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HOLY GHOST HOMEPAGE (General Articles)
| INTRODUCTION TO THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a very brief coverage of all seven Gifts) |
| Gift of Fear | Gift of Piety | Gift of Knowledge | Gift of Fortitude | Gift of Counsel | Gift of Understanding | Gift of Wisdom |
| THE TWELVE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a brief coverage of all 12 Fruits) |
| PRAYERS TO THE HOLY GHOST | NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST |
Links will be activated as articles appear on those pages
HOLY GHOST HOMEPAGE (General Articles)
| INTRODUCTION TO THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a very brief coverage of all seven Gifts) |
| Gift of Fear | Gift of Piety | Gift of Knowledge | Gift of Fortitude | Gift of Counsel | Gift of Understanding | Gift of Wisdom |
| THE TWELVE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST (a brief coverage of all 12 Fruits) |
| PRAYERS TO THE HOLY GHOST | NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST |
WORDS OF WARNING!
Before we go any further, a WORD OF WARNING needs to be said! The Gifts of the Holy Ghost might sound like human virtues―fear, piety, knowledge, fortitude, counsel, understanding and wisdom―but they are not human virtues. They are divine actions by the Holy Ghost that make us think and act in a supra-human way and much more perfectly than if we were merely using our human virtues of the same name. Therefore, mere human knowledge is far inferior to the Holy Ghost’s Gift of Knowledge, whereby the Holy Ghost directly informs our mind without any need on our part for research, study, analysis, reasoning, consultation, etc. A simple stupid analogy would be along the lines of not having to work out math problems because you are given the answer key. Or not having to walk to work because someone takes you to work in their car. Or not having to swim across a lake because someone loans you their boat. Some of the early Fathers of the Church compare the Gifts of the Holy Ghost to the invisible wind that blows into the sails of a ship and pushes it along in the direction the wind is blowing―but, before that can happen, we have to have sails on the mast and those sails must be unfurled. If we play our part, the Holy Ghost will play His part! This applies to all the Gifts of the Holy Ghost―even though they sound like everyday human actions, they are not human actions but divine interventions and actions by the Holy Ghost.
ANOTHER WARNING is the fact that, even though you received the dormant seeds of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost together with sanctifying grace in your Baptism; and even though those dormant seeds were activated when you received the Sacrament of Confirmation; this DOES NOT MEAN that they will always and automatically work for you! The Seven Gifts―even though you have them in your soul―will usually only be activated by the Holy Ghost if He sees that you are serious about your spiritual life and are making progress in the acquisition and practice of the virtues: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! ... He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly! … For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8; 2 Corinthians 9:6). God is not going to reward a stubborn sinner, or a lukewarm person, or a spiritually negligent person by giving them some of His choicest Gifts! On the contrary, God says: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot! But, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth!” (Apocalypse 3:15-16). Which boss is going to reward an employee who is lazy, negligent, offensive and a thief? Rather than reward such an employee, he is more likely to fire him!
So let us proudly presume and expect the Holy Ghost to reward our abuse of the spiritual life through indifference, neglect, laziness, worldliness or lukewarmness―for then the Holy Ghost will leave us to ourselves and our own puny human power! As you sow, so shall you reap!
ANOTHER WARNING is the fact that, even though you received the dormant seeds of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost together with sanctifying grace in your Baptism; and even though those dormant seeds were activated when you received the Sacrament of Confirmation; this DOES NOT MEAN that they will always and automatically work for you! The Seven Gifts―even though you have them in your soul―will usually only be activated by the Holy Ghost if He sees that you are serious about your spiritual life and are making progress in the acquisition and practice of the virtues: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked! For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap! ... He who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly! … For he that sows in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption! But he that sows in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting!” (Galatians 6:7-8; 2 Corinthians 9:6). God is not going to reward a stubborn sinner, or a lukewarm person, or a spiritually negligent person by giving them some of His choicest Gifts! On the contrary, God says: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot! But, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of My mouth!” (Apocalypse 3:15-16). Which boss is going to reward an employee who is lazy, negligent, offensive and a thief? Rather than reward such an employee, he is more likely to fire him!
So let us proudly presume and expect the Holy Ghost to reward our abuse of the spiritual life through indifference, neglect, laziness, worldliness or lukewarmness―for then the Holy Ghost will leave us to ourselves and our own puny human power! As you sow, so shall you reap!
THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST
1. THE GIFT OF FEAR OF THE LORD
1. THE GIFT OF FEAR OF THE LORD
God’s Gifts of Action
St. Thomas tells us that God may act in us in two ways:
(a) by accommodating Himself to the human mode of action. This is what He does in the case of the Virtues, which are infused into our soul at Baptism (Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, etc). He helps us to reflect, to seek the best means to reach our end. In order to supernaturalize these operations He gives us actual graces (temporary, passing, assisting graces), but leaves us free to take the initiative according to the dictates of prudence, or of reason enlightened by Faith. It is therefore WE who act under the impulse or motivation of Actual Graces and with the assistance of these Actual Graces—for as Jesus said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
(b) But, by means of the Gifts, God acts in a supra-human way. God Himself takes the initiative. Before we have had the time to reflect and consult the dictates of prudence, He sends us Actual Graces―divine intuitions, lights and inspirations which act in us without deliberation on our part―but never without our consent. These Actual Graces―which sweetly invites and effectively obtains our consent―are of three kinds and are called operating grace. Under its influence, it is God Who primarily acts in us, we are rather passive than active; our activity consists chiefly in freely consenting to ‘the operation of God, in allowing ourselves to be led by the Holy Ghost, and in promptly and generously following His inspirations.
Who Will Do Better?
Who will do better a job—you or God? Of course God will! Yet even though the Gifts were infused in a largely dormant way at our Baptism, and made more active at our Confirmation—it is only when we have reached certain spiritual heights that they flourish and bring much and magnificent fruit. They are like seven seeds that have been planted and need cultivating so that they grow to be great trees. If we neglect to play our part and cultivate them, then it is to our loss—perhaps even eternal loss!
The Gifts Are Superior To Virtues
By the light of this fundamental principle, we will better understand the differences existing between the Gifts and the Virtues:
(a) The Virtues incline us to act in accordance with the nature of our faculties: thus, with the help of the grace we receive, we inquire, reason and work as we do in actions of a purely natural order. The Virtues are therefore energies that are primarily and directly active. The Gifts on the contrary impart to us a docility and a receptiveness that enable us to receive and follow the motions of operating grace. This grace moves our faculties to act, without however taking away their liberty, so that the soul, as St. Thomas tells us, is more passive than active, “is not the mover, but the thing moved.”
(b) In the case of the Virtues, we act according to the principles and rules of supernatural prudence. We are obliged to reflect, deliberate, take counsel, make choices, etc. Under the influence of the Gifts, we let ourselves be led by a divine inspiration which, suddenly and without any reflection on our part, vigorously urges us to do such or such a thing.
(c) Since the share of grace is far greater in the case of the Gifts than in that of the Virtues, the acts performed under the influence of the former are, all other circumstances being the same, more perfect than those performed under the action of the Virtues. It is due to the Gifts that the third degree of the Virtues is practiced and heroic acts performed.
Analogies To Help Understand
Various comparisons are used to give a better understanding of this doctrine:
(a) To practice virtue is like having to row a boat; to use the Gifts is like sailing, being blown along by the wind in the sails of your boat―in this latter way one advances more rapidly and with less effort,
(b) The child who, with his mother’s help, takes a few steps forward, stands for the Christian who practices the Virtues with the help of grace; whilst the child, whom the mother takes in her arms to carry him and make him advance more rapidly, stands for the Christian who makes use of the Gifts by corresponding to operating grace.
(c) The musician who strikes the strings of a harp to produce harmonious sounds represents the Christian who practices the Virtues; but, when the Holy Ghost comes Himself to touch the strings of the heart, the soul is then under the influence of the Gifts. This is a comparison employed by the Fathers to picture the action of Jesus upon Mary’s soul: “A most melodious harp used by Jesus to delight the Eternal Father.”
How and When Do the Gifts Work?
We receive the Gifts of the Holy Ghost at the same time that we receive the state of grace. They are then merely dormant supernatural faculties. When we come to the age of reason and our heart turns towards God, we begin, under the influence of actual grace, to use our whole supernatural organism, the Gifts of the Holy Ghost included. It is indeed incredible that these Gifts should remain unavailing and unavailable during a long period of our life. However, in order that the Gifts may attain their normal and complete development, we must have previously practiced the Moral Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and all the other subsidiary virtues) during a notable period of time, varying according to the providential designs of God for our life and our cooperation with His grace.
The practice of the moral virtues is first required in order to cultivate the gifts. The practice of virtue is like an entrance exam to the Gifts. Such is the teaching of St. Thomas: “The moral and the intellectual virtues precede the gifts, since man, through being well subordinate to his own reason, is disposed to be rightly subordinate to God.” It stand to reason that in order to acquire that divine docility which the Gifts confer, one must have previously conquered one’s passions and vices and formed habits of prudence, of humility, of obedience, of meekness, of chastity. How can one discern, accept and follow with docility the inspirations of grace, when the soul is troubled by the prudence of the flesh, by pride, willfulness, anger and lust! Before being led by divine impulses, one must needs have followed, first of all, the rules of Christian prudence; before obeying the motions of grace, one must needs have observed the commandments and triumphed over pride. It is, in fact, the Moral Virtues that, little by little, make the soul docile and dispose it to enjoy that perfect docility required for the full exercise of the Gifts. In the meantime, the Gifts grow as habits, together with habitual grace, and frequently, unknown to us, join their energies to those of the Virtues to make us perform our supernatural acts.
There are even times when, through His operating grace, the Holy Ghost enkindles temporarily an unwonted fervor of soul which is a kind of passing contemplation. What fervent soul has not at times felt these sudden inspirations of grace, when all it had to do was to receive the divine motion and follow it?—like a shove from behind, or a gust of wind in the sails. It may have been while reading the Gospels, or some devout book; on the occasion of some Communion, or of a visit to the Blessed Sacrament; at the time of some retreat, or when making a choice of a state in life, at the time of ordination or religious profession, that it seemed to us that the grace of God sweetly and strongly carried us along.
So…
From what has so far been said, we can conclude that the Gifts of the Holy Ghost are supernatural habits which impart such docility to our faculties that they promptly comply with the inspirations of grace. However, as we shall soon explain, this docility is at the outset but mere spark which needs to be cultivated to attain its full development. Besides, it is never exercised, except when God bestows that actual grace which we call operating grace. On such occasions, the soul, whilst passive under the action of God, is most active in accomplishing His Will, and so, one may say that the Gifts are at once sources of suppleness and of energy, of docility and of power, which render the soul more passive under the Hand of God, and at the same time more active and more powerful in His service and in the practice of good works.
The Seven Gifts
We find the names and the number of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost in a classic passage of the prophet Isaias: “There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness [piety]. And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord” (Isaias 11:1-3).
What Isaias calls “spirit,” the technical language of theology calls “Gifts.” The Holy Ghost who dwells in us when we possess the grace of God, this sweet Guest of our soul who masterfully directs our spiritual life, has desired to establish in the different parts of our being those mysterious realities, the Gifts by which He communicates with us and influences each and every one of our human faculties.
These Seven Gifts sound very much like virtues that we may have—but they are not virtues. Their role is to perfect the virtues, strengthen them, raise them to superhuman levels. They are superior to and more perfect than our virtues, but they work in harmony with them—often pushing them beyond imagined limits.
The gifts of the Holy Ghost are of two kinds: (1) the first are specially intended for the sanctification of the person who receives them; (2) the second, more properly called charismata, are extraordinary favors granted for the help of another, favors, too, which do not sanctify by themselves, and may even be separated from sanctifying grace. Those of the first class are accounted seven in number, as enumerated by Isaias (11:2-3), where the prophet sees and describes them in the Messias. They are the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety (godliness), and fear of the Lord.
The Gift of Wisdom, helps us see things from a more overall and general viewpoint—seeing things as God sees them and thereby detaching us from the world, makes us relish and love only the things of Heaven.
The Gift of Understanding helps us to grasp the truths of religion as far as is necessary.
The Gift of Counsel springs from supernatural prudence, and enables us to see and choose correctly what will help most to the glory of God and our own salvation.
By the Gift of Fortitude we receive courage to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that arise in the practice of our religious duties.
The Gift of Knowledge points out to us the path to follow and the dangers to avoid in order to reach Heaven.
The Gift of Piety, by inspiring us with a tender and filial confidence in God, makes us joyfully embrace all that pertains to His service.
Lastly, the Gift of Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread, above all things, to offend Him.
Fear of the Lord
It is with the lowest Gift on the totem pole that we will begin—Fear of the Lord. Holy Scripture tells us that “The fear of God is the beginning of his love” (Ecclesiasticus 25:16) and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). Our two faculties of the soul are the intellect (mind) and the will (heart). The highest level or pinnacle for each of them is love for the heart (will) and wisdom for the mind (intellect). Fear is the necessary foundation or platform for both love and wisdom.
God is love—”He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity” (1 John 4:8)—and we must fear losing that love or charity of God: “The Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Call together the people unto Me, that they may hear My words, and may learn to fear Me all the time that they live on the earth, and may teach their children!’” (Deuteronomy 4:10). “That thou mayest fear the Lord thy God, and keep all His commandments and precepts … Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve Him only” (Deuteronomy 6:2; 6:13). “I say to you, my friends: Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you shall fear: fear ye Him, who after He hath killed, hath power to cast into Hell. Yea, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
Various Kinds of Fear
How can there be a Gift of Fear? Is not charity at the root of all the Gifts? And do not the Scriptures say that perfect love excludes fear? How is it possible, then, that fear of God can come from the profound and divine root of charity?
In order to understand this we must do a little analyzing. There are various kinds of fear: there is fear of pain and fear of blame; there is also a fear of the world that makes us conform to the world and forget the holy commandments of God and commit sin — fear, that is, of some earthly, temporal evil. How many there are who separate themselves from God through such earthly fear!
Worldly Fear
Worldly or mundane fear is that which dreads the loss of temporal goods, such as riches and honors. Innocent in itself, it becomes injurious when we prefer to sin rather than lose these goods. History is replete with cruelties that worldly fear has caused.
It is the fear of a Pilate who condemned Jesus to death because he feared to lose the esteem of Caesar. It is the fear of a Herod who put the Holy Innocents to death, because he feared for his crown. It is the fear of a Pharaoh who dreads the multiplication of the Israelites in Egypt. It is the fear of thousands of young men and women today, who deny their religion and abandon their most sacred duties, the frequentation of the Sacraments and the sanctification of Sunday, on account of human respect.
Carnal Fear
Carnal fear is that, of bodily inconveniences, fear of sickness or of death carried to the extent of losing the goods of the soul. It is the fear of a Peter denying his Master, lest he meet the same fate. Ah, how many Peters has the course of ages not seen? It is indeed lamentable how the sight of torture, or the fear of death, turns the mind from the thought of Heaven, and to preserve the body, the soul is lost: “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall save it” (Luke 9:24).
This is a common fear. Do we not see it every day dictating recourse to sinful means in order to avoid the ordinary inconveniences of life? We witness it many times daily—perhaps from ourselves too! A lie here and there to avoid something, or to get an advantage; afraid to correct others for fear of reprisals or fear of losing one’s popularity; sleeping on the job and misusing our employer’s time; conforming to the world for fear of being an outcast, etc., etc.
Servile Fear
There is another fear that keeps us from sin and brings us close to God, but which is imperfect: theologians call it “servile fear,” the fear of punishment. Servile fear is the fear of God because of the punishment He dishes out to sinners; it is the avoiding of sin purely and simply because there is a Hell. There is no doubt that this fear keeps us many times from falling into sin; but the motive is of an inferior order, and without the nobility proper to love. Servile fear is not the Gift of Fear of God.
Filial Fear
There is another fear that is called filial. It consists in the repugnance that the soul feels at the thought of being separated from God. This fear comes from love. It is true that perfect love casts out a certain type of fear, but there is also a fear that is, we might say, the basis of love. Whosoever desires, whosoever loves, experiences a profound fear of being separated from the loved one, of displeasing him. Love cannot be conceived of without this fear. One who loves deeply has a fear that is above all other fears — fear of separation from the beloved. This is the Gift of Fear which is directed by the Holy Ghost.
In a more perfect sense filial fear is the beginning of wisdom, because, in order to possess divine wisdom, we need to unite ourselves so closely to God that nothing can separate us from Him. The Gift of Fear unites us with God in this way. It hinders us from ever separating ourselves from the Beloved, and in that sense it is the beginning of wisdom.
Fear of the Lord Delivers From Fears
The Fear of the Lord is necessary that we may work out our salvation; it is necessary for us lest we degrade ourselves to the level of brute creation. It is the only guardian of our liberty and of our honor, because it alone is capable of delivering us from all other fear, from servile, worldly and carnal fear.
The first service rendered by the Gift of Holy Fear is to deliver us from this shameful tyranny. Servile gives way to filial fear, that fear to offend God because He is so good; it is always accompanied by confidence and love. As for worldly and carnal fear they no longer possess an illegitimate dominion, as filial fear either absorbs or banishes them. It regrets, deplores one and only one thing—sin.
This Fear of the Lord is, moreover, the only safeguard of that for which the whole world strives, liberty. Man cannot live without fear. If he does not fear God, he fears creatures, and if he fears a creature he is a creature’s slave; for, his freedom and his dignity belong to him whom he fears. To fear aught else except God, is to be under the yoke of tyranny. This is not understood by those who pretend to freedom by shaking off the yoke of God. In vain are revolutions begun; they but plunge their slaves into deeper distress. He alone is free who fears God; for, where the Spirit of God is, there, too, is liberty. Hence, we should only “fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
The Spirit of God unites us to Himself in such a way that He infuses in us an instinctive, profound, efficacious horror of being separated from God. This fear overrides all other fears.
The Gift of Fear in the Saints
Many of the great deeds in the lives of the saints were inspired by the Gift of Fear. St. Louis Gonzaga wept and scourged himself when he had to confess some little faults that we find it hard to believe were really sins. Why such tears from the saint? Why such grief? Because he examined so closely, under the influence of the Gift of Fear, the magnitude of those faults which to us seem insignificant; because he saw evil in them, a sign of separation from God. They were certainly very slight, but is anything really insignificant in love? When one loves passionately, does not the slightest danger of being removed from the beloved tear the heart to pieces?
This same Gift of Fear influenced St. Juliana of Falconieri, who trembled on hearing the word “sin,” who would faint when she heard of a crime being committed. This is something higher, something deeper, something much more perfect, than we are able to attain by our natural faculties; it is a supernatural effect which the Holy Ghost produces in souls so that they can look with horror at sin, and thus cling with intensity to God.
Degrees of Fear of the Lord
Of course there are degrees in the Gifts, as there are degrees in the Virtues. In the natural order, any faculty can be developed by practice, the acts performed by it becoming all the while stronger, more perfect. The intelligence of a student on the threshold of knowledge is not of the same degree as that of one who has spent his whole life in serious and profound study. The natural faculties grow with exercise, and as they grow we distinguish new degrees of them. The same thing happens in the supernatural order. The Virtues have their degrees, and so do the Gifts.
The gift of the fear of God, in the first degree, produces horror for sin and strength to overcome temptations. By means of the virtue we keep away from sin and conquer temptations, but with many struggles, many failures. We know from sad experience that our spiritual efforts do not always result in victory. How many times we are overcome; and even when we finally come out victorious, how conscious we are of deficiencies, hesitations, effort! With the Gift of Fear, victory is rapid and perfect. How often have we known this experience in the depths of our souls — the quick, instinctive impulse in the presence of temptation to leave the danger at once! It was the Holy Ghost moving us with His Gift of Fear.
In the second degree of this gift, the soul not only stays away from sin, but clings to God with profound reverence, avoiding even insignificant acts that are signs of imperfection. The profound respect of the saints for everything sacred — the Church, the Gospel, the priest — is the effect of the Gift of Fear. Everything divine is reverenced. The soul under the power of this gift does not want to fail in the least detail in respect and veneration for God.
A marvelous effect is produced in the third degree of this gift: total detachment from the things of this earth. That is why theologians say that this gift produces the first of the beatitudes: that of poverty of spirit. When we cling to God and avoid all that could separate us from Him, in such a way that exterior things lose their fascination for us, then the soul knows it is free, and it experiences the divine detachment characteristic of this stage of the spiritual life; it reaches the glorious height of which Jesus Christ spoke when He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The disinterestedness of St. Francis of Assisi, who considered all the things of earth as nothing; the disinterestedness to which Christ counseled the young man of the Gospel — “If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor.... and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21. Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22): such disinterestedness as this is the fruit of the divine Gift of Fear.
St. Thomas tells us that God may act in us in two ways:
(a) by accommodating Himself to the human mode of action. This is what He does in the case of the Virtues, which are infused into our soul at Baptism (Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, etc). He helps us to reflect, to seek the best means to reach our end. In order to supernaturalize these operations He gives us actual graces (temporary, passing, assisting graces), but leaves us free to take the initiative according to the dictates of prudence, or of reason enlightened by Faith. It is therefore WE who act under the impulse or motivation of Actual Graces and with the assistance of these Actual Graces—for as Jesus said: “Without Me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).
(b) But, by means of the Gifts, God acts in a supra-human way. God Himself takes the initiative. Before we have had the time to reflect and consult the dictates of prudence, He sends us Actual Graces―divine intuitions, lights and inspirations which act in us without deliberation on our part―but never without our consent. These Actual Graces―which sweetly invites and effectively obtains our consent―are of three kinds and are called operating grace. Under its influence, it is God Who primarily acts in us, we are rather passive than active; our activity consists chiefly in freely consenting to ‘the operation of God, in allowing ourselves to be led by the Holy Ghost, and in promptly and generously following His inspirations.
Who Will Do Better?
Who will do better a job—you or God? Of course God will! Yet even though the Gifts were infused in a largely dormant way at our Baptism, and made more active at our Confirmation—it is only when we have reached certain spiritual heights that they flourish and bring much and magnificent fruit. They are like seven seeds that have been planted and need cultivating so that they grow to be great trees. If we neglect to play our part and cultivate them, then it is to our loss—perhaps even eternal loss!
The Gifts Are Superior To Virtues
By the light of this fundamental principle, we will better understand the differences existing between the Gifts and the Virtues:
(a) The Virtues incline us to act in accordance with the nature of our faculties: thus, with the help of the grace we receive, we inquire, reason and work as we do in actions of a purely natural order. The Virtues are therefore energies that are primarily and directly active. The Gifts on the contrary impart to us a docility and a receptiveness that enable us to receive and follow the motions of operating grace. This grace moves our faculties to act, without however taking away their liberty, so that the soul, as St. Thomas tells us, is more passive than active, “is not the mover, but the thing moved.”
(b) In the case of the Virtues, we act according to the principles and rules of supernatural prudence. We are obliged to reflect, deliberate, take counsel, make choices, etc. Under the influence of the Gifts, we let ourselves be led by a divine inspiration which, suddenly and without any reflection on our part, vigorously urges us to do such or such a thing.
(c) Since the share of grace is far greater in the case of the Gifts than in that of the Virtues, the acts performed under the influence of the former are, all other circumstances being the same, more perfect than those performed under the action of the Virtues. It is due to the Gifts that the third degree of the Virtues is practiced and heroic acts performed.
Analogies To Help Understand
Various comparisons are used to give a better understanding of this doctrine:
(a) To practice virtue is like having to row a boat; to use the Gifts is like sailing, being blown along by the wind in the sails of your boat―in this latter way one advances more rapidly and with less effort,
(b) The child who, with his mother’s help, takes a few steps forward, stands for the Christian who practices the Virtues with the help of grace; whilst the child, whom the mother takes in her arms to carry him and make him advance more rapidly, stands for the Christian who makes use of the Gifts by corresponding to operating grace.
(c) The musician who strikes the strings of a harp to produce harmonious sounds represents the Christian who practices the Virtues; but, when the Holy Ghost comes Himself to touch the strings of the heart, the soul is then under the influence of the Gifts. This is a comparison employed by the Fathers to picture the action of Jesus upon Mary’s soul: “A most melodious harp used by Jesus to delight the Eternal Father.”
How and When Do the Gifts Work?
We receive the Gifts of the Holy Ghost at the same time that we receive the state of grace. They are then merely dormant supernatural faculties. When we come to the age of reason and our heart turns towards God, we begin, under the influence of actual grace, to use our whole supernatural organism, the Gifts of the Holy Ghost included. It is indeed incredible that these Gifts should remain unavailing and unavailable during a long period of our life. However, in order that the Gifts may attain their normal and complete development, we must have previously practiced the Moral Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and all the other subsidiary virtues) during a notable period of time, varying according to the providential designs of God for our life and our cooperation with His grace.
The practice of the moral virtues is first required in order to cultivate the gifts. The practice of virtue is like an entrance exam to the Gifts. Such is the teaching of St. Thomas: “The moral and the intellectual virtues precede the gifts, since man, through being well subordinate to his own reason, is disposed to be rightly subordinate to God.” It stand to reason that in order to acquire that divine docility which the Gifts confer, one must have previously conquered one’s passions and vices and formed habits of prudence, of humility, of obedience, of meekness, of chastity. How can one discern, accept and follow with docility the inspirations of grace, when the soul is troubled by the prudence of the flesh, by pride, willfulness, anger and lust! Before being led by divine impulses, one must needs have followed, first of all, the rules of Christian prudence; before obeying the motions of grace, one must needs have observed the commandments and triumphed over pride. It is, in fact, the Moral Virtues that, little by little, make the soul docile and dispose it to enjoy that perfect docility required for the full exercise of the Gifts. In the meantime, the Gifts grow as habits, together with habitual grace, and frequently, unknown to us, join their energies to those of the Virtues to make us perform our supernatural acts.
There are even times when, through His operating grace, the Holy Ghost enkindles temporarily an unwonted fervor of soul which is a kind of passing contemplation. What fervent soul has not at times felt these sudden inspirations of grace, when all it had to do was to receive the divine motion and follow it?—like a shove from behind, or a gust of wind in the sails. It may have been while reading the Gospels, or some devout book; on the occasion of some Communion, or of a visit to the Blessed Sacrament; at the time of some retreat, or when making a choice of a state in life, at the time of ordination or religious profession, that it seemed to us that the grace of God sweetly and strongly carried us along.
So…
From what has so far been said, we can conclude that the Gifts of the Holy Ghost are supernatural habits which impart such docility to our faculties that they promptly comply with the inspirations of grace. However, as we shall soon explain, this docility is at the outset but mere spark which needs to be cultivated to attain its full development. Besides, it is never exercised, except when God bestows that actual grace which we call operating grace. On such occasions, the soul, whilst passive under the action of God, is most active in accomplishing His Will, and so, one may say that the Gifts are at once sources of suppleness and of energy, of docility and of power, which render the soul more passive under the Hand of God, and at the same time more active and more powerful in His service and in the practice of good works.
The Seven Gifts
We find the names and the number of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost in a classic passage of the prophet Isaias: “There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness [piety]. And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord” (Isaias 11:1-3).
What Isaias calls “spirit,” the technical language of theology calls “Gifts.” The Holy Ghost who dwells in us when we possess the grace of God, this sweet Guest of our soul who masterfully directs our spiritual life, has desired to establish in the different parts of our being those mysterious realities, the Gifts by which He communicates with us and influences each and every one of our human faculties.
These Seven Gifts sound very much like virtues that we may have—but they are not virtues. Their role is to perfect the virtues, strengthen them, raise them to superhuman levels. They are superior to and more perfect than our virtues, but they work in harmony with them—often pushing them beyond imagined limits.
The gifts of the Holy Ghost are of two kinds: (1) the first are specially intended for the sanctification of the person who receives them; (2) the second, more properly called charismata, are extraordinary favors granted for the help of another, favors, too, which do not sanctify by themselves, and may even be separated from sanctifying grace. Those of the first class are accounted seven in number, as enumerated by Isaias (11:2-3), where the prophet sees and describes them in the Messias. They are the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety (godliness), and fear of the Lord.
The Gift of Wisdom, helps us see things from a more overall and general viewpoint—seeing things as God sees them and thereby detaching us from the world, makes us relish and love only the things of Heaven.
The Gift of Understanding helps us to grasp the truths of religion as far as is necessary.
The Gift of Counsel springs from supernatural prudence, and enables us to see and choose correctly what will help most to the glory of God and our own salvation.
By the Gift of Fortitude we receive courage to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that arise in the practice of our religious duties.
The Gift of Knowledge points out to us the path to follow and the dangers to avoid in order to reach Heaven.
The Gift of Piety, by inspiring us with a tender and filial confidence in God, makes us joyfully embrace all that pertains to His service.
Lastly, the Gift of Fear fills us with a sovereign respect for God, and makes us dread, above all things, to offend Him.
Fear of the Lord
It is with the lowest Gift on the totem pole that we will begin—Fear of the Lord. Holy Scripture tells us that “The fear of God is the beginning of his love” (Ecclesiasticus 25:16) and “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). Our two faculties of the soul are the intellect (mind) and the will (heart). The highest level or pinnacle for each of them is love for the heart (will) and wisdom for the mind (intellect). Fear is the necessary foundation or platform for both love and wisdom.
God is love—”He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity” (1 John 4:8)—and we must fear losing that love or charity of God: “The Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Call together the people unto Me, that they may hear My words, and may learn to fear Me all the time that they live on the earth, and may teach their children!’” (Deuteronomy 4:10). “That thou mayest fear the Lord thy God, and keep all His commandments and precepts … Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve Him only” (Deuteronomy 6:2; 6:13). “I say to you, my friends: Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you shall fear: fear ye Him, who after He hath killed, hath power to cast into Hell. Yea, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
Various Kinds of Fear
How can there be a Gift of Fear? Is not charity at the root of all the Gifts? And do not the Scriptures say that perfect love excludes fear? How is it possible, then, that fear of God can come from the profound and divine root of charity?
In order to understand this we must do a little analyzing. There are various kinds of fear: there is fear of pain and fear of blame; there is also a fear of the world that makes us conform to the world and forget the holy commandments of God and commit sin — fear, that is, of some earthly, temporal evil. How many there are who separate themselves from God through such earthly fear!
Worldly Fear
Worldly or mundane fear is that which dreads the loss of temporal goods, such as riches and honors. Innocent in itself, it becomes injurious when we prefer to sin rather than lose these goods. History is replete with cruelties that worldly fear has caused.
It is the fear of a Pilate who condemned Jesus to death because he feared to lose the esteem of Caesar. It is the fear of a Herod who put the Holy Innocents to death, because he feared for his crown. It is the fear of a Pharaoh who dreads the multiplication of the Israelites in Egypt. It is the fear of thousands of young men and women today, who deny their religion and abandon their most sacred duties, the frequentation of the Sacraments and the sanctification of Sunday, on account of human respect.
Carnal Fear
Carnal fear is that, of bodily inconveniences, fear of sickness or of death carried to the extent of losing the goods of the soul. It is the fear of a Peter denying his Master, lest he meet the same fate. Ah, how many Peters has the course of ages not seen? It is indeed lamentable how the sight of torture, or the fear of death, turns the mind from the thought of Heaven, and to preserve the body, the soul is lost: “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for My sake, shall save it” (Luke 9:24).
This is a common fear. Do we not see it every day dictating recourse to sinful means in order to avoid the ordinary inconveniences of life? We witness it many times daily—perhaps from ourselves too! A lie here and there to avoid something, or to get an advantage; afraid to correct others for fear of reprisals or fear of losing one’s popularity; sleeping on the job and misusing our employer’s time; conforming to the world for fear of being an outcast, etc., etc.
Servile Fear
There is another fear that keeps us from sin and brings us close to God, but which is imperfect: theologians call it “servile fear,” the fear of punishment. Servile fear is the fear of God because of the punishment He dishes out to sinners; it is the avoiding of sin purely and simply because there is a Hell. There is no doubt that this fear keeps us many times from falling into sin; but the motive is of an inferior order, and without the nobility proper to love. Servile fear is not the Gift of Fear of God.
Filial Fear
There is another fear that is called filial. It consists in the repugnance that the soul feels at the thought of being separated from God. This fear comes from love. It is true that perfect love casts out a certain type of fear, but there is also a fear that is, we might say, the basis of love. Whosoever desires, whosoever loves, experiences a profound fear of being separated from the loved one, of displeasing him. Love cannot be conceived of without this fear. One who loves deeply has a fear that is above all other fears — fear of separation from the beloved. This is the Gift of Fear which is directed by the Holy Ghost.
In a more perfect sense filial fear is the beginning of wisdom, because, in order to possess divine wisdom, we need to unite ourselves so closely to God that nothing can separate us from Him. The Gift of Fear unites us with God in this way. It hinders us from ever separating ourselves from the Beloved, and in that sense it is the beginning of wisdom.
Fear of the Lord Delivers From Fears
The Fear of the Lord is necessary that we may work out our salvation; it is necessary for us lest we degrade ourselves to the level of brute creation. It is the only guardian of our liberty and of our honor, because it alone is capable of delivering us from all other fear, from servile, worldly and carnal fear.
The first service rendered by the Gift of Holy Fear is to deliver us from this shameful tyranny. Servile gives way to filial fear, that fear to offend God because He is so good; it is always accompanied by confidence and love. As for worldly and carnal fear they no longer possess an illegitimate dominion, as filial fear either absorbs or banishes them. It regrets, deplores one and only one thing—sin.
This Fear of the Lord is, moreover, the only safeguard of that for which the whole world strives, liberty. Man cannot live without fear. If he does not fear God, he fears creatures, and if he fears a creature he is a creature’s slave; for, his freedom and his dignity belong to him whom he fears. To fear aught else except God, is to be under the yoke of tyranny. This is not understood by those who pretend to freedom by shaking off the yoke of God. In vain are revolutions begun; they but plunge their slaves into deeper distress. He alone is free who fears God; for, where the Spirit of God is, there, too, is liberty. Hence, we should only “fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
The Spirit of God unites us to Himself in such a way that He infuses in us an instinctive, profound, efficacious horror of being separated from God. This fear overrides all other fears.
The Gift of Fear in the Saints
Many of the great deeds in the lives of the saints were inspired by the Gift of Fear. St. Louis Gonzaga wept and scourged himself when he had to confess some little faults that we find it hard to believe were really sins. Why such tears from the saint? Why such grief? Because he examined so closely, under the influence of the Gift of Fear, the magnitude of those faults which to us seem insignificant; because he saw evil in them, a sign of separation from God. They were certainly very slight, but is anything really insignificant in love? When one loves passionately, does not the slightest danger of being removed from the beloved tear the heart to pieces?
This same Gift of Fear influenced St. Juliana of Falconieri, who trembled on hearing the word “sin,” who would faint when she heard of a crime being committed. This is something higher, something deeper, something much more perfect, than we are able to attain by our natural faculties; it is a supernatural effect which the Holy Ghost produces in souls so that they can look with horror at sin, and thus cling with intensity to God.
Degrees of Fear of the Lord
Of course there are degrees in the Gifts, as there are degrees in the Virtues. In the natural order, any faculty can be developed by practice, the acts performed by it becoming all the while stronger, more perfect. The intelligence of a student on the threshold of knowledge is not of the same degree as that of one who has spent his whole life in serious and profound study. The natural faculties grow with exercise, and as they grow we distinguish new degrees of them. The same thing happens in the supernatural order. The Virtues have their degrees, and so do the Gifts.
The gift of the fear of God, in the first degree, produces horror for sin and strength to overcome temptations. By means of the virtue we keep away from sin and conquer temptations, but with many struggles, many failures. We know from sad experience that our spiritual efforts do not always result in victory. How many times we are overcome; and even when we finally come out victorious, how conscious we are of deficiencies, hesitations, effort! With the Gift of Fear, victory is rapid and perfect. How often have we known this experience in the depths of our souls — the quick, instinctive impulse in the presence of temptation to leave the danger at once! It was the Holy Ghost moving us with His Gift of Fear.
In the second degree of this gift, the soul not only stays away from sin, but clings to God with profound reverence, avoiding even insignificant acts that are signs of imperfection. The profound respect of the saints for everything sacred — the Church, the Gospel, the priest — is the effect of the Gift of Fear. Everything divine is reverenced. The soul under the power of this gift does not want to fail in the least detail in respect and veneration for God.
A marvelous effect is produced in the third degree of this gift: total detachment from the things of this earth. That is why theologians say that this gift produces the first of the beatitudes: that of poverty of spirit. When we cling to God and avoid all that could separate us from Him, in such a way that exterior things lose their fascination for us, then the soul knows it is free, and it experiences the divine detachment characteristic of this stage of the spiritual life; it reaches the glorious height of which Jesus Christ spoke when He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The disinterestedness of St. Francis of Assisi, who considered all the things of earth as nothing; the disinterestedness to which Christ counseled the young man of the Gospel — “If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor.... and come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21. Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22): such disinterestedness as this is the fruit of the divine Gift of Fear.