Who doesn’t like receiving a gift?

Just glance at the recipient’s
eyes and you see how they almost twinkle with delight. Unless
it is obviously a book, some people first shake the gift, trying
to guess what might be inside. Some rip off the paper immediately,
while others carefully untie the ribbon and gently unwrap the gift.

But does anyone just store the gift away without
opening it? Does anyone keep a shelf filled with such
unopened gifts? Of course not!

With all the references to the sevenfold gifts of the Holy
Spirit in today’s readings, I recalled having to memorize that
list: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge,
piety, and fear of the Lord. We learned to recite them by rote,
but were these gifts ever unwrapped? We received them at
baptism, and they were strengthened at confirmation, but
have they been put into practice or developed? The only
one on the list I remember hearing more about was “fear of
the Lord”—to ensure we would not be afraid of the Lord,
I suppose.

St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit’s gifts are given for some
benefit. How our suffering world could benefit from these gifts
today! It was a custom in our religious community each Pentecost
for every sister to be given a prayer card with one of the
gifts to focus on during the year. With so much polarization
pulling us apart, it might be beneficial to try to understand
another’s perspective before condemning or pigeonholing
them. With open hands and open heart, understanding is the
gift I pray is intensified in me this year. Which gift will you
pray to develop?

Sr. Julia Upton

Julia Upton, RSM, is provost emerita at St. John’s University in
New York. She is the author of Worship in Spirit and Truth:
The Life and Legacy of H. A. Reinhold.