Who and What is the Holy Spirit?

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Hi everyone,
Lately a young adult group I participate in in my parish has been showing and discussing some videos about the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost. As I was watching the video today, which is called “The Wild Goose” series or something like that, I realized that I don’t really know the Holy Spirit that well at all. If someone asked me who or what the Holy Spirit is, I really wouldn’t be able to explain it. My best understanding comes from Frank Sheed’s “Theology for Beginners” and I guess the Holy Spirit is the love and relationship between the Father and the Son, but I really don’t know what this means or the implications of it.

I also have a hard time with the meaning of the Holy Spirit being a Person. I don’t seem to have much of an active relationship or prayer life with the Holy Spirit.

But for my own sake, and for the benefit of others who have an ignorance or confusion about who and what the Holy Spirit is, I have posted this thread, asking for any thoughts, ideas, links, reading suggestions, prayers etc, such that we all may better know the Holy Spirit and be prepared for the Feast of Pentecost, and that we may be able to communicate the mysteries of Christ to others.

God bless you all. Amen.
 
The Catechism should be your first stop for learning about the Holy Spirit. The best way to think of the Holy Spirit is as Paraclete, consoler and advocate.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c3a8.htm

There are many prayers to the Holy Spirit aka Holy Ghost that you could look up.
The basic prayer to the Holy Spirit is “Veni creator spiritus” (also called things like “Come Creator Spirit” or “Come Holy Ghost” etc. depending on which translation you read). It is very old. I’ve attached a literal (not poetic or flowery, but literal) translation from the Latin below.

Veni Creator Spiritus

Come, creator Spirit, visit the souls of your people;
fill with grace from above the hearts that you have created.

You who are called advocate,
gift of the most high God,
the living fountain,
fire, love and balm of the spirit,

You bestow sevenfold gifts;
You, the finger of God’s right hand,
You, the duly promised of the Father,

Provide tongues with speech,
kindle a light in (our) minds,
pour love into (our) hearts,
strengthen the weaknesses of our bodies with perpetual vigor.

Drive the enemy far away,
and give peace forthwith,
so that with You leading the way as our guide,
we may avoid all things harmful.

Grant that through you, we may know the Father,
and also come to know the Son,
and may we ever believe in You, the Spirit of both.

Amen.
 
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This is an excellent question best answered by an Ornithologist… 😉
 
The Holy Ghost is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, so that means He’s a divine Person equal to the Father and the Son. The Catechism of the Council of Trent has a pretty good section here on who the Holy Ghost is.

This is a popular prayer to the Holy Ghost:
Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created;
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray
O God, Who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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The Holy Spirit was commonly called the Holy Ghost until the 1960s. I have had a long
life, and one person said then “I believe in the Father and the Son, but I don’t knew if I believe in ghosts.”
There are others too who are not sure what the Holy Spirit is.
I think the “Veni Creator Spiritus” is an excellent reply to your question.
Since you asked for readings, here is what the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” says (though I agree), this is a lot to take in:
"689 The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God.10 Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the Church’s faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him.

690 Jesus is Christ, “anointed,” because the Spirit is his anointing, and everything that occurs from the Incarnation on derives from this fullness.11 When Christ is finally glorified,12 he can in turn send the Spirit from his place with the Father to those who believe in him: he communicates to them his glory,13 that is, the Holy Spirit who glorifies him.14 From that time on, this joint mission will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the Body of his Son: the mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live in him:

The notion of anointing suggests . . . that there is no distance between the Son and the Spirit. Indeed, just as between the surface of the body and the anointing with oil neither reason nor sensation recognizes any intermediary, so the contact of the Son with the Spirit is immediate, so that anyone who would make contact with the Son by faith must first encounter the oil by contact. In fact there is no part that is not covered by the Holy Spirit. That is why the confession of the Son’s Lordship is made in the Holy Spirit by those who receive him, the Spirit coming from all sides to those who approach the Son in faith.15

II. THE NAME, TITLES, AND SYMBOLS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The proper name of the Holy Spirit
691 “Holy Spirit” is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the Baptism of her new children.16

The term “Spirit” translates the Hebrew word ruah, which, in its primary sense, means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God’s breath, the divine Spirit.17 On the other hand, “Spirit” and “Holy” are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, liturgy, and theological language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit, without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms “spirit” and “holy.”
 
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When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth (Cf. Jn. 17:4) was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that He might continually sanctify the Church, and thus, all those who believe would have access through Christ in one Spirit to the Father.(Cf Eph. 1:18) He is the Spirit of Life, a fountain of water springing up to life eternal.(Cf Jn. 4:14; 7:38-39) To men, dead in sin, the Father gives life through Him, until, in Christ, He brings to life their mortal bodies.(Cf. Rom. 8:10-11) The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful, as in a temple.(Cf. Cor. 3:16; 6:19) In them He prays on their behalf and bears witness to the fact that they are adopted sons.(Cf. Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15-16 and 26) The Church, which the Spirit guides in way of all truth(Cf. Jn. 16:13) and which He unified in communion and in works of ministry, He both equips and directs with hierarchical and charismatic gifts and adorns with His fruits.(Cf. Eph. 1:11-12; 1 Cor. 12:4 Gal. 5:22) By the power of the Gospel He makes the Church keep the freshness of youth. Uninterruptedly He renews it and leads it to perfect union with its Spouse. (Cfr. S. Irenaeus, adv. Haer, 111 24, 1: PG 7, 966 B) The Spirit and the Bride both say to Jesus, the Lord, “Come!”(Rev. 22:17)

Thus, the Church has been seen as “a people made one with the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”(S. Cyprianus, De Orat Dom. 23: PL 4, 5S3, Hartel, III A, p. 28S. S. Augustinus, Serm. 71, 20, 33: PL 38, 463 s. S. Io. Damascenus, Adv. Iconocl. 12: PG 96, 1358 D) —Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, 4
 
Writer_for_God said:
Hi everyone,
Lately a young adult group I participate in in my parish has been showing and discussing some videos about the Holy Spirit in preparation for Pentecost.
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It’s good to hear that your parish is preparing for Pentecost in this way .

Who is the Holy Spirit ?

The Holy Spirit is God .

In the Acts of the Apostles , the unfolding story of the Early Church , the most active person is the Holy Spirit .

St Paul tells us that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit .

The "Veni , Sancte Spiritus " tells of “dulcis hospes animae” , the Holy Spirit as the sweet guest of the soul .

I believe in the Real Presence of the Holy Spirit .

I put before you the Golden Sequence suggesting that you reflect on it . It says so much about the Holy Spirit .

The Golden Sequence

This prayer appeared first in liturgical books around the year 1200. It has been variously ascribed to Pope Innocent III (1216), to King Robert of France (1031), and even to Saint Gregory the Great (604). Most probably, however, its author was Cardinal Stephen Langton (1128), Archbishop of Canterbury. The poem has been known from medieval times as the “Golden Sequence” because of its richness in thought and expression. Each one of the short stanzas is a sentence in itself, thus facilitating meditation.

Come, Holy Spirit, send down those beams
Which sweetly flow in silent streams
From your bright throne above .

O come, the Father of the poor,
O come, the source of all our store,
Come fill our hearts with love.

You are of comforters the best ,
The soul’s most welcome guest ,
The pilgrims sweet relief.

In all our toil, rest most sweet,
Refreshment in the noonday heat,
And solace in all our grief.

O blessed Light of Life, divine,
Deep in our hearts let your light shine,
Because we hope in you.

Without your Godhead nothing can
have any price or worth in man,
nor be harmless in what we do.

Lord, wash our sinful stains away,
water from heaven our barren clay,
our wounds and bruises heal.

To your sweet yoke our stiff necks bow,
warm with your love our hearts of snow,
our wandering feet recall.

Grant to your faithful dearest Lord
whose only hope is in your word,
your sevenfold gift of grace.

Grant us in life your grace that we
in peace may die and ever be
in joy before your face . Amen . Alleluia !
 
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The Holy Spirit is a Person, which you rightly said. There are people who refer to the Holy Spirit as ‘it’. Lol.

The timeline of God and His people can be roughly divided into the OT as the time of the Father, the Gospel as the Son, and post-resurrection as the Holy Spirit. We can say that today we are in the era of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send, after ‘he went away’.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit, who will come, is the Paraclete, Advocate, Helper, Counselor and Comforter.

When Jesus asked the disciple not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the power from on high, he meant the Holy Spirit, who came during the Pentecost.

The significance of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on them, was the transformation that they experienced. They were no more afraid, but became bold and filled with wisdom especially to speak about Jesus. They were also given gifts like healing and miracles, etc.

Today we especially put emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation, to strengthen our Christian faith.

But if Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the Advocate, Helper and Comforter, then it comes to reason that we can ask the Holy Spirit to help in whatever we need in our spiritual life, to strengthen us and to comfort us.

God bless.
 
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Reuben_J said:
Today we especially put emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation, to strengthen our Christian faith.

But if Jesus said the Holy Spirit is the Advocate, Helper and Comforter, then it comes to reason that we can ask the Holy Spirit to help in whatever we need in our spiritual life, to strengthen us and to comfort us.
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The Holy Spirit is also invoked where people are asking for divine guidance in their prayer or retreat session, and at healing Masses. The Holy Spirit is called to come and work with/ in people to heal them.
 
To the OP. The greatest gift is of course to receive the Holy Spirit, as the apostles did during the Pentecost. This is one gift that the Father in heaven will surely give, if we ask in prayer. (Luke11:13)

The Holy Spirit is the power that drives our spiritual engine within us, so to speak. We need to turn on the power in order to move.

This Sunday readings speak about God’s love but the first reading in Acts, tells about people receiving the Holy Spirit.

It is significant because this is connected with God’s love in the second reading and the Gospel. We need the Holy Spirit so that we can love, which can overcome everything. Perhaps that’s the true mark of the Holy Spirit.

God bless.
 
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It is funny Reuben_J. I call Him, it, a lot, on this forum. Certainly, I could have done better learning how to write when I was a kid.
 
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Yes, we found out the Holy Spirit is the least taught in Catholicism among the three Persons of the Trinity. Perhaps it was only in the last few decades where He became more known to Catholics at large.

Guess we Catholics are quite traditional in the sense that when we pray, it will be to the Father (through Christ our Lord, Amen).

The potential of the spirituality of the Holy Spirit is truly enormous, for He is the power that Jesus promised. Given what the Holy Spirit did to the apostles or those whom the apostles ministered to, it is a power that waits to be harnessed.

There are probably many ways to receive the Holy Spirit but one that is proven to be truly effective is to go through a Holy Spirit seminar, for example Life in the Spirit Seminar, which incorporates repentance as prerequisite to do so.

God bless.
 
I know our body - is the Holy temple -
And the Holy Spirit dwells there …
And we are not to “ quench “ the Holy Spirit.
 
I have a love of the seven-fold gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa 11:1-3) as taught, but not limited, by St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, and St. Robert Bellarmine. These days, particularly in the CCD context, among others, the teaching on this seven-fold gift has departed somewhat from the Doctors of the Church. But on the other hand, they did not agree in some specifics. In a past post, I presented my desire for the Vatican to reconcile this teaching as a supplement to the Catechism.

I attended the Life in the Spirit seminar three times in my life. However, each time I did not feel the attraction, or the freshness of the Gospel, in these presentations. I may have attended the first two sessions and then disengaged. He is a friendly Spirit. He did me tremendous good. I am grateful that He is working to make himself better known.
 
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hymin said:
These days, particularly in the CCD context, among others, the teaching on this seven-fold gift has departed somewhat from the Doctors of the Church.
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In my case, it departed completely, as in left the building like Elvis, because i don’t recall ever being taught about the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit in Catholic school. I didn’t even hear about it till I was an adult.
 
If I were to meet them, I would value the hard work people have done to present that teaching. It has an impact for those who receive good spiritual direction.
 
Ok, you bring up two subjects. 😀

The seven fold gifts of the Spirit (Isa 11) are something that we should strive for, because they help us in our life of faith. The beautiful thing here is God will help us to acquire them rather than on our strength alone. I think the teaching on them are rather straight forward as each gift is already self-explained. I have heard (name removed by moderator)ut on them from people like Scott Hann, which was brilliantly explained.

The Life in the Spirit Seminar depends on how much we corporate with it. At least that’s how I think it should be. Btw I do conduct this seminar on a regular basis (of course with others) for perhaps some twenty five years already, so you can ask questions on this if you want to. We have seen how people’s lives being changed, and many of them have become active in the church serving God in any capacities that they can. Nobody can do that (change) unless it comes from the Holy Spirit. Personally I would emphasise more in the personal changes that they undergone, from unbelievers (nominal Christians, Sunday Christians, lasped Christians) to ones who truly love God, which is demonstrated in their life.

As for not feeling anything during the seminar, yes, many of them were like that, but what was unmistakable was the changes in themselves as time went by, that they discover a new love for God.

God bless.
 
Yes. The Charismatic Renewal is much embraced by the bishops in Italy, here less, but I do not know how much less. I will keep what you said in mind Reuben_J. Thank you, and also God bless you!
 
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Reuben_J said:
We have seen how people’s lives being changed, and many of them have become active in the church serving God in any capacities that they can. Nobody can do that (change) unless it comes from the Holy Spirit.
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While this is great, I think we also need to see more emphasis on the Holy Spirit working in people’s lives to just help them with their day-to-day life challenges, duties and tasks.

It seems like the Holy Spirit is always invoked as something that inspires or stirs you to go out and witness for the faith or become involved in a dozen faith ministries at church, and not so much in your personal life unless it’s to motivate you to pray more or go back to church.

I’m sure the Holy Spirit can also work in one’s life to help one to deal with just getting their work done for work, or overcoming a bad habit, or facing a challenge that doesn’t necessarily have to do with church or ministry, but we do not call on the Holy Spirit so much for these things. And we probably should.
 
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