Note: you will need to set aside 35–40 minutes for this time together.
You will need:
There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord. There are varieties of activities, but the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the general good.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, just so with Christ. And indeed we were all baptised into one body in a single Spirit, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all given the same Spirit …
You may have noticed in the reading above that St Paul is urging the earliest of Christians (and us today) to always remember that the Spirit of God lives in our hearts.
It is the Holy Spirit who opens our hearts to the understanding that Jesus is God.
It is the Holy Spirit who prompts us to use our gifts and talents for good works.
St Paul uses the word body as a symbolic word for the people who make up the Christian community, our Church. And no matter who we are, we all have been gifted with the same Spirit.
St Paul issues all of us with a call to action: to use God’s Holy Spirit to live as good and holy people.
When we are confirmed, we will receive the Holy Spirit. We will be ‘confirmed’ in the Holy Spirit’s gifts. When this happens to us, we will be invited to share in the activities of God by using the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We will investigate these gifts in one of the later sessions. For now, let’s just think about Baptism and Confirmation as a response to God’s call to holiness.
Together, take a few minutes to think about and discuss the following ideas.
I wonder what my God-given, Spirit-blessed gifts are.
I wonder how I can use my gifts for ‘the general good’.
I wonder what ‘activities of God’ I am most interested in.
I wonder what ‘activities of God’ I could become involved in.
I wonder how I can respond to God’s call to be an authentic Christian.
Thanks to the graces and gifts we receive through baptism and confirmation, we are more able to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit and are empowered to respond to God’s call to holiness. You may remember that in our last session we compared the various sections of the rite of Baptism and the rite of Confirmation. One of the sections was focussed on ‘anointing’. This anointing with the oil of chrism in our baptism is a call to us to share in the life and work of Jesus, and so we are anointed ‘priest’, ‘prophet’ and ‘king’. But what does that mean?
Beginning with our baptism and continuing with our confirmation (and beyond), we are consistently called to live lives of holiness. To help us to remember this call, we are reminded that we share in the life of Jesus as priest, prophet and king.
As the oil of chrism is sinking into our skin, strengthening us, the priest says:
As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains what it means to be a priest for the baptised:
The faithful (God’s people) exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation … in Christ’s mission …
We become the face of Christ to all those we meet.
In another place, the Catechism tells us about what it means to be a prophet:
It belongs to the laity to seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will …
In other words, wherever we work or attend school or play or meet with others, we forever apply the teachings of Jesus at every opportunity. In doing so, we are the prophets (the ‘speakers’) of God’s love in the world.
Lastly, what does it mean to be a ‘king’ according to our Baptism. Quite simply, we are called to be leaders in all our life experiences—that is to say, to be leaders as Jesus was, and to act like Jesus in all the circumstances of our lives.
Match the title with the appropriate scenario and statement of meaning.
A child helps to serve food at a soup van.
A child says, ‘Stop bullying!’ to a group of other children.
A child says, ‘No’ to other children who want to graffiti something.
Take a few moments to think about, discuss with each other and then record in your journal your responses to the following:
I wonder if you see yourself as a priest, prophet or king in your life already. Which ones?
I wonder which of the three you need the gift of the Spirit to strengthen you in.