Spirit of truth

"I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now.

However when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come." (John 16: 12-14)

• Spirit of truth
  
• Spirit and truth
  
• Spirit and revelation
  
• Spirit and memory
  

John 16: 12-14 is an incredible promise to a man whose purpose in life is to learn and share the truth. The Holy Spirit will be my teacher. He will teach me everything I need to know about Jesus.

How will the Spirit minister teaching to me? The word of God is the primary source. Apart from the word of God, the sacred liturgy of the Church especially the Eucharist is a key resource. I think it was St. Thomas Aquinas who said that he learned a great deal of his theology from the Mass. I feel the same way. The Holy Spirit will teach me everything that I need to know for my ministry in the Bible and the teachings of the Church about Jesus.

The Spirit will give me an insatiable appetite for truth and learning. I have great hunger to learn everything I can about Christ.

The Spirit will use selected books and biographies to teach me about Jesus. Below are some of my patron saints who have been taught about Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit:

• Augustine
  
• John Chrysostom
  
• Peter Canisius
  
• Louis de Monfort
  
• Josemaria
  
• Therese of Lisieux
  
• Stephen
  
• John Henry Newman
  

Spirit explores everything

"What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualize; all that God has prepared for those who love him, to us though, God has given revelation through the Spirit, for the Spirit explores the depth of everything, even the depths of God. After all, is there anyone who knows the qualities of anyone except his own spirit, within him; and in the same way, nobody knows the qualities of God except the Spirit of God. Now, the Spirit we have received is not the spirit of the world but God's own Spirit, so that we may understand the lavish gifts God has given us. And these are what we speak of, not in terms learnt from human philosophy, but in terms learnt from the Spirit, fitting spiritual language to spiritual things. The natural man has no room for the gifts of God's Spirit; to him they are folly; he cannot recognize them, because their value can be assessed by anybody else. For: who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? But we are those who have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2: 9-16)

Key words/phrases:

Mind of Christ/mind of man

Revelation through the Spirit/Spirit and revelation

The Spirit explores the depth of everything, even the depths of God.

Spirit knows the qualities of God

God's own Spirit/spirit of the world

Spirit's wisdom/ human philosophy

Fitting spiritual language to spiritual things

Spiritual person/natural person

 

Spirit – The Seal of God

"It is God who gives us, with you, a sure place in Christ and has both anointed us and marked us with his seal, giving us as pledge the Spirit in our hearts." (2 Corinthians 1: 21)

The Holy Spirit is truly the seal of God. His presence and anointing in our lives are so convincing that only a person as blind as a rock could fail to notice this. Yet sadly, there are many who do not notice or care for the Person of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. They think that when it comes to religion, minimum is the best. But they do not hesitate to accumulate all the money and honor they could. How sad! How unfortunate!

God gave us the Holy Spirit to remind us at all times that He is in us, with us and for us. When new discoveries in science begin to make me question the foundation of my faith, it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that puts an end to the proud ideas that dare to question the knowledge of God. It is like a man after using the GPS navigation system for many years suddenly begin to doubt if the system that has faithfully guided him in his travels is nothing more than a useless toy.

It is the Holy Spirit that has given us a sure place in Christ. His active presence in us is a concrete proof that all God's promises are Yes and Amen. Trust in the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of Yahweh

"The spirit of the Yahweh is on me for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim the year of favor from Yahweh and day of vengeance from our God, to comfort all who mourn…" (Isaiah 61: 1-2)

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on disciples of Jesus is one of the most tangible and most cherished gifts of Jesus Christ to His Church. Christians of every denomination speaks of the effects of the Holy Spirit on their lives in the same language. He is a strong influence for good. He is a constant helper and companion. He is the always reliable ally in crisis.

For me, He is the source of all inspiration and power. Without Him, I can do nothing. With Him, I believe that nothing shall be impossible for me.

Isaiah foretold of the impact of the Holy Spirit on the ministry of Jesus Christ. We see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the teaching and actions of Jesus right from His Baptism in the Jordan. What the Spirit did in Jesus He can do in us if we allow Him. But how can we surrender fully to the Holy Spirit so that He can accomplish God's purpose in our lives? It is said that "Desire maketh a man." Everything depends on how much we desire to see God's purpose accomplished in our lives. If we desire it more than a drowning man for air, we shall be lead to the means of fulfilling the desire. The means is no other than the Holy Spirit.