Fruits of the Holy Spirit

  

Sermon by Father Jonathan E Moore - LINK HERE

6th Sunday of Easter 2026               Fruits of the Holy Spirit

We heard in last Sunday’s Gospel reading how unsettled the Apostles were by the thought of Jesus leaving them. “We don't know where you are going” said honest Thomas “so how can we know the way?” Jesus responded by telling Thomas “I AM THE WAY” (John 14:6). Jesus is himself the road which leads to the Father. Like all roads, the road to the Father has its traffic laws and Highway Code - rules which every road user must observe. Today, Jesus says to his friends:  

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15)

Those commandments are the rules of the road we must travel as followers of Jesus. Their foundation is the Law which God gave to Moses more than three thousand years ago - the Ten Commandments. They formed the basis of the teaching of Our Lord Himself; but, as we know, in His great Sermon on the Mount He called for his followers to go beyond those ancient laws on the road to the Father (Matthew 5:20). He gave a new Commandment, that we should love one another. (John 13:35)

“Love” is a strange word, isn't it? Certainly often misused these days, mispronounced too. When was it that “Love” became “Lerrv”? Sometime in the Swinging Sixties, I'm sure! Love, as the song says “Means different things to different people”, so how can we know exactly what Jesus meant? Fortunately, Jesus does not confuse us by advising us to “follow your heart”, or “do what seems best to you in the circumstances”. No, Jesus was quite clear: love is not a matter of talk but a matter of fact - we show it rather than say it. If our behaviour is in accordance with His teaching, then we are loving Him.

It doesn't take very long in anyone’s life to understand the difficulty of being good, and it doesn't get any easier as life goes on. Granted, the circumstances and temptations may change, but we don't. “Wretched man that I am!” exclaims St. Paul “Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Romans 7:24), and again “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Jesus knew quite well how hard it would be for his followers to keep to the rule of the road, so He made them a great promise, After He had returned to the Father, He told them, they would be given another Advocate to remain with them for ever. The word “Advocate” is a translation of the Greek word “Paraklitos”. Our word “Advocate” has mainly legal connotations these days, but “Paraclete” has a much richer meaning. I can't take time to speak of that meaning in detail today, but you can read further in the Catechism or online, and you would find much food for thought and prayer, I can promise you.

We can make a workable summary of the meaning of the word by saying that they all boil down to a “Paraclete” being someone stronger, wiser or more skilled than ourselves, and someone we can “call in” to help us when we face problems. The particular problem Jesus had in mind was precisely our inability, left to ourselves, to live up to His commandments.

At this time of the Church’s year, groups of young people the world over will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is a very special day in the life of every Catholic because it is the day when we have to start to travel along that road to the Father as adult people, facing the challenges of our world as grown-up Christians. The Candidates for Confirmation will have been learning about the Seven Gifts which the Holy Spirit gives through Confirmation, and all of us should be praying at this time that they will understand the gifts they receive and use them well.

Use them well? Yes! The Gifts of the Spirit are not ornaments, neither are they given simply for our personal satisfaction. They are given us to be used. 

How can we judge how well we are using those Seven Gifts? Again, Jesus made this clear in His teaching - one judges a plant by the fruit it bears (Matthew 7:15). So what fruit should we be bearing? There are Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit, twelve great qualities making up a true follower of Jesus Christ. It may be a long time since you yourselves were confirmed, and I won't embarrass anyone by asking for the list! If you remember them, however, it's a very good sign.

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit were something St. Paul wrote about in his letter to the people of Galatia all those many years ago now:

Charity

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Generosity

Gentleness

Faithfulness 

Modesty

Self Control

Chastity 

(Cf. Galatians 5:23)

Jesus said that all human beings can be known by the fruit they bear. Appearances can be so very deceptive, and sometimes we can be shocked to discover that apparently good people are living very bad lives, and surprised to find that some people we wouldn't rate at all highly are so much better than we think. You can't judge a book by the cover. The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are the pages within the cover of your book and mine. They tell the true story of the kind of Christians we are, or aren't.

It will soon be Pentecost Sunday again. It is a day when all confirmed Catholics should recall the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit - Advocate, Helper, Friend. In preparation for that celebration, (and, by the way, for our own Day of Judgement too!) we would all do very well to meditate long and hard on how well we are using those gifts in our lives right now. Which fruits are we bearing abundantly, which are frail and diseased, are there any (God forbid!) we can't find at all?

Jesus promised the Advocate to his friends because they were so afraid, so please don't be afraid to ask yourself the question, or of the answers it might bring. Remember, the Holy Spirit comes down and remains with us, so if we find our fruits rather sparse this year, we know exactly Who to ask for help!