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From the Catechism of the Catholic Church
I believe in the Holy Spirit
Jesus began His public ministry with:
v “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to whose who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Isaiah 61, 1-2
v “God is Love.” Love is the first gift, containing all others. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5, 5
v “The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church. . . The Spirit helps us to grow in the life and love of God. The Spirit manifest the risen Lord to us, recalls his words to us and opens our minds to an understanding of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist, in order to reconcile us, to bring us into communion with God that we may bear fruit that will last.”
v “The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Romans 8, 26
v “The Spirit filled Christ and the power of the Spirit went out from him in his acts of healing and of saving..”
v “Because you are children of God, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!” Gal 4,6
v “From the beginning to the end of time, whenever God sends his Son, He always sends his Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable.”
v “In the fullness of time the Holy Spirit completes in Mary all the preparation for Christ’s coming among the People of God. By the action of the Holy Spirit in her, the Father gives the world Emmanuel, God-with-us.”
v “The Son of God was consecrated as Christ (Messiah) by the anointing of the Holy Spirit at his Incarnation..”
v “The Holy Spirit, whom Christ the head pours out on his members, builds, animates, and sanctifies the Church. She is the sacrament of the Holy Trinity’s communion with us.”
v “Baptism gives us the grace of new birth in God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit. For those who bear God’s Spirit are led to the Word, that is, to the Son, and the Son presents them to the Father, and the Father confers incorruptibility on them. And it is impossible to see God’s Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son, and the knowledge of God’s Son is obtained through the Holy Spirit.”
The Church community of believers witnesses the effects and work of the Holy Spirit in the following places:
1) In the Scriptures the Spirit inspired.
2) In the Tradition of the Catholic Church to which Church Fathers are witnesses.
3) In the Teachings of the Catholic Church—infallible regarding our faith and morals.
4) In the Sacraments of the Church, in the Liturgy, through words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us in communion with Christ.
5) In Prayer where we are inspired by the Spirit.
6) In the signs of apostolic and missionary life under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
7) The witness of saints through whom the Holy Spirit manifests holiness, goodness, and heroic love.
~ Quotations taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, pp. 179-180; 183; 194-196
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Scripture uses various symbols for the Holy Spirit: fire (symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit), water (Baptism & new life), clouds & light (reveals the living and saving God while veiling the transcendence of God’s glory), dove (used to suggest the Spirit of peace)
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“By his Death and Resurrection, Jesus is constituted in glory as Lord and Christ. From his fullness, he poured out the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Church.”
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“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
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A cloud over-shadowed them and a voice from heaven said: “This is my Son. Listen to Him.”
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A suggestion for prayer
Take some time off, sit down by the flowing water, quiet your heart, listen to the water flow past, and hear the birds chirping. Then listen to some of the quotations listed below taken from songs and from scripture.
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Come, Holy Ghost, creator blest, and in our hearts take up thy rest. Come with thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou has made. [song: Come, Holy Ghost]
v “He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
v “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” [1 Cor 12,3]
v “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ [Gal. 4,6]
v “Lord, send us your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.” [song: Send us Your Spirit by David Haas]
v “Spirit, come, transform us. Come, be our breath, be our hope. Deep in the womb of our heart reveal your presence, O God.” [song: Spirit, Come by Gregory Norbert]
v “Send us your Spirit, O Lord. Teach us your wisdom. Shadows have clouded, have crowded our sight. Give us hearts that see. Set our loving free. Hear us and help us, O Lord.” [song: Send us your Spirit by Dan Schutte]
v Jesus came and stood in the midst of the apostles huddled in a locked room after His resurrection and said to them: “Peace be with you. Then He breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Items for Reflection:
1. What gift of the Holy Spirit do you feel most in need of at this time in your life? 2. Imagine standing before Jesus and asking Him to breathe on you and say: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” 3. Imagine hearing him say “Peace is my gift to you.”
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