The Gifts of the Holy Ghost

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST BY JOHN OF ST. THOMAS* Translated from the Latin by JAMES M. EGAN, 0. P. and WALTER D. HuGHES, 0. P. And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springsBecause the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings. -GERARD MANLEY HoPKINS. " Send forth thy spirit and they shall be created and thou shalt renew the face of the earth." These words suggest the background of a dead and dreary world, a chaotic mass of unformed matter. No order or· meaning reveals itself to the mind. No minute beauties catch the eye, no glorious vistas lead it off to far horizons. But down from the heavens-sweeps the Spirit of God, and as He passes order springs out of chaos, beauty out of ugliness. With loving gentleness, the Spirit of Love conquers the inertia of matter and creates a world of mystery and splendor. What a moment before seemed an impossible task is accomplished, because God sends forth His Spirit and renews the face of the earth. The inertia of matter is superable as wax in comparison with the hardness of a human heart turned from God. The original chaos somehow seems ordered in contrast to the chaos existing in the minds and hearts of men today. It is a fact that we cannot escape. And we must do something about it. At present the burden of our Faith and the burden of our Charity lie heavily upon us. Constantly *EDITOR's NoTE: In publishing this English translation of John of St. Thomas' treatise on the Gifts or the Holy Ghost, THE THOMIST is departing from its usual practise of presenting only works of original speculation. However, since this year marks the tercentenary of the publication of the treatise (published by Didacus Ramirez, O.P.), the editors wished to honor the great Thomistic commen· tator by making one of his finest works available to the English-speaking pu~lic. 'l'o the translation have been prefaced an historical introduction by Walter D. Hughes, 0. P. and a theological introduction by James M. Egan, 0. P. The out. lines that appear in different places throughout the work are not to be understood as being a part of the original text of John of St. Thomas; they are original with the present translators. 244 THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST 245 we pray God to send forth His Spirit and renew the face of the earth. In the first transition from chaos to order the Spirit worked alone; this is no longer universally true. By preference, He now works through and with others. In fact, He works through the Catholic Church, the mystical body of Christ, of which He is the souL That is why the Catholic Church is the principal agency in bringing about the kingdom of God on earth. If order is to be restored to the world, it must be brought by the Spirit of God working in the Church and in her members. The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Love, is also the aU-pervading Spirit of Wisdom. " For wisdom is more active than all active things, and reacheth everywhere by reason of her purity. For she is a vapour of the power of God and a pure emanation of the glory of almighty God. . . . For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of his goodness. And being but one, she can do all things; and remaining in herself the same, she reneweth all things, and through nations conveyeth herself into holy souls, she maketh the friends of God and prophets. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light she is found before it. For after this cometh night, but no evil can overcome wisdom. She reacheth therefore from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly." 1 It is about time, therefore, that we realized the need for a new...