"I Believe in the Holy
Spirit, We say those words written above every time we pray the Creed and yet, the Holy Spirit is really the forgotten person of the Trinity. We relate very easily to God as the Father and Son, but we just aren't quite sure about the Holy Spirit. In fact, not so long ago, we called him the Holy Ghost! That was a name that seemed to conjure up a rather shadowy version of God hovering just behind us and on the edge of our sight. And yet, God the Holy Spirit is really the way all of us most normally experience God day to day. That quiet Presence in our lives that makes us say, "God is near me," is the Holy Spirit. Those times we stand up for what we believe and feel a Fire in us that gives us courage and strength are times when the Holy Spirit motivates us. Those times of crisis when we ask God for help are times when the Holy Spirit responds with the graces we need to get through the trouble we are in. The Holy Spirit is the God who dwells in us. God lives in us because of our Baptism. You probably never thought that Baptism still had an effect on you, but it does. Because you were baptized, God came to dwell in you, God the Holy Spirit. It sort of puts a new spin on things doesn't it? God isn't up there in the sky; God is with us now, always. When we do good, and when we do evil, God is here. Maybe if we thought about the Holy Spirit more we'd think about how close God is to us. Maybe we wouldn't pretend so often that God was far away and not really concerned about us. Maybe we would want to be a little closer to God.
This information has been
reprinted from Holy Cross' Sunday Bulletins |
