Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

The Seven Gifts Of The Holy Spirit For Advent Hope

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Sunday, December 7, 2025

In our first reading today (Isaiah 11:1-10), we come to one of Isaiah’s most prominent descriptions of the Messiah: “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” Who is Jesse? He is the father of King David. Isaiah is essentially announcing that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David. 

What will this Messiah look like? Isaiah declares, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” In those words, Isaiah describes what we often call “The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” He is essentially saying that when the Messiah comes, he will be so filled with the Spirit of God that he will exhibit the seven manifestations of the Divine Spirit. Why is this so important to us, you might ask? First, it shows us what Jesus is like and what he possesses. Second, it reminds us again that those of us who are baptized and grafted to him have also been gifted with these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, part of our Advent hope is to reflect on these seven gifts and see if they are active in our lives. And by the way, you can find them throughout our tradition. The great St. Augustine wrote extensively about them. The angelic scholar, St. Thomas Aquinas, wrote about them. These gifts are wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, and the fear of the Lord. 

The first gift of the Holy Spirit is wisdom, sophia in Greek; sapientia in Latin. According to Aquinas, wisdom is the view from the hilltop—meaning a vision that sees things from the perspective of the highest cause, God. While serving as pastor of St. Gerard Majella Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we discovered that the church steeple was leaking. When the company arrived this morning to fix the issue, the crane operator asked if I wanted to see the problem area in the steeple. I agreed. I don’t have acrophobia (fear of heights). The moment the crane lifted us to the tall steeple, and I looked around, I nearly saw the entire neighborhood in an instant. If you are a wise Christian, you will see the world not from a narrow, self-focused perspective, but from God’s perspective. When something good and worth celebrating happens to you, you’re not carried away by it but take a moment to ask the great question: How does this impressive thing fit into God’s plan? You have finally found your dream job; you have married your better half; you’ve made the money, and so on. But how do all these fit into God’s plan for you? And when you’re facing tough times, perhaps experiencing Job-like suffering, instead of falling into depression or despair, you ask yourself the great question: How does this misfortune fit into God’s design? These are some of the questions a wise Christian asks. 

The gifts of understanding and knowledge are often connected. St. Augustine said that knowledge and understanding help us appreciate the holy things of God. Where do we spend most of our intellectual energy? We mostly try to understand politics, mathematics, science, sports, etc. But the gifts of knowledge and understanding lead our minds toward the deep mysteries of God, such as the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the Sacraments, eschatological topics, sin, grace, and the question of “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” With these gifts of the Holy Spirit, we catch a glimpse of them; we pray, desire, and meditate on the things of God. 

The next gift of the Holy Spirit is counsel. This gift helps us navigate the world. It guides us not only in making decisions in business, politics, and daily life but also in choosing the kind of person we want to be. Throughout your day, as you care for your family, go to work, attend church, or do other activities, take a moment to ask yourself, “What kind of person am I?” “What is my deepest love?” “What is the most important value in my life?” Making good choices about the kind of spiritual person you aspire to become is supported by the gift of counsel. Recently, while walking in the hallway for exercise, I saw a beautiful photo of St. Carlo Acutis. I encourage every young person in this church to read a book about him. Knights of Columbus, if you haven't bought any Christmas gifts for the parish, please consider purchasing a book about St. Carlo Acutis. He was a teenager with a genuine sense of sainthood and made morally and spiritually good choices to become one. The next gift is fortitude. Isaiah calls it strength. This gift enables us to do good even in the face of strong opposition. We understand that doing good isn’t always easy. We encounter many temptations—both internal and external—that lead us away from doing what is right. I know what I’m supposed to do, but I sometimes struggle to do it. I know forgiving someone is good, but I hesitate because I fear being seen as weak. Fortitude helps us to declare, “I will become the person God wants me to be.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was deeply tempted to refuse the cross. But because the Spirit of strength was upon him, he chose to die to save us all. Christians in Nigeria, whose lives were taken by Islamic terrorists, were asked to renounce their faith in Christ, but they refused and suffered martyrdom. They, too, demonstrated fortitude. Next comes piety. When someone is called pious, we might think of them as superficially religious and judgmental. If it’s a woman, we might picture her wearing a head covering and long dresses, holding a rosary or a Bible. But that image doesn’t capture the true meaning. For St. Thomas Aquinas, piety is closely related to justice. To be pious means understanding what we owe to God. What do we owe? Everything! Attending Mass is an act of piety because it’s an act of justice—giving to God what is due. A pious person cares deeply about prayer, Mass, praise, and thanksgiving. The last gift of the Holy Spirit is the fear of the Lord. This doesn’t mean the servile fear that slaves have for their masters. Slaves fear punishment if they don’t obey. Doing God’s will shouldn’t come from being terrified of punishment. At the basic level, this fear might motivate someone to change their life. Fear of hell can inspire a lifestyle change. But that’s not really what we’re talking about here. Aquinas called it “filial fear.” It’s the kind of fear a son has of losing a deep, loving relationship that means everything to him. The fear of the Lord is the awareness that we don’t want to disappoint God or lose our connection with Him. The fear of losing friendship with God is a gift from the Holy Spirit. I tell you, if you lose that fear, you’re truly in trouble. 

God bless you!