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Fruits of the Holy Spirit
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During the preparation for Confirmation, the confirmandi begin in earnest what will hopefully be a lifelong understanding and development of the Holy Spirit within. One of the major focuses of the preparation is on the seven gifts received from the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and wonder (awe). These gifts are in fact mentioned by name during the liturgical Rite of Confirmation, and they are taken directly from scripture, Isaiah 11:1-2.
To a lesser degree, many of those preparing learn about the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately the wonder of these points of perfection is not always clearly explained or understood. In the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the apostle tells the Church about the things to avoid in life such as impurity, idolatry, hatred, and selfishness. In contrast he lists nine fruits that blossom from right behavior, although the tradition of the Church lists twelve: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this fruitage takes place because of the grafting of the individual to the true vine of our Lord. (CCC #736) Certainly the connection can be made to Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper, when he spoke of himself as the vine and those who follow him as the branches in John 15, one of the most telling yet often misunderstood dialogues in all the gospels.
In Jesus’ discourse, he talks about the care of the vineyard, details of which would have been more understandable in his time. What he is talking about is how the hand of God touches the human life like rain or sunshine, how each branch is cared for and nurtured, with the hope of yielding the best harvest. As important as the fruits are, one must also learn that they thrive and continue their development, feeding on themselves. A simple act of kindness makes a person feel good about his/herself because he/she has done something that required a caring heart and an expression of good feeling to another. It makes one want to do it again.
The same thing goes for any fruit of the Holy Spirit that the confirmed bear. However, charity stands at the top of the list because it is also the theological virtue that connects people to the greatest commandment, to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to show that love by the way we care for one another. (CCC #1822) Again, Jesus spoke of this aspect during the Last Supper discourse, revealing his commandment that his disciples love one another. (John 15:9-12)
In its simplest terms, what we do as humans with fruit is to plant it, cultivate it, harvest it, feed on it, and recycle the process again. This too is the action of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Most of them are self-explanatory. When one radiates peace and joy, perceived hostilities melt away. Patience is not only a virtue; it is the virtue. With it, as a Taoist would believe, all things are moved like water or wind trickling against the hardest stone. In other words, with patience one may attain anything or without it, nothing at all.
Kindness and goodness go hand in hand. It is good to be kind, and it is kind to others when one is good. As with the other fruits, this too is living the great commandment of Jesus. One word that is not included in the list, but is a trait of the living Jesus, is ‘compassion.’ Kindness and goodness with generosity and gentleness form into compassion. When individuals treat each other with kindness, goodness, generosity, and gentleness, they have become compassionate witnesses who share in the life of Christ.
Modesty is mostly the virtue of humility. The word ‘modesty’ is often associated with purity issues such as the way one dresses, not too scantily, or the way one behaves in their physical and/or sexual life. While it is all of that, modesty is also about not elevating one’s self to an undeserved pride. We are all humble children before God, and the fruit we yield by this virtue is a non-assumption of ourselves. Self-control and chastity can be added to this equation, and these three fruits become how we manage ourselves not just when we are with others, but also when we are alone.
In essence the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are the fruits of our adultness in faith. Charity, along with faith and hope form the theological virtues of true Christian life. In addition there are the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. None of these seven human virtues can be fully completed without the gifts of the Holy Spirit or the fruits which we are called to yield by the reception of those gifts.
The Book of Wisdom relates stories about Solomon although he lived hundreds of years before it was written. One chapter details his search for wisdom which is given a female persona. The writer reveals ‘she’ is the splendor of companionship with God and instructs in understanding God. If one loves justice, the reader is told, her work is the virtuous fruit of all faith. She teaches prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, and nothing in life is more useful than these. (Wisdom 8:3-4, 7)
In all things learn wisely the gifts of the Holy Spirit and share the manifestation of their yielded fruits by fulfilling the act of love known as charity. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
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