6th Easter, 2022 Repetition
Readings from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/tuesday-sixth-week-easter
Any teacher will tell you that repetition is a significant way to reinforce the learning of an important concept. The more you have a child repeat 2+2=4, for instance, the sooner you hope they get it.
That must have been what Jesus was doing with the apostles when he wanted them to know about the imminent coming of the Holy Spirit once he left their presence. Notice how often Jesus repeats and refers to the Holy Spirit just in our readings from the last 3 days.
- On Sunday, he said: ‘…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.’
- Yesterday he said: ‘When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,…, he will testify to me.’
- And today we heard him say: ‘For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you’.
Obviously, the coming of the Holy Spirit is of tremendous importance to Jesus and he wants the disciples take him seriously about this great event.
Knowing this, does it cause us to wonder how seriously in our own lives we take the Holy Spirit, who has already come to us in Baptism and Confirmation?
If you think back to when we were preparing for Confirmation, we all learned about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, gifts that number 7, a number that symbolizes fullness. These gifts, then, are meant to penetrate our minds and hearts and help us live every aspect of our lives to the fullest. The Holy Spirit has gifted us with these 7 incredible graces:
- Wisdom: Helps us to know God
- Understanding: Helps us comprehend the meaning of God’s word
- Counsel: helps us know what to do and then figure it out
- Knowledge: helps us see all things in relationship to God
- Piety: helps us live our lives with grace, reverence and respect for all people and creation
- Fortitude: helps by giving us strength for the hard times
- Fear of the Lord: helps by never wanting us to do anything that would hurt our relationship with God
As we approach the feast of Pentecost soon, it might be a good time to take another look at these wonderful gifts in our lives, reflect on how much we are even aware of, and rely on, them, and, most importantly, thank the Holy Spirit for being with us in such fullness every moment of every day.
