for the gift of Understanding to clearly discern the spirit of the mysteries of the holy faith
Understanding is a penetrating insight into the very heart of things, especially those higher truths that are necessary for our eternal salvation—in effect, the ability to “see” God
Have you ever heard a homily or read a passage of Scripture and had a deep clarity into the words? Maybe you’ve knelt in the Confessional, listening to the priest as he speaks the words of absolution and been overcome with joy? Or, kneeling as you receive Holy Eucharist or even hearing the Eucharistic prayers and simply been overwhelmed with a deep sense of joy and awe?
This is all examples of the gift of understanding. The moment when the souls sees God in the moment.
The mysteries of God are vast and wide. They are deep and transforming. But so often we fail to understand. We often even fail to want to understand.
Think about those things in your life now, or in your past, that have left you confused. You need a special gift of the Holy Spirit to make sense of them. And you need this gift to make sense of the many good things of God found in the Scriptures also. This is the Gift of Understanding. It’s a spiritual gift that unlocks the many mysteries of life for us.
Without the Gift of Understanding, we are left on our own to try to make sense of life. This is especially true when we are faced with hardship and suffering.