Our Gifts

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. ⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. ¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

According to Catholic Tradition, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are taken from Isaiah 11:2-3

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

• Wisdom is both the knowledge of and judgment about “divine things” and the ability to judge and direct human affairs according to divine truth 
• Understanding is penetrating insight into the very heart of things, especially those higher truths that are necessary for our eternal salvation—in effect, the ability to “see” God 
• Counsel allows a man to be directed by God in matters necessary for his salvation.
• Fortitude denotes a firmness of mind in doing good and in avoiding evil, particularly when it is difficult or dangerous to do so, and the confidence to overcome all obstacles, even deadly ones, by virtue of the assurance of everlasting life 
• Knowledge is the ability to judge correctly about matters of faith and right action, so as to never wander from the straight path of justice 
• Piety is, principally, revering God with filial affection, paying worship and duty to God, paying due duty to all men on account of their relationship to God, and honoring the saints and not contradicting Scripture. The Latin word pietas denotes the reverence that we give to our father and to our country; since God is the Father of all, the worship of God is also called piety.
• Love of God is, in this context, “filial” or chaste fear whereby we revere God and avoid separating ourselves from him—as opposed to “servile” fear, whereby we fear punishment.

An image that is often used with the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit is that of the tree. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are the roots of the tree, and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are, the fruits of the tree.  

If we are led by the Spirit and open to God’s gifts, the fruits of the Holy Spirit will be evident in our lives and in this way people will see that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, in our work, in the way we treat others and in the way we serve the community of the Church as the practical living out of the gift of the Holy Spirit given at Confirmation. 

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is mentioned by St Paul 

In his letter to the Galatians 5:22, 

In the second letter to the Corinthians 6:6

In the letter to the Colossians 3: 12-15 

In the letter to the Ephesians 4:2, 5:9

Love:
‘Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.  Love does not come to an end. 1 Corinthians 13 :4-7

Joy:
‘With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ Colossians 3: 16-17

Peace:
‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’ John 14:27

Patience:
‘There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 4:6

Kindness:
‘You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience.’ Colossians 3:12

Goodness:
‘Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives. Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun.’ Isaiah 58:7-8

Faithfulness:
‘I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and 1 am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.’ John 17:20-21

Gentleness:
‘I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.’ Ephesians 4:1-2

Self-control:
‘Finally, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.’ Philippians 4:8 Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit

1. Gift of Prophecy (Eph.4.11) Prophecy is a gift of the spirit that edifies and encourages others to grow (1Cor.14.3-4)  It is one of the special abilities given by God that should be desired by every Christian (1Cor.14.1)

    

2. Gift of serving others (Roms.12.7) This is a gift of practical service – i.e. service in the Kingdom of God like; cleaning the church, ushering others, assisting your pastor in physical activities etc. If you love and do this effectively, this is a gift to you from God, don’t desire to take over from those you are serving (Roms.12.7a)
    
3. Gift of Teaching (Roms.12.7) To teach is to impart, instruct, admonish, guide, train etc. (Matt 28.20, Col.1.28 Titus 2.12) Jesus was a teacher, while He was on earth (John.3.2). We make disciples by teaching others (Matt.28.17), therefore we must desire the gift of teaching
    
4. Gift of exhortation: The gift of exhortation simply means the ability to encourage others (Roms.12.8). The purpose of encouragement is to uplift and strengthen (Acts.14.22) The apostles always encouraged the believers’ (Acts.11.23 Acts.13.15 Acts.14.22). Anyone can possess this gift and it’s most important for; pastors, church leaders, apostles, prophets etc.
    
5. Gift of Generosity (Roms.12.8) The gift of generosity is a divine ability given by God to show kindness to others. All Christians ought to give, just like we all need to have faith, nonetheless, God has given some a special grace to do this much more than others can (Eph.4.7) Dorcas was not known as a preacher or a prophet; rather she was known and recognized in the scriptures for her gift of showing kindness (Acts.9.36)
    
6. Gift of Leadership (Roms.12.8) To lead is to be able to manage (1Tim.3.4). The leadership gift is very vital to church leaders, home leaders (Husbands and wives), Pastors, Deacons, church elders etc. (1 Tim.3.1-4) This is a special gift from God (Roms.12.8). Jesus was a good leader, he was ready to lay down his life for us and He did it (John.10.11)
    
7. Gift of word of wisdom (1 Cor.12.8) The gift of the word of wisdom is the ability to give wise advice from the word of God. Wisdom is from the Greek word Sophos which means insight (An intuitive perception of the inner nature of a thing).  The word of God is the source of this kind of wisdom. Paul always spoke the message of wisdom 1Cor.2.6
    
8. Gift of word of knowledge (1 Cor.12.8) The word of knowledge is the divine ability given by the Holy Spirit to know what others do not know. For instance, someone in a large meeting who has been feeling severe pain – God can reveal this to a Pastor with the gift of the word of knowledge
    
9. Gift of faith (1 Cor.12.9) A certain level of confidence that surpasses the normal (Matt.8.10). This type of faith can be termed ‘great faith’ (Matt.8.10, Matt.15.28)
    
10. Gift of healing (1 Cor.12.9) The divine ability to cure or remedy a health problem, such as healing the sick and those with all manner of diseases (Matt.10.8, Matt.4.23)
     
11. Gift of working miracles (1 Cor.12.10) The gift of working miracles is the divine ability to do inexplicable things (Matt.14.19, John.2.9) Several miracles were recorded in the bible; Jesus turned water to wine, He fed more than 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, He healed many with sicknesses, diseases and infirmities etc. (Matt.14.19, John.2.9)
     
12. Gift of discernment of spirits (1 Cor.12.10) The gift of discernment of spirits is the divine ability to distinguish which spirit is of God and which one is not of God (1 Cor.12.10) Paul exercised the gift of discernment of spirits when he rebuked a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination who mocked them for days – calling them servants of God (Acts.16.16-18)
     
13. Gift of speaking kinds of tongues (1 Cor.12.10) The gift of speaking diver’s kinds of tongues is the divine ability to speak in other languages other than the ones familiar to you or to speak in an unknown language that is naturally unknown to you. The apostles exercised this gift on the day of Pentecost when the dwellers all heard their languages from the mouths of the apostles (Acts.2.6)

 15 Gift of interpretation of tongues (1 Cor.12.10) The gift of interpretation of tongues is the divine ability to interpret an unknown language spoken. As we desire to speak in an unknown language, it is also important we desire to interpret what is been spoken for the edification of all.

16. Gift of helps (1 Cor.12.28) Gifts of help are those who possess a special ability to help others. Not all are gifted to preach on the pulpit, but some are gifted to help the one who preaches on the pulpit, this is a noble call (gift) from God and should not be taken for granted.
     
17. Gift of administration The gift of administration is God’s divine ability that enables you to organize efficiently i.e. those who with special abilities to manage resources (human and financial) efficiently.  The gift of administration is as much a gift as is the gift of teaching, healing or preaching.
     
18. Gift of preaching (Eph.4.11) The gift of preaching is a divine ability to proclaim and declare the gospel of the kingdom for the salvation of men (Matt.10.27) It is a special gift for the evangelist (apostles, prophets etc.) who are saddled with the ministry of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to the nations of the earth for the salvation of men. (1 Cor.1.17).

    
    

19. The Apostolic gift (Eph.4.11) The apostolic gift is the gift of conveying a special message. An apostle is a messenger of God with a special message for a defined audience (Eph.1.1) The apostolic ministry is first a gift from God and then a ministry to others (Eph.4.7)
     
20. Pastoral gift (Eph.4.11) This is a divine ability to tend, care, shepherd, guide, lead etc. a set of people, congregation, church, flock, etc. in the way of the Lord, so that they will not go astray (1Pet.5.2, Matt.9.36) Pastoring is not just a ministry, profession or office, it is first a gift from God and when God gives you this gift you function in the office and ministry of a pastor without struggling. (Eph.4.7)