Why is this Person an often-forgotten and misunderstood member of the Trinity?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rob2

New member
Recent writings and reflections point out that He is the “Forgotten” Person in the Mystery of the Holy Trinity.


The third person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is sometimes referred to as he forgotten” member of the Godhead ,


How do you cultivate a deeper relationship with the Spirit?


Perhaps it may be that it is not that the Holy Spirit is forgotten, but for many people, the Holy Spirit was never known.


When it comes to the Holy Spirit, most of us sort of neglect Him—He’s a dove in most of our
minds, a sort of “holy flitterer”. Sure, we give Him lip service, because we think we’re supposed
to. After all, the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity. But most of us don’t really
know much about Him or how we’re supposed to practice devotion to Him.


https://stleothegreat.ca/wordpress/?p=2276
 
I don’t think He is forgotten. He guides us into all Truth so He is there whenever and wherever Faithful Catholics are defending the teachings of Jesus against liberals, the attack on the family, ambiguity, relativism…yeah He is working overtime these days because these attacks come just as much from within the One True Church as from outside.
 
Last edited:
The Holy Spirit is truly amazing. He is the reason why we even pray and thank God for everything. We need the Holy Spirit in our lives. ✝️🕊️🙏
 
The Holy Spirit I’d harder to objectify. Father and Son we can tend to think of in terms of human relationships, but Spirit is a little more abstract.

And yet it is th eSpirit who animates us, guides us ans moves us.
 
The Holy Spirit certainly seems to get less attention than the Father or the Son.

That’s probably due to the fact that the Son is easy to envision, He dwelt among us.
The Holy Spirit is fully God, and has all the attribute of God.
Click to expand...
When God breathed over the waters and made them teem with life, that was the Holy Spirit, the ruach moving over the water.

When Jesus breathed on the Apostles and gave them His authority, that was the Holy Spirit.

Without the Holy Spirit we would be crippled: we could not say, “Jesus is Lord,” we could not have the gift of faith, we could not seek God in prayer.

All the sacraments work through the Holy Spirit.

God the Holy Spirit is all around us,
Deacon Christopher
 
When close family asked why I was converting to Catholicism (from Baptist) I would answer the Holy Spirit is leading me. That would stop the questions 🙂
 
Good point. It seems to me He has been forgotten by those who do not recognize His action in the Church’s centuries and centuries of teaching and lived tradition, and instead seek after a false spirit of novelty in conformity to the spirit of the world–even going so far as to blasphemously claim this anti-spirit to be Him…
 
In simple terms, am I right in thinking of the Holy Spirit as the ‘love’ force between Jesus and God the Father. in relation to us, the Holy Spirit is really the love shown from Jesus and God the Father to us?

Or is the Holy Spirit a ‘conscious’ being or has a role in our judgement?

In heaven, I always imagine that I will meet and dwell with Jesus most of the time and have an awareness of God the Father (much more intimidating figure) through Jesus (e.g judgements). Or will I be able to meet and dwell with all parts of God?
 
Latetotheparty said:
In heaven, I always imagine that I will meet and dwell with Jesus most of the time and have an awareness of God the Father (much more intimidating figure) through Jesus (e.g judgements). Or will I be able to meet and dwell with all parts of God?
Click to expand...
In Heaven, the Beatific Vision will make the soul participant of the divine nature, the glory of God. Words cannot express. St Augustine said: ‘You have made us for yourself, and restless are our hearts until they rest in you.’
 
I am surprised to see so many articles (those cited in the OP) which describe the Holy Spirit as forgotten. I wonder, forgotten by whom? How common or how rare is this forgetfulness?

It may be a cultural or personality thing, but I have always felt closest to the Holy Spirit. For all of my life, I have had some difficulty with the idea of a personal God like a father, a teacher, or a friend. An invisible God who pervades and assists and guides us seems more in line with my experience.

In the last year or so, I have been trying to shift my focus to Jesus, in prayer most importantly, and also in my reading. So far so good, but I still have a long way to go.
 
Last edited:
Think about this. Jesus could have stayed on earth after the Resurrection but He left so that the Holy Spirit could come. He knew that the Spirit could work under cover, you might say, and be more effective!
 
I feel the same way. I went to confession in March, and at absolution felt His supernatural and divine presence. It was like a smack in the face.
 
HeDa said:
Every breath you take is a reminder of the Holy Spirit.
Click to expand...
And every song you sing.

Yves Congar op wrote an extensive work on the Holy Spirit. A large section covers neglect of the Holy Spirit and substitutes for it. The articles above are probably repeating some of his analysis.
 
I do not think the Holy Spirit is forgotten as much as He is misused or misunderstood.

Many folks seem to separate the Holy Spirit from the rest of the Trinity and make Him an independent rogue agent. I privately refer to this as “hijacking the Holy Spirit.” They falsely assume that the Holy Spirit, even though He is God, can somehow act contrary to the Father and Son. This is usually manifest in phrases like, “the Spirit is telling us to [insert unorthodox teaching here]” or “the God of surprises works through the Spirit,” whatever that is supposed to mean.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top