The Science of the Saints
Reflecting on the Gifts of the Holy Ghost
In this pre-Pentecost week, we reflect on how Our Lord ascended into Heaven but encouraged the Apostles and disciples before He left. He said He would send a Paraclete, a Comforter. They didn’t know when He would come, but we now know that He came after they made a novena (praying for nine days).
“But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.” (John 14:26)
This part has always struck me. The Holy Ghost would remind them of what the Savior had told them. And He does this for us as well. He teaches us, and He brings the right things to our minds. But we have to be open to His teaching. We have to open our hearts to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and listen for His whispers.
When He came upon the faithful at Pentecost, it was with the sound of a mighty wind. But they had prepared themselves by prayer and withdrawing from the world. For us, we can withdraw from the world in little “bytes” but then we have to return to work, return to raising our families, return to our duties. If we have prepared our hearts by prayer and whatever “withdrawing from the world” we can do, then the Holy Ghost will come upon us too. But it may not be with a mighty wind, so let us listen for His whispers.
In a Novena to the Holy Ghost, that includes prayers for His Seven Gifts, I came across this line:
“Grant me…the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints.” (No author or source listed.)
Each day as I pray this novena, this line jumps out at me. As you may know if you follow me on Instagram, or if you subscribe to my monthly update newsletter from my website, I’ve been doing a number of interviews about my book. The more interviews I do, the more I realize that this is my message:
Learning about the Saints and the temperaments (the subject of my book) is all about getting to understand myself and those around me better, so that I may improve my relationship with God, myself, and my neighbor. And all this comes down to “the science of the saints.”
Dictionary.com tells us that these are some of the definitions of the word science:
“knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.
“a particular branch of knowledge.
“skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles; proficiency.”
The writer of this novena prayer is telling us that the gift of the Holy Spirit we call KNOWLEDGE is learning to know ourselves and know God, so we may grow perfect in the SCIENCE of the Saints.
Applying the definitions above, we grow in the SCIENCE of the Saints by “systematic study”, knowing “the facts and principles”, and “application of facts or principles; proficency.”
Isn’t that what we are trying to do, when we learn about the Saints? We are studying what they did in their lives to grow closer to Christ (the definition of holiness: closeness to God). Then we apply those facts and principles to our own lives, so we can become proficient in imitating them so that we may join them in Heaven.
This is the point of my book, Piety and Personality: The Temperaments of the Saints, and it’s also the point of the book I’m writing now, which is tentatively titled: Paths to His Heart: Traveling with the Saints.
As we pray through these days leading up to Pentecost, that is my particular intention, that I may know God and know myself so as to grow in the science of the Saints. I pray for all my readers as well, so if you’re reading this, you are included! :)
Let us remind ourselves of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, as we learned in our preparation for Confirmation as children.
“The Gifts of the Holy Ghost are a spiritual ladder reaching from earth to Heaven, an ascending scale of holiness by which we are raised to God. The first rung of the ladder is holy Fear.” ~ Mother Mary Loyola, With the Church vol. 2: The Ascension to Advent.
We begin by fearing God’s justice, but we grow to have a loving fear of offending so good a Father. We fear to displease Him because we love Him. This is the first gift of the Holy Spirit - Fear of the Lord.
Next is the gift of Piety. I recently was asked for a definition of piety on this interview because it’s in the title of my book. As a gift of the Holy Ghost, it helps us to see God as our loving Father and strive to please Him and do His will because of this. Piety as a virtue is doing His Will because we owe it to Him in all justice, with joy and eagerness, not only because we "should".
We’ve already discussed Knowledge. After that, we have Fortitude. The Holy Ghost gives us this gift of courage to do what is right; it affects our will and helps to motivate and strengthen it to do the right thing no matter what.
The Gift of Counsel helps us to be prudent and put into practice, on a moment-to-moment basis, the good resolutions and good inspirations we have. It is discernment at a Divine level. Whenever I reflect on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, I think, “Oooh, I need that one too. And that one! And that one!” We all certainly need the Gift of Counsel.
When the Holy Ghost bestows the Gift of Understanding, our minds are able to more deeply penetrate and understand the truths of our Faith. We see this one clearly in the difference in the Apostles before and after the Descent of the Holy Ghost. Suddenly, they really “got it” - the truths that Our Lord had been sharing with them for three years became clear and their intellects were able to assimilate them and pass them on to others clearly.
Ultimately, the highest rung on this ladder is the Gift of Wisdom.
“Understanding perceives God to be the Sovereign Good, Wisdom takes hold of Him, possesses Him, and rejoices in its possession. It tastes and sees that the Lord is sweet…It gives us a taste of relish of God, and of all that has to do with God.” ~ Mother Mary Loyola, With the Church vol. 2: The Ascension to Advent.
As you can see, we need all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we must pray and meditate on them, asking Him to come into our souls this Pentecost and every day. Then after we ask, we must find that inner stillness to listen for His whispers, to hear His little inspirations, and to follow where His Goodness leads us.
For a quick and easy read about the Holy Ghost, check out The Holy Ghost Our Greatest Friend by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan. And while you are there, TAN Books is running some great sales - check them out! Happy Feast of Pentecost, everyone!
“Grant me…the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints.”