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Objection 1: It would seem that counsel should not be reckoned among
the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The gifts of the Holy Ghost are given
as a help to the virtues, according to Gregory (Moral. ii,
49). Now for the purpose of taking counsel, man is sufficiently
perfected by the virtue of prudence, or even of euboulia (deliberating
well), as is evident from what has been said (Question 47,
Article 1, ad 2; Question 51, Articles 1,2). Therefore
counsel should not be reckoned among the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Objection 2: Further, the difference between the seven gifts of the
Holy Ghost and the gratuitous graces seems to be that the latter are
not given to all, but are divided among various people, whereas the
gifts of the Holy Ghost are given to all who have the Holy Ghost.
But counsel seems to be one of those things which are given by the
Holy Ghost specially to certain persons, according to 1 Macc.
2:65: "Behold . . . your brother Simon is a man of
counsel." Therefore counsel should be numbered among the gratuitous
graces rather than among the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Objection 3: Further, it is written (Rm. 8:14):
"Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God." But counselling is not consistent with being led by another.
Since then the gifts of the Holy Ghost are most befitting the
children of God, who "have received the spirit of adoption of
sons," it would seem that counsel should not be numbered among the
gifts of the Holy Ghost.
On the contrary, It is written (Is. 11:2): "(The Spirit
of the Lord) shall rest upon him . . . the spirit of counsel, and
of fortitude."
I answer that, As stated above (FS, Question 68, Article
1), the gifts of the Holy Ghost are dispositions whereby the soul
is rendered amenable to the motion of the Holy Ghost. Now God moves
everything according to the mode of the thing moved: thus He moves the
corporeal creature through time and place, and the spiritual creature
through time, but not through place, as Augustine declares (Gen.
ad lit. viii, 20,22). Again, it is proper to the rational
creature to be moved through the research of reason to perform any
particular action, and this research is called counsel. Hence the
Holy Ghost is said to move the rational creature by way of counsel,
wherefore counsel is reckoned among the gifts of the Holy Ghost.
Reply to Objection 1: Prudence or euboulia (deliberating well),
whether acquired or infused, directs man in the research of counsel
according to principles that the reason can grasp; hence prudence or
euboulia (deliberating well) makes man take good counsel either for
himself or for another. Since, however, human reason is unable to
grasp the singular and contingent things which may occur, the result is
that "the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels
uncertain" (Wis. 9:14). Hence in the research of counsel,
man requires to be directed by God who comprehends all things: and
this is done through the gift of counsel, whereby man is directed as
though counseled by God, just as, in human affairs, those who are
unable to take counsel for themselves, seek counsel from those who are
wiser.
Reply to Objection 2: That a man be of such good counsel as to
counsel others, may be due to a gratuitous grace; but that a man be
counselled by God as to what he ought to do in matters necessary for
salvation is common to all holy persons.
Reply to Objection 3: The children of God are moved by the Holy
Ghost according to their mode, without prejudice to their free-will
which is the "faculty of will and reason" [Sent. iii, D,
24]. Accordingly the gift of counsel is befitting the children of
God in so far as the reason is instructed by the Holy Ghost about
what we have to do.
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