<p>Search for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and you'll get different numbers depending on where you look. A confirmation worksheet says seven. A homily on 1 Corinthians says nine. A chart online says nineteen. Our own work uses twenty-four. It looks like a contradiction,but it's not.</p> <p>The numbers differ because they count different things. Some lists count the gifts that make <em>you</em> holy (traditionally called the <em>Gifts of the Holy Spirit</em>). Another counts the gifts God works <em>through</em> you for other people (often called <em>spiritual gifts</em> or <em>charisms</em>). Another counts the qualities the Holy Spirit grows in a life over time (usually called the <em>Fruits of the Holy Spirit</em>). Once you see which list is answering which question,the whole thing lines up and starts making sense.</p> <p>Here's each number,what it refers to,and where it comes from in Scripture.</p> <h2>The 7 — the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11)</h2> <p>This is the number most Catholics learn first,because it's the one taught for Confirmation: <strong>wisdom,understanding,counsel,fortitude,knowledge,piety,and fear of the Lord.</strong> The Catechism treats these seven as the gifts that "complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them" (CCC 1831) — in other words,they're given to make the person receiving them <em>holy</em>.</p> <p>They come from Isaiah 11:2–3,a prophecy about the Messiah. If you read that passage in a modern Catholic Bible (the NABRE),you'll actually count <em>six</em> qualities: "a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,a spirit of counsel and of strength,a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD." The traditional seven comes from the older Greek and Latin translations the Church prayed with for centuries,which rendered "fear of the Lord" in two places — once as <em>piety</em> and once as <em>fear of the Lord</em>. That's not an error to call anyone out on; it's simply why the confirmation list has seven and your Bible seems to have six.</p> <p>The practical thing to know: these seven are about your relationship with God. They're not a set of jobs to do or a checklist of talents to grow in. If you searched "gifts of the Holy Spirit" because of Confirmation,this is your list.</p> <h2>The 9 — the Spiritual Gifts of 1 Corinthians 12</h2> <p>Different passage,different purpose. When St. Paul writes to the Corinthians,he lists nine gifts: "the expression of wisdom… the expression of knowledge… faith… gifts of healing… mighty deeds… prophecy… discernment of spirits… varieties of tongues… interpretation of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:8–10).</p> <p>Notice how these differ from the confirmation seven. Paul is describing gifts the Spirit gives <em>for the good of others</em>: "To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit" (1 Corinthians 12:7). Healing heals someone else. Prophecy speaks to someone else. These aren't primarily about the holiness of the person who has them — they're tools the Holy Spirit gives out so the Church can be built up. The Church calls these <strong>charisms</strong> (from the Greek <em>charis</em>,which means grace).</p> <p>This is the list that opens up a personal question,because Paul sees in real time that different people have been given different gifts: "To one is given… to another…" etc. You have some of these. The person next to you at Mass probably has others.</p> <h2>The 12 — Usually the Fruits,Not the Gifts (Galatians 5)</h2> <p>If you found a list of twelve,it's almost always the <strong>fruits</strong> of the Holy Spirit,which is a different category again. St. Paul names them in Galatians 5:22–23. The NABRE lists nine — "love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,generosity,faithfulness,gentleness,self-control" — and the Catholic tradition,following the Latin Vulgate,counts twelve by including charity,goodness,modesty,and chastity.</p> <p>Fruits aren't gifts you receive ready-made; they're what grows in a person over time as the Holy Spirit works in them — evidence that the life is rooted in God. A gift is given; a fruit is grown. This is an important distinction to keep in mind because "the twelve gifts" and "the twelve fruits" get swapped constantly online.</p> <h2>The 19 (or 20) — the Full New Testament Lists Combined</h2> <p>Some charts add up to nineteen or twenty. That number comes from gathering <em>every</em> gift named across the New Testament passages that talk about them — not just 1 Corinthians 12,but also Romans 12,Ephesians 4,and 1 Peter 4. Paul never meant his lists to be exhaustive; he gives different lists to different churches. So when you combine them,you get a longer roster: teaching,service,exhortation,giving,leadership,mercy,apostleship,evangelism,pastoring,and more,on top of the healing and prophecy and tongues from Corinthians.</p> <p>There's nothing wrong with a nineteen-gift list. It's simply what you get when you read all the passages together instead of one at a time. Which points to the natural next question: if the Bible's own lists don't settle on a single number,how does the Church work with them?</p> <h2>The 24 — the Charisms We Work With</h2> <p>Because Scripture gives several overlapping lists rather than one closed set,the tradition has never fixed charisms at a single number. Working from all of Paul's lists plus the Church's lived experience of how the Spirit actually equips people,we describe <strong>twenty-four charisms</strong> — among them teaching,mercy,hospitality,administration,intercession,healing,leadership,craftsmanship,and evangelism. The <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/what-are-the-24-charisms-of-the-holy-spirit">complete guide to all 24 charisms</a> walks through each one.</p> <p>Twenty-four isn't a claim that God stopped at twenty-four,or that a shorter list is wrong. It's a workable,recognizable set drawn from the same Scripture everyone else is reading — detailed enough to help a real person put a name to what the Holy Spirit has given them,which a list of nine rarely is.</p> <h2>So Which Number Is Right?</h2> <p>All of them,because they answer different questions:</p> <ul> <li><strong>7 — Gifts that make you holy.</strong> From Isaiah 11:2–3 (via the tradition) — for your life with God (Confirmation).</li> <li><strong>9 — Gifts God works through you for others.</strong> From 1 Corinthians 12:8–10 — for serving the people around you.</li> <li><strong>12 — <em>Fruits</em> the Spirit grows in a person.</strong> From Galatians 5:22–23 — evidence of a life rooted in God.</li> <li><strong>19–20 — Every New Testament gift,combined.</strong> From Romans 12,1 Corinthians 12,Ephesians 4,and 1 Peter 4 — the full scriptural picture.</li> <li><strong>24 — The charisms we work with.</strong> All the lists plus the Church's experience — for discerning your own gifts.</li> </ul> <p>The seven and the twelve describe what God does <em>in</em> a person to make them holy. The nine,the nineteen,and the twenty-four describe what God gives a person to do <em>for other people</em>. Both are real,and both matter — they're just answering "how do I grow closer to God?" and "what has God equipped me to do for others?",which are different questions.</p> <h2>Which of These Gifts Should I Discern?</h2> <p>The gifts that make you holy,you pray for and grow into — you don't take a test to find your fortitude,because if you've received your sacraments you know you have it. But the charisms,the gifts meant for other people,are the ones the Church actually asks you to <em>discern</em>: "discernment of charisms is always necessary" (CCC 801). No charism arrives with a label attached,so putting a name to your unique gifts takes intentional discernment.</p> <p>But it's very doable. A good starting point is our <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/product/charism-assessment">charism assessment</a> — it takes about twenty minutes and points to the charisms you're most likely to have. From there you confirm the way the Church always has: through prayer,through feedback from people who know you well,and by testing your possible gifts in a real situation to see whether it bears fruit. Our <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/blog/how-to-discern-your-charisms/">complete guide to discerning your charisms</a> walks the whole process.</p> <p>You don't need to settle the numbers to take that step. Whether you count nine gifts or twenty-four,the teaching underneath is the same: the Holy Spirit has given you gifts meant for the people around you,and He means for you to find out which ones.</p> <h2>Frequently Asked Questions</h2> <h3>What are the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit?</h3> <p>Wisdom,understanding,counsel,fortitude,knowledge,piety,and fear of the Lord. They come from Isaiah 11:2–3 and are the gifts taught for Confirmation; the Church understands them as gifts that make the person receiving them holy (CCC 1830–1831).</p> <h3>What's the difference between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and charisms?</h3> <p>The seven gifts of Confirmation are given to make <em>you</em> holy. Charisms — the gifts St. Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12 — are given so God can work <em>through you</em> for other people. Same Holy Spirit,two different purposes. There's a fuller explanation in our guide,<a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/blog/gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-vs-charisms/">Gifts of the Holy Spirit vs. Charisms</a>.</p> <h3>Are there 9,12,or 24 gifts?</h3> <p>Nine is the number St. Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 12. Twelve almost always refers to the <em>fruits</em> of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5),which are a different category. Twenty-four is the set of charisms we work with,drawn from all of Scripture's lists together alongside the early traditions of the Church. None of these contradicts the others — they count different things.</p> <h3>How do I know which gifts of the Holy Spirit I have?</h3> <p>For the charisms — the gifts meant for others — the Church asks you to discern them through prayer,feedback,and testing them in practice. A <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/product/charism-assessment">charism assessment</a> gives you an objective starting point in about twenty minutes.</p> <hr> <p><strong>Go deeper:</strong> <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/blog/spiritual-gifts-in-the-bible/">Spiritual Gifts in the Bible: Every Passage Explained</a> · <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/blog/gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-vs-charisms/">Gifts of the Holy Spirit vs. Charisms</a> · <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/blog/what-is-a-charism/">What Is a Charism?</a> · <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/what-are-the-24-charisms-of-the-holy-spirit">All 24 Charisms Explained</a> · <a href="https://www.manypartsministries.com/product/charism-assessment">Take the Charism Assessment</a></p>

Some sources say 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit,others 9,12,19,or 24. Here's why the numbers differ — and what each list actually counts — from a Catholic view.

How Many Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

The 7 — the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11)

The 9 — the Spiritual Gifts of 1 Corinthians 12

The 12 — Usually the Fruits,Not the Gifts (Galatians 5)

The 19 (or 20) — the Full New Testament Lists Combined

What's the difference between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and charisms?

How do I know which gifts of the Holy Spirit I have?

Explore Catholic teaching on charisms and spiritual gifts. Articles on discernment, identity, the Holy Spirit, and living your gifts in everyday life.

Part & Parcel Blog — Catholic Teaching on Charisms

Articles on Catholic charism discernment — what charisms are, how to discover yours, and how to live them out in the Church and everyday life.



How Many Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

How Many Gifts of the Holy Spirit?

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