Bishop Serratelli's latest book

CLIFTON  As we navigate the challenges of our everyday lives in an increasingly secular society that is hostile to religion, we should call on the Holy Spirit to provide us with some help in living authentic Christian lives by placing some critical items in our spiritual toolkit: the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In his latest book, Bishop Serratelli encourages the faithful to ask for these gifts —wisdom, understanding, fortitude, counsel, knowledge, fear of the Lord and piety — while also offering sharp spiritual insights about them and how they can enrich our lives and our faith.

Published by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. of Totowa, “The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit” — Bishop Serratelli’s second book — presents a short reflection about each of these gifts, enhanced by ample religious, Scriptural and historical context. He writes that the gifts “make us open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives” and “help us grow in holiness, making us fit for heaven.” The end of the 96-page soft cover book includes a question-and-answer section about the spiritual nature of the Holy Spirit and prayers related to the Spirit. In January, the same publisher released the Bishop’s first book, “From the Cross to the Empty Tomb.”

“Jesus alone possessed the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in their fullness. But the Holy Spirit graciously gives those same gifts to all who follow Jesus,” Bishop Serratelli writes in the book’s introduction. He also urges readers to pray to the Holy Spirit for the seven gifts, which he called “our inheritance as baptized and confirmed Christians. We do not earn them. We do not merit them…These seven gifts of the Holy Spirit help us live a truly authentic Christian way of life,” he writes.

In the first chapter of this pocket-sized book, Bishop Serratelli explores the gift of wisdom, starting it the way he that starts his homilies: with a story. He writes about the ancient Greeks, who built the Parthenon, an impressive structure, in honor of Athena, the female god of wisdom, so they could achieve perfection in all things. But in the noble pursuit of bettering the human condition, people not only need knowledge of how to do something, but also wisdom to know when to do it, the Bishop writes.

This chapter highlights King Solomon in the Old Testament as a paragon of wisdom — not something that he acquired through natural intelligence but as a gift from God. Bishop Serratelli tells the popular story of Solomon’s wisdom in judging the case of two women, who both claimed to be the mother of a particular baby. He proposed to cut the baby in half and give half to each woman, which prompted one woman at cry out, “No!” — revealing herself to be the real mother, the Bishop writes.

A few pages later, we meet Daniel also of the Old Testament, who was taken into exile by the Babylonians in the sixth century before Christ and sent to serve in the court of their king, Nebuchadnezzar. In one case, God stirred up the Holy Spirit in Daniel, which inspired him to cross-examine two elders in the kingdom and find the deliberate falsehoods in each of their testamonies — an approach that led to the exoneration of a married woman on a charge of adultery, Bishop Serratelli writes.

“Wisdom…equips us to deal with the practical details of life in light of God’s ultimate purpose for his creation. The gift of wisdom enables us to judge the things of this world as God sees them,” writes Bishop Serratelli, who refers to Isaiah and quotes Pope Francis’ General Audience on April 9, 2014 in the chapter. “Our minds are lifted above the mundane to contemplate divine truths. No matter what level of our formal education in the faith, with the gift of wisdom, we can reach a profound knowledge of the divine,” the Bishop writes.

In Chapter 7, Bishop Serratelli explores the gift of fear of the Lord, opening with a true — and humorous — statement: “Fear is an emotion that hardly seems desirable!” While many people might view fear as an emotion that would stop someone from doing something, Catholics should view fear of the Lord as possessing a “joy-filled awe in the presence of God,” he writes.

In the Old Testament, Abraham demonstrated fear of the Lord by obeying him to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only child, Isaac — a sacrifice that an angel of the Lord had stopped. In this case, “fear means obedience, not slavish or feudal, but filial obedience. It is the obedience of faith that stands in awe of God and trusts God, who is always beyond our human understanding.” This gift also “is the starting point, the foundation, of a right relationship with God,” Bishop Serratelli writes.

In the book’s conclusion, Bishop Serratelli emphasizes the ultimate purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: to help bring us peace and true happiness in our union with Christ. He ends the book, writing, “By joyfully receiving and zealously using the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we find our way to lasting happiness.”

In a Sept. 6 letter to the diocesan faith community, Msgr. James Mahoney, diocesan vicar general, moderator of the Curia and pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Township, suggested that “The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit” could “benefit people in different situations: people preparing for Confirmation, those recently confirmed and also people who have been confirmed for many years.” He also stated, “Even though it is a little early, I cannot think of a better stocking stuffer at Christmas.”

“Many Catholics cannot explain very much about the Holy Spirit. This very readable book can fill in the gaps and deepen their appreciation of the Holy Spirit,” Msgr. Mahoney wrote.

The retail price of “The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit” is $5.95. Catholic Book Publishing Corp. is offering a 40-percent discount for orders up to 25 copies and a 50-percent discount for orders of more than 25 copies. Use promo code: Bishop2.

[Information: Call Catholic Book Publishing Corp. at (877) 228-2665 or visit https://catholicbookpublishing.com]