Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Blessed d Trinity

Holy Spirit, the Anointer of Jesus Christ, the Advocate of man to ask; the Revealer of Wisdom, Truth to all, the Consoler, the Finger of God, the Breath of Heaven, the Fire of God’s love. 

 So many titles, yet sometimes called the forgotten person of the Trinity.

Teens receive a year of study before being confirmed; congregations wear red along with the presider on Pentecost; bonfires are lit to announce His coming; readings are read in different languages, yet most Catholics seldom pray to Him. 

To the disciples, Jesus tells them, ”I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” (Jn 16:12) What before was incomprehensible, now the Spirit gives understanding- understanding of Jesus and the Father’s truth- the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and the Spirit reveals only the truth which he receives from the Father.  Love makes one reveal his secrets of invisible things. ( Aquinas)

Fear, visible within the minds and hearts of the disciples is changed into joy, hope, unity with all who believe in Jesus.  Indeed fire has burned away all former prejudices, misunderstandings, mistrust, division, hatred and a river of living water from the Spirit consecrate the disciples with grace to begin anew the work of Christ through the Church,  forgiving sins, distributing sacraments to the one Body of Christ, spreading His message of love. It is a gift of new life, new hope, new promise, even a new language of love.

All men today are also anointed, consecrated, given a role to continue the kingdom of God.   Is man unwilling to participate with the graces given in Confirmation?  This is the love and glory we give back to God as we grow in wisdom and grace- God the creator of man and of the seas and earth.  Man makes himself the prime recipient of Jesus’ sacrifice of love though we pray, ”Renew the face of the earth.”   Is the earth man’s private bounty- reaping the goods of the earth for his own personal profit?  Is not the earth part of God’s created plan?  Does not the earth have intended ways of action that man is to foster?

Jesus says, ”Rise, let us be on our way.”(Mark14:42)  Man, on his way to carry out the intended work for which he was created, must pray to the Holy Spirit to strengthen man’s resolve to follow where He leads, to love what He loves, to become true children of God.

The Sin-Eater

Along the banks of the Great Lakes are historical sites attesting to immigrants who settled here. Immigrants brought from their homeland customs, culture, and religious practices.  Scandinavians, Germans, French, English, Czechs believed they were entering their own Promised Land.  Isolated by long cold winters and back breaking labor to grow crops for survival, religious practices from long ago came about as many had no ministers or priests for liturgy.

One custom from Scotland and Wales caught my attention.  It was the sin-eater, one chosen by lots to be set aside to receive the transgressions of the dead.  He was called by bell ringing to come back into the community and led to the dead body where food and drink were laid on the chest of the departed.  The sin-eater was obligated to eat the food and drink thereby ingesting the sins of the person who died.  The burial could go forward and the loved one was able to come before the judge of heaven with an unblemished spirit.   Someone had to be the living sacrifice; it was important work ensuring safety for one to welcome the family of mourners at their appointed time of judgement.  Grief and sorrow could be washed away like a river flowing over rocks in a creek bed.  Joy and hope came forth into the community.

Missionaries arrived explaining Jesus Christ himself could be the only one to wash away the sins of man by his death on the cross.   Only Christ was without sin; only he was the unblemished lamb.  Only Christ could carry man’s transgressions on his merciful shoulders.  Christ was not forced to carry man’s sins as was the sin-eater; he chose to do it.  The burden of sin could be carried by love- the love of Christ for man and through him alone could man be saved.  A relief, a joy, a hope resounded throughout the community as they listened and responded to the word of life and love.

We too need someone from above to watch over us; someone who pours out refreshing water of living life; someone who recognizes our sinfulness, yet  still loves us and will welcome us into eternal life.  That someone is Jesus Christ who raises us up into his arms of forgiving, merciful love so we may enter  ”into the praise of his glory.” (Ep1:14) We too breathe a sigh of relief, joy, and hope as we drink the streams of living water springing from his eternal love.

Loving the Person of Jesus Christ

Shuffling along the Green  Cabrini Projects of Chicago travels one of  the unseen, the one avoided, the one unclean, the one unloved.

He/she, glimpsed from the train window, is passed by every day by you and me on our way to self-important work.

  He/she reads the streets for pennies, drugs, leftovers from the night before.

We continue to peruse our Tribune, perhaps even a Magnificat meditation.

And we have passed Him by.

A miracle, we fantasize, would strengthen our faith.

Yet the wonder our hands, our hearts could render lies just outside.

Separated from each other by a solid pane of glass we have constructed for protection against “such people”.

We have missed the person of Jesus Christ,

The miracle of His precious body has called us

And we have not answered His call.

                                                                                                Mary Rivers

                                                                INTEGRITY

Seeing the wholeness of God’s words of truth

The summation of the fruits of the Holy Spirit implanted within us at Confirmation

The fullness of the relationship between God and man

Expressive action of man’s gifts for which he was to live, for which he was created

Ultimate example of oneness with God

Visible sign of unity of man and God’s words of truth and life

Integrity is like mercy, requiring a process of prayer, meditation, dialogue, reading God’s words in order to incorporate integrity into one’s life.  Some call the process intuition, a process of seeking not through reason, but acquiring a sense of what God intended man to become after Christ’s Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Some call it becoming fully human and some call it following the will of God for man.

I first encountered integrity from a CFO of a multi-conglomerate food processing company. Integrity was what he was called at his retirement party; he had the ability to lead many different divisions because he could see the intent of the whole entire company- to feed the world with healthy, nutritious, sustainable food. 

I first knew this man as a man of prayer; he would ask me for what could he pray for me that day or he would ask me to pray for him on a decision he had to make for the company.  At 6:30 am on a snowy Mn winter-asking for prayer- that stayed in my mind and heart.

Years later I hear integrity spoken in regard to the late Cardinal George, “ a man with authority to speak for the church and get his fellow bishops to bracket their differences and act as one for the good of the church.  He could do it because of who he is; his character and insight made him the reference point when things were very serious.”  (George Weigel)

One who follows God’s plan for his life in humble, thoughtful ways; one who knows the truth which is Christ; one who seeks oneness in all to become whole, complete with God; this is one whom man can say, “he has integrity.”

“I am the gate; I am the Good Shepherd. I am the way, the truth, the life” (Jn6:9, 10, Jn14:6)

Before Jesus, the Son of God, entered the world as man who was also God, the world, its inhabitants, its resources, its very life was dead in sin. Sin brought about by man thinking he was God, brought by the false reasoning of Adam, committed man to a life of darkness and error.

Jesus Christ came, putting man back into right relationship with God by His loving forgiveness. Mankind through Christ's message, actions, grace, was now able to become fully human as God had intended.

Before Jesus, man put up barriers (fences) designed by reason and self-seeking interests to keep the sheep (man) aloof from other men-men who were not like the other sheep (men). The hired man and the wolf cared not for all the sheep; therefore they disrupted the sheep (man) from their intended purpose, which God had intended. Man was prevented from truly understanding God and the purpose for which man had been created. God's plan for man, His intended purpose for man was unable to unfold. Jesus is the gate; He is the Good Shepherd which opens the gate for man to return (repent) and follow the Father's intended purpose for man. Old prejudices, old ways of thought, old barriers to an open heart to hear the Good Shepherd with His message from God His Father must die, be forgotten, to attain for man new life, new hearts full of God's love and His words of attaining eternal life.

Christ says turn away from your past misconceptions; listen carefully to my words and see my acts of love for you. If you love and believe in me, you know I want you to follow my Father's will on this earth- I want you to begin here on this earth to eternalize life, to begin to have eternal life here on earth and join me and the Father in eternal life. If you love me your life will be open to receiving my love and you will open your hearts to loving one another in all your actions. Your love for me will then be extended to all you meet and by this love all will come together in loving and eternal life. You will understand your role in my plan and by your love surrender animosity, hatred, anger, malice. (Ep4:31-32) Our lives replace darkness with compassion, forgiveness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. (Col3:12) There will be no rest because when one does all things in love, ”He rests in me and I in Him.”

”The Good Shepherd recognizes us by name as individuals; He gives everything one needs to fulfill the work He has given ;He gives us grace and sacraments; He gives one peace and strength to continue Christ’s mission on earth- so that all men may know the Lord and His will and be one flock in mind and heart.

“Remain in my love.” (Jn15:9)

Love expresses the tangible presence of Christ; not in words of affection- it is seen in actions, God’s actions and man’s actions. The pinnacle action of love of Christ for man and the Father is shown in His dying on the cross. Man shows his love for God in following His Divine Will.

Jesus invites, “Come and see.” (Mt19:21) He respects our freedom; love demands risk; it demands a response, a decision, a choice, an act of our will. It also demands carrying out of actions which are pleasing to Him; a process of letting go of self, committing to Someone greater than ourselves. It is the shedding of parts of self the way a snake sheds an old skin. It is an act of humility- letting go of pride, self-importance and self-reliance, self -righteousness. It is not easy; it is not selective; it is not abstract. It is a question Jesus asks the rich man: “What do you seek?”

Little by little the Lord asks us to relinquish “I” the ego of self, until the self is purged. To relinquish her children up to God may be a woman’s largest choice. He asks her to give up her ideas of what SHE would like them to become and instead must let them rest in God’s hands of mercy. A man may be asked to let go of his ambition, of work success. Work, in the eyes of the world, is his status, his identity. Christ asks man to re-examine what drives him in his work- prestige, power, possessions? There is a cost to follow Jesus. Sometimes achievement has a way of blinding one to one’s true destiny; true commitment means following a road not well traveled by the world. When Love has filled all the empty spaces of one’s heart and life, then God becomes top priority.

There is a certain spectacular freedom in letting oneself completely love Love. It makes one feel powerful even in surrender; strong, even in weakness; hope, even in suffering- a different person from the person before LOVE. Purifying oneself does mean rebirth, a new mutual love; it is love from a pure heart. (1Peter1:22-24). It means I remain in Him and He remains in me.

"So the Lord Jesus after he spoke to them was taken up unto heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. (Mark16:18)

The Risen Jesus returns to the Father. He enters into His divine glory, His exalted glory. Hidden from human eyes, he carries in His divine nature the scars of His suffering for man. Thus, man's dignity is raised into being with the Father. Abiding in the Triune God, Jesus gives man the promise he is going ahead to prepare a place for man. He is sending man the Holy Spirit to intensify man's yearning for unity and rest in God.

One of the worst things about death of a love one whom we will no longer see in this life is not being able to talk things over with them, to have questions asked and answered. We cannot touch our loved one to bring him back into this world. Yet we are not following a dead man but a living Christ. Using human terms to describe the risen glory of Christ is all we humans have until we enter into the mystery of God.

While He is raised up we touch Him by our surrender of self, denuding ourselves of all that that keeps us from following His will for our lives- to unite ourselves to His truth, His love, to become children of God.

Love of Christ liberates man, gives joy, sets man free- no longer chained to old ideas, old boxes of self-reliance. The life of God lives in us, our true self is found, our joy complete. The Spirit endows us with the desire to participate with Christ's actions- to bring all men into His love.

As Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Messiah’s kingdom is inaugurated, a kingdom foretold by Daniel, a kingdom which will have no end. Christ is the head, we the followers, and this kingdom is our hope and promise; it is the place He prepares for us as He ascends into heaven.