The fruits of the Holy Spirit are the good qualities that the Holy Spirit forms in a Christian who lives in God’s grace; the Catholic Church, following the Latin Bible, counts twelve: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity. They come from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1832) calls them perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. Below are the Bible verse, the meaning of each fruit with a short prayer, why some Bibles list nine, how the fruits differ from the gifts, and a prayer for the fruits of the Spirit.
A short prayer for the fruits of the Holy Spirit, written for this page:
Come, Holy Spirit, make my life a garden where your fruits can grow:
love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness,
generosity, gentleness and faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.
Let others see in me the fruit of your presence. Amen.
The Bible verse
St. Paul contrasts the “works of the flesh” with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23, Douay-Rheims):
But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity,
Mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Against such there is no law.
Jesus taught that we can bear good fruit only by remaining in Him (John 15:5, Douay-Rheims):
I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.
The twelve fruits and their meaning
| # | Fruit | Douay-Rheims word | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charity | charity | Love of God above all and of our neighbor for God’s sake |
| 2 | Joy | joy | Gladness in God’s love that suffering cannot take away |
| 3 | Peace | peace | Inner calm that comes from being at one with God |
| 4 | Patience | patience | Bearing hardships and other people without losing love |
| 5 | Kindness | benignity | A warm readiness to do good to others |
| 6 | Goodness | goodness | Uprightness and honesty in all we do |
| 7 | Generosity | longanimity | Long-suffering; giving and forgiving without counting the cost |
| 8 | Gentleness | mildness | Strength under control, never harsh or quick to anger |
| 9 | Faithfulness | faith | Being trustworthy, loyal to God and true to our word |
| 10 | Modesty | modesty | Humility and decency in speech, dress and behavior |
| 11 | Self-control | continency | Mastery over our desires and impulses |
| 12 | Chastity | chastity | Purity of heart and body according to our state in life |
A short prayer for each fruit
Written for this page.
- Charity: Holy Spirit, set my heart on fire with love for God and for everyone I meet.
- Joy: Holy Spirit, fill me with the joy of knowing I am loved by God.
- Peace: Holy Spirit, calm my fears and make me a peacemaker.
- Patience: Holy Spirit, help me to bear with others as God bears with me.
- Kindness: Holy Spirit, make my words and actions kind.
- Goodness: Holy Spirit, keep me honest and upright in all things.
- Generosity: Holy Spirit, open my hands and my heart to give freely.
- Gentleness: Holy Spirit, soften my temper and make me gentle.
- Faithfulness: Holy Spirit, make me faithful to God and to my promises.
- Modesty: Holy Spirit, keep me humble and respectful in all I say and do.
- Self-control: Holy Spirit, give me mastery over my desires.
- Chastity: Holy Spirit, make my heart pure and my love true.
Why do some Bibles list nine fruits?
In the original Greek of Galatians 5:22–23, St. Paul names nine qualities: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The Latin Vulgate, used by the Church for centuries and by the Douay-Rheims translation, has twelve, adding generosity (longanimity), modesty and chastity. The Catholic tradition and the Catechism keep the list of twelve; both lists describe the same Christlike character.
Fruits and gifts: what is the difference?
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord) are powers the Spirit gives us, especially in Baptism and Confirmation, to make us docile to His promptings. The twelve fruits are the results: the virtues that grow in us when we cooperate with those gifts. As Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). See the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
How to grow in the fruits of the Spirit
- Stay close to Christ through prayer, Scripture and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession.
- Ask the Holy Spirit every day to work in you; see the prayer to the Holy Spirit.
- Practice one fruit at a time: choose a small act of patience, kindness or self-control each day.
- Examine your conscience at night and thank God for the fruit you see. See the daily Examen.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit?
Charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity (CCC 1832).
Where are the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the Bible?
In Galatians 5:22–23.
What is the difference between the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit?
The gifts are the Spirit’s help given to us; the fruits are the good qualities that grow in us when we cooperate with that help.
More
- Gifts of the Holy Spirit
- Come Holy Spirit prayer
- Chaplet of the Holy Spirit
- Litany of the Holy Spirit
- The virtues
- Seven sacraments
Texts and sources
- Galatians 5:22–23, John 15:5 and Matthew 7:16–17 (Douay-Rheims).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1832 (summarized).