This is the last of seven little reflections on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Etymologically, to understand means to stand-under, but the older meaning of under is in the midst of. When you understand something, you are standing within it. You are intellectually grasping what is around you. You […] Read more »
The word wisdom is one we may use casually without really thinking about what it means. If we reflect on how we use it, the word wisdom relates to truth. It has to do with seeing the truth about something. The truth about that something might have many dimensions. In […] Read more »
There is a famous (or infamous) meme that runs, “That’s what I do. I drink and I know things.” In reality, to be true, we should change this saying to “That’s what we do. We think and we know things!” Ordinary knowledge is when a person assimilates something outside one’s […] Read more »
As a natural virtue, counsel is the good intellectual habit of seeking advice. The Latin word consilium means deliberation or advice. A person may take counsel in himself by thinking things through. One can also get good advice outside of oneself. This is why we call a lawyer a counsellor. As […] Read more »
Like the word prudence, piety has been given wholly undeserved negative connotations in our modern irreligious, hateful, and ungrateful world. Let’s fix that. The term “piety” is used for both a natural virtue, a supernatural virtue, and a Gift of the Holy Spirit. As Fr. John Hardon, S.J., points out, […] Read more »
Since the order in which I am presenting the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the order which I find easier to understand (under the assumption that others have the same difficulties that I do), the next gift I will try to explain is the gift of fortitude. Note that […] Read more »
One of the easier gifts of the Holy Spirit to understand, I think, is the last listed, the gift of fear. Fear of God is one of the gifts that pertain to a person’s will. With our human will, assisted by God’s grace, we have the freedom to choose good […] Read more »
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1830-1831) says that the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit “sustain” a Christian’s “moral life.” Moral life has to do with the good or evil acts that form the character and eternal destiny of a person. These seven gifts of the Holy Spirit—that is, […] Read more »
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. In the life of Christ, we see extreme hatred turned on him, […] Read more »
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, brought peace, reconciling man to God and to one another. Christ wished his Apostles peace at the Last Supper: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn 14:27). The very […] Read more »
Christ’s purity of heart or singular focus can be seen in his first words recorded in Sacred Scripture. When the twelve-year-old Christ was lost to his parents for three days and they finally found him in the Temple, he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did […] Read more »
Christ personifies mercy. He came, lived, and died to bring us salvation and sanctification. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). One of Christ’s most touching examples of mercy was the woman […] Read more »
Central Idea: God elevates humanity. Doctrine and practical application: We are a priestly, prophetic, and royal people. To access Lectionary 91, click here. Reading 1: Ex 19:2-6a In those days, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai and pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain, Moses […] Read more »
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied Did Christ live this beatitude? Christ said, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” (Lk 12:49). When he drove the merchants out of the Temple because they were […] Read more »
Here is a little meditation on the second Beatitude: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Christ embraced suffering, agony, and finally death on the cross. He was the suffering servant Isaiah prophesized (Is 53 ff.). Christ’s suffering was infinitely valuable and has saved and sanctified us. […] Read more »