you know what my favorite text in the
New Testament is Galatians chapter 5
because people ask you all the time when
you're priests how do I know what God
wants me to do how do I know what the
will of God is how do I know I'm walking
the right path and I'll tell them look
in Galatians chapter 5 because what you
find are two wonderful passages one
dealing with the works of the flesh Paul
calls it and he lays those out if maybe
I'll do a video eventually I met but
then he says in contrast to those you
find the fruit of the Holy Spirit in
other words what are the signs that the
Holy Spirit is in you so I'll tell
people look at this passage and tell me
are these things happening in your life
then you're on the right path then
you're probably walking the path Holy
Spirit if they're not then you're
probably not on the right path so it's
Galatians chapter 5 and beginning with
verse 22 Paul says this Allison in
contrast the fruit of the Spirit is love
joy peace patience kindness generosity
faithfulness gentleness self-control
nine fruits of the Holy Spirit who's the
Holy Spirit back this up a little bit
was it who is the Holy Spirit well we
say the Holy Spirit is the love that
connects the father in the son
so the father from all eternity knows
himself in that great act he generates
an image in my goal the image of God
this perfect image of the father is the
son the father and son look at each
other and in Fulton sheen put it this
way they they sigh their love for each
other and that shared breath that shared
love is the holy spirit now salvation is
all about the father sending the son all
the way out to the very limits of God
forsaken us so that we might be gathered
into the love that the father and son
share which we signal every time we do
this right you say that God the Father
so loved the world
he said his only son all the way down
that we might be gathered into the Holy
Spirit that's when a Christian talks
about the spiritual life he's not just
using the language vaguely the way a lot
of people do today I'm spiritual so
here's the question that Paul is asking
how do you know that you're in the Holy
Spirit well you can't see and control
the Holy Spirit you know it's like the
wind that blows where he wills right but
you can see the fruit of the Holy Spirit
the consequences are effects of the
Spirit that's why this text is so
important so what I want to do is just
look at some of the major themes Paul
talks about so the first fruit of the
Spirit is love now to no one's surprise
because that's what the Holy Spirit is
so if you have the spirit in you it'll
show up as love now love is not a
sentiment or feeling primarily love is
an act of the will love is to want the
good of the other and to do something
about it not as I've often said this
indirect egotism which is I'll be nice
to you that you might be nice to me I'll
you know wash your back you wash mine
it's not that love is breaking out of
this black hole of the ego it's it's
getting out of the gravitational pull of
the ego and really living for the other
if you've got that then you're in the
Holy Spirit if your life is
characterized by that then the Holy
Spirit is breathing through you then
Paul talks about joy and peace it's been
said I think correctly that the flag of
the Holy Spirit is joy someone who's
joyful has the Holy Spirit in him or her
now make a contrast though we're not
talking primarily about giddiness or
even psychological satisfaction or
stability those are all good I'm all in
favor of that but the joy we're talking
about here is signaled more by that
second word peace right now Paul would
have been translating in his mind Shalom
that that desire that God had that we
experienced well-being
Shalom peace what is it I would say it's
the connection at the very depth of your
soul to the Spirit of God what that
gives you is a peace a harmony and a
serenity which can endure any of the
changes in your life whether you are in
a good psychological space or a bad one
whether you're healthy or sick whether
you're successful or not if you're
connected to the Spirit of God you have
this sense of peace I think it's
fascinating that almost everyone who met
mother Teresa of Calcutta commented on
her joy that she was a joyful person but
yet we know don't we from her Diaries
and letters now that she wasn't
psychologically always in a good space
just the country she suffered from
enormous anxiety depression and so on
but yet see underneath all that through
all that there was joy that's appalled
means now as a fruit of the Holy Spirit
next he talks about patience I've always
like the King James Version is that
lovely word long-suffering
long-suffering or patient is a mark of
the holy spirit now how come because the
Holy Spirit is love and love is willing
the good of the other see if your life
is based on you and your projects your
needs your plans what's your attitude
toward people who are boring or annoying
or getting in your way it's just it's an
annoyance it's impatience get out of my
way
you're blocking what I want to achieve
but see if your stance is is that of
love you're not trying to get those
people out of your way in fact you're
seeing them as an occasion for love the
perhaps they were put in your place in
your in your way precisely as an
opportunity for you to love just think
of you'd only wake up in the morning
what's your fundamental attitude is it
now what can I get out of this day or
what occasions for love will present
themselves to me today
the patient or long-suffering person has
that attitude I'd also say this that
your patient in regard to your own
suffering again if your egotistic that
all you want is your projects and plans
within your own physical suffering is
just getting in the way which is why we
get impatient with it and when will I
get over this suffering but the patient
person might say no maybe this suffering
is itself a gift given to me by God to
help me grow in some spiritual way
and so I'm long suffering even in regard
to my own suffering
now next Paul talks about generosity and
I often will focus on this one when
people ask me that what does God want me
to do what path should I want I'll say
what path makes you most generous what
what form of life makes you most
generous that's the one God wants you on
Holy Spirit is gift right because the
Father loves the son the son loves the
father the Spirit is the mutual gifting
of father and son the Spirit is the
divine generosity
most of us they'll live like that in
Elliott's great poem the love song of
jail for prufrock where he laments the
end of his days I've measured out my
life with coffee spoons that's that's
the ungenerous attitudes I just take a
little tiny spoon and offer you a little
bit because I'm hanging on to my
prerogatives and privileges and so on no
no if the Holy Spirit's in you then you
become gifting you become overflowing
generosity is a fruit of the Holy Spirit
next Paul talks about faithfulness or
fidelity catches support isn't it most
of us will make a great commitment of
love at some point in life and that's
where our our maturity is found really
so it's a person becoming a priest it's
two people getting married someone
deciding that he will give himself to
his country or whatever it is when you
say I make this great commitment of love
good that's of the Holy Spirit
fidelity is faithfulness to that
commitment just as the spirit see that
the father and son can never fall out of
love one of the names for the spirit is
vinculum amorous it's lovely means the
chain of love is the chain of love that
binds the father and the son will see
when we're faithful in our commitments
of love we imitate the holy spirit we
have the Holy Spirit in us that's why
lack of fidelity it's such a great
crisis in our culture you know because
it's not a fruit of the Holy Spirit
finally he talks about I'm skipping a
couple but he talks about self-control
and as I said a hundred times this is
not Puritanism you know we can mock
Christianity easily enough as fussy and
it's antibody and it's not it doesn't
like sexuality and so sort of control
that isn't it Paul is a Jew Jews aren't
an T of flesh plate platanus maybe were
but Jews weren't Paul's not against the
flesh at all but why is self-control
important self-control means I'm going
to order everything in me according to
love that's what it means it means all
my energies all my passions all my
powers all of them are good but they
have to be ordered to love if not then
chaos will result and the person who
lacks self-control lacks that ordering
capacity that's why it's a fruit of the
Holy Spirit it's like what what makes me
able to direct my life toward love
that's what God wants that's a path that
you're on
you're walking a path where you're
losing self-control that ain't it that's
not the Holy Spirit I'll close with
something I heard from father Hesburgh
the legendary former president of Notre
Dame University and he said this is
about 10 years got him give a howl away
he said here's a prayer that always
works no matter what's going on your
life if you're successful you're
unsuccessful you're young you're old
you're sick you're healthy no matter
where you are this prayer always works I
remember I kind of perked up my ears I
can't what is that and he said veni
sancte spiritus
come Holy Spirit and I think first of
all he's right about that it's a prayer
that works anytime but secondly it's the
only way to get the Holy Spirit see
again it's fear blows where it wills
that you can't control the Holy Spirit
if I just do X Y & Z
I'll get the Holy Spirit it doesn't work
that way or if I follow this program
I'll get the Holy Spirit doesn't work
that way
you have to ask for the Holy Spirit ask
come Holy Spirit come renew the hearts
of your people come renew the face of
the earth and so I'd recommend if you
want the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you
Galatians 5 ask ask veni sancte spiritus