Holy Spirit 101
I was quite advanced in age before I had a fairly firm grasp of the importance of the Holy Spirit. When I was confirmed, I certainly knew that the Holy Spirit was going to confer all sorts of wonderful gifts on me. I knew He was the third person of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. And I knew He was worshipped and glorified because I said so every Sunday at Mass.
I never thought much about what the Spirit’s part was in my baptism. Since I was an infant at the time of baptism, I just grew up assuming all things were in order. Pretty soon, I came to see the work of the Spirit in the creation and Pentecost, and moved a bit beyond the idea that the Spirit looked like a dove or tongues of flame on the heads of the apostles, although those are valid and very fine images.
But what does the Holy Spirit do? Just as the Holy Spirit is the last person of the Trinity to be revealed, so it was also last to be understood by my mind. One day in what could only be called an epiphany, I knew what the Holy Spirit did. My faith and my knowledge of the Father and the Son were only possible because of the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit that communicated these things to me.
The Holy Spirit is like the UPS deliveryman of heaven. God has a warehouse full of gifts for me, and He entrusted their delivery to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who reveals the Son. Because of this, the missions of the Son and the Spirit are inseparable. We see Christ, but it is the Spirit who has revealed Him.
It is on that day we call Pentecost that the Holy Spirit is fully revealed to us. The Spirit prepares us just as he prepared Mary to be the Mother of God, and made it possible for John the Baptist, still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, to recognize Christ in Mary’s womb. When we pray, it is the Spirit who opens our hearts and minds. St. Paul tells us that we cannot even say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).
It is the Spirit we encounter in the sacraments. Baptism makes us temples of the Holy Spirit, and in the Eucharist, we pray to the Father, "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ." In Confirmation, the bishop anoints us with oil and says, "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
If you are having a hard time in prayer or feeling discouraged, you must become “like a little child” and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. When you are in the state of grace, it is the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Let the Spirit fill you with the love of Christ.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
I was quite advanced in age before I had a fairly firm grasp of the importance of the Holy Spirit. When I was confirmed, I certainly knew that the Holy Spirit was going to confer all sorts of wonderful gifts on me. I knew He was the third person of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. And I knew He was worshipped and glorified because I said so every Sunday at Mass.
I never thought much about what the Spirit’s part was in my baptism. Since I was an infant at the time of baptism, I just grew up assuming all things were in order. Pretty soon, I came to see the work of the Spirit in the creation and Pentecost, and moved a bit beyond the idea that the Spirit looked like a dove or tongues of flame on the heads of the apostles, although those are valid and very fine images.
But what does the Holy Spirit do? Just as the Holy Spirit is the last person of the Trinity to be revealed, so it was also last to be understood by my mind. One day in what could only be called an epiphany, I knew what the Holy Spirit did. My faith and my knowledge of the Father and the Son were only possible because of the Holy Spirit. It was the Spirit that communicated these things to me.
The Holy Spirit is like the UPS deliveryman of heaven. God has a warehouse full of gifts for me, and He entrusted their delivery to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who reveals the Son. Because of this, the missions of the Son and the Spirit are inseparable. We see Christ, but it is the Spirit who has revealed Him.
It is on that day we call Pentecost that the Holy Spirit is fully revealed to us. The Spirit prepares us just as he prepared Mary to be the Mother of God, and made it possible for John the Baptist, still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, to recognize Christ in Mary’s womb. When we pray, it is the Spirit who opens our hearts and minds. St. Paul tells us that we cannot even say, "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3).
It is the Spirit we encounter in the sacraments. Baptism makes us temples of the Holy Spirit, and in the Eucharist, we pray to the Father, "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ." In Confirmation, the bishop anoints us with oil and says, "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
If you are having a hard time in prayer or feeling discouraged, you must become “like a little child” and allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. When you are in the state of grace, it is the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Let the Spirit fill you with the love of Christ.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.
And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord.
Additional reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church: I Believe in the Holy Spirit, EWTN – Holy Spirit
Let us pray. O God, Who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord.
Additional reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church: I Believe in the Holy Spirit, EWTN – Holy Spirit
4 comments:
You know, the "Golden Sequence" is one of my favorite hymns:
"VENI, Sancte Spiritus,
et emitte caelitus
lucis tuae radium..."
You sure know how to write some good posts with subject matter that some people (like yours truly) easily miss. Yes, it seems that the Holy Spirit is often easily forgotten, or at least perceived as the lesser of the Three. What a shame. Thankfully, we have outstanding catechists like you to make sure that doesn’t happen:0)
H-S Power!
Adrienne-
Thank you for the wonderful post. I have loved the Holy Spirit and Pentecost has been an especially joyful time for me as I have journeyed back to the church these last few years.
I'm with you on coming later to the Holy Spirit. I always "got" God the Father, and the Son...but wondered why there was a Holy Spirit, I would have thought that the Father and the Son would have pretty much had it covered. [Mind, I've always BELIEVED it, because JEsus said there was One....]
My priest had the best and simplest answer. God didn't "decide" how to be -- He just IS the way He IS...no choice involved.
When I heard this simple explanation, I smiled, because then it made perfect sense.
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