Corpus Christi Blog

Pentecost is the day when the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit to guide and protect the Church after Jesus Christ left this earth and ascended to heaven. One of the ways the Holy Spirit guides his Church is by giving each of us special graces, or gifts, called “charisms” that allow us to assist in the missionary work of building up the kingdom of heaven on earth. The first example of this occurs in the story of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-41, when the Spirit rested on each of the apostles as a tongue of fire. They then spoke to a large, diverse crowd in various languages, resulting in the conversion of three thousand souls. However, that was only the first day of the Church’s mission. To ensure her continued growth for the salvation of souls, over the centuries, the Holy Spirit has gifted each member of the body of Christ with charisms. Let’s discuss what they are and how we ought to use them for the greater glory of God.

As we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension today, I would like to share some insights from a homily given by St. John Marie Vianney (1786-1859) on this same feast day.

When Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection, he left his apostles here on earth commissioned to go forth and make “disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Even more broadly beyond his apostles, he left behind his Church, the Catholic Church we’re in now, to continue that mission until his Second Coming at the end of time. Jesus knew what his apostles and his Church would endure after he was gone and, therefore, he gave warnings to prepare them, but always encouraged them with promises of rewards for their faithfulness. St. John Vianney begins his homily with a paraphrase of the warning Jesus gave multiple times throughout scripture, along with the promises that come with it.

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Lk 1:39-45)

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Catholic Church's involvement in the ethical implications of the development and use of artificial intelligence. Then last week, I wrote about the importance of introducing young people to religious vocations. These back-to-back topics spurred another train of thought for me. We live in a society that puts an inordinate amount of value on youth and productivity, while undervaluing the gift of old age and failing to appreciate what older people have to offer. This societal attitude marginalizes older people and often leaves them feeling isolated or even abandoned. Time and again, the Church engages in the conversations regarding contemporary challenges, including this one. In 1999, the Pontifical Council for the Laity released a document entitled The Dignity of Older People and Their Mission in the Church and the World. It addresses the value of this population and our obligations concerning their pastoral care.

The Church has designated the fourth Sunday of Easter as Good Shepherd Sunday and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It is no secret that we have a shortage of priests and consecrated religious in our Church — especially in America — and we need to pray for more men and women to enter these vocations. It is also important to note that, while it is not always true, it is often true that if we wait until adulthood to have conversations about religious vocations as an option, it is too late. As children and young people are raised in the secular world, within a family, the vocation they are most exposed to is marriage. While marriage certainly is a good and worthy vocation to which many are called, failure to properly educate young people on all the possibilities has caused the deficit we find ourselves in now.

We live in an ever-changing world where scientific and technological advancements progress rapidly, so it can be challenging to keep up, particularly regarding how things relate to our faith and morals. While the Catholic Church is a more than 2,000-year-old institution, her duty has always been to help souls get to heaven by navigating the times and circumstances in which they live. It is for this reason we see the emergence and development of Church teaching on various topics such as heresies, divorce, contraception, the death penalty, and abortion. As things change, the Church remains active and engaged so she can help us stay on track regardless of what’s going on.