The Forgotten Person of the Holy Trinity

People ask me all the time what I love most about being Catholic. There are many ways that I answer this question but, one of my most common answers I give is that I love the liturgical seasons. Particularly, I love how the liturgical seasons use scripture to tell the story of salvation history. Each season has a certain focus of God’s story with us and how we are to live out our relationship with Him. The Easter season has as its focus, especially the first half of it, the post resurrection appearances of Jesus and the story of the early church as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Towards the second half of the Easter Season, the focus shifts to a preparation for Pentecost. I tell our people every year that the scripture passages at the End of Easter act as a “Life in the Holy Spirit” seminar for us.

The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the forgotten Person of the Holy Trinity. We don’t know what to think about Him or how to relate to Him. We see the images in scripture of the Holy Spirit – the dove, the tongues of fire, and the breath of wind. We see these images, and we question how we can relate to this Divine Person, or more importantly, love Him or be loved by Him. 

The Sunday prior to Ascension Sunday always has a passage from the Gospel where Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit. This year, we will hear Jesus speak in the Gospel of John, “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, that the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (14:25-26). Jesus’ description here of the Holy Spirit is that of a teacher. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us in paragraph 729:

“The Holy Spirit will come and we shall know Him; He
will be with us for ever; He will remain with us. The Holy Spirit will teach
us everything, remind us of all that Christ said to us and bear
witness to Him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and will
glorify Christ. He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment.”
 
How many times have you heard someone say, “God will give me the words to say.” I say this when I have a difficult conversation and I need the Lord to instruct me. It is the Holy Spirit who shows up. The Holy Spirit teaches and speaks on our behalf, reminding us of what God has spoken through His scriptures and through our prayer. Jesus says, “Do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11).  As a teacher, the Holy Spirit would never lead anyone away from the truth. He leads us to the truth of God’s love for us and the truth of God’s calling in our life. 

The fact that the Holy Spirit is our teacher reveals another truth about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in us. Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). And a few verses later, He continues, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).  The Holy Spirit is active and moving within those who receive Baptism. The Spirit comes to us at our Baptism, dwelling within our souls, making us temples of God and disciples of Jesus. It was Jesus’ desire to send us His Holy Spirit so that He could work in and through us, His Church. When I have the privilege of being a minister of baptism, I always try to make special emphasis of the reality that the one who is being baptized will soon receive the Holy Spirit to dwell in them! God Himself will live in them, teach them, and strengthen them to fulfill His will in their life. This truth should always amaze us with wonder! 

One way that we can pray and prepare for the Holy Spirit to come afresh in us this Pentecost is to pray the Pentecost Novena. A novena is a nine-day period of prayer that opens our hearts to graces that God desires to give us. The first novena was the nine days following Jesus’ Ascension when Mary and the Apostles prayed in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them as Jesus had promised. It is the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light, strength, and love of the Holy Spirit to be bestowed upon us. I invite you to pray part of the novena with me now.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in me the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit, and we shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of Your faithful, grant that by that same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.