When we conduct our Life in the Spirit seminars, we find that, while many experience a conversion, some never return after the series is completed. Sometimes I even meet people who tell me that they are taking the course a second time because it didn't "take" the first time! We can also rationalize that those other people who came and aren't attending further are "plugged in" elsewhere in the parish. However, many are not. Some attend prayer meetings for a few months and then drop out. Others return back to where they were spiritually before they began the Life in the Spirit seminar series. There are even those who seem to be virtually unaffected by the whole process. What every happened to the "grace of Pentecost?"
The first thing we must realize is that any change that occurred in our lives as a result of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not because we initiated the changed, but because God first invited us to conversion, gave us the grace, and we cooperated with that grace. We know that God is always the initiator. We know that we cannot do this on our own. Without God's grace, Pentecost would not be possible. Even our desire to pray is a grace from God. But it is just as true that we can say "no" to God's grace and remain dormant.
The grace of pentecost, the "Baptism in the Holy Spirit," is all about conversion. Sometimes, I think we say "yes, Lord" and not realize that the Holy Spirit is calling us to a conversion of the entire person. Conversion is a multi-faceted task. It's not just a religious conversion. It's an intellectual conversion, a religious conversion, an emotional conversion, a moral conversion, and even a socio-political conversion. The Holy Spirit is about the transformation of the entire person to the life, way, and person of Jesus Christ.
At Pentecost, the apostles first readied themselves for the reception of the Holy Spirit by being deep in prayer between the Ascension of Our Lord and Pentecost. Of course, God had called them to this, so they responded in prayer. Vital then, to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, is not only the realization that it is up to God when He wants to move, but we must also be willing to cooperate with God's grace and place ourselves in His presence in prayer. For some, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is another of the many "warm fuzzies" that life can offer us, or it is just another course in heeding the call to conversion. The "soil of their heart" hadn't been fertilized by personal prayer. Pope John Paul II writes in "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" that "prayer is the easiest way of making God and His redeeming love present in the world."
Others can be challenged by the call to total conversion. We can be willing to give God only so much, then resist. At this point, we begin to choke off the life of the Holy Spirit within us. We must remember that a lack of conversion in any area is detrimental to the conversion process in general. We can say yes to God when we experience the hunger of reading the Bible or talking about Jesus, but then the Holy Spirit calls us to conversion intellectually. The world, for example, has many "sayings" with which people should live their lives. Thus, worldly intellectual thinking says, "might makes right", "do unto others before others do it unto you", "virtue can hurt you", "I am number one", "meekness is weakness", "humility is senility", and "chastity is nasty." But, the Spirit of God calls us to conversion from our former way of thinking. Based on Scripture the sayings should be, "when we are weak He is strong", "do unto others as you would have others do unto you", "without virtue there is no holiness", "God first, others second, I'm third", "blessed are the meek", "the Lord will not spurn the humble and contrite heart", "no fornicators or adulterers will enter the kingdom of God." Thus, we are exhorted to acquire a fresh, spiritual way of thinking. Many are willing to compromise Gospel principles in order to "get ahead" in the world. Such compromises are an invitation to erode what spirituality we have left. They weaken our spiritual resolve in other areas of our life and choke off the life of the Holy Spirit. We are called to be "in the world" but not "of the world."
The writings of the saints reveal the emotional conversion to which the Spirit calls us. Zeal and joy are important signs of the ongoing conversion by the Holy Spirit. On a more profound level, the saints say rather than weep over some earthly pursuit, which we did not acquire, we should weep over our sins, for that is something worth weeping for.
The charisms of the Holy Spirit are also meant for conversion. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states; "Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies use... There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning 'favor', 'gratuitous gift', 'benefit.' Whatever their character--sometime it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues--charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are inteded for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity, which builds up the Church." (#2003) Sometimes we fail to understand that the charisms are "graces of sanctification for others." In other words, the charisms of the Holy Spirit are ordered toward sanctification--the conversion--of the body of Christ unto the way, the life, the person of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is not manifesting Himself through the charisms to impress us, or to give us an "adrenaline rush," but to convert us. Therefore, it is important to know which charisms God has given us, for they are meant for the sanctification of others. Thus, we should not be slack in using our charisms, for in this way the body of Christ is called to maturity. Thus, as the gifts are used, such as prophecy, tongues, healing, exhortation, praise, etc., we should ask "in what way is the Lord calling me to conversion in my life?"
If we truly progress in the process of conversion, we can expect the spirit of the anti-Christ (those opposed to the message of Christ and to His kind of living) to increasingly challenge us. The charisms of the Holy Spirit are the power of God that help motivate us to continue on in our struggle to grow in holiness and which leads to the conversion of those opposed to the message of Christ.
Being graced by the Holy Spirit, we are all called to evangelize. The laity are specifically called to evangelize in the marketplace. We cannot be people who have "on-off" buttons, who turn themselves "on" during a prayer meeting and then turn themselves "off" when they leave the prayer meeting. The conversion that the Spirit of God calls us to is a total, complete conversion, twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year.
According to Vatican II, the charismatic community is the Church. Some people seem to think that the goal of the Charismatic Renewal is to get the Church into it. But the message of Pentecost is clear: it is to establish the visible Church of Jesus Christ and to sanctify God's people through and in His Church. There are people today in the Church who teach, who are saintly witnesses in their service to the poor, and who do not speak in tongues and who may not be spontaneous in vocal praise. But that doesn't make their use of God's charisms any less real. The question we need to ask is whether or not we are using the charisms God has given us, with the realization that God gives these charisms to build up His body and sanctify His people. And, of course, we must never forget the warning of St. Paul that the charisms must always be accompanied with love. "If I give my body over to be burned, and have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor. 13)
We owe it all to the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states; "The Holy Spirit is the 'principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body.' He works in many ways to build up the whole body in charity: by God's word, 'which is able to build you up'; by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ's members; by 'the grace of the apostles, which hold first place among his gifts;' by the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally by the many special graces (called 'charisms'), by which He makes the faithful 'fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.' " (#798)
We make a drastic mistake if limit our understanding of the Charismatic Renewal as to the charisms practiced during prayer meetings. Actually, the Charismatic Renewal is about living our life in the Holy Spirit--the title of the seminar series by which people are introduced to the Charismatic Renewal. The first Pentecost saw the Holy Spirit intervening in the world to bring about the saving message of Christ through the apostles. The message of Pentecost today is the same--the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ. Recently we have been hearing of the "New Evangelization", which is the response needed to the new challenges that present day society creates. Pope John Paul II writes that the "power of the Spirit must always be judged in the light of these words of the Apostle: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel.'" (1 Cor. 9:16)
The grace of Pentecost, then is not to create a new church group or social club. When we were Baptized in the Holy Spirit, we "put on Christ." That means we try to see, thing, and do as Christ would see, think, and do. Thus, the call to a total conversion in every area of our life, especially to the greatest conversion of being "prolific lovers" of all people at all times, especially those who would be in total opposition to God and His Church. We can only do it by God's Holy Spirit! Come, Holy Spirit, come. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall renew the face of the earth!
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