Understanding the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are divine graces bestowed upon those who are baptized, are in a state of grace, and are seeking God’s love and guidance. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us these seven gifts are infused dispositions that elevate the powers of the soul and make us more aware of and responsive to the promptings of God.
These gifts enable us to address various difficulties and situations with a supernatural discernment, beyond our human capacity. They provide us with the means to live our daily lives according to God’s inspirations and to do His will. Let’s look deeper into each of these seven gifts and how to recognize them in our lives.
1. Wisdom: The Crown of the Gifts
Wisdom is the first and highest gift. It is the supernatural quality that enables us to recognize and penetrate divine truth with our intellect so that we can easily see all things in their proper order from an eternal perspective and according to God’s designs.
By it’s contemplation of divine truth, the gift of wisdom allows us to see earthly things as empty in comparison with the infinite value of the things of God. It helps us to recognize God as the highest good, through which all other things are judged as either helping us toward or hindering us from reaching our Heavenly goal.
Wisdom is known as the crown of the gifts because it perfects all the virtues, and we see it at work in us when we seek God and His kingdom, acknowledging our blindness without His revelation.
2. Understanding: The Gift of Enlightenment
The second gift, Understanding, is the ability to perceive, comprehend, and interpret information with divine insight. It allows us to grasp the essence of the truths of our faith, moving beyond simple acceptance of what God has revealed into a deeper penetration of those divine mysteries.
When we have the gift of understanding we are able to discern the harmonious connection of all Catholic teaching. This grants us a certitude about our faith and draws us into greater insight as to the meaning of these divine truths. As a result, the gift of understanding will enable us to easily distinguish sound doctrine from that which is false.
To see this gift at work in us we study and attend to the teachings of our Holy Faith, praying for God to enlighten us.
3. Counsel: The Gift of Right Judgment
Counsel, also known a right judgment, is the gift of the Holy Spirit that perfects the virtue of prudence. It is the divine ability to judge how best to act according to God’s will in a given situation.
Counsel enlightens us for our own decisions and actions, or those over whom we have authority. It disposes us interiorly to receive from the Holy Spirit the discernment as to what path to take, direction to give, or action to complete, especially in difficult or confusing circumstances.
This gift guides us in making decisions and living in a manner that honors God’s truths, thereby allowing us to defend our faith by word or action in the moment we are put to the test.
“And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12)
We are able to see this gift at work in our lives as we cultivate within ourselves a spirit of humility and dependence upon God’s guidance.
4. Fortitude: The Gift of Courage
Fortitude, also known as courage, is the gift that instills in us an unwavering commitment to God, and the moral strength to face dangers and adversities beyond our normal capacity. It is the divine grace that helps us endure struggles, persevere in our faith, and remain resolute in the face of trials for the love of God.
Through fortitude, we are able to carry out very arduous tasks, even if we face daunting opposition or they take years to complete.
Furthermore, this gift brings joy in the midst of persecution for the privilege of suffering in union with Christ. It is especially seen manifest in the lives of the martyrs and most prominently in Our Lady of Sorrows.
To cultivate this gift we must humbly recognize our weakness and pray for God to grant us His strength, so that we may succeed in bearing our crosses patiently with Christ.
5. Knowledge: The Gift of Divine Insight
Knowledge, the fifth gift of the Holy Spirit, is not simply the acquisition of information but the divine ability to study, learn, and understand the meaning and purpose God has for us in the earthly realm. It enlightens us about our defects and the defects of all created things and therefore detaches us from created things, lifting our sights to heaven.
This divine knowledge helps us see all of God’s creation from a supernatural viewpoint. It helps us to recognize the good and providential purpose of whatever comes to us, and to see the goodness of God in using all people and situations to draw us to Him.
“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28).
We will become more receptive to the gift of knowledge by praying for detachment from created things and seeing the providential hand of God in using all things to bring us to greater virtue and perfection.
6. Piety: The Gift of Reverence
Piety, the sixth gift of the Holy Spirit, is the perfection of the virtue of religion. It is the divine grace that fosters a willingness to worship and serve God because of who He is. Piety takes this willingness beyond a sense of duty, inspiring us to worship God and serve Him out of love.
This gift encourages us to give God what is due him as our Creator and our Father. It fosters a child-like trust and confidence, which acknowledges our dependence on Him, expressing our love and devotion to Him, as well as to those who are specially consecrated to Him.
Piety fosters a love for the things of God and moves us to a ready obedience to His will in any given circumstance and to observe His commands with joy and ease.
We grow in piety by cultivating a love of solitude and mental prayer, whereby we can attain an intimacy with God, our Father.
7. Fear of the Lord: The Gift of Divine Reverence
The final gift, the fear of the Lord, is about maintaining a deep sense of awe, reverence, and respect for the majesty of God and a desire to avoid offending Him. It causes us to mourn our sins because they have hurt the heart of God.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Mt. 5:4)
The fear of the Lord motivates us to turn away from the world and toward God. It seeks to please Him above all things and in all things and gives us the desire to return His perfect love with pure and child-like obedience.
The expression of this gift grows in us as we intentionally turn away from self-love and toward the love and service of God.
The Biblical Basis of the Seven Gifts
The teaching about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah first mentioned these gifts in a prophecy about the Messiah, describing the ideal Davidic king as possessing all of these divine attributes.
“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on 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.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;” (Isaiah 11:2-3)
In the New Testament, our Blessed Lord reveals these gift in their fullness. As we study His life and words, we can understand more fully these gifts in action.
St. Paul instructs us on how each Christian is given various gifts of the Spirit according to the momentary need and for the common good. (I Cor. 12:4-7). And we are encouraged to pray and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:13).
Conclusion
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are dispositions within us granted by the grace of God. They are bestowed upon us at baptism and remain active as long as we are in a state of grace. As we advance in our faith through vocal and mental prayer, participation in the sacraments, fidelity to God’s grace, and growth in holiness, we become further disposed to these gifts being expressed in our lives. This enables us to achieve good works that would be humanly impossible without the gifts.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit remind us of our complete and total dependence on God to do any true good in this life, and they are the assurance that God will never ask us to do anything which He does not abundantly provide the gifts and graces to do it.
Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit.
Amen.
