Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

• Wisdom

  Wisdom is the gift by which the Holy Ghost gives a spiritual relish for divine things and orders the whole life toward God’s glory. It judges created goods in the light of the highest cause, seeing them according to their relation to God.

• Understanding

  Understanding is the gift by which the Holy Ghost gives deeper penetration into the meaning of revealed truth. It does not create new revelation, but enables the mind to grasp more clearly the mysteries already received by faith.

• Counsel

  Counsel is the gift by which the Holy Ghost guides practical judgment amid difficulty, danger, or uncertainty. It perfects prudence by making the soul ready to recognize and follow divine guidance when human reasoning alone is insufficient.

• Fortitude

  Fortitude is the gift by which the Holy Ghost strengthens the will to do God’s will and endure whatever fidelity requires. It carries the firmness of the virtue of fortitude to a higher readiness under divine prompting, even in extraordinary trials.

• Knowledge

  Knowledge is the gift by which created things are judged rightly in relation to God and His will. It reveals both the goodness of creation and its inability to satisfy the soul apart from the Creator.

• Piety

  Piety is the gift by which the Holy Ghost produces filial affection toward God as Father and a loving reverence for what belongs to Him. From this spirit flow willing worship, obedience, and a family-like charity toward God’s children.