The number of the twelve fruits enumerated by the Apostle is suitable, and that there may be a reference to them in the twelve fruits of which it is written (Apocalypse 22:2): “On both sides of the river was the tree bearing twelve fruits.” … As Augustine says on Galatians 5:22-23, “the Apostle had no intention of teaching us how many there are but to show how the former should be avoided, and the latter sought after.” Hence either more or fewer fruits might have been mentioned.Īt the same time, the Catechism also cites nine fruits of the spirit in a different paragraph, “By this power of the Spirit, God’s children can bear much fruit. Thomas Aquinas defends this expanded list in his Summa Theologiae.
With this in mind, the Catholic Church has accepted these “extra” fruits and lists them in the Catechism, “The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: ‘charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity'” (CCC 1832).
Against such there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23 Douay-Rheims).Īccording to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “there is no doubt that this list of twelve - three of the twelve are omitted in several Greek and Latin manuscripts - is not to be taken in a strictly limited sense, but, according to the rules of Scriptural language, as capable of being extended to include all acts of a similar character.” But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, m ildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity. Most translations of the above passage only list nine fruits, while the Latin Vulgate provides a list of 12 fruits, adding modesty, generosity, and chastity. Basically, if we are living a “life of the Spirit,” these “fruits” will be found in our lives. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines this fruit as “perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory” (CCC 1832). Paul in his letter to the Galatians lists specific “fruits” of the Holy Spirit, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 RSV-CE).