Building Spiritual Habits - Part 6

 Building Spiritual Habits                      Part 6
 
St. Augustine prayed,

“Help me to grow in the four Cardinal Virtues, Your Seven Gifts and Your Twelve Fruits.”

We return after two weeks apart, so I will offer this short review:

As Christians, we are expected to manifest the Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives. These Twelve Fruits are different from the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Seven Gifts are granted to us during our Baptism and perfected through the Sacrament of Confirmation. They are as follows:

  1.  Wisdom
  2.  Understanding
  3.  Counsel
  4.  Fortitude
  5.  Knowledge
  6.  Piety
  7.  Fear of God

The Seven Gifts serve as Virtues for us to follow, while the Twelve Fruits are the actions that those Virtues produce. As we grow in our knowledge and love of the Lord, we will manifest these Fruits in our lives as Christians.

The Fruits are:

  1.   Charity
  2.   Joy
  3.   Peace
  4.   Patience (Forbearance)
  5.   Kindness
  6.   Goodness
  7.   Faithfulness (Long Suffering)
  8.   Mildness
  9.   Faith
 10.  Modesty
 11.  Self Control (Continence)
 12.  Chastity.

So where did this list come from? St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, wrote:

"Now the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering (or longanimity), mildness, faith, modesty, continence, and chastity love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control, chastity."   (5:22-23)        
                                                       
This list of twelve is the translation from the Latin Vulgate, which Augustine combined with his own scholarship. (See part 5)

In this portion of the letter, St. Paul presents the Fruit of the Spirit in contrast to the “works of the Flesh.”

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 5:19-23

In this way St. Paul makes clear the marked difference in perspective and effect of our nature and God’s gifts. Galatians 5 encourages his readers that, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (24) and are now ready to receive the Fruit of the Spirit.

When a person accepts Christ as Savior, they receive the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome their sin nature and develop the character of Christ. When a person opens themselves up to God in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit will gift them the Fruits and guide them in life. The fruits are described in words that we use often and so are easily understood. Not so easily applied and lived out, however!

Love (Charity of Spirit)

It is no coincidence that Paul puts “love” first in the fruits of the Spirit. The Greek word for love in this instance is agape. It is the highest form of the different kinds of love expressed by distinct Greek words, including eros (romantic love), philia (friendship love) and storge (familial love).

Agape is the kind of love God has for his creation. It is pure, selfless and self-sacrificing. It always seeks the best for others — even enemies — at all costs. A beautiful description of agape love is found in 1 Corinthians 13.

God shows his agape love for us in sacrificing his only Son to save us from our sinful nature.

Joy

The joy Paul refers to in Galatians 5 is much deeper than a sense of happiness or gladness from life’s circumstances. It is a profound delight and rejoicing that comes from knowing and serving God. This is a deep, resonant Joy that is found even in the face of tragedy and sorrow because this Joy is the presence of God.

Peace

The peace that comes from the Spirit is not just breathing normally in times of distress; it is as oxygen, a balm, a solemn place, a resonant bastion. It is Christ's peace, a peace which passes all human understanding (John 14:27).

Patience (Forbearance)

*Patience may also be called longsuffering or forbearance as synonyms of “patience.”

We seek to cultivate patience in our fast-paced lives and are painfully aware when we are not able to. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, has a never-ending supply of patience to flood the Christian’s heart always, especially at those times when it is needed most.

Kindness

This fruit of the Spirit is a natural result of love.

When God’s Spirit begins to develop love in the Christian’s heart, treating others with kindness, compassion and forgiveness is what follows. In fact, once the foundational fruit of love is flowing through one’s life, not only kindness but also gentleness, forbearance, goodness and other attributes listed in Galatians 5 will naturally follow.

Goodness

This fruit of the Spirit is an attribute of action. It means living one’s life with good morals and motives as well as doing good things for others. Producing the fruit of goodness is a servant's joy and the true mark of godliness.

Faithfulness (Longanimity)

Faithfulness (Longanimity) is being patient even when being provoked. While Patience involves tolerance, Faithfulness means enduring quietly and remaining steadfast in the midst of attacks of others. This is the ability to go to Christ in the midst of turmoil and personal affront.

Mildness (Gentleness)

The way a Christian engages with others is what the fruit of Mildness is all about. The ability to discern when to use a gentle word is a valuable gift of the Spirit. Especially in tense moments, when unkind words or manners are the typical first response. The Christian who responds with gentleness is a true reflection of Jesus and the kingdom of God.

Faith

Faithfulness is especially important to God. No matter what life brings, God expects his disciples to be unwavering in their faithfulness to him as well as to the people in their lives. Trustworthy, loyal, constant, dependable. The Christian who produces the fruit of faithfulness embodies all these attributes.

Modesty (Humility)

Being Modest means being Humble. It is believing that any of our successes, Blessings, and talents are Gifts from God. In knowing what we are able to do or what we have done is from God, Modesty does not revel in self, but gives the glory to God.  It also means being content with what we have and not harboring any selfish ambitions.

Self-control

Because of human sin nature, everyone’s personality has negative impulses and qualities. Overcoming them is a constant tug-of-war. The Fruit of Self-Control is the power of God’s Holy Spirit to help them identify and overcome temptation and weakness.

Chastity (Continence, Morally Pure)

Chastity (Continence) means giving ourselves to Christ completely, whether as a priest, religious, or layman. All vocations are called to be chaste in their way of living. Chastity also means indulging our physical desires within the right context such as being sexually pure before marriage and by remaining faithful to one’s spouse.

As we grow in the likeness of Christ through prayer, study and devotion, the Holy Spirit alone through God’s grace realizes the Fruit of the Spirit in us. The moment a person accepts Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in that person’s life. And it is the Spirit’s power that transforms and molds the person into Christ’s likeness.

This is a process of relationship and constant-mindedness. It doesn’t just “happen.” You are the object of Christ’s love, and you are called into the depth of that love. Your devotion will produce fruit even as you struggle, consciously changing your thoughts and behaviors to mirror the will of God. You will find that this becomes easier as the fruits are manifested.

You will simply be loving, joyful, kind, etc. as the aspects of your life and character change, expressing the fruits that you have been given. Christ has an important role to play in this transformation.

Start today. With each thought, word and action, stop and contemplate how, if Jesus was beside you, He would want you to be—and then be it. That idea or opinion, those words of anger or frustration, that act (or lack thereof)—where does it come from? Is it pain, pride, fear, or God that motivates what you are about to do next? By spending time in God’s presence and being immersed in prayer and his Word, the answer will become implicit as you share the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.  

St. Augustine prayed,

“Help me to grow in the four Cardinal Virtues, Your Seven Gifts and Your Twelve Fruits.”

Praying to grow,
​
Fr. Bill+