Spirit of love and truth, having mercy on us.
The Holy Spirit infuses us with divine love. Since He is the very love between the Father and the Son, He is Love in person. Therefore, He can love in and through us, boosting and purifying our love so that it reaches out in true self-giving to others, imitating the pure self-giving love between the Father and the Son.
The Holy Spirit is also truth. Jesus promised in John 14:26 that He would send the Holy Spirit upon His disciples and that the Holy Spirit would “teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth. If we let Him, He provides us with insights about God and about ourselves and about God’s will for our lives. He helps us go deeper into our faith and to better understand and appreciate, even rejoice in, the truth.
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, have mercy on us.
Wisdom and understanding are two of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are infused into us at our baptism, but they grow throughout our lives as we open ourselves to them and cultivate them. We must cooperate with the Spirit and use the gifts He so generously provides if we are to bring them to fruition.
The Catechism defines wisdom as “a spiritual gift which enables one to know the purpose and plan of God.” That should amaze us if we think about it. With the gift of wisdom, we get something of a God’s -eye view of life. Not completely, of course. It’s more like a glimpse here and there, but it can certainly help us discern and follow God’s will.
Understanding helps us come to terms with the truths of our faith. We certainly hold fast to those truths with faith, but when we apply our understanding, we go deeper. We dive into truth to get to the meaning of it. We see more clearly. We appreciate the great gifts we have. We make them our own as we take them into our minds and apply our reason to them with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Spirit of counsel and fortitude, have mercy on us.
Counsel and fortitude are two more of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Counsel is the ability to make good judgments. When we know the truth, we must act on it. But to act properly, we must first decide what is best to do (and when and how, etc.). The Spirit helps us do that with the gift of counsel.
Many people use the words “fortitude” and “courage” interchangeably, and that can work if we define them properly. The gift of fortitude is a sort of courage that helps us face the difficult struggles and trials of our lives and keep on going. We endure what we must, relying on God’s help and loving support. But fortitude also spurs us to action. It gives us the boost we need to speak the truth, to stand up for the moral law, and to act against the crowd, doing what is right even when we are the only ones.
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