Am I getting enough daily “Fruits” in my Life?

A priest friend of mine, an erudite man of almost astonishing insight, once was asked if he was familiar with fruits of the Holy Spirit and whether he could perhaps do some research on them and speak about it at a conference. He replied with his characteristic dry wit, that if one needed to look them up, then they were not an important enough component of our daily lives!

This gracious servant of God was not being contentious or arrogant (he spoke brilliantly on the topic) but was making a point. Now we know our readers won't need to consult their research volumes to bring these fruits to mind but in the interest of refreshing ourselves let's review our catechism: “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1832)

A major function of this blog is a dedication to to the stewardship of time, talent and treasure. The aim is to advance, in some small way, our understanding of the many ways in which we can provide stewardship to our parishes and churches. When we look at these fruits of the Holy Spirit, we can see that, as always, we cannot out give Our Lord. When we consider that God always gives us much more than we need, it becomes clearer that the challenge is ours to use the fruits we are provided in our daily spiritual lives to make an impact on our parishes and churches.

As is customary in Christian tradition, whenever there are lists provided, the first one is the most important or at least the first among equals. That is certainly the case with our fruits here. Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of the three theological virtues,: “So faith, hope and charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Cor 13:13)

Scripture goes further, saying charity, “binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Col 3:14) Certainly, we can see how charity binds time, talent and treasure together. Charity is the animating energy that moves us to give of ourselves in every way. It enables us to reach out to our fellow man and share God's love with them and enmesh ourselves in the good works of our faith here on Earth. Turning again tho the catechism, we see how charity, “upholds and purifies our human ability to love and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.” (Catechism, 1827.)

But, as with any abundant fruit basket, the Holy Spirit's basket is overflowing with gleaming and fulfilling nourishment. Let's look at some of the others.

Joy is the second fruit. The Saints show us how joy is a two-fold component . Read virtually any account of the saints, especially the martyrs, and see how they joyfully gave of themselves, even when it required their very lives. They also received joy back, because they were satisfied in a special way that Our Lord had allowed them the privilege of serving Him and modeling for us who follow them.

Peace, patience, gentleness – Does anyone living today not wish they could offer more of these fruits to our fellow man -and to ourselves? As Lent approaches, perhaps it's a good time to contemplate how we can, in even small ways, make these a daily staple of our diet.

Kindness, goodness, generosity – In our busy lives, we are often startled, in a very positive way, when someone shares some of these fruits with us. How can we pass along a morsel to someone else today?

Faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity. Modern society has made these fruits among the most challenging to bring to our table. We know they are good for us, but just like the donut is more convenient on a rushed morning than an apple, so is self-interest more readily obtainable in a business deal than modesty; it's easier to seek attention and self-promotion than it is to peel the fruit of self-control.

Lent arrives next month. Why not make for this visitor a basket of “fruits” to welcome it into our presence?