As we continue to reflect on the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us in Baptism, Confirmation and in Marriage, we want to look at the gift of Word of Knowledge. Jesus, led by the Spirit in his humanity, exercised this gift at different times in his ministry. Recall his meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well and their interchange. After preparing her heart to receive life-giving water (the Holy Spirit), he asked her to go get her husband. She responded that she didn't have a husband. The Spirit placed on Jesus' heart the truth. "You have had five husbands and the man you are living with is not your husband." Jesus had never met this woman before. He didn't know her history. And he said this, not to condemn her but to open her, through repentance, to the revelation of himself as the Messiah.

This was a supernatural gift of a word that was given to Jesus by the Spirit for the further ministry to the woman whose faith was being stirred up. There are times when we are ministering to someone when a flash of a word or idea crosses our conscious awareness that the person alone knows. When this happens, I usually say, "Does this mean anything to you." If it is a gift from God to help this person to be more open to what God wants to do, the person will acknowledge it, wondering how did I know. When this happens, the person is usually more open to the working of God in their life at the moment. Our God is a mystery and full of surprises.