"The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are: -
Wisdom
Understanding
Counsel
Fortitude
Knowledge
Piety
Fear of the Lord
"These give us the seven stages of spiritual development, beginning with the Fear of the Lord. "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom."
"The Christian receives these gifts, but unless they are cultivated, they remain inoperative. Cultivation requires two activities, attention and appreciation.
"Fear of the Lord understands that the human is creature and God is Creator. "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Fear of the Lord brings a sense of proportion to a man's life, and a sense of proportion provides a stable platform from which a person can direct individual activities with a sense of calm purposefulness.
"Piety connotes an attitude of reverence and devotion to the tasks of life - - a sense of loyalty. Loyalty is the necessary basis for co-operation with others. Without co-operation with others there can be no individual development.
"Knowledge is that by which individuals grow. Life is a process of "becoming", and we become what we know. To turn away from a lively curiosity and a search for knowledge is to turn away from life itself. It is possible for us to sentence ourselves to imprisonment within the walls of our own ignorance.
"Fortitude is best appreciated by reflection on the nature of its opposite: fearfulness, or pusillanimity. All of us can find in our memories occasions in which we failed to give effect to our intentions because of vague and irrational fears. We know well how fear, once allowed entry into our minds, feeds on itself, and eventually envelopes and fogs the whole area of our judgement.
"Counsel signifies a willingness to consult before reaching a decision. Commonly, we are well aware of the need to obtain the assent of other people, or to obtain expert opinion on matters outside the range of our experience. However, what we frequently neglect is to consult with our own selves before acting. If an individual's intentions are to be effective, his or her whole being must be engaged in the activity. The heart has reasons that the head often fails to understand. Humanity is compounded of many parts, and must bring together, in amicable concord, all the components of personal make-up if the individual is to live successfully. "A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand."
"Understanding is that which brings light, and we exclaim to ourselves, "now I see." Understanding comes only with patience. It cannot be coerced, one must wait for it. The great enemy of understanding is our impatience that leads us to accept pre-formed conclusions as a substitute for truth. No matter how keen a mind may be, once it has accepted a prejudice, it has closed itself off from the light of truth.
"Wisdom stands at the summit of spiritual development. It is a disposition that leads an individual to judge and evaluate all things in terms of humanity's final goal, personal union with God. Folly, on the other hand, judges and evaluates only in terms of immediate gratification and is necessarily destructive.
"If a man fears the Lord, he will live an upright life. If a man holds fast to innocence, he will find wisdom ready to his embrace, welcoming him as a mother welcomes the son who cherishes her, greeting him like a maiden bride. Long life and good discernment are the bread this mother will provide for him, truth the refreshing draught she will give him to drink.
She will take firm hold of him, so that he never wavers, restrain him, so that he is never disgraced. She will raise him to high repute among his neighbours: she will move him to speak before the assembled people, filling him with the spirit of wisdom and discernment, clothing him in magnificent array. Joy and triumph she has in store for him, and will enrich him with a name that shall never be forgotten."
(Ecclesiasticus 15)
From "Sermon Synopsis". Source unknown
With thanks to the author
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