The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

"This is good and pleasing to God . . . who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." ~ 1 Timothy 2:3-4

As Catholics, we strive to grow in our understanding of and our role in our faith. This ongoing quest is supported by works like Faith Reflections and other resources to be part of the way we continually develop our faith, and keep our mind and spirit in sync.

Yet we do discover on this path that there are significant, foundational aspects of our spiritual lives that come to us not out of our own seeking, but by the grace of God. Gifts of wisdom, understanding, judgement, knowledge, courage, reverence, and wonder are freely given to us. Through them, the Holy Spirit leads us to an instinctual way of actively living our faith.

Each of these gifts is meant to cultivate in us a readiness to receive God’s guidance and strength for our lives. Our receptiveness to the gifts from the Holy Spirit is declared at Baptism and then again at Confirmation. The gifts’ presence in us is like a spiritual awareness making us more awake to the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The prophet Isaiah gives us the basis of our understanding of what is known as these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2).

The following are brief profiles of the gifts the Holy Spirit bestows on each of us.

• Wisdom gives us a great capacity and desire to reflect on God and our life in Him even as we continue to constantly learn more about ourselves and what it means to live as a child of God. 

• Understanding helps us grasp the truths of faith in time, and to accept them even when we don’t fully comprehend them. This strengthens our insights through prayer and the sacraments. 

• Right judgement cultivates our knowing right from wrong. We acknowledge how important this is through self-examination that continues throughout our life. 

• Courage is our fortitude, helping us to overcome our fears through hope and knowing we are never alone. 

• Knowledge is that tremendous strength we cultivate from knowing God and choosing goodness—making decisions in the light of faith. 

• Reverence is our deep respect for God that the Holy Spirit inspires in us. This enables us to humbly give ourselves, our burdens, and our joys over to God. 

• Through wonder and awe, we know God’s perfection to enough of a degree that we embrace a healthy “fear of the Lord.” Not a fear of being punished, but a fear of offending. Out of wonder and awe, we also tap into God’s hope and healing power. 

source: Faith Reflection, National Shrine of St. Jude

Many longed to hear what you hear

Do you want to grow in your knowledge of God? Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) once said: "I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe." Both faith and understanding are gifts of the Holy Spirit that enable us to hear God's word with clarity so we can know God better and grow in the knowledge of his love and truth. Jesus, however, had to warn his disciples that not everyone would understand his teaching.

Closed hearts - prejudiced minds 

The prophet Isaiah had warned that some would hear God's word, but not believe, some would see God's actions and miracles, and remain unconvinced. Ironically some of the greatest skeptics of Jesus' teaching and miracles were the learned scribes and Pharisees who prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture, especially on the law of Moses. They heard Jesus' parables and saw the great signs and miracles which he performed, but they refused to accept both Jesus and his message. How could they "hear and never understand" and "see but never perceive"? They were spiritually blind and deaf because their hearts were closed and their minds were blocked by pride and prejudice. How could a man from Galilee, the supposed son of a carpenter, know more about God and his word, than these experts who devoted their lives to the study and teaching of the law of Moses?

The humble of heart receive understanding

There is only one thing that can open a closed, confused, and divided mind - a broken heart and humble spirit! The word disciple means one who is willing to learn and ready to submit to the wisdom and truth which comes from God. Psalm 119 expresses the joy and delight of a disciple who loves God's word and who embraces it with trust and obedience. "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation." (Psalm 119:97-99)

Listen with reverence and faith

God can only reveal the secrets of his kingdom to the humble and trusting person who acknowledges their need for God and for his truth. The parables of Jesus will enlighten us if we approach them with an open mind and heart, ready to let them challenge us. If we approach God's word with indifference, skepticism, and disbelief, then we, too, may "hear but not understand" and "see but not perceive." God's word can only take root in a receptive heart that is ready to believe and willing to submit. If we want to hear and to understand God's word, we must listen with reverence and faith. Do you believe God's word and do you submit to it with trust and reverence?

Jerome, an early church bible scholar who lived between 342-419 AD, wrote: "You are reading [the Scriptures]? No.Your betrothed is talking to you. It is your betrothed, that is, Christ, who is united with you. He tears you away from the solitude of the desert and brings you into his home, saying to you, 'Enter into the joy of your Master.'"

Holy Spirit, be my teacher and guide. Open my ears to hear God's word and open my eyes to understand God's action in my life. May my heart never grow dull and may my ears never tire of listening to the voice of Christ. 

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

You must be born anew

Do you know the healing power and victory of the cross of Jesus Christ? Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of a "new birth in the Spirit" which would come about through the victory he would accomplish through his death and rising. The Hebrew word for "spirit" means both "wind" and "breath". Jesus explained to Nicodemus: You can hear, feel, and see the effects of the wind, but you do not know where it comes from. In like manner, you can see the effects of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those whom the Spirit touches with the peace, joy, and signs of God's power and love at work in them.

The "lifting up" of the Son of Man 

Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the "Son of Man" must be "lifted up" to bring the power and authority of God's kingdom to bear on the earth. The title, "Son of Man," came from the prophet Daniel who describes a vision he received of the Anointed Messiah King who was sent from heaven to rule over the earth (Daniel 7:13-14). Traditionally when kings began to reign they were literally "lifted up" and enthroned above the people. Jesus explains to Nicodemus that he will be recognized as the Messiah King when he is "lifted up" on the cross at Calvary. Jesus died for his claim to be the Messiah King sent by the Father to redeem, heal, and reconcile his people with God.

Jesus points to a key prophetic sign which Moses performed in the wilderness right after the people of Israel were afflicted with poisonous serpents. Scripture tells us that many people died in the wilderness because of their sin of rebellion towards Moses and God. Through Moses' intervention, God showed mercy to the people and instructed Moses to "make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live"(Numbers 21:8). This miraculous sign was meant to foreshadow and point to the saving work which Jesus would perform to bring healing and salvation to the world.

Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, explains the spiritual meaning of the bronze serpent and how it points to the saving work of Jesus Christ:

"This story is a type of the whole mystery of the incarnation. For the serpent signifies bitter and deadly sin, which was devouring the whole race on the earth... biting the Soul of man and infusing it with the venom of wickedness. And there is no way that we could have escaped being conquered by it, except by the relief that comes only from heaven. The Word of God then was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, 'that he might condemn sin in the flesh' [Romans 8:3], as it is written. In this way, he becomes the Giver of unending salvation to those who comprehend the divine doctrines and gaze on him with steadfast faith. But the serpent, being fixed upon a lofty base, signifies that Christ was clearly manifested by his passion on the cross, so that none could fail to see him." (COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 2.1)

Our new birth in the Holy Spirit

The bronze serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness points to the cross of Christ which defeats sin and death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe in Jesus Christ. The result of Jesus "being lifted up on the cross" and his rising from the dead, and his exaltation and ascension to the Father's right hand in heaven, is our "new birth in the Spirit" and adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only frees us from our sins and pardons us, he also fills us with his own divine life through the gift and working of his Spirit who dwells within us.

The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual power and gifts, especially the seven-fold gifts of wisdom and understanding, right judgment and courage, knowledge and reverence for God and his ways, and a holy fear in God's presence (see Isaiah 11), to enable us to live in his strength as sons and daughters of God. Do you thirst for the new life which God offers you through the transforming power of his Holy Spirit?

Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life for us. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may walk in freedom and joy in the knowledge of your great victory over sin and death.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

Whoever relaxes one of the commandments

Do you view God's law negatively or positively? Jesus' attitude towards the law of God can be summed up in the great prayer of Psalm 119: "Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." For the people of Israel the "law" could refer to the ten commandments or to the five Books of Moses, called the Pentateuch, which explain the commandments and ordinances of God for his people. The "law" also referred to the whole teaching or way of life which God gave to his people. The Jews in Jesus' time also used it as a description of the oral or scribal law. Needless to say, the scribes added many more things to the law than God intended. That is why Jesus often condemned the scribal law. It placed burdens on people which God had not intended. Jesus, however, made it very clear that the essence of God's law - his commandments and way of life, must be fulfilled.

Jesus taught reverence for God's law - reverence for God himself, for the Lord's Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for another person's good name, respect for oneself and for one's neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master us. Reverence and respect for God's commandments teach us the way of love - love of God and love of neighbor.

The transforming work of the Holy Spirit 

What is impossible to men and women is possible to God and those who put their faith and trust in God. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the Lord transforms us and makes us like himself. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) because "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts.

The Lord loves justice and goodness and he hates every form of wickedness and sin. He wants to set us free from our unruly desires and sinful habits, so that we can choose to live each day in the peace, joy, and righteousness of his Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17). To renounce sin is to turn away from what is harmful and destructive for our minds and hearts, and our very lives. As his followers we must love and respect his commandments and hate every form of sin. Do you love and revere the commands of the Lord?

Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be according to your Father's law and thus may we be saved and protected through your mighty help.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East