In his description of the ancestry of the Messiah, the Prophet Isaiah referred to seven spiritual powers that would be given to him to help fulfil his mission. In Christian tradition, these sacred qualities are known as the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The passage in Isaiah reads: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1-3, Douay-Rheims version)
In the original Hebrew text, Isaiah listed six gifts of the Spirit but mentioned the gift of the fear of the Lord twice. When this passage was translated into ancient Greek, the scribes used two different words for “fear of the Lord”. The first time they translated it “godliness” and the second time, more literally, as “fear of the Lord”. This is why Christian tradition speaks of seven gifts rather than six.
The Book of Isaiah says that the Spirit, full of these special gifts, would be poured out on the people as well as the Messiah (Isaiah 32:15; 42:1; 44:3; 59:21; 61:1). In later Christian thought, the seven gifts became associated with the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, as the visible means for people to receive the Holy Spirit.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1831)
This altar panel featuring the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is found within Our Lady of the Holy Souls, in Kensal New Town. It was designed by John Francis Bentley and painted by John Stacey in the 1880s. Originally located within a side chapel, it’s now displayed on the main altar. Each of the angels featured on the panel holds a banner describing one of the seven gifts in Latin.
The panel is coloured red and orange, which are colours associated with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, each angel has a fiery flame burning in their halo. This reminds us of the “tongues of fire” that descended on the disciples on the Feast of Pentecost. The gifts are listed in the order described in Isaiah. The exception is the last gift, the fear of the Lord (Spiritus Timoris Domini), which takes pride of place in the centre.
See the full image:
Where to find this work of art
Our Lady of the Holy Souls, Kensal New Town
Read the relevant passage
Isaiah 11:1-3
On a similar theme
- From the Old Testament: Isaiah spoke of the Messiah’s seven gifts in a passage describing his family tree.
- From the New Testament: During the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to rest on the disciples in the form of fiery flames.
Lo & Behold 