The 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit help us to better follow God's will
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“There must, therefore, be still higher perfections in man to dispose him to be moved by God. These perfections are called Gifts, not only because they are infused by God, but also because they dispose him to become readily mobile to divine inspiration, as is said in Isaiah: The Lord opened my ear; I do not contradict him, I did not pull back” (St. Thomas Aquinas, ST Ia IIa, q. 68, a. 1).
Last week we discussed sanctifying grace, being in a state of grace, and actual graces. This week I would like to focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, since they come from sanctifying grace. It is not always easy to be in the presence of God, discern his will, and act accordingly. We are bombarded by distractions, sounds, appointments, and just plain busyness to be able to hear God’s whispers. We may be hot in our prayer practice one week and cold the next. But our God is a very loving God who helps us along the way. He gives us what we need to strengthen our relationship with him, grow in holiness, and more effortlessly live our lives according to his will. This supernatural aid helps us transcend our human limitations. God helps us grow in charity and strengthens us to battle against the forces of evil that want our permanent separation from God.
The Holy Spirit dwells in the souls of baptized Christians that are in a state of grace and gives us grace which includes virtues like faith, hope, and charity. The Holy Spirit also gives us spiritual gifts that help us act in a higher and more holy way than we can achieve by acting on our virtues alone. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God. Our initial understanding of these gifts comes from Isiah 11:2, where the prophet says that “a root shall come out of the stump of Jesse (who will be Jesus)” and the spirit of the Lord will rest on him with these gifts. After his resurrection Jesus sent us his Holy Spirit and now we too can make use of the same gifts.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are a perfection that God bestows upon the souls of those in state of grace. They make the soul docile to the inspirations and promptings of the Holy Spirit. They help us more easily perceive the impulse of the Holy Spirit and and act according to God’s plan. These gifts are infused into every Christian as a permanent part of our soul at Baptism, are nurtured as we live virtuous lives, and sealed, increased, and perfected in in our soul through the sacrament of Confirmation. With the help of these gifts, we can advance God’s plan to realize a kingdom based on love and service for one another.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
St. Thomas Aquinas advanced our understanding of the gifts of the Holy Spirit more than anyone through his Summa Theologiae, published in the 13th century. However, his definitions of each gift tend to be heavy with deep theological concepts. Here I offer the description of each gift in my own words, but still in alignment to St Thomas Aquinas’ definitions:
These four gifts relate to the intellect and the virtue of faith:
Wisdom, for Aquinas it was the greatest of the seven. It helps us to glean the deeper meaning of the truths of faith and how to align our lives in harmony with the divine truth.
Understanding, is a gift for comprehending the things of life in relation to God and for achieving deeper insight into the truths held by faith. It is the ability to see God in life.
Knowledge, helps us grasp divine truths even when they are not so easy to comprehend by the human mind. It helps us understand and appreciate the surpassing greatness of God and not wander from the path of justice.
Counsel, allows us to be guided by God in matters related to salvation. It helps us be open to the Spirit’s inspiration in the activities of reflecting, discerning, consulting, and advising.
These gifts relate to the will:
Piety, is associated with the virtue of religion. It orients us to be devoted to God as his children and to deeply worship God in reverent prayer and as we live lives dedicated to the love of God and our neighbors.
Fortitude, helps us be firm of mind in doing good and avoiding evil. It gives courage to bear sufferings, to overcome fears, to resist temptations, and to carry out difficult tasks for the glory of God.
Fear of the Lord, helps us grasp God’s immense majesty, to revere him and it gives us a strong desire to not want to separate ourselves from him. “In a healthy spiritual life one fears God out of love, instead of love God out of fear”.
All of us baptized have these spiritual gifts in our soul. Let us be conscious of them and pray for the Holy Spirit to continue to strengthen them and to help us exercise them to grow in love and holiness.
“When the prophet Isaiah speaks of the seven spiritual gifts which are so well-known, he begins with wisdom and concludes with the fear of the Lord, as if he were descending toward us from on high in order to teach us how to ascend” (St. Augustine, Sermon 347).
References:
Catholic Answers article by Frank Blisard, The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
St. Thomas Acquinas Summa Theologiae
Komonchak, J. A., Collins, M., & Lane, D. A. (2000). In The New dictionary of theology (electronic ed., p. 417).
