During the first two weeks of September we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation across our parishes.  We will pray that our young people will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It is the word ‘gift’ that I have been reflecting on this week.  A gift is something that comes to us gratuitously.  That is true, generally, with any gift giving.  Sometimes people might ask us what gift we would like for a birthday or a particular celebration.  Children (and adults too) can sometimes give more than conspicuous hints as to what they want as a gift.  However, at the end of the day a gift is still given with freedom and without cost to the recipient.  Of course, a gift also has to be received.  All of us can probably tell stories of gifts that we have received graciously and then packed away on the top shelf of a cupboard at home.  Some are taken down every now and then, dusted off or admired, then put away again.

I wonder if that can happen to the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The celebration of Confirmation might be a time for us to think about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our own lives.  I wonder if there are times when I need to call on the Holy Spirit to visit me again and renew the gift of wisdom, or knowledge, or understanding, awe and wonder, good counsel, fortitude or piety.  I wonder, also, if there are times when I have actually made a ‘wise’ decision.  Could it be that decision was inspired by the free gift of wisdom given by the Holy Spirit?  Likewise, have there been times when I have either given or received good counsel to my own surprise?  Could it be that the Holy Spirit has gifted me with ‘good counsel’ on that day?  Or have there been times when I have found myself awe-struck with beauty or grandeur?  Is it possible that the Holy Spirit is sneaking up on me with the gift of wonder and awe?  When we think about it like this perhaps we can discover that the Holy Spirit is indeed still at work in our lives and in our world.

So, we should pray for our young people being confirmed this weekend.  And we should pray for ourselves and our world, that we be attuned to the gifts and the workings of the Holy Spirit that can lead us deeper into the heart and mind of our God.  It may be a good chance for us to renew and pray the popular and simple prayer to the Holy Spirit:

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

By Fr Brendan Reed