Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of God

• The Holy Spirit is the third Person of theHoly Trinity.

• Catholics profess their faith in the Holy Spirit in the celebration of the Liturgy and in the prayers of the Church.

• The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are receivedat Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation.

• The Fruits of the Holy Spirit are signs that a person is cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit helps people to transform their lives.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Discernment

Discernment is the practice of looking out for the presence and the workings of the Spirit in our life. It includes trying to understand the promptings of the Spirit and deciding to act in cooperation with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit through the ages

The Old Testament and The Holy Spirit

• Creation: ‘A wind [ruach] from God swept over the face of the waters.’ (Genesis 1:2)

• Human life: God breathed the vital ‘breath of life’ into Adam. (Genesis 2:7)

• God’s Spirit anointed priests, prophets and kings. (1 Samuel 10:6 and Isaiah 61:1)

The Spirit through the ages

The Holy Spirit Present with Jesus

• Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:35)

• The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in bodily form like a dove. (Luke 3:22)

• The Holy Spirit was present with Jesus during his temptation in thedesert. (Luke 4:1−13)

• Jesus’ public ministry: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.’ (Luke 4:18−19)

The Spirit through the ages

The Holy Spirit Present with Jesus

• Jesus was ‘filled with the power of the Spirit’ (Luke 4:14) from the moment of his conception.

• Jesus is one with the Trinity. ‘The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons’ (CCC, no. 253).

• The Holy Spirit is God, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity who is distinct from Jesus but inseparable from him as well.

Jesus was filled with the power of the Spirit

Temptation

Temptation is ‘an attraction either from outside or inside oneself’ to choose to sin, or to act in ways that are contrary to the will of God.

Jesus was filled with the power of the Spirit

The Promise of the Spirit’s Presence

• Jesus repeatedly promised to send ‘the Spirit of truth’ upon the disciples.

• Jesus commissioned his disciples to carry on his mission and ministry to the world with the guidance and grace of the Holy Spirit.

• At Pentecost, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was filled with the power of the Spirit

Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.

Acts of the Apostles 2:1−4

Jesus was filled with the power of the Spirit

The Work of the Church Begins

• At Pentecost, Peter and the Apostles were transformed.• They were empowered by the strength and grace of the Holy

Spirit.• They began confidently to undertake the work that Jesus had

commissioned them to do.

How can we live ‘in the Spirit’?

How Can We Follow Jesus, the ‘Way’, Today?

The same Spirit who was with Jesus and who came upon the early disciples at Pentecost, comes into our lives today through Baptism to help us live as disciples of Jesus.

How can we live ‘in the Spirit’?

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

These gifts are permanent dispositions that move us to respond to the guidance of the Spirit. The traditional list of these gifts is derived from Isaiah 11:1–3: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel [right judgment], fortitude [courage], reverence (piety), and wonder and awe in God’s presence (fear of the Lord).

USCCA, 513

How can we live ‘in the Spirit’?

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The Tradition of the Church lists twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.

USCCA, 513

Experiencing the Risen Jesus today

Jean Vanier and the L’Arche CommunitiesVanier’s compassion and care for developmentally challenged persons witnessed the profound respect and love of living Christ’s command to love one another.