Building off the Gift of Piety which supernaturally inspires a man to strive to offer God honor and praise through grateful acts of Religion and operates within a man’s heart and Will to treat all others with Justice, the Holy Spirit endows a man with the Gift of Knowledge, which supernaturally inspires a man to both seek the truth of God as it relates to living on earth and to practically apply the truth of God in his daily thoughts, words and deeds.
While every man has been endowed by God with an Intellect which he uses to build human knowledge of the world so that he might live and thrive, because God has created man in His image and likeness, man has an inherent natural desire and motivation to know God and live out the truth of God to in the world. By receiving the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism, every Catholic man is given the Gift of Knowledge which supernaturally inspires him to seek God’s truth and reject lies, develops a deep knowledge of the beliefs of Catholicism and apply them in daily life, and motivates him to share his knowledge and practice of the Catholic faith to others.
The Gift of Knowledge guides and inspires a Catholic man to seek Truth and reject the lies of Satan
Gives a Catholic man direct knowledge from God
The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Be received by every willing and prepared Catholic man, allowing even the illiterate and lowly in intelligence to receive a certain and sufficient grasp of the Truth of God necessary for salvation; others, called by God to specific ways to build the Kingdom of God on earth are given the ability through the Gift of Knowledge to receive spectacular and ever growing levels of the knowledge of God.
- Inform a Catholic man of truths of the faith which strengthen belief and provide concrete knowledge of what he is to do on his daily path towards Heaven. Given directly from God, the Gift of Knowledge gives a man information which is complete and compelling and which does not require any act of reason or analysis for him to receive; God speaks and a man suddenly “knows.”
- Gives a Catholic man the ability to see the world made by God and the knowledge of how to live so God might receive him into Heaven; this knowledge of the faith is sometimes called Sensus Fidei (sense of the faith), an intuitive and instinctual grasp of the truths of Catholicism.
- Can help a man grow in the Virtue of Hope because God Himself reveals the reality of His love and guidance in a man’s daily life; the Gift of Knowledge provides certainty that all good things come from God, that a man’s struggles in the world will pass, and God desires to bring him to eternal salvation.
- Protect a Catholic man from Despair, a sin against Hope, by giving a man the direct knowledge that God loves him, has complete Dominion over the world, and has the power to fulfill His promise to receive faithful Catholic men into the everlasting joy and peace of Heaven.
- Protects a Catholic man against Presumption, a sin against Hope, by exposing the truth about his many sins to his conscience, his failures to repent and confess his sins and the reality of his failures to love God and others through a vibrant practice of the Catholic faith.
Reveals to a Catholic man that the fullness of knowledge of God is found Catholicism
The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Inspire a Catholic man to desire to continually grow in knowledge of the truth of God which is necessary for his salvation and to know how to practically live out God’s truth in his life; the Gift of Knowledge influences a man’s natural capability to grow in knowledge by guiding his efforts to seek the essential knowledge necessary on the path to Heaven.
- Reveal to a Catholic man that the true knowledge of God is found in Jesus Christ who is Truth Himself (Jn 14:6) and move a man to seek to grow in the knowledge and imitation of Christ.
- Convince a Catholic man that the knowledge of Jesus Christ can only be found in fullness in Christ’s Holy Catholic Church and that he, though a mere man, can receive the supernatural Gift of Knowledge because he has been received into Christ’s Holy Catholic Church through his Baptism and Confirmation.
- Protects a Catholic man from the lies of Satan – The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Protect a Catholic man against the temptations and lies of Satan in his daily life by giving him an infused knowledge of what to think and how to act in any situation; Jesus Christ reveals that the ultimate source of lies in the world is Satan who Jesus accurately condemned as, “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44). To defeat the lies of Satan, Jesus Christ has sent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth (Jn 14:16-17) who will teach men all things (Jn 14:26) and guide them to all truth (Jn 16:13); the Holy Spirit can guide receptive Catholic men to Truth through the Gift of Knowledge.
- Protect a Catholic man from poor or false catechesis of the Catholic faith by confused or evil teachers in the Church whom Satan uses to undermined the faith, and instantly give him a supernatural knowledge of Christ’s Truth or lead him to further study of faithful sources to properly form his conscience.
- Enlighten a man’s mind to recognize the subtle and blatant lies of the world, why the lies are destructive to a man’s soul and even how a man should respond. Since the Garden of Eden, Satan has sought to divide men from God by lying to men, directly tempting men or by working through Satan’s surrogates, those in the world who hate God and promote evil.
- Satan’s work to deceive men is being increasingly recognized as Satan’s lies become more outrageous and obvious in this age of lies (God does not exist, contraception (literally, “against life”) is good, the murder of children in the womb or even newborns is acceptable, all family “structures” are equal, fathers are optional, divorce and remarriage are normal and not sinful, almost all sexual sins are no longer sins, marriage is not only between a man and a woman, people can change their sex, there are dozens of genders, a person’s sexual preferences or skin color are the most important aspect of their identity, those who practice perversion are to be pridefully celebrated, etc.).
- Less obvious are Satan’s subtle attacks which permeate government, the legal system, education, science, journalism, and entertainment, and how Satan is even working with some in the Holy Catholic Church to confuse and deceive the faithful about what the Church teaches.
- Warn a Catholic man to reject many of the supposedly credible modern sources of information (news, entertainment, commentary, government, public education, science, academia) by making him aware of the lies being promoted, or through a sudden certainty to stay away from a particular source or person because it opposes the truth of Christ or leaves a man confused, disoriented, angry or afraid; the crisis of the age of lies has been worsened by global technology that allows those in power to continually barrage a man with an almost infinite amount of information, much of which Satan has infiltrated and perverted so he can lead souls to Hell.
The Gift of Knowledge helps a Catholic man know in the practical knowledge of Catholicism
Helps a Catholic man to pursue the practical knowledge of the faith
The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Convince a Catholic man of his lifelong responsibility and obligation to grow in the practical knowledge of the Catholic faith. Jesus preached the Gospel to give men knowledge essential to their salvation and commanded the Apostles to pass down knowledge of the faith: St. Peter urges men to “grow in the grace and knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18). Any man serious about Jesus must be serious and give his continual best efforts to receive the knowledge of Jesus.
- Help a Catholic man grow in practical knowledge of the faith through the giving of the Holy Spirit by elevating his ability to learn beyond his human capability. Jesus has deliberately sent the Holy Spirit to reside in the hearts of the Baptized and gives a man the Gift of Knowledge so he can receive the knowledge necessary for his particular challenges and talents on the path towards Heaven.
- Motivate a Catholic man to tirelessly work to apply his natural ability to grow in the practical knowledge of the faith by helping him continually recognize the joy and peace he has gained through his knowledge of Christ and His Holy Catholic Church.
- Sustain a Catholic man in the pursuit of the practical knowledge of Christ when he is overwhelmed or bored by interceding in mysterious ways, including: suddenly revealing an astounding practical insight which convinces a man that the Spirit is helping him; inspiring a man with awe at the truth, goodness, and beauty of what he is learning; motivating him by showing that some recent knowledge he has received is exactly what he needs to be happy, etc.
Guides a Catholic man to gain the specific knowledge he needs
The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Lead a Catholic man to trustworthy Catholic teachers and sources that can help him better penetrate the Gospels, other Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the lives and writings of the Saints, Virtues, Apologetics, and other important areas of Catholic knowledge.
- Helps a Catholic man in growing in knowledge by easing and speeding up his learning and giving him fuller meaning of some important area of knowledge after diligent study; the Gift of Knowledge can also act in an instant, blessing a man with profound knowledge of God that required no effort or the application of reason on his part.
- Reveal to a Catholic man timely answers to tough and confusing problems he is currently struggling with; the Spirit may simply give the man knowledge directly or may mysteriously present him with an experience, teacher or material that provides an immediate answer.
- Make clear to a Catholic man some serious gap in his knowledge, exposing inconsistencies, conflicts, confusion or areas of disbelief, which protects a man against ignorance and error and motivates him to pursue the knowledge he needs to fill the gap.
- Give a Catholic man real-time access to knowledge about spiritual matters that help him make practical decisions in his daily life, for example: suddenly knowing what the faith demands some immediate difficult situation or crisis; suddenly realizing some previously unrecognized sin; being shown how to be charitable in the midst of some conflict; how to solve difficult conflicts in a charitable way; etc.
The Gift of Knowledge motivates and helps a Catholic man to teach others
Inspires a Catholic man to pass along the knowledge of Catholicism
The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Reveal to a Catholic man his duty to pass along the Catholic faith to others; because God created us to “know, love and serve Him” (CCC 1721), learning and passing on the knowledge of God through His Holy Catholic Church is essential for the salvation of every soul and a duty for every Catholic.
- Inspire a Catholic man to accept and fulfill his duty as a Catholic father to draw many souls to become adopted children of God through the passing along of the knowledge of the faith.
Assists a Catholic man in passing along the knowledge of the faith
The Gift of Knowledge can supernaturally:
- Help a Catholic man pass along knowledge of the faith; given the importance God places on “knowing” Him, the Gift of Knowledge inspires and informs the faithful as they transmit the knowledge of Catholicism to each successive generation.
- Help a Catholic man to be effective in teaching knowledge of the faith to his children and others; Jesus reveals He sends the Holy Spirit to assist men when they are called upon to proclaim and teach the knowledge of the faith to others (Lk 12:11-12).