ROC Class 15
The Holy Spirit is a person and by having a relationship with Him we are blessed with the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are tools that help us to live a holy life and choose holy actions despite difficulties. The Fruits of the Holy Spirit are the results or effects of living in a relationship with the Holy Spirit.
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my
disciples.” (John 15:8)
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The prophet Isaiah listed seven gifts that would belong to the Anointed One, Jesus, and
are now shared with the Anointed One’s people, the Church. “And the spirit of the LORD
shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And His delight shall be in the
fear of the Lord.”
o “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and
fear of the Lord— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge
by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears…” (Isaiah
11:2-3)
These gifts sustain our moral life, and are “permanent dispositions which make man
docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” The gifts are as followed:
o Wisdom is the ability to see God’s plan and to have faith in Him in all things.
o Understanding is the ability to comprehend the truths of God. o Counsel is the ability to discern good and evil and make good choices.
o Fortitude is having the courage and the strength to suffer for our faith and face
persecution.
o Knowledge is having a deeper ability to see things as God sees them.
o Piety helps us understand who we are in relation to God. It leads us to humble
o Fear of the Lord is having a fear of separating ourselves from Him and being in
awe of God and who He is.
Jesus possessed these gifts perfectly. When Jesus was lost as a child, He was found in the
temple area sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
Everyone was amazed at His understanding. When His parents showed anxiety and asked
Him what He was doing, He displayed wisdom by responding, “Didn’t you know that I
must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49)
When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, without having met her, He
had knowledge of her sins, and wisdom in how to lead her to a life of freedom
When Jesus was experiencing great agony in the garden, He possessed fear of the Lord, a
desire to do God’s will, even when it was causing Him intense anxiety and pain
If you’ve been baptized, you have these same gifts. If you’ve been confirmed, these gifts
have been strengthened in you.
With the gift of wisdom, we are able to see our realities the way God sees them. We no
longer judge according to our passing whims, but as God would. We may be heartbroken
over a recent break up, but with wisdom, we realize our former significant other didn’t
intend our good and we are better off without him or her. With the gift of fear of the Lord, you can be in awe and wonder at God. Think of the
times you have been surrounded by beauty and you took longer choosing an Instragram
filter for your picture than you did in awe of the world around you? The gift of fear of the
Lord helps us to step out of our egotistical world and discover God around us.
The gift of counsel helps us make important decisions and helps us advise others on
important decisions. Has someone ever come to you for advice and you didn’t know what
to say? This is when you should ask for and follow the prompting of the gift of counsel.
Have you ever been listening to a homily or reading the Bible and really wanted to
understand, but still struggled? Ask for the gift of understanding.
We may not see these gifts active in our lives because we haven’t truly committed
ourselves to life in the vine of Christ. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He
who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can
do nothing.”
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit
Those who live in the vine of Christ, produce fruit, specifically the fruits of the Holy
Spirit. Saint Paul in his letter to the Galatians, describes the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The
tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. These
fruits are evidence of life in the Holy Spirit. When we live in the Holy Spirit we become
more gentle, more patient, etc…
The saints give us examples of what abiding in the Holy Spirit and bearing fruit looks
like. Saint José Luis Sanchez del Rio had a deep life of prayer and devotion that led him to sacrifice his entire life to defend the Catholic faith. Even when he was faced with
death, he took joy in the prospect of heaven. Imagine the self-control and faithfulness he
possessed to make such a sacrifice.
Saint Maria Goretti died a martyr for chastity. She refused the advances of a man,
because she deeply valued not only her own purity, but his as well. She suffered a very
painful death after being stabbed nearly fourteen times, yet still forgave her killer before
she died. Not only was she chaste, but good and generous.
When we go to Mass every Sunday, we display faithfulness. When we make time for
silence and prayer or give up sweets or listening to music in the car, we display self-
control. When we listen to a friend complain about matters that we think are trivial, we
show patience and goodness. When times are tough, we can ask for and be joyful. When
we are moved to help a homeless person, friend, or family member who is sick or in
need, or donate money instead of buying our morning latte, we practice charity.
We are reminded, “by this power of the spirit, God’s children can bear much fruit. He
who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear ‘the fruit of the Spirit:’... the
more we renounce ourselves, the more we ‘walk by the Spirit.’”
The Holy Spirit is vital to the Christian life. He gives us gifts and fruits that bring us life.
We are called to renounce our lives and breathe in the life of the Spirit, a life grafted into
the vine of Christ.