MONDAY-TUESDAYJune 12-13, 2000 volume 11, no. 107
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APPRECIATION OF THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH series for June 12-13, 2000 part two
On Pentecost Sunday the Apostles were also given gifts such as the gift of miracles, curing the sick, driving out evil spirits, raising the dead to life. All these proved fruitful. Many saints have been blessed with the gift of miracles. The prophets before the coming of Christ foretold future events. A number of the saints have been granted the gift of visions and ecstasies, though this is rare; good examples are Saint Francis of Assisi, who received the stigmata of our Lord's wounds, and Saint Catherine of Siena.
The gifts of the Holy Spirt help us by making us more alert to discern and more ready to do the will of God.
If we look with discerning eyes, we can see how the gifts of the Holy Spirit have greatly helped the world at large.
As the psalmist sang: "Thou shalt send forth Thy spirit, and they shall be created: and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 103:30). "And hope does not disappoint, because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 5:5).
The operations of the Holy Spirit were easily discernible among the early Christians.
"And they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the communion of the breaking of the bread and in the prayers. And…many wonders also and signs were done by means of the apostles" (Acts 2: 42-43).
The difference between the virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit consists in this: the virtues enable us to do what our reason directs; the gifts make us follow the inspirations of the Sanctifier.
Some of the effects in us of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the fruits of the Holy Ghost and the beatitudes.
The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are:
These twelve fruits give us grace to perform good works under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They make us happy and contented, and help us to be pleasing to both God and man.
With the fruits of the Holy Spirit it becomes easier for us to persevere in the union with God by the practice of virtue; our heart inclines with charity towards God and our neighbor, and finds it almost natural to be detached from the world.
With the gift of sanctifying grace and its accompanying theological virtues, gifts of the Holy Spirit, and their effects, the Christian soul may be said to possess sanctity, to be in the state of Christian perfection.
Sanctity is the fervent surrender of one's self to God and the practice of virtue. It does not require extraordinary works. The Blessed Mother of God, the most holy of mortals, never performed any extraordinary works to excite worldly admiration. "Love is the fulfilling of the law."
Wednesday: Moral Virtues part one
 volume 11, no. 107 APPRECIATION OF THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH series Return to front page of current issue |