Holy Ghost

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What happened to the Holy Ghost? I tried to use the search button but got way to many returns to do any good. When I was a kid I distinctly remember using the term Holy Ghost. I then left the church for 15+ years and now I do not hear it used.
 
hudson said:
What happened to the Holy Ghost? I tried to use the search button but got way to many returns to do any good. When I was a kid I distinctly remember using the term Holy Ghost. I then left the church for 15+ years and now I do not hear it used.
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It is really an issue of translation. Spiritus translated in most languages is spirit. In German it is translated as *geist *which in English is translated as ghost. The word 'Spirit" is a more direct translation of the Latin.
 
Hudson,

I agree with you that there are numerous references to the Holy Spirit. Even newadvent.org (the Catholic Encyclopedia) has pages of them, and the Catechism is also several pages long.

Do you have a special question that maybe the members here might be able to offer help? Otherwise, if you are just looking to generally refresh your memory, the CCC may be the best place to begin. 🙂

It is always a blessing to read that someone has come back to the faith. God bless you!
 
hudson said:
What happened to the Holy Ghost? I tried to use the search button but got way to many returns to do any good. When I was a kid I distinctly remember using the term Holy Ghost. I then left the church for 15+ years and now I do not hear it used.
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I am not an englissh speaker but “Ghost” seems phantasmagorical…Spirit sounds better…
cheers:)
 
hudson said:
I found the answer I was looking for. It appears that my teachers were using the KJV when they said Holy Ghost?

gotquestions.org/Holy-Spirit-Ghost.html
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If they were Catholic, they were more likely using the Douay-Rheims translation. That one uses the phrase “Holy Ghost” sometimes, too.

I think it was simply the more common English phrasing years ago. Just like it was more common to say “Last Rites” or “Extreme Unction” instead of “Anointing of the Sick”.
 
Joannm said:
It is really an issue of translation. Spiritus translated in most languages is spirit. In German it is translated as *geist *which in English is translated as ghost. The word 'Spirit" is a more direct translation of the Latin.
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This is more of a linguistic issue than a theological one. Techically what you state is correct; however I wonder if our use of the word “spirit” blurs the distinction somewhat between the Third Person of the Trinity with an inanimate “spirit,” such as those of the Vatican II documents, for example. The cognate Spirit may be more “direct” translation but it’s not necessarily the best since English meanings and usages of the word change.
 
ProVobis said:
This is more of a linguistic issue than a theological one. Techically what you state is correct; however I wonder if our use of the word “spirit” blurs the distinction somewhat between the Third Person of the Trinity with an inanimate “spirit,” such as those of the Vatican II documents, for example. The cognate Spirit may be more “direct” translation but it’s not necessarily the best since English meanings and usages of the word change.
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This is a very interesting thought. I always thought the Holy Spirit was more of a force than a “person” (though definitely not inanimate…just the opposite!) A living force of the Will of God.

I priest on relevant radio (a conservative one at that) was explaining how God is love, and you can say that God is family…a relationship. There is the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the love between them.

I’ve always found the third person of the Trinity somewhat mysterious. What exactly is the Holy Spirit? A person? A ghost? A holy, Godly force of love? (this may be a topic for another thread! Sorry!)
 
Garyjohn2 said:
This is a very interesting thought. I always thought the Holy Spirit was more of a force than a “person” (though definitely not inanimate…just the opposite!) A living force of the Will of God.

I priest on relevant radio (a conservative one at that) was explaining how God is love, and you can say that God is family…a relationship. There is the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the love between them.

I’ve always found the third person of the Trinity somewhat mysterious. What exactly is the Holy Spirit? A person? A ghost? A holy, Godly force of love? (this may be a topic for another thread! Sorry!)
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Well, the Holy Spirit is definitely a person. If not, then there wouldn’t be “three persons in one God” but rather “two persons + one ‘force’ in one God.” 😉

That analogy of the Trinity as family is a popular one these days, but it’s just an analogy. I think it’s a helpful one, but any analogy with regards to the Trinity falls flat if you push it too far. If you push St. Patrick’s 3 leaf clover analogy too far, you’d end up either as a polytheist or a modalist. 😛
 
Lately I have begun to favor the term “Ghost” in the place of “Spirit.” For some reason, and this is just a person faux pas, the term spirit to me beckons of new age notions, or something weak. :rolleyes:. Ghost sounds more real, I guess. (Like I said, this is just me. I realize how strange it is now that I wrote it haha.)
 
MiserereMeiDeus said:
Lately I have begun to favor the term “Ghost” in the place of “Spirit.” For some reason, and this is just a person faux pas, the term spirit to me beckons of new age notions, or something weak. :rolleyes:. Ghost sounds more real, I guess. (Like I said, this is just me. I realize how strange it is now that I wrote it haha.)
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I find the concept of the Holy “Ghost” or Holy “Spirit”, to be one of the more abstract concepts, and the perception seems to vary quite a bit between different people and cultures, whether Catholic or not. For some reason, I prefer the word “spirit” over “ghost”, I guess because I associate ghosts with all of the popular cultural references to the undead, and haunting, Halloween, etc… which is not my concept of the Holy Spirit at all.
 
If you read older liturature, you will find that ghost refers to what we now call spirit. So we were (at one time) a person with a body and ghost. So the expression ‘give up the ghost’ refers to your soul (ghost) separating from your body.

Now we use spirit, but the ‘mystics’ now use spirit also to refer to the spooking things that hang around on Halloween.

As ghost comes from the German, so does Holy. So we should probably translate Spritus Sanctus (latin) as Saint Spirit, the 3rd person of the trinity. Rather than mixing the languages. Try that out when you make the sign of the cross:

In the name of the Father, the Son and Saint Spirit :eek:

Of course to stick with the latin cognates through-out

In the name of the Paternal Parent, the Filial Generation, and Saint Spirit.
… … … Yeah, I think that’s the one we ought to use … … … 😛
 
Evan said:
As ghost comes from the German, so does Holy. So we should probably translate Spritus Sanctus (latin) as Saint Spirit, the 3rd person of the trinity. Rather than mixing the languages. Try that out when you make the sign of the cross:
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FWIW, Polish doesn’t distinguish between Saint and Holy either. Sanctus is translated as “święty.” I guess you have to know the context.
 
ProVobis said:
FWIW, Polish doesn’t distinguish between Saint and Holy either. Sanctus is translated as “święty.” I guess you have to know the context.
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Well, they mean the same thing. Sanctified, set apart.
You can say St. Mary, or Holy Mary. You can say St. Moses, or Holy Moses. It means the same.

Saying Saint Spirit, or Holy Spirit, or Sanctified Spirit is all the same thing. It’s just that we usually use “saint” for a person, not for God. In actuality though, it’s the same meaning.
 
MiserereMeiDeus said:
Lately I have begun to favor the term “Ghost” in the place of “Spirit.” For some reason, and this is just a person faux pas, the term spirit to me beckons of new age notions, or something weak. :rolleyes:. Ghost sounds more real, I guess. (Like I said, this is just me. I realize how strange it is now that I wrote it haha.)
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Think of it this way: why would you let “new agers” take over the word “spirit”. Use the term “Holy Spirit” proudly to refer to the third person of the Trinity. We’ve been using the term (at least in Latin) for how long now?

The “ghost hunters” have already preempted the word “ghost”:😉 and given it a rather sinister meaning.
 
hudson said:
What happened to the Holy Ghost? I tried to use the search button but got way to many returns to do any good. When I was a kid I distinctly remember using the term Holy Ghost. I then left the church for 15+ years and now I do not hear it used.
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There was a pretty good discussion on this topic in this thread from a couple of months ago. You may want to check it out.
 
As of this time, the Anglican Use uses both Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit. I don’t think that will change when the Ordinariate’s new liturgy in the US is completed.

I am partial to the Holy Ghost, probably because that was my background. I still use in at times.

Of course during the OF it is always the Holy Spirit. I wonder what the Eastern Rite Catholics use during their liturgy.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette
 
CB_Catholic said:
Think of it this way: why would you let “new agers” take over the word “spirit”. Use the term “Holy Spirit” proudly to refer to the third person of the Trinity. We’ve been using the term (at least in Latin) for how long now?
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That’s Spiritus Sanctus to us, without the anglicization. 🙂

Goes back to the 3rd or 4th century, if not before that.
 
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