Catechesis · Inquirer
God the Holy Spirit
Catechesis · Inquirer
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from the Father. He was sent by the…
Question
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity, fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from the Father. He was sent by the Son after the Ascension and is present in the Church, in the sacraments, and in the heart of every believer.
The Creed names the Spirit "Lord and Life-giver." Lord: He is divine. Life-giver: He is the source of spiritual life in the Church. The Liturgy is His work. The sacraments are His action. The Scripture speaks through Him. Prayer is addressed to the Father through the Son in the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, there is no Christian life.
The teaching
The Spirit's work in the Church and in the soul
The Spirit completes in each person what the Son accomplished in history. Baptism is His action. Chrismation is His gift. The Eucharist is consecrated by His descent at the epiclesis. Prayer is His movement in us. Every act of holiness is His fruit (Gal 5.22).
The Spirit is the one who makes Christ present and alive in every generation. He does not bring new revelation — He makes the one revelation of Christ living and effective in us. When you pray, the Spirit prays in you. When you receive the Eucharist, the Spirit makes Christ present. When you read Scripture, the Spirit who inspired it interprets it to your heart.
The Holy Spirit was always, and is, and ever shall be — having neither beginning nor end. He is numbered with the Father and Son and glorified with them. Life and Life-giving; Light and Light-giving; good of Himself and the source of goodness.
Gregory is defending the Spirit's full divinity at a time when many accepted the Son as God but hesitated over the Spirit. His point: the same language applies. The Spirit has no beginning, no end. He is not a created intermediary. He is glorified with the Father and Son — which the Church has done in every liturgy from the beginning.
St. Gregory the Theologian
Fifth Theological Oration (On the Holy Spirit) · c. 380 AD
Holy Scripture
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
"And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'"
Galatians 4:6