7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: (5) Counsel

When you have at least a moderate receptivity to having received and understood the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit of Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude, you can now anticipate and understand use of the gift of Counsel. Counsel is not the giving of advice in and of itself, although receiving advice is part of receiving counsel. True counsel, however, is having an ongoing relationship with a colleague who has wisdom that he or she imparts to you. So you can think of Counsel as having access to the transmission to you of Wisdom. So to have the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel means that you have an ongoing relationship with God where, through the Holy Spirit, you benefit from consultation with his Wisdom.

This is the difference between obtaining true “advice” from God and false “advice” through the use of occult means. When you read in the Bible and the Qur’an about the ancient Prophets, they did not receive Counsel from God without first having: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude. Pagans believe that they can “skip” right to the obtaining of “advice” without first having a relationship with the one true God as evidenced by accepting and understanding the first gifts of the Holy Spirit: Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude. Pagans believe that they can personally invoke and “interpret” the advice or the prognostication of supernatural powers or some of the divinities by performing occult rituals, and that only they have access through their arcane knowledge or “gifts” of advice or fortunetelling. It is one of the hallmarks of false prophets, and one sure way to “spot” them, that they believe that only those inducted into their methods receive Counsel from God. In other words, it never occurs to them that the Bible reading “simpleton” who not only reads the Bible but has cultivated a humble relationship with God is receiving more true Counsel that they are, through the Holy Spirit, who loves and guides all people, particularly the pious and the humble in the eyes of God.

To understand Counsel, look at the great Kings of the Israelites, such as David. David had a personal and direct relationship with God, one that is totally unique, yet he understood that he had to surround himself with wise counselors of the government, military and priesthood. To have Counsel in the earthly setting means that you have a circle of wise friends, family and colleagues who have an ongoing relationship with you, where you can discuss all that is going on. When one receives the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel, you are “adding to your counselors” the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not replace human counsel, and is not “summoned” to “answer questions” anymore than your valued counselors are kept far away, only to be summoned to answer “yes or no” to your problems. Through the gift of Counsel the Holy Spirit is a quiet and gentle continuing presence that brings the Wisdom of God as a contribution to your overall living of your life and your quiet consultations of God.

Counsel from the Holy Spirit is not dramatic, and does not provide “new” revelation. Nothing that truly comes from God contradicts or changes what has gone before and is in the scripture. Counsel from the Holy Spirit is, in fact, very rarely prophecy at all. Counsel from the Holy Spirit can be likened to the wisest and quietest counselor of the King, who sits while the other counselors debate alternative courses of action in front of the King. Once in a while the King will glance at the wise old counselor, who is observing silently, and notice that he will convey in a look what he thinks of the person now speaking. When one prays for Counsel from the Holy Spirit, that is often what you receive, a slight “eye roll” when you think about one of your courses of action, a slight nod of approval when you think of another, but not in a prognosticating way. Rather, the Holy Spirit Counsels you to understand what you are hearing with your own ears, and seeing with your own eyes, and see the evidence of results in your own hands, and thus understand how to discern a situation within the context of God’s ongoing will. By God’s “ongoing will” I mean, again, that God is not prophesying or making a decision for you, but you are making your own decision while firmly grounded and comprehending God’s ongoing will and greater plan, for not only you but also the community of the faithful and the entire world. This is why the gifts of Knowledge and Fortitude are prerequisite to actually receiving the gift of Counsel. One must have the facts of God, how to worship and serve him, through Knowledge, and one must have trust and the ability to endure through Fortitude, before one can receive and comprehend God’s Counsel.

Impatience, which is lack of Fortitude, tempts one to seek Counsel as I’ve described above, an occult tool, to answer “What will happen” and “What should I do?” That is why Fortitude that is grounded in Fear of the Lord, Piety and Knowledge is a prerequisite to receiving the genuine gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit. Trust in God, which is the basis of Fortitude, allows one to understand that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit walks with you at all times, rather than having to be “summoned” as an “advice giver” or “fortune teller.” Genuine patience and trust in God prevents one huge temptation, which is to start to think of life as a string of supernatural “yes and no” decisions and occurrences. That is a mistake of pagan and now “New Age” “thinking.” The Bible is about a book of living, of ongoing life, not a “how to” of a string of decisions, with life being meaningless filler in between supernatural or “destined” events.

The true and genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always with you, although obviously, when in quiet prayer, you might be more conscious of the Holy Spirit’s presence. That does not mean that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “works” only when you pray, far from it. Like the wise and quiet counselor in the analogy of the King’s circle, the Holy Spirit’s Counsel is quietly there, and is reassurance that there is no part of life that has a monopoly on God’s benevolent attention. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is just as available and present to the poor person as he or she works in the rice paddy as it is to you when you have to make a difficult decision regarding an investment, or how to deal with a parental situation. Be clear in understanding, though, that the Counsel of the Holy Spirit does not make you wise. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit allows you to benefit from God’s Wisdom. The actual gift of the Holy Spirit of Wisdom comes only to those who have received, acknowledged and comprehended all of the previous six gifts, one of which will be the topic of the next blog post on this subject. You see, this is another problem with occult thinking, where they believe that their prognostications and receipt of “answers” makes them personally wise, or that they are “tapping” or “channeling” some universal databank of supposed wisdom. That is not true. Genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit is always received only in the context of living a true one God centered normal life. True Counsel of the Holy Spirit is not about “what will happen” but how to live in the present, with a mind to the future of eternal life, a good life, in other words, a life that is filled with goodness and seeks the goodness of God for self and neighbor.

For example, as a friend, an intimate, a confident, a colleague and a boss, many people in my personal and professional life have noticed that sometimes when they pitch an idea to me I respond with a neutral “Mmmm.” That is sometimes very frustrating to them, LOL! I have never done it consciously; that is my genuine response to hearing what is being said. They have asked me, is that an “Mmmm” or an “mmmM,” trying to discern even a tendency toward approval or disapproval! At those times it is genuinely neither, and even an atomic scale would not detect a trend either way, ha. That is because the best I can translate my “Mmmm” is that it means “keep on going.” It means I’ve heard what you’ve said, but a point of sufficient information has not yet been reached to make a decision or to change course. That is often how the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “sounds,” because genuine Counsel is received as an ongoing presence throughout an ongoing coherent life, not one that is parceled into decisions, “destiny” and prognostications. Sometimes the Counsel of the Holy Spirit is, simply, to “keep on going,” (another reason why Fortitude is a prerequisite to comprehending the gift of Counsel). Think of that wise and quiet counselor of the King. If he continues to sit there, with an occasional nod, significant look to you, or a sigh and a look up to heaven, you know that you should “keep on going” and use your own skills of discernment to continue gaining information. That means he is neither agreeing with nor condemning what he hears your other counselors tell you.

How is one way to hear the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in a real situation? A guilty conscience is one way. It is the Counsel of the Holy Spirit when you feel a pang of guilty conscience when you contemplate a course of action that is contrary to the goodness that God has taught one to always pursue. You might say, well, why do some evil people not feel a guilty conscience? Precisely; that answers one’s own question. They no longer have the gift of the Holy Spirit of Counsel. The evaporation of shame or the lack of a guilty conscience when contemplating what is bad and wrong is a warning sign that one either never had or has lost the gift of Counsel of the Holy Spirit. Behind many jokes there is a kernel of truth, and the joke of “Catholic childhood guilt trip” or the “Jewish mother making her child feel guilty” is a sign of genuine and serious contact with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. Parents, nuns or priests who teach children during their spiritual formation to feel some sense of guilt or shame are, in moderation, doing good work, because it is countering the tendency of society to shut down the amber warning lights that guilt or shame provide. When one does not feel some honest guilt or shame in appropriate circumstances this is an example of the wise counselor of the king no longer being in the room. A voice of Counsel of the Holy Spirit is silent when one can contemplate what is wrong without having warning feelings of guilt and/or shame. It is ironic that the freak show society teaches spiritual experimentation to have illusions, revelations and listen to every random narcissistic firing of one’s brain cell on one hand, but teaches silencing and rejection of the loudest and continuous warning of the wise counselor, which are appropriate feelings of guilt and shame.

What is another way that one feels the Counsel of the Holy Spirit in a real situation? Having feelings of interest and affection for fellow humans and one’s “neighbor” is another way one feels the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seeks to constantly intertwine humans in a benevolent way with one another, so that one’s own human circle of counselors is widened, and not narrowed. Genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit teaches humans not to constantly “divine God’s every instruction for every situation,” but to live godly and God based lives among benevolent and wise fellow companions. This is, sadly, another way that “New Age” has ruined genuine Counsel from God. “New Age” “teaches” that people “enter your life” “for a reason,” related to “learning lessons” or “karma.” That is so manipulative, wrong and anti-God and anti-humanity. Everyone is equal companions in the journey of life, and people are supposed to have normal relationships with everyone, not impugn self important motives to people who enter “your” life. Love of neighbor means loving those of your community, whether the literal local community or the broader community of fellow mankind and womankind, the way God loves them, which is as an equal person created in God’s image, and not as a “tool” for occult thinking. So when one feels genuine interest and affection for a neighbor, friend, acquaintance, work colleague or hobby sharer, one is responding to the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, broadening one’s connectivity in a pure and motiveless way among one’s fellow humans who are loved by God.

I know that if I were speaking to a group, this question would be asked, so I will answer it. No, it is not the Counsel of the Holy Spirit if you imagine that the Holy Spirit is “giving you a message” for someone else. That is hubris and lack of understanding of God’s ways. If the Holy Spirit had a “message for someone else” the Holy Spirit would give the message to that someone else directly. However, the Counsel of the Holy Spirit will stir you to compassion and intervention when a fellow human is suffering, is in need or is misguided into sin. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is felt not through “incoming messages” but through the stirring of compassion and ongoing concern for another, where one is encouraged to have a truthful ongoing relationship with that person and to be an ongoing helping hand, not to deliver an “oracle.” There is a world of difference between those two scenarios.

A traditional saying, said in admiration of people who have been remarkably kind, pious, and/or wise is that he or she “walks with God.” This is a folk saying that recognizes someone who emanates through their attitude toward life and their fellow humans that they are walking with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit from God. Again, this is something that “New Age” has ruined, trying to get people to feel that they have “spirit guides” of dead people or so called “angels” and, of course, this is all about their ego rather than being about God and his goodness, and normal human life. A person who “walks with God” is not “channeling spirits,” but is someone who through their receipt, acknowledgement and cultivation of Fear of the Lord, Piety, Knowledge and Fortitude has opened themselves to the continual gift of Counsel from the Holy Spirit. Their Counsel is not in world shaking matters, but as I said, well developed and serene understanding of guilt and shame as a trip wire to warn of bad behavior, and the ability to turn to the Wisdom of God for encouragement and solutions throughout life. Their Counsel is also a genuine egalitarian spirit toward their fellow humans that can only come from God and is rooted in the understanding that all are equal and loved in the eyes of God, even when they seriously stray.

Again, one needs to look no further for the example of walking with God than Jesus Christ, who was constantly with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This is why people constantly commented on the “authority” with which Jesus spoke. No human can ever hope to have the authority of Jesus, who could and did speak for God the Father, but one can see no better role model for how the Counsel of the Holy Spirit “works.” Jesus did not deliver “messages” and “oracles” to individuals. Rather, when challenged by his detractors and sinners he rebuked, but always with the tone of explaining with authority their error and allowing them to view the option of changing themselves.

Jesus always knew “the right thing to say,” to use a modern expression, because of his continual gift of the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This not only means that Jesus spoke correctly, with the authority of God the Father, but also that Jesus always knew what to say, or not say, and when to say it. Jesus would ask a question and then sit in companionable silence when that was best for the situation, or he spoke a parable that moves the hearts and enlightened about God the thousands who listened to him. Jesus was the human embodiment of a man who walked with the visible and continuous Counsel of the Holy Spirit. This is why he continually astonished those who knew that he had not attended years of religious study, starting when he as a child amazed the scholars and holy men in the very Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus was already “role modeling” what a person who walks with the genuine Counsel of the Holy Spirit looks and sounds like.

And while no one can ever hope to be as Jesus, for that is impossible, one can understand how to strive to be a role model in his footsteps by looking at the Apostles and disciples as they received, as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and, in the case of St. Paul, directly from the resurrected Jesus Christ. It is the Counsel of the Holy Spirit who is the helper and consoler when the Apostles and disciples preached and pled their cases in persecution, often providing them with the words with which to speak. (This is another reason that historical-critical Biblical scholars totally miss the point when they analyze the “writing styles” of the New Testament authors, questioning how they could be so literate and erudite, and why they seem to write in a style that is “popular” only “later.” I mean, duh. The Holy Spirit is nothing if not erudite, in every language, in every time, and in every heart and head.) The Holy Spirit knows what they could not know, which are what eyes would someday read their Biblical authorship, and which souls would depend on belief in what they said. That is why the Bible was written “then,” but for all times, and what being “inspired by the Holy Spirit” truly means. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit does not move the pen on scroll like pagan belief in “automatic writing,” but the Counsel of the Holy Spirit provides access to the Wisdom of God, allowing the Bible authors to write the truth of what transpired in a way that future generations can all understand, follow, and find their faith and belief.

Once you understand this, dear readers, you no longer fall for false prophets and their writings, because the ego and delusion of their speech and script become to your ears like the grating of finger nails on a chalk board. Likewise, you can identify right away those authors through the ages (I’m speaking now of literature, not the Bible) who have the Counsel of the Holy Spirit, not because they prophesy and “reveal,” but because they manifest the obvious benefits of having the Counsel of the Holy Spirit. They demonstrate love and fear of God, genuine love of neighbor, and flashes of quiet wisdom and comfort that “hit the spot” (an American expression for a food or beverage that directly and perfectly addresses a hunger or a thirst). When one reads what a person who truly writes with the Counsel of the Holy Spirit writes, you may leave with greater Fear of the Lord (in the way that I have explained, which is not terror) but you also leave with greater love of and confidence in life and humanity itself. That is how it was for those who listened to Jesus. Jesus woke them up and pricked them with genuine concern that they better do what is right and get their souls in shape for God’s final judgment of them, and so Jesus helped those who listened and believed to have the gift of Fear of the Lord, in a time of much complacency and the blaming of sin on the poor, widowed, orphaned and crippled. Do not skip over the parts of the Gospel where Jesus “put the fear of God” into people; that would be most unwise. However, equally Jesus spoke with authority about the goodness of life and how a life lived for God prepares one to receive the blessing of eternal life in God’s presence. Those who truly, therefore, walk with the Counsel of God manifest to all who read and listen the Fear of the Lord and the Knowledge of God.

I’ll conclude this blogging with this thought. The Counsel of the Holy Spirit is far more common than people realize, but it is hidden among the every day lives of the humble, and it is rarer than people think, for many of the so-called “wise” have pyrite in their hands and not the genuine gold of Counsel of the Holy Spirit. I hope that you have found this useful. I love this subject as I love God.

A Christmas meditation

Here is a Christmas mediation, and the subject is the Blessed Virgin Mary. I thought of this analogy for those who are somewhat estranged in their understanding of her, especially those who do not understand the Catholic (and, incidentally Muslim) perspective of her. I thought of an analogy to help understand her and more importantly, God’s perspective of her.



Suppose that you find yourself having to cross, on foot, a hot and dry desert, and you have no supplies. You’ve walked as far as you can without water, and find, to your joy, an oasis with sparkling clear water. You drink your fill, but you are now faced with a stark reality. You have nothing with you to carry some of the water from the spring, and you know that you have far more distance to go, farther than you could possibly last without water. You pray to God asking for help, and you hear him answer. He tells you to look in a nearby small indentation in the rocks. You look and to your joy, there are two large ewers, and while they are large and heavy, you know that you can manage to carry one.

The first ewer is made out of some sort of metal; you do not know what kind. When you remove the lid you find it is already filled. It is packed to the top with an oily ointment that is some type of heavy perfume, or perhaps a medicine. You realize to your dismay that even if you could empty it out, in order to fill with water, that residue of both the metal and the remaining ointment would contaminate your water and perhaps cause you great harm. With a rapidly beating heart and great concern, you turn to the second ewer. You find to your joy it is completely different. It is a pure and empty ewer made completely of clean and transparent heavy glass. You select that ewer, take it to the spring, fill it with the life giving water, and are able to go safely on your way across the desert.

Capitalism/Financial Crisis: ADVICE

As local, state and federal governments and agencies look to their budgets and programs, especially where there is a need to stimulate growth and provide jobs, here is essential advice. (This also applies somewhat to private capitalists, but to a lesser degree, helping more in where you locate facilities and also plan new product).

When you do your program by program examination of what you have and what you propose to do, as part of the review identify the multiple purposes of each program. Do not do this defensively, but do it honestly. Here is an example. I've seen a lot of kind of "arty" programs and projects supported in the past where they are characterized as "revitalizing a neighborhood" or "providing jobs." I'm not bashing arts, but I want to use the example of building a museum to make the point. In the past I've seen local governments decide to invest in some art facility because they hope that it will be a cornerstone of revitalizing a neighborhood, etc. Here's the problem: they "hope." They rarely know. Yet at the same time other essential service programs and other opportunities for revitalization are ignored or starved. This is because "ideals" and "assumptions" cloud the investment and budgetary decision making.

Now, here is where an idea to build a museum (to "revitalize" or to "provide jobs") would be a good idea because it is "multi-purpose." Suppose that it is located in a neighborhood that does not have a Boys and Girls club, strong after school programs, or sports and it INCLUDES in the building of the museum a staffed and safe community center. This way you provide multiple benefits in one decision: 1) you are motivated to locate the theoretical "new museum" in a neighborhood that truly needs the stimulation (even if on the face of it you think, "Huh?" put a museum 'there?') 2) you use the same building and utilities and potentially even the staff for two separate but compatible purposes, to provide art exhibition and to provide a community center that provides real sports, after school programs, and creative activities for the neighborhood's youth, on a large scale, and safely 3) you will get more benefit from infrastructure (road, parking lot, etc) improvements because in all likelihood that area was already deficient 4) you might offset some expense in the long run if educational success of the area is raised and crime is lowered.

Now I know that it's unlikely people are pondering such projects, but keep this in mind for all sorts of projects, such as sports stadiums. I think that people should consider housing a separate but compatible beneficial use for the community (a real one, one that is staffed, secure and is needed, not dedicating an empty room and calling it a "community center") so that great public works projects (including private ones that get tax breaks) are not single purpose. Further, you need to consider "multiple use" in even the types of projects that most are thinking about today, such as public works to improve infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. Use this time to decide if that road or bridge has impact beyond just being safe to drive. In other words, revisit plans and think about if a change in the plans might solve several problems, such as relieve congestion or safety issues, steer motorists toward areas that need the stimulation of more potential customers. Don't feel stuck investing in fixing a road just because it is there, if perhaps the community would prefer a rerouting that supports multiple purpose (restore communities to eliminate commuter traffic going through them, vitalize business sections that are bypassed, have more logical connections using bridges, etc.)

Be honest and have your planners look at each existing or proposed new project with "new eyes" to list the multiple purpose and benefits of each and re-assess and re-prioritize with that perspective and information where it would be advantageous. I hope that you have found this helpful.

marymajor's Advent Calendar: December 6

December 6



Let your Charity reflect upon what I say. Christ, before the Jews were, was already cut out from the mountain. The kingdom of the Jews is the mountain. But the kingdom of the Jews did not fill the whole earth. From there was this stone cut, because from there was the Lord born into this world. But wherefore without hands? Because without the work of man the Virgin brought forth Christ. And now this stone, but without work of hands, was present before the eyes of the Jews. But it was unnoticed. And understandably, for this stone had not yet grown and filled the whole earth; as He made clear in His Kingdom, which is the Church, by which He has filled the whole earth.


- St. Augustine

marymajor's Advent Calendar: December 5

[Note: * exorcisms was, in those days, viewed as part of the benefit of Baptism, which is the rejection of all evil spirits; St. Augustine does not mean actual exorcisms, but the rejection of evil spirits and temptations.]

December 5


Now think about yourselves. You did not exist, and then you were created, and brought to the threshing floor of the Lord, and you were treaded out, by the labor of oxen, that is, by the labor of those who instructed you in the Catholic Faith. When you were being held back as Catechumens, you were being stored in the barn. Then you were enrolled for baptism, and by fastings and exorcisms* you began to be ground into flour. Then you were brought to the water, and you were sprinkled with it, and you were made one (John 17:11). Then, with the coming of the fire of the Holy Ghost you were baked, and you became the bread of the Lord.


- St. Augustine

Who a "psychic" "most admires"

As a follow-up to my previous note about my former best friend. The reason I am so alarmed by the cultists who pull the strings, including of my former best friend, is not because these are harmless kooks who write the daily horoscope columns in newspapers. Here is a quote from one of the key players, a woman "psychic" who I got to know (as much as you can ever get to know these people, who have deeply secret lives, sources of money and agendas) when I was uncover, trying to find out what was going on and why these people were in my life and harming my family. She most admired "the best psychic she knew," a woman who is a "heroin addict in Australia." Wow. I bet heroin addicts "see" lots of things. And they think they are "intellectual," "literate," and "spiritual." YIKES. And you wonder why the world's in such a mess (besides humanity's own inability to avoid chronic sin and self degradation). So this is not a harmless or minor thing.

Story about my former best friend

I think people can learn a little bit about how to avoid their own mistakes by listening to this story. My former best friend's birthday is December 3, and so she automatically crossed my mind, as I wrote out a birthday card for my mother, who is next week. We were best friends for about forty years until our friendship ended, totally. Here is just a few sentences on the subject so that you can avoid making the same mistakes in your life.

We grew up together and I often looked to her mother for the relaxed and unconditional affection that my own mother is far too uptight and angry to ever have had. So we had a particularly deep and trusting friendship even though we were quite unalike in personality. My former best friend is not very modest, and she also does not have a very deep faith. But I loved her as a best friend and would have trusted her with my life.

One thing we laughed about is how she had a perfect sense of direction, except it was the opposite of the correct way. She would insist that the left turn is correct, and it would turn out that the exact opposite, the right turn would be correct. If, when navigating, you did the exact mirror image of what she insisted was correct, you would then find that you went in the correct direction. You just could not let her navigate or hold the map, ever.

Well, it came to my attention some years ago that behavior changes that she showed toward me were not caused by distraction, suffering and stress, as I had compassionately assumed. She had allowed herself to become enmeshed with the cultists who stalked me, allowing herself to be used. Once again she chose the direct opposite of the correct direction. I gave her two chances to admit it and repent, but she denied it all, and so I terminated the relationship, for good. It's alright to choose against me, for some bizarre reason, but it's never alright to do it to fulfill a defiance of God, a disrespect of God, by fulfilling "action steps" by those who work in the direct opposite direction of God's will, refusing to believe in him as he has revealed himself.

Don't have a perfect sense of direction in the opposite direction of what is correct. Further, two wrongs never make a right. If you should have turned "right" and instead turned "left," turning left again does not get you back to the correct place. I lost her son, my godson, too, for that very reason, as he too thinks that many secret left turns equate a correct right turn, instead of understanding that a right turn, having been missed, must be immediately corrected by faithfully backtracking. I often have him in mind when I speak to you, the young readers of my blog, because he was deeply led astray in his secular education, his friendships, the narcissism of the entertainment media (he is a gifted musician), and his lack of upbringing in the faith. So I try to help those who read and who listen to me to avoid those pitfalls, into which he and his mother have fallen and sadly, so many others, despite my pleadings and stern warnings.

God knows, sees all, so if you are treating someone this way, even if they never "know about it," God knows, from the moment it was first a thought in your head and, of course, even before then, since God knows all that each human ever did or will do.