Were You Taught This?

From the Pastor:     Were You Taught This?

       On Wednesday I will, having received a letter of Delegation from Bishop Parkes, confer the Sacrament of Confirmation. Before any of the children receive the sacrament they must learn (or at least recall what they have already learned) the basics of the Faith. The Baltimore Catechism #3 explains why: “We should know the Chief Mysteries of Faith and the duties of a Christian before receiving Confirmation because as one cannot be a good soldier without knowing the rules of the army to which he belongs and understanding the commands of his leader, so one cannot be a good Christian without knowing the laws of the Church and understanding the commands of Christ.” As you see, the Catholic Faith is not composed of pacifist members who “think good thoughts” and “play nice with others” but rather soldiers ready to fight for and alongside Christ, to battle demons, to stand up for Truth, to be bastions of both mercy and justice, and to sacrifice anything of this world to bring souls (their own and others’) to Heaven.
       With the basics understood, the children were then pressed to understand the Gifts of the Holy Ghost which they will receive from this sacrament. Not just to memorize a list of seven words, mind you, but to understand what the purpose of each one is and how they build on each other. Naturally, the next thing was to look at the Fruits of the Holy Ghost and see how they are produced in one’s life if the Gifts are being used properly. Most of the parents who sat in on the “interviews” learned more about the Gifts and Fruits in a short time than they ever received in years of the so-called “religious formation” they received in their younger years. In case you need a refresher yourself, I will try to briefly show what the Gifts are and how they relate one to another. All of this is taken from either the Baltimore or Pius X Catechisms.
       The first and foundational Gift upon which all of the others depend is the Gift of Fear of the Lord. This Gift makes us respect God and fear to offend His Divine Majesty. It detaches us from evil while inciting us to good. Once we unwrap, so to speak, this first Gift, it just naturally leads us to venerate and love God and His Saints, and to preserve a pious and benevolent mind towards our neighbor for the love of God. It allows and encourages us to love God as a Father, and obey Him because we love Him. Once we begin truly loving Him, we desire to know more about Him. Knowledge is a Gift enabling us to estimate created things at their proper worth, and to learn how to use them rightly and to direct them to our last end, which is God. We receive the Gift of Knowledge to enable us to discover the will of God in all things. At this stage, we need Fortitude, a Gift that inspires us with valor and courage to observe faithfully the holy law of God and of the Church, by conquering all obstacles and all the assaults of our enemies. We receive the Gift of Fortitude to strengthen us to do the will of God in all things. Some know the will of God--what they should do--but they have not the courage to follow the dictates of their conscience. For example, a person goes with bad company: the Gift of knowledge will teach him that he should give it up; but the Gift of fortitude will enable him to do what his conscience shows him to be right.
       Counsel comes next. It is a Gift by which, amidst the doubts and uncertainties of human life, we are enabled to recognize those things that redound more to God's glory, to our own salvation, and to that of our neighbor. We receive the Gift of Counsel to warn us of the deceits of the devil, and of the dangers to salvation. The devil is much wiser than we are, and has much more experience, being among the people of the world ever since the time of Adam--about 6,000 years. He could therefore easily deceive and overcome us if God Himself by the Gift of counsel did not enable us to discover his tricks and expose his plots. When at times we are tempted, our conscience warns us, and if we follow the warning we shall escape the sin. Counsel tells us when persons or places are dangerous for our salvation. Counsel leads to Understanding, a Gift that facilitates, as far as this is possible to mortal man, the understanding of the truths of faith and of the mysteries of God, which we are unable to know by the natural light of the intellect. We receive the Gift of Understanding to enable us to know more clearly the mysteries of faith. "Mysteries," truths we could never know by reason, but only by the teaching of God; and the Gift of understanding enables us to know better what His teaching means. The Apostles heard and knew what Our Lord taught, but they did not fully understand the whole meaning till the Holy Ghost had come.
       Finally, we come to the greatest of all the Gifts—one that we cannot fully possess unless we properly use all of the others—Wisdom. Wisdom is a Gift by which the mind is lifted up from earthly and transitory things, enabling us to contemplate things eternal, that is to say, God Himself, the eternal truth, and to relish and love Him, in which consists all our good. We receive the Gift of Wisdom to give us a relish for the things of God, and to direct our whole life and all our actions to His honor and glory.

With prayers for your holiness,
Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka



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