The Gift of the Holy Spirit of Understanding

This is the last of seven little reflections on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Etymologically, to understand means to stand-under, but the older meaning of under is in the midst of. When you understand something, you are standing within it. You are intellectually grasping what is around you. You get “it,” it being the thing to be grasped.

According to Fr. Hardon, “In scholastic philosophy, [the word understanding is] knowledge that is immediate and undemonstrated; [it is] intimate knowledge that penetrates to the essence of that which is known. Understanding is also the intuitive habitual knowledge of the primary speculative principles of reality.”

Strange thing but understanding is intuitive and immediate. You just get it, even if it took hard work to get there.

According to Fr. Joseph Thomas, the gift of the Holy Spirit of understanding pertains specifically to truths of the faith. This gift “grants deeper insights” into them.

Fr. Hardon’s wider definition of understanding as a gift of the Holy Spirit, is as follows.

The infused gift of the Holy Spirit given to the mind for grasping revealed truths easily and profoundly. It differs from faith because it gives insight into the meaning of what a person believes, whereas faith, as such, merely assents to what God has revealed.

This gift produces three principal effects in those who possess it. They are enabled to penetrate to the very core of revealed truths, without ever fully understanding their meaning; they are confirmed in their belief by acquiring great certitude in the revealed word of God; and they are brought to the knowledge of a greater number of truths by drawing numerous conclusions from revealed principles.

One truth of Divine Revelation is that God is love. So, as an act of faith, we assent to it. The person says within herself, “Yes. God is love. I believe that.”

The gift of the Holy Spirit of understanding makes it possible to intuitively and immediately grasp what ‘God is love” means. This does not mean we fully understand the depth of God-as- love, but we do have a real understanding of it. This makes our assent to the truth that ‘God is love’ stronger. It confirms for us that God really is love. In addition, as we go on, we can see how the truth that God is love helps us in the search for the answer to other questions. For example, how does God’s love relate to his act of creation and preservation? Or, how does God’s love relate to the different forms of human love. Or, how does God’s love relate to sin and suffering and death?

Next week, I will try to post some thoughts of how the Gift of the Holy Spirit relate to one another.

For a complete doctrinal homily outline for the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, click here.

Next week, I will try to post some thoughts of how the Gift of the Holy Spirit relate to one another.