The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls them “permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1830). They are first given in Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation.
The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity (CCC 1832). The gifts are the Spirit’s help; the fruits are what that help produces in a Christian life.
The seven gifts at a glance
| Gift | What it does | In everyday life |
|---|---|---|
| Wisdom | Gives us a taste for the things of God and helps us see everything in the light of God’s plan. | Knowing what really matters, and ordering your life around it. |
| Understanding | Helps us grasp the truths of faith more deeply. | When a familiar Gospel passage suddenly makes sense in a new way. |
| Counsel (right judgment) | Helps us judge rightly what to do, especially in hard choices. | Seeing through a temptation dressed up as a good idea; giving sound advice. |
| Fortitude (courage) | Gives strength to do good and to endure suffering. | Telling the truth when it costs you; staying faithful through illness or loss. |
| Knowledge | Helps us see created things as they really are, in relation to God. | Enjoying the good things of the world without making idols of them. |
| Piety (reverence) | Moves us to love God as a Father and to honor him gladly. | Praying because you want to, and treating others as God’s children. |
| Fear of the Lord (wonder and awe) | A loving reverence that does not want to offend God. | Being in awe of God’s greatness, and sorry when you have hurt him. |
The Baltimore Catechism gives short, memorable reasons for each gift. For example: “We receive the gift of Piety to make us love God as a Father, and obey Him because we love Him,” and “We receive the gift of Fortitude to strengthen us to do the will of God in all things.”
Where the seven gifts come from in the Bible
The list comes from the prophet Isaiah’s description of the Messiah, the shoot from the stump of Jesse:
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:2–3, Douay-Rheims)
The Hebrew text names six gifts and repeats “fear of the Lord”; the Greek and Latin translations used by the early Church render the first mention as “godliness” or “piety,” giving seven. The Catechism notes that the gifts “belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David” (CCC 1831). Christians receive them because they share in his Spirit.
What each gift means
Wisdom
Wisdom is the highest of the gifts. It is not cleverness but a loving, almost instinctive sense of God and his ways, so that we judge everything by its relation to him. The Baltimore Catechism says wisdom gives us “a relish for the things of God.”
Understanding
Understanding lets the mind penetrate what faith believes. It does not remove mystery, but it lets us see why the truths of faith fit together and how they bear on our lives.
Counsel
Counsel, also called right judgment, is practical. It helps us choose well in concrete situations and to recognize the deceits that lead us away from God. It is the gift to pray for before every major decision.
Fortitude
Fortitude, or courage, strengthens the will to do what is right in spite of fear, and to persevere when doing good is long and tiring. The martyrs show it most clearly, but it is needed in every ordinary life.
Knowledge
Knowledge helps us see the world as God’s creation: good, but not God. It frees us from both contempt for created things and slavery to them.
Piety
Piety is the gift of filial love. It makes us want to pray, to worship and to treat God’s people with respect, not out of duty alone but as children of a loving Father.
Fear of the Lord
Fear of the Lord is not terror. It is the reverent awe of a child who loves his father and does not want to grieve him. Scripture calls it “the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 110:10, Douay-Rheims; Psalm 111:10 in modern Bibles).
The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit
St. Paul writes: “But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity” (Galatians 5:22–23, Douay-Rheims). The Catechism, following the Latin Vulgate, lists twelve:
- Charity: love of God and of neighbor for God’s sake.
- Joy: the gladness of knowing God’s love, which suffering cannot take away.
- Peace: inner calm that comes from being right with God.
- Patience: bearing with difficulties and with other people.
- Kindness (benignity): a warm readiness to do good to others.
- Goodness: honesty and uprightness in all we do.
- Generosity (longanimity): long-suffering, giving without counting the cost.
- Gentleness (mildness): strength under control; not harsh or quick to anger.
- Faithfulness: being trustworthy and true to our word and to God.
- Modesty: humility and decency in speech, dress and behavior.
- Self-control (continency): mastery over our desires.
- Chastity: purity of heart and body according to our state of life.
Most modern Bibles translate St. Paul’s Greek with nine fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The longer list of twelve comes from the Latin tradition. Both describe the same Christlike character.
Gifts, fruits and charisms: what is the difference?
- The seven gifts are given to every baptized person in the state of grace. They make us responsive to the Holy Spirit (CCC 1266, 1830).
- The twelve fruits are the results: virtues that grow in us when we cooperate with the Spirit, “the first fruits of eternal glory” (CCC 1832).
- Charisms, such as healing, prophecy or tongues (1 Corinthians 12), are special graces given to some people for the good of the whole Church (CCC 2003).
The gifts and Confirmation
Confirmation “increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us” (CCC 1303). During the rite, the bishop extends his hands over those to be confirmed and prays that the Holy Spirit will send them his sevenfold gifts. Then he anoints each person with chrism, saying the words of the sacrament. If you are preparing for Confirmation, choose one gift you most need and pray for it every day.
For parish celebrations, see our Prayers of the Faithful for a Confirmation Mass and for Pentecost Sunday.
A prayer for the seven gifts
This prayer was written for this guide.
Come, Holy Spirit, and fill my heart.
Give me wisdom to love what is good,
understanding to know your truth,
counsel to choose rightly,
fortitude to do your will,
knowledge to see your hand in all things,
piety to love you as my Father,
and holy fear, never to offend you.
Let your fruits grow in me,
charity, joy and peace above all,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit?
Traditionally wisdom is listed first and considered the highest, because it unites the mind and heart most closely with God. But charity, the first of the fruits, is the greatest of all virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Can you lose the gifts of the Holy Spirit?
The gifts accompany sanctifying grace, so mortal sin, which destroys charity, also deprives a person of their working. They are restored through repentance and the sacrament of Penance. See mortal and venial sin.
Are the gifts only for Catholics who are confirmed?
They are first given at Baptism (CCC 1266). Confirmation strengthens and perfects them.
What symbols represent the seven gifts?
There is no official set of symbols. Artists often show seven tongues of fire, seven doves or a single dove with seven rays, recalling Pentecost.
More guides
- Prayer for wisdom
- Veni Creator Spiritus
- Chaplet of the Holy Spirit
- Litany of the Holy Spirit
- Confirmation saint names
- The novena to the Holy Spirit
- The cardinal and theological virtues
- Pentecost 2027
- Catholic prayers: the basic prayers every Catholic should know
- The Apostles’ Creed
- The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary (the third is the descent of the Holy Spirit)
- Holy days of obligation
Texts and sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1830–1832 (gifts and fruits), 1266, 1303, 2003.
- Isaiah 11:1–3; Galatians 5:22–23; Psalm 110:10; 1 Corinthians 12–13, Douay-Rheims Bible.
- A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, No. 3 (Baltimore Catechism, ed. Kinkead, 1891), Lesson 16, questions 699–707, public domain (Project Gutenberg).
- St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I–II, q. 68 (the gifts).