Seven-Fold Gift of Grace
“If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you:
but if I go, I will send Him to you [….]
But when He, the Spirit of truth, is come,
He will teach you all truth.”
(John 16)
Dear Friends of Carmel,
If Christmas is the feast of promise, joy and peace, and Easter is the Feast of Redemption, triumph and glory, it can be said that Pentecost is the Feast of strength, sanctification and union. On Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover and the Resurrection of Our Savior, the Church that had been conceived on Calvary made its manifestation. And today, through the power of the Holy Ghost, present in all souls who possess divine grace, the light of faith and fire of charity is carried into every corner of the earth.
It is God the Holy Ghost who does the work of sanctifying souls. Through His seven Gifts, enumerated by the prophet Isaias (11:2-3), He elevates, ennobles and divinizes our natural virtues and our faculties of intellect and will. He works in us, because of and in spite of, our inherent frailty and tendency to evil, to make us like unto Christ, Our Lord and Exemplar. We are to become mirrors of the glory of God and instruments of His loving work in the souls of others. Jesus called the Divine Spirit our Advocate Who would always help us. If we cooperate with divine grace, the Holy Spirit takes possession of our soul – so that we might rejoice to possess God in time and in eternity.
A summary of each of these gifts is the best way to highlight their importance, especially for living daily life in our world, where the need for the Holy Ghost’s guidance and strength is becoming increasingly evident! In our own preparations for Pentecost, we have been reading to the Sisters at meals an explanation of each of the gifts from the book The Sanctifier by Archbishop Martinez (republished as True Devotion to the Holy Spirit). The descriptions are so beautiful, that the chapters deserve to be read in their entirety. But as we know that time can be limited – we did our best to reduce his explanations into brief summaries:
The 7 Gifts of the Holy Ghost
Fear of the Lord
You have heard the saying; “fear of the Lord is the foundation of Wisdom.” It the foundation of the other gifts as well. This gift instills in us a filial fear of God, rooted in love, rather than just a servile fear of God and His wrathful punishments. The Spirit of God unites us to Himself in such a way that He infuses in us an instinctive, profound, efficacious horror of being separated from God, and which makes us say, “Everything and anything, except to be parted from God, my loving Father; anything but to lose my close union with the Beloved!” It detaches us from the world, and prepares us to endure everything for the sake of Union with God.
Fortitude
Life is hard. Sometimes everything can be difficult. The more noble and generous the undertakings, the greater the difficulties. We recognize our duty; we may have the desire to fulfill it and take the paths God has marked out for us; but there are so many obstacles. Our nature is weak and rebels, we are easily discouraged, and we so very often fail – fail God, fail others who depend on us, fail ourselves! The Gift of Fortitude is an enhancement of the virtue of Fortitude, a permanent power which the Holy Ghost communicates to our will to assist us in overcoming the difficulties which might deter us in the practice of what is right. It is a strength that comes not from ourselves (as is the case with the virtue), but is the strength of God Himself. “I can do all things, in Him who gives me strength!” (Phil. 4:13)
Piety
The virtue of Religion is concerned with giving God the honor that is due to Him as our Creator and Redeemer. It is a virtue based on justice. Not so with the Gift of Piety. The Gift of Piety is not concerned with what is owed to God; it does not measure what we owe Him because of benefits that have been received. This Gift is inspired by the Spirit of adoption by which we call upon God as our Father. It develops in us a deep, filial affection and confidence in Him, and thus we are concerned about the honor and glory of God because we are His children. We love Him as a Father. In the high degrees of this gift, the Holy Spirit infuses in us the desire to be united to Christ the victim. We experience in our hearts, in a divine, deep, and efficacious way, the sentiments of Christ’s heart on cavalry. We desire to unite our sufferings to His, and to offer them together with His, for the conversion of souls and the promotion of His glory in the world.
Counsel
We encounter many complex and difficult matters in the Christian life. In the practice of virtue, in the living out of our Christian lives in a pagan world – it is not always easy to see the lawfulness, appropriateness or opportuneness of any one act. Sometimes we must practice justice, sometimes mercy; sometimes we should hold our tongue, sometimes we must speak. Unlike the virtue of Prudence, which springs from our intellect, the Gift of Counsel is infused by the Holy Ghost directly, as an abiding light by which our practical intellect sees and judges rightly what should be done in individual cases and the best means to do it. With what boldness do the Saints proceed, with what security, and with what rapidity! They do not follow the counsels of men, nor the dictates of their own reason. They have a higher norm: the eternal reason, the mind of God that illuminates their spirit and lays before them the road they should follow. To have the gift of counsel is to trod triumphantly and confidently along the paths of life that lead to eternal joy.
Knowledge
Human knowledge is that which makes things known through their immediate causes. We analyze, compare, reflect, accumulate ideas and harmonize them. But the Gift of Knowledge is not the same knowledge as acquired from human science and study. With the gift, we understand creation in a single profound glance. It is to instinctively see in creation the Creator. The divine gift does not teach us the properties of creatures, but considers them in a broader, more profound manner as ordained by God. In the perfection of this gift is found complete detachment. We are not subject to the thrall of creatures in themselves, but see God in them. It is the holy liberty of the children of God who behold the world differently – with a Divine glance.
Understanding
Faith alone, which is based on the authority of God who revealed the truths of Faith, is not enough to make us penetrate them. By means of it, we go deep into the meaning of supernatural truths, of the Christian mysteries, of the dogmas of our faith with a single glance. It is above reasoning, there is no labor to understand. The soul “sees” the truths of Faith not unlike the way the Angels see them, intuitively and without error. The gift of penetration, the gift of intuition, is the Gift of Understanding. And the more developed this Gift is in our soul, the more profound our vision, the more penetrating our intuition. “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt. 5:8)
Wisdom
The Gift of Wisdom is above all the other gifts and directs them all. The most exalted of the gifts comprises all supernatural knowledge, coordinates it in the Supreme Cause, the highest Principle: God. The Gift of Wisdom covers all things, but in the vast stretch of knowledge that it opens up there is a perfect unity, because the soul looks at all things through God’s eyes. The Gift of Wisdom is closely related to charity, for it stems from charity and leads back to it. This Gift produces in us the most faithful resemblance to Jesus Christ. Recall the mysterious words of the Apostle St. Paul: “But we all, with faces unveiled, reflecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His very image from glory to glory, as through the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Cor. 3:18)
Before ascending into Heaven, Our Lord Jesus left us with the comforting words: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him, nor knows Him. But you shall know Him, because He will dwell with you, and be in you.” (John 14: 16-17) As we prepare for this great Feast of Pentecost, let us foster in our minds and hearts a great desire for this greatest of friends, God the Holy Ghost. Let us ask for His aid and an increase of His Gifts. Keep in your heart the poetic and beautiful words of the Pentecost Sequence from Mass for this Feast, called since the Middle Ages the “Golden Sequence,” so beloved was it for its expression of doctrine and love of God. These words, chanted in all their glory on Pentecost Sunday and the whole of Pentecost week, serve well for reflective and meditative prayer. Use them to contemplate all that the Holy Spirit is for us and what He desires to accomplish in our lives:
Come, Holy Ghost, send down those beams,
which sweetly flow in silent streams,
from Thy bright throne above.
O, come, Thou Father of the poor;
O, come, Thou source of all our store,
come fill our hearts with love.
O Thou, of comforters the best,
O Thou, the soul’s delightful guest,
the pilgrim’s sweet relief.
Rest art Thou in our toil, most sweet
refreshment in the noon day heat
and solace in our grief.
O blessed Light of life Thou art;
fill with Thy light the inmost heart
of those who hope in Thee.
Without Thy Godhead nothing can,
have any price or worth in man,
nothing can harmless be.
Lord, wash our sinful stains away,
refresh from heaven our barren clay,
our wounds and bruises heal.
To Thy sweet yoke our stiff necks bow,
warm with Thy fire our hearts of snow,
our wandering feet recall.
Grant to Thy faithful, dearest Lord,
whose only hope is Thy sure Word,
the sevenfold gift of grace.
Grant us in life Thy grace,
that we, in peace may die and ever be,
in joy before Thy face. Amen. Alleluia.
It is our custom here in Carmel, on the Feast of Pentecost, to chant solemnly the Hour of Terce, the Hour of the Divine Office particularly dedicated to the Holy Ghost. After chanting the beautiful Gregorian melodies, we each draw a holy card, upon which is written a Gift and a Fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) of the Holy Ghost, as well as a region of the world. So not only does each Sister especially strive towards and try to practice the virtues of the Gift from the Holy Spirit that she received, and to be generous in bringing forth the Fruit, but that region of the world she has been given is her particular charge, the special object of her prayers and sacrifices for the year. Wherever in the world you are reading this newsletter, you can be assured that the Sisters will be praying for you, in the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit and our one Catholic Faith – one tongue of fire dividing into many tongues – the fire of love received by many! Our Lord had told the Apostles: “[Y]ou shall be witnesses for Me… even to the very ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), “…and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all the nations…” (Lk. 24:48). Come Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth!
May His work be accomplished in the souls of us all!
Your Carmelite Sisters
*New Holy Spirit Relic Badge*
It goes without saying that there are no relics of the Holy Ghost! Wonderfully, we already possess Him through grace in our souls. Our thought in making the badge was that it be a reminder of that Divine Indwelling. Yes, it is only a small external sign, but a reminder nonetheless, that the Holy Spirit is always with us, always in us. He is called the “Forgotten Paraclete” because most people do tend to forget! But we should call upon Him often, as our closest friend and companion, as a consoler and counselor. And we should live in His presence. The badge includes a relic of the Cenacle, the upper room of the Last Supper, where the Holy Ghost first descended on the Apostles on that first great Pentecost. This badge might also be a precious remembrance and reminder of our reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation, our own share in that first Pentecost.
*Learn More About the Holy Spirit*
Pentecost Sermon
Faith comes from hearing! (Rom. 10:17) Our Lord said to preach the Gospel to every creature, and that is what the Church has always done, from St. Peter’s first impassioned exhortation on the first Pentecost Sunday, to heart-stirring sermons from devoted priests in our own times. In the first centuries of the Church, the printed word was available to few. Even with the invention of the printing press, the Gospel was always carried into the far corners of the earth through missionary priests commissioned by the Church (and therefore by the Holy Ghost) to preach, explain and teach it. Therefore, along with the recommended books, we include in our newsletter a link to a special sermon from one of those devoted priests – for the Feast of Pentecost. Father presents doctrine, devotion, counsel and inspiration – and the powerful source for souls in all of this is the Spirit of Truth, God the Holy Ghost. At the end, a delightful and moving “Carmelite” surprise…So if you are unable to spend time reading in preparation for Pentecost, maybe you can find time to listen!
Books on the Holy Ghost
True Devotion to the Holy Spirit – it is largely from this book that our summary of the seven gifts above was taken. Wide in scope, yet simple and readable, True Devotion to the Holy Spirit covers virtually everything there is to know about the Holy Spirit’s role in our salvation – and it does so with a refreshing reliance on God’s Word in Holy Scripture and in the voice of Holy Church, particularly St. Thomas Aquinas. The author, the holy Archbishop Luis Martinez, lived what he taught!
The Holy Spirit and the Art of Living – This is another of our rare and out-of-print books. Long highly recommended by spiritual directors for people who live in the world, it is both scholarly and devotional. Explaining the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the good Marist Father O’Driscoll centered his discussion and counsels around daily life – a lifetime lived with the purpose of coming close to God and obtaining Heaven. We have only been able to locate a very few of these books, and we know they will go quickly. However, we will continue to search our sources as time goes by, so check back if you are not one of the lucky ones to get the book!
Novena to the Holy Ghost – The nine days between Our Lord’s Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost constitute the first novena of prayer in the history of the Church, attested to by holy Scripture (Acts ch.1, 2). This excellent booklet presents novena prayers that guide the soul day by day in obtaining an increase of the precious Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost. It is an excellent preparation for the Feast of Pentecost.
Preparation for Confirmation – If you or someone you know is preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, this book can be a great help! It includes a complete catechism of the Sacrament, including a description of the 7 Gifts and 12 Fruits of the Holy Ghost, as well as an explanation of the Rite of Confirmation itself.
Holy Spirit Candle
We have often spoken about how blessed candles are wonderful sacramentals and can be both an aid to prayer and a beautiful symbol of sacrifice for Christ. This candle with the Dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, is one of our favorites! It is another way of putting before our eyes the symbol of Him with Whom we unite ourselves in our prayers, and can itself be a silent prayer for His aid.
A Prayer to the Holy Spirit
by Cardinal Mercier
O Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I adore You.
Enlighten me, guide me,
strengthen me, console me.
Tell me what I should do;
give me Your commands.
I promise to submit myself
to all that You desire of me and
to accept all that You permit to happen to me.
Let me only know Your Will.
