The Holy Spirit is always giving gifts, whether for us as individuals or for the common
good, but some of these are uniquely referred to as the “Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” They
are “permanent” gifts, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are
permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the
promptings of the Holy Spirit. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom,
understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They
belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect
the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily
obeying divine inspirations (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition, 1830-
1831, p. 450).
The gifts are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of
the Lord. Six of these names come from the Hebrew text of Isaiah 11:3. The seventh is
found in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the Vulgate
(the Latin translation) version of the Old Testament.
In their original context they describe the qualities of the ideal Davidic king, whom
Christians understand to be Jesus. By extension, the gifts are also given to those who
are “in Christ” by Baptism.
In addition to the passage in Isaiah, the New Testament speaks of the variety of ways
by which the Spirit gives interior gifts in a lasting way, habitually counseling, revealing,
inspiring, empowering and transforming believers and drawing them to the Son and
Father. These New Testament gifts are expressions of the Gifts of the Spirit upon us.
The Holy Spirit’s presence is permanent. Jesus said to the apostles, “He will remain in
you and be in you” (Jn 14:17). Paul writes, “The charity of God is poured forth in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us” (Rom 5:5).
We might get the impression that the way that the Spirit gives a person one of these
gifts, for example, wisdom, is similar to the way that a new chip can be installed in our
computer.
Actually, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not things that we possess. The “gifts” are
dispositions that open us to the action of the Holy Spirit, for instance to act wisely, as
inspired by the Spirit. Thomas C. O’Brien says that the teaching on the “Gifts” is “a key
to St. Thomas’ theology of the Christian life.” As O’Brien explains, “Before Thomas, no
one had characterized the Gifts by reference to the promptings of the Spirit.”
(Thomas C. O’Brien, in Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, vol. 31, 144-145, note d).
Thomas recognizes that we are usually disposed by virtue to act in a good way in
human affairs: “Human virtue perfects a human person in what is natural for him to be

moved by his reason in his interior and exterior actions” (1a2ae. 68, 1). However, over
and above the virtues, we are given the “gifts’ so that we can be disposed beyond our
reason: “A human person needs higher perfections to be disposed to be moved by God.
these perfections are called gifts, not only because they are infused by God, but also
because of them a person is disposed to become responsive to Divine inspiration”
(1a2ae. 68, 1).
Thomas affirms: “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are habits (dispositions) by which a person
is perfected to obey readily the Holy Spirit” (1a.2ae. 68, 3). Thomas emphasizes that
these gifts do not make a person a passive instrument of the Spirit: “A human person is
not an instrument which is just acted upon; for he is acted upon by the Holy Spirit so
that he acts by himself, in so far as he has freewill” (1a2ae. 68, 3 ad 2).
The Gifts presuppose the virtues of faith, hope and charity, which are the means by
which we are united with God:
The mind of a person is not moved by the Holy Spirit, unless in some way it is
united with Him, as an instrument is not moved by the craftsman, unless there be
contact or some kind of union between them. The primary union of humans with
God is by faith, hope and charity: and, consequently, these virtues are
presupposed to the gifts, as their roots… derived from them (1a2ae. 68, 4, ad 3).
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are connected together in charity. Thomas states: “Whoever
has charity has all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, none of which one can possess without
charity” (1a2ae. 68, 5). Thomas affirms: “Wisdom and understanding and the others are
gifts of the Holy Spirit, as they are enlivened by charity” (1a2ae. 68, 8 ad 3).
Denis Vincent Wiseman, O.P.
References to the Summa Theologiae give the part of the Summa, the question and the
article. If the reference is a response to an objection that Thomas has raised, the
reference will indicate “ad,” meaning “to” the objection. This reference is found in the
third part of the Summa, question 68, and various articles.