The Gifts of the Holy Spirit




We have completed our celebration of the Pascal Season with the Solemnity of Holy Pentecost on Sunday.  One of our Sisters shared with us her reflections on the gifts of the Holy Spirit which we now pass on to you.

A Brief Examine on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit 

Drawn from “The Sanctifier”

 by Archbishop Luis M. Martinez

    Through His Gifts the Holy Spirit acts directly in our souls.  Like the virtues, the gifts are vital germs that need to be cultivated.  Our work, our effort as Christians, consists in nurturing with exquisite care these precious seeds God has placed in our soul.  In conducting this Examine, we study how these gifts have developed in us, and how we can be more docile to their influence.  What can and ought we to do in order to bring these gifts to perfect growth?

1.        Increase charity in our hearts, since charity is the root of the gifts. 

2.        Develop the virtues which we receive along with the grace of God, preparing the ground for the Spirit to come and finish the work.

3.        To develop the Gifts of the Spirit, we must be responsive to His Inspirations.

     The following will help us recognize how the Spirit is at work in our souls through His Gifts and discern where we need to grow in them.

1. Fear of the Lord

     Whosoever desires, whosoever loves, experiences a profound fear of being separated from the Loved One, fear of displeasing Him.

 

2. Fortitude

    “I can do all things in Him Who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)

     Enables one to observe how obstacles become a means to good in God’s All-Powerful Hands.

    Confidence, security, peace of soul, happiness, joy in suffering.

 

3. Piety

    Not strict justice or obligation, but an overflowing filial affection that desires the honor of God.  An unmeasurable love and generosity towards others—a love rooted not in matter, but in an inner fountain of love.

   Boundless love and confidence, complete surrender and self-gift, gratitude.

 

4. Counsel

    The Spirit of God guides with security, without timidity or mishap, in peace and tranquility.  Souls who yield to His Guidance do not walk in uncertainty-they are serene, their course is sure. 

   A Supernatural Prudence by which the Holy Spirit guides along the winding and troublesome paths of this life, until the soul reaches perfection in the inexpressibly loving Embrace of God.

 

5. Knowledge

    Reveals intuitively, with irresistible conviction, the vanity of all things. 

    Leads the soul to see all as a reflection of God—all things invite to the Love of God.

    Leads the soul to value suffering and humiliation which make it resemble Christ.

    Looking at things in the light of truth, new desires

   6. Understanding

   “Blessed are the Pure of Heart, for they shall see God.”  The Gift of Penetration, intuition, and profound vision springing from loving union with God and purity of heart.  Penetration of the reality beneath sacramental signs, the words of Scripture, the joys and sorrows of every day life, the Mysteries of Christ, etc.

 

7. Wisdom

    United to God in an intimate union of love, the soul tastes, understands by actual experience, savors and knows His Infinite Goodness.

   The highest gift which conforms the soul most perfectly to Christ—the gift by which the soul sees all things through the eyes of the Beloved.

   In the highest degree of Wisdom, souls live as if in heaven; they begin to taste the delights of the Beloved and no longer seek the things of earth, for now they see everything in relation to the heavenly Kingdom.

 

 

    May the Divine Spirit pour His Light into our souls, touch our hearts, reveal to us the world of sanctity and grace, so that we may love Him more and more.  May He lead us with His Holy Movements, and guide us into that world of light and love, of generosity and elevation.  May He enkindle in our hearts the Holy Fire of Love, so that we sigh for nothing but the infinite, the eternal, the Divine...

 


Comments

Rose said…
Pentecost blessings, dear sisters! Will Sr. Mary Angelique be professing her final vows sometime soon? I've been reading your blog posts for many years, and I recall that her first profession was six years ago.
Ester Regina said…
That is our hope! We will let you know.

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