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The Holy Spirit and The Catholic Church

We often seem to forget that God is made up of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is a lot of talk about Jesus Christ, and, of course, this is natural considering that Jesus is the member of the Blessed Trinity that took on our humanity. Yet it was the Holy Spirit whom was sent to "breathe" life into the Church. The Holy Spirit, in truth, was an intrinsic part of Jesus' coming into this world:

And the angel said to her,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God" - Luke 1:35

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. - Acts 1:8

When the day of Pentacost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. - Acts 2:1-4

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you see and hear....Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:33, 38

And so the Holy Spirit has remained active, in the Catholic Church, down through the centuries, even to this very day. So what does the Church teach in reference to the activity of the Holy Spirit today? How do we know the Holy Spirit?

688 The Church, a communion living in the faith of the apostles which she transmits, is the place where we know the Holy Spirit:
- in the Scriptures He inspired;
- in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;
- in the Church's Magisterium, which He assists;
- in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;
- in prayer, wherein He intercedes for us;
- in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;
- in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;
- in the witness of saints through whom He manifests His holiness and continues the work of salvation.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, pgs. 180-181

The Church likewise expounded on the events of Pentecost:

731 On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance (cf. Acts: 2:33-36).
732 On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.
We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us. - Byzantine liturgy, Pentecost, Vespers, Troparion, repeated after communion.

So all of these things directly point to how we are to know the Holy Spirit in the Church and in our lives, but for greater clarity let us continue:

737 The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint mission henceforth brings Christ's faithful to share in his communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with His grace, in order to draw them to Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls His word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of His Death and Resurrection. He makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist, in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God, that they may "bear much fruit" (John 15:8, 16).
738 Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity:
All of us who have received on and the same Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit, are in a sense blended together with one another and with God. For if Christ, together with the Father's and His own Spirit, comes to dwell in each of us, though we are many, still the Spirit is one and undivided. He binds together the spirits of each and every one of us,...and makes all appear as one in him. For just as the power of Christ's sacred flesh unites those in whom it dwells into one body, I think that in the same way the one and undivided Spirit of God, who dwells in all, leads all into spiritual unity. - St. Cyril of Alexandria, 423-425 A.D.)

So here we find one of the most vital sign that the Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the Son - unity. The Church is necessary because it provides just that. It is in the Catholic Church that we find the greatest testimony to the work of the Holy Spirit in that the Church is united in Truth. Look at the past century, look at the many times the Catholic Church has stood firm on certain matters of faith and morals while all other Christian churches have chosen a different path. Why? Why does the Catholic Church stand firm? Because it is guided and held together by the Holy Spirit.

May the Holy Spirit descend upon each of you, and may He fill you with grace and love. May He lead each of you to the fullness of Truth, that can only be found in the Catholic Church.

In Christ,
Joe

Posted by Joe at February 18, 2004 05:27 AM | TrackBack