Every first all-school Mass at St. Dominic has the theme of the Holy Spirit, and Father Patrick presented a fantastic homily to go with it.

He began with the relatable question every high schooler is asked: “What are you going to major in?”

This question flows into the predicament of how we use gifts: whether we hide or utilize our talents given from God. If we don’t use the gift, then we are wasting it. Every person who has been baptized or even simply asked for the Holy Spirit to come has been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“We have been given not only the power to witness, but the power to change. Not just the power to change the world, but the power to be changed by the Lord. You have been given the power to be a bigger change…a more lasting change,” Father Patrick said.

“The Talent Code” explains that people in particular parts of the world are all extremely talented at a particular thing. For example, there is a small town in Argentina where a bunch of incredible soccer players come from. Some people believe it is because of genetics or their passion for the sport, but when it comes down to it, their environment helped them grow and flourish even when they didn’t want to. Environments help push people to act and grow a certain way, so that is why surrounding yourself with a good environment and having good role models is so vital.

Father Patrick kept us entertained by using props to help explain how environments can change us. He pulled out a match, lighting it and a candle on a table next to him while explaining that one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is fire. Since we all have the Holy Spirit within us, the fire represents us and our relationship with God. But mortal sin cuts off our relationship with God, which in turn distinguishes the fire.

To illustrate his point, Father blew the match out. Then he explained that if we put ourselves in a bad environment, then the candle won’t blow out, but the flame will suffocate and eventually go out. Father Patrick showed us a literal example of this by putting a clear bowl over the candle. After about a minute, the flame died. The meaning behind this metaphor was to showcase that if we don’t change our bad environments into good ones, then there is no room for the Holy Spirit.

“We have an environment that fosters a relationship with Jesus at St. Dominic. It has been so inspiring and moving to see the number of people that are coming to the Empower Hour Masses, and it is so awesome to work with the peer ministers who are so excited about the work they are doing,” Father Patrick said.

There is always room to improve, and that is the challenge that Father Patrick presented during the homily.

“No matter who you are: a freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, a faculty member, a parent or grandparent, whether you are an administrator…all of us have room in our life to change at least one thing in our environment in order to help us become the men and women that God is asking us to be,” Father Patrick said.

We all have the gift of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is important that we utilize it. Even if we do the smallest things every other week, helping foster good in a small way can bring a big outcome.