Gift of the Spirit: Counsel

Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

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• Prayers of the Faithful
• Cenacle Prayers for the Month
• Prayer for the Month
• Saints of the Month
• Video Resources
• Activities for the Fruit of Patience
• Activities for Activating the Gift of Counsel

Year of the Holy Spirit: Fruit of the Month: Patience 
During the month of November, our focus is on the Spirit’s Fruit of patience and gift of Counsel.
In St. Paul’s famous teaching on love in 1 Cor 13:1-13, he lists patience as love's first attribute. If we cannot be patient with others, we fail in love as the Holy Spirit gives it. The Greek word St. Paul uses for love is “agape” (A’-ga-pay) which is sacrificial in nature. It is the willingness to give completely of one’s self for the sake of the beloved. This is the love Christ had for us. It is characterized first and foremost by patience. 
Year of the Holy Spirit: Gift of the Month: Counsel (a.k.a., “prudence” or “right judgement”)
This gift is characterized by subjugating our will to God’s. We do this by considering his law and commandments in deciding to do something. We must first ask ourselves, is it consistent with all of God’s laws and commandments? God’s law of love does not conflict with the rest of his commandments. Indulgent love that does not follow God’s law or that is not consistent with the natural law he created is not love at all. If true love is sacrificial in nature which seeks the good of other, we first must know God’s laws and subjugate our will to his. Seek God’s counsel by asking the Holy Spirit to guide you in all decisions, especially moral ones which seem difficult.

That the Holy Spirit will increase within us the fruit of patience that we may love more perfectly, We pray to the Lord…

That the Holy Spirit will activate the gift of Counsel in our lives such that we will always seek his will and never allow ourselves to be parted from him.

Week 1:  1 Cor 13:1-13
Week 2: Wisdom 6:12-21  
Week 3: James 5:7-18
Week 4: 2 Thess 2:3-17
Week 5 (if needed or can substitute for an above reading): John 14:15-26

Cenacle Resources

Heavenly Father, you have given your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ reign over your Kingdom, through his intercession you have sent forth your Spirit through Mary and the Apostles to begin the work of your Church and to renew the face of the earth. Through that same Spirit, we ask you to renew the Church throughout the world, but especially in our own Diocese of Kalamazoo. In this month, we especially call upon your Holy Spirit to bear and increase within us the fruit of patience in imitation of the patience you show us in your Divine Mercy by forgiving us our sins time and again. We also ask you activate within us the gift of counsel. As your words have inspired the counsel of the Saints which bring wisdom, solace, and peace, let our words be a source of mercy and love to all those we meet, especially to those most in need of your love. We ask this through the same Christ, Our Lord, Amen.

Child’s Prayer for Patience
Dear Jesus, help me to be patient. Teach me to wait patiently on you. Help me to trust that you want only what is good for me, not what I think is good for me, but what you know will serve my best interests and bring me to Heaven for this is the reason you created me. Through the prayers of Our Holy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who waited patiently for nine months for you to be born, and with Saint Joseph who patiently raised you to be the God-Man who would one day save us from our sins, help me to lovingly trust in you, always remaining patient, in the joyful hope of our own resurrection and eternal joy in Heaven. Amen.

Saint of the Month exemplifying the fruit of patience:  Saint Martin de Porres
Video for Adult Catholics on the life of St. Martin de Porres here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16esWMnWArk
Video for Children here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT_2421h2nA
Saint of the Month exemplifying the gift of counsel: Saint Catherine of Siena
Video for Adult Catholics on the life of St. Catherine of Siena: EWTN Live: Fr. Thomas McDermott - St. Catherine of Siena - YouTube
Video for Young children here: The Story of Saint Catherine Siena or here:  My Catholic Family - St. Catherine of Siena

Pre-K and K Children’s Videos here: 
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1BRPEjMZA
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJwsGDUNJr4
Grades 1-3 Children’s Video here: Zoe Kids - Fruit of the Spirit (Patience)
and here: The Story of Job, and here: Joseph and His Brothers
Grades 4th-6th Video here:  Fruit of the Spirit-Patience (Kid Motion) and bible story of Joseph here: Joseph and His Brothers (Hanna Barbera)
Grades 7th-9th Video here: Why Patience is the Key to a Stronger Faith
Grades 10th-12th Video here: Fruit of the Spirit: Patience; and here: Fr. Mike Schmitz--Letting God Take His Time
Video on Patience for Adults here: Matt Fradd on Patience on the Spiritual Life
Video no. 2 Fr. Mark Mary and Br. Elijah, CFR, on Finding Deep Peace with Jesus in Prayer
Video on Counsel for Teens and Adults here: Bishop Boyea on the Gift of Counsel

Scripture:
1. The story of Job is a long one. At forty-two chapters in length, it is one of the longest books in the Bible, but worth one’s patience and time. Nonetheless, in lieu of reading the entire story, we recommend first reading the introduction commentary provided on the USCCB website on the Book of Job here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/job/0. Followed by reading Job 1:1-3:26 and Job 38:1-42:17.
2. The story of Joseph and his Brothers (Gen 37, 39-50): In this story, Joseph was the second youngest of 12 brothers. The ten older of whom were half-brothers. His father made the parental mistake of favoring the youngest over all the other brothers and blatantly so. To make matters worse, the older brothers were all daily working hard in the fields in the hot sun while the youngest played at the house. Yet, God, too, had great things in store of Joseph favoring him with dreams that would foretell events. Joseph could also interpret the dreams of others. The brothers, one day, finally having enough of Joseph and his dreams, tossed him into a deep dry cistern having decided against killing him thanks to the intercession of the youngest brother, Benjamin, and telling their father, Jacob, that he was killed by wild animals to Jacob’s great grief. The brothers then sold Joseph off to slave traders for 20 pieces of silver. Joseph eventually winds up in Egypt at the courts of Pharoah and is eventually appointed a respected advisor to Pharoah becoming second in rank to him. He is falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and tossed into prison. He is eventually released when he is able to interpret the dreams of Pharoah that there will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Joseph’s accusers are found out at the cost of their lives as Joseph is made equal to Pharoah. Divine Providence finds Joseph’s brothers before his court pleading for food due to the famine. Upon seeing his brothers, he becomes very emotional, but realizes his brothers don’t recognize him. Joseph takes advantage of that fact and schemes to get his brothers to bring his father, Jacob, down to Egypt using Benjamin as the ploy to the great alarm of his brother Judah who pleads not to have this happen as it would kill Jacob.  Joseph can’t hold his emotion in any longer and reveals himself to the astonished silence of his brothers. Joseph forgives their having sold him into slavery attributing the event to God’s providence for this moment. Joseph becomes a model of patient waiting and trust in the Lord which pays off greatly in the end.  
3. The story of Moses and the Exodus (Exodus): The book of Exodus picks up where the story of Joseph leaves off. In this famous and well-known book of the Bible, the Hebrews have been in Egypt since the time of Joseph and have been enslaved for 400 years calling on God to deliver them out of slavery. This occurs through God having chosen Moses as their deliverer through a series of catastrophic events that occur because despite Moses’ pleas and warnings to Pharoah, the latter refuses to free the Hebrews from the oppression of their slavery. Once Yahweh delivered the Hebrews out of Egypt, their trials had only just begun as they would spend the next 40 years wandering in the harshest desert in the world—in complete impatience--waiting on God to lead them into the Promised Land of Israel from where they originated 400 years earlier. Their lack of impatience and “grumbling” against God only increased their troubles and prolonged the time of their wandering. One of the many lessons in this book is one of patient waiting on the Lord. When we think things can’t get any worse, we need to be mindful that they absolutely can. Complete trust in God takes patience, forbearance, and long suffering.
4. The story of Jacob and Rachel (Gen 28-31): Jacob, the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, who tricked Esau out of his birthright by deceiving his blind father, is charged by his father not to marry a Hittite (Canaanite) woman and sent to his maternal uncle, Laban, to choose a wife. As it turns out, Laban possesses a very difficult and conniving personality. In what turns out to be a long and sometimes frustrating story, Jacob is yanked around for 14 years before he finally obtains the wife of his choice, Rachel. The story is another of many in the Old Testament scriptures where patience, long suffering, and forbearance end in just reward. It is one of prefigurement where Jacob is a type of Christ. He is the younger and favored son of God, who suffers patiently, bears the injustices of others patiently, and trusts in God’s loving providence, that in the end will merit him justice and reward.
5. How does St. Paul define love? (1 Cor 13: 1-13): If we were to list the attributes of love or try to define it with adjectives, what would be the first word on our list? For St. Paul, that word is “patient”.  How quickly does our self-perception on how loving we are as people collapse when we take time to reflect on how impatient we are? How quick we are to ridicule others, to make rude or nasty comments on social media about others, to mutter under our breath when the car in front of us is not going as fast as we’d like or getting out of our way quickly enough. What is that person is elderly or is not sure where they are going? What consideration would you expect from others if that were you? If we think we are loving, we might want to consider how patient we are first. When we come to that realization, then we should ask the Holy Spirit to help us practice patience often.  
     
The Fruit of Patience
Catechists, Religion Teachers and Parents: Prepare for this activity by reviewing the Scriptural stories and narrative above. While the Catechism of the Catholic Church provides little information regarding the fruit of patience aside from listing it as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, the Old Testament scriptures as well as the story of the life of Saint Paul as written by Saint Luke in the Book of Acts very much illustrate how instrumental this fruit is to our salvation. Our relationship with God is either very much rooted in patient waiting or it is lost when we fail to do so. Our patience with God is founded in filial (child-like) trust that does not give up or end when God doesn’t act quickly enough to suit our will or turn from him in some childish attempt to manipulate His will.  Many people lose faith in God precisely because they disbelieve in God’s great love for them, and they disbelieve because they fail to open their hearts to him, listen for his voice, and learn how to patiently wait for Him. God is not a puppet we can manipulate, and He will not (usually) act in such a way as to let us think that His love is that cheap or shallow (“Usually”, because God will meet us where we are at, and will often act in unexpected ways to get our attention—because His love is that great for us).
Remind your child(ren)/students that we cannot expect God to listen to us when we don’t listen to Him by following his commandments and law of Divine Love. How often as parents or teachers do we wait to reward our children with something they want by having them be obedient to us first? How do we respond when God doesn’t act how we want Him to act or give us what we want? Do we make God out to be a vending machine that we kick and shake when we put our dollar in and it doesn’t produce the object we paid for? The stories in the videos above show us the cost of God’s love. The ultimate cost of God’s love for us is, found, of course, in the self-offering of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection for the sins we committed. Humanity waited since the beginning of its creation for Jesus’ incarnation. 

Catechism:
Pre-K thru 1st:
Watch the children’s videos on patience above (1st grade can choose the two early grade categories). Pray the Child’s Prayer For Patience above with them daily throughout the month.

1. Print out one or more of the following coloring pages. Have the child(ren) color one or more of the pages and display them prominently as a reminder to practice patience throughout the month.
2. Coloring pages: Joseph Forgives His Brothers; Moses Brings Water Out of the Rock; Jacob Meets Rachel at the Well

1. According to the Zoe Video, what does it mean to have patience?
2. What is at the root of our lack of patience? In other words, what human condition exists that makes us lose our patience quickly?
3. What did the video show us in the clip of the toddler having a hard time being obedient to her mother’s instructions about not eating the Gunny bears before she returned?
4. What can we do to increase our patience?
5. In the story of Joseph, how did he show patience for his brothers when he saw them in Egypt after many years?
6. How did God reward Joseph’s patience?
7. In the story of Job, how did Job show patience? (Ans: See Job 2:9-10)
8. How did God reward Job’s patience? (See Job 42:7-17)
9. In the story of Jacob and Rachel, what was the “cost” (meaning what did Jacob have to go through) to obtain Rachel as his wife? How did Jacob show patience (long suffering) in responding to what was required of him?
10. What motivated Jacob to endure such long suffering to obtain Rachel as his wife? How can this help us in showing patience?
11. What incidents in the Gospels showed Jesus’ long suffering in love for us in order redeem us?

1. Describe the ways in which Drew (the obnoxious kid in the blue tank top) was impatient. Explain the idea of hypocrisy, then ask, how Drew was being hypocritical in the way he was acting. What was the outcome of Drew’s lack of patience?
    
2. As the catechist (or parent), read the explanation on the Fruit of Patience for Catechsits, Teachers, and Parents above. Based on that explanation, discuss the ways we can lose our faith in God by being impatient with Him. Think of the times that you lost patience with God and share with the child(ren)/students how that affected your relationship with Him.
    
3. Have your child(ren)/students watch the animated video on Joseph and His Brothers (Hanna Barbera) in the video link above for the 4th thru 6th grade level. After watching the video, explain that the video is based on a true story in the Old Testament part of the Bible. Explain that the word patience in the Bible refers to “long suffering” which means bearing with the hardship of circumstances with steadfast faith in God while waiting Him to help get you through them. Then answer the following questions:
   1. The Why did Joseph’s brothers throw him in the well?
   2. How did Joseph respond to the injustice of being thrown in the well?
   3. How did God bless Joseph for his patience and steadfast faith?
   4. How did Joseph’s patience save the Hebrew nation?
   5. Explain that as a result of this story, the entirety of the Hebrew nation wound up in Egypt, but this was not where God wanted them because they began to take on the pagan religion of the Egyptians. They overstayed their welcome. The new Pharoah became fearful of the numbers of Hebrews in his land, began to persecute them, and eventually made them slaves. This began the 400 years of slavery that would end up with the famous story of Moses freeing the Israelites from Egypt. Challenge the children/students to make the connections linking God’s providence in sparing Joseph from death by the hand of his brothers 400 years earlier to the freedom of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt to the eventual leading of the Israelites to the Promised Land.

1. Are you impatient with God? Think of three instances where you were impatient or angry with God because he it seems he didn’t grant your prayer. Write in a journal about these situations. Were these prayers truly in your best instance? If this was a painful thing for you, did you blame God for it (as if he is puppet pulling strings and taking away the free will of the people who caused this pain)? If it was painful, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand why things turned out the way they did. Give this cross to Jesus and ask him to help you carry it. God can bring much good from evil, especially if we ask. Trusting in Jesus’ Divine Mercy, and with an open heart that stays trusting and open to him, ask him to help bring good from these circumstances.  
    

1. The fruit of patience, also translated as “long suffering” or “forbearance” goes deeper than the feelings we experience as wait for things we want to happen to happen. Patience, as a fruit of the Holy Spirit is bound up theologically in waiting for God and trusting that He works for our best interest with respect to the “big picture”, i.e., our ultimate growth in holiness so that we can one day be with Him in Heaven. 
    
2. What tests our patience the most, is our desire to want our way immediately in all things—without regard or any real reflection as to whether what we want is truly to our ultimate benefit. Even in those things which we do reflect on and leave us wondering as to how they can not possibly be to our benefit or the benefit of those for whom we pray, such as our prodigal child who has strayed from the faith, we are often left wondering why God does not seem to hear us or grant our request that he might just “zap” them with an influx of grace so that they might see reality and turn back to the Catholic faith. To this, we have no satisfactory answer, except to patiently trust in God and to unite our “long suffering” with Our Lord, and share it with God as a spiritual sacrifice in the hope—without anxiousness—that He has heard out prayer.

3. The failure of patience, long suffering, and forbearance, has been the downfall of the faith of many Christians who have left the Church when they have been overcome by the frustrations of waiting on God, whom we think has failed to care about us because he has not answered our prayers for a loved one who has needed healing or conversion.

4. There is an abundance of stories in the Old Testament scriptures (not to mention the life of St. Paul in the Book of Acts in the New Testament scriptures) that speak to the necessity of the fruit of patience as a critical nutrient to our personal salvation. Peruse through the Scriptures listed above and prayerfully consider how the loss of patience with God can deteriorate and even destroy our relationship with Him. Patience is an act of the will. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you exercise that fruit in your life.

5. After completing the above reflection in number 4, watch the video by Fr. Mike Schmitz in Letting God take his time. How can we be more generous of ourselves to God?

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11:2-12:25
Grades Pre-K- & K
From here forward for this grade level, we will watch one video until complete entitled, All About Jesus – Bible for Kids, the video should be watched in the assigned segments. Each segment starts with a recommended reading from the Bible that the segment will cover. However, the video covers that segment of the Bible, so if your child appears to lose interest in the reading (which is likely as the material will likely be greater than their understanding at this point) just watch the video segment. The video will not necessarily align with the month’s Gift of the Spirit. The goal for the child will be to come to a greater understanding of who God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This video focuses on Jesus, but where the video touches on the action of the Holy Spirit and the relationship of Jesus with his Father, be sure to point out how the Holy Spirit acted in each situation, and Jesus’ trust in his Father.
Video Segment: All About Jesus - Bible for Kids   Jesus is Baptized 3:30 to 6:03  Advance the video to 3 mins and 30 seconds, The Baptism of Jesus, and watch until 6 mins and 3 secs. Stop the video at the end of the segment (6:03).

1. Guide your child(ren) in a summary of what they watched to evaluate their comprehension. Allow them to do the talking. Guide as needed.

2. Download the following coloring page: John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River
Have your child(ren) color the page, then cutting along the dotted lines. Post in a prominent spot for the month (their room, the refrigerator, etc) as a reminder of the lesson.    

Grades 1-3
Read to or have your child(ren)/students read, the first reading for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). Link here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110721.cfm. The first reading is from the 1st Book of Kings.   Then discuss with them the following:

1. One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of Counsel. Counsel is being able to say the right things to them to help them make a difficult decision or make them feel better when they are feeling sad or lonely. Good counsel always helps the person find God in difficult moments. It is God who makes them feel better through the good counsel of the person talking to them.
2. In the first reading, why did the widow think she and her son were going to die if she gave some bread to Elijah?

3. What were the words (counsel) that Elijah gave the widow to reassure her that she and her son would not die?

4. How did God keep his promise to the widow when she gave Elijah the cake he asked for?

1. Where did the video say the Pope was living at the time of St. Catherine?
2. How did Saint Catherine’s counsel (advice) affect the Pope? What did she tell the Pope to do?
3. What did the Pope do as a result of St. Catherine’s counsel?

1. How does Bishop Boyea distinguish between the way “the world” understands right judgment/counsel vs. the fruit of counsel/judging rightly as given by the Holy Spirit?
    
2. What three sins against Uriah (his armor bearer) who was married to Bathsheba did King David commit because “he kept his own counsel” instead of following God’s counsel?  What was the result of his actions?  
    
3. How does our failure to abide by God’s counsel by substituting our own judgment or deceiving ourselves into a decision that we know is sinful or pulls us away from God affect our spiritual well-being and relationship with God? (No quick or shallow answers here. Ponder this in the depth of your heart before answering.)
    
4. Think of specific instances when you have deliberately taken your own or someone else’s knowing it was wrong. What were the consequences of your actions? If you did not perceive any consequences, what could have happened? If it was against another person, how do you think it affected that person?  What lessons did you learn from this?

5. How does Bishop Boyea distinguish between the way “the world” understands right judgment/counsel vs. the fruit of counsel/judging rightly as given by the Holy Spirit?
    
6. What three sins against Uriah (his armor bearer) who was married to Bathsheba did King David commit because “he kept his own counsel” instead of following God’s counsel?  What was the result of his actions?  
    
7. How does our failure to abide by God’s counsel by substituting our own judgment or deceiving ourselves into a decision that we know is sinful or pulls us away from God affect our spiritual well-being and relationship with God? (No quick or shallow answers here. Ponder this in the depth of your heart before answering.)
    
8. Think of specific instances when you have deliberately taken your counsel knowing it was wrong. What were the consequences of your actions? If you did not perceive any consequences, what could have happened? If it was against another person, how do you think it affected that person? 

The Gift of Counsel For Adult Reflection:
       1. Watch Fr. Thomas McDermott’s video on St. Catherine Siena above.
Counsel, also called, right judgment, is the perfection of the cardinal virtue of prudence. It enables us to make right judgments, as Fr. John A. Hardon writes in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, in a prompt manner “as by a supernatural intuition”. Counsel builds on both wisdom, which allows us to judge the things of the world in light of our final end, and understanding, which helps us to penetrate to the very core of the mysteries of our faith.

"With the gift of counsel, the Holy Spirit speaks, as it were, to the heart and in an instant enlightens a person what to do," writes Father Hardon. It is the gift that allows us as Christians to be assured that we will act correctly in times of trouble and trial. Through counsel, we can speak without fear in defense of the Christian Faith. Thus, the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, counsel "enables us to see and choose correctly what will help most to the glory of God and our own salvation." (ref: ThoughtCo. "Counsel: A Gift of the Holy Spirit." Learn Religions, Feb. 8, 2021, link to full article here: learnreligions.com/counsel-gift-of-holy-spirit-542119.)

To build up our ability to exercise this gift, we have to ask the Holy Spirit to activate it in our lives (see monthly prayer above) and become imbued with the tools of wisdom. A great place to start is first, to read (or re-read) and meditate on the Wisdom Books of the Bible (i.e., the Books of Wisdom, Sirach, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs.) I would recommend starting with Wisdom, Proverbs, Sirach, then Ecclesiastes. Though the three books of Psalms, Job, and Song of Songs are classified among the Wisdom Books, they are each a sub-genre unto themselves. Secondly, ask the Holy Spirit to help you recall these words, especially when you need them, and thirdly, put them into practice without prejudice as to your own habits of thinking (for it may very well be that the problems and traps you may keep experiencing are precisely because of your own patterns of behavior and thinking rather than that of the Holy Spirit’s gift of counsel and putting into practice the words of wisdom he gives us in Scripture.