Day 245: Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit. CCC 1830

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, as well as an In Brief reviewing what has been covered over the past few days. The Catechism Compendium summarizes both:

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are permanent dispositions that make us docile in following divine inspirations. There are seven: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are perfections formed in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (Galatians 5:22-23, Vulgate). (#389-90)

 The Catechism Companion, Vol III(!) gives some good commentary on this:

We need the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to continue to choose the Lord. The gifts... do not take us over or overwhelm us, but they open us up. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit... are sanctifying gifts that help us to become holy. They enable us to live a full Christian life... The fruits of the Spirit are a sign of a person living in Christ, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.