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The Holy Spirit and His Gifts

If you’ve gone through Confirmation Class and were confirmed, you received the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the seven gifts that began to work in you at your Baptism. Can you name them? Have you used them? Do you still have them? Do you feel alive spiritually, or are you “going through the motions”?

Reality is both physical and spiritual. The only difference is our physical eyes cannot see the spiritual. But, we can “feel” the Spirit and be in touch with the Spirit and know of His power.

We speak of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For most of us, the Father and Son are pretty easy to relate to. For many Catholics, the Holy Spirit is another matter. Let’s lay a foundation first, then I’ll explain how you can deepen your spirituality and “get in touch” with the Spirit.

The traditional Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed in Isaiah 11:2. The Hebrew text lists only six, but the Greek has seven. The Early Church used the Greek version of the Old Testament as its official text, and so today, we speak of seven gifts rather than six.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the Holy Spirit guides our moral life (our relationship with others) through: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel.

Wisdom – Wisdom sees as God sees, and knows God and divine things, loves God and His ways. It’s linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” This gift directs the person to order his life in every way according to God. From this order comes peace. The effect is an indivisible union with God. Disordered desires, affections, and attachments destroy peace. Understanding – Understanding gives insight and applies faith to life. Linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are the clean of heart for they shall see God.” On our own, we cannot penetrate the divine. This gift enlightens us to the Way of Jesus. This gift moves us beyond attachment to creatures and things and purifies us by means of sacrifice and detachment. In an ever growing purity, we come to see Jesus and learn to follow Him. Knowledge – Knowledge gives us the ability to comprehend the meaning and message of Jesus and connect our experience to faith. It’s linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.” This gift instructs us of the “nothingness” of being human and the “all” and infinite goodness of God. We weep for the time spent seeking anything but God. We are comforted with hope in our sufferings and embrace what makes us more like Jesus. Right Judgement/Counsel – Counsel is the ability to know right from wrong and to make good decisions. It helps us to fulfill the divine commandments, especially love. The more developed this gift becomes in us, the more we are able to listen to the Holy Spirit. Linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Christ’s love cannot be separated from His mercy. To love as Jesus loves, we must be merciful.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the Holy Spirit guides our theological life (our relationship with God) and directs our will towards God through fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord.

Courage/Strength/Fortitude – This gift enables us to overcome our fear, take risks, and be heroic in following Jesus. It is linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness (justice), for they will be satisfied.” This gift strengthens us to bear any suffering for what is good and to do God’s will. Reverence/Piety – (Only in the Septuagint) This gift equips us with a deep sense of respect and love for the Lord. When we allow this gift to work in us, our love and worship of Jesus becomes intimate and strong. Instead of going through the motions of worship, we have a sense of relationship with Jesus. Linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land.” Piety makes us meek and gentle desiring only to please God. The land is our heart and it is changed into the heart of Jesus. This means that to win someone over to Christ, we must never use force, but rather meekness and patience. Wonder and Awe/Fear of the Lord – This gift completes the attitude we must have towards God. He is “Daddy,” yet He is also “Majesty.” This gift causes us to marvel at anything that is God’s work and we become speechless when we behold Him in creation, or other people. Linked to the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” The gift liberates us from sin by extinguishing our desire for earthly things (self- detachment). The effect is to abstain from evil deeds. The Virtues Cardinal, Theological, and Moral

How do we live a Christian life? The Gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us. They help us to live the virtues. Here is a short discussion about the three categories of virtues.

The Cardinal virtues are originally from Plato. The name comes from the Latin word “cardo” which means hinge. They are the hinge upon which the door of the moral life swings. Find them in the Bible in Wisdom 8:7.

Prudence – The “mother of all virtues,” a discretion and carefulness in deciding the good of an action. It is associated with wisdom, insight, knowledge. It’s chief rule is Matthew 6:19-20, 33.

Justice – Sometimes ranked as the most important virtue, it gives to each what is due. Closely associated with love (charity), it judges properly with regard to persons rights and interests.

Temperance – The practice of self control and moderation.

Courage or Fortitude – The ability to confront fear, uncertainty or intimidation.

The Theological virtues, found in 1 Corinthians 13:13, are so named because their object is God Himself.

Faith – Faith is steadfastness in belief. Hope – The expectation of good. Love or Charity – Being selfless, unconditional, having a loving kindness.

According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the gifts roughly correspond to the virtues (theological and cardinal) in this manner: Wisdom to Charity Knowledge to Faith. Counsel to Prudence Fortitude to Fortitude Understanding to Faith Piety to Justice Fear of the Lord to Hope

The Moral virtues (and the Seven Capital sins they oppose)

Chastity Lust Embracing of moral wholesomeness and achieving purity of body and thought through education and betterment. Temperance GluttonyPracticing self control and moderation. Charity Greed (avarice) Generosity, a willingness to give, a nobility of thought and action. Diligence Sloth A zealous and careful nature in one’s actions and work. Decisive work ethic. Budgeting one’s time. Monitoring activity to guard against laziness. Patience Wrath (anger) Resolving conflicts peacefully rather than using violence. The ability to forgive and show mercy to sinners. Kindness Envy Charity, compassion, friendship, and sympathy without prejudice for its own sake. Humility Pride Modest behavior, selflessness, and the giving of respect. Giving credit where credit is due, not unfairly glorifying one’s own self.

Gifts and the moral virtues have similarities. However, though helped and given by grace, virtues operate by human reason and at our will or decision. Gifts are the decision of the Holy Spirit. Virtues can be used when we wish. Gifts operate when the Holy Spirit wishes. Virtues are like an oar in the water that we use to move a boat. Gifts are like a sail. We are in the boat, but it is the Holy Spirit who moves it. Of course, even when it is the Holy Spirit’s decision to move the boat using the sail, we always have the option to “drop anchor.” It takes a habit of prayer and silence to listen well to the Spirit so we do not work against Him. More Gifts of the Spirit

Besides the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is good to know that there are more than these seven. They belong in the overall context of gifts, but are not "gifts of the Spirit" in the main sense of the term. Rather than list every gift, Scripture shows how inexhaustible the Spirit is in creating and giving them. St. Paul emphasizes love and the value of the gifts to the community. The gifts are not given to the individual for his or her benefit, but for the building up of the community and other people.

More lists: 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, miracle-working, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Romans 12:6-8 speaks of prophecy, service (ministry), teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and the showing of mercy. James 4:6 - grace, Philippians 4:7 - peace , Hebrews 4:1,9 - rest, John 10:28, Romans 6:23 - eternal life , Psalm 127:3 - children, Ezekiel 11:19 - a new heart, 1 Corinthians 7:7 – celibacy. It is clear that the gifts of the Spirit are infinite.

The Fruit of the Spirit is what comes from the gift. What is poured into you by the Spirit is the gift. What you pour out to others is the fruit. The most famous Bible passage on the fruit of the Spirit is Galatians 5:22. The list of fruit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As with the gifts, this list is not all the fruit, but gives us an understanding. The fruit is both something you are and something you do. They are appealing to others, whether Christians or not. Fruit makes our Christianity authentic and real.

Though not literally “fruit,” we can expand our understanding of the fruit of the Spirit from St. Paul’s discussion of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. What springs from love? What is love’s fruit? Patience, kindness, does not envy, is not arrogant or rude, does not insist on having its own way, is not irritable or resentful, does not rejoice in sin, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, hopes and endures all things and never ends. The virtues too, though not literally fruit, can also expand our understanding as they are our response to the Spirit.

St. Paul tells the Colossians (Col 3:12-16) to “wear” these things: compassion kindness, humility, meekness, love and patience. He also told them to bear with one another, be thankful, and to forgive each other.

Why is the fruit important? Fruit is evidence of what has been received. Fruit describes a Christian’s character or what is authentic about that Christian. We can trust deeds. We cannot trust words. Words are cheap. Actions more often come through a living experience fraught with struggle, suffering, sacrifice and a trust in God.

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus says, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

The gifts are “planted” by the Spirit and the fruit grows over time. The Bible does not teach that this gift or that will take away all your financial woes or other problems, or that one gift or other is evidence of the Spirit’s presence within you. The lists of gifts and fruit are silent about beginning a crusade for a just society or letting the moral majority rule. They do speak about BEING just, BEING forgiving, BEING patient and meek and humble and loving etc. The gifts are given to build up and unite the community. Having a gift is evidence of nothing. Using the gifts by practicing virtue which yield fruit is how we follow Jesus. Tapping into the Spirit

There is no formula. If you received Baptism and Confirmation, you have the gifts. Are they working in your life? To make them operative, you need to act, you need to ask the Holy Spirit into your life and make you alive. He will. It may be gradual. It may be fast. It depends on your willingness to receive and surrender. Any experience, spiritual or other, depends upon the disposition of our hearts. For you to love me and have a relationship, I have to be willing to receive your love. If I don’t, there’s no relationship. You can love me all you want, but until I say “yes,” there will be no relationship. The Spirit cannot relate to you or bear fruit if you are not open. The Gift of Wisdom, the Sacrament of Eucharist, or any other gift from God, will lie dormant like a seed in a dark cellar until you open your heart to the power and love of the Spirit. This takes trust. It takes faith. It’s scary, but it flows from the love of Christ which casts out all fear.

The gifts, the Spirit, or Jesus, are not possessions. We cannot possess or contain God. If you have a gift, let it bear fruit. And the fruit will always be “a wide compassion for humanity,” as St. Polycarp said (he was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, the guy who wrote the Gospel of John). The compassion St. Polycarp speaks of goes beyond doing good, rather, the compassion and deed flow from the goodness of the person who does the good. It is always done for the sake of others and points to the goodness of God. Like St. Paul, he wrote of things that are contrary to this: gossip, undermining others, believing ill of others, loose sexual behavior, empty speech, quick temper and the love of money.

Early Protestants spoke of the Spirit dwelling within a person and the relationship with the fruit. The Spirit works on us, changing us to be like the characters described in the Bible. Like everything else in this broken world, we are broken people. We seem to only experience things partly, not completely. Our holiness, our life in the Spirit is the same. We are always “under construction.” The Spirit is always working, never giving up to refashion and change our hearts, the hearts of our families, friends, and our neighbors – all of our neighbors - to be more like Jesus.

The Early Christians understood this gradual aspect of the workings of the Spirit. They also understood that no matter where they were on the journey, they needed each other and each other’s gifts. They didn’t go around saying, “We’re in the Spirit now so we don’t need the Church or other human teachers.” The contrary was true. They knew they desperately needed those who had the gift of teaching. They knew they had to keep correcting each other. They knew they had to follow those who knew the Gospel best – the Apostles. They knew they needed the whole community of believers – the Church. To grow in the Spirit, they knew they needed the Spirit AND each other. They knew they would experience the fullness of the Spirit when they fully applied the gifts in their lives and the gifts were allowed to bear fruit in the community.

Let’s conclude with a few points about us and the Spirit .

1. We cannot be Godly without the Holy Spirit. The divine is beyond us. We need help. 2. We are of a fallen nature. And though we are redeemed, we are still affected by our disordered desires. The voices of the Seven Capital Sins, or Vices, speak to our inner self. These desires twist even the best of what we do. As we grow, the Spirit steadily untwists what we desire and do to conform with truth. The Gifts strengthen our virtue and we grow in holiness. The Gifts bear fruit and we become more like Jesus. 3. Where there are the fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit is at work. We can trust in the fruit of the Spirit. 4. Each person in the Spirit has different gifts, and hence, different fruit. Authentic fruit is easy to spot: it is selfless, it serves, it loves, it is patient, it is kind, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it produces someone like Jesus.

Most of the above seems to deal with teaching or head knowledge. But, don’t let what you know, or what you don’t know, limit the Spirit. Don’t let your ideas limit you spiritually. To get into the Spirit, let go! Let go of your ideas, rules, prejudice, even your life. Let go of your hate, fear, and anger.

Pray. Read Scripture. Go to Mass. Go to Confession. Reflect upon your experiences. Question God. Where is God? Why is this happening and why not something else? What is the lesson God wants me to learn?

All you need is an open heart. The Spirit Himself with teach and guide you. Of course, He will also use other people, the Church, your family, and even strangers to point you in the right direction. So be open. Life in the Spirit is never dull and boring. He will lead you on a journey of discovery, excitement, and joy. Peace be yours in the Spirit.