Chrism

On Sunday, Nate made his Confirmation.  In the Roman Catholic Church, this is the second sacrament of initiation; the bestowing of the gifts of the Holy Spirit on the recipient.  The Holy Spirit provides us with wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, reverence, and awe, giving a special strength to spread and defend the faith. Couldn’t we all use some of that?

The Monsignor who presided over the ceremony gave an inspired homily offering his perspective on the power of this gift, which he likened to rocket fuel, in unleashing our potential.

He spoke of a road trip taken with friends close to 20 years ago, the experience of driving through Montana in a 1994 Ford Windstar van at 120+ miles/hour.  There was no speed limit in that state at the time, so he and his friends put the pedal to the floor to see how fast the car would really go.  Windows down, wind billowing around them, you can only imagine the feeling of utter freedom and exhilaration that a ride tinged with fear brings. 

Until they started to think about what could happen to them traveling at such great speeds.  They put on the brakes.  And while it was safer, compared to where they’d been, it now seemed like a crawl and they were left feeling a little unsettled and deflated with the prospect of the balance of the trip.

His message to these teenagers, teeming with promise, was this:  There are no speed limits in the spiritual life.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit are the fuel we need to take off at lightning speed.   We shouldn’t settle for the slow and safe pace.  We are missing out on what life has to offer us, and the world is missing out on what we have to offer it.

Whether you are religious or even spiritual doesn’t matter.  I believe we all have this power inside of ourselves:   The power to use our strengths for something wonderful.  Yet, so many of us are afraid to really step on the accelerator and test our limits.  We feel a little bored in the slow lane, but it’s safe, so that’s where we stay. 

In that moment, all I could think is that what I want most for Nate, and his older brother, is for each of them to reach inside, grab those talents, and go out and change their worlds. 

I want that for myself, too. And I’m doing it, one step at a time. But after hearing his talk, I’m inspired to pick up the pace. I want the rush of the wind through my hair that comes with traveling at breakneck speed. I want to see how fast and far I can go.

I’ve been anointed.  The only one who can put the brakes on now is me.