The Holy Spirit The Third Person of the Blessed Trinity

What is the Holy Spirit? Third Person of the Blessed Trinity (aka the Triune God) The Holy Spirit leads people to faith in Christ and gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of the risen, glorified Lord in our lives. The primary mission of the Holy Spirit is to bring us to Jesus Christ.

Symbols of the Holy Spirit All of the following are symbols of the Holy Spirit, which appear in the Bible and in the ritual worship of the Church: 1.Fire 2.Tongues of Fire 3.Anointing with Oil 4.Water 5.Hand 6.Dove

The Holy Spirit in Scripture “The Holy Spirit has spoken through the prophets” (Nicene Creed) The Holy Spirit guided the Biblical authors to reveal God’s Word. Pentecost celebrates the Holy Spirit’s descent on Jesus’ disciples in Jerusalem, 50 days after The Resurrection Theophany is an appearance of God to humans (ex. the Burning Bush)

More about the Pentecost The Apostles, the Virgin Mary and some of the women were praying in Jerusalem, trying to make sense of the Paschal Mystery… A driving wind appeared and “tongues of fire” came to rest on each of them, filling them with the Holy Spirit and enabling them to speak in different languages (tongues). Fulfills Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit (John 13:16-17) Fully reveals the mystery of the Blessed Trinity.

Holy Spirit & Christianity Grace: God’s gift of friendship and life that enables us to share in His life and love. The Holy Spirit is God’s grace to us. The Holy Spirit gives us 3 types of gifts that enable us to live like Jesus: 1.Gifts that make us Holy 2.Gifts that serve the Church 3.Gifts that result in spiritual fruit The gift of LOVE is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit.

Presence of the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is present in: 1.Sacred Scripture 2.Sacred Tradition of the Church 3.The Magisterium: The Official teaching authority of the Church (Pope, Cardinals, Bishops) 4.The Sacraments 5.Prayer 6.Gifts and Ministries of the Church 7.The Saints

The Blessed Trinity The central mystery of Christianity Something totally beyond our ability to understand Human experience and language can only remotely begin to understand it God has one Divine Nature but Three Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)

The Blessed Trinity The Father = The Creator The Son = The Savior (since it is the one that saved humankind from sin) The Holy Spirit = The Sanctifier (since it is the one that helps us to become holy) The Blessed Trinity has always existed for all of eternity (in other words, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were present with the Father during Creation). The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are NOT three separate mini-gods.

The Blessed Trinity The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit share the same “substance” or “essence.” HOWEVER, they are distinct from one another. HOWEVER, they are inseparable from one another. They are three different “persons”, not just three ways of describing how God works.

H20 can be LIQUID… H20 can be SOLID… H20 can be GAS… But the substance (or “essence”) doesn’t change.

SEED + FRUIT + SKIN = PEACH

3 Leaves = Clover

The source of the river = The Father The river itself = Jesus Christ The good effects of the river (crops growing, etc.) = The Holy Spirit The River Analogy

The Sun Analogy The Sun in the sky = The Father The Sun’s rays coming to earth = Christ The Sun brings us warmth = Holy Spirit

There are 3 parts to understanding the Trinity: 1.There is a source (The Father) 2.There is a way that source is communicated (The Son) 3.There is a good effect of the source (The Holy Spirit)

Source? Way it is communicated? Good effect?

C.S. Lewis uses the three dimensions to explain the concept of the Trinity…