Sermon On The Gift of The Spirit
Sermon On The Gift of The Spirit
Sermon On The Gift of The Spirit
As enumerated in Isaiah 11:2-3, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding,
counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They are present in their fullness in
Jesus Christ but are found in all Christians who are in a state of grace. We receive them when we
are infused with sanctifying grace, the life of God within us—as, for example, when we receive a
sacrament worthily. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them.” Infused
with His gifts, we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as if by instinct, the way Christ
Himself would.
Wisdom: Also, the gift of wisdom, we see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise
person, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of our lives take on
deeper meaning. The matters of judgment about the truth, and being able to see the whole image
of God. We see God as our Father and other people with dignity. Lastly being able to see God in
everyone and everything everywhere.
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. The gift of truth that allows the person to respond
prudently, and happily to believe our Christ the Lord
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 even physical harm
and death. The gift of courage allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing
good and in enduring evil, especially with regard to goods or evils that are difficult.
Knowledge: With the gift of knowledge, we understand the meaning of God. The gift of
knowledge is more than an accumulation of facts.
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, Aquinas writes.
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. Also known as knowing God is all powerful. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom (Prov 1:7) because it puts our mindset in its correct location with respect to God: we are
the finite, dependent creatures, and He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator.
While counsel is the perfection of a cardinal virtue, fortitude is both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a
cardinal virtue. Fortitude is ranked as the fourth gift of the Holy Spirit because it gives us the strength to
follow through on the actions suggested by the gift of counsel. While fortitude is sometimes called
courage, it goes beyond what we normally think of as courage. Fortitude is the virtue of the martyrs that
allows them to suffer death rather than to renounce the Christian Faith.
One of the Four Cardinal Virtues:
Fortitude is one of the four cardinal virtues. As such, it can be practiced by anyone, since, unlike the
theological virtues, the cardinal virtues are not, in themselves, the gifts of God through grace but the
outgrowth of habit.
Fortitude is commonly called courage, but it is different from what much of what we think of as courage
today. Fortitude is always reasoned and reasonable; the person exercising fortitude is willing to put
himself in danger if necessary, but he does not seek danger for danger's sake.
Fortitude is the virtue that allows us to overcome fear and to remain steady in our will in the face of
obstacles. Prudence and justice are the virtues through which we decide what needs to be done; fortitude
gives us the strength to do it.
What Fortitude Is Not:
Fortitude is not foolhardiness or rashness, "rushing in where angels fear to tread." Indeed, part of the
virtue of fortitude, as Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., notes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, is the "curbing of
recklessness." Putting our bodies or lives in danger when it is not necessary is not fortitude but
foolishness.
A Gift of the Holy Spirit:
Sometimes, however, the ultimate sacrifice is necessary, in order to stand up for what is right and to save
our souls. Fortitude is the virtue of the martyrs, who are willing to give their lives rather than to renounce
their faith. That sacrifice may be passive—Christian martyrs do not actively seek
martyrdom(suffering/punishment)—but it is nonetheless determined and resolute(firm).
It is in martyrdom that we see the best example of fortitude rising above a mere cardinal virtue (able to be practiced
by anyone) into a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit. In moral courage against the evil spirit of the times, against
improper fashions, against human respect, against the common tendency to seek at least the comfortable, if not the
voluptuous."
Fortitude, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, also allows us to cope with poverty and loss, and to cultivate the Christian
virtues that allow us to rise above the basic requirements of Christianity. The saints, in their love for God and their
fellow man and their determination to do what is right, exhibit fortitude as a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit, and
not merely as a cardinal virtue.
5. KNOWLEDGE
The fifth gift of the Holy Spirit, knowledge, is often confused with both wisdom and understanding. Like wisdom,
knowledge is the perfection of faith, but whereas wisdom gives us the desire to judge all things according to the
truths of our Faith(believe system), knowledge is the actual ability to do so. Like counsel, it is aimed at our actions
in this life. In a limited way, knowledge allows us to see the circumstances of our life the way that God sees them.
Through this gift of the Holy Spirit, we can determine God's purpose for our lives and live them accordingly.
The Perfection of Faith:
Like wisdom, knowledge perfects the theological virtue of faith. The aims of knowledge and wisdom are different,
however. Whereas wisdom helps us to penetrate divine truth and prepares us to judge all things according to that
truth, knowledge gives us that ability to judge. The object of this gift is the whole spectrum of created things insofar
as they lead one to God."
The Application of Knowledge:
Knowledge allows us to see the circumstances of our life as God sees them, albeit in a more limited way, since we
are limited by our human nature. Through the exercise of knowledge, we can ascertain God's purpose in our lives
and His reason for placing us in our particular circumstances. As Father Hardon notes, knowledge is sometimes
called "the science of the saints," because "it enables those who have the gift to discern easily and effectively
between the impulses of temptation and the inspirations of grace." Judging all things in the light of divine truth, we
can more easily distinguish between the promptings of God and the subtle wiles of the devil.
6. PIETY(Reverence)
Piety, the sixth gift of the Holy Spirit, is the perfection of the virtue of religion. While we tend to think of religion
today as the external elements of our faith, it really means the willingness to worship and to serve God. Piety takes
that willingness beyond a sense of duty, so that we desire to worship God and to serve Him out of love, the way that
we desire to honor our parents and do what they wish.
The Perfection of Religion:
Perhaps in none of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is this instinctual response more obvious than in piety. While wisdom
and knowledge perfect the theological virtue of faith, piety perfects religion. Religion: The moral virtue by which a
person is disposed to render to God the worship and service he deserves." Far from being a drudgery(tedious and
exhausting work), worship should be an act of love, and piety is the instinctive affection for God that makes us
desire to render worship to Him, just as we voluntarily honor our parents.
Piety in Practice:
Piety instills in us a desire always to do that which is pleasing to God (and, by extension, that which is pleasing to
those who serve God in their own lives).
7. FEAR OF THE LORD
The seventh and final gift of the Holy Spirit is the fear of the Lord, and perhaps no other gift of the Holy Spirit is so
misunderstood. We think of fear and hope as opposites, but the fear of the Lord confirms the theological virtue of
hope. This gift of the Holy Spirit gives us the desire not to offend God, as well as the certainty that God will supply
us the grace that we need in order to keep us from offending Him. Our desire not to offend God is more than simply
a sense of duty; like piety, the fear of the Lord arises out of love.
Confirming the Virtue of Hope:
The gift of the fear of the Lord, confirms the virtue of hope. We often think of hope and fear as mutually
exclusive(not comparable ) but the fear of the Lord is the desire not to offend Him, and the certainty that He will
give us the grace necessary to keep from doing so. It is that certainty that gives us hope.
The fear of the Lord is like the respect we have for our parents. We do not wish to offend them, but we also do not
live in fear of them, in the sense of being frightened.
What the Fear of the Lord Is Not:
"The fear of the Lord is not servile(pertaining to slave) but filial(sonship)." In other words, it is not a fear of
punishment, but a desire not to offend God that parallels our desire not to offend our parents.
Even so, many people misunderstand the fear of the Lord. Recalling the verse that "The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom," they think that the fear of the Lord is something that is good to have when you first start out
as a Christian, but that you should grow beyond it. That is not the case; rather, the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom because it is one of the foundations of our religious life, just as the desire to do what our parents wish us
to do should remain with us our entire lives.