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"The Great Unknown" — the Holy Spirit
A holy priest, recently canonized, called the third person of the Holy Trinity — the Holy Spirit — “the great unknown.”
God the Father is always present for us through the daily recitation of the Our Father, ‘the most perfect of prayers.’ Then, the very name “Christians” reminds us that we bear the name of the second person of the Trinity, the Son incarnate, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is only remembered on the liturgical solemnity of Pentecost, which we recently celebrated, closing the Easter season.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
He is the third person of the Most Blessed Trinity. He is God, one and equal with the Father and the Son. The church and our Christian life are only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus himself as the one who would come to fulfill in us the work of salvation.
Believing in the Holy Spirit is professing our faith in the third person of the Holy Trinity, who, as we say in the Creed every Sunday, “proceeds from the Father and the Son” and that, “with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.”
The Sunday recitation of the Creed must be a weekly reminder for all of us, of the need to incorporate the action of the Holy Spirit into our daily life. To facilitate our dealings with the Holy Spirit, the church uses different symbols to represent the action of the Holy Spirit. The most popular one is a dove because at Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit was present as a dove. (Mt 3:13-17) But the Holy Spirit is also represented as the living water that springs from the pierced heart of Christ and quenches the thirst of the baptized; it is represented in the anointing with oil, which is the sacramental symbol of the sacrament of confirmation; it is also represented by fire, which transforms everything it touches; and in the laying on of hands, which consecrates everything to Christ, especially in the sacrament of holy orders.
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church helps us to better understand the role that the Holy Spirit plays in the church: “The Spirit builds, animates and sanctifies the church. As the Spirit of Love, he restores to the baptized the divine likeness that was lost through sin and causes them to live in Christ the very life of the Holy Trinity. He sends them forth to bear witness to the Truth of Christ and he organizes them in their respective functions so that all might bear ‘the fruit of the Spirit.’” (No. 145)
In other words, it is the Spirit who helps us Catholics to be true followers of the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us in our daily lives to think, feel and act as Catholics. Where there is confusion, it is the Holy Spirit who gives clarity; where there is insecurity, it is he who gives peace; where there is fear, it is he who gives courage; where there is weakness, it is he who gives strength; where there is error, it is he who gives truth and wisdom. The Holy Spirit is then essential to daily Christian living.
St. Thomas of Aquinas, a great theologian, had a deep devotion to the Holy Spirit. The famous saint said that it was the Holy Spirit who helped him not only to be away from sin, but also from error and ignorance. The Holy Spirit guides the church “to know all truth.” (Jn 16:13) We also can enjoy the gifts and fruits of the same Holy Spirit, if we open up our souls to his action.
Let’s continue to pray the ancient and well known prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking for his presence in our lives: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!”
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