Spirit Lake church hosts Life in the Spirit seminar

By LORI BERGLUND
Special to Lumen Media
 
            What is it about the finest gifts that makes so many folks put them away “for good?’ Picture Grandma’s best china stored away out of sight, lest a little one chip a plate. Or what about that fancy watch your dad wore every Sunday, tucked away in a drawer, never to see the light of day again?

            Gifts are meant to be used, enjoyed, savored until every plate is broken or the last tick of the watch runs out.

            So it is, also, with God’s many gifts. They cannot be saved; they are given to be used, to multiply, to help build up the kingdom of God.

            “The bottom line is this, we who have been baptized and confirmed have also been given the gift of the Holy Spirit,” said Father David Hemann. “St. Paul says the Spirit distributes various gifts to members of the church for the up-building of the church.’”

            Do we know our gifts? Can we imagine what we might accomplish if we more deeply understood how to discern and use the gifts that are given?

            Father Hemann, pastor at St. Mary Parish in Spirit Lake and St. Joseph Parish in Milford, finds great joy in sharing what he knows of God’s many gifts, of living life, as fully as possible, in the Spirit.
 
           Helping people learn more about the Holy Spirit and how to discern the gifts that are given is the focus of an upcoming seminar Father Hemann will be hosting next month in Spirit Lake.

            ‘Life in the Spirit’ is a three-part seminar beginning in July at St. Mary’s Parish in Spirit Lake. On three consecutive Wednesdays, Father Hemann will lead the seminar to help those in attendance learn more about both the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

            The first session on July 9 will focus on prayer gifts and word gifts. The July 16 session will talk about healing gifts and administrative/ministerial gifts. The series will conclude on July 23 with a focus on gifts of service and signs and wonder. Each session begins at 7 p.m. and is free for all to attend.

            “I would hope that we gather a group together and have them grow in the knowledge of the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that they can be leaven within the dough to go out and bring healing, wisdom, love and the Gospel to people in a more effective way,” Father Hemann explained.

            The seminar is not about discovering one certain gift, but about coming to appreciate that the Holy Spirit has indeed freely given gifts to each person through the sacraments.

            “St. Paul said, ‘Name one thing that you have that you didn’t receive from the Lord.’” Father Hemann noted. “It’s not really about our qualifications, but being open to receiving the things from the Lord so that we can build up the body of Christ and help people.”

            He emphasized that each person has various combinations of the gifts, with some being more prevalent than others. Every person has a gift from the Holy Spirit to share. There are gifts of prayer, teaching, healing and even being a great administrator can be a gift of the Holy Spirit.

            “If we are one with Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharistic and his Holy Spirit dwells within us, it necessarily follows that we have the capability of actually having the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the tools,” the priest explained.

            To physically build a church, tools of architects, engineers, carpenters and plumbers are all needed. Likewise, to build up the kingdom of God, there are many different tools and gifts of the Holy Spirit that are needed.            “No one person has all the gifts,” Father Hemann said. “But it’s like that old saying, we may not have it all together, but together we have it all.”

He often sees the Holy Spirit at work in common, even surprising everyday ways.

            “Many years ago, a friend of mine sent me a computer and I was afraid to turn on a switch,” he recalled. “I could have kept it in a box, but when the Lord gives to us, you need to take those gifts out of the box and start working with the Lord.”

            Through the Life in the Spirit seminar, Father Hemann hopes to help people take their own gifts out of the box of their lives and begin sharing them. Learning to collaborate with the Lord is an important focus for this priest, who for many years has also served as diocesan liaison for charismatic renewal.

            Once the three-part seminar is concluded, he hopes to begin a monthly prayer meeting in order to help continue what the Holy Spirit might begin within the participants.

            “People can pray together for healing, wisdom,” he said. “Come once a month and get recharged. We’re going to keep this direction going so that they can go out into the parish and their family and be leaven within the dough, filling up the Body of Christ.”

            In this search for the Holy Spirit at work, Father Hemann emphasized that it is work that must be done within the framework of the church.

            “We never do this on our own,” he said. “We always have to be under the umbrella of the holy Catholic Church and the hierarchy.”