... And What About Those "Traditional" Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

I had a great time talking with Sean Herriot earlier today on Relevant Radio’s Morning Air.  We started off talking about my last post on the charisms of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, but the focus quickly shifted to talking about the way Confirmation both opens us to these gifts as well as releases the “Traditional” Gifts of the Spirit.  So what are the Traditional Gifts, and where do we hear of them in Scripture?

The come from the Book of Isaiah, in a prophecy about the coming Messiah.  

 “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord” (Is.11:2).

These are the gifts that the Holy Spirit poured out on Jesus’ human nature.  When you and I were baptized, we were united to Jesus’ human nature –as spiritual infants.  In the Sacrament of Confirmation we are incorporated even more deeply into Jesus, so that the gifts lavished upon His humanity are fully active within our own.

Let me say it a slightly different way:  Because we are living in Jesus we can act with the gifts the Spirit poured out on Him - His wisdom, His understanding, His counsel and strength, knowledge, awe, and fear of the Lord! We are empowered to love with His heart and think with His mind (1 Cor. 2:16)!

These seven gifts are traditional in the sense that they are always given; if you had hands laid on you in Confirmation then you have full access to these gifts – guaranteed.  (It is not so for the charisms.) 

Lets take a moment to examine these gifts in more detail.  There are different ways to group them.  I see them building upon one another:

• Fear of the Lord – the respect a child has for his/her parents. We do not stand in terror of God, but we do recognize that our Father in Heaven loves us so much that He will discipline us if need be. He loves us just as we are, but He loves us too much to let us remain the way we are!
• Piety – our realization of God’s Love for us moves us to respond to Him in prayer, both private and communal. We come to hear God’s Word for us, both from other believers and within our own souls.
• Knowledge – this entering into the Father’s Presence and listening to His Word empowers us to grow in what we know of the Truth.
• Understanding – as we seek His guidance, the Spirit leads us to penetrate this Truth, perceive its meaning for us and other believers.
• Wisdom – we are the led in applying this understanding.
• Counsel – the Spirit will guide us in making specific decisions, and
• Fortitude – strengthen us to persevere in doing what we now know to be right.

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist – these are the Sacraments of Initiation, initiation into the very life of Christ Jesus!

Jesus	His Church
Conceived by the Holy Spirit, free from original sin.	Baptism – conceived by the Spirit and freed from original sin (and the guilt of personal sins)
Baptized in the Jordan – Anointed with the Holy Spirit and His gifts to perform His ministry	Confirmation – anointed with the Spirit, and His gifts, to participate in Jesus’ ministry
Gave Himself to the Father, completely and without reservation from the time of His conception right through His Death, Resurrection, and Ascension	Eucharist – incorporation into Jesus as He offers Himself to the Father through His Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

Are the Spiritual Gifts Spoken of in the Bible Still Given to People Today?

With Pentecost just around the corner, it's a question that more of us ought to be asking ourselves.  Jesus is, after all, "the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb.13:8).  You know the gifts I am talking about:

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.   All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

Far to often I encounter Catholics who disparage charisms - in particular the gift of tongues - as if it is something that "only those Pentecostals do," and it has no place in a "traditional" Catholic's spiritual life.  (Ha - as if you could get more "traditional" than the New Testament!)  It also shows a lack of knowledge regarding the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church."  (CCC 2003)

They also seem completely unaware of the Popes and Bishops' numerous endorsements of the Charismatic Renewal - a movment that has done much to reawaken today's Church to the reality of these charisms.  (Not that I am advocating every practice or prophetic message from someone identifying him or herself as "charismatic" - any more than I do strange practices or messages from people with strong devotions to the Blessed Mother, Vatican II, TOB, etc.)

God does continue to pour out these gifts - in abundance!  And being Catholic - meaning "universal, all-embracing," - we as a Church reach out to embrace all of God's truth and gifts.  As St. Paul wrote, the Lord has appointed shepherds over us to help us, "test everything and hold fast what is good" (1 Thess.5:12-21).

So this Pentecost, why don't we place ourselves before God and ask for the grace to receive whatever gifts the Holy Spirit wants to bestow upon us - even if they outside our comfort zone?  God knows what He is doing!