Today is the Feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is that nebulous part of the Trinity that is sometimes difficult to understand. Nevertheless, the Church teaches that each of us is given the Holy Spirit when we are baptized. We each have access to the Holy Spirit's comfort and His gifts--even those of us who are not necessarily Charismatic or Pentecostal. We can pray to this often-neglected third member of the Holy Trinity and ask for His help in our daily lives.
One thing the Holy Spirit can help us with is acquiring the virtues necessary to live out our Christian vocation. No wonder the Sacrament of Confirmation is viewed as the Catholic's entry into the life of adult faith. The 12 Fruits and the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit I've listed the below are a good indication of a person's Christian maturity.
Fruits of the Holy Spirit
1. Charity
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Benignity
6. Goodness
7. Long-suffering (patient suffering over an extended period)
8. Mildness
9. Faith
10. Modesty
11. Continency
12. Chastity
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1. Wisdom - desire for the things of God, and to direct our whole life and all our actions to His honor and glory
2. Understanding - enable us to know more clearly the mysteries of faith
3. Counsel - warn us of the deceits of the devil, and of the dangers to salvation
4. Fortitude - strengthen us to do the will of God in all things
5. Knowledge - enable us to discover the will of God in all things
6. Piety - love God as a Father, and obey Him because we love Him
7. Fear of the Lord - have a dread of sin and fear of offending God
Happy Pentecost to you (belated) Yes the trinity is difficult to understand, I always tell people that it's just another beautiful mystery.
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Where would our faith be without such beautiful mysteries? :)
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