The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, along with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ). These are a few important features of the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is not merely an abstract force or power but is a fully divine person.
The Divine Spirit holds equal status with both God the Father and God the Son. According to the Trinity doctrine, every individual is completely God, but there exists only one God.
The Bible mentions from the very beginning that the Holy Spirit was in existence from eternity and was involved in the exercise of creation. “The Earth had no form and was void; darkness covered the deep, while the spirit of God hovered over the waters” (Gen 1:2). “Then the LORD God formed man, of dust drawn from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). Psalm 104:30 says: “When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and the face of the Earth is renewed.” God created everything with His Word (Jesus) and His Breath (Spirit) (Ps 33:6).
The Holy Spirit plays a crucial part in the redemption of humanity through Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, death, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary for the incarnation of Jesus (Mt 1:18). The angel informed Joseph that the same Spirit that created the world and its humans came upon Mary for her conception.
Jesus said: “Out of him shall flow streams of living water” (Jn 7:38). John continues: “Jesus was referring to the Spirit which those who believe in him were to receive” (Jn 7:39).
The Holy Spirit is commonly known as the “Paraclete” or “Advocate,” symbolizing support and comfort. After Jesus’ glorification, this life-giving Holy Spirit came on the apostles, inaugurating the Church (Acts 2:1-13). This Divine Person empowers and guides believers, leading them to truth, fostering holiness, and offering strength in times of need.
The Catholic Church believes that the Holy Spirit is actively present in guiding, inspiring, and sanctifying the Church. The Holy Spirit as the unifying force in the Church, binding them in faith and love.
Believers receive various gifts from the Holy Spirit, including wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (Isa 11:2-3). These gifts are meant to empower individuals for ministry and contribute to the growth of the body of Christ. Moreover, believers experience the Holy Spirit’s fruits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).
The Holy Spirit is commonly represented by symbols like fire, wind, water, and a dove. These symbols signify how the Holy Spirit is present, powerful, and brings transformation to believers.
HOLY SPIRIT: OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES
There were Old Testament promises of the descent of the Holy Spirit. “I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring, my blessing upon your descendants” (Isa 44:3b). “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them” (Ezek 36:26-27). “It shall come to pass I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even upon your male and female servants, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel 3:1-2).
HOLY SPIRIT, THE POWER OF GOD
At the annunciation of the birth of Jesus to Mary, the Angel Gabriel also qualified the Holy Spirit as a power from heaven. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk 1:35).
The Holy Spirit that descended from heaven in the form of a dove did not fly away from Jesus but remained with him (Lk 3:22) and guided him (Mt 4:1; Lk 4:18-19) in his ministry.
The same Spirit guided the disciples of Jesus after Pentecost (Acts 13:2) and continues the same even now.
At the Last Supper, Jesus told his disciples, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you” (Jn 14:16-17). At the time of our Baptism in the Holy Spirit, this power of the Most High came and remains with us.
During the post-resurrection discourse, Jesus instructed his disciples, “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24: 49). Thus, Jesus presented the Holy Spirit as a power descending from heaven.
OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCES TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. Creation: As part of creation, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen 1:1-2). “The LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). The word used for the breath of life is synonymous with the Holy Spirit in Hebrew. Job’s friend Elihu said to Job, “For the spirit of God made me, the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive” (Job 33:4).
2. Dwelling of the Spirit: The Spirit of God empowered priests, prophets, and kings for their service. “The spirit of God clothed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest” (2 Chr 24:20). Isaiah wrote, “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favour from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God” (Isa 61:1-3). When Saul sinned, “The spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and he was tormented by an evil spirit from the LORD” (1 Sam 16:14). As part of his repentance, David prayed to God not to take away the Holy Spirit from him (Ps 51:13).
3. The Spirit inspired God’s Words: David said, “The spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue” (2 Sam 23:2). Ezekiel wrote the Spirit entered him when God spoke to him (Ezek 2:2).
4. The Spirit renews the lives of the faithful: God said through Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you so that you may walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them” (Ezek 36:26-27; 11:19-20).
5. The Spirit provided the gift of understanding: God selected Bezalel for the construction of the tabernacle and told Moses, “I have filled him with a divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft” (Ex 31:3). Elihu told Job, “There is a spirit in human beings, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding” (Job 32:8). David prayed, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your kind spirit guide me on ground that is level” (Ps 143:10). Nehemiah prayed to God, “Your good spirit you bestowed on them, to give them understanding” (Neh 9:20).
HOLY SPIRIT IN JESUS’ MINISTRY
The Bible gives the intervention of the Holy Spirit in the earthly life of Jesus:
1. Prophesies on the nature, mission, and accomplishment of the Messiah: “The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD” (Isa 11:2).
2. Conceived by the Holy Spirit: The Angel Gabriel told Joseph, “It is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her” (Mt 1:20).
3. The Spirit came on John the Baptist when he was in the womb of Elizabeth: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, (was) filled with the holy Spirit” (Lk 1:41).
4. The Spirit guided Simeon: “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple, when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him” (Lk 2:26-27).
5. The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus: After John baptized Jesus, “He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him” (Mt 3:16). Jesus confirmed his mission while preaching in a synagogue quoting from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor …” (Lk 4:18-19).
6. The Spirit guided Jesus: “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Mt 4:1). After the test in the wilderness, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Lk 4:14).
7. Jesus’ power was from the Spirit: While living in Nazareth with Joseph and Mary, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him” (Lk 2:40). During his public ministry, Jesus clarified, “It is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons” (Mt 12:28).
8. Baptism in the Spirit: Jesus gave importance to the baptism in the Spirit. He told Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn 3:5). He said, “Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Mt 12:31).
9. Promise of the Spirit: Before his departure from the world, Jesus assured his disciples, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (Jn 14:16). “When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth” (Jn 16:13). During the persecution, they should not worry about “how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say, for it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Mt 10:19-20). During one of his post-resurrection appearances, “he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit’” (Jn 20:22).
10. The Spirit facilitates the resurrection: “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you” (Rom 8:11).
CATHOLIC BELIEF ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
Nicene Creed: In the Profession of Faith, every catholic professes, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.” Thus, the Holy Spirit who gives physical and spiritual life, and is equal to the other persons of the Most Holy Trinity, deserves our worship, and speaks through God’s representatives.
CATECHETICAL TEACHING ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
“The Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the Son” (CCC-685).
“The Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the plan for our salvation” (CCC-686).
“It belongs to the Holy Spirit to rule, sanctify, and animate creation, for he is God, consubstantial with the Father and the Son. Power over life pertains to the Spirit, for being God he preserves creation in the Father through the Son” (CCC-703).
“From the beginning to the end of time, whenever God sends his Son, he always sends his Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable” (CCC-743).
“The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit” (CCC-1830).
FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
According to Paul, the Holy Spirit produces fruit (singular) in the Christian that has nine characteristics. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). They are in contrast to the works of the flesh. “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like” (Gal 5: 19-21). So, Paul advises the Christians, “Live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want” (Gal 5:16-17).
Based on the Latin Vulgate version of the Holy Bible and defended by Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica, the Catholic Church teaches 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit. “The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: ‘charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity’” (CCC-1832).
GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Besides the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the Christian receives gifts of the Holy Spirit that are specific abilities for the Christian life. This teaching is based on the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messianic king. “The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD” (Isa 11:2-3a). The Church believes that every person receives these through baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation or Chrismation strengthens them (CCC-1285). “The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them” (CCC-1831).
REFLECTION
The Holy Spirit, that came upon Jesus helped him to overcome the devil. The same Spirit came on the apostles to energize them with wisdom and courage to preach the gospel and to face persecution with boldness. The Christians receive the Holy Spirit at the time of baptism and renew it through other sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are the temple of God because the Holy Spirit came within us at the time of our baptism (CCC-1279). We should be conscious of this presence of the Holy Spirit within us and keep ourselves as the temple of God. We adore and glorify all the three persons of the Most Holy Trinity when we adore and glorify any of the persons of the Holy Trinity.