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00:00Music
00:01Let us now see how in the lives of the saints this gift has a great application and a great benefit.
00:21In Saint Joseph, the Gospel assures that Joseph is a just man, which means that wisdom and prudence abound in him.
00:33And yet, after much thought and prayer, seeing Mary pregnant, he makes the decision to divorce her secretly.
00:42Here is a man of the highest holiness who, after much reflection and prayer, is about to commit a great horror: to repudiate his wife Maria.
00:59That is, to distance oneself from Jesus and his Holy Virgin Mother.
01:04Well, it is only the action of the Holy Spirit that, through the mediation of a messenger angel, directs Joseph's conduct along the luminous path of God's truth.
01:20We see this in Matthew 1, verses 18-25.
01:25Let us look at our Lord Jesus.
01:27How could the soul of Christ consider the acceptance of the cross prudent?
01:34That sinister synthesis of injustice, absurdity, and ignominy, without the action of the Spirit through the gift of counsel.
01:45How could I have discerned the design of the beloved Father on the horrible cross without the gift of counsel?
01:53It is through docility to the Divine Spirit, as we have already seen, that Christ knows and advances to the extreme sacrificial obedience of the cross.
02:06From very early times in the history of the Church, specifically in early monasticism,
02:15The doctrine of discernment of spirits is codified for the first time in order to achieve evangelical perfection.
02:22Perhaps as a reaction to certain excesses stemming from enthusiasm and ignorance.
02:32The discretion of spirits, diacrisis, is regarded with the utmost veneration and is understood to be proper to the spiritual and perfect monk.
02:44Therefore, the rules for discerning spirits were already formulated with great accuracy by the first monastic masters.
02:56In the life of Saint Anthony, written by Saint Athanasius, the father of monks considers continuous prayer and asceticism to be necessary.
03:08to receive, through the work of the Spirit, the gift of discerning of spirits.
03:15If God grants it as a gift of the spirit, it is easy and possible to distinguish the presence of evil spirits from good ones.
03:26Antonio already clearly shows positive signs of spiritual discernment, peace, joy, happiness, etc.
03:35And the negative ones: noise, restlessness, disturbance, etc.
03:43These are the same signs that in the 5th century the great spiritual masters such as Diadochus of Photis or John Cassian would teach.
03:56The same ones that much later St. Ignatius of Loyola said in his spiritual exercises.
04:02Finally, it is worth noting that the Holy Spirit often exercises the gift of counsel through the mediation of prudent men.
04:16superiors, confessors, spiritual directors, relatives, good friends,
04:25But sometimes it does so with hardly any mediation.
04:29The first shows us that there should be no contradiction whatsoever between the external impulse of the superiors
04:37and the intimate prompting of the Holy Spirit, who works in the divine manner through certain actual graces and through the habitual gift of counsel.
04:48The example of Saint Teresa of Jesus is often recalled in this regard, who, having received so many and such high lights from the Lord,
05:01He entrusted his most intimate and personal affairs to his confessors.
05:05And in case of conflict, he relied more on them than on his inner light.
05:13Whenever the Lord commanded me to do one thing in prayer, if the confessor told me to do another,
05:20The Lord himself kept telling me to obey him.
05:24Then, His Majesty would send it back to me so that I could send it again.
05:32And if any confessor ordered Teresa to make an insulting mockery of the alleged apparitions of the Lord,
05:42He himself commanded him to obey without hesitation.
05:45Therefore, from then on, when the Lord commanded him to do something,
06:02He would first consult his confessor without telling him that the Lord had commanded him to do so.
06:07and he only acted if the confessor approved.
06:12This was his rule in everything, including foreign affairs.
06:19Because, as he confesses, he did nothing other than appear before lawyers.
06:26But let's look at an example of how the Holy Spirit sometimes works.
06:33It uses its most precious gifts without human mediation.
06:38Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, for example, received hardly any spiritual direction
06:44And yet, she knows how to conduct herself
06:49And as a good mistress of novices, she knows how to lead others,
06:55Both of these things, of course, are by the work of the Holy Spirit.
07:00She is very young and has neither experience nor much education.
07:08And, as she herself declares, Jesus never wants to give me provisions.
07:14He feeds me moment by moment with a freshly made delicacy.
07:20I find it in myself without knowing how or where it comes from.
07:28I simply believe that it is Jesus himself hidden in the depths of my poor little heart
07:35who works in me, making me understand at every moment what he wants me to do.
07:41Clearly, the Holy Spirit is at work in her through the gift of counsel.
07:49I never hear him speak, but I know he is inside me, the saint says.
07:55It guides and inspires me at every moment in what I should say or do.
08:01Just when I need them, not before, there are no supplies.
08:08I find myself in possession of lights whose existence I would not have even suspected.
08:15And it is not precisely in prayer that I am given abundant such illustrations.
08:21Most of the time in the middle of the day's activities.
08:25When she entrusts him with the care of the novices, he immediately understands and declares
08:34The task was beyond my strength, but he asks the Lord to give it to him.
08:41what she should give to these little sisters of hers.
08:47Since then, he says, nothing escapes my eyes.
08:51Many times I am surprised myself at seeing so clearly.
08:56On one occasion, a sister who was smiling, although she was distressed,
09:02She is discovered by her saintly teacher and is astonished by it.
09:08both the novice and the teacher.
09:11I was sure I didn't possess the gift of reading souls
09:15And that's why I was even more surprised that I had hit the nail on the head so many times.
09:21I felt that God was there, very close, and without realizing it,
09:26I had said, like a child, words that did not come from me, but from him.
09:34The gift of counsel, as is obvious, serves to guide with superhuman prudence.
09:40whether it be our own conduct or that of others who are entrusted to our direction.
09:48The virtue of prudence thus finds an atmosphere in the gift of counsel,
09:54a divine way that allows the Christian to discern truth and goodness
10:00through the work of the Holy Spirit, always and everywhere,
10:05with complete safety and speed, with a certainty of divine modality.
10:14Let us now see, brothers, how a human being should have that disposition.
10:21to be able to make that gift his own.
10:27The gift of counsel is asked of the Holy Spirit,
10:31who is the only one who can give it,
10:35but it is also especially sought after for these practices and virtues,
10:41the prayer continues.
10:42He who lives in the presence of God is the only one who can think, discern,
10:50to speak and act, always from that place, whatever the circumstances.
10:57The absolute selflessness of disordered attachments in judgment, conduct,
11:04relationships, attitudes, and indulged attachments,
11:08Even if they are minimal, they necessarily darken the eyes of the soul.
11:15Humility, it frees us from imprudence, haste, fears, and recklessness.
11:23and it leads us to seek advice from God and all wise men.
11:31By reading the lives of saints, we come to know,
11:37at least from what I've heard, and in other cases,
11:40how to exercise the virtue of prudence,
11:43when through the work of the Holy Spirit,
11:46She is superhumanly perfected by the gift of counsel.
11:51That makes it easier for us to welcome them without doubts or fears,
11:55the prompting of the Spirit,
11:58even though she may seem to worldly people,
12:02scandal and madness.
12:03Without obedience, the gift of counsel cannot function.
12:11For disobedience necessarily hinders the inner work of the Holy Spirit.
12:18It is therefore unthinkable that the Spirit should act normally,
12:23the gift of counsel,
12:24in the one who habitually does not follow the rules or is obligated to do so.
12:29He disregards the apostolic teaching,
12:32disregards ecclesial discipline in liturgy or other matters,
12:38or acts behind the backs of his superiors or against them.
12:43Brothers, that's all for today.
12:47on this fascinating journey,
12:49for the gifts that the Lord has for us each day.
12:52I hope that by getting to know them better,
12:56be more aware of discovering them within yourself
13:00and get them exercising in your environment
13:03to grow together in love.
13:07You remain in my prayers.
13:09Until next time.
13:11God be with us.
13:12Only with us.
13:27Thank you so much.
13:28Thanks for watching the video