Did You Know the Holy Spirit Has Given You Special Gifts?

In Summa Theologiae II.II, Thomas Aquinas asserts the following correspondences between the seven heavenly virtues and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:

• The gift of wisdom corresponds to the virtue of charity.
• The gifts of understanding and knowledge correspond to the virtue of faith.
• The gift of counsel (right judgment) corresponds to the virtue of prudence.
• The gift of fortitude corresponds to the virtue of courage.
• The gift of fear of the Lord corresponds to the virtue of hope.
• The gift of reverence corresponds to the virtue of justice.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

Everyone, whether priest, religious or lay person, has been given special gifts of the Holy Spirit that help strengthen us in our particular vocation.

Sometimes we can falsely think that we aren't anything special and that we have nothing to offer the world.

This can often lead us to have feelings of envy or jealousy towards other people, wanting what they have because we think God has given them something special that we don't have.

While it is true that God gives each person something unique, we need to step back and recognize the special gifts God has given us.

The Holy Spirit's gifts

God has a specific plan for each of us and has given us unique gifts that only we possess.

The Second Vatican Council document, Lumen Gentium, highlights this basic teaching of the Catholic Church:

It is not only through the sacraments and the ministries of the Church that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the people of God and enriches it with virtues, but, "allotting his gifts to everyone according as He wills, He distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank.

Especially as a lay person, we may think that we aren't "special" or even "favored" by God. We look at all the priests and religious of the world and think that God gives them more gifts than us.

What we need to recognize is that the Holy Spirit does not dispense gifts according to "rank," but to each person's unique vocation, as Lumen Gentium explains:

By these gifts He makes them fit and ready to undertake the various tasks and offices which contribute toward the renewal and building up of the Church, according to the words of the Apostle: "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit".

Often these gifts are called "charisms," which is the Greek word used in the New Testament for “favor” or “gratuitous gift.” Each of us has a charism (or multiple charisms) that the Holy Spirit gives to us so that we can bring light to the world.

It's up to us to receive that gift with a joyful heart and to use it for the greater good of the world:

These charisms, whether they be the more outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation for they are perfectly suited to and useful for the needs of the Church.

God loves you and has given you a special gift that only you can use. We need to discern that gift and rejoice that God has looked favorably upon us.