Marks of Faithfulness (5)

Have you ever had a gift given to you that you really did not appreciate, and then you put it away somewhere and forgot about it? Then, years later, you happened upon it in an old box and realized you had completely forgotten about it? That is what happens to a large percentage of Catholics today; not with an old gift from a friend or family member, but with a gift from the Holy Ghost.

At Confirmation the gifts of the Spirit are given to every Catholic (even if they do not know it); but if he does not use those gifts they end up forgotten and of no real effect for his salvation. The gifts that the Holy Ghost gives us at Confirmation are with us always, but we do not necessarily use them (like a forgotten birthday gift left in box in the closet). These gifts are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.

If we engage with these gifts and are using them consistently with steady growth in each of them, we will find that we can then live out the fruits of the Spirit. If you take care of a tree and provide all that it needs then it will produce fruit on its branches; our souls are the same way with the gifts of the Spirit resulting in the fruit of the Spirit. The gifts lead to the fruits when rightly used.

So then, to determine one's faithfulness, we must look for the presence of the fruits, which are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Now, certainly, any one of us might struggle with a fruit or two at times. If, however, someone is going through life and rarely or never exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit, then we would have to say that they are not living faithfully. To put it bluntly, a hateful, grumpy, irritable, agitated, rude, disobedient, unruly, harsh and chaotic person is on the fast track to Hell.

It is these very fruits that help us to grow in the faith, and in this way we come to know God better (theologically, practically and personally) and the practices of the Christian religion become a natural part of who we are. The result of this should be obvious to everyone: it will become easier over time to overcome temptations, as well as easier to follow the rules, guidelines, and laws of the Church. We will become saintly in our daily lives and be properly on the path to full sainthood in eternity.

These then are the standard marks of faithfulness (as I have laid them out over the last few days). These are those things that we must have if we want to spend eternity with Christ. These are non-negotiables for getting into Heaven, and they are crucial for our encouragement in the faith. If we do not see signs of faithfulness, and still desire Heaven, it is easy to slip into presumption by setting up our own set of signs. Let us seek those things that God has pointed us to, and ask Him for His grace to get us there.