Recently, I have been thinking and speaking a lot about the Sacraments in my Catholic podcast. I think the strongest statement I may have made so far, is that the fullness of the Holy Spirit is only given through the Sacraments. Baptism opens one to the Spirit, Confirmation gives one the fullness of the Spirit, the Eucharist feeds the Spirit, infusing the Baptized and Confirmed Catholic with the spiritual life of God within us that Christ promised, and Reconciliation brings us back into the life of the Spirit when our sins have caused division.
I know I surprised many (especially as my audience is not exclusively Catholic) by saying that the most Spirit-filled Protestant, even a preacher or a scholar who has devoted his life to the study of the Bible, can not receive the fullness of the Spirit that even most average, simple minded and even ignorant Catholic receives in the Sacrament of Confirmation…. even, and often especially, the mentally handicapped.
I am extremely soft-hearted when it comes to children. I suppose that is because I was an only child and did not grow up fighting with brothers and sisters, not do I have children of my own. I know, from the experience of being a child, just how awful kids can be due to poor parenting or just human nature. But, when I said those words, immediately a memory of a Downes Syndrome girl came to mind who was in my first parish. She was severely retarded (I’m not sure what the politically correct way to say that is, and I mean no offense). But, she was so full of joy at Mass, that it cannot be explained. When the Host was consecrated in the Eucharist, she would sing with joy. As she grew up, she retained that innocent joy. She seemed to glow with the holiness of the Holy Spirit - she was absolutely radiant with love. After she received the Eucharist, she would stand in the aisle and hug all who would allow her.
This memory caused me to cry so uncontrollably that I had to pause recording…. I doubt I will ever be able to do live broadcasts when such topics come up. But, there before me was the embodiment of the Beatitudes. Jesus said we must become like children, with faith like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We spend so much time studying the writings of saints and the profound Doctors of the Church. Yet, perhaps the most clear example of a living saint that I have known was a girl incapable of intellectual understanding. God is love, and love was all she knew and was.
And, now we come to today’s first reading:
Brothers and sisters:
To this day, whenever Moses is read,
a veil lies over the hearts of the children of Israel,
but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.
Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.
All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
as from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us,
we are not discouraged.
And even though our Gospel is veiled,
it is veiled for those who are perishing,
in whose case the god of this age
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,
so that they may not see the light of the Gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord,
and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.
For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness,
has shone in our hearts to bring to light
the knowledge of the glory of God
on the face of Jesus Christ.
-2 Cor 3:15—4:1, 3-6
It is remarkable that the religious Jews could not understand the Scriptures because they lacked the Holy Spirit. I sometimes chuckle when people tell me that they find so much peace in reading the Bible… I reply, “You don’t read the Old Testament much, do you?” That is just good natured kidding. But in truth, the books of the Old Testament are mainly stories of human failing, murder, wars, adultery, slaughter, human sacrifice, demon worship, pestilence, plagues, etc… and don’t even get me started on Leviticus with all its complex laws! The ancient Jews had the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that spoke through the prophets. But, they constantly misunderstood or ignored the Word, falling into all manner of errors, persecuted and even executed the prophets. The lack of the Holy Spirit made them unable to understand and rebellious. That necessitated the Mosaic laws which they had to follow strictly to be saved. That is also why even the most religious and learned among them could not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the very living Word of God, and insisted He be executed.
To understand the Word of God, we must receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enlightens our minds and allows us to understand the Bible and the fullness of the truth as taught by the Catholic Church in ways that are far beyond human understanding. But, more than that, the Holy Spirit can fill even the most simple and flawed among us with grace and holiness that surpasses anything a human can experience without it. Remember, the Bible says that God uses the simple to confound the wise. All the learning in the world is nothing compared to the vast truth of God, and He can infuse even the weakest, most sickly, most impoverished, hated, ignored, unintelligent person on earth with more than the greatest man could dream of with only a spark of His favor.
We may occasionally hear that the Eucharist is the “Holy that makes holy”, but all the sacraments infuse us with grace and holiness. The sacraments permanently change us. I am not the smartest or most educated of Catholics - far from it! I try to learn all I can, but I will never be a Doctor of the Church. I can also only wish that I could be as pure and holy as that mentally retarded child. My nature has never been very pure, patient, temperate or chaste. I grew up with a lot of anger issues due to the circumstances of my childhood. I learned to be as tough as I was smart… and it would be false modesty to suggest that I have been accused of being dumb. No, I was smart and that helped me get into more trouble. I can tell you one thing for certain, though. Had I not been Baptized and Confirmed into the Catholic Church, I wouldn’t be teary eyed over a child or even have seen the light shining in her. The sacraments change everything. In them, is our life, our sweetness and our hope. Whatever you know of God outside of the Catholic Church and no matter how smart you are, you will never know God in this life until you are confirmed and receive the Eucharist… and don’t expect happiness and lots of charismatic excitement. Most times, the love of God will break your heart.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is Available in paperback on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
Filled with the Spirit
I might have told this story before….When I was at a DYC conference (Diocesan Youth) there was a religious sister there from New York who told us that there was a little girl with autism (mostly non- verbal) who could only respond if the conversation was initiated by someone else. She was at Mass and during the consecration kept saying, “Hello! Hello!” And blowing kisses to the altar. Someone was initiating the conversation with her. I was like you- just crying at that story.
That is a great story of how powerful the Eucharistic sacrament is to our faith. I am so grateful the holy spirit touched my heart and lead me back to the Catholic Church.