Wisdom of the Spirit

We all love to receive gifts. As children, we wait with anxious anticipation for Santa Claus at Christmas. On birthdays, we look forward to the tradition of the cake, “Happy Birthday” sung with gusto, and gifts in some sort – all for me on my special day. Didn’t you just hate to receive clothes on your birthday as a child? When we’re older, it’s a nice card with money in it. And as adults, we get that $50,000 + car with the big red bow on it. Yeah right! Good friends and a nice bottle of wine may be the optimum gift.

But why do we give gifts? Because we have love and respect for the person to whom we give. A gift is symbolic of those values. We may spend a lot of time carefully shopping for this other person and wondering what they would like or what size they wear; what color do they prefer or how useful this item might be for them. When we give, we don’t expect a gift in return. Not at least until our own birthday or Christmas or whatever the occasion may be. We give because it is tradition and because we feel this person deserves a nice gift, our appreciation, and our love.

As we pray, “Come, Holy Spirit” this week we recognize that we as a baptized and consecrated people have been gifted by our God for the same reasons and more. Gifted first with a person – Jesus Christ, God made human among us, raised from the dead and now our intercessor in heaven. That should be plenty for us because the gift of salvation was purchased at a price beyond our worthiness. We don't deserve what God has done for us so there is only one reason we received that gift – love.

But if that wasn’t enough, as Jesus left this earth he promised to send his Holy Spirit and next Sunday at the Feast of Pentecost, we remember that gift poured out upon the Apostles in that upper room where they were waiting as Jesus told them to do. However, what about today?

The presence of the Holy Spirit among us is not a past historical event. The gift of the Spirit is a present reality. That same Spirit remains within our midst as our teacher, guide, advocate, paraclete until Christ returns. As the Church awaits that moment, God has come to us, abides (lives) with us, and offers us these gifts of the Holy Spirit to guide us to holiness. What are they?

In the Book of Isaiah 11:1-3, we read: “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him; a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a sprit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” How and when do we receive them? Through the grace of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation – we are marked, branded, maybe you could say tattooed with the mark of Christ upon our souls and given these gifts of the Spirit. While Isaiah speaks of six gifts, in the sense of naming “fear of the Lord” twice, we have come to call piety an expression of that gift so we traditionally name seven – the number which symbolizes perfection: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

What of the first – Wisdom. We speak of a wise person; one who seems to have a special understanding about life and a depth of knowledge on the meaning of things. We may imagine a wise man, sitting atop a mountain, in a saffron colored robe with a long flowing white beard, who can provide you with the “meaning of life.”

We think, or at least pretend, that when we grow older we become wiser in the ways of life. Remember Mark Twain’s comment on how surprised he was when he entered his twenties on how much his father had learned! Looking at myself, I know that life has presented for more experience and lessons to learn from. Wisdom, in that case, may be the fruit of personal introspection. What has this experience taught you? Sometimes I’ve learned and in other cases I’m surprised how unwise I still am. We never stop learning. “Get it together, Tim” I’ve said to myself more often than not.

Wisdom, in the case of the Holy Spirit, is divine wisdom shared with us. It is the highest gift of the Holy Spirit. This divine wisdom teaches us to measure the value of those things we believe through faith. The truths of our Christian faith are lasting, the things of the world pass away. We see creation as a reflection of God, not as a product of biology or random, undetermined chance happenings with no predetermined divine mover. By this wisdom we love the things of heaven for their sake and see the things of this earth for what they are and nothing more. Wisdom teaches us that God must be the center of our lives and all else will fall in place according to its purpose. St. Therese of Lisieux had no formal theological education yet was wise in the ways of the spiritual life. The wisdom of the Holy Spirit was granted her and many other giants of the spiritual life in abundance.

Wisdom trumps foolishness every time. I know I’m acting foolishly when I think I’ve got it all figured out and place God on the back burner. I know I’m foolish when I act impulsively without thinking. I know I’m foolish when I don’t take care of my health and just toss reason to the wind. I know I’m foolish when I find myself lazy in prayer and ignore my spiritual health. I know I’m foolish when I think only of myself and ignore the needs of others.

As we move towards Pentecost, let us pray for a reawaking of this gift which lies within our hearts. To be continued . . .


Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bossoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine.
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we have naught.
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stain of guilt away;

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore,
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gifts descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;

Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.