Catechism Lesson #10 - The Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Today we continue our lessons about the teachings of the Catholic Church.In our last lesson we talked about the Holy Spirit and the grace that we receive from prayer, the Sacraments, and from the Holy Eucharist. Today, we're going to talk about the Virtues and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We all have problems or challenges that we have to deal with. We may have issues with school, homework, friends, family, and many other things in this world. The Holy Spirit is there to give you strength and to help you carry your cross.
Here are the questions that I would like you to think about during this lesson.
1. Who sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts?2. What does He fill us with?
3. How does He teach us to love the Father?
4. How does the Holy Spirit change us?
5. What do we have to be willing to do in order for Him to be able to change you?
The Catholic Church leaders put together all the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament around 300 a.d.. They were guided by the Holy Spirit to choose all the books and only the books that make up the Holy Bible. Some people actually think the Bible fell from the sky. It was actually the Catholic Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that gave us the Holy Bible.
First Reading: Romans chapter 8: 14-17.
In our last lesson, I told you that one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit was wind or the Breath of God. God has breathed his life into each one of us to make us his children. I think it's great to be one of God's children. That means that his home in heaven is now open to be our home. Thankfully, we get to enjoy many of the great things here on Earth during our life. There are many beautiful and wonderful things in this life.There are also things that give us hurt and heartache. Those things that are hard for us to deal with are called our crosses. Just like Jesus had to carry that very heavy cross in Jerusalem, you and I have to carry our own crosses every day. I know, your crosses can be very heavy to carry at times. The holy spirit is right there to help you deal with your cross and to help you carry your cross. If you carry your cross and are having a hard time with one of your crosses, take a minute to pray to the Holy Spirit for some extra strength and more faith. He will give you extra strength. When Jesus carried his cross, it was the most beautiful act of love anyone could ever do for you or me. We can also carry our crosses with love for those in our life.
The powers of the Holy Spirit will make your soul stronger. They are like muscles in your soul. The main three powers that we get from the Holy Spirit are faith, hope, and charity. These are called the Three Virtues. God also gave us seven special gifts that we call the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are indeed very special. We were given the three virtues and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. That's also when we received sanctifying Grace.
Faith is the virtue that we are given that allows us to believe the word of God and everything that he has revealed to us directly, through scripture, and through the Church.
Hope is the second virtue. Hope simply means that you can always trust God to care for you and all your needs. Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed, but hope is always with you. You just have to remember to call on it to help you. Please always keep hope.
Charity is the third virtue. Charity is the love of God that you give from your heart to another person, especially when they really need your help.
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit will help you live a better life, and a more holy life. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
Wisdom is the gift of the Holy Spirit that helps you make good judgments about what God wants for you, instead of what the evil in the world wants to give to you.
Understanding is the gift that will allow you to see more clearly the mysteries of our faith. If you see and understand our faith better, you will be able to live a more holy life.
Council is the gift of the Holy Spirit that is like getting advice from God.
Fortitude is another great gift. It will allow you to love God, no matter what obstacles or barriers are put in your way.
Knowledge is the gift that you are given that helps you see the beauty of God In all creatures, and to give God praise for all of those creatures. Knowledge also helps you desire God more than anything else.
Piety is a wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. Piety allows you to love and give reverence to God as your Father. It also helps you to see and love everyone you know as children of God and brothers of Christ.
Fear of the Lord sounds bad, but it is actually a very good gift to have. The Holy Spirit gives us this gift to help us to have great love for our Lord, so that we will never, ever want to do anything to hurt him.
Read from the Bible Galatians 5: 16-25
Here are some questions to test your new knowledge.
Do faith, hope, and charity come from the Holy Spirit?______________
Is fear the Lord a virtue?______________
Is Charity the love of God and our neighbor?_______________
Does Hope make us believe all that God has revealed?______________
By faith, do we believe only what we want to believe?___________
Who gave us the three virtues?____________
What is the virtue that helps you and I believe in God?_____________
What is the virtue that allows us to trust in God?____________
The Virtue that helps us to love God and our neighbor is called?________________
How many gifts of the holy spirit are there?______________
Answers
1. Yes, These are the three main virtues that we get from the Holy Spirit, along with sanctifying grace, at our baptism.
2. No, Fear the lord is one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The three virtues are also gifts but, the three virtues are faith, hope, and charity.
3. Yes, This is the gift that you are given that allows you to truly love God and also to love your neighbors as brothers and sisters in Christ.
4. No, Hope is a virtue that you're given to help you trust in God, and to take care of you and all your needs.
5. No, You can't choose what's true or not, just like you can’t change 2 + 2 from equaling 4 to make it equal 6. Faith is a virtue to help you believe all that God has revealed, and taught to us by Jesus.
6. The Holy Spirit gave us the three virtues when we were baptized.
7. Faith. This is the very important virtue that helps you and I believe in God and what he has taught us.
8. The virtue of Hope. I hope you never lose Hope. I know the Holy Spirit will not let you lose hope as long as you remain in a State of Grace. Remember, being in the State of Grace is when you haven't committed any mortal sins that you haven't confessed to a priest. If you commit a mortal sin make sure you go to confession as soon as possible so you get back into the State of Grace.
9. Charity. Charity is not just giving something to someone. It's actually loving them the way you think Jesus would love them if he was here.
10. Seven. Great job, there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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