Afghanistan TIME magazine cover

Very sad and shocking about the maimed woman on the cover and what happened to her, which is of course unjust.

However, before lying that the war in Afghanistan is about "saving" and "protecting" their women, consider this.

Perhaps TIME should put on the cover one of the DAILY morgue bodies of an American infant killed by the "baby mama's boyfriend" or even their own father or mother. We'd have many more examples to grace the cover each DAY than you have of honor killings and maiming in Afghanistan. Don't be total hypocrites, please. It brings you no closer to wisdom and justification.

Fruits of the Holy Spirit (2): Continence

When I discussed with you the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, I presented them in a particular order because there is an order from foundational to ultimate that is a logical progression in likely receipt of the gifts. For example, one is not likely to receive any of the gifts if one is not first in receipt of and in appreciation of Fear of the Lord. The scripture teaches that Fear of the Lord is the foundational gift.

I'm going to present to you the different way that one must use understanding (a gift of the Holy Spirit! :-) to perceive the fruits of the Holy Spirit. That is I am going to follow closely in the scripture the actual development (or failure) of people to receive and develop the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Thus the first fruit of the Holy Spirit we will discuss, and understand to be the foundational fruit, is not Charity, as one might guess, but Continence.

The definition of Continence is the ability to contain something successfully, and in behavior terms it is often best understood as the ability to have "self control." Most people have heard the term continence in the medical context, where to have incontinence means that one cannot control one's bladder or bowel movements. But naturally as you would expect the term continence has a traditional meaning that is much more spiritual than whether one can wait to go to the lavatory!

Continence can be best thought of as the ability to exercise self control of one's needs and desires, and not in a repressive and suppressive way. Continence has the tone of a person who is also able to be moderate and temperate in their needs. So Continence is not to be understood as someone who can, for example, jab needles in their arms and not flinch from the pain because they are "in control." Rather, Continence means to be serene and moderate in the satisfaction of both one's good desires, but also to rebuff temptations. To use a simple example, someone is demonstrating Continence if they really, really, REALLY enjoy a particular item of food, beverage, or activity, such as a sport, yet you would not realize that unless they told you because they do not hoard or over-indulge in anything, even if they really enjoy it. As you can imagine people with the fruit of Continence are not addicts because no substance or activity overcomes their discernment of 1) whether it is good or bad for them and 2) even if it is harmless, it does not ever have control over these people by immoderate usage. A person with Continence can indeed have one piece of a favorite food once in a while, but does not need to tuck into that food in huge quantities on every occasion. A person with Continence might even love a food, sticking with these secular examples, yet not even indulge in it at all, or maybe once a year for special occasions!

Thus a person with spiritual Continence is moderate and in self control in not only secular matters but also spiritual matters. People with the fruit of Continence are not power hungry, for example. And now I imagine you know why I started with this fruit to be in discussion.

Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent [Satan] was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, [Eve] "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" The woman answered the serpent, "Of the fruit of all the trees in the garden we may eat; but 'Of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden,' God said, 'you shall not eat, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

But the serpent said to the woman, "No, you shall not die; for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Now the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for the knowledge it would give. She took of its fruit and ate it, and also gave some to her husband [Adam] and he ate.

Naturally generations of preachers have spoken about the great tragedy and fall of humankind, just as it had been created in the forms of Adam and Eve, through simple disobedience of an almost incomprehensible foolishness. Here Adam and Eve had everything they needed, including the actual presence of God in the Garden, and they had the promise of children, of dominion over the world, and of peace of mind. With everything that modern humans cannot even imagine having been given to Adam and Eve, how on earth could Eve have been with a single sentence of suggestion been so easily fooled by Satan to eat of the one fruit tree that had been forbidden to them by God? Eve lacked Continence, and so did Adam.

There is no more striking example of a lack of Continence than Eve and Adam in all of human history, of course. It is the classic example of "wanting more" when one already had absolutely everything that there was to have. This is so far from someone just being greedy and out of control over something that one really wanted and/or needed. Adam and Eve had everything that a human could possibly have, promised by God, within their reach and their destiny (ample food, shelter, dominion over the world, the presence of God by their side, and peace of mind), so it's not like Eve wanted for example "more" food, or "more" dominion, or "more" of God's company, or "more" peace. They were the starting point of having it all. Yet within hours of creation Eve at only one sentence from Satan threw it all away, starting with peace of mind.

You see, when a human has knowledge of good and evil, that human loses peace of mind. While Eve believed Satan thinking that she and Adam would "gain" something to be "like God," what they did not realize is that what God can "handle" is a net loss to humans. When Adam and Eve learned about evil, they lost their peace of mind. Rather than having "more" of God, they lost what they had, which was already the most and everything that a human could have!

Contrast this, now, and I'll discuss it later under a different fruit of the Holy Spirit topic, with the sin of Satan and the angels who followed him when they were created by God and then given the choice to serve God or not. Eve followed by Adam made a sin of lack of self control. The angels who refused to serve God did not lack self control, they lacked humility. At a glance you might think these are similar, but they are not, and that is why I will explain them as being linked to the lack of two different fruits of the Holy Spirit.

So Eve and Adam did not have inflated egos as did the disobedient angels. At first glance one might think that as it seems as though both Adam and Eve and the disobedient fallen angels want to be "like God." But Eve did not think she would be completely like God in every way. Eve thought that she would gain a talent, some knowledge, that being the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve did not have a clue what evil was at all. They thus thought it was something that they could own, that knowledge, just "like God." They never dreamed that they would through this knowledge supposedly be "like God" in total. No, Eve and then Adam lacked Continence. They already had everything imaginable yet they lacked even the tiniest will power to just say no to Satan who offered them something they didn't even understand, when they already had everything that humans could ever have desired or possessed, including the day to day presence of God by their side. The disobedient angels, on the other hand, refused to serve God, but like Adam and Eve they did not of course kid themselves that they would ever be like God or equivalent to him. That is something Adam and Eve and the fallen angels share: they knew full well that they would not become God or godlike. Adam and Eve thought they would have a piece of knowledge (what evil is) that God had, and thus be like him in that respect, while the disobedient angels thought that they were "as good" as God in the sense that they did not have to humble themselves to him and serve him. Neither thought they would actual be step-ins or mini versions of God himself in any way, shape or form.

Adam and Eve simply could not push themselves away from the table that was already groaning under the weight of everything good for humans imaginable, and say "No" to Satan offering to put the one forbidden thing on their plate, which would be knowledge of evil. Adam and Eve of course already knew what good was because they were in the presence of God and God gave them everything good already. So how does one best understand the knowledge of "good and evil?" Here is an analogy. Suppose that you were created and lived in a world that was only one color, let's say blue. You would not understand that blue is "blue" because you don't even realize that it is only one of a choice of thing called "colors." So such a person would of course know totally the experience of being "blue" as they and everything around them is blue, but they don't realize that it is "blue" because they do not know a second color at all, and that color choices exist. Thus Adam and Eve did not need to find out what "good" was since they were living it; they just did not realize it. Once they ate the fruit and knew that there is a second choice, called "evil," now it all snapped into place where they realized that everything they already had was "good," but they now also know what "evil" is and how it can be achieved. They saw and were the victims of the first evil, which is human deception.

Adam and Eve would never have heard a lie or have been deceived, since they lived within the goodness of God's total truth. Their children would have been born, and their children, and their children, never even thinking of the concept of lying or deceiving. Once Eve and then Adam ate the fruit they got a crash course in 1) what evil is 2) that they had good all along and didn't realize it since they knew nothing of evil to compare it to and 3) the first example of evil, being the willing victims of Satan's deception. Then, in immediate hindsight, they would have realized the second evil to happen in sequence, which is disobeying God.

So the fruit of Continence springs from several gifts of the Holy Spirit. Before we list them, let us recap what Continence means and implies:

1) self control
2) a preference for all things in moderation
3) understanding the genuine value of limitations

In both secular and spiritual matters, therefore, you can see that a fruit of the Holy Spirit is born and yielded by a tree of the Holy Spirit that is comprised of the gifts of Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom.

It is not a one-to-one match where a certain given "gift" of the Holy Spirit yields a certain or given specific matching "fruit."

You can understand this by looking back at Adam and Eve. What would have prevented them from listening to Satan? If they had great Fear of the Lord, the fundamental gift of the Holy Spirit, they may well have trembled at the very first mention of disobeying God's order not to eat fruit from that one tree of the many they had. In other words Fear of the Lord alone may well have been enough to yielded the fruit of Continence, and thus given them pause to have self restraint. Suppose they did not have Fear of the Lord (since there was no reason for God to have given them that need, since he was as yet not having to demonstrate any admonishment or punishment in righteous wrath, since they lived in the perfection of the place he had created for them as humans)? They had the gift of Knowledge because God explained not only all the world to them but they also were given the Knowledge of the one unbreakable rule, which is not to eat of the fruit of that one tree. So Adam and Eve were not gift-less, they did not lack the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They had an abundance of the gift of the Holy Spirit of Knowledge.

Those of you who followed my series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, though, remember that one rung up from Knowledge is Understanding. By one rung up I mean that one can have Knowledge as the groundwork but still lack Understanding and Wisdom, and that was the stage of development that Adam and Eve were at. If they had asked God, "Please tell us why you do not want us to eat from the fruit of the tree," God would have truthfully answered them, and they would have gained the gift of the Holy Spirit of Understanding. Thus even if they did not have Fear of the Lord (and may never have needed it), if they added Understanding to the abundant Knowledge that they had, they would have through this second scenario avoided disobeying God and losing it all by eating the fruit from the one tree that was forbidden to them.

If they had by one scenario or the other avoided disobeying God, they would have had children in Eden. They then would have raised and taught their children about God. That would have been the third rung, which is they are now the sources of Wisdom, as one cannot have Wisdom without first Knowledge (the "facts") and then Understanding (the "comprehension.") Wisdom is the synthesis and the culmination of facts plus comprehension plus experience and inspiration. If Adam and Eve had reached within Eden the gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom, they would have fully understood why not to disobey God without ever having to "know" what evil actually is and the literal pitfalls of knowing about evil. To go back to our color analogy, they would have known and understood that "blue" is their totality of experience, and that to expand that experience would be a diminishment rather than a gain. They'd never have needed to lose their peace of mind by actually knowing what evil is and that it exists. Imagine what the world would have been like. *sigh,,,,*

So the most fundamental, the "first fruit" of successful receipt and cultivation of any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is Continence.

Gaining wisdom

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (This and other citations regarding fear of God are in the Bible: see my previous posts on these topics via the labels.)


Fear of the Lord is appropriate and just for two reasons. First is that one should fear (as opposed to be "scared" of) God because only then does one have the proper perspective regarding humanity and all their many flaws and God's mercy and love, and ultimately, his perfect judgment. People must fear losing God, fear losing his love, and fear bringing down upon one's self the consequences of sin and disobedience.

Second, Fear of the Lord is the antidote to human pride. Human pride is toxic in both secular and spiritual matters, and it leads to numerous errors, evils, lack of justice, sin and ultimately eternal chastisement. When one genuinely fears God one is taking the best medicine against the deadly human ailment of pride.

Bible Reading: Proverbs 4:1-9

Hear, O children, a father's instruction, be attentive, that you may gain understanding! 2. Yes, excellent advice I give you; my teaching do not forsake. 3. When I was my father's child, frail, yet the darling of my mother, 4. He taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart hold fast to my words: keep my commands, that you may live!

5. "Get wisdom, get understanding! Do not forget or turn aside from the words I utter. 6. Forsake her not, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will safeguard you; 7. The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom; at the cost of all you have, get understanding. 8. Extol her, and she will exalt you; she will bring you honors if you embrace her; 9. She will put on your head a graceful diadem; a glorious crown will she bestow on you."

7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (7) Bible citations

Here are Bible citations regarding Wisdom. This is, of course, very thoroughly discussed and exhorted in the Bible, so there are many of them, falling into four general categories of: Spiritual Wisdom (this is the gift of the Holy Spirit), Worldly Wisdom (general secular wisdom in life), Wisdom of God (Wisdom as one of God’s attributes, that only he has) and the Wisdom of Christ.

Spiritual Wisdom

[In this passage God appeared to Solomon and told him that he will grant a request that Solomon will make of him].

2 Chronicles 1:10-12
Give me, therefore, wisdom and knowledge to lead this people, for otherwise who could rule this great people of yours? God then replied to Solomon: “Since this has been your wish and you have not asked for riches, treasures and glory, nor for the life of those who hate you, nor even for a long life for yourself, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge in order to rule my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are given to you; but I will also give you riches, treasures and glory, such as kings before you never had, nor will those have them who come after you.”

[Notice that Solomon asks God for Wisdom and Knowledge. This same event is also told in 1 Kings 3, and notice how Solomon’s request to God is recorded in this scripture.]

1 Kings 3:7-9, 12
O Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”
I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.

[One should not be concerned when one sees in the Bible slightly different wording of the same event; it actually provides more information about the event, rather than cast the event itself into doubt. This dialogue between Solomon and God took place while he slept in his dream, so in order for this dialogue to be preserved at all, obviously Solomon must have told others what he had dreamed, and put words to the speechless dialogue that took place between himself and God. 1 Kings 3 explains more about what Solomon was requesting based on his “motivational feelings” while 2 Chronicles is phrased more as one would be precise in wording what is one’s “motivational thinking.” The fact that both forms of recounting the same event exist is the first example in the Bible of the different nuances of the three gifts of the Holy Spirit, Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom. When Solomon recounts what he asks for God in terms of “deliverables” that he is asking for, he asks for Knowledge and Wisdom. When Solomon recounts his concern that he felt he needed a good heart with understanding, Solomon is recognizing that knowledge or wisdom without understanding is false. God confirms that correctness of Solomon’s request by responding using the same word, Understanding, and confirms that it will be Solomon’s “heart” that is both Understanding and Wise.]


Job 28:12-15, 18, 20
But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
Man knows nothing to equal it, nor is it to be had in the land of the living.
The abyss declares, “It is not in me”’ and the sea says, “I have it not.”
It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
Whence then comes wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?

Job 32:6-10
So Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, spoke out and said: I am young and you are very old; therefore I held back and was afraid to declare to you my knowledge.
Days should speak, I thought, and many years teach wisdom.
But it is a spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
It is not those of many days who are wise, nor the aged who understand the right.

[Here is the Biblical reference for the assertion that Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom are gifts of the Holy Spirit, and not obtained by humans as a natural outcome of age and experience.]

Proverbs 1:20-23
Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
In the open squares she raises her voice;
Down the crowded ways she calls out,
At the city gates she utters her words:
How long, you simple ones, will you love inanity,
How long will you turn away at my reproof?
Lo! I will pour out to you my spirit,
I will acquaint you with my words.

Proverbs 4:5-9
“Get wisdom, get understanding!
Do not forget or turn aside from the words I utter.
Forsake her not, and she will preserve you; love her and she will safeguard you;
The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom; at the cost of all you have, get understanding.
Extol her and she will exalt you; she will bring you honors if you embrace her;
She will put on your head a graceful diadem; a glorious crown will she bestow on you.

Proverbs 9:1
Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns.
[The columns are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit].

Proverbs 14:1
Wisdom builds her house, but Folly tears hers down with her own hands.

Ecclesiastes 7:11-12
Wisdom and an inheritance are good, and an advantage to those that see the sun.
For the protection of wisdom is as the protection of money; and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

Ecclesiastes 9:16-17
Though I had said, “Wisdom is better than force,” yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words go unheeded.
“The quiet words of the wide are better heeded than the shout of a ruler of fools”-!

Wisdom 1:6-7
For wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips;
Because God is the witness of his inmost self and the sure observer of his heart and the listener to his tongue.
For the spirit of the Lord fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says.

[This scripture is cited and applied to the Holy Spirit in the liturgy of the Mass during Pentecost].

[This verse reminds humans that exactly because the Holy Spirit is kindly and confers gifts, by its nature of being within all humans, the Holy Spirit, and thus God, knows all that is felt and said within the hearts of humans, and all that humans say or do].

Isaiah 33:6
That which makes her [Zion] seasons lasting, the riches that save her, are wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is her treasure.

[Once again, the gift of Fear of the Lord is the basis of all the subsequent gifts; so essential and special is it that Fear of the Lord is likened to treasure, as in the treasury of the holy land of Zion].

Daniel 2:20-21
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power are his.
He causes the changes of the times and seasons, makes kings and unmakes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who understand.

Hosea 14:10
Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.

Luke 2:47, 52
And all who heard him were astounded at his [the boy Jesus] understanding and his answers.
And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

[Jesus demonstrates in public at the age of twelve his command of the gift of the Holy Spirit of Understanding. He continues to advance in the public demonstration of Wisdom, as he ages, before man, but he also is increasing in his internal gift of Wisdom and favor that only God sees. “Before” means “in front of” or “is visible to.”]

Acts6:3
[The Twelve Apostles said] Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task.

1 Corinthians 1:24-5
But to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

[By the way, St. Paul does not mean that God is ever weak. What he means by “weakness of God” is the times and places where the presence of God is not strongly felt by humans. Even then, where the touch of God among a people at a particular place or time is very slight, the least of God’s wisdom and strength is far more than anything that even the strongest and wisest humans can exert.]

Colossians 4:2-6
Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; at the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I must speak.
Conduct yourself wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one.

[St. Paul, who is writing from prison, is reminding the readers of his letter to the congregation at Colossae east of Ephesus that they must conduct themselves with the Wisdom given to them by the Holy Spirit toward “outsiders” (those not yet of the faith). We know he is not referring to secular wisdom because he is explaining that God is the one who opens the door to even give them the words and the opportunity to explain the mystery of Jesus Christ].

James 3:13-18
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.

[St. James very clearly demarks the difference between secular wisdom, which when boastful is unspiritual and even demonic, and the gifts of true Wisdom and Understanding, which is constant and sows peace].

Worldly Wisdom

Sirach 10:1,3
A wise magistrate lends stability to his people, and the government of a prudent man is well ordered
A wanton king destroys his people, but a city grows through the wisdom of its princes.

Sirach 8:9
Reject not the tradition of old men which they have learned from their fathers;
From it you will obtain the knowledge how to answer in time of need.

Ecclesiastes 1:18
For in much [worldly] wisdom there is much sorrow, and he who stores up [worldly] knowledge stores up grief.

Jeremiah 4:22
Fools my people are, they know me not;
Senseless children they are, having no understanding;
They are wise in evil, but know not how to do good.

1 Corinthians 2:19-20, 22

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning of the learned I will set aside.”
Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for [worldly] wisdom.

1 Corinthians 3:18-20
Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:
“He catches the wise in their own ruses,” and again:
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

Wisdom of God

Daniel 5:10-11
When the queen heard of the discussion between the king and his lords, she entered the banquet hall and said, “O king, live forever! Be not troubled in mind, nor look so pale! There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy God; during the lifetime of your father he was seen to have brilliant knowledge and god-like wisdom.”

Proverbs 3:19-20
The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, established the heavens by understanding;
By his knowledge the depths break open, and the clouds drop down dew.

[While Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge are, to humans, gifts that they receive from the Holy Spirit, to God Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge are three of the “tools” that he uses to perform his will, such as in the Act of Creation. This is a very rich but very difficult proverb to fully comprehend. Think of it like this analogy: Wisdom is like the clay that God used to shape the planet earth, while Understanding is the pen that God uses to write the heavens and the stars into existence, and Knowledge is like a motion that God makes in order to start processes on earth, such as the floating of clouds, the falling of rain, the settling of dew].

Romans 11:33-35
Oh, the depth of riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?”

Ephesians 3: 8-10
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.

[St. Paul here understands that he is given grace not to comprehend God’s own Wisdom, but to have a role in unfolding the plan that God has which springs from God’s Wisdom. That is what he means when he says that the wisdom of God “might now be made known” in earth and in the heavens… not that St. Paul is revealing God’s mysterious Wisdom, but that heaven and earth can witness that he is doing his part in the fulfillment of God’s mysterious Wisdom, unrevealed in total as it is, by preaching the revealed riches of Christ to the Gentiles.]


Wisdom of Christ

Colossians 2: 2-3
That their hearts may be encouraged as they are brought together in love, to have all the richness of fully assured understanding, for the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

[St. Paul explains through this image that Jesus Christ is like the Wisdom of God that is in solid form and perceivable to human eyes, like an actual earthly treasure. One can see Christ and thus perceive the covering of the treasure of God’s Wisdom and Knowledge. St. Paul is saying that one can have-and indeed even be assured of-having God’s gifts of Understanding, Knowledge and Wisdom if one follows Christ, because hidden in Christ are those things that may otherwise be out of reach when one tries to comprehend them within God himself].


Isaiah 11:2
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a sprit of wisdom and understanding,
A sprit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.

[The great prophet Isaiah, who prophesies the coming of the Messiah, Emmanuel, explains that the Holy Spirit will rest directly upon Emmanuel, conferring on him the gifts of God. Notice that five of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed here in this one place: Fear of the Lord, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel and Knowledge. Fortitude is implied by “strength” and Piety is implied by the emphasis on Fear of the Lord, which will be the Messiah’s “delight.”]

[See, Catholic doctrine is not just pulled out of someone’s hat. When Catholic doctrine proclaims the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that is drawn from centuries of prayerful study of the actual scriptures not made up by a bunch of Councils and Popes who have nothing else to do!]

Matthew 13:54
He [Jesus] came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?”


1 Corinthians 1:30
It is due to him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

[Again, St. Paul explains that Jesus becomes the personification of the Wisdom of God, so that the Wisdom of God that is inaccessible to humankind can be seen and touched, understood and followed because it not only resides in Jesus Christ, but he is the walking manifestation of the component of God’s Wisdom that pertains to God’s will regarding the ministry of the Messiah. That is why St. Paul also explains that Jesus Christ is also the actual living manifestation of God given righteousness, sanctification and redemption. These are the authorities that render Jesus to be judge, sacred of God, and provider of salvation. In other words, if you could take four “things” that only God can provide, and which are invisible and impossible to understand, God has willed those four things, Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption, become solid and perceivable in the personage of Jesus Christ].

7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (7) Wisdom

The ultimate gift of the Holy Spirit is “Wisdom.” It is the ultimate gift because one cannot receive the gift of Wisdom without having at least a “beginner’s level” of the other six gifts of the Holy Spirit: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge, Fortitude, Counsel and Understanding. I use the term “beginner’s level” to remind you that one does not have to have perfect grasp of every gift all at once and that would be an impossible goal because spiritual learning, like secular learning, takes place throughout life. In learning mathematics, for example, one first learns how to count, how to perform the arithmetic operations, then to understand fractions and formulas, how to solve for unknowns, and then to learn advanced branches of mathematics, such as algebra, geometry and calculus. So the progress of receiving each of the six gifts that we have already discussed is, spiritually, just like the analogy of learning mathematics in steps and pieces throughout one’s educational life. Bible study, which is part of the gift of Knowledge, is an easy to understand example of these steps in the progress of learning. A child will learn certain facts from the Bible, and as he or she ages, they not only comprehend more complex spiritual lessons but they also relate to the circumstances of those who lived in Biblical times, as the child grows and encounters the challenges of life. Therefore one’s Knowledge grows both as the amount that one learns, spiritually, increases over time and study, but also how one interprets and applies the Knowledge in the worship of and service to God over time and in different phases of one’s life.

The gift of Wisdom is like the other six gifts in one respect, and totally different from them in another important respect. Wisdom is like the other gifts in that it too is gained in steps and phases, throughout one’s life. Where the gift of Wisdom differs is that it is not a “standalone” gift like the other six gifts; it exists only as a synthesis of all the previous gifts that then gives birth, so to speak, to a new entity. Thus to compare, one can have “Fear of the Lord” as a gift, and nothing else. However, one cannot have “Wisdom” without having received all of the previous gifts, in some degree, the gifts having interacted with each other, and a new fruit being born of that interaction. To express it like a formula, using our mathematical analogy, one can only say that L+P+K+F+C+U=[W], where W cannot exist of its own unless one has some quantity of L, P, K, F, C, and U, and add them together. Further, W is not simply the sum total of its parts, but a new entity, a new type of gift that has come into being, thus it is [W] and not W. It is like baking bread or cake, where the result is different than just a bowl containing all of the raw ingredients.

This is why the gift of Wisdom is difficult to describe and comprehend, and sometimes is very difficult to authentically recognize. Many modern people hasten to call themselves or each other “wise,” yet rarer are they accurate. Often people equate being “wise” to being inventive, smart, clever, ingenious, or possessing ‘secret’ or ‘arcane’ ‘knowledge.’ Other people think that wise people possess large amounts of facts and trivia. Yet other people think that those who “chill out” and are “detached” and “easy going” are therefore “wise,” because they think these people are “above” and “superior to” the problems and issues of everyday life. All of these definitions are wrong, both when discussing genuine secular wisdom, and most certainly when trying to comprehend the gift from the Holy Spirit of Wisdom.

In its simplest form, sometimes Wisdom is not even obviously detectable in the “average person” who possesses Wisdom. Their own family, friends and acquaintances may not even realize that this person has the gifts of the Holy Spirit, culminating in Wisdom. This is because the gifts of the Holy Spirit are first and foremost about one’s relationship with God, and with one’s self, and that is often a beautiful quality that is totally internal, and not easily visible to secular eyes. Most wise people through the ages were not even recognized as being in the continual state of “wisdom,” as if it were their job, or their demeanor. The Bible has many examples of people who lead ordinary lives, but then step forward in a time of crisis to speak in wisdom and guidance one time and one time only, and then they return to their ordinary lives. Wisdom is like that in its simplest and most common form. That type of person has “Wisdom” as an invisible crown of their ongoing relationship with God, and with their own internal goodness and authenticity, and perhaps only once or twice does that crown of Wisdom glitter in public for others to see (and people are often surprised when it does).

You used to see that quite a bit with traditional good grandparents. Their children and their grandchildren may think that they are good and loving people, but products of an unsophisticated and simpler time. Then suddenly there is a family crisis, and who says the most amazing and supportive, wise thing? Grandmother or grandfather is the one. The very people who are assumed not to understand some modern complex dilemma suddenly show comprehension, perspective, compassion and wisdom, and their family is amazed. In Biblical times that was expected; it is only in modern times that interior and quiet genuine Wisdom remains so unrecognized and thus a surprise when it manifests. Part of the reason that genuine Wisdom has become so unidentified and misunderstood in modern times is that education and/or the alternative “street smarts” are viewed as the ways of becoming wise. However, remember that for most of human history schools for the general populace did not exist, and many did not even know how to read or write, and they certainly did not go looking for “the school of hard knocks” or “street credibility.” Yet there were many people with the genuine gift of Wisdom throughout history, received as a result of their relationship with God, and not due to either their education or their variety of behavioral experiences.

Biblically one looks to King Solomon as the role model of having the gift of Wisdom, since it is not something that he achieved for himself, but that he openly received from God. Much of the verbal and written manifestations of his gift of Wisdom are preserved in the scripture. But King Solomon is important to understand in order to also remember that the gift of Wisdom is not the conferring of perfection on a human, which is, of course, impossible. This is why the complete story of King Solomon is preserved in the scripture, and not just the flaw free summary of his life. Despite having so much God given Wisdom, King Solomon committed an egregious and stupid error toward the end of his life, where he allowed his lust for many wives to lead him into idolatry. King Solomon turned from the very God who gave him everything, and built places of worship for the false gods of his pagan wives. This does not mean that King Solomon did not have an unprecedented and unmatched amount of Wisdom after all. What it demonstrates is that even with Wisdom, humans remain humans, with flaws and potential for great falls. Having received large quantities of the gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom, one must guard against believing either consciously or unconsciously that one actually now possesses the qualities and content of divine Wisdom itself. No one was wiser than King Solomon, but no one demonstrates more clearly how far one can fall when one confuses that one receives the gift of Wisdom, one does not manufacture the gift of Wisdom one’s self.

I must address one serious New Age pagan belief that is another example of great error in comprehending genuine Wisdom. Many pagans and New Ager’s say that they believe and even “access” some imaginary repository of “books” and “wisdom” in heaven. They actually claim that divine Wisdom is kept in a format that they can psychically access. That is ridiculous, to put it mildly. The Wisdom of the Holy Spirit is not a quantity of substance that resides in one place to tap. As I have explained above, Wisdom is the sum total of the receipt and use of the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, which then interact in real life circumstances in order to produce a unique gift of Wisdom, like a date on a palm tree that grows and is eaten just one time. In order to eat a date, one must plant a real seed in a place in real earth, water and protect the tree, wait for it to grow to maturity, wait for the first crop of dates, pluck one date and eat it. One does not reach into some imaginary place in heaven where all the dates are “stored” and thus have “access” via “shortcut” to Wisdom. The Holy Spirit is Wisdom; the Holy Spirit is not the guardian of a place where Wisdom is “stored.”

How, then, can one recognize a person with the genuine gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom? Look again for a moment at the analogy of the wise person who desires to eat a date, and so he or she knows the steps it takes over the years to grow the tree that will produce the date. Just because that person is wise in the way it takes to grow a date over the year, that same person may not be as successful in being wise in the way of, let’s say, raising a sheep. Most people demonstrate and utilize the gift of Wisdom in one or a few parts of their life, one could say that each person who receives Wisdom tends to “specialize” in how they receive and use the gift of Wisdom. This is easy to understand when one remembers that every person is unique and has their own path toward God. Thus, each person receives and uses and in a sense translates the previous six gifts of the Holy Spirit in different ways in their lives.

For example, I explained in that post that Knowledge is comprised of the facts that one needs to worship and to serve God. If you look at any two pious people, you will see that each is unique in receipt of the gift of Knowledge. Some feel a calling toward worship, having rich prayer lives, and that is how they use the gift of Knowledge. Others have a great call to service, and they use the gift of Knowledge in support of that relationship to God, through charity and love of neighbor. It is like a great tree limb called Knowledge has many branches, and each person follows the branch that reflects their unique and individual relationship to God. You can see that in the Catholic faith by looking at a religious, let’s say a member of a contemplative order, who uses what they have learned about the Catholic faith to devote him or her self to a life of prayer to God on behalf of the world. Another Catholic learns the exact same faith, attends the same liturgy and Mass, and lives in the secular world, and participates in “hands on” charitable endeavors. Both have received the gift of Knowledge of the Holy Spirit, and both accepted the gift of Knowledge and internalized it, making it real in their very different lives, but in service to the same God.

Years later one can see that if all progresses well in their lives, they have crowned the prior gifts of the Holy Spirit with receiving the gift of Wisdom. But you understand that the gift of Wisdom is unique to the religious who belongs to the contemplative order and unique to the secular world Catholic who is devoted to charitable causes. Each has born a fruit as a result of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and so one’s Wisdom may be like the date, while the other person’s might be like the sheep. The religious may have become very wise in how to develop and maintain the faithful flock, not only among one’s fellow religious, but on behalf of the exterior world. A journalist who interviews each might find the contemplative religious to be ignorant of or “naïve” (and thus not “wise”) about current events in the world. Yet an offhand remark by the journalist, perhaps on the subject of loss of faith, on his or her way out the door might elicit a response from the religious that stops the journalist in his or her tracks, as the religious now reveals their Wisdom. Likewise that journalist may interview the secular world living Catholic and see that him or her kind of bumbles through explaining their own faith, causing the journalist to think, “Typical Christian, they believe only because they are simple and easily led.” Yet then the journalist says something that stirs the secular world living Catholic and he or she answers with something that is so wise about understanding human nature. It is like he or she produces one of the dates from a tree he or she has grown over twenty years. Thus you can see that our two example Catholics have developed the gift of Wisdom as fruit that grew on the differing branches of their unique lives, or as a lamb that has become the patriarch of a growing flock.

This is why the gift of Wisdom can be understood as a lifelong process, but one must not assume that only the older and more experienced have wisdom. Young people who cultivate their relationship with God often receive a gift of Wisdom at an early age. Notice that I say “a” gift of Wisdom. In other words, one is continually offered individual infusions of the grace of Wisdom, and one does not have to be old or experienced to accept one or more of the infusions of Wisdom. The obvious examples of this are the child saints throughout history, those who not only believed (Fear of the Lord, Piety, and Knowledge) but whom then cultivated and accepted Fortitude, Counsel and Understanding while young in their years, and thus receive a crown of Wisdom. Many saints entered holy orders as young teenagers, and had amazing capacity for the gift of Wisdom by their twenties and their thirties. I’m not saying that one must enter holy orders or be a saint to receive Wisdom; far from it, as my purpose in this series is to explain how everyone is continually offered the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including Wisdom. I mention the young saints only to remind people that there are factual role models for you to observe and understand that the gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom is, unlike secular “being wise,” is not as dependent on “age and experience” and, instead, often flows very pure and quickly to the young.

Another common misunderstanding about the gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom is to think that it is revealed by winning a round of “dueling scripture quoting.” We all know that many people think that their faith and their “wisdom” is defined by not only how much they can quote scripture, but if they can use scripture to “defeat” someone of another denomination, especially if he or she disagrees with him or her. Those people come away from a session of “dueling scripture quoting” feeling that they are “wiser” than the other person. The media, and special interest groups, have glommed onto that assumption, both to support those who define their faith by “dueling scripture quoting,” and, contrarily, to attempt to defeat the scripture quoters in turn by challenging on a secular basis the validity of what is in scripture (gay marriage advocates, for example, even the not so wise Jack Black has donned a Jesus costume and gotten in on that game). So let’s look at this problem one step at a time.

First of all, reading and quoting the scripture is not a gift of Wisdom: it is the gift of Knowledge. Knowledge includes the facts of one’s worship of and service to God, and thus reading the scripture and memorizing parts that resonate for you are examples of the gift of Knowledge. Specifically, bible reading and quoting are not the gift of the Holy Spirit of Knowledge so much as the desire to do so it the actual gift. The Holy Spirit is not putting into your mind what you are reading; the Holy Spirit is guiding you to acquiring the Knowledge that best serves you in believing. Thus, some people are best served by reading the Bible, while others are best served by listening to a sermon. That is another example of how the gift of the Holy Spirit of Knowledge varies from person to person according to that person’s unique path toward God. So it is an uncharitable error to assume that because you rejoice in reading and quoting scripture that someone who finds their faith in attending the Liturgy of the Mass (and hearing three Bible readings a day there) is in receipt of less Knowledge (and certainly not Wisdom) than you.

Second, the example of reading and quoting scripture actually encompasses three gifts of the Holy Spirit in progression: first Knowledge, then Understanding, and finally Wisdom. First one desires to know the word of God, and to repeat it to others. Second one gains depth of understanding of what that word of God means, particularly in application to one’s life. Third one gains Wisdom from knowledge of and quoting of the scripture, but do not jump to a conclusion about how that Wisdom appears. For example, suppose that you are counseling someone with a particular problem. You may feel “moved” to quote scripture to them. However, there are times that a quote of scripture is not what the counseled person needs for their particular problem. Wisdom means discerning what is the truth and how to best live within it and respond to it. To be blunt, let us look at the example of the gay marriage controversy. I am not saying that you should not express your faith through scripture quoting, but you must always recall charity and the context within which you are having a dialogue with someone of differing opinion. A person with true Wisdom will recognize the times that the gay marriage advocate is not helped in their understanding through scripture quoting, especially if you are in a counseling context. A person with true Wisdom will have alternative offerings that are authentic to their beliefs, but more helpful to the person with whom one is dialoguing. The classic example is being “a good listener.” There are times it is better to hold one’s peace and demonstrate charity, rather than scripture quoting. Remember that God and the Savior Jesus Christ draw people gently to them, not through the club of dueling scripture quoting.

If I may mention someone who I believe demonstrates his knowledge and love of scripture in a way of Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom, it is the Reverend Billy Graham. I am referring to his daily advice column “My Answer,” the link to which I have on this blog. Most of the Reverend Graham’s columns contain scripture quotes, but they support and encourage the compassionate and wise advice that he gives. He uses the scripture quotations as the well placed and essential seasoning of salt, not to bonk the person on the head with a boulder made of salt. The Reverend Billy Graham is a careful listener and thinker, and he responds with scripture where and when he feels it aids in the purpose of the dialogue, not to demonstrate his prowess. I have not met him in person, so I can only guess here, but I would suspect that if you asked him about what I have just said, he will tell you that he learned and improved over the years of his ministry in this Wisdom of discerning what a particular soul needs to hear from him in a given time and place. This is why I’ve always been an unabashed fan of his even though I’m one of those Papists, ha.

It is Wisdom that has kept me silent sometimes when others have tried to draw me out in games such as dueling scripture quoting. This is because I discerned that there was hidden agenda afoot, and to participate would not be beneficial to the soul of the instigator. Remember, there were times when Jesus himself remained silent. If Jesus did not feel the need to demonstrate being “smarter” or more “versed” than others, why should I, or anyone else? In fact, Jesus repeatedly warned against the hypocrisy of those who glory in their own “wisdom” and “piety.” Jesus knew with perfection, as only the Savior could, when the people needed to hear quotation from Torah or the prophets, when they would most benefit from a parable, and when they needed a pointblank miracle or cure, or when they needed homespun advice. (As a Bible exercise, think about that when you next read the Bible, and notice when Jesus uses those different modes of dialogue).

Wisdom as a gift of the Holy Spirit, thus, is best defined and understood as the recognition and utilization of truth and faith. Wisdom means that the one who has received this gift discerns the essential truth of matters, and the most appropriate application of faith, for not only themselves but others. This understanding sheds further light on the gift of Counsel. When one receives the gift of Counsel, one is receiving counsel from God, through the Holy Spirit. When one receives the gift of Wisdom, one is able to be a wise counselor to others. In other words, receiving the gift of the Holy Sprit of Counsel does not make YOU a counselor in turn. The gift of Counsel means that you are being counseled and consoled through the Holy Spirit. The gift of Wisdom does not mean that you now possess God’s Wisdom but you have received the ability to be the wise and faithful counselor to fellow humans, using the synthesis of the Counsel and other gifts that you yourself have received. When you receive the gift of Counsel, it is then that you are receiving the benefit of God’s wisdom. When you receive the gift of Wisdom, you are not receiving “a piece of God’s wisdom.” When you receive the gift of Wisdom you are developing your own fruit of Wisdom as a result of all of the previous gifts, and thus you can be a wise counselor to others.

As I pointed out, those who truly have the gift of Wisdom do not become professional or amateur “wise people.” In fact, in most people, as I explained before, Wisdom, like the other gifts, develop and flourish internally, often totally hidden from view. The point of the crown of Wisdom is not to be a visible smarty pants, but to receive the fruits of one’s own continual cultivation of one’s experience and relationship with God. Having thus cultivated and received those fruits one who truly has the gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom can give visible counsel to others with confidence of both the truth and the charity of one’s perception.

Do not forget that even the most impressive and formidable gift of Wisdom to an individual human is only the tiniest of a strand of the immeasurable and all-knowing wisdom of God himself. One cannot comprehend, to say nothing of possess, even the tiniest amount of the wisdom of God if one cannot, for example, comprehend God’s realm where time, matter and energy do not exist. All of human talents and abilities are confined by their existing within time, matter and energy, and thus one cannot have the context for God’s wisdom at all. God helps humans to cultivate their own wisdom, since the wisdom of God cannot be transferred to the human mind and its frame of context. If you think about it, all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are, like all true gifts, “one way.” God gives each of these gifts to humans and gets, strictly speaking, “nothing in return.” That is because they are genuine gifts meant for one’s well being and joy as one lives a corporeal and limited life in the universe of time, matter and energy. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to humans so that they, humans, can live better, love deeper, endure the sadness and limitations of life, understand more clearly, and come to know God.

There is nothing that you can give to God in return for these gifts, except for two things. One is to return in kind to God the love that God has given you. The second is to do only goodness for others, your “neighbors,” as by that you are helping and loving fellow children of God, and that pleases him deeply. Remember, though, that what you do for others must be properly discerned so as not to lead them away from God. Giving someone luxuries as a way to only tie them more to love of material goods rather than to God is not genuine charity. For example, one may think that one is helping an impoverished family by providing a job pleases God, but if the cost of that job is that the family is broken up over long distances and time and exposed to temptation, that is not use of Wisdom or charity. By this I mean, you can look at the problem of immigrants who leave their families behind in impoverished countries in order to seek work. I know many think that they are providing a charity to those individuals when they give them a job, so they can send funds home. However, when one has Wisdom, one can discern all of the implications, including that of families who have children who grow up without their fathers and their mothers, often for years. When one has Wisdom one is truly able to discern the best forms of charity that are both best for the person and that also pleases God by supporting, rather than challenging, the virtue of the people you are trying to help. When one has genuine Wisdom one can discern what is good for a person’s soul in addition to what is good for their body.

That is what I mean when I say that Wisdom is recognition of the truth. The truth is different from being a collection of avowedly accurate facts. Truth is a realistic appraisal of not only how things actually are, but what the vast potentialities of future actions are and should be. Poverty and the amount of a paycheck are facts, for example, but they are not complete understandings of the truth. If a young boy desperately needs his father, because he is growing up among gangs, the fact of his income and that you have given the father a high paying job one thousand miles away is not expression of the truth. Someone with that particular form of Wisdom can discern when providing a lesser income to the poor and keeping the family intact is better than providing a higher income but breaking up the family. This is another example of how I explained that facts are a part of the gift of Knowledge, but one must then receive the gift of Understanding of the facts, and then the gift of Wisdom, which is to discern the truth of things.

This is what Jesus meant when he said that he is “The Way, the Truth and the Life.” When Jesus states that he is the Truth, he did not mean that his is “the facts.” Truth means that Jesus is perfect Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom. There is a popular modern expression that “Jesus would know what to do,” and that expression is correct, Jesus does know what to do. By being overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, Jesus contained within himself perfect and complete graces of all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Jesus was born already containing the fullness of all possible Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge, Fortitude, Counsel, Understanding and Wisdom. When the scripture notes that Jesus “grew in wisdom” those who made that observation meant secular wisdom, the wisdom they could see. Jesus himself, however, while he lived within the natural boundaries and growth of a human body and mind, he also simultaneously already was in possession of, internally, the complete gifts of the Holy Spirit. Unlike all other humans, Jesus did not iteratively receive, cultivate and develop over time the gifts of the Holy Spirit; he at the moment of conception had them all in their fullness and completion. As Son of Man Jesus could learn how to read and write, like other little boys and girls of his age. As Son of God through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born knowing why and how reading and writing as abilities even exist, and how those talents fit into God’s eternal plan, just to give you an example to which you can more easily understand and relate. So on the one hand, Jesus could learn as a child how to read and write, while on the other hand, if someone had ever thought to ask him, “Jesus, why do the abilities to read and write even exist?” Jesus could answer him their role in God’s plan. As another example, as a human, Jesus could both not know until he is told that his friend Lazarus has died, but also be born fully knowing how death is part of what God’s plan is, and what heaven looks like since he, of course, was there before he was conceived and born into the tabernacle of Mary’s body.

Thus, as great and praiseworthy as the achievement of receiving and cultivating the gifts of the Holy Spirit by any human may be and is, you can now better understand what great gifts and what small “implementations” they are for any one human, no matter how great is he or she. No one but Jesus has ever had, or will have, full infusions (in his case from the moment of conception) of the perfection of the graces of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now, I am not saying this to discourage anyone but instead to point out several beneficial truths. One is that one never fails by looking to Jesus as he really was (and not how modern agendas dictate) as the perfect role model for the perfection of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When one remains focused on Jesus, one is less likely to go astray in cultivating a particular gift of the Holy Spirit. For example, one can, if one is working on improving one’s use of the gift of Piety, look to the actual examples of Jesus and receive some assistance. Second, I am trying to bolster and add to one’s motivation and vigor to convert, renew and cultivate one’s faith and understanding of God, by showing you the wonder and joy that the gifts of the Holy Spirit offer.

I hope that you have found this helpful.

7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (3a) Bible citations

Here is a selection of Bible passages regarding the gift of the Holy Spirit "Knowledge." The first citation does not mention knowledge, but lists some of the formats of spiritual knowledge, such as law, decree and precepts. Notice the mention of "Fear of the Lord." This demonstrates once again the constancy of the need for that gift to be the basis of all of the other gifts.

Psalms 19:8-12
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The statues of the Lord are true, all of them just;
More desirable than gold, than a hoard of purest gold,
Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.
By them your servant is instructed; obeying them brings much reward.

Proverbs 8:10
Receive my instruction in preference to silver,
And knowledge rather than choice gold.

Proverbs 9:10
The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord,
And knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

[This proverb is structured so that the reader understands that "Wisdom" is the highest gift, the culmination of the "intellectual gifts" followed by "Understanding" and "Knowledge." One has to first start with "Knowledge" about God, which leads to "Understanding," which then leads to "Wisdom."]

Proverbs 12:1
He who loves correction loves knowledge,
But he who hates reproof is stupid.

Proverbs 19:2
Without knowledge even zeal is not good; and he who acts hastily, blunders.

[This proverb is an essential reminder that it is worse to be a zealot for God and go charging off in arrogance in his name without having any of the true "Knowledge" given by the Holy Spirit than it is to have the true "Knowledge" and appear to the zealot to be "lukewarm" in your faith. The zealot blunders and does much damage based on lack of the gift of "Knowledge," that authentically only comes from the Holy Spirit.]

Proverbs 21:11
When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are wiser;
When the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.

[Many of the proverbs are phrased in thought stimulating ways. This one is saying that simple people who lack an education or much understanding understand role models, including negative ones, very clearly. So when simple people see an arrogant man punished for his arrogance, they have an infusion of "Wisdom" because they immediately comprehend the overall pattern and spiritual lesson. The next line is not a contrast to the first, but another perspective of how knowledge is gained. Here the holy author is observing that a man who already has "Wisdom" can still gain "Knowledge" by instruction, having no need for the role modeling since he already has "Wisdom." There is a lot in the Bible that is instructive in observing and comprehending everyday human nature in addition to the spiritual].

Ecclesiastes 1: 12-18
I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I applied my mind to search and investigate in wisdom all things that are done under the sun.
A thankless task God has appointed for men to be busied about.
I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after the wind.
What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is missing cannot be supplied.
Though I said to myself, “Behold, I have become great and stored up wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has broad experience of wisdom and knowledge”; yet when I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I learned that this also is a chase after wind.
For in much wisdom there is much sorrow, and he who stores up knowledge stores up grief.

[Despite his self identification, we do not know who is the author of this book of wisdom because Qoheleth is a pen name, a literary name, meaning “one who convokes an assembly.” However this is a valuable citation on the subject of knowledge because this divinely inspired learned man warns that the search for secular knowledge (“under the sun” means earthly human knowledge in comparison to heavenly or Holy Spirit provided knowledge) sometimes brings a lot of unhappiness. This is as I discussed with St. Paul’s observations in the previous posting that true knowledge is spiritual, while much of secular human knowledge leads to temptation and the seamy sides of life. This is what this author is describing that he experienced when he made it his calling to seek out human based “wisdom” and “knowledge” and ended up storing a lot of grief. When one goes looking just for human based knowledge, one sees a lot of human behavior that they wish they had not seen, and also, as we see today in modern times, there are slippery ethics slopes, seeking knowledge that is based in technology and power over life and death that gradually becomes a grief filled burden rather than a blessing.]

Wisdom 1:16, 2:13
It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it, and made a covenant with it, because they deserve to be in its possession… [who]… professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the Lord.

[In a long list of the attributes of the wicked, the learned sage who is the unknown author of this book mentions that one of the things that the wicked claim is that they have “knowledge of God.” This is yet another warning to discern between true “Knowledge” that is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the many false prophets and secularists who claim to have “knowledge of God” through wicked or occult means].

Wisdom 7:17
[God’s true wisdom] For he gave me sound knowledge of existing things, that I might know the organization of the universe and the force of its elements.

Sirach 3:24
Where the pupil of the eye is missing, there is no light, and where there is no knowledge there is no wisdom.

[The author, Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach, a sage who lived in Jerusalem, is explaining here that one must be humble to achieve wisdom and enlightenment because one must start with gaining true knowledge before one can be wise. Knowledge is like the pupil of the eye that gathers together the law and the facts in order to shed light on a matter, and thus be part of gained wisdom. This is yet another Biblical reference that shows knowledge to be the lowest and essential foundation of what will later be wisdom and understanding.]