The 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit Chaplet

The Chaplet of the Holy Spirit can help you meditate on the mysteries of the presence of the third person of the Holy Trinity in the Gospels and in your life. The Chaplet of the 7 gifts is also part of the devotion to the Holy Spirit. Generally, this Chaplet is prayed during the octave of Pentecost. The Chaplet is constituted of seven 7-day prayers to ask for the 7 charisms of the Holy Spirit. 

What Are the Seven Gifts of The Holy Spirit? 

What does it mean to “receive the Holy Spirit?” In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul the Apostle wrote about the Charisms of the Holy Spirit: 

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”.

In his compendium Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas describes the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as follows: 

• the gift of Wisdom;

• the gift of Understanding;

• the gift of Counsel;

• the gift of Knowledge;

• the gift of Fortitude;

• the gift of Piety;

• the gift of Holy Fear of the Lord. 

Many prayers to the Holy Spirit are requests to receive these special gifts, notably the novena to the Holy Spirit. 

How to Recite the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit Chaplet

Start by reciting:

• The Apostles’ Creed;

• One ‘Our Father’;

• Three ‘Hail Marys’;

• One ‘Glory Be’.

You then recite one of the following prayers (each is associated with one of the seven charisms of the Holy Spirit).

First prayer 

“Grant me the gift of holy fear , so that it may act on me as a check to prevent me from falling back into my past sins, for which I beg pardon.“

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Second Prayer

“Grant me the gift of piety , so that I may serve You for the future with increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and observe your divine precepts with greater fidelity.” 

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Third Prayer

“Grant me the gift of knowledge , so that I may know the things of God and, enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk, without deviation, in the path of eternal salvation.”  

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Fourth Prayer

“Grant me the gift of fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul.” 

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Fifth Prayer

“Grant me the gift of counsel, so that I may choose what is more conducive to my spiritual advancement and may discover the wiles and snares of the tempter.”

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Sixth Prayer

“Grant me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and affections from the vain things of this miserable world.”

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Seventh Prayer

“Grant me the gift of wisdom, so that I may rightly direct all my actions, referring them to God as my last end; so that, having loved Him and served Him in this life, I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in the next.”

Then repeat seven times: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.”.

Finish your prayer by reciting three ‘Glory Bes’