Who is the Holy Spirit?

1 • The Holy Spirit… this unknown

The Holy Spirit is truly a mystery…

…what is it? Who is it?

…is it an energy? (like Goku’s Kaioken?)

…is it a power? (like when Monkey D. Luffy uses the Conqueror’s Haki?)

…some say it is Someone and not something…

Let’s be clear: perhaps there’s a theologian who could explain to us that the Holy Spirit is “one of the three hypostases of the Trinity,” who could clarify whether the aforementioned is “consubstantial with the Father,” whether it “proceeds from the Son” or not…

…but if we were to ask the average parishioner (the one who sings “On Eagle’s Wings” and plays “hot potato” in the oratory) to tell us something “of his choice” about the Holy Spirit, he probably wouldn’t know where to start.

Not coincidentally, Josemaría Escrivá said that the Holy Spirit is “the great unknown” (JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ, E’ Gesù che passa: omelie, Milano, Ares 2009, n.127-138), and Louis Bouyer called him “the Unknown God” (LOUIS BOUYER, Il Consolatore, Edizioni paoline, Roma 1983, p.11)…

…and before them, Thomas Aquinas noted the real poverty of vocabulary (“vocabulorum inopiam,” cf. Summa Theologiae, 1a, q. 37, art. 1) to speak about Him…

…but what do we know about this Unknown?

Let’s try to make sense of it…

2 • Positive energies, “good vibes,” and fairy dust!

I won’t deny that when I was younger, the first thing that came to mind when thinking about the Holy Spirit was something similar to the auras in Dragon Ball.

Or Naruto’s chakra.

It’s understandable that a confused and nerdy kid might not know much about pneumatology (*)…

(*) (as strange as it sounds, that’s what the branch of theology dealing with the Holy Spirit is called; from πνεῦμα, pneuma = “spirit” and λόγος, logos = “speech, study“)

…but quite often, I’ve talked to adult and confirmed Christians who seemed much more disoriented than I was when I abandoned the oratory as a teenager…

I don’t know… maybe it’s a certain trend for things with an Eastern or New Age flavor.

3 • The Holy Spirit in the Scriptures

3.1 • In the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “Spirit” is ruah (רוח), which can be translated as “breeze, wind, breath, or spirit”. With this word, it doesn’t merely refer to a “natural force” but a breath that comes from the Creator.

For example:

According to the Old Testament, the Spirit enables certain individuals to understand God’s plan.

Do you remember when in the Creed, we (parrot-like?) all say in unison: “[…] who has spoken through the Prophets”?

It means that the Holy Spirit has stirred in the hearts of certain individuals a particular sensitivity to hear the voice of God, to follow His ways, and to convey His word to the people:

Although the phenomenon of prophecy may elicit a compassionate smile from us “modern emancipated” individuals, the Jews — and Christians after them — have always treated the matter with the utmost seriousness…

3.2 • In the New Testament

In the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles (which, for those who may not know, is the “sequel” to the Gospel of Luke), the Holy Spirit (in Greek Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, “Pneuma to Hagion“) is mentioned more than 70 times (not counting other texts in the New Testament, bringing the total to around a hundred).

I’ll mention just a few examples:

• In the farewell discourse preceding the Last Supper, Jesus states that the Holy Spirit is “the Comforter” (from the Greek Παράκλητος, Paracletos; cf. John 15:26), who will always be with the Apostles (cf. John 14:16) and guide them into all truth (cf. John 16:13).
• The Holy Spirit descends upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-4), on Peter before he speaks (cf. Acts 4:8), and on the Gentiles who hear Peter’s preaching (cf. Acts 10:44-47).
• The Spirit sends Saul and Barnabas to preach the Gospel in new lands (cf. Acts 13:2-4).

As can be seen from the various passages I have cited…

Whether during the preaching of Jesus or the expansion of the nascent Church, the Holy Spirit is present, works, inspires, sends, stirs, generates, and stimulates…

4 • Not “something”… but “Someone”

As I tried to make sense of writing this little page, a thought became clear to me: when approaching the Holy Spirit, one must take very small steps, with deep reverence, and without the presumption of rationalizing Him.

A renowned theologian once said that the investigation into the Holy Spirit should not begin with the speculations that torment our minds (otherwise, everyone comes up with their own ideas), but rather with the testimony that the Holy Spirit gives of Himself in the Bible and Tradition (cf. WALTER KASPER, Il Dio di Gesù Cristo, Brescia 1984, p. 300).

It is precisely from this self-testimony that an aspect often overlooked emerges: in all the passages of the New Testament where the Holy Spirit is mentioned, there is a strong allusion to the “personality” of the Holy Spirit.

In what sense “personality“?

In the sense that the Holy Spirit is not something. He is Someone. A divine Person, distinct from the Father and the Son.

Many personal actions are attributed to Him; He is the subject of verbs such as “dwell,” “discern,” and “will” (1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:11, 16; Galatians 5:17). Regarding Him, it is said, for example:

• He dwells in disciples (John 14:17).
• He receives what is of Jesus (John 16:14).
• He hears (John 16:13).
• He teaches (John 14:26).
• He announces (John 16:13).
• He glorifies Jesus (John 16:14).
• He bears witness (John 15:26).
• He convinces (John 16:8)
• He intercedes for us before God (Romans 8:26).
• He distributes gifts as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11).
• He speaks in the writings of the Old Testament (Hebrews 3:7; 1 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 1:21).
• He guides the early Christians; for example, He suggests to Philip to approach the eunuch (Acts 8:29), prompts Peter to go to Cornelius’ house (Acts 10:19-20), etc.

The Holy Spirit is present in the history of the Church and acts concretely.

However, as I mentioned earlier, in “connecting the dots” to draw a profile, one must be careful…

I think it is very useful to remember what Cardinal Ratzinger used to say, in a humble and cautious manner:

Conclusion

On July 5, 1968, Ignatius IV Hazim (1921-2012), Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, spoke these words:

…so much so that Seraphim of Sarov (1754-1833), a Russian monk and mystic, wrote that:

sale

(Spring 2021)