Talk 2: Serving Through the Gifts of the Spirit

Fr Pat Collins C.M.

Empowering the Laity for Mission

Talk Two: Serving Through the Gifts of the Spirit

I have sometimes wondered in the past why Jesus needed an outpouring of the Spirit when he was baptised by John in the Jordan and why Mary his mother, needed an outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. After all, both of them were sinless and full of the Spirit already. The only satisfactory answer I can give is this. They didn’t receive the infilling of the Spirit in order to grow in sanctity; they were completely holy already. No, the Spirit and the charismatic gifts were given to them as empowerment for evangelisation, Jesus during his public ministry, and Mary after her Son’s ascension into heaven. When the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles and disciples at Pentecost, not only were they enlightened by its activity, but they, like Jesus and Mary, were empowered to evangelise with the aid of the charisms such as those listed by St Paul in 1 Cor 12:8-10. As Pope St Paul VI said in par. 75 of Evangelii Nuntiandi,   “Evangelisation will never be possible without the action of the Holy Spirit . . . Techniques of evangelisation are good, but even the most advanced ones could not replace the gentle action of the Spirit . . . Without Him the most highly developed schemas resting on a sociological or psychological basis are quickly seen to be quite valueless.” The Spirit empowers people by means of the charisms.

Three kinds of gifts

Many scripture scholars have wondered whether the nine charisms can be divided into groups. St Thomas Aquinas, as a member of the Order of Preachers, suggested that they are given in order to facilitate effective evangelisation. Thomas said the gifts can be divided into three categories.

“Some of the gifts pertain to knowledge [revelation], some to speech [proclamation], and some to operation [demonstration].”

•         Firstly, there are charisms of revelation that enable the believer to know the presence, word and will of the Lord, e.g., wisdom, knowledge, prophetic revelation, & discernment of spirits.

•          Secondly, there are charisms of proclamation that enable the believer to preach, teach or share the Good News in an anointed and authoritative way, e.g., by means of the utterance of words of wisdom and knowledge, as well as prophetic proclamations and words of knowledge.

•         Thirdly, there are charisms of demonstration which manifest the Good News, e.g., by means of liberating deeds of power which depend on expectant faith, such as healings/exorcism and miracle working. St. Thomas said that the trans-rational truth of what is proclaimed may need to be confirmed by the working of supernatural deeds of power. He wrote

“There was need of something to confirm the announcements of the preachers of the faith. But, inasmuch as they transcend reason, they could not be confirmed by any demonstrative process of reasoning from first principles. The means therefore to show that the announcements of these preachers come from God was the evidence of works done by them such as none other than God could do, healing the sick, and other miracles” (SCG Chapter 155--Of Graces given gratuitously)

In his seminal book Christianizing the Roman Empire (A.D. 100–400), influential Yale historian Ramsay MacMullen argued from a secular perspective that miraculous healing and exorcism were the primary instruments of conversion driving the rapid expansion of early Christianity. He contended that the rapid growth of the church in its first three centuries was not primarily driven by intellectual persuasion, the distribution of literature, or the moral appeal of Christian kindness. Instead, mass conversions were sparked by the perceived power of Christian miracles.

It could be argued that, in stating this that McMullen was echoing what Paul himself had said, e.g., “when I came to you, I was weak and trembled all over with fear, and my teaching and message were not delivered with skilful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God's Spirit” (1 Cor 2:3-4); Paul said that he did not venture to speak of anything except what Christ had accomplished through him to win obedience from the Gentiles, "by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God“ (Rm 15:18-19); and in 1Thess 1:5, he said he evangelised  "not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction."

There is clear evidence that the charisms were exercised in early Christianity. However, for a number of reasons, they began to die out during the first few centuries as  the emphasis shifted from charisms to the activities of the institutional Church, its sacraments, ministries and rituals. As a result, priests and people expected the Spirit to be manifested by the witness of lives well lived but not by unusual charismatic activity.  

For Catholics, however, all this began to change at the Second Vatican Council when the bishops discussed whether to mention the charisms in the documents of Vat II.

There were two schools of thought.

Ø  The traditionalists, led by Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini of Palermo, espoused the cessationist theory that maintains that when Christianity took root in the Greco-Roman world the charisms mentioned in 1 Cor 12:8-10 were no longer needed, and virtually died out.  

Ø  The progressives, led by Cardinal Joseph Suenens of Malines, argued that   although the extraordinary charisms were no longer in evidence in the lives of ordinary Christians, he said in a prophetic way that they could be restored in the future by God.

When the bishops voted, Cardinal Sunens’s point of view was endorsed and was expressed in par. 12 of the Constitution on the Church.  The conciliar fathers made ten important points to do with the more unusual charisms. 

1] Grace comes to us primarily through sacraments and clerical ministry.

2] Grace also comes through the gifts of the Spirit in general, and the charisms 

    mentioned in Rm 12:6-8; Eph 4:4 and 1 Cor 12:8- 10 in particular.

3] The Holy Spirit distributes what are variously referred to as "simple" and  

    "exceptional" gifts among lay people. 

4] These gifts are given to build up the Church in holiness and to develop people.

5] Charisms are a wonderful means of apostolic vitality.

6] These gifts are to be received with gratitude and consolation.

7] People, whether clerical or lay, have a right to exercise their charisms and

    ministries. This right comes from their baptism and not from the clergy.

8] Lay people have a duty to use their charisms for the good of the Church and the 

    world.

9] Bishops and clergy should test the charisms to see that they are genuine and used

    for the common good.

10] However, the clergy should be careful not to quench the Spirit by an arbitrary use

      of authority.  

The charisms are rooted in the love of God, express that love and are intended to build up the same love in the Christian community. Consequently, the worth of a particular gift can be determined by its ability to edify the Christian community.  Exercise of the charisms is not necessarily a sign of holiness. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas went so far as to say that a person in the state of mortal sin could exercise them in order to sanctify other people (cf. ST, 178 Art 2).

It is worth noting that the New Testament distinguishes between gifts and ministries the former are fleeting, whereas the latter are more permanent.

The teaching of Vatican II on the charisms anticipated the advent of the Charismatic Renewal Movement in 1967. Speaking about that development, Pope Benedict XVI commented,

“In the heart of a world adversely affected by rationalistic scepticism, a new experience of the Holy Spirit has come about, amounting to a worldwide renewal movement. What the New Testament describes with reference to the charisms as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit is no longer merely ancient, past history: this history is becoming a burning reality today.” 

Some sixty years later there is abundant evidence of how the gifts have had a number of very positive effects.

Ø  Firstly, they have played an important, if not a central role in lay ministry. Lay people are no longer supposed to be the inferior, passive recipients of clerical ministry. Rather, they are called and gifted to be active partners with the clergy in bringing the good news into every aspect of secular life.  

Ø  Secondly, the charisms have played an important role in ecumenism. Happily, the Spirit and his gifts have been poured out in all denominations. Through their common exercise, Christians are being drawn closer to Jesus and therefore to one another. 

Ø  Thirdly, and most importantly, the charisms have had a vital role to play in the New Evangelisation called for by recent Popes. In 1974, when Pope St Paul VI was launching Cardinal Suenens’s book, A New Pentecost?, he said in the course of some impromptu remarks,

“How wonderful it is that the Lord is again pouring out the charisms in increased abundance, in order to make the Church fruitful, beautiful and marvelous, and to enable it to win the attention and astonishment of the profane and secularized world.”  

Sometime later Cardinal Danneels of Malines in Belgium wrote in an article on The gifts of the Spirit and the New Evangelisation,

“In times of crisis like today, the Spirit multiplies its gifts . . .The more the life of the people of God is harsh, the more God grants his gifts. What would be the particular gifts today which the Lord gives us? Would it not be faith which moves mountains, which brings about miracles and which thus gives weight to the proclamation of the gospel?”

Conclusion

At an historical gathering of new ecclesial movements and communities in Rome, St. John Paul II at Pentecost 1998,

“Today, I would like to cry out to all of you gathered here in St. Peter's Square and to all Christians: Open yourselves docilely to the gifts of the Spirit! Accept gracefully and obediently the charisms which the Spirit never ceases to bestow on us! Do not forget that every charism is given for the common good, that is, for the benefit of the whole Church.” 

Amen to that! 

16th September 2026