic Church #768)
First, the hierarchic gifts mentioned above
refer to the divine graces that accompany the clergy’s work of (1)
teaching us the supernatural truths and commandments revealed by the Lord
for our salvation and (2) administering to us the Sacraments established
by the Lord to distribute the various graces that we need. These services
of the clergy are the essential channels of spiritual nourishment and
healing for the healthy maintenance and growth of the Church. Without the
active and effective work of the clergy, we are likely to remain confused
in spiritual darkness as we cannot sufficiently and correctly learn the
Lord’s teachings regarding our salvation and will also suffer from
spiritual starvation and illness as we cannot adequately receive the
divine graces through the Sacraments that can heal our spiritual wounds,
infuse and restore the supernatural life into our souls, and thus sanctify
us and make us true children of God and faithful citizens of His Kingdom.
Second, the charismatic gifts refer to the
special graces that the Lord gives to his chosen workers, whether they be
clergy, religious, or laity, for the purpose of helping the members of the
Church as a whole become more faithful to the truths and commandments that
the Lord already entrusted to the Church, avoid falling into errors, moral
degradation, and despair, and, if they have already fallen into them, free
themselves from them. Through His chosen workers, the Lord may give
messages, miraculous signs, and/or prophecies. He may also give them the
mission of devoting their lives to prayers and sufferings in reparation
for the sins in the world or to the works of education, medical care,
assisting the poor, publishing, etc. to spread God’s merciful love and
saving truths. In the broad sense, any works of the Christians, even
including the most trivial-looking and routine matters in everyday life,
can qualify as works of supernatural and eternal value in building up the
Church if done for the love of God and neighbors and in conformity with
His teachings. The charismatic gifts are intended less for the benefit of
particular individuals than for the benefit of the Church as a whole (cf.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #799-801), as God uses them as His
instruments for restoring apostolic vitality and charity among all the
members of the Church especially in times of widespread spiritual laxity
and moral decay.
Throughout Church history, God has sent many Saints
to His Church to lead her members on the right track through their
teachings and good examples. Most significantly, God has been sending the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Savior and of the Church,
repeatedly and at many different locations in the world for the purpose of
prodding His people to adhere more faithfully to His teachings and
commandments and, thus, defeating the devil who is always eager to tempt
more humans to deviate from serving and obeying God and to bring about
their own eternal ruin (cf. Genesis 3:15). There have been many
historical cases of heresies eliminated or weakened, foreign invasions
repelled, plagues and other natural disasters averted, and moral
corruptions reversed through the intercession and succor of the Blessed
Mother and other Saints. A most notable example is the conversion to the
Catholic Faith of more than 8 million people in Mexico in the 16th
Century when the Blessed Mother appeared to a humble native in Guadalupe,
St. Juan Diego, and, through him, gave to the Church her messages and
miraculous image, which the local bishop and people promptly and
gratefully accepted as true signs from God and acted upon them. Of
course, there had been many strenuous efforts by the Spanish missionary
priests to convert the Aztec Indians and break their ignominious tradition
of idolatry and human sacrifices, but the result had been so sluggish. It
was only when the Blessed Mother intervened with her apparitions,
messages, and a miraculous image of herself that the real progress began.
The miracle in Guadalupe did not bring about any changes to the existing
contents of the Christian Faith, but triggered the fire of the Catholic
Faith to flame up and spread vigorously as in the early days of the
Church, when the Apostles were preaching courageously and converting
countless people after Pentecost.
The above-quoted catechism states that the Holy
Spirit directs the Church by means of the hierarchic and charismatic
gifts. The emphasis is on both gifts, which should be taken by the
residents of our current materialistic world as a warning not to despise
either of the two kinds of gifts. On the one hand, we need to humbly and
correctly recognize that the official teachings of the Catholic Church are
of divine origin and authority. The Church herself was established by Our
Divine Lord and is constantly sustained and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Her teachings, commandments, and liturgical celebrations are divine in
their origin, contents, purpose, and authority, which includes the charism
of infallibility applicable to those occasions when the Pope or the
Ecumenical Council of Bishops in union with the Pope solemnly defines the
doctrines on faith and morals. If the Church had not been given this
charism by the Lord, her teachings would have been nothing more than human
wisdom and precepts with the best human intention but without any divine
guarantee of their authenticity. During His life on earth, Jesus was
recognized only as a human being by many of His contemporaries who heard
His teachings and saw His miracles but kept their minds closed to the
light of divine grace and, thus, to the supernatural truths. They failed
to see that Jesus was not only fully human like us, but, more importantly,
fully divine co-substantive with and in union with God the Father and
God the Holy Spirit. Likewise, one must not judge His Church
superficially based on her external looks and activities, either. The
essential reality of the Catholic Church that flows from the fact of God
the Son’s Incarnation is that she is not only a community of believers but
is the living, supernatural Mystical Body of Christ that teaches Christ’s
truths and distributes His graces with His own power and authority bearing
real fruits of sanctifying human beings and saving them. For this reason,
the Pope, Bishops, and priests who faithfully teach the truths and
commandments from the Lord and administer the Sacraments rightfully
deserve our profound respect, obedience, love, and support.
At the same time, we should not despise the reported
supernatural events like messages and miraculous signs even without a
proper discernment by the standards of the authentic Catholic teachings,
scientific tests, and reliable testimonies. It would be an unfortunate
mistake for anyone to think that the hierarchic gifts alone are always
sufficient for effectively carrying out our mission as members of the
Church. How can we say that we do not need any special help from God and
are sufficiently capable of solving our current problems in the usual
way? Whether we need the special divine help or not is a question not to
be answered by us. Of course, the facts of the charismatic gifts are not
new articles of faith and thus do not obligate us to accept them, but
still are solemn and precious words and signs coming from God for the
specific purpose of helping us overcome our current crises. Because they
concern the particular needs, dangers, and opportunities of the Church and
the world in our time, it is urgent that we seriously heed what God is
telling us and make sincere efforts to carry out His Will. We should not
be like those proud people who were laughing at Noah, who was busily
building an ark in fair weather, and, then, were completely swept away by
a terrible flood. We can thank God for all His blessings, spiritual and
physical, and use them for serving Him and helping our neighbors as well
as filling our own needs, but we must never forget the fact that we are
placed in this world not for satisfying our own goals and desires but for
the realization of God’s truth, justice, and charity on earth and the
salvation of more people into God’s Eternal Kingdom. May the Church
doctrine that we were created for the glory of God and we can be
eternally happy only by faithfully serving God be engraved in our
minds and hearts and become the foremost guiding principle for all our
thoughts, words, and activities.
Benedict Sang M. Lee
Mary’s Touch By Mail
Gresham, Oregon, USA
April 24, 2007
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