Introduction
Sr Elizabeth noted that we should love God above all His Gifts Do we really appreciate the enormity of the gifts of God? Our parents accepted the gift of life, on our behalf: at conception; and we look forward to eternal life: at death. What would our lives, in-between, be without His gifts? In the natural world, the sun, the rain, the air we breathe, the food we eat, are from His bounty. As human beings, our ability to reason, to communicate, to make decisions, to experience joy and sorrow, and everything else necessary to the natural order of man, including to suffer and to die, are all from His bounty.

Notwithstanding the fact that the gifts of God apply to every facet of human life, we tend to focus on the spiritual gifts. What was life like, or could it have been like, for our first parents? An unimaginable life of dignity and perfection approaching, in some parts, that of God. A life made possible simply because God willed to bestow gifts on man, over and above what were essential to ‘natural’ life: supernatural and preternatural gifts. These were lost to man in the ‘fall’; and, so it was, that man entered into a life of travail on earth:with every generation since, reminded of the fall by the stain of original sin. Fortunately, it was not part of the divine plan for us to remain that way. ”God loves us as we are, but loves us too much to let us stay that way”, as (Jer.31:3) has been paraphrased.

The Grace of Baptism
In Baptism we are cleansed of that stain: the water which signifies Baptism, also signifies the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit, we receive Sanctifying Grace, and we are in Christ. We live the life of Christ: made possible by the Holy Spirit through whom He is present (Gal.2:20). God dwells in our souls in a more intimate way; and with God, good things come to the soul: as His gifts, and not as a result of our efforts. Sr Elizabeth remarked that where God is, there is Heaven. We possess Heaven in faith; we are children of God:adopted sons of the Father: the term ‘deified’ is used [L121; L124], but this does not imply a share in the substance of God; heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. Holy Scripture leaves us in no doubt that we become partakers of the Divine Nature, and that the substance of God dwells in our souls. Our new life as sons of God is Grace, and the Grace of son-ship confers on us a real likeness to the Son of God. We have been indelibly marked as Christians: members of one body of which Christ is the head, and the Holy Spirit is the soul.What unutterable joy, and we haven’t even started! The Scriptures say it all. “We brought nothing into this world” (1 Tim.6:7); “All things were made by Him”, (Jn 1:3); “Every best gift is from above” (Js 1:17); “He gave gifts to men” (Eph.4:8).

In addition to Sanctifying Grace, we also receive Sacramental Grace and, thereby, the expectation of actual Graces. Although reference is made to the different kinds, there is only one Grace, which is the presence of the Holy Spirit: a living Spirit; so that Grace is personal:a participation in the Divine Nature. Grace is being known and warmed by the Holy Spirit of Jesus and Our Father. The same Holy Spirit, that is in us all, and that unites us as brothers and sisters, as one Church and as one ‘in Christ’. It follows that Grace comes to us ‘through’ our brothers and sisters, and indeed through everything, because God is in everything. The Grace of Baptism, marks the start of the new life in Christ: a supernatural life; which we can only sustain with the help of supernatural gifts. Gifts that are necessary – dispositions, if you will – to help us obey the inspirations of the Holy Spirit as we strive to really be children of God. When we cooperate we experience the fruits of the virtues: foretastes of the eternal beatitude of which they are sweet pledges. These will not enable us to experience, here on earth, the idyllic existence of our first parents;because the preternatural gifts are not being made available to us.

The Gifts
It should go without saying that the most important of the gifts are the Holy Spirit, and Jesus in the Eucharist. Yet we could not even begin to appreciate that fact, without further gifts. To begin with, the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, which focus our attention on God. The most important of these virtues being Charity, which we note is also referred to in the fruits of the Holy Spirit. It is the most important, because it animates all of the other virtues. The meaning of the word ‘charity’ has changed over the years, and there is a tendency to replace it with the word ‘love’. It must be pointed out that such replacement is not always valid. The Catechism links the two: Charity is a virtue by which we love (CCC.1822-32).

Also infused in the soul at Baptism are the Cardinal Virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. These include the moral virtues which help us to grow in goodness. Next, there are 7gifts which are specifically known as the ‘Gifts of the Holy Spirit’: the fear of the Lord, fortitude, piety, counsel, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom – the first 4 help to perfect the moral virtues of temperance, fortitude, justice, and prudence; while the last 3 help to perfect the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Also important is the link between 5 of the 8 Beatitudes and the Gifts:

“… the poor in spirit;	…” – fear of the Lord;
“… they that mourn;	... “ – knowledge;
“… the merciful;	…” – piety, counsel;
“… they that hunger;	…” – fortitude;
“… the peacemakers …;	…” – wisdom.

The Beatitudes are the fruits of the Gifts. Finally, there are gifts of Charisms, which directly, or indirectly, help the Church. The examples given in Holy Scripture: enumerated principally in the Pauline letters, include, missionary work, healing, craftsmanship, leadership, teaching, and preaching. All of the collective Gifts of the Holy Spirit are received in Baptism, but their activity is neither the same for each soul nor does this activity necessarily begin at some pre-determined point in life.

The Holy Spirit
It seems a little confusing that God dwells in our souls, yet we specifically associate the Holy Spirit with the distribution of the largess. This is what the theologians refer to as ‘appropriation’. The Father ‘sends’ the Son and the Holy Spirit; whereas Intelligence, Will, Power, and external Acts are common to all 3 persons of the Holy Trinity. What is known about the Holy Spirit? Paul was amazed when disciples at Ephesus said that they had never heard of a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2), and in his Epistles he was to write: “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph.4:30), and “Extinguish not the Spirit”, (1Thess.5:19). It is of ‘faith’ that the Holy Spirit ‘proceeds’ from the Father and the Son; that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that the human activity of Christ was directed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is synonymous with the Spirit of God; the Spirit of Christ; the Spirit of Holiness, Truth, and Life. In Baptism we become Temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.3:16); and in being docile to the Holy Spirit we become as one with Christ: for the Holy Spirit is intimately associated with our sanctification, uniting us to the Father and the Son in Love (1 Cor.6:20).

Love
God gave us this plenitude of gifts to glorify Himself. He is interested in our happiness, our activities, our joys, and our sorrows; but His glorification is paramount. How do we thank God for these gifts? In Jesus’ own words, “If you knew the gift of God” (Jn 4:10): the fount of living water which is the Holy Spirit acting in the soul by actuating His Gifts. Jesus, in the Eucharist, is also the incomprehensible gift of God. An ever-present gift (Matt. 28:20), a free gift (Rom. 6:22,23), in the Heaven of our souls (Col. 3:3). It is in this setting that the soul is fed by the Gift of the Eucharist (Jn 6.35) and, we are made rich with every spiritual gift (1 Cor.14:!) and various charisms (1 Cor 12:4). Yes, how do we thank God for His gifts?

One is tempted to say that it is impossible. As an analogy, but a poor one, think of paying a shopkeeper for goods that you wish to buy: you must pay in his currency. Now God is Love (1 Jn 4:8), and His currency is Love. His gifts are Love; and we would like to love Him in return for His gifts. That seems simple enough, for Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My Commandments” (Jn 14:25). If we love Him, then our intention will be to keep Him in mind as we observe His Commandments. In 2 very profound letters [L308; L309], Sr Elizabeth wrote that everything lay in one’s intention, so that something quite insignificant can be transformed into a divine action but we must also take a real share in Jesus’ Passion so as to be made conformable to Him. We believe, in faith, that if we do His Will: keep His word with Him in mind; then He will transform us in Himself, and we will then love God with His Love [L131], as He ceaselessly Loves Himself in the Holy Trinity. It would also seem from the foregoing that any difference between grace and love is one of semantics. Maybe, but there is a difference. The Holy Spirit is central to both: grace is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the soul; and, where the Holy Spirit is, there also is Love, because the Holy Spirit is Love. An alternative explanation is based on grace being the life (soul) of the soul, and Love being the food of the soul.

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