Trinity
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A Few Facts About The Holy Spirit

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you. (Jn. 14:15-20)

Of all the doctrines of the Faith, the Holy Spirit is probably one of the toughest for us to understand. The Third Person of the Trinity can seem vague, amorphous, unclear. Some of us have the image of a dove (which is Scriptural), but that isn’t wholly accurate. We do not have a “face” to go with the name, in a manner of speaking. Of course, it is a mystery – meaning it is something we will not fully understand this side of Heaven, if ever.

However, that does not mean we don’t know anything about the Holy Spirit. Here are some facts:

  • According to Scott Hahn, we get much of what we can know about the Spirit from the Book of Wisdom:

It was common for Jews of the time to view divine Wisdom as a person (or personification) distinct from Yahweh, and Christians often interpreted the Bible’s wisdom passages as referring to the Holy Spirit. It was a reasonable surmise. For example, in the Book of Wisdom, chapters 7–9, God’s Wisdom is referred to as “holy spirit,” and then described in terms that are strikingly divine (“all-powerful,” “all-knowing,” “overseeing all,” and “more mobile than any motion,” 7:22–23). And, since the Hebrew word for Wisdom, hokmah, is also feminine, Wisdom was addressed in bridal terms (“irresistible,” “more beautiful than the sun,” 7:22, 29).

  • We need the Holy Spirit in order to comprehend God’s thoughts (1 Cor. 2:11), and the Spirit has spoken through the prophets in order to help us gain this understanding.
  • St. Catherine of Siena gives us this beautiful analogy: “Enrich your soul in the great goodness of God: The Father is your table, the Son is your food, and the Holy Spirit waits on you and then makes His dwelling in you.”
  • We know we are “sealed” in the Spirit at Confirmation. That “mark,” says St. Paul, is made because we believe in Christ Jesus.
  • The Holy Spirit is a gift-giver! He shares with us wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. Of course, like any gift, we can choose to use these or we can stuff them back in the proverbial box, shove them in a dark corner of our closet and forget about them. The Spirit gives the gifts, but He will never strong-arm us into using them.
  • And the gifts just keep on giving! The Holy Spirit (just as St. Catherine of Siena said) brings to us luscious fruit as our “waiter:” charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, humility or gentleness, fidelity or faithfulness, modesty, continence or self-control and chastity. Again, we can give thanks and eat, or we can tell the waiter to take it back.

While we may not fully understand the Holy Spirit, it is clear from just these few thoughts that the Spirit is an abundant giver, powerful, and willing to serve us. The Holy Spirit is the love of God the Father and God the Son, poured out into this Third Person of the Trinity, speaking to us through Scripture and the Church. Yes, the Holy Spirit is a mystery – but a mystery willing to reveal itself bit-by-bit as we pray and study and contemplate.

Spirit of life, by whose power the Word was made flesh
in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the woman of attentive silence,
make us docile to the promptings of your love
and ever ready to accept the signs of the times
which you place along the paths of history.

Come, Spirit of love and peace!

To you, Spirit of love,
with the Almighty Father and the Only-Begotten Son,
be praise, honour and glory
for ever and ever. Amen.

[Original art by Waiting for the Word.]

EH headshotElise Hilton is an author, blogger and speaker. Her role at Diocesan Publications is Editor & Writer with the Marketing Team. She has worked in parish faith formation and Catholic education for over 30 years. A passionate student of theology, Elise enjoys sharing her thoughts on parish communication, the role of social media in the Church, Franciscan spirituality and Catholic parenting. To enquire about booking her as a speaker, please contact her at ehilton@diocesan.com.

 

Jesus blood
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Power To Redeem: The Blood of Jesus

What’s your type?

Anyone who remembers basic biology or who has watched a medical drama knows that humans have different blood types. When someone loses blood due to accident or injury, and that person’s blood needs to be replaced, the medical team takes care to “type” the blood, so as to match it with donated blood. A person given the wrong blood type can potentially lose their life. (Some people, those with “O” type blood are universal donors; they can supply blood to any other person, regardless of type.)

Humans cannot live without blood. Why we were created this way, only God knows, but it is fact. Without blood, we cease to exist.

As a Church, we are a living organism. We are the Body of Christ. Also, Scripture, Tradition and the saints call the Church the Bride of Christ:

The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb. “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.” He has joined her with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body.

What one of us would not give our blood for the life of a cherished love one? Many of us donate blood for people we will never meet this side of Heaven. We do this because we understand how vital it is to life.

Christ: the eternal donor

Christ knew the value of blood to humanity. He made it clear, at the Last Supper, that he was sacrificing His very Body and Blood for the life of the Church. He poured out that blood the following day, as He was beaten and battered, whipped and kicked, and finally crucified. Monsignor Romano Guardini:

Christ the intermediary [between us and God the Father] is a sacred living artery through which divine purity and forgiveness flow; through the establishment of the Eucharist he becomes a permanent artery, supplying all the generations with the superabundance of divine life. [The Lord]

I don’t know about you, but that puts me into a state of awe: our God has given His very life’s blood so that we can share in his divinity. As a Church, as baptized Christians, as people of the Eucharist, we receive “transfusions” of life and divinity and purity and forgiveness. Christ holds nothing back. Do we hold back? Are we reluctant to give ourselves wholly  to Christ, when He has been generous to us?

St. Catherine of Siena was devoted to the Precious Blood of Christ. She prayed:

Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure us every grace! Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen.

If we cut ourselves off from the “major artery,” that is, Christ, we will perish. If we allow ourselves to receive the transfusion of life, offered by Christ, we will have eternal life. It’s basic biology.

nun
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Pray Like A Nun

Really, the title of this post should be “Pray Like A Nun or A Sister.” There is a difference, even though we Catholics typically use the words interchangeably. A nun lives a monastic life, usually cloistered – away from the world. She spends her day in prayer and work behind the walls of the monastery, where there is little contact with the “outside.”

A sister lives in community with her fellow sisters, but they live in the world. There are sisters who teach, who are nurses, social workers, counselors, midwives, and on and on. Their lives are meant to be active: to be a sign of Christ in our world. (For a complete and excellent explanation, see here.)

Now, back to “Pray Like A Nun.” No, we are not suggesting that you formally pray six times a day while still doing your job (but wouldn’t it be great if we all did?) However, nuns can certainly teach us a thing or two about prayer.

For instance, St. Catherine of Siena: You, eternal Trinity, are a deep sea. The more I enter you, the more I discover, and the more I discover, the more I seek you. Perhaps before or after Mass, you can spend just a few minutes in prayer to the Holy Trinity.

Then there is St. Therese’ of Lisieux: Do you realize that Jesus is there is the tabernacle expressly for you – for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart…” Wow! Make sure your time spent before the tabernacle and during Mass truly focuses on Jesus and His immense love for you.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross: Let go of your plans. The first hour of your morning belongs to God. Tackle the day’s work that he charges you with, and he will give you the power to accomplish it. How many of us start our day without a thought to God? Before our feet hit the floor in the morning, we should lift our hearts and minds to God.

Mother Angelica:  We need to be attuned to the Will of God so that we only ask for the things He desires, then you will get all you ask. It has been said that the phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done,” is the perfect prayer. Are we praying that with sincerity of heart and mind and will?

We’ve all heard Catholic school stories where Sister hit everyone with a ruler or made the same kid stay after school to clean erasers because he forget his homework every day. Nuns and sisters are not icons of days gone by, or the butt of jokes and stories. These holy women, dedicated to Christ, have a lot to teach us. Are we listening?