“But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth”
At the Last Supper in John 15:26-27 and 16:12-15, Jesus not only gives us the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but also promises the coming of the Holy Spirit. By allowing the Holy Spirit to come, Jesus allows us to enter into the sacredness of the Kingdom of God. When the Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles like tongues of fire, it “signifies the new brightness which the Holy Spirit sheds on the doctrine of Jesus Christ: ‘When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you’[i]”.[ii]
Why does Jesus “breathe” on the Apostles? “In the Old Testament the action of the Holy Spirit is often intimated by the word breath. This expresses both the gentleness and the strength of divine love. There is nothing subtler than the wind, which manages to penetrate everywhere, even to reach inanimate bodies and give them a life of their own. The rushing wind of the day of Pentecost expresses the new force with which divine love invades the Church and souls.”[iii]
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Think of how important wind is for the life of a tree. If there are dead branches on the tree, it is the wind during the next storm that will break the dead, useless branches off the tree. The branches need the wind to stay strong and grow properly. Our legs need exercise to stay strong, grow, and function properly. Wind is the exercise that keeps branches in motion, so they stay strong, grow and function properly. Remember Jesus tells us that we are the branches. The branches need the Holy Spirit to survive and the branches produce fruit, the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We can think of the activity of the Holy Spirit as exercise for the soul. The activity of the Holy Spirit helps our soul stay strong, grow, and function. It is the gust of the Holy Spirit that breaks off the dead and useless areas of life (sin) so that we are no weighed down.
Why does the Holy Spirit have to come after Jesus? The Holy Spirit did not just come once at Pentecost, but continually descends on the Church and sanctifies every soul. The Holy Spirit has obviously been a part of this world and has worked through people. For example, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary at the Incarnation. This event in salvation history is remembered in the gestures of the priest at the consecration during Mass. Just before the priest says, “take this, all of you, and eat of it” and “take this, all of you, and drink from it”, he slightly bows. This slight bow causes a shadow to be over the body and blood. This action represents the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit was not yet present in His fullness, prior to Pentecost Jesus had to establish the Kingdom of God before the Holy Spirit could work in it. Jesus said, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.” This was regarding the interpretation of what had already occurred and been said by Christ.[iv]
As we profess in our Creed, the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father”. We know this because Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is sent from God the Father, but is requested by Christ.[v] Both the Father and Son send the Spirit for God’s mission: the Kingdom of God and saving souls.
How is the Holy Spirit “the truth”? The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, thus the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Holy Spirit is the same full truth that Jesus testifies that He Himself is[vi], and the same truth as God the Father. Jesus speaks of the truth of the Good News and that it will be fully expounded when the Spirit comes. Once it is appointed to them, the Apostles will then go and spread the Good News and the Holy Spirit to everyone.
How does the Holy Spirit act in us today? The Holy Spirit is ever present in our lives. “…it is the Holy Spirit who, through his inspirations, gives a supernatural tone to our thoughts, desires, and actions. It is He who leads us to be receptive to Christ’s teaching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It is He who gives us the light by which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God expects of us.”[vii]
“The Paraclete never ceases to act in our soul. Not a single aspiration do we say that is not inspired by the Holy Spirit[viii], as St. Paul tells us in the second reading of the Mass. He is present and moves us in prayer, as we read the Gospel, when we discover new light through a piece of advice we have received, as we ponder upon a truth of faith which already perhaps we have often considered. We realize that this clarity does not depend upon our will. It does not come from us, but from God. It is the Holy Spirit who leads us gently to the Sacrament of Penance to confess our sins, to raise our heart to God at an unexpected moment, to carry out some particular work. It is He who suggests to us to make some small sacrifice, or finds for us the right words to inspire someone to be better.”[ix] We can also do this by having a close relationship with our Mother Mary, who was filled with the Holy Spirit at the Incarnation and again at Pentecost where with the Apostles devoted themselves to prayer.[x]
[i] Jn. 16:13-14
[ii] In the Conversation with God, Fernandez 2, 96.1
[iii] In the Conversation with God, Fernandez 2, 96.1
[iv] cf. footnotes Jn. 16:13 NAB
[v] cf. footnotes Jn. 15:26 NAB
[vi] cf. Jn. 14:16
[vii] J. Escriva, Christ is passing by, 135
[viii] cf. 1 Cor. 12:3
[ix] In the Conversation with God, Fernandez 2, 96.3
[x] cf. Acts 1:14