The gifts of the Holy Spirit are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel (Right Judgment), Fortitude (Courage), Knowledge, Reverence, and Fear of the Lord. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Modesty, Self-Control, and Chastity. This is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and from Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians 5:22-23.
Over the weekend I met up with an acquaintance. She has one son and one daughter, expecting one more. She asked me, since I have three boys, if I had a favorite. I closed my eyes and told her a quote that I had recently learned from church. It was about God's love for us. "God loves each and every one of us as if we were the only one." I told her that was easy to understand because it is the same way that we love our children. Each as though they were the only one. We love them as they need us to, and in the ways that they will let us.
A year ago my answer would have been a simple no. Left at that...true, but not very helpful. She needed more then that. I closed my eyes, and gathered courage to give more. It was part of a plan. The idea that I would go out of my comfort zone to join a group I would not normally join. Learn so much that I can share with others, and find the courage to say it out loud. That was a gift from the Holy Spirit.
Over the weekend I met up with an acquaintance. She has one son and one daughter, expecting one more. She asked me, since I have three boys, if I had a favorite. I closed my eyes and told her a quote that I had recently learned from church. It was about God's love for us. "God loves each and every one of us as if we were the only one." I told her that was easy to understand because it is the same way that we love our children. Each as though they were the only one. We love them as they need us to, and in the ways that they will let us.
A year ago my answer would have been a simple no. Left at that...true, but not very helpful. She needed more then that. I closed my eyes, and gathered courage to give more. It was part of a plan. The idea that I would go out of my comfort zone to join a group I would not normally join. Learn so much that I can share with others, and find the courage to say it out loud. That was a gift from the Holy Spirit.
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