The Fire of God’s Love

Our catechetical refresher continues for baptized Catholic adults in RCIA in preparation for the other two Sacraments of Initiation: Confirmation and the Eucharist. Tonight, we again dive into a portion of the Creed. We begin with a reminder of the reasons we profess a creed; proceed to break open one article of the creed; and then demonstrate why these beliefs matter in our lives.

Why do we profess a common creed? We profess our faith in a creed so we can accurately pass on what has been entrusted to us. St. Paul declared: “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,” (1 Cor 11:23). Christ’s Church consists of the People of God: that is, you and me. We have been given the mission of guarding and transmitting the faith. Professing the Creed ensures our communion with one another and our unity with the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Which article of the Creed are we studying tonight? We will study Article 8 of the Nicene Creed: “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.”

Who is this Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. He proclaimed God’s Word through the prophets. While these holy men of the Old Testament era spoke by the power of the Spirit, they did not speak of Him. Only by the prompting of the Spirit can we today profess our faith in Jesus Christ (1 Cor 12:3; 1 Jn 4:2; CCC 683, 690). By His power, the life of the Trinity is shared with us in the Sacrament of Baptism (CCC 683) and the Trinity comes to dwell within us (CCC 687). He is “the author of supernatural love in our hearts” (Newman, 39). The Holy Spirit is gentle and descends “like the dewfall” (Roman Missal, 2011 Eucharistic Prayer II; Ps 133:3).

Where is this Spirit found? This third Person of the Trinity is the first to enkindle our faith, yet is the last Person to be revealed (CCC 684). The Holy Spirit acts throughout the Old and the New Testaments, but He is difficult to discern.  Like the drummer in a band, He provides the backbeat which drives the music and forms its structure, yet performs behind the lead singers and is therefore less visible. Thus while God the Father explicitly appears in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit works tangibly yet invisibly. It was He, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Whose wind stirred across the waters in Genesis and blew the breath of life into man’s nostrils. 

In the same way, although Jesus Christ is overt in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit reveals Himself only gradually.  He anointed Jesus at His baptism (Mk 1:10-11), drove Him into the desert for forty days of fasting (Mk 1:12; Mt 4:1; Lk 4:1), and strengthened the Apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). This progressive revelation of the Holy Trinity perfectly suits our instruction, for we must perceive the Father before we can understand the Son, and by knowing the love of the Father and the Son, we come to know the Spirit; thus we adore and glorify all three Persons.

God the Father sends His Son, the Word of God: God speaks His Word into our world.  Impossible as it is to articulate a word without exhaling, the Father utters His Word with His Breath; God’s Spirit (Breath) cannot be separated from God’s Word. Thus the mission of the Son and the Spirit are conjoined, while these two Persons of the Holy Trinity remain distinct and equal (CCC 689). In His Incarnation, Jesus unveiled the Spirit, introducing Him as another “comforter” (CCC 686). Conversely, the Spirit engenders our faith in Jesus, the visible Image of the invisible God, and therefore also reveals the Father (CCC 689).

What do we call this Spirit? The names of the Holy Spirit include the “Paraclete,” (“called alongside”); “Advocate,” (ad-vocatu, “called to one’s aid”); and “the Spirit of Truth” (Jn 16:13).  St. Paul applied titles such as “the Spirit of adoption,” “the Spirit of the Lord,” and the “Spirit of Christ” (CCC 692-693). The Spirit is also known as “Ruah” (Hebrew for breath, air, wind) (CCC 691); “the Spirit of the Promise” (Gal 3:14; Eph 1:13); and “the Spirit of Glory” (1 Pet 4:14).

How do we depict this Spirit? The symbols of the Holy Spirit include the signs of water, anointing, fire, cloud and light, seal, hand or finger of God, and the dove (CCC 694-701).

Why the symbol of water? Water is the basic medium in which life arises, embodying what we mean when we call the Holy Spirit the Lord, the Giver of Life.  Water cleanses us, just as the Spirit bathes away Original Sin in Baptism. Water refreshes us. We yearn for water when we are hot or thirsty; so Psalm 42 speaks to us: “Like a deer that longs for running streams, my soul longs for you, oh, God. My soul thirsts for God.”  We are “made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:13). We cannot survive without water, just as we cannot live without God’s Spirit.  The Spirit is the fountainhead of the Living Water welling up from our Savior and within us (CCC 694; Jn 4:10-14; Jn 19:34; 1 Jn 5:8; 7:38; Ex 17:1-6; Isa 55:1; Zech 14:8; 1 Cor 10:4; Rev 21:6; 22:17).

What does the symbol of anointing mean? Anointing with oil consecrates, dedicates, blesses, heals, seals, nourishes, and enlightens. Catholics anoint with chrism oil during Baptism and Confirmation as a sign of consecration; we are thereby “sealed by the Spirit” (Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30). When Samuel anointed David, “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him” (1 Sm 16:13). The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus at His Baptism, dedicating Him in His mission (Mk 1:10-11).  Altars have been dedicated with oil in ancient times and still are today.  Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointed Jesus with “costly perfumed oil” in anticipation of His death (Jn 12:3). The Spirit blesses us with the oil of gladness (Ps 133:2). 

Priests sacramentally anoint the sick with oil (Jas 5:14) to invoke God’s healing power upon body and soul. Jesus liberally poured out the oil of His lifeblood, and “by His wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:3).  Oil nourishes our bodies as our souls are sustained by the Spirit. Just as the Bread of Life feeds us, bread is often dipped in oil (Ex 29:2; Lv 2:1; 1 K 17:12; Ez 16:19); and when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, He gives us a share in His Spirit. Oil fuels lamps; the Holy Spirit’s oil illuminates Christ and through Him, the Father.  We come to know the Holy Trinity by means of the Spirit-filled Light of the World. 

Why the symbol of fire? The fire of God’s love inspires us to profess our faith fearlessly, as did the Apostles at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21). Enthusiastic people are referred to as “fired up”; the Holy Spirit “fires us up” with love for God and for our faith. Fire spreads, just as the Gospel spread to the ends of the Earth under the auspices of the Holy Spirit. Jesus declared: “I have come to set the Earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing.” (Lk 12:49-52).  Fire warms us and keeps wild animals at bay, just as the fire of the Spirit helps us to feel God’s loving Presence and protects us from the Enemy. Fire is a powerful force, a “transforming energy;” just so, the Spirit (CCC 696).

Why the symbols of cloud and light? As God conducted His Chosen People out of Egypt to the Promised Land, He led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex 13:21).  We, too, are guided by the Spirit both in dark, challenging times and in lighter, more pleasant times. Exodus 40:38 tells us: “The cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day and fire in the cloud at night…in all the stages of their journey”. God’s Presence is indicated by His “glory cloud”, or “shekinah”, which would settle on the Tent of Meeting whenever God spoke there with Moses; like a sacrament, the cloud and light were the visible sign of the invisible reality of God’s Presence.

What do the symbols of hand or finger of God mean? We can “see the handwriting on the wall” in events of the Old Testament.  The original tablets of the Ten Commandments were inscribed by the finger of God (Ex 31:18; Dt 5:22; 9:10). In Exodus 8:19, Pharaoh’s magicians exclaimed: “This is the finger of God.” King Belshazzar saw the finger of God writing on the wall of his banquet hall when he used the Temple’s sacred vessels for his bacchanalian feast (Dn 5:1-6). The finger of God points to the right way, gives the law, and corrects misguided actions.  The hand of God also indicates His power, as in Psalm 8:4: “I see the heavens, the work of your fingers,” and in Isaiah 48:13: “Yes, My hand laid the foundations of the Earth; My right hand spread out the heavens.” Isaiah proclaims: “We are all the work of Your hand” (Isa 64:7).  Jesus plainly informs those who doubt Him: “If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:20). God’s hands shaped us, fashion everything in the universe, indicate the right path to us, and execute His power.

Why the symbol of the dove? Noah released a dove to ascertain if the land was dry enough - safe to disembark.  After our Baptism, the Spirit shows us the safe way to proceed in life: within the community of the Church, the barque of Peter.  Doves symbolize peace and purity, as the world newly made after the Flood was pure and peaceful. Doves were acceptable sacrificial offerings of the poor (Lk 2:24; Lv 1:14); thus, when we fast and sacrifice, we present a pleasing offering in His Temple, for our bodies are the Temples of the Holy Spirit (Newman, 38; 1 Cor 6:19).

What has this Spirit done? By the action of the Holy Spirit in Mary in the Incarnation, God gives us “Emmanuel,” “God-with-us” (Mt. 1:23; CCC 721-726). At Pentecost, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed as the fulfillment of Jesus’ Paschal Mystery in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (CCC 731-736). This Spirit encouraged the Apostles, enlightened their minds, helped them to comprehend the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words and actions, provided the disciples with the right words for evangelization and during their trials, and enabled the Good News to cover the globe. He is the “Life of the Church” (Newman, 37).

How do we get this Spirit?  At your Baptism, you received a share in the Holy Spirit, Who imbued you with grace.  You will receive more of the Spirit’s gifts at your Confirmation.  Every time you receive a sacrament worthily – the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist, for example – the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit will be strengthened in you.

Why does the Spirit matter to our faith? The Holy Spirit opens our hearts and minds to experience God afresh when we read and pray with Scripture or the writings of the saints. He empowers our assent to the teachings of the Magisterium and strengthens us in the Tradition of the Church, as attested to by the Church Fathers (CCC 688). He enlivens our active participation in the sacraments, emboldens our daily prayer, and vivifies our missionary and apostolic efforts.  He pours Himself out in charisms and ministries which edify the Church. The Holy Spirit bestows His gifts upon us: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (Isa 11:2-3).  He distributes His fruits to us as well: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, chastity, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23; CCC 736, 1831-1832). The Holy Spirit builds up the Church and is the master of prayer, the one who teaches us how to pray. We become divinized by the Spirit as we continue Christ’s mission as members of His Body (CCC 737-741). The Holy Spirit is as indispensable and as powerful as water, fire, light, breath, and the Hand of God.

So what now?  You should understand a bit more about this mysterious Third Person of the Trinity and how His love enlivens us, fires us up, speaks to and for us, and feeds and sustains our spiritual life. Heighten your awareness of the graces He bestows and thank Him for those gifts and fruits. Adore and glorify Him and bless His Name. Call upon Him with a simple prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Your love.