CCC 683-701
The Gospel according to Mark 1:9-13 (NABRE)
9It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. 11 And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased. 12At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, 13 and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
The Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11 (NABRE)
1 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. 2 And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. 3 Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. 6At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? 9We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”
The Holy Spirit is described in the Bible in powerful terms. Mark the Evangelist describes the descent of the Holy Spirit as the sky being “torn open” and the Holy Spirit “drove” Jesus into the desert. The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is described as a “strong driving wind” that was so loud and powerful and people gathered around to see what the commotion was. Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus says “I have come to cast a fire upon the Earth and would that it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).
We say in the Creed that The Holy Spirit “has spoken through the prophets”. Elijah, Jeremiah and even John the Baptist were described as wild men, speaking out with no thought of their own safety or even tact.
All in all, The Holy Spirit is described as a wild force: unstoppable, bold and even a little frightening. This is preserved in our everyday language. We say someone is “spirited” if he’s full of life and energy. When artists, writers (or even engineers) are “inspired” it’s almost as if their work takes on a life of it’s own and the creative process has been taken over by a power outside the artist. And yet The Holy Spirit is personified as a dove!
St Thomas Aquinas had some things to say about that in his Summa Theologia (Part III, q39, Art 6):
The Holy Ghost appeared over Christ at His baptism, under the form of a dove, for four reasons. First, on account of the disposition required in the one baptized--namely, that he approach in good faith: since as it is written (Wisdom 1:5): "The holy spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful." For the dove is an animal of a simple character, void of cunning and deceit: whence it is said (Matthew 10:16): "Be ye simple as doves."
Secondly, in order to designate the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are signified by the properties of the dove. For the dove dwells beside the running stream, in order that, on perceiving the hawk, it may plunge in and escape. This refers to the gift of wisdom, whereby the saints dwell beside the running waters of Holy Scripture, in order to escape the assaults of the devil. Again, the dove prefers the more choice seeds. This refers to the gift of knowledge, whereby the saints make choice of sound doctrines, with which they nourish themselves. Further, the dove feeds the brood of other birds. This refers to the gift of counsel, with which the saints, by teaching and example, feed men who have been the brood, i.e. imitators, of the devil. Again, the dove tears not with its beak. This refers to the gift of understanding, wherewith the saints do not rend sound doctrines, as heretics do. Again, the dove has no gall. This refers to the gift of piety, by reason of which the saints are free from unreasonable anger. Again, the dove builds its nest in the cleft of a rock. This refers to the gift of fortitude, wherewith the saints build their nest, i.e. take refuge and hope, in the death wounds of Christ, who is the Rock of strength. Lastly, the dove has a plaintive song. This refers to the gift of fear, wherewith the saints delight in bewailing sins.
Thirdly, the Holy Ghost appeared under the form of a dove on account of the proper effect of baptism, which is the remission of sins and reconciliation with God: for the dove is a gentle creature. Wherefore, as Chrysostom says, (Hom. xii in Matth.), "at the Deluge this creature appeared bearing an olive branch, and publishing the tidings of the universal peace of the whole world: and now again the dove appears at the baptism, pointing to our Deliverer."
Fourthly, the Holy Ghost appeared over our Lord at His baptism in the form of a dove, in order to designate the common effect of baptism--namely, the building up of the unity of the Church ...Therefore it was fitting that the Holy Ghost should appear at the baptism under the form of a dove, which is a creature both loving and gregarious.
So who is The Holy Spirit? As we say in the Creed, He is “The Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son”. There’s an image of the Trinity first proposed by St Augustine and more recently expanded upon by Frank Sheed that identifies The Father as a “thinker” and The Son as the “thought” and The Holy Spirit as the Love that they share.
http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2011/fsheed_trinityts_may2011.asp
http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/mischedj/ca_trinity.html
We can somewhat feel the nature of that in our imperfect natures. When we know someone, we have a mental image of that person in our mind, but it’s imperfect in many ways. God knows Himself but His mental image is perfect: it’s simply Himself, and is what we call The Son. The Father and the Son love each other and pour themselves into that love, and that’s The Holy Spirit. When we love someone we are animated by that love. The love we feel compels us to act, and sometimes that love seemingly takes us over and makes us act in ways we can’t quite explain afterwards. It is especially fitting, in light of this image, that we identify The Holy Spirit as guiding the Church. It is this powerful, fervent drive that compels the Church to preach the Gospel to all nations, to save as many souls as it can find, and to care for all of God’s creation. In the weeks leading up to Easter we had a series of classes on the Church’s moral teaching including the Corporal Works of Mercy, Social Justice and Charity.
In addition to physical poverty, there is a more serious concern of spiritual poverty. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He didn’t say “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and then wish them a nice day.” He said “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.” The works of Corporal Mercy must always have Christ as the focus, or else the Church will become a “compassionate NGO” in the words of Pope Francis.
If we also consider the way The Holy Spirit is described in the Bible and apply that to the Church we see further parallels. Certainly the Jewish authorities and the Roman authorities saw the early Church as something powerful, unstoppable and more than a little frightening. Dictatorships even in our own day feel the same way, otherwise there’d be no incentive for discrimination or persecution.
We receive The Holy Spirit in the Sacraments. Since we’re in the Easter season, it’s especially fitting to discuss the Sacraments of Initiation. If you were baptized at the Easter Vigil, you received all three sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist) at the same time. That’s also how the sacraments are administered in the Eastern Churches. Babies are baptized, then confirmed (“Chrismated”) and then a drop of the Precious Blood is placed on their lips for their First Communion.
Taken together, the three sacraments are as follows
Baptism: washes away actual and original sin. It restores what was lost in the Fall and enables one to be with God.
Confirmation: an infusion of the Holy Spirit who will guide and enlighten the believer
Eucharist: nourishment to give us the strength to go where The Spirit leads
In short, these three sacraments bring us into an intimate, continual union with God. We are accustomed to living separate lives: I’m me and you’re you and we always are separate to a greater or lesser degree. But through these sacraments we are united with God in a way that we cannot imagine in our everyday existence. God is in us and we are in God and God works through us and we share in God’s divine life. Our human nature is actually changed so allow us to enter into Eternal Life.
Traditionally in the Western Church we separate the sacraments to allow for catechesis. We gradually grow to know God through the Sacraments just as the followers of Jesus gradually came to know Him. Were Jesus to reveal Himself as God immediately, no one would have been able to know Him as a person. They’d be too intimidated by His Divinity to get close enough to Him. So Jesus gradually reveals Himself so by the time His disciples understand that He is God, they already know who He is as a man. In that way Jesus allows us to know Him fully.
Similarly, in the Western Church the Sacraments are typically separated in time to allow the believer to grow in faith between this “milestones”. However, they are still connected. When Baptism is given alone, an anointing is done in anticipation of the coming Confirmation. When Confirmation is done alone, the first part of the Rite is a renewal of the Baptismal promises. The Eucharist does generally stand alone but there are reminders of Baptism in the First Penance that comes before First Communion and hints of Confirmation as the Spirit comes upon the gifts to transform them into the Body and Blood of Christ.
And what does the Spirit do? Traditionally, we associate the birthday of the Church with Pentecost when the Spirit came to the Twelve and they preached to the assembled people in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost. Just prior to that event, the apostles were hiding in the upper room fearing for their lives. Afterwards, they boldly preached about Jesus: the very thing that they were trying to hide before.
How could they be so bold? Jesus promised Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. Generally we use that phrase as a comfort when dealing with problems in the Church, or conflict between the Church and society, and that’s a fine exegesis – I have nothing against it at all. However, another example may shed some light. A few years ago I had my fence replaced. I have two gates on my fence, one of which we never use. I had, in fact, put a padlock on that gate but I lost the key. When the crew came to put the new fence up I told them about the locked gate and the foreman just shrugged because walking behind him were two men with the biggest sledgehammers I ever saw. They laid my whole fence down in less than twenty minutes. Padlock or no padlock, the gates of my fence could not prevail against those guys with sledgehammers!
So we should be on offense. We shouldn’t hide in our church buildings hoping the bad people outside will leave us alone, they should be worrying about us! There should be no refuge for evil in this world. We should be preaching the Gospel at all times with words and actions. We should be evangelizing and catechizing at all times. In all areas of our lives we should be a visible sign of Christ in the world. That’s what the Holy Spirit does (I don’t advocate taking sledgehammers to our opponents!)
What does that mean today? We must boldly bring the light of God into every aspect of our lives. We need to be the people whose very presence keeps a check on coarse behavior. Peter Kreeft, in his book How to Win the Culture War offered the following analysis:
Can you imagine what twelve more Mother Teresas would do for the world? Can you imagine what would happen if just twelve readers of this article offered Christ 100% of their hearts and held back nothing, absolutely nothing?
No, you can’t imagine it, any more than anyone could imagine how twelve nice Jewish boys could conquer the Roman Empire. You can’t imagine it, but you can do it. You can become a saint. Absolutely no one and nothing can stop you. It is your free choice. Here is one of the truest and most terrifying sentences I have ever read (from William Law’s Serious Call): “If you will look into your own heart in complete honesty, you must admit that there is one and only one reason why you are not a saint: you do not wholly want to be.”
That insight is terrifying because it is an indictment. But it is also thrillingly hopeful because it is an offer, an open door. Each of us can become a saint. We really can.
What holds us back? Fear of paying the price.
What is the price? The answer is simple. T.S. Eliot defines the Christian life as: “A condition of complete simplicity/Costing not less than/Everything.” The price is everything: 100%. A worse martyrdom than the quick noose or stake: the martyrdom of dying daily, dying to all your desires and plans, including your plans about how to become a saint. A blank check to God.
...
[O]nly if we do that—then all our apostolates will “work”: our missioning and catechizing and fathering and mothering and teaching and studying and nursing and businessing and priesting and bishoping—everything.
A bishop asked one of the priests of his diocese for recommendations on ways to increase vocations. The priest replied: The best way to attract men in this diocese to the priesthood, Your Excellency, would be your canonization.
Why not yours?
Of course God doesn’t expect us to do it alone. He helps us. We speak of the seven gifts of The Holy Spirit. They were mentioned in the earlier passage from Thomas Aquinas. They are Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord and Wisdom. “Understanding”, “Knowledge” and “Wisdom” are almost completely synonymous today and it can be hard to keep them separate. In short, Knowledge refers to created things, Wisdom refers to the divine and Understanding pertains to revealed Truths. They are a type of intuition and are not directly related to any formal education that a person might receive. For instance, you may experience a seemingly impossible chain of events that leads to some wonderful event in your life (finding your true love, or getting a new job or reconnecting with a long-lost relative). Knowledge would intuitively say that the series of coincidences that lead to that event could not have happened on their own, because you know how things work here on Earth. Wisdom would intuitively see how and why God was acting in this way. Understanding would intuitively see the deeper meaning of it all.
http://blog.adw.org/2010/07/distinguishing-knowledge-wisdom-and-understanding/
These gifts lead to what are called the fruits of the Holy Spirit, or the visible signs of Christian life: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. Wouldn’t be nice if we had more of all of that in the world!?
In conclusion, let’s look at another short Gospel passage
(John 3:7-8)
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
We all come from somewhere. Some of our lifelong members of the Church, some recently joined. Some were members, left and then came back. The Holy Spirit leads us on, if we will follow. But where is it leading us? No one can tell. It’s a wild and reckless idea: hoist your sail and go wherever the wind takes you. You could be stranded out at sea, or you could be lead to a new world full of hidden treasures and opportunity.
Jesus says that the world hears us, but cannot comprehend us. When Jesus came to Jerusalem prior to His Passion, the question on everyone’s lips was “Who is this? Where did He come from?” His disciples were skeptical of where He was going (Calvary). When The Spirit drove Jesus into the desert, this is where the journey lead (I do not imply that The Holy Spirit lead Jesus against His will). The world certainly could not comprehend that, but it certainly did hear the sound. Two thousand years later, it’s still echoing around the world.
Closing Prayer
Lead, Kindly Light (John Henry Newman)
"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life."