Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

No one likes having dirty dishes in the sink for a month or finding muddy socks draped over a desk lamp. Or hair all over the bathroom, half-eaten slices of pizza, turning green, on the TV set, rugby sweatshirts full of earth, blood and sweat hanging in the shower. 

Living conditions often involve sharing such space. Without mutual consideration, sharing such spaces can lead to chaos, angry outbursts, and health hazards. What’s at stake in these situations is the common good, the rationale for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We hear in St. Paul: “To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” 

The Holy Spirit comes to form the nucleus of a new human race, one race of people committed to the good of all and to peace. Peace is the result of individuals, and nations too, being able to put the common good before petty needs, partisan politics and special interests.

“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (I Cor 12,7.) We Westerners in our extreme individualism think, act and vote so often in terms of me, my neighborhood, my wallet. The Holy Spirit aims to turn us “from isolation to community, from competition to cooperation.”

How often we hear it said that so and so was or is so competitive, as if that were the crowning achievement of a human life! What about saying he or she always put the good of others ahead of their own? Or, that she or he understood that there is only one human race?

Giving a sign of peace to those around us before Communion speaks to our oneness with and good will toward not just these few people but with Somalis, Hispanics, Swedes, Iraqis, with men and women of whatever color, religion, social status or income. Life in Christ and in the Holy Spirit means life for others.

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

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