Are you kidding? What a presumptuous title that is.
In truth, I don’t really have a clue.
Here’s one thing I do know. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord.
The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, humility, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.
On the feast of Pentecost, I demand them all.
Because I really, really need them.
I cried at my holy hour this morning—cried for my many imperfections and because, really, am I ever going to change? After Friday’s Fast Meditation, I received a kind email from a reader who said, in part, that God permitted spiritual weaknesses in the life of St. Gertrude in order to safeguard her humility.
One day, our Lord [said]: “These imperfections of which my beloved is complaining are very useful to her. Every day I fill her soul with such an abundance of graces that in order to protect her from attacks of vanity, I am forced to hide a number of them behind a cloud of these shortcomings.”
–from How to Profit from Your Faults (Scepter Publishers)
Growing up, I was guilty of tremendous vanity.
Now? Not so much. I’m too old and gray.
I am, however, guilty of tremendous PRIDE.
It is what it is and I must chip away at this fault daily. The tears come when I grow weary of my weakness—of seeing myself for who I am, covered—as it were—with innumerable layers of grime.
Yet, look at the beautiful lists up above! Charity? Peace? Kindness? PATIENCE? These are the fruits that are mine for the taking…if only I reach out my hand.
“Sure!” says the Holy Spirit in all His 3rd Person omnipotence. “All you needed to do was ask.”
A blessed feast to you & yours! Happy End-of-Easter.
Beautiful post Margaret.
Beautiful post and just what I needed this morning.
(after being up til 3am washing girls hair-=2 of them took 4.5 hrs– and bedding and towels…more today, no Mass, no VBS, I am on the verge of tears.)
I just read this to the girls.
(who are complaining about missing VBS) Oh, and we need to cut our long hair. and can't give it to Locks of Love or anything)
I guess I'm complaining too.
Beautiful post I will be thinking about this today while I wash the hairs I didn't get to yesterday and continue to do the extra laundry constantly.
I might have to take a break and go cry to Jesus–and not sit by anyone!!
There's the path, Margaret! Thanks for bringing us along with you!
Choicest blessings and Aloha
Margaret,you always make my day. Most of us need a dose of you on a daily basis.
Beautiful post.
Margaret,
God made you exactly the way you are. Imperfections and all because only He is perfect so embrace it and learn to love who you are. Your husband does and so do your kids. It makes me so sad because you spend alot of your time beating yourself up and yet, you are a wonderful person, flaws and all.
I know how you feel and I love your posts, but it took a long confession with Fr. Livingston to say the above to me. He told me that by beating myself up, I was really saying to God, "You made a huge mistake when you made me." Well, we know God doesn't make mistakes.