Lord and Giver of Life
Dominum et Vivificantem
Lord and Giver of Life
"Without Your Aid, nothing
is in man."
(Cf. Veni, Sancte Spiritus)
(This 140-page encyclical is abridged in length. No words have been changed. Bold emphasis provided by Holy Hill Cross Website)
(The entire encyclical is available on the Vatican Website at this address: http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0142/_INDEX.HTM)
INTRODUCTION
1.
The Church professes Her Faith in the Holy Spirit as the Lord, the Giver of
Life. The Nicene Creed of the Holy Mass
was formulated and promulgated by two General Councils, (Nicea-325A.D.;
Constantinople-381A.D.) and is the prayer by which we profess belief in the
Third Person of The Most Holy Trinity; The Holy Spirit of the One, Uncreated,
Triune God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, at the Feast of Tabernacles said:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in
Me, as the
Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow Rivers of Living
Water.'" (Jn7:37-38
2.
Pope Paul VI emphasized that: "devotion to The Holy Spirit (is) precisely
indispensable as a complement to the teaching of the (Second Vatican)
Council."(GenAud6/73) In the quest for Christian unity, The Holy Spirit
points out the ways leading to the union of Christians, as the Supreme
Source of this unity. The Holy Spirit of God is a "fresh
discovery of God" in His transcendent reality as Infinite
Spirit. Jesus presents Him to the Samaritan woman in the need to adore
Him in Spirit and Truth." (Jn4:24) In the Holy Spirit we find "in
Him the secret of Love and the Power of a 'new creation'."
(Cf.Rom8:22;Ga116:15) The Holy Spirit is precisely the Giver of Life.
The words of
Christ about the Holy Spirit are the inexhaustible Source of the "Water,
welling up to Eternal Life". (Jn4:14) The Church "is
compelled by the Holy Spirit to do Her part towards the full realization of the
will of God, Who has established Christ as the Source of salvation for the
whole world."(LG,17)
PART ONE
THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER AND THE SON, GIVEN TO THE CHURCH
I. JESUS' PROMISE AND REVELATION AT THE LAST
SUPPER
3.
When the time for Jesus to leave this world had almost come, He told the
Apostles:
"Whatever you ask in My Name, I will do it, that the Father may be
glorified in the Son...I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another
Counselor, to be with you for ewer, even the Spirit of Truth." (Jn14:13.16f.)
It
is precisely this Spirit of Truth Whom Jesus calls the Paraclete---and parakletos means "counselor",
and also "intercessor", or "advocate". And He says that the Paraclete is
"another" Counselor, the second one, since He, Jesus Himself, is the
first Counselor; (lJn2:1) being the first Bearer and Giver of the Good
News. The Holy Spirit comes after Him and because of Him, in order to continue
in the world, through the Church, the work of the Good News of salvation.
4.
A little while after this prediction in the Gospel of John just mentioned,
Jesus adds: "But the Counselor, The Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send
in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all
that I have said to you."(Jn14:26) The Holy Spirit will be the Counselor
of the Apostles and the Church, always present in their midst---even though
invisible---as the Teacher of the same Good News that Christ
proclaimed. The words "He will teach" and "bring to remembrance"
means not only that He is, in His Own particular way, will continue to inspire
the spreading of the Gospel of Salvation but also that He will help
people to understand the correct meaning of the content
of Christ's Message; these words mean that He will insure continuity and
identity of understanding in the midst of changing conditions and
circumstances. The Holy Spirit, then, will ensure that in the
Church there will always continue the same truth which the
Apostles heard from their Master.
5.
Jesus goes on: "When the Counselor comes, Whom I shall send to you
from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, Who proceeds from the Father, He
will bear witness to Me." The
supreme and most complete revelation of God to humanity is Jesus Christ
Himself, and the Witness of The Spirit inspires, guarantees and convalidates
the faithful
transmission of this revelation in the preaching and writing of the
Apostles, while the witness of the apostles ensures its human expression in the
Church and in the history of humanity.
6.
The next words in
7.
The Holy Spirit-Paraclete unceasingly continues the historical presence on
earth of the Redeemer and His saving Work. The glory of Christ shines forth in
the words of John: "He (the Spirit of Truth) will glorify Me, for He
will take what is Mine and declare it to you."
The supreme and complete self-revelation of God continues to be manifested in
the Church by the Invisible Counselor, the
Spirit of Truth. The intimacy of the Holy Spirit with Christ is
expressed in the Words "He will take". To clearly express the Divine
and Trinitarian Unity of the Source, Jesus adds: "All that the Father has is
mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to
you."(Jn16:14-15) By the fact of "taking" what belongs to Jesus
Christ ("Mine"). The Holy Spirit will draw from "what is the Father's".
In the light of the Words "He will take", Jesus reveals the
distinctness of the Three Divine Persons when He said: "I will send Him to
you". (Jn16:7)
II.
FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT
8. In the Gospel of John, the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit are clearly called Persons: the First distinct from the
Second and the Third, and Each of Them from one another.
In His
Last Supper discourse, Jesus reveals the bonds which unite the Father, the Son
and the Paraclete to one another. Thus "the Holy Spirit...proceeds from
the Father"(JnI5;26) and the Father "gives" the
Spirit.(JnI4:16). The Father "sends" the Spirit in the Name of the
Son, (JnI4:26) the Spirit "bears witness" to the Son.(JnI5:26) The
Son asks the Father to send the Spirit-Counselor.(Jn14:16) but likewise affirms
and promises, in relation to His own "departure" through the Cross:
"If I go. I will send Him to you."(Jn16:7)
Thus,
the Father sends the Holy Spirit in the Power of His Fatherhood, as He has sent
the Son;(Cf.Jn3:16f34/6:57/17:3.18.23) but at the same time He sends The Holy
Spirit in the Power of the Redemption accomplished by Christ---and in this
sense the Ho1y Spirit is sent a1so by the Son: "I will send Him to
you."(JnI6:7) The Holy Spirit comes because Jesus departed the earth
through the Cross; because of the Redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, through
the will
and action of the Father.
9.
Jesus' farewell discourse at the last supper reaches the highest point of the
revelation of the Most Holy Trinity. The words of the Sacrament of Baptism
("---baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit"; (Mt28:19) express the life-giving power of the Sacrament
which brings about sharing in the life of the Triune God. Baptism gives Sanctifying
Grace as a Supernatural Gift to man. Through grace man is called
and made "capable" of sharing in the inscrutable Life of God.
(Cf.2Peter1:4)
10.
In His Intimate life, God "is love"; (Cf.lJn4:8.16)
the essential love shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This love is
Divine Personal love. Personal love is the Holy Spirit, as
the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Therefore, The Holy Spirit "searches
even the depths of God" (Cf.lCor2:10) as Uncreated love-Gift. It
can be said that in the Holy Spirit the intimate life of the Triune God becomes
totally Gift, an exchange of mutual love between the Divine Persons, and that
through the Holy Spirit God exists in the mode of Gift. It is the Holy Spirit
Who is the personal expression of this Self-Giving, of this Being-love.
(Cf.St.ThAquinas/Summa.la.qq.37-38) The Holy Spirit is Person-Love. The
Holy Spirit is Person-Gift. This is the inexhaustible treasure of the
reality of the knowledge of Person in God. The Holy Spirit, consubstantial
with the Father and the Son in Divinity, is Love and uncreated Gift
from which all giving of gifts derives its Source. The Holy Spirit gives
creatures the Gift of Life through Creation, and the Gift of Grace to human
beings through the economy of Christ's Gift of Salvation. As the apostle Paul
writes: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit which (Who) has been given to us." (Rom5:5)
III. THE
SALVIFIC SELF-GIVING OF GOD IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
11.
In particular reference to the "Self-Giving" of the Holy Spirit of
The One Triune God,
12.
With Jesus Christ's Ascension began the "new salvific self-giving of God, in
the Holy Spirit." The first and original beginning of God's salvific
self-giving is identified with the Mystery of Creation. "In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth and the Spirit of God 'was moving over
the face of the waters'".(Genl:l) This giving of existence from God was the
beginning of God's salvific Self-Communication to His creatures, especially
man, who has been created in the Image and likeness of God: "let Us make
man in Our Image, after Our Likeness." (Gen1:26)
13.
The
coming of the Counselor is the new beginning, because between the first
beginning and the whole of human history, from the fall of Adam onwards, sin
has intervened. Sin is a contradiction
to the Presence of the Holy Spirit of God in creation. Above all, sin is a
contradiction to God's salvific Self-Communication to man in the Holy Spirit of
God.
14.
Therefore, Jesus Christ says in the Upper Room: "It is to your advantage I
go away. If I go, I will send Him to
you." (Jn16:7) The "departure" of Christ through the
Cross has the Power of Redemption---and this also means a new Presence of the
Spirit of God in Creation and God's Self-Communication to man in the Holy
Spirit. "And that you are children is proven by the fact that God has sent
into our hearts the Spirit of His Son, Who cries: Abba, Father!" (GaL4:6,cf.Rom8:15)
The
Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father. At the same time, He is the Spirit of
the Son; He is the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (Cf.Gala4:6,Philip1:19,Rom8:11)
With the sending of the Holy Spirit "into our hearts", there begins
the fulfillment of that for which "creation waits with eager
longing", as we read in Romans. The Holy Spirit comes at the price of
Christ's "departure" which causes sorrow in the hearts of the
Apostles(Cf.Jn16:6); and this sorrow reached its culmination in Christ's Passion
and Death on Good Friday. But, "this sorrow will turn into joy" (Cf.Jn16:20),
for Christ will add to this Redemptive "departure" the glory of His
Resurrection and Ascension to His Father. At the price of the Cross which brings about
the Redemption in the Power of the Paschal Mystery, the Holy Spirit comes in
order to remain from the day of Pentecost onward with the Apostles, with the
Church and in the Church, and through the Church, in the world.
IV. THE
MESSIAH, ANOINTED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
15."Messiah"
literally means "Christ", that is, "Anointed One", and in
the history of salvation it means "the One anointed with the Holy
Spirit". "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
with power".(Acts10:37) In Isaiah, the "fifth Gospel", or the
"Gospel of the Old Testament", the prophet says: "There shall
come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its
roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and
Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Might, the Spirit of Knowledge and
Fear of the Lord. And His delight shall be the Fear of the
Lord."(Is11:1-3) With the revelation of the figure of the Messiah there
begins, so to speak, the path towards the full revelation of the Holy Spirit in
the Unity of the Trinitarian mystery.
16.
It
is the Messiah bringing His New Covenant Who is this Path. He is that single
Great Personage anointed by God Himself. He possess the fullness of the Spirit
of God. "Now the Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit."(Is61;1)
"Behold my Servant, Whom I uphold, My Chosen, in Whom My soul delights; I
have put my Spirit upon Him."(Is42:1,Jn3:21-22) Simeon, upon whom
"rested the Holy Spirit" sensed this at the moment of Jesus'
presentation in the Temple, when he perceived in the Child Jesus
"salvation, prepared in the presence of all peoples" at the price of
the Cross which He would have to embrace with His Mother.(Cf.Lk2:25-35)
18.
Jesus confirms His being anointed with the Holy Spirit in the Synagogue at
V. JESUS
OF
19.
Jesus' mission in the Holy Spirit is revealed by John the Baptist: "I
baptize you with water; He Who is mightier than I is coming..... He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Lk3;16,Mt3:11,Mk1:7,Jn1;33) And also, upon the arrival of Jesus for His
baptism: "Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the
world." (Jn1:29) This testimony is corroborated by another
testimony of a higher order: "...the heaven was opened and the Holy
Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, as a dove".
(Lk3:21,Mt3:16,Mk1:10) At the same time "a voice from heaven
said 'This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.'"
(Mt3:17) Therefore, Christ is exalted before the eyes of
21.
The "theophany" at the baptism of Jesus came from Heaven, that is
from 'above' or 'from outside'. When the seventy-two disciples return
(Lk10:17-20), Jesus rejoices "in the Holy--Spirit": "I
praise Thee, Father.... no one knows Who the Son is except the Father, and Who
The Father is except the Son, and him to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
Jesus' rejoicing is from within, that is to say, from the depths of Who Jesus
is.
VI. THE
RISEN CHRIST SAYS: "RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT"
24.
Jesus completes the expression of His infinite Love for us in the Paschal
Mystery of His Death and Resurrection, on the day of the Resurrection.
VII. THE
HOLY SPIRIT AND THE ERA OF THE CHURCH
25.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was sent to sanctify the Church forever,
so that believers might have access to the Father through Christ in One Spirit. (Cf.Eph2:18). He
is the Spirit of Life (Cf.Jn4:14,7:38), the One through Whom the Father
restores life to those who are dead through sin, until one day He will raise in
Christ their mortal bodies. (Cf.Rom8:10) On Pentecost, after receiving
the Holy Spirit, the Apostles went out from the Upper Room into
26.
This continues down the centuries and generations. The Second Vatican Council
was an "ecclesiological" Council: a Council on the theme of the
Church. The Council is permeated by the truth about the Holy Spirit, as the
Soul of the Church. The Second
PART TWO
THE SPIRIT WHO CONVINCES THE WORLD CONCERNING SIN
I. SIN,
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUDGMENT
27. In His Last Supper discourse, Jesus added to
His announcement of the coming of the Holy Spirit: "And when He comes, He will
convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment". (Jn16:7)
The same Counselor and Spirit of Truth Who has been promised as the One Who
will "teach", "bring to remembrance", "bear
witness" and "guide unto all the Truth" is the same One Who
"will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and
judgment". Jesus adds an explanation: " ....concerning sin because they do
not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to
the Father, and you will see Me no more; concerning judgment because the ruler
of this world is judged". (Jn16:8-11) "Convincing the world"
or
showing the world, is proper to the action of the Holy Spirit. "Sin"
means the disbelief and rejection of Jesus' mission, so much so that He was
condemned to death. "Righteousness" means the Justice the Father will
restore to Jesus in His Resurrection and Ascension to heaven.
"Judgment" means that the Spirit of Truth will show the guilt
of the "world", meaning the guilt of the "prince of this
world", Satan, the one who from the beginning has been exploiting the work
of creation against salvation. The Holy Spirit convinces (shows) the world
concerning judgment only in order to continue in the world the salvific work of
Jesus Christ. (Obviously those who follow the "prince of this world"
will join him, Satan, in judgment.)
28. In His coming, the Holy Spirit takes from the
Son the work of Redemption. He
convinces or shows the world
the
sin of Satan to contrast it with the definitive salvation in God, which has as
its Center the crucified and glorified Jesus Christ (The Paschal Mystery of
Christ). This "salvific economy" of God, in a certain sense removes
man from judgment. In showing "judgment", that is the damnation of
Satan, The Holy Spirit opens up vast horizons between sin and righteousness.
The
Holy Spirit is convincing us of our choice: the cross of Christ or sin.
29. All the Words uttered by the Redeemer in the
Upper Room on the eve of His Passion become part of the era of the Church.
Christ's Words about the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete and Spirit of Truth
become part of the Church in an ever new way, in every generation, in
every age. This is confirmed by
the teaching of the second Vatican Council, which, by opening itself to the
Light of the Spirit of Truth is seen as the authentic depository of
the
predictions and promises made by Christ in His farewell discourse.
Jesus speaks in a particular way concerning the Holy Spirit Who would
"convince the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment".
II. THE
TESTIMONY OF THE DAY OF PENTECOST
30.
"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance".(Acts2;4) St. Irenaeus
concludes the "utterance" in "other tongues" as
"bringing back to unity the scattered races and offering to the Father the
first-fruits of all the nations".(Adv.Haeresis III) In St. Peter's first discourse in Jerusalem
(Acts2:22-24), he boldly tells the assembled crowd representing many nations
(each man understanding him), that "...you crucified and killed (Christ)
by
the
hands of lawless men". The
Holy Spirit, through St. Peter's lips clearly "convinces the world
concerning sin".
31.
In "convincing the world of sin", Peter also calls for conversion:
"Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the Gift of the Holy
Spirit".(Acts2:37) Conversion requires convincing of sin. It includes the interior judgment of the
conscience, thus being a proof of the action of the Holy Spirit of
Truth in man's inmost being. "Convincing concerning sin"
dispenses a two-fold gift from the Holy Spirit: truth of conscience and certainty
of redemption. The
Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit; the Counselor. Redemption is one of the gifts of the
"convincing of sin" because the death of the Son of God conquers human
death. (Cf.1CorI5:55)
32. The Holy Spirit also "convinces"
the world not only of the sin of the death of Christ, but He also
"convinces" of every sin committed in every place, at every time for
all of human history. The Holy Spirit shows the true dimension of evil in
relation to the cross of Christ. In this relationship is hidden the "mysterium
iniquitatis", the "mystery of iniquity". Man does not know the entire
dimension of evil apart from the cross of Christ. Man absolutely cannot be "convinced"
of evil except by the Holy Spirit. Sin,
shown in relation to the Cross of Christ, is at the same time identified in the
full dimension of the mystery of Godliness, or "mysterium pietatis",
or "pietatis sanctorum."(Cf.1Tim3:17)
Man is also ignorant of the "holiness of God",
and cannot be "convinced" of this dimension either except by the Holy
Spirit, the One Who searches the depths of God. (ICor2:10) It is not
enough to search the human conscience; for we have to penetrate the inner
mystery of God: to the Father, in the Son, through the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who "searches"
the "depths of God", and draws God's response to man's sin. With
God's response to man's sin, there closes the process of "convincing
concerning sin", as the event of Pentecost shows. God's response is His call
to repentance,
Baptism, and conversion.
III. THE
WITNESS CONCERNING THE BEGINNING: THE ORIGINAL REALITY OF SIN
33.
This is the dimension of sin that we find in the witness concerning 'the
beginning' in the book of Genesis.(Cf.Genl:3) The 'original reality of sin' is
the sin that constitutes the principle and root of all the others,
and never ceases to be active. However, the "mysterium
iniquitatis", and the "mysterium pietatis" become
particularly clear in the 'original reality of sin'. This is expressed by
34. "The Spirit of God" is the
"Spirit Who searches the depths of the Father and of the Word-Son" in
the mystery of creation. He is not only the direct Witness of Their Mutual Love
from
which creation derives, but He Himself is this Love. The Holy Spirit gives the gift to man which
is the "image and likeness" to God. This means not only rationality
and freedom as properties of human nature, but also, the capacity of having a
personal relationship with God, as "I" and "You".
God gives man the capacity of having a covenant. . The Gift of The Holy Spirit
ultimately means a call to friendship. The
Second
35.
The Holy Spirit "knows even the depths of God", and, from the
beginning, "knows the secrets of man".(Cf.1Cor2:10) The Holy Spirit is the only One
Who constantly guides towards "righteousness" in the presence of original
sin, the source of sin which never ceases to be active. This "righteousness" is revealed to
man through Christ's "obedience unto death" on the Cross.(Cf.Phi12:8)
Only The Holy Spirit can "convince" concerning the sin of the human
beginning which consists in untruthfulness and the rejection of the Gift of the
Love of God which is the Gift of Himself, Who is God..
38.
In spite of all the witness of creation and of the salvific economy inherent in
it,
the spirit of darkness (Cf.Eph6:12,Lk22:53) is capable of showing God
as an enemy of His own creature, and in the first place as an enemy of man;
as
a source of danger and threat to man. In this way, Satan manages to sow
in man's soul the seed of opposition to the One Who "from the
beginning" would be considered as man's enemy, and not as Father. Man is challenged to become the adversary of
God! Because of the influence of the
"father of lies", throughout the history of humanity there will be a
constant pressure on man to reject God, even to the point of hating Him: love
of self to the point of contempt for God."
(St.Augustine,DeCivitateDei)
Man will be inclined to see in God a limitation of himself, and not the
Source of freedom and goodness. Atheistic ideologies seek to "root
out" religion and claim for man what is God's, even to the point of
declaring the "death" of God; when, "without God, the creature
would disappear. When God is forgotten, the creature grows
unintelligible." (Gaudium et Spes,36)
IV. THE
SPIRIT WHO TRANSFORMS SUFFERING INTO SALVIFIC LOVE
39.
"Convincing
concerning sin" also means revealing suffering. The Church
teaches that sin is an offence against God.
At the rejection ("sin") of the Holy Spirit Who is Love and
Gift, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit react so deeply as to say:
"I am sorry that I have made them".(Gen6:5-7) More often, Sacred
Scripture speaks to us of a Father Who feels compassion for man. This
inscrutable and indescribable Fatherly pain will bring about the wonderful
economy of Redemptive Love in Jesus Christ, so that through the "mysterium
pietatis" love can reveal itself as stronger than sin. Why? So that the Gift of the
Holy Spirit may prevail! The
Holy Spirit enters into human and cosmic suffering with a new outpouring of love
which will redeem the world! And
on the lips of Jesus the Redeemer, in Whose Humanity the "suffering"
of God is concretized, there will be heard a Word which manifests the Eternal Love full
of mercy: "Misereor", meaning "I have compassion."(Cf.Mt15;32,Mk8:2)
The Holy Spirit's outpouring of Love when He enters into human suffering is
told to us in Sacred Scripture: "For we are saved by hope", and,
"we hope for that which we see not, (and) we wait for it with
patience", and, "The Spirit also helpeth our infirmity, for we know
not what we should pray for but the Spirit Himself asketh for us with
unspeakable groanings". (Rom8:20-22) Therefore sin is conquered
through the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Who eventually causes the Holy Spirit
of God to descend upon us. The Lamb of God Who has become even
"unto death" the obedient Servant, by making up for man's
disobedience, accomplishes the Redemption of the world.
40.
"Jesus Christ, Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without
blemish to God, (to) purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God."(Heb9:13) Thus, the Holy Spirit is present in the whole of
Christ's life and also in the Redemptive Sacrifice of the Incarnate Word. Jesus
Christ, in His own Humanity opened Himself totally to the action of the Holy
Spirit-Paraclete, Who from suffering enables eternal salvific Love to spring
forth. Christ "was heard for His Godly fear. Although He was a Son, He
learned obedience through what He suffered".(Heb5:7) Humanity, subjected
to sin in the descendents of the
first Adam, in Jesus Christ became perfectly
subjected to God and united to Him, and, at the same time filled with compassion
towards men.
Thus,
there is a new humanity, given to us by Jesus Christ.
41.
The Old Testament speaks of "fire from heaven" which burned the
offerings of men. (Cf.Lev9:24; lK18:38,2Chr7:1)
By analogy we say that the Holy Spirit is the "fire from heaven"
which works in the Mystery of the Cross. Proceeding from the Father, He brings
to the Father the Sacrifice of the Son, incorporating it into the Divine
reality of the Trinitarian Communion. God's Love is at work; that Love which
brings man back again to share in the Life that is God Himself. The
Holy Spirit consumes the Sacrifice of the Cross. Christ, in being obedient
"even to death on a Cross", "receives" the Holy Spirit in
such a way that afterwards He alone, with God the Father, can give the
Holy Spirit to the Apostles, to the Church, and to humanity: "When
the Paraclete cometh, Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, Who prodeedeth
from the Father."(Jn15:26) Jesus said in the Upper Room:
"Receive the Holy Spirit; if you forgive the sins of any, they are
forgiven".(Jn20:22) John the Baptist foretold: "He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and with fire".(Mt3:11) With these Words of Jesus,
the Holy Spirit is revealed and made present as the
love that works in the depth of the Paschal Mystery, as the Source of
the salvific power of the Cross of Christ, and as the gift of New and Eternal
Life. The Roman liturgy speaks to this before Communion: "Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of the living God, by the Will of the Father and the work
of the Holy Spirit your death (has) brought life to the world..".
And in the Third Eucharistic Prayer, asks God that the Holy Spirit may "make
us an everlasting gift to you".
V. THE BLOOD THAT PURIFIES THE CONSCIENCE
42. The Holy Spirit becomes present in the
Paschal Mystery of Christ, proceeding forth from the Father, being sent by the
Eternal Word as the One Who continues the salvific work rooted in the salvific work of
the Cross. Through the Apostles and the Church, the Holy Spirit remains
the transcendent principal Agent of the accomplishment of this work in the
human spirit and in the history of the world: the invisible and omnipresent
Paraclete! The Spirit of God Who "breathes where He wills". (Jn3:8)
When Jesus appeared to the Apostles
after His Resurrection He said: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you
forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they
are retained". (Jn20:22) But this Power granted to men presupposes
and includes the saving action of the Holy Spirit. He is the "light of
hearts" (VeniSancteSpiritus), the Light of consciences. In
"convincing concerning sin", the Holy Spirit makes man realize his own evil, and, at the same
time directs him towards what is good. Thanks to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, every kind of human sin can be
reached by God's saving Power. St. Bonaventure says: "..by virtue of the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, all
evils are destroyed and all good things are produced". Thus
the conversion of the human heart, indispensable for the forgiveness of sins,
is brought about by the Holy Spirit. Without true conversion with
inner contrition, and a firm purpose of amendment, sins remain
"unforgiven" in the traditions of the Old and New Covenants, and in
the first Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark: "Repent, and believe in
the Gospel". (Mkl:15) The Holy Spirit confirms Jesus' Words by
"convincing concerning sin" in virtue of the Redemption accomplished
by the Blood of the Son of Man. Christ's Redemptive Act opens to the Holy
Spirit the door of man's conscience, since "Blood purifies the
conscience". (Cf.Heb9:14)
The Holy Spirit, the Counselor, proceeds
with the conversion of the human heart.
43.
44.
The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, coming into contact as the Voice of the
human conscience, demonstrates the roots of sin. "The Truth is, that, the
imbalances under which the modern world labors are linked with that more basic
imbalance rooted in the heart of man. The creature experiences his
limitations in a multitude of ways. On the other hand, man feels himself to be
boundless in his desires and summoned to a higher life. Man is constantly
forced to choose among attractions; accepting some and renouncing some.
Indeed, as a weak and sinful being, he often does what he would not, and fails
to do what he would." (Cf.GaudiumEtSpes) (Cf.Rom7:14-15.19) In the
middle of all this, the Holy Spirit speaks to the conscience and brings about
conversion of the human heart always in relation to the Cross of Christ. Thus
Christianity, guided by the Counselor, rejects any fatalism regarding sin.
"A monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole
history of man, and will continue until the very last day. But, the Lord
Himself came to free and strengthen man. By relying on the Holy Spirit, the Voice of
his conscience, "is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling to
what is good. He cannot achieve his interior integrity without valiant efforts
and God's grace".
45.
Conversion restores Truth and Love in man's very heart. Recognizing evil in
ourselves sometimes demands a great effort. Conscience not only commands and
forbids, but judges. Conscience, being the Voice of the Holy Spirit, judges in
the Light of interior dictates and prohibitions. It is also the source of
remorse, and man suffers interiorly because of the evil he has committed. The
Holy Spirit permits the human conscience to share in the suffering of the Cross
of Christ. Then human suffering becomes particularly profound, but also
particularly salvific. Then, by means of an act of perfect
contrition, the authentic conversion of the heart is accomplished by the Holy
Spirit of Truth. Thus
the Church calls the Holy Spirit the "Light of consciences" Who
penetrates and fills "the depths of the human heart." Through conversion of the heart through the
Holy Spirit, a person becomes open to forgiveness and the remission of sins.
In conversion-forgiveness, the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit is
accomplished. The Holy Spirit comes by
the virtue of the Sacrifice of the Cross. For He comes by "the Blood of
Christ...(and) purifies your conscience from dead works to serve the
Living God." (Cf.Heb9:14) Thus continuously are Jesus' Words to His
disciples in the Upper Room fulfilled: Jesus is sending "another
Counselor", and "you know Him, for He dwells with you,
and will be in you." (Jn14:17)
VI. THE
SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT
46. The words of Jesus concerning
"unforgiveness" are disturbing. The Words of the Gospel of Christ
are: "Whoever says a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age
or in the age to come".(Mt12:31) "All sins will be forgiven the sons
of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the
Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal
sin".(Mk3:2B) "Everyone who
speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven".(Lk12:10) Thus the Gospels
reveal the sin called "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit". This
sin is "unforgivable by its very nature, insofar as it excludes the
elements through which the forgiveness of sin takes place." (St.Th.Aquin.SummaII)
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists in
the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy
Spirit, working through the Power of the Cross. This refusal rejects "convincing
concerning sin", the "coming" of the Holy Spirit through the
Redemptive Paschal Mystery, and finally the Blood of Christ which
"purifies the conscience from dead works". The result of such a
purification is the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, whoever rejects the
Spirit and the Blood remains in "dead works", in sin.
The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consists precisely in the radical refusal
to accept this forgiveness. The
"non-forgiveness" is because of the "non-repentance" of the
reprobate. The reprobate sinner refuses the mission of the Holy Spirit which is to
draw infinitely from the Sources of Redemption in the always open door to the
pathway of salvation. The Holy Spirit has Infinite Power to save
because Jesus said: "He will take what is Mine." The reprobate sinner
closes himself up in sin and claims to have a "right" to persist in
evil; in any sin at all, and thus rejects Redemption. This is a state of
spiritual ruin because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not allow one to
escape from one's self-imposed imprisonment to open oneself to the Divine Sources
of the purification of consciences and of the remission of sins.
47.
The free
choice to remain in a state of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is
what the Gospels call "hardness of heart". (Ps8O/81:13;Jer7:24.Mk3:5) In our times this attitude of mind and heart
is reflected in the loss of the sense of sin. Pope Pius XII said: "The sin of the century is
the loss of the sense of sin". (1946USCateCong)
Loss
of the sense of sin goes hand in hand with the loss of the sense of God. It follows that if there is no sense of God,
then there is no sense of offense against God. . The Church constantly
implores from God the Grace that the integrity of human consciences will not be
lost. The integrity and sensitivity of the conscience is profoundly
linked to the intimate action of the Holy Spirit of Truth. Hence,
48. In the righteousness of Christ Jesus in
the Father, as a reflection of the holiness of the Most Holy Trinity, in the righteousness
of the Gospel, and the righteousness of the Redemption, in
the righteousness
of the Sermon on the Mount, in the righteousness of the Cross of Jesus
Christ, in the righteousness of the Blood of the Lamb of God: In
this righteousness, the Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son, Who "convinces
the world concerning sin", reveals Himself and makes Himself present as
the Spirit of Eternal Life..
PART III
THE SPIRIT WHO GIVES LIFE
I. REASON
FOR THE JUBILEE OF THE YEAR 2000: CHRIST WHO WAS CONCEIVED IN THE HOLY
SPIRIT.
49.
When the "fullness" of time came. God sent to us His Only Begotten
Son. In the term "fullness of time" is contained the measurement of human history
by God Himself. At this time "God so loved the world that He gave
His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
Eternal Life."(Jn3:16) In Christ, God the Father sent "He Who
is, Who was, and Who is to come"; the "Alpha and the Omega, the First
and the Last, the Beginning and the End". (Rev1:8,
50.
The
Conception and Birth of Jesus Christ are in fact the greatest work accomplished
by the Holy Spirit in
the
history of creation and salvation: The Supreme Grace, the "Grace of
51.
All
this is accomplished by the Holy Spirit, Who with His Power
overshadowed the virginal body of Mary, bringing about in her the beginning of her
divine motherhood, at the same time made her heart perfectly obedient to the
Self-Communication of God, which surpassed every human idea and faculty. "Blessed
is she who believed!" Thus Mary is greeted by her cousin
Elizabeth, herself "full of the Holy Spirit". (Lk1:45,41) Mary thus
entered the history of salvation through the obedience of Faith. And Faith,
in its deepest sense, is the openness of the human heart to God's
Self-Communication in the Holy Spirit. (Remember when Jesus
appeared to His disciples in the Upper Room saying: "Receive ye the Holy
Spirit.")
II.
REASON FOR THE JUBILEE: GRACE HAS BEEN MADE MANIFEST
52.
The Work of the Holy Spirit "Who gives Life", reaches Its highest
point by giving Life to Life's fullest form: man as Christ. In His humanity, Jesus is endowed with
personhood by the Word, in the hypostatic union. The Eternal Word becomes
the "First-Born of all Creation", the "First-Born of many
brethren".(Rom8:29) "The Word became Flesh; in Him was Life, and the
Life was the Light of Men".(Jn1:14,4) "As many as received Him, He
gave them Power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in
His Name".(Jn1:12) This "rebirth" happens when God the Father
"sends the Spirit of His Son into our hearts", whereby we cry as
adopted sons: "Abba, Father!"(Cf.Ga14:6; Rom5:5,2Cor1:22,Rom8:15). Sanctifying
Grace is the Principle of man's new Divine Supernatural Life. And Jesus,
in the Redemption, is Grace and brings Grace, because He
sends the Holy Spirit to us. The
Source of Sanctifying Grace is the Holy Spirit: "When you send
forth Your Spirit, they shall be created; and You shall renew the face of the
Earth". (Cf.Ps104/103:30) Creation is thus completed by the Holy Spirit in
the Incarnation; for "creation waits with eager longing for the revealing
of the sons of God."(Rom8:19) The "sons of God" are those
"foreknown and predestined to be conformed to the Image of His
Son".(Rom8:29) The source of this is a supernatural "adoption"
by the Holy Spirit, Who is Love and Gift. As such, He is given to man, and in the
superabundance of the Uncreated Gift there begins in man heart the created
gift, whereby he becomes "partaker of the divine nature."Cf.2Pe1:4)
Thus, human life acquires a Divine, Supernatural dimension. There is granted a New
Life, in which "man has access to the Father in the Holy
Spirit". (Cf.Eph.2:18) The Uncreated Spirit, the Holy Spirit, gives
Sanctifying Grace with It's supernatural vitality. Thus the created human
spirit becomes
"partaker
of Divine Nature"(Cf.2Pet1:4).
53.
As the Holy Spirit was active at the beginning of Creation (Gen1:2), He has
been active in the Old Covenant (Eph1:3-14). The Holy Spirit will be with us as
Guarantor of the Promises of Christ: "In Him (Christ), you were sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance, until
we acquire possession of it." The
54.
To the Samaritan woman, Jesus said: "God is Spirit, and those who worship
Him must worship in Spirit and Truth". (Jn4:24) The Triune God is wholly
transcendent, He is absolute Spirit. He is
present in the world, penetrating it and giving
it life from within. "God is Spirit".(Jn4:24) God,
the Holy Spirit is present in the intimacy of man's being, in his mind,
conscience and heart.
III. THE
HOLY SPIRIT IN MAN'S INNER CONFLICT: "FOR THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH ARE
AGAINST THE SPIRIT, AND THE DESIRES OF THE SPIRIT ARE AGAINST THE FLESH.
55.
The history of salvation shows that God's coming close and making Himself
intimately present to man, that marvelous "condescension" of the
Spirit, meets with resistance and opposition in our human reality. Simeon's
prophecy illustrates: "...is set for the fall and rising of many in
56.
The
external dimension of resistance to the Holy Spirit, the external Sign of
Contradiction (Lk2:35), takes
concrete
form in the contents of cultures and civilizations as a philosophical system,
an ideology or an "action program" for the shaping of human behavior.
It
reaches its clearest expression in materialism, which is still recognized as
the essential core of Marxism. Marxist
materialism excludes the Presence of God, Who is Spirit. It does not accept
God's existence, being a system that is essentially and systematically
atheistic. The key principle of personal and social action, which excludes the
presence and action of God, is characteristically atheistic; being
a true and proper materialism. The Second Vatican Council devoted significant
pages to this phenomenon of atheism. (GaudiumEtSpes19,20,21)
57.
II. THE
HOLY SPIRIT STRENGTHENS THE "INNER MAN"
58.
In the Resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, reveals Himself
as He
Who gives life: "He Who raised Christ from the dead will give life
to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit Who dwells in you."(R08:11)
The Church also proclaims Life in the name of the resurrected Christ, and Him
Who gives this Life: The Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life. The
explanation is this:..."although your bodies are/were dead because of sin,
your spirits are alive because of righteousness".(Ro8:10) This
righteousness is accomplished by the crucified and risen Christ. This
righteousness of Jesus' is the cause of the eventual giving of Life to our
"mortal bodies" by the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us.
This is why we groan inwardly as we wait for ....the Redemption of our
bodies". (Cf.Ro8:23) United with the Holy Spirit, the Church is supremely
aware of the reality of the "inner man", because the "inner man" is
spiritual
and incorruptible. At this level
the Holy Spirit grafts the "root of immortality" Cf.Wis15:3),
from which new Life springs. This is man's
life in God , the "way of the Church", in the Holy Spirit. St. Paul prays to the Almighty Father
for us: "I bow my knees before the Father that He may grant you...to be
strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner
man".(Cf.Eph3:14-16) Under the
influence of the Holy Spirit this inner, "spiritual" man matures and
grows strong. Thanks to divine Self-communication, the human
spirit which "knows the secrets of man", meets the "Spirit
Who searches everything, even the depths
of God". (Cf.lCor2:10) In
the Holy Spirit, Who is the Eternal Gift, the Triune God opens Himself to man,
to the human spirit. The hidden Breath of the Divine Spirit
enables the human spirit to open in its turn before the saving and Self-Opening
of God. Through the Gift of grace, which comes from the Holy Spirit, man enters
a "new life", is brought into the supernatural reality of the
Divine Life Itself and becomes a "dwelling place of the Holy Spirit",
a living temple of God. (Cf.R08:9.1Cor6:19) In the communion of grace with the Most Holy
Trinity, man is raised up to the supernatural level of Divine Life. Man lives
in God and by God; he lives "according to the
Spirit", and "sets his mind on the things of the Spirit."
59.
Man's intimate relationship with God in the Holy Spirit enables him to
understand that God's Image and Likeness, which man is, from his very
beginning, is fully realized. This intimate Truth is continually rediscovered
in the Light of Christ. In this
Light of Christ, man realizes "full self-discovery through a sincere gift
of himself to others. The Second Vatican Council writes that this
Christ-like charity creates this Divine Likeness which "shows
that on earth man...is the only creature that God wishes for Himself. (GaudEtSpes24.25)
This Truth of man's being comes about only by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Triune God, giving Himself in the Holy
Spirit as Gift to man, transforms the
human world from within, inside the minds and heart of man. The world
of man itself, made to share in this Divine Gift, from becoming more inhuman,
becomes "ever more human, ever more profoundly human". (lbid38.40)
Through the Gift and Love of the Holy Spirit, the Eternal Power of the opening
of the Triune God to man and the world is accomplished, so that God becomes
"All in all". (Cf.1Cor15;28) Jesus Himself prayed for this
"when He prayed to the Father, 'that all may be one....as We are One.' (Jesus'
prayer)...implied a certain likeness between the
were the only one (soul), and gives Grace which is
sufficient for all." (St.Basil.DeSpiritoSancto)
60.
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, The Paraclete, individuals discover
this Divine dimension of their beings, and are able to free themselves from the
various determinisms which derive mainly
from the materialistic base, as previously discussed. In our age, these factors
have penetrated into man's inmost being, into that sanctuary of the conscience,
where the Holy Spirit continuously radiates the Light and Strength of New Life
in Christ, in the "freedom of the children of God". It
can be said that in many cases, social factors, instead of fostering
development of, ultimately derive the human spirit of the of the truth
of its being and life, over which the Holy Spirit keeps vigil. These "social factors", being not
of the Holy Spirit, but of the "material", subject the human spirit
to "the prince of this world". The Great Jubilee of 2000
contains a message of liberation by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
V. THE
CHURCH AS THE SACRAMENT OF INTIMATE
61.
As the end of the second Millennium approaches, (which is) an event which
should recall to everyone and as it were make present anew the coming of the
Word in the fullness of time, the Church once more means to ponder the very
essence of Her Divine-human constitution and of that mission which enables Her
to share in the Messianic mission of Christ, according to the teaching and the ever
valid plan of the Second Vatican Council. Following this, we go back to
the Upper Room, where Jesus Christ reveals the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete,
the Spirit
of Truth, and where He speaks of
His own "departure" through the Cross as the necessary condition
for the Holy Spirit's coming: "It is to your advantage that I go
away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go,
I will send Him to you." (Jn16:7) In the light of that prediction,
we also grasp the full meaning of what Jesus says, also at the Last Supper,
about His new coming. His exact Words are: "I will not leave you
desolate; I will come to you." (Jn14;18)
And at the moment of his final farewell before He ascends into Heaven, He will
repeat even more explicitly: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close
of the age." (Mt28:20) This new "coming" of Christ by
the Power of the Holy Spirit, is
accomplished in the Sacramental reality of the Church. Christ is
Present and acts in the Church in such an intimate way as to make It His
Own Body. As such the Church
lives, works and grows "to the close of the age", through the Power
of the Holy Spirit.
62.
The most complete sacramental reality and expression of the
"departure" of Christ through His Paschal Mystery and His
"Coming" through the Paraclete, the Counselor, is the Eucharist.
In every Celebration of the Eucharist,
Christ's "Coming" and His Salvific Presence is sacramentally realized
in the sacrifice and in Communion, through the Power of the Holy Spirit, as
part of Christ's Own mission. (Eucharistic
Prayer II: "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them Holy, so
that they may become for us the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ".)
Through
the Eucharist, the Holy Spirit accomplishes that "strengthening of the
inner man, (Eph3:16) by the action of the Paraclete-Counselor.
Through the Eucharist, individuals and communities learn to discover the divine
sense of human life, as spoken of by the Council: "that sense whereby Jesus
Christ fully reveals man to man himself", suggesting a certain likeness
between the
63.
In the Second Vatican Council, through Christ's Eucharistic Presence, the
Church is able to discover ever more deeply Her own essential mystery. As a Sacrament, the Church is a development
from the Paschal Mystery Christ's "departure", which lives by His
ever new coming by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Christ's Eucharistic Presence and the
essential mystery of the Church is within the mission of the Paraclete-Spirit
of Truth. While it is through creation that God is He in Whom we all
"live and move and have our being", (ActsI7:28) in its turn, the
power of Redemption endures and develops in the history of man and the world in
a double "rhythm" as it were, the Source of which is found in the Eternal
Father. There is the rhythm of the mission of the Son, Who came into
the world, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
There is also the rhythm of the mission of the Holy Spirit, Who came
through the "departure" of the Son. He came as Counselor and Spirit
of Truth, and He continues to come. Within the
indivisible Presence of the Holy Spirit, the Son comes, and is continuously
Present in the Mystery of the Church, at times concealing Himself and
at times revealing Himself in Her history, and always directing Her steps. This happens through the Power of the
Holy Spirit in a Sacramental way,
drawing this Power from Christ's Incarnation and Redemption.
By the will of God the Church fulfills
Her salvific ministry through the Sacraments.
The Sacraments give Life. Jesus
Christ together with His Holy Spirit
is
Present and acting.
64.
As in the Words of the Gospels which take shape in minds and hearts, in all of
this, it is The Holy Spirit Who give Life. The Church is, therefore, through
the Holy Spirit, a sign and instrument of Intimate Communion with God. Through
the Word of God and the Sacraments, Jesus Christ, as His Holy Spirit, dwells in
our intimate self; our heart and soul. Christ's Redemption gives all of this for
all humanity. Through Christ's Redemption, the
"condescension" of infinite Trinitarian Love is brought to us. Infinite Trinitarian Love is the Holy Spirit
of God.
VI. THE
SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY: "COME!"
65.
The
Breath of Divine Life, the Holy Spirit, makes Himself felt in prayer. Prayer is also the revelation of the abyss of
the human heart; a depth which comes from God and which only the Holy Spirit of God can
fill. "For we do not know
how to pray as we ought, but the
Holy Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words." (R08:26)
"Thus he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the
Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the Saints according to the Will of
God". (Cf.Origen,DeOratione)
66.
In
the midst of the spiritual decadence, desertion, disappointment and hope of
these times of ours, the Church remains faithful to the mystery
of her birth with Mary, the Mother of Christ. The Church perseveres in
prayer with Mary. The Blessed Virgin
brought forth the Son Whom God placed as the first-born among the faithful.
(Cf.R08:29) In their birth and development,
she cooperates with a Maternal Love. Mary is, through Christ's singular graces
intimately
united with the Church. She is a model of the Church. Through Mary, the Church becomes Herself a
Mother, and keeps the fidelity She has pledged with Her Spouse. By the Power of
the Holy Spirit the Church preserves with virginal purity, integral faith, a
firm hope, and a sincere Charity. (Cf.LG63,64) United with the Virgin Mother, the Church
prays unceasingly as the Bride to Her Divine Spouse: "The
Spirit and the Bride say to the Lord Jesus Christ: "Come!" Cf.Rev22:17)
This
is the eschatological hope, the hope of
fulfillment in God, and participation in the life of the Holy Trinity
that the Holy Spirit is the Guardian and Animator of, in the Heart of the
Church. The calling of the Holy Spirit and the Bride of Christ:
"Lord Jesus, Come!, is the prayer destined to give fullness of meaning to
the celebration of the Great Jubilee. This prayer is directed towards a precise
moment in history, the "fullness of time", marked by the Jubilee of
the Year 2000, prepared for with the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Spouse, The
Holy Spirit of the Triune God. Without
the Source of Truth and love, Man cannot live. The Holy Spirit of the Most Holy Trinity is
the Source of Truth and Love for man, the Source of Peace and Joy that:
"No one will be able to take away".
(JnI6:22)
Given in
in the year 1986, the eighth of my Pontificate.
John Paul II
†