LOVE
Love: Jesus makes charity the new commandment. By loving his own "to the end," he makes manifest the Father's love which he receives. By loving one another, the disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus says: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love." And again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." CCC 1823
Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 57-61. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.
“Love is the primary force in a Christian’s life, for God is love. From Genesis through Revelation, we see God’s love. From God’s magnificent plan of salvation to our daily living experiences, God’s love is being shown; look to the Cross. Our role is to accept God’s love and allow it to flow through us to other Christians and to the world. Once the love of God starts to flow and operate through you and touch others, many of the fruits of the Holy Spirit will then start to follow right after it, in domino fashion.”
1. Unselfish, benevolent concern for another; brotherly concern; the object of brotherly concern or affection.
2. The self-denying, self-sacrificing, Christ-like love which is the foundation of all other graces.
3. Unselfish and loyal benevolent concern for the well-being of another.
4. The high esteem God has for his human children and the high regard which they, in turn, should have for Him and other people.
Galatians 5:22–23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.
This scripture passage is one of the most beloved passages in the Bible. The “Fruit in the Spirit” has also been misinterpreted as characteristics that believers should somehow manufacture in their lives. But the key to understanding these qualities is in the name …”Fruit”… Fruit is the natural result of growth; and “of the Spirit” explains exactly Who causes that growth. It’s not our striving or straining, but the power of the Holy Spirit. No amount of human toil or gritty determination can produce spiritual fruit, but the Spirit’s influence in a yielded heart can work miracles.
The English word “love” has a very broad meaning, but the Greek language is very precise. The love which the Holy Spirit manifests in believers is “agape”. This love is not a feeling, but a choice. It is the choice to be kind, to sacrifice, to consider another’s needs greater than one’s own. Agape is used in all of the “hard” love verses in the New Testament. See, John 15, 1 John 3:11, Luke 6:35, 1 John 5:3, John 3:16, Mark 12:30-31.
Kindness Starts with Caring
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Part of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit Reflections (to be continued on this page for the remainder)
Kindness Starts with Caring: Being tenderhearted and compassionate toward others. We must share kindness with our family and with other people. Encouraging words of comfort, courtesy, compliments, and even correction can be heartwarming acts of kindness.
We must take the opportunity to heal people from their emotional wounds rather than rub salt in those wounds. Our motive for doing this is never to impress people, but to share the love of God with them. “Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for God is kind to the unthankful and the evil.” Luke 6:35.
Jesus Christ practiced kindness that was radical for that time and culture. He always had great concern for women as well as men, for children as well as adults, for other races as well as the Jewish race, and for the sick and weak as well as the strong. He often wore himself out praying for other people, feeding them (thousands) and helping them in other ways. Many times, he was moved with compassion (Mt. 9:36; 14:14; 18:27). We too should be helping, giving, and sharing, caring and encouraging, extending mercy, filled with compassion as we are able.
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
9/18/26
Based on: Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 66-68. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness,
next - Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. /bro Fred
More about Joy
Let’s talk about joy. Some people call this happiness. But happiness doesn’t go deep enough. Christian Joy is something you have while you may be suffering. It’s a deep, abiding joy in the Lord. I’ve spent four and a half years in religious life; it is there that I wasn’t just happy—I felt great joy. Unfortunately, that time came to an end when the Order I was with would not continue due to insufficient members. My time as a Secular Franciscan (32+ years) gives me great joy, too. In Ps. 89:1, “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known to all generations.” Joy, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, is so special because it is not an emotion; it is an expression of the soul. It is a time of great delight, gladness of heart, happiness, and rejoicing: that deep, abiding rejoicing in the Lord. It is evidence of the presence of the Spirit within an individual. It keeps you going when storms of life are raging.
The storms of life are there. I get easily distracted by needless interruptions while I’m working to write about these things and these thoughts. I get many scam calls at the most inopportune times, to the point where it is necessary to set my phone to ‘Do Not Disturb’ if I want to get anything done at all. So, to my friends, if you can’t reach me, you know why.
Sometimes, people confuse joy in the Spirit with happiness. Happiness results from the attainment of what one considers good, but joy of the Spirit results from an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Happiness is characterized by good luck or fortune. This means that when there is misfortune, happiness disappears and misery sets in; it’s momentary. However, this is not the case with Christian joy; even when there is misfortune, the person is still joyful. As in Isaiah 12: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
The modern world does not encourage joy in God. Instead, we are taught the value of possessions, power, and position. True joy is found only in Jesus.
Some concepts from: “Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 59-60. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.
Generosity means doing good to and for others by loving them and putting ourselves at their service: our time, talents, and money, without recompense. Especially to strangers. To love is to give. When we give, we truly deny ourselves, as the Lord has requested. (See Mt. 25:40). It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35b).
Generosity is a fruit, and it is connected with gratitude. Gratitude leads to generosity! Generous Christ-followers are eternally grateful for what God has done. Generosity isn’t easy—not for the faint of heart. It will cost you time, energy, and money. It is even more difficult for those who have little to offer. Mother Teresa said: “If you give something that you can live without, it’s not giving.”
God can never be outdone in His generosity, and He doesn’t expect us to.
00001. Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 68-69. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.
Faithfulness
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
Faithfulness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Faithfulness is steadfastness, constancy, or allegiance; it is being careful in keeping what we are entrusted with. Biblical faithfulness requires belief in what the Bible says about God. His existence, His works, and His character. Faithfulness as a Fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Spirit working in us. The Spirit is also our seal of faithfulness. He is our witness that we believe all that God promises, and we accept the truth that He will save us. See Hebrews 11. Faithfulness is believing that God is Who He says He is and continuing in that belief despite what the world tries to tell us.
1. Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 70. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.
GENTLENESS
Gentleness (1) is the trait of the person who is in control of himself: even-tempered, tranquil, balanced in spirit, unpretentious, with passions under control. It is a quality desperately needed today. Whoever possesses this quality pardons injury, corrects faults and rules his own spirit well. Gentleness respects the differences of opinion and beliefs of others so as to promote patience, dialogue, and understanding.
So many people have been beaten up and hurt in their dealings with other people that just a gentle word, a gentle touch from another Christian, can really open the door to healing and peacefulness in their life. Gentleness is not being weak, as with meekness. Gentleness is strength under control.
Gentleness allows us to be caring and nurturing toward others. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5)
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
1. Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 71-73. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.
Self-Control
“Self-Control is the exercise over desires, appetites, and sins of the flesh. It may be thought of as innocence of mind and conduct by the exercise of self control. It is the presence of Christ in our heart that enables us to say “No” to temptations in our life so that we life a pure and holy life. It is allowing God to be in control of our will and heart and seeking the Spirit to enable us. Then we will know what to do and guard the areas we are weak in. This will allow us to have discipline and restraint with obedience to God and others. It is not letting distractions derail or remove us from His will and plan so we will not be held back from what Christ calls us to do. Christ is our greatest example, from the humbleness of the incarnation, through Gethsemane, to the cross. He is the perfect model of self-control.” (1)
"Self control is the key to inner strength that helps deliver us from fear, depression, harm and the pain of life, by our focus on Christ and not our circumstances." (1)
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
9/28/2026
- Deacon Joe DiMauro (1949-2022), “The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life,” p. 73. This was published for St. Helen Parish, Charismatic Prayer Group, where he and I were members. Used with permission.