March 2000 Print

Dr. Peter Chojnowski

The Gift of Fear

There is a certain parallel between the cardinal virtue of temperance and fear as a Gift of the Holy Ghost. Both, in their own particular order, are ranked as the lowest of their respective perfection, whether moral virtue or gift, and, yet, both are considered to be the most foundational for human perfection in their own particular sphere. Without temperance, which is a habit or virtue rightly ordering the movement of the conscupiscible power of the soul, man is divided into a multiplicity of wants and desires, always unhinged by the salacious and the enticing. The intemperate man cannot maintain that singularity of focus necessary for the mind, the heart, and the will which is required if he is to advance steadily toward the goal of the true, the good, and the beautiful. The naturally unrectifiable disorder caused by intemperance is so devastating to the moral life and character of a man on account of the fact that it is the disorder which breaks apart the utmost foundation of his being, his character as an embodied soul. According to St. Thomas, the conscupiscible powers of the soul "can most easily bring unrest to the spirit, because they belong to the essence of man."¹

It is likewise the case that the gift of Fear is both lowest in the hierarchy of the gifts and yet foundational. At first, this claim concerning the foundational character of the gift of fear seems unlikely, since the conveyor and the "exploiter" of the gifts is the Holy Ghost Himself, the Third Divine Person and the spirated Love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father. How can the first and most foundational effect of the personified love of Charity be fear? This is genuinely paradoxical when it is considered that the Holy Ghost is pre-eminently "holy" because He is the effect of the Will of the Father, whereas the Son is the generated Verbum of the Intellect of God the Father.² Is it not the case that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are divine promptings meant to conform man's actions to the very actions of God? Holiness is an attribute of the will when it loves perfectly the highest good. The divine perfection of the Holy Ghost, reflected in the fact that He is perfectly equal in dignity with the Father and the Son, is attributable to the perfection of the Love of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father. Being a perfect effect of the Divine Charity, He too can offer to the co-­principles of His spiration (i.e., His eternal procession) the perfect act of selfless affirmation of the goodness, beauty, and excellence of the Other, which is the very essence of Charity. Where there is perfect love of an equal joined to understanding, there can be no fear.³

Here we find the answer to the paradox. If there is understanding without perfect love and without equality, there must be fear. The Holy Ghost begins his work in the soul at the most essential levels. These levels are ontologically and metaphysically basic. From the level of the ontological composition of man (i.e., having to do with the structure of his being), fear keeps man from acceding to the disordered inclinations of his flesh which would have the effect of separating him from the grace of God. On the metaphysical level (i.e., the level of man's participation in being), fear is a necessary foundation for man's approach to God, on account of the fact that it is the origin of the virtue of humility and the most effective remedy against the vice of pride.⁴ The "chill" down the spiritual spine of man is induced in man by the Holy Ghost as a primal response to the majesty of the Godhead. The "chill" engendered by the gift of fear is man's most basic spiritual and intellectual instinct telling him that he is not God, that he only shares in being in a limited way while God is Being-Itself, that upon God's very thought and will the very fiber of our being depends.

The "chill" which is produced in our souls by the movement initiated by the Holy Ghost is either one of two types of fear. The two types of fear are distinguished by their objects and correspond to a higher and lower state of perfection attained by the soul in sanctifying grace. The first type of fear is the fear of punishment. This type of fear, although the one indicating a soul only in her initial state of charitable union with the Holy Trinity, is, nevertheless, one which considers the majesty and justice of the Godhead, along with the evil of punishment which is the necessary consequence of sin.⁵ Here it is not God who is feared as evil, since God is Goodness-Itself, but rather, what is feared is the evil which comes forth from God⁶ This type of fear, as engendered by the Holy Ghost, is known as "servile fear" since it is a fear proper to a slave on account of the power which a master exercises over his slave.⁷ Rather than being a type of fear unfitting for redeemed man, we can think of this type of fear as foundational, as that which elevates to the level of supernatural merit that primal awe which man the creature ought to possess before the fearsome infinity of his Creator.

The Holy Ghost, in His silent stoking of the flame of Charity, causes a soul to move beyond the primal fear of God, His justice and punishments, to a filiation with God the Father and God the Son which resembles the love of a son for a father and the love of a wife for her spouse. These two types of fear, "filial" and "chaste" fear respectively, fear not the evil which is to be inflicted on them, but rather, they fear the evil which they, through their sin, inflict upon God.⁸ One type of fear manifests a preponderate love of self, while the other reveals an empathy with the very "pain" caused to God by fault.⁹ The "evil" which is feared by the soul possessing filial and chaste fear is the evil of fault. Here the soul has progressed in sanctity to the point where it fears to sever the bonds which God Himself has forged. As the love of charity is quickened, as God, rather than the self, becomes the prime object of consideration, the fear of punishment decreases and the fear of the severance of union increases.¹⁰ It is fitting that St. Thomas identifies "poverty of spirit," as the beatitude corresponding to the gift of fear. In filial and chaste fear, a man cleaves to God in such a way, "that he ceases to seek greatness either in himself or in another but seeks it only in God."¹¹ A husband and wife renounce a future of self-indulgence for a life of mutual self-abnegation. Neither can bear the thought that for a moment the heart of the other could incline towards a lesser love. The fruits of such a love, which desires no other, are modesty, continency, and chastity.¹²

 

The Gift of Fortitude

"It is a sign of fortitude to cut oneself adrift from all the deadly pleasures of the passing show."¹³ It is the task of the cardinal virtue of fortitude to steel the heart and control fear so that the great goods to which man as man is directed can be attained without the action towards these goods being hindered by the obstacle of fear. There is no courage without fear. Fear is only a hindrance to the good if it incapacitates the operative powers of man and his will and ability to strive towards the good which he knows. In the supernatural life of man, which is itself a fruit of the action of the Holy Ghost, fortitude is also needed both to calm and enliven. Besides the fact that fortitude as a gift is primarily oriented towards the overcoming of visible and invisible obstacles to the achievement of the Beatific Vision, it is also a perfection which provides for a need in the natural man which acquired, natural virtue cannot. The need is for an absolute confidence which is one not provided for by nature, the trust that all good shall not be washed away in death. Nature knows no such guarantee and provides no such hope.

The way in which the gift of fortitude salves and calms the tremor in man's soul is "by bringing him to everlasting life, which is the end of all good deeds, and the release from all peril."¹⁴ The confidence induced in the faithful soul, which bears its fruit in patience (i.e., which regards the enduring of evils) and longanimity (i.e., which may regard the long delay and accomplishment of goods)¹⁵ does not bear any likeness to the presumption engendered by a Protestant or neo-modernist theology of salvation. Fortitude, as a perfection facilitating the actions of the Holy Ghost, requires fear for its efficacy. Fear is a natural product of man's primordial grasp of his own contingency. Man need not be and yet he is. Fear is a necessary aspect of a truly Catholic soul. Since in the economy of salvation, complete assurance that we will be saved is a lie, the attitude that expresses the entire movement of the soul to a reward and a rest which is above the beneficence of nature is that of confidence. The confident man is the truly Christian man. He is not confident in himself, or in the goodness of the world, or in the ever expanding providential scope of technological capitalism, but confident in the goodness, power, and mercy of the Holy Ghost. Confident in His perfect desire to share what He Himself possesses.

 

The Gift of Piety

It is good for a child to both fear and have confidence in his father. Fear of displeasing, fear of punishment, and confidence in the providential love of the father. It is this rightly balanced approach of a child to his natural father, which is the approach to the Heavenly Father that the Holy Ghost engenders in the sanctified soul of a member of the Church Militant. Such an interior attitude of trust and fear serves as the emotional ground for the due worship and service which the adopted son offers to God the Father. These filial affections are joined and help to elevate the natural awe which we experience when we recognize that there is an Other, Who is responsible for my very being. It is the gift of Piety which renders this love of God, and the due worship which naturally accompanies this love, of greater worth and efficacy than the acts of the virtue of religion by which the natural man renders sacrifice to a master whom he both honors and fears.

These engendered feelings of fear and love extend to those things which the adored God offers to us for our sanctification and for our veneration. In this regard, St. Thomas cites St. Augustine (De Doctr. Christ. ii): "Piety to honor the saints and not to contradict the Scriptures whether one understands them or not."¹⁶ By infallibly revealing the glory of the saints and the veracity of the deposit of the Faith, God has chosen to associate these men and these truths with His own being. It is, therefore, proper that the beatitude or perfection of "meekness" is associated by St. Thomas with the gift of piety. Such serves to remove the only obstacle which would prevent a soul from giving honor where honor is due.¹⁷

 

The Gift of Counsel

Counsel is the first gift we have considered which perfects the intelligence of man. It must be considered now since it is the "lowest" of the gifts in that it is a perfection of the practical intellect, rather than a perfection of the speculative intellect. Counsel is a gift which aids, lifts, expands, and deepens a man's understanding of the circumstances in which he will perform meritorious actions. Since by this gift, the Holy Ghost provides us guidance as to the choices to be made in the concrete and unique circumstances in which each man finds himself, it can rightfully be spoken of as an aid to prudence, both acquired and infused, since by the virtue of prudence man fixes onto the choice which is a way of being right amidst a plethora of ways of being wrong.

It is part of the very nature of man to be a being that exists in time, engaging one reality, situation, and choice after another. Such is also the manner in which man thinks: one concept follows another, one premise follows another until a rational conclusion is drawn from the premises. Since human reason, especially fallen human reason, is so plodding, so limited, so tinged with uncertainty, it is part of prudence's vocation to consult other minds whose grasp of the whole of reality and of the particular situation is more extensive. Here, we can state that there is a certain natural "infallibility" which attaches to the teachings of the wise, the wise man of the practical order. In fact, it is only such practically wise men who can provide natural "certainty" with regard to the practical affairs of human life. As St. Thomas states,

Hence in matters of prudence man stands in very great need of being taught by others, especially by old folk who have acquired a sane understanding of the ends in practical matters. Wherefore the Philosopher says (Ethic. VI. 11): "It is right to pay no less attention to the undemonstrated assertions and opinions of such persons as are experienced, older than we are, and prudent, than to their demonstrations, for their experience gives them an insight into principles." Thus it is written (Prov. 3:5): "Lean not on thy own prudence," and (Ecclus. 6:35): "Stand in the multitude of the ancients, that are wise, and join thyself from thy heart to their wisdom."¹⁸

Two of the requisites for an "infallible" natural judgment in matters of prudence are knowledge of the general norms which govern and are valid throughout the created order, and an intimate knowledge of the circumstances of the life of the man who is being advised. Without both theoretical and practical understanding, an "infallible" practical judgment cannot be rendered. Since this is the case, it is the Holy Ghost who can serve as the best counselor of man, both because He can counsel concerning actions directed towards the supernatural good which He does not merely know, but rather is, and because He knows with truly infallible judgment not only the intimacies of our own personal existence, but also He knows perfectly the effects which our actions now will produce in the future, both the temporal future and the eternal "future." According to St. Thomas:

Since, however, human reason is unable to grasp the singular and contingent things which may occur, the result is that the thoughts of moral men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain (Wis. 9:14). Hence in the research of counsel, man requires to be directed by God who comprehends all things: and this is done through the gift of counsel, whereby man is directed as though counseled by God, just as, in human affairs, those who are unable to take counsel for themselves, seek counsel from those who are wiser.¹⁹

It is with the gift of counsel that we most perfectly can address the idea posed by the title of this essay: How does the very reality of the gifts reveal a certain Divine "impatience" with man? Whereas the virtues, whether acquired or infused, exist as habits which enable our own rational intentions to bear fruit in naturally good or supernaturally meritorious acts, the gifts of the Holy Ghost are dispositions which leave us "open" to movements of our soul which the Holy Ghost Himself initiates. The specific movements toward the good have their origin in the Triune Godhead alone. That the Holy Ghost wishes to move us before we move ourselves is not surprising. Recall that He Himself is the perfect expression, the very embodiment of Divine Charity. There was no delay, no hesitation in His own repaying of Love to those Co-Principles from Whom He processed. Divine Love can understand no other response. To love is to desire union. Perfect love is to hold fast what we have desired.

 

The Gift of Knowledge

When we find the Holy Ghost acting as counselor in affairs which affect our salvation, we must remember that even though the specific counsel advanced by the Divine Wisdom has God Himself as its origin, it is an action which takes place within the soul of man and one which requires his co-operation to achieve fruition in a good and meritorious human action. Action is always based upon thought, whether that thought be a true act of understanding and knowledge or a simple opinion, true or false. In the supernatural order, that knowledge upon which our meritorious actions must be based is the Catholic Faith. It is this Faith whose exact contents are identified for us by the Holy Ghost through the gift of Knowledge.²⁰ By identifying within the individual sanctified soul what is to be believed, the gift of knowledge reveals itself to be primarily a perfection of the speculative intellect. This speculative perfection has an extension into the practical order. As St. Thomas states:

The consequence is that the gift of knowledge, also, primarily and principally indeed, regards speculation, in so far as man knows what he ought to know by faith; yet, secondarily, it extends to works, since we are directed in our actions by the knowledge of matters of faith, and of conclusions drawn therefrom.²¹

It is this "instinct for the Faith," which the Holy Ghost engenders in our minds through the gift of knowledge, which is going to allow the living and faithful mind to establish the intellectual and doctrinal content of the Faith, upon which we will then base all of those actions which seek to achieve the supernatural end put forward by the Catholic Faith. In this regard, St. Thomas establishes the "urgency" and utter necessity of the faithful soul's recognition of the revealed doctrinal content of the Faith. In this too, we find the Holy Ghost manifesting the "impatience" of God for the advancement of souls towards final union with Himself. Rather than rely on the natural human process of discursive reasoning in which man moves ponderously from one idea to another, the gift of knowledge allows the sanctified man to know the actual content of the Faith by a "simple intuition," by which the human mind shares in the same immediate and "simple" (i.e., non-discursive) grasp of truth which is possessed by God Himself. Such immediate and simple awareness of the content of the Faith allows the truth known to be known as a whole (i.e., as that which has been revealed by God) and not as an aggregate of humanly-attained doctrines.²²

 

The Gift of Understanding

To locate the correct content of the Faith, to distinguish what is to be believed from what ought not be believed, is the work of the Holy Ghost through the gift of Knowledge. It is the gift of Understanding, however, which enables our finite minds to comprehend or grasp the intelligible content presented to us by the Church. The gift of understanding is a perfection of the speculative intellect, its end is truth for its own sake. It is a truly intellectual act of the mind ("intellectual" from the Latin intus legere, to "read into"). Understanding allows the mind to penetrate through the outward trappings of the words and symbols used to convey the divinely-inspired doctrines. It is a supernatural light which illumines those truths concerning man's ultimate and true end which are provided to us by faith and which cannot be penetrated by the natural, unaided light of reason.

By the very fact that the content of faith has contained within it and, indeed, is for the direction of man towards his last end, understanding itself has a practical end outside the simple attainment of intellectual truth. According to St. Thomas, "Now good actions have a certain relationship to faith: since faith worketh through charity, according to the Apostle (Gal. 5:6)."²³ Again, the Faith is a human thing insofar as it is for man but not of man. The gift of understanding, this "enlightenment of the mind with regard to a right estimate about the last end,"²⁴ has both a speculative and practical aspect. These two aspects are perfectly complementary insofar as, by the gift of understanding, the Holy Ghost allows us to contemplate and consult the Eternal Law, from which all other forms of law must be derived, in order that all of our actions may be ruled by it as their ultimate and perfect standard.

 

The Gift of Wisdom

It is one thing to think the thoughts of another as these thoughts are communicated to you in the form of words. It is quite another to empathize with the one who communicates himself to you. To understand the revealed Word of God as intelligible content is one thing, to have a "connatural affection" for the Eternal Law, and to be able to make judgments about matters pertaining to salvation on the basis of that "affective" knowledge is something else entirely. It is with the gift of Wisdom that the Holy Ghost makes each man in a state of grace a participant in the providential thought of the Holy Trinity.²⁵ Here again, we find that this "wisdom," which is a participation in the Divine Ideas themselves, is a thing for man but not of man. It is "for man" since it forms the basis for judgment concerning those contingent events by which a man works out his salvation in this world.²⁶ It is this wisdom which will establish order in the mind of the faithful soul. The fruit of such participated wisdom is the "peace" which is the tranquillity of order.²⁷

Who but a son can be spoken of as most "connatural" with his own father. To be a son is to be the expression of a father's hopes for the future. Such is the case in both the natural and the supernatural orders. In the supernatural order, the Son, as the perfect intellectual expression of the Father's own being, contains within Himself the Eternal Law by which all that is is governed by being directed towards its end. By sharing in the intellectual light provided to man by the Holy Ghost through the gift of wisdom, a human soul takes on the likeness of Wisdom Begotten, of the One Who knows things just as His Father knows things. Such wisdom (sapientia) provides us with the moment of sweetness (sapor)²⁸ in which we know that all that is need not be but is, and all that is to come will bear the mark of Him Who is, was, and will be.

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1. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, Q. 141, A. 2, ad 2.

2. Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII (New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1913), p. 412.

3. Ibid.

4. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 9, ad 4.

5. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 6.

6. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 1.

7. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 2, ad 3.

8. Ibid.

9. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 5.

10. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 10.

11. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 12.

12. ST, II-II, Q. 19, A. 12, ad 4.

13. St. Augustine, De Doctr. Christ., ii.

14. ST, II-II, Q. 139, A. 1.

15. ST, II-II, Q. 139, A. 2, ad 3.

16. ST, II-II, Q. 121, A. 1, ad 3.

17. ST, II-II, Q. 121, A. 2, ad 3.

18. ST, II-II, Q. 49, A. 3.

19. ST, II-II, Q. 52, A. 1, ad 1.

20. ST, II-II, Q. A [sic].

21. ST, II-II, Q. 9, A. 3.

22. ST, II-II, Q. 9, A. 1, ad 1 and 2.

23. ST, II-II, Q. 8, A. 3.

24. ST, II-II, Q. 8, A. 5, ad 2.

25. ST, II-II, Q. 45, A. 2, ad 3.

26. ST, II-II, Q. 45, A. 1.

27. ST, II-II, Q. 45, A. 6.

28. ST, II-II, Q. 45. A. 6.