Anointing of the Holy Spirit
Gifts, Charisms and Fruits of the Holy Spirit
“And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49). The resurrected Jesus has already sent the Holy Spirit upon all and all have received it but all are not clothed with power. What does this mean? Being clothed with power means that the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit is visible in one’s life and ministry. Clothed with power is also known as anointing of the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The difference between receiving the Holy Spirit and Anointing of the Holy Spirit
The one who has received the Holy Spirit does not manifest major signs and wonders but the one who is anointed exhibits mighty manifestations of the Holy Spirit. These manifestations are nine in number and they are the gift of tongues, prophesy, interpretation, wisdom, knowledge, discerning the spirit, faith, healings and miracles (1Cor 12:8-12). These manifestations are also known as charisms. Charisms are not ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit but special ones, which are not given to all. In an anointed person at least one of these manifestations will be evidenced. All those who receive baptism of water or even baptism of desire (YouCat 199) receive the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:23). But all of them do not receive the power or anointing of the Holy Spirit, implying that they might not operate in any of the charisms. This is the difference between receiving the Holy Spirit and anointing by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why does God anoint someone with manifestations? God anoints someone to do some special work in his church. All Catholic priests are anointed because they have a specific role and work in the Church. Therefore, they are bestowed with special gifts which are grafted to them. “…by the ordination the transforming power, healing power and saving power of Jesus are grafted to all catholic priests…” (YouCat 250).
The anointing can be explained with an example of a breeze. When a mass of air moves softly, we call it a breeze and when it increases its velocity, it is referred to as wind. The wind increasing in its velocity becomes a storm, and a storm increasing in its power and vigour turns into a hurricane. A hurricane is termed as a cyclone when the strength of the hurricane intensifies. The manifestation, effect and power of cyclone are entirely different from the effect and power of a breeze. But the presence and movement of air is common to all these phenomena. In the same way all have received the Holy Spirit but all those who have been anointed by the Holy Spirit have different experiences. The presence of the Holy Spirit as breeze is in all who are baptized by water or by desire but quite often mighty manifestations might not be evidenced in them (CCC compendium 265). All those who exhibit at least one of the manifestations of the Spirit are called Charismatics because they operate in charisms. Consequently, one has a personal choice and vocation to help the presence of the Holy Spirit intensify in him/her to the intensity of a cyclone through his/her prayer and personal efforts. King Solomon remarks that though all have the same origin as he, the anointing upon him made a difference to his intelligence and wisdom (Wis 7:5-7).
That opportunity to get anointed was initially received at the first Pentecost in Jerusalem. Manifestations of the Spirit were displayed as a cyclone and fire accompanied with a big sound (Acts 2:1-4). Among the 120 people, 11 had already received the Holy Spirit but they were not baptized or clothed with power. On the Pentecost Sunday, these 11 and the remaining 109 were anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thereafter manifestations or charisms were visible in their ministries permanently.
So, what is a charism? Charism is considered as one among other gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is not an ordinary one but an extraordinary one, which is bestowed on individuals for the common good. It is to help other individuals, and the nation but above all for the building up of the Church. The use of the charism is under the due discretion of the Magisterium because a charism is given to individuals for the Church (CCC compendium 160). And one should also be aware that charisms are not toys for personal use but tools for evangelization.
The means to receive the Anointing
1. Oil of anointing: God taught Moses to prepare the oil of anointing with four ingredients and their measures. Fine liquid myrrh weighing 500 shekels, cinnamon weighing 250 shekels, cane of 250 shekels, cassia of 500 shekels and a hin of olive oil were to be used to prepare the oil. Moses had to anoint the priests and sacred vessels with this oil. All those who touched the anointed person or objects became holy (Ex 30:23-33). Ordinary people had neither the opportunity to be anointed with this oil nor were they allowed to prepare it. If they attempted, they would be excommunicated. But people were anointed through the anointed priests or objects.
The functions of the ingredients of the holy oil: Myrrh was for relief of pain, cinnamon was for flavour, cane was for joy and cassia was for hunger. Cane is an aromatic plant in the Middle East. People used to keep the leaves of aromatic cane in their bed rooms for good fragrance. The smell of cane is a source of joy to the people. Cassia is a commonly found plant in the Middle East and East African countries. People used to eat the leaves of cassia after a heavy meal, for effective digestion. It was so effective that the meal was digested soon after and they would hunger for one more course of meals. So, all those who are anointed will have relief from pain, a flavour-filled and a good to taste life, and above all they will be filled with joy, hungry for the Word of God.
2. Holy gatherings with the unity of hearts and minds: The gathering of the people of God, gain the effect of the use of the oil of anointing (Ps 133). Therefore, the scripture warns that the people of God should not miss the Sunday gatherings (Heb 10:25).
3. Faith in Christ Jesus: When one believes in Christ Jesus one shall experience rivers of living water overflowing from his/her heart (Jn 7:37-39). This anointing is then shared by all in the family (Acts 2:38). The anointing that one has received through faith in Christ will save his/her family as well (Acts 16:31). Therefore, it is one’s own negligence if his/her family is not saved, as the one has not cared to get anointed.
4. Sacraments: Church gives the Holy Spirit to her children through the Sacraments (CCC compendium 146).
Once the Holy Spirit has been received or one has been anointed by the Spirit, then that one has a great responsibility to rekindle it to the intensity of a cyclone or a Pentecost, because the Pentecost day onwards the believers started operating in the charisms effectively and powerfully. The following are the nine ways to rekindle the Holy Spirit:
Nine Ways to Rekindle the Holy Spirit
1. Repentance: Jesus said “Repent and believe in the good news then you will enter into the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God means a life guided by the Holy Spirit. Ongoing repentance is needed for ongoing anointing. All those who repent will not have any punishment (CCC 1472).
2. Reconciliation: Peter reprimanded Simon that unless he repents and frees himself from hatred and wickedness, he shall not have any share in the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:21-23). A mind which is totally freed from hatred and is reconciled with God and humans will have an ongoing anointing.
3. Faith in Jesus: Jesus proclaimed that out of the believer’s heart, rivers of living water will overflow (Jn 7:37-39). Peter declared that all those who repent and receive baptism in the name of Jesus shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; they and their children as well as those who are afar off (Acts 2:38-39). All those who receive him and believe in him are empowered to become the children of God (Jn 1:12). And the children of God have the right to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. All those who believe in Christ Jesus are the Messianic people and they thus have the privilege to an ongoing anointing in them because the Holy Spirit remains permanently in the Messiah and the Messianic people.
4. Prayer: St. Luke provokes, “How much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Lk 11:11-13). Prayer is a relationship with God (CCC compendium 534). All those who have a good relationship with God through conscious, constant prayer will be rekindled with the Holy Spirit
5. Word of God and Magisterium of the Church: People are baptized with the Holy Spirit, when they hear the Word of God (Acts 10:44-48). Many things which are not expressly stated in the bible are observed and found in the Tradition of the Church (Jn 20:30). Therefore, one has to interpret the Word of God according to the Tradition and the teaching of the Church (CCC compendium 19). All those who study the Word of God in accordance with the Magisterium of the Church will be reignited with the Holy Spirit.
6. Sacraments: Regular Mass and Confessions are helpful for one to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus received baptism, he was filled with the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:21). When Saul was anointed with oil he was filled with the Holy Spirit (1Sam 10:1) and David also received mighty anointing when the oil was poured on his head (1 Sam 16:13). The Church transmits the Holy Spirit to her believers through the Sacraments (CCC compendium 146). And so, it is very difficult to be rekindled with the Holy Spirit without frequent reception of the Sacraments.
7. Practicing mercy and compassion: One has to be merciful as the heavenly Father is merciful (Lk 6:36) and all those who are merciful will receive mercy from God (Mt 5:7). St. Faustina, wrote in her diary that one would get supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit if one is merciful in action and prayer. Therefore, practicing corporal and spiritual acts of mercy and compassion is essential to have the rekindling of the Holy Spirit.
8. Receiving the laying on of hands: Samaritans and Ephesians were filled with the Holy Spirit when they received the laying on of hands by the Apostles (Acts 8:17 & 19:6). s People of God receive mighty anointing through the laying on of hands (CCC compendium 265 and 2Tim 1:6).
9. Sufferings: Jesus was anguished till he received another baptism and that was of blood or suffering (Lk 12:50). There is a kind of joy in suffering and St. Paul exulted in it because the power of Christ and the gift of revelation rested upon him through the suffering (2Cor 12:9). Sufferings do not originate from God but from the enemy Satan as also from sin. But all sufferings will be transformed into good of those who love God (Rom 8:28). Personal sufferings are means to attain the power of the Holy Spirit for sanctifying the Church – the body of Christ (Col 1:24). Chastisement is also a means for the anointing (Heb 12: 5-6). God does not give suffering but only allows it (CCC compendium 314, 72 & 58) and brings good out of evil as written in the diary of St. Faustina (D 431 and in CCC 312).
13 Blessings of Anointing of the Holy Spirit
The most important blessing in our life is the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Gal 6:15). If we neglect the most important blessing, nothing good might take place in our life. There are thirteen benefits of the anointing or infilling of the Holy Spirit.
1. Our relationship with God and man will change. We grow to realise that God is our real father (Rom 8:14-17) and mother (Is 66:13) for God is neither man nor woman but is both and He is a perfect father and a perfect mother (CCC 370). All others turn as our brothers and sisters in Christ (1Th 5:1-2); Jesus, the Savior of our life (Acts 4:12) and the Holy Spirit, the real Helper (Jn 15:26).
2. Jesus is Lord and we will declare that He is Lord (1 Cor. 12:3). Nobody can say that Jesus is Lord except by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we do not declare that Jesus is Lord then we might not be saved (Rom 10:9).
3. Faith will perform miracles (Mk 16:17-18). We will be able to do the five things mentioned in Mk 16:17-18 for the benefit of all. Our faith will be able to move mountains even (Mk 11:23).
4. We will learn the Scriptures, Tradition and the Magisterium of the Church without any mistake or difficulty. Theanointing will teach us everything that we would want to know about our salvation (1 Jn 2:27; Jn 14:26).
5. We will receive gifts (Is 11:2), fruits (Gal 5:23), ministry gifts (Eph 4:11-13) and charisms of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:8-11). The devil also gives the same charisms and powers of healing, miracles and others. But good fruits are not manifested (Gal 5:22-23), instead there are only bad fruits (Gal 5:19-21).
6. It is easy to love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our might (Dt 6:5). Anointing helps us to love God and so all things work together for our good. (Rom 8:28).
7. Our memory will increase. The Holy Spirit will remind us of everything that Jesus taught (Jn 14:26).
8. Aim in life will be given (Mt 16:24-26). To save our soul, we have to take up our cross and follow Christ. Salvation and eternal life will then become the main aim of our human life.
9. Forgiveness turns easy. We cannot forget the offences done against us but we will be able to forgive them remembering the offences without pain, because the love of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). And so, we shall be able to love them as God loves them.
10. Filled with joy and peace. The peace and joy results in the healing of our inner beings for Jesus had said that our sorrow will turn into joy (Jn 16:20).
11. Prayer pattern will change and varieties of prayers would emanate. Long prayers will no longer be monotonous because we know to pray properly and effectively (Rom 8:26).
12. Healing and rejuvenation in spirit and body. Suppose we are not healed then we will get the gift of joyful suffering (2Cor.12:9). Generally, almost all of our sicknesses will be healed and problems will be solved through the anointing.
13. We will be successful in all fields of activities such as business, studies, ministry, family life and profession.
Following is the testimony of a person who came for a day’s retreat. He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit and that anointing resulted in various blessings as he shares in this testimony.
On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 2:06 PM, Joseph K Antony <kjoseph.antony@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello Father Jose Vettiyankal,
Praise the Lord!
My name is Joseph Antony and I attended the retreat along with my wife Latha, held at Velacherry, Chennai, India. At the end of the retreat, I was one of the persons giving a testimony. What I had said was brief, and I would like to add some more aspects.
In the testimony I had said that in the previous retreat held in Anna Nagar (in November 2013), I was a beaten man facing a) Family problems b) Health problems and c) Business problems. At the end of that retreat, Fr Jose Vettiyankal had assured me that my problems would be solved. My wife and I followed the guidelines as best as we could. I even attempted the spiritual ICU.
Now in this retreat I testify the following:
1. With respect to my family problems, the long-delayed marriage of my elder daughter is proceeding well, and we had the engagement function recently. My second daughter has been very well placed even before she finished her Master's degree.
2. Due to cancer one of my kidneys had to be removed and some of my liver parameters were not too good. I changed my diet and stopped taking some medicines and behold my parameters are very good now. Praise the Lord!
3. The last time at the retreat, I was wearing a support belt due to severe backache. Fr Jose had indicated that there were many people who were cured of their back problems. Very sceptically, I claimed it, because there was actually some relief during the course of the day retreat. Now I am completely cured. I walk around 5 kms, twice or thrice a week and even take part in mini marathons occasionally. Praise the Lord!
4. My business was in terrible shape for almost 5 years now. But now, new opportunities are coming up and some seem to be really good.
Thank you, Father,
Joseph Antony
Kollamkulam, Chennai
And when one receives blessings from Jesus, the natural consequence would be to share about Jesus to all others – to spread the Good News of his work in our midst. There are around twenty ministries that one can involve in, towards this end.
20 Ministries in the Catholic Charismatic Movement
The driving force of doing ministry in the kingdom of God!
All of us do minister in the kingdom of God, but what is the real intention and motivation of these ministries? Some preach the Word of God out of jealousy, pride while some others to defeat other ministers and achieve personal fame. St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians says ‘The love of Christ urges me to do the ministry in the kingdom of God’ (2 Cor 5:14). The love of Christ is the driving force of ministry and the glory of God is the goal.
The driving force of the ministry of Jesus is given in Luke 4:14. There we read that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit before he came to his hometown to preach. His fame spread all around. There are three driving forces that urged Jesus to do his ministry:
· The anointing of the Holy Spirit (Lk 4:18).
· The mission consciousness that He was sent by the Father (Lk 4:18).
· Compassion and mercy that moved Jesus (Mt 14:14).
The miseries of the people, elicited the compassion of Jesus and he healed them all. “When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick” (Mt 14:14).
People, who are working in the ministry of Christ, should possess the mind of Christ. “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:4-5). St. Paul affirms that we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and so, we should do our ministry in the kingdom of God with the mind of Christ. Let us examine our motivation, intention of preaching and evangelization..
Everyone is obliged to do some ministry in the kingdom of God. The following are the possibilities:
1. Apostolic ministry – ministry of the Bishops
2. Priestly ministry- ministry through the ministerial priesthood
3. Ministry of the religious/ consecrated
4. Preaching ministry
5. Counselling ministry
6. Intercession ministry
7. Physical healing ministry
8. Inner healing ministry
9. Deliverance ministry
10. Financial healing ministry
11. Family healing ministry
12. Volunteers-in Parishes, Retreat Centres, Institutions etc
13. Teachers of Catechism
14. Organizers of Prayer Groups, Bible Conventions, Retreats etc
15. Service Ministry – in Old Age Home, Home for Destitute, Health Centres, Food Distribution etc
16. Music Ministry or Praise and Worship ministry
17. Ministry of Testimony
18. Promotional ministry – Promoting people to attend retreats
19. Media Ministry – through Literature, Audio, Visual, Bible Distribution etc
20. Tithing of time, talent and treasure
Everyone who does ministry must have the intention and mind of Christ. Every minister must be anointed as Jesus is anointed. All those who are anointed will manifest charisms and the anointing is oriented towards ministries in the kingdom of God. Primarily the charisms are for building up of the Church and for helping an individual as also to help the nation. Hence charisms are manifestations of the anointing which are given to an individual for the common good (CCC compendium 160). The chosen one, whom God has sanctified or set apart, to work for his kingdom must receive these charisms as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Charisms are given to build up the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church (Eph 4:12, Col 1:24). Every minister is sent by Jesus, as Jesus is sent by the Father with full authority in heaven and on earth (Mt 28: 18-20). And every minister should also have sincere love and compassion for the other.
The sufferings and tears of the people must be the driving force of our ministry. And a minister always works for the liberation, healing and wellness of people world over as well as for souls in purgatory.
God's children groan with pain (Rom 8:20-23), as long as they are in this world. They are under great suffering and the Church must set them free through her ministries. Through the ministry of the Church the glory of Christ has to manifest and increase the world over. Hence, I pray that none of us do this noble and genuine ministry of Christ for self - glory, fame, money or profit.
8 Enemies of the Anointing of the Holy spirit
1. Pride
2. Covetousness
3. Lust
4. Anger
5. Gluttony
6. Envy
7. Sloth
8. Environmental pollution
If any of these enemies are present in a person’s ministry, then, his/her ministry will be destroyed, eventually.
Gifts, Charisms and Fruits of the Holy Spirit
There are five categories of gifts revealed in the bible. They are Isaiah or Traditional gifts (Is.11:2), Motivation or Roman gifts (Rom 12.6-8), Manifestation or Charismatic or Corinthian gifts (1Cor.12.8-11), Messianic Gifts (Mk 16:17-18) and Ministry or Ephesian gifts (Eph 4:11-13 1 Cor 12:28,30). The traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given to all believers in God shall be elucidated in the first instance. Motivation or Roman gifts are natural talents which are given by God. All human beings have some or the other talent. Charismatic or Corinthian gifts are known as special graces or extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit and are not given to all but only to some individuals as the Catholic Church clarifies (CCC compendium 160). Messianic Gifts are given to all who believe in Jesus, implying the doers of the Word of God. M