Adult Education: September 2010

Where will the Spirit Lead?

By Lorene Hanley Duquin

Although it’s not the official start of the Church calendar, the month of September is when most parishes start gearing up again after the summer. Some ministries will automatically begin again. Meetings will resume. And in the hustle and bustle of all this activity, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our parish.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity – one God with three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – which is one of the most profound mysteries of our faith. Some people try to explain the Holy Spirit as the power of love and truth that emanates from the Father and the Son. Whenever you feel as if you are being called by God or inspired to do something, it is usually a movement of the Holy Spirit.

Where will the Holy Spirit lead your parish this year? It’s a question that you might want to pose to the people who are active in your parish.

Ask them to think about the gifts of the Holy Spirit that they received at Baptism and in the Sacrament of Confirmation:

Wisdom to see the world – not from their own perspective – but as God sees it.
Understanding to recognize that what lies below the surface is sometimes more powerful than what appears to be obvious.
Judgment to know the difference between right and wrong.
Courage to stand up for what is right.
Knowledge to always seek the truth.
Reverence to recognize what is holy and sacred.
Wonder and Awe to discover deeper appreciation of the mystery of life.

How will you and the people in your parish life, use the gifts of the Spirit this year?

How will you recognize that the Holy Spirit may be calling you to move in a new direction, or start a new ministry, or reach out to people in need, or stand up for something that is important?

How will you respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit? Will you be open to the possibility of change? Will you have the courage to move in a new direction?

Tough questions. But they are questions worth asking because they will open you and your parishioners to a new understanding of yourself and where the Holy Spirit may be leading you.