There are four numbers particularly linked with the Holy Spirit, who in Christian theology is understood to be the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. These numbers are three, seven, 12 and 50.

Three because He is the Third Divine Person, Divine Love Personified who unites the Trinity. His three key attributes are Love, Union and Gift. And his great gift, called sanctifying grace, is ultimately a gift of Himself to us. This grace comes with three principal infused virtues, namely faith, hope and charity, called Theological because they have God as their proper object.

Seven because the Holy Spirit gives seven gifts in Christian tradition: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. In Catholic theology, his gift of grace is also associated with seven sacraments.

And 12 because the fruits of the Spirit’s indwelling in the soul are 12, and because he is sent as a gift to give life to the Church, which is in turn founded on 12 apostles.

The feast of Pentecost, ‘fifty days after Easter’, which Christians celebrate today, is the great manifestation of the Holy Spirit. It is the day of Jubilee, which like the year of Jubilee is a time of renewal.

Hence the Church sings “Come, Holy Spirit come! And from your celestial home; Shed a ray of light divine!”

And because the Holy Spirit’s main job is to transform us from within, the Church adds, “Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.”

This profound latter stanza is relevant to all Christians and people of good will.

Likewise, as Kenyan civil society grapples with an existential crisis, this stanza may help guide their steps to a sure destination.

The elements of the growing crisis of Kenya’s civil society are several. One is a crisis of identity. Are they part of us, or are they foreign agents?

Another is a crisis of alienation. Can they have a prophetic voice, when they reject the outcome of a democratic exercise they claim to believe in?

A third is a crisis of credibility. Can we trust them to walk the talk, or will their partisan political views trump the pursuit of the common good, like when they expressed discontent that Kenyans had chosen peace despite political grievances?

A fourth aspect of civil society’s crisis is a crisis of popularity. Every good leader faces the moment when a choice for the common good is unpopular. When previously quiescent followers talk back at you, challenge you, try to depose you and erode your presumed indispensability. And bad leaders likewise confront the moment when hubris is shattered on the rock of reality, when what you do to others is done unto you.

The governance sector of civil society is used to attacking perceived ills in society. Can they accept with grace when they are likewise attacked?

If they ask Members of Parliament to swallow the label ‘MPigs’, can they pretend to be martyrs when labelled ‘evil society’?

Are they experts at removing the plank in their neighbour’s eye, but unable to remove the log in their own?

Do they believe they are the only safeguards of democracy, or are they ready, like any good actor, to exit the scene whenever necessary?

The fifth element in the crisis of civil society is its gravest element. It is a crisis of integrity.

Has our civil society driven a Faustian bargain with the enemies of our moral and family values?

How can one claim to focus on good governance and yet be joined at the hip with pro-abortion, pro-homosexual and pro-pornography groups that undermine our laws?

 If your performance contract includes both democratic governance and tolerance of drug culture, or health services and teen sexuality, can you really claim integrity?

Kenya’s civil society has reached a turning point.

We hope they realise it. Only then can they welcome the aid they need, to bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill; guide the steps that go astray.

And so we hope they may receive the gift of wisdom, to finally look in the mirror and have the humility to accept the need for reform.