The Gifts of the Holy

Spirit
Opening Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and
enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the
faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the
same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His
consolation. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.
Our Calling
Part of Our Calling is to be like Christ, to in all instances
love like him. The fount of all love. This is not only for
us to go to heaven but for us to bring everyone we can.

We know all love stems from him, and so too:

All Good Acts, Acts of the Purest Love, Acts of Heroism

and THUS characteristics/traits stem from God.
Think of any true hero
In order to be like Christ, to embody these noble
characteristics, to live and love like him, we must
recognize in our humility that it is only possible WITH
him.

We must be one with God’s Spirit. The Holy Spirit:

• To live out lives of courage and faith
• The Holy Spirit and its gifts are integral
 The Holy Spirit
Third Person in the Blessed Trinity
• The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church as the source of its life and
sanctifies (Free from Sin/Sets Apart/Declares Holy) souls through the
gift of grace.

He makes holy the souls of the just by His presence.

• He comes with his Seven Gifts. These make the soul capable of taking
in the special lights and inspirations He sends in a much higher way
than what is had in ordinary graces.
• Although the sanctification of mankind, like all other outward works
of God, is performed by all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, it is
attributed to the Holy Spirit, the third Person. The sanctification of
mankind is attributed to the Holy Spirit because He is the love of the
Father and the Son and because the sanctification of man by grace
shows forth God's boundless love.

• On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down visibly on the Apostles. He

gave them the power to speak in strange tongues to the crowds that
came to Jerusalem for that Feast. He also transformed them, from
selfish and timid men into giants of courage and faith.
• So to, it is by this same Spirit that dwelled in the Apostles that we are
empowered.
So why are these gifts important?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are
permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the
Holy Spirit.

The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude,
Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.
They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the
virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying
divine inspirations.

-CCC, 1830-1831
Sustains moral life
We become GIANTS of Courage and Faith to live out how we are called
to live out (in Chastity, in Truth) by way of the Holy Spirit
“Divinum illud munus” by Pope Leo XIII
Section 11 on the Encyclical on the Holy Spirit states:
“We ought to pray to and invoke the Holy Spirit, for each one of us greatly
needs His protection and His help. The more a man is deficient in wisdom, weak
in strength, borne down with trouble, prone to sin, so ought he the more to fly
to Him who is the never-ceasing fount of light, strength, consolation, and
holiness.
And chiefly that first requisite of man, the forgiveness of sins, must be sought
for from Him: "It is the special character of the Holy Ghost that He is the Gift of
the Father and the Son. Now the remission of all sins is given by the Holy Ghost
as by the Gift of God. "…
Lastly, we ought confidently and continually to beg of Him to illuminate us daily
more and more with His light and inflame us with His charity: for, thus inspired
with faith and love, we may press onward earnestly towards our eternal
reward, since He "is the pledge of our inheritance" (Eph. i. 14).
How does it sustain our moral life?
It completes and perfects the Virtues of those who
receive them
• We turn now to the Seven Gifts of the sanctifying category. They are:
wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of
the Lord.
• They each perfect certain basic virtues. Four of them perfect the intellectual
virtues. Understanding gives an intuitive penetration into truth. Wisdom
perfects charity, in order to judge divine things. Knowledge perfects the
virtue of hope. The gift of counsel perfects prudence.
• The other three gifts perfect virtues of the will and appetites. The gift of
piety perfects justice in giving to others that which is their due. This is
especially true of giving God what is His due. Fortitude perfects the virtue
of fortitude, in facing dangers. Fear of the Lord perfects temperance in
controlling disordered appetites.
The greatest lie that we tell ourselves, or the way we
are manipulated by the evil one is that, we claim that
we have time. All the time in the world.
We know God is merciful, and patient.

It is when we are in a state off sin that we fail to act

accordingly.
-already impure
So we must act now:
Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit ACTIVITY
Isaiah 11:2-4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and
understanding, The
spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of
the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not
judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike
the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He
will slay the wicked.
KNOWLEDGE
UNDERSTANDING
WISDOM
FORTITUDE (COURAGE)
COUNSEL (RIGHT JUDGEMENT)
PIETY (REVERENCE)
FEAR OF THE LORD (WONDER & AWE)
Knowledge: with the gift of knowledge, we understand the
meaning of God. The gift of knowledge is more than an
accumulation of facts;

Understanding: in understanding, we comprehend how we

need to live as followers of Christ. A person with
understanding is not confused by the conflicting messages in
our culture about the right way to live. The gift of
understanding perfects a person's speculative reason in the
apprehension of truth. It is the gift whereby self-evident
principles are known.
Wisdom: it is the capacity to love spiritual things more than
material ones;

Fortitude (Courage): with the gift of fortitude/courage, we

overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of
Jesus Christ. A person with courage is willing to stand up for
what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting
rejection, verbal abuse, or physical harm. The gift of courage
allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in
doing good and in enduring evil;
Counsel (Right Judgment): with the gift of counsel/right
judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and
we choose to do what is right. A person with right judgment
avoids sin and lives out the values taught by Jesus;

Piety (Reverence): with the gift of reverence, sometimes called

piety, we have a deep sense of respect for God and the Church. A
person with reverence recognizes our total reliance on God and
comes before God with humility, trust, and love. Piety is the gift
whereby, at the Holy Spirit's instigation, we pay worship and duty
to God as our Father.
Fear of the Lord (Wonder and Awe): with the gift of fear of
the Lord we are aware of the glory and majesty of God. A
person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection
of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect
power, and perfect love. This gift is described by Aquinas as a
fear of separating oneself from God. He describes the gift as a
"filial fear," like a child's fear of offending his father, rather
than a "servile fear," that is, a fear of punishment. Fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10 || Proverbs
1:7;9:10) because it puts our mindset in correct location with
respect to God: we are the finite, dependent creatures, and
He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator.
One of my greatest reminders
We must be open
• Pray
-Ask. (Luke 11:9‐10) In faith, we know that when we
ask for it, it will be given to us.
-Believe. (Luke 11:13) We should believe that when we
ask for God's Holy Spirit, He will surely give it.
-Listen.
Reminders:
Like Our Calling, these Gifts are not solely to be used for us
To be used in the service of others
-think about Christ (miracles)

We have a difficulty in recognizing the effects of the gifts until we are

far into our spiritual life as it takes great docility and purity of heart.
-perseverance –can’t go wrong
-love
Closing Prayer (Prayer for the gifts of the Holy
Spirit by St. Alphonsus Liguori)
Holy Spirit, divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the Father and God the Son. I adore You and unite myself to the adoration You receive
from the angels and saints.
I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me.
O Giver of all supernatural gifts, who filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with such immense favors, I beg You to visit me with
Your grace and Your love and to grant me the gift of holy fear, so that it may act on me as a check to prevent me from falling back into my past sins, for
which I beg pardon.
Grant me the gift of piety, so that I may serve You for the future with increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and observe
your divine precepts with greater fidelity.
Grant me the gift of knowledge, so that I may know the things of God and, enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk, without deviation, in the path of
eternal salvation.
Grant me the gift of fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten
the salvation of my soul.
Grant me the gift of counsel, so that I may choose what is more conducive to my spiritual advancement and may discover the wiles and snares of the
tempter.
Grant me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and
affections from the vain things of this miserable world.
Grant me the gift of wisdom, so that I may rightly direct all my actions, referring them to God as my last end; so that, having loved Him and served Him in
this life, I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in the next.
Amen.