The Holy Spirit's Gift of Counsel

And its relation to Prudence and Mercy

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Feb 09, 2025

The third Gift of the Holy Spirit is Counsel, sometimes known as right judgment. This gift helps us make the correct moral decisions, something more pertinent than ever. God has gifted us with the natural law, writing its code upon our hearts. All men, regardless of their religious instruction, have the knowledge of this law in the depths of their being, in the form of their conscience. Following the natural law is the way to live out our lives in conformity with reality and God’s plan for our true happiness. With every single moral choice we make, we can either follow the law by doing good, or break it by doing evil. Unfortunately, due to our sinful nature, if we do not form our consciences well and listen to it, it is very easy to be pulled toward doing evil in this world. This is where the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Counsel comes in, with it we gain the ability to discern correctly. We listen to that small, soft voice of God echoing deep within the depths of our conscience and allow ourselves to be guided by Him, especially in matters of salvation and following Jesus in faith.

St. Thomas linked the gift of Counsel with the virtue of Prudence. Prudence, as defined by Aristotle, is right reason put into practice. For St. Thomas, it is choosing wisely and obtaining knowledge of the future by reasoning from present and past knowledge. The prudent man reflects on his past and present actions so that he may make the correct, good choices in conformity with the natural law. Nothing can perfect this better than the gift of Counsel, the Holy Spirit’s reasoning supernaturally gifted to us to perfect our prudence. Obviously, St. Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians, and his steadfast refusal to bow to his friend and king, Henry VIII, is a great example of Prudence. But another lesser known saint who is a great example of Prudence, and actually shares St. Thomas’s Feast Day, is St. John Fisher. St. John Fisher is the only Bishop who stayed true to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church when Henry VIII impiously proclaimed himself head of the English church. For this he was martyred. Every other ordained bishop of the English church bowed to Henry VIII’s will and had their lives spared. The worldly would look at this and see it as a “prudent” decision, saving their bodily lives, but with faith we know that it was St. John Fisher who truly showed the virtue of Prudence. He reasoned from past and present moments, and instead of following his fellow bishops into apostasy and spiritual death, he followed in the steps of martyrs before him and declaring that his true allegiance was to Jesus and his Church and went to gain his crown.

St. Augustine links Counsel to the Beatitude blessed are the merciful. He says is only with Counsel that we gain the judgment to forgive as we wish to be forgiven, and help others as we likewise would wish to be helped. With Counsel we extend mercy to those weaker and in more need than us in hopes that those stronger and able to help us will extend their hand, most importantly the One who is all powerful and capable of perfect mercy. One of the best examples of mercy among the saints is St. Maria Goretti. A holy child, she was attacked one day by a young man who, after being stymied in his attempt to sexually assault her, stabbed her repeatedly. As she lay dying, the one thing she was most concerned about was the soul of the man who attacked her, telling doctors and her mother that she forgave him and would like to be with him one day in Heaven. She later appeared to him in jail and, through the grace of Jesus, did her small part to heal his wounded heart and convert him. He would spend the rest of his days as a lay Capuchin, working in a monastery. This never would have happened had she, seemingly so weak but truly strong, followed in the footsteps of Christ and shown mercy to one weaker and more in need than her.

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