Pope Francis highlighted the presence of the Holy Spirit in the catechetical rosary of Wednesday’s audience.
vatican city
On the occasion of his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis, addressing all the faithful and pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, said: Good morning, dear brothers and sisters.
In today’s catechesis we will move from the mysterious revelation of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures to his presence and activity in the Church and in our lives.
For the first three centuries, the church did not feel it needed any fundamental doctrine regarding belief in the Holy Spirit. For example, the Holy Father said that after proclaiming the Church’s oldest Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. In Him who was born, died, descended to limbo and rose from the dead to heaven, he added without any attribution the fact that “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”
church heresy
This was a heresy that the church had to explain. In the time of Saint Athanasius, in the 4th century, when this process began, the Church specifically experienced sanctification and the divine work of the Holy Spirit, who established the divine security of the Holy Spirit in the Church. All this happened at the Ecumenical Synod of Constantinople in the year 381, where the divinity of the Holy Spirit was defined in the clear words that we still declare today in the Creed: “I believe in God the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who is the Father and “from the Son, who are glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke by the mouth of the prophets.”
The Pope said that saying that the Holy Spirit “is God” was like saying that they share the “property” of God, that He created the world, that they are not mere creatures in themselves. The most powerful thing is that they deserve the same glory and worship as God the Father and the Son. This is the argument for unity in equality that was wanted by Saint Basil the Great, who was the main author of this formula.
In this way, the clarification given by the Synod eliminated the obstacles to the affirmation of the Holy Spirit and was declared part of the liturgy and theology of the Church. Saint Gregory Nazianzus declared this without hesitation after the Synod: “Is the Holy Spirit God? Of course. Are they unity? Yes, if He is the true God.
there are divisions in the church
What does the Creed of Faith, which we proclaim every Sunday at Mass, tell us as believers? In the past it was simply a declaration that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father. The Latin Church immediately supported this statement, combining it with the essence of the gospel and saying: “and also of the Son.” Since its Latin expression is “filoque”, it is a source of controversy for us, which is why we find so many differences and divisions in the Eastern and Western Church. Although we certainly do not refer to this issue, in a climate of dialogue we see that the rigidity between the two Churches is breaking down, allowing complete mutual acceptance. We see many differences among Christians.
Holy Spirit: Giver of life
With this problem resolved, today we declare in our Creed of Faith that the Holy Spirit is “the giver of life,” “the giver of life.” Let us ask ourselves: “What kind of life does the Holy Spirit provide? At the beginning of creation, Adam received natural life through the breath of God. Now in the new creation it is the Holy Spirit who gives believers a new life, a supernatural life as children of God in Jesus Christ. Saint Paul declares this by saying: “The providence of the Spirit, who gives life through Jesus Christ, has freed me from the slavery of sin and death.”
Where are the words of comfort?
Where do we find any comfort for ourselves in all these things? This is the life given by the Holy Spirit, which is eternal life. Faith frees us from the fear that everything on this earth will come to an end, that there will be no escape for us from suffering and that injustice will reign on this earth. Another statement of the apostle gives us this assurance: “If the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you, he will also give life to your mortal bodies.” The Holy Spirit resides in us, within us.
Let us feed on this faith and also on those who are often deprived of it for no reason, which makes their lives lose meaning. And let us not forget to call blessed those who, through their death, have received this inestimable gift for us.
