The sixth of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is “Piety.”

According to Catholic Answers::

Piety is, principally, revering God with filial affection, paying worship and duty to God, paying due duty to all men on account of their relationship to God, and honoring the saints and not contradicting Scripture. The Latin word pietas denotes the reverence that we give to our father and to our country; since God is the Father of all, the worship of God is also called piety.

Piety gets a bad rap. Often it is misunderstood as a type of “holier than thou” attitude. I think we need to study the CA definition above more closely to be cured of that and come to an understanding that what is central to piety appears to be “love” and “respect.” 

“Filial affection” recalls Jesus referring to God as “Abba,” which I understand to be the Aramaic word for “Papa” or “Daddy;” terms we use when we are close to our fathers and are intimately familiar with them. 

Piety also implies humility, given that we are to pay “worship and duty to God, paying due duty to all men on account of their relationship to God, and honoring the saints and not contradicting Scripture.” There is a God and we are not Him, and we must respect all other people as they are made in the image and likeness of God and relate to them from that perspective.

Piety seems to be, in my opinion based on the above, and crucial element of recovery. It infuses us with a sense of a right order to things and if everyone followed a pious path, life would be better. We would certainly have a closer relationship with God and a just ordering of interpersonal relationships. Many of the things that cause our alcoholism would not come into play. 

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