a) What are the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit?
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are supernatural habits that perfect the soul beyond the virtues, enabling it to respond easily and joyfully to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
i. Wisdom directs our whole life and all our actions to the honor and glory of God.
ii. Understanding enables us to know more clearly the mysteries of faith.
iii. Counsel makes us more prudent in guiding ourselves and others in doing God’s will.
iv. Fortitude gives us strength to do God’s will in spite of difficulties.
v. Knowledge enables us to perceive the value of earthly things in relation to God.
vi. Piety enables us to love God with tender and filial love, and to show reverence for men as children of God.
vii. Fear of the Lord enables us to have a profound respect for the majesty of God and dread sin as the greatest of all evils. This “fear” is not like the fear of a slave towards his master, but of a son who loves his father very much and always wants to please him.
The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are the consequences of the presence of the Holy Spirit and his gifts in the soul. They are: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.
b) Why should an Altar Server know and ask for the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit?
The gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit facilitate the Altar Server’s search for holiness. He should respond joyfully to the promptings of the Holy Spirit because through these, God guides us and makes us know his will.
It is quite possible for an Altar Server who studies the doctrine, prays, helps others, lives a virtuous life, and asks for the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, to realize one day that God is calling him to the priesthood. This is the Holy Spirit’s prompting, which he should consider seriously, with the help of a priest.