The gifts and fruits of Holy Spirit have been promised to all of us

Jesus Christ taught us that if we love him and keep all his commandments, he will answer all our prayers [1], he will manifest himself to us and the Holy Spirit will be upon us forever [2]. The Holy Spirit is our Breath of Life and lives within us from the moment we are conceived – he is our guidance, helper and comforter, the Paraclete, the first voice that lives within us. As we follow God’s way and are obedient to his call, so the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit strengthen in us.

The table below lists the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit [3], which have been promised to all who love God, without exception, together with the opposing side-effects or manifestations of evil spirits.

The more we love God, the more his graces shine through us and so other gifts of the Holy Spirit will come to the fore. These include healing, discernment, tongues, prophesy, visions and whatever other rare gifts God wishes to bestow on us, for the benefit of all, as he did on his saints. The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit [4] are listed below, together with some of their evil opposites.

Every time we go against the way of Jesus and teachings, we are sinning and hurt the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As we persist in sin and are unrepentant of it, so we give evil spirits authority to further oppress us and bring the opposite manifestations of the Holy Spirit upon us. However, if make the effort to be completely obedient to Jesus Christ’s teachings, to sin no more, and we continually purify and strengthen ourselves through the Holy Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion, so God’s love and graces strengthen in us and these evil spirits go in flight [5].

So how do we invite Christ to fully abide in us?

Step 1: Have the will to do God’s will and then obey him

Jesus taught us that the most important commandment of all is to love God with all our heart, mind and soul [6]. If we love God by opening our hearts to him and do our best to obey him and not hurt him, our Father in heaven will deliver us from all evil. Jesus Christ walked this earth and showed us how to live and conduct ourselves in every situation. He is the perfect example of love and obedience to his Father, our Heavenly Father. At a first glance, it may seem like an impossible task to live a holy life. Quite the contrary − this is precisely what Satan wants people to think because he is powerless over Jesus’ true followers [7]. On our own it is impossible task to become holy, but we must not forget that Jesus Christ, through his loving sacrifice, has left us with the keys to heaven [8]. We just need to open our hearts to him, make the choice to be obey him and look at him with love and humility. He will then enter our hearts, his graces will flow through us, the fire of his love will begin to grow in us, and our unique missions on earth will become clear to us. It is only through Jesus Christ that everything becomes possible [9].

We need to understand that God created us and gave us everything. Everything belongs to God, except for our free will – a free will that God gave us out of love because we are made in his image. When we make a conscious decision to give our will to God, and trust that his will is in our best interests, this is the instant that we make the decision to truly love God. Giving our will to God is the start of our journey to find true love, peace and joy in our hearts, because despite what happens to us, we will know it is all part of God’s plan for us and whatever cross he is giving us to carry, is for our own good. If we do the opposite, we are assuming that we are wiser than God and will never find the comfort we seek in our hearts − all we will find is a hardened heart with a false sense of security. Only God knows what is good for us, because he created us – to assume that we know better is what the evil would like us to believe.

The first step, therefore, in our healing is to take the leap of faith that God will take care of us no matter what this world throws at us. We must then have the conviction and fortitude to follow his teachings and do his will in everything we do.

Step 2: Read the Bible

The next step in trying to love God is to make an effort to get to know him, his way.

God has always revealed himself to us through his obedient children, starting in the Old Testament times through his prophets and visionaries and, thereafter, God the Son walked this earth to show us his way, his truth and life − important details of which were recorded in the New Testament by his first Apostles and saints of his early Church. Unlike the publications of other manmade religions, the Holy Bible is the only religious book in the world whose prophesies have come true, barring the final ones for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is near [10]. The Bible is also historically and spiritually accurate – deliverances, healings and miracles have continued throughout the ages by those who truly love Jesus Christ, as is clearly evident in the testimonies of Jesus’ saints.

The Catholic Church, the true Church of God [11], produced the first Bible and is its official publisher. In today’s times, the only true Bible that has been authentically retained by the Catholic Church is the Latin Vulgate by St Jerome, while the most accurate English translation thereof is the Douay-Rheims Bible [12].

Throughout the ages, many canonised saints received direct messages from God and our Blessed Mother Mary, fulfilling Christ’s promise of manifesting himself to his holy people [13]. As a result of their confirmed holiness by the Catholic Church, which is the pillar and foundation to truth [14], these messages can be taken as true and so add to the richness of understanding the Word of God. The most well-known New Testament visionary is St Paul, who wrote a large part of the Bible but never lived with Christ, while St John the Apostle was taken in vision when he wrote the book of Revelation.

Some holy people today have the rare gift of receiving direct messages from God and our Blessed Mother Mary. These messages serve as excellent resources to understand the living Word of God in his Bible and to strengthen one’s faith. St Padre Pio, St Faustina and the three Fatima visionaries (Lúcia, Jacinta and Francisco) are good examples of twentieth-century messengers, while more recent ones include the Medjugorje and Garabandal visionaries, Sister Reinolda May, Stefano Gobbi, Alan Ames and Jesus’ End of Times messenger Fernanda de Sequeira. It is important to note that God’s true visionaries and messengers will always lead people to the Catholic Church (not away from it), its seven Sacraments, praying the Holy Rosary and praying for the salvation of souls of both the living and the dead. This is what Jesus Christ tells us through Fernanda about his false prophets, of which there are many today:

“Oh, people of little faith: I am your provider. Look upon my (our) messages. I know that the enemy is good at imitating my Mother and me, your Jesus but he cannot pronounce “fasting”, “pray the Rosary”, “repent”, “come to my Holy Mass”, “Confession”, “forgive one another” and “love one another”. He would or could never say these words, these sentences. He would never ask for the salvation of my children. He is the destroyer. He is the disunity of my children. He can never ask for peace, love and unity in families. He contaminates whoever he can about the salvation of souls.” (31/01/2014)

Authentic messages will never contradict the Word of God in the Bible and they will never contradict each other because God brings understanding, not confusion. Indeed, “by their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). Over and above their acts of love and charity and exhibiting many gifts and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit, “These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17–18).

Step 3: Pray, pray, pray

Without prayer it is impossible to have a relationship with God. Prayer opens up a two-way communication with God in the depths of our minds and hearts. Prayer moves the heart of God and if prayed with a faith-filled loving heart, can move mountains. With God and prayer, everything is possible. Prayer is a true partnership with God where he is giving us the opportunity to shape the future with him, through his power. As St John Chrysostom said, “God governs the world, but prayer governs God.” The more we pray for others, by the power of God, we participate in the expulsion of evil and making this world a better place.

Pray without ceasing

Praying without ceasing means to always have one’s heart, mind, soul and spirit focused on and entwined with the Triune God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It means building a relationship with each person of the Holy Trinity, contemplating and meditating on the Word of God, loving him, talking to him, asking him, listening to him in the depths of your heart, praising him, thanking him and adoring him [15]. Prayer should always be from the heart, led by the Holy Spirit and coupled with the rich set of traditional prayers offered by the Church [16]. Prayer, which is an act of love, also includes praying for the salvation of souls of the living and the dead, in particular those for whom no one prays.

Prayer is most effective when asking the angels and saints in heaven, our heavenly helpers, to pray with us to God and to help to combat the enemy. God pours out his divine graces and magnifies his power through them, which terrifies evil spirits. This is also the reason Satan tries so hard to deny their role in the spiritual realm and to stop us reaching sainthood on earth [17].

Pray the Rosary daily

The Holy Rosary [18] is a powerful prayer that allows us to meditate on the twenty most important mysteries of Christ’s life. It invokes our Blessed Mother Mary to pray with us to her Son, who then intercedes to the Father for us. Jesus has told us through many of his saints, messengers and his Church that we must pray the Rosary. So, too, does his Blessed Mother Mary, who keeps appearing to her visionaries around the world.

Praying the Rosary allows the Holy Spirit to talk to us in the depths of our minds and sends the devil in flight. It is the weapon of our times. Satan and his demons are wandering the world seeking the ruin of souls, trying to lead people away from God and his true Church [19]. They also do their best to take people away from praying the Hail Mary [20] because they are terrified of Blessed Mother Mary: her soul magnifies the Lord [21] and no other can move the heart of God like his Blessed Mother Mary. Many claim to love Christ, but ignore or even blaspheme his Mother whom he honours according to his fifth Commandment. In the Bible, Mary, like Jesus, was the only unbaptised person to be called “full of grace [22]” because she, like her Son Jesus, never sinned. Many Christians today who claim to follow the Bible refuse to call her “Blessed”, despite the 2,000-year-old biblical prophecy that all generations will call her Blessed [23].

Satan knows that Jesus Christ is God. He knows, too, that Jesus defeated him on the cross. Jesus humbled himself in obedience to the Father and, in spite of the most horrendous pains inflicted on him in his passion, Satan could not get him to abandon his mission. What infuriates Satan the most, however, is that he could not entice Mother Mary – a creation of God, like himself – to sin. This renders him powerless over her. Mary is the Queen of Heaven and she will soon crush Satan’s head. Enraged by this, Satan continues to fight a losing battle with her and her seed until the bitter end [24]. Jesus and Mary, our new Adam and Eve, have shown us that love, humility and obedience triumphs over hatred, pride and disobedience.

Pray the Armour of God daily

We are told throughout Scriptures that it is not against flesh and blood that we are fighting but against evil spirits in high places, who wander the world seeking the ruin of souls. Through his messengers and the Bible, Jesus asks us to recite Ephesians 6 as a daily prayer, invoking the full Armour of God so that we can resist the fiery arrows of the evil one [25]. In this prayer, we ask God to arm us with the belt of truth, the breastplate of justice, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We must also ask Jesus to pour his Precious Blood over us, our Blessed Mother Mary to wrap us with her Virginal Mantle, and Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, together with all the angels and saints in heaven, through the power of God, to help us in this spiritual warfare and intercede for us to our Triune God. Psalm 91 is also a great comforter and prayer for protection.

Step 4: Go to Confession regularly and make reparation

God is love. God draws us into his heart by love, so much so that he humbled himself as a man and sent his Only Begotten Son to show us his way and to die for us and in atonement for our sins. Today, Jesus Christ suffers worse pains through his pierced Sacred Heart as a result of our sins. Every time we sin, we hurt him, and there are more people sinning today than ever before. To show Jesus that we love him, we can alleviate his suffering by making an effort to know what hurts him and to repent of our sins. Jesus wants us to have the humility to confess our sins in the Sacrament of Confession [26] to his Catholic priests, as he gave them authority to forgive us and absolve (cleanse) us of our sins so that we can be released of our bondages to evil (that came as a result of these sins) and can become spiritually stronger. We must also make reparation for our sins, wherever possible, by making a genuine effort to fix what we have broken.

Jesus is a loving and merciful Saviour, who is ready to forgive if we are genuinely sorry for what we have done and do our best, with his help, to not sin again. By confessing our sins with a humble and contrite heart, Jesus gives us more graces and the strength to not repeat these sins. Satan hates the Sacrament of Confession the most because it is there that he and his demons lose their grip and their authority on people.

Confession should be a regular part of a person’s life, no matter how small the sin, because we are in an ongoing process of purification. The more we go to Confession, the more we begin to purify and build up a stronger armour against evil, both now and into eternity.

We must remember that in Confession, Jesus is not judging us, but is forgiving us. The priest is not judging us either. Sadly, many chose not to repent, which not only hurts Jesus, but they are also sentencing themselves to be judged in eternity. They forget that this results in a harsher purification in eternity. The grace to purify on earth and earn a bigger reward in heaven is a gift of sacrificial love from our loving Saviour, at the expense of his suffering, not ours.

Step 5: Attend Holy Mass daily, if possible, and receive the Body of Christ worthily

The Holy Mass is Jesus’ living sacrifice, where he gives us his Precious Body and Blood, our daily bread to give us strength and enrich our body, mind, soul and spirit. In Jesus’ words, “Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you will have no life in you.” Jesus repeated this while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum and again to his disciples, knowing that some would betray him as a result of this statement [27].

Besides confirming this truth many times in Scriptures, the teachings of his Church, and through his saints, Jesus has demonstrated this truth in Eucharistic miracles around the world. In these miracles, consecrated hosts have physically turned into flesh and blood [28].

In the words of St Padre Pio, "Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvellous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know... It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!" 

Many people do not realise the immense pain that they cause Jesus by having him unworthily: not only are they forcing Christ into an impure body, but they are eating and drinking judgement upon themselves [29]. The daily bread that we ask for in the Our Father prayer is the living Body of Christ, our Holy Communion [30], yet very few of us make the effort to go to Mass daily.

Our Father God said to Alan Ames [31] that if all the Catholics today attended daily Mass, heaven would come to earth. Indeed, if we labour to have Christ’s Body and Blood worthy of him, we will be sealed by the Father [32] and will be protected from his wrath in the last days [33].

When we receive Communion worthily, through regular and contrite Confession, Jesus truly enters our hearts and his graces start to shine through us. The Holy Eucharist is the apex of Christian life and the bread of life that gave God’s canonised saints the strength to achieve the levels of holiness and love that they did.

Daily Masses are centred on the Gospel of the day, which rotate in three-year cycles, and the living sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Holy Mass is the most powerful prayer one can offer to God for both the living and the dead. In each Holy Mass, Jesus is making a living sacrifice for us by giving us his Precious Body and Blood. In Holy Mass, at the moment of Elevation, our guardian angel takes our prayer petitions to our loving Saviour who receives them into the abode of his heart and offers them up to his Heavenly Father. The Triune God, together with Mother Mary and many angels and saints are at Mass every time it is celebrated. The souls in purgatory rely on Masses to be offered up for them so that they can be released into heaven [34].

In order to fully appreciate and understand this mystery, the bridge to heaven, we need to attend Catechism classes and receive the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion from an ordained priest before receiving the Body of Christ at Mass. Of course, the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are also essential [35].

As Christians who love God, realising that we are all sinners, we must help Jesus to build his Church and pray for his priests and followers. We must not abandon the Church in protest if priests or bishops make mistakes. They are under attack by the enemy because if there are no priests to consecrate hosts, there will be no more living sacrifice of Christ. This means that salvific graces will stop flowing to earth, many souls will be trapped in purgatory, and we will starve eternally. However, we have nothing to fear because Christ has given us his word that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his Church [36].

Our Triune God is also asking us today through his messengers, as has been the case since the beginning times through catechetical councils, the saints and holy popes, to receive the Body of Christ worthily in the mouth, not on the hands, and reverently on the knees [37]. Receiving on the hands makes it easier for Satanists to steal and sell Christ’s Body at Mass for satanic rituals that cause Jesus immense pains. In addition, pieces of the Sacred Hosts end up on hands and on the floor, often being trodden on, which cause Jesus much pain. Priests are also being asked to exclusively hand out Communion, even if it takes longer to do so. We must have the humility to be obedient to God’s call and to pray for this change in the Church.

Step 6: Fast and do works of mercy

Fasting is a sacrifice and by offering it to God for any intention is very powerful. If fasting is done begrudgingly or for others to see, then it loses its value to God. Instead, it should be a personal and secretive offering to the Father [38], sharing in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and allowing the Holy Spirit to strengthen in a person. Fasting is food for your soul, it makes your prayers more powerful and is a strong weapon against the enemy. Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. The Apostles also fasted, prayed and laid hands on each other for God’s graces to strengthen in them prior to going on missions [39]. Jesus also taught us the effectiveness of fasting in casting out demons in his name [40].

If fasting is embraced in love of Christ and is a genuine sacrifice for no other personal gain, it will become a joy as your love for Jesus grows. By letting go of the desires of the flesh, we open our hearts more to God, which allows the fire of his love to grow stronger in us: enabling is to pray more, do more works of mercy and rebuke sin more easily.

God is not necessarily asking us to fast for forty days without any food or drink as Moses and Jesus did, but we can, in our busy lives, make an effort to fast once, twice or even three times a week. If unable to abstain completely, fasting on bread and water is also powerful. Jesus often used to call a fast for a day while on his mission with his Apostles [41]. If a person is unable to fast because of being elderly or for medical reasons, then other forms of sacrificial love in making an effort to be more Christ-like have a similar effect – we have the Bible and thousands of saints throughout the ages from whom to draw example. It is worth noting that some saints lived on the Holy Eucharist exclusively for many years.

Works of mercy are an essential requirement in a Christian’s life. Traditionally, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy include: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, burying the dead, instructing the ignorant, counselling the doubtful, admonishing sinners, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offences willingly, comforting the afflicted and praying for both the living and the dead.