Homily for the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier

All people are offered gifts from the Holy Spirit, which help us live as children of God and enable us to be instruments of God’s love and grace in the world.

We are a sacramental Church, opening ourselves to the creative grace of God, our loving Father; the compassionate and loving grace of Jesus Christ; and the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as described in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah: wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, holiness, knowledge, and fear of the LORD.

These gifts will transform us if we are genuinely open to the Spirit and to God’s love and grace. Real transformation means that we must use these gifts for our own good and for the good of all people.

This Advent season calls us to slow down and reflect on how the Holy Spirit has gifted us and how we are called to use these gifts.

However, we cannot stop there; we must work actively to utilize them so that God’s love and peace may flow through us, allowing us to fulfill our vocation of bringing ourselves and others to God’s kingdom of love.