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The Holy Spirit in the Christian Life JPII General audiences of April thru July 1991

The Holy Spirit in the Christian Life JPII General audiences of April thru July 1991. The Spirit: Source of New Life General audience of April 3, 1991 The Holy Spirit: Light of the Soul General audience of April 24, 1991 The Spirit: Source of Interior Life General audience of April 10, 1991

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The Holy Spirit in the Christian Life JPII General audiences of April thru July 1991

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  1. The Holy Spirit in the Christian LifeJPII General audiences of April thru July 1991 The Spirit: Source of New Life General audience of April 3, 1991 The Holy Spirit: Light of the Soul General audience of April 24, 1991 The Spirit: Source of Interior Life General audience of April 10, 1991 The Spirit: Source of Prayer Life General audience of April 17, 1991 The Holy Spirit Is the Vital Principle of Faith General audience of May 8, 1991 The Spirit: Life-Giving Source of New Love General audience of May 22, 1991 The Spirit: Principle of Peace General audience of May 29, 1991 Only the Holy Spirit Gives True Joy General audience of June 19, 1991 The Spirit Gives Strength to Christians General audience of June 26, 1991 The Spirit: Pledge of Eschatological Hope General audience of July 3, 1991

  2. The Holy Spirit: Source of Prayer LifeJPII General audience of April 17, 1991 The first and most excellent form of the interior life is prayer. The teachers and masters of the spiritual life are so convinced of this that they often present the interior life as a life of prayer. The principal author of this life is the Holy Spirit, as he was already in Christ. We read in the Gospel of Luke: "At that very moment Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth'" (Lk 10:21). This is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving which, according to the evangelist, wells up from Jesus' exultation "in the Holy Spirit."

  3. The Concept of Spirit The same Hebrew word serves to signify both wind and spirit The wind is the breath of God Ruah • It is a sensible manifestation of the divine presence and power • It moves suddenly and unpredictably • We can neither foretell nor control its direction or its strength • We can not determine its source or its destination • It is subtle, verges on the immaterial in its nature, and is universal and irresistible in its scope The wind is an extremely apt symbol of the divine

  4. The Concept of Spirit In the Old Testament the Spirit is not a personal being It is a principle of action, not a subject. It belongs properly to Yahweh alone it is communicated to living beings, but it never becomes a part of the structure of the living being in such a way that the living being possesses the spirit as its own.

  5. The spirit is said to clothe (Judg 6:34; 1 Chr 12:19; 2 Chr 24:20) to be poured out (Isa 29:10, 44:3; Ezek 39:29; Joel 2:28) to leap upon. (Judg 14:6,19; 15:14; 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6) One is filled with the spirit (E 31:3) Yahweh puts spirit into one (Isa 63:11; Ezek 356:27; Num 11:25,29) The spirit can also be taken from a person (Ps 51:13) or can depart (1 Sam 16:14) Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah (2 Kngs 2:9)

  6. The Concept of Spirit The phrases used in these contexts treat the spirit as a subtle substance or liquid They emphasize the impersonal nature of the spirit The quality most evident is power. The spirit is mentioned as a creative force The wind broods over the waters of chaos (Gen 1:2) The movement of the wind is the first sign of the creative activity about to break forth

  7. The Concept of Spirit The breath of Yahweh is the principle of life for all living beings They survive by the communication of his spirit This thought appears in a number of passages (Gen 2:7; 6:17; 715; Job 33:4; Eccl 3:19,21) The breath of life is communicated by inspiration (Gen 2:7) The living being dies when Yahweh takes away his spirit (Ps 104:29) Which then returns to Yahweh Isa 30:27-28)

  8. The Concept of Spirit In the period of the judges and of the early monarchy we meet the spirit as a mysterious divine impulse that moves a man to deeds above his known capacity and habits of behavior (Jdgs 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14) Saul is moved by the spirit to deliver the city of Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam 11:6,13) In the exilic and post-exilic periods the spirit appears as an inspiring agent Ez 2:2; 3:24; 11:5; Zec 7:12; Neh 9:30)

  9. The Concept of Spirit In the messianic era the spirit breaks out in new fullness Messianic persons such as the king (Isa 11:1) The servant of Yahweh (42:1) The prophet who announces the messianic salvation (61:1) Receive the spirit The spirit is poured upon the whole people (Is 32:15; 44:3; Ez 39:29; Joel 3:28) The spirit becomes a principle of moral regeneration, a deliverer, a power for righteous conduct (Ez 36:26; Is 63:11,14) That the individual may ask for (Ps 51:12; 143:10)

  10. Concept of Word In the ancient Near East the spoken word was conceived of as a distinct entity laden with power This was especially true of the Divine Word In both Egypt and Mesopotamia the divine word was a creative force educing the world into existence The divine word partook of the power of the gods themselves, and people could not resist or alter it.

  11. Concept of Word In the Israelite conception this power existed in the person speaking the word not in the word itself. Instances of the word’s power are numerous The deception of Isaac (Gen 27) The deception of Jacob by Laban (Gen 29:20-27) An error by the person does not invalidate the spoken solemn word The word by its emission has become a reality that can not be recalled

  12. Concept of Word • Isaac can give Esau another, inferior blessing but he cannot cancel the blessing he has mistakenly given Jacob • When Micah’s mother curses the thief who, unknown to her, is her own son, she cannot withdraw the curse but can send a blessing to follow its fulfillment (Jdg 17:1-2) • David’s pronunciation of a sentence of death upon the man in the parable of Nathan is unwittingly directed at himself, he is assured it will be diverted, but it falls on the children of Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:1-18) • The woman accused of adultery must consume an oath of execration by drinking water into which the written word of a curse have been immersed nothing but innocence will neutralize the curse (Num 5:12-31)

  13. Concept of Word The word of Yahweh is a creative agent because it is Yahweh who speaks it (Gen 1; Isa 40:26; 48:13; Pss 33:6,9; 147:15-18) The word retains the power of its speaker The word makes its speaker known This is the function of the word as name

  14. Concept of Word To know the name is to experience the power of the word in the reverse direction Just as the power of the person determines reality by conferring the name So the power of the person apprehends reality by knowing the name The Old Testament conception of “the word of Yahweh” must be understood in this way

  15. Concept of Word Most OT occurrences of “the word of Yahweh” designate the prophetic word The word is the specific charism of the prophet, As tora (law) is the charism of the priest And counsel the charism of the sage. (Jer 18:18) The prophetic word is misunderstood if one thinks of it as merely the experience of hearing

  16. Concept of Word It is the reception of a positive energetic reality that arises from the power of the person of Yahweh and compels the prophet to speak (Amos 3:8) The reception of the word is compared to the eating of a scroll (Ez 2:9-3:3) The word of Yahweh is a joy and delight (Jer 15:16) A burning fire shut up in the bones of the prophet (20:7-9) A fury that he must pour out (6:11)

  17. Concept of Word The prophetic word partakes of the dynamism of Yahweh himself It is fulfilled or established when the reality of which it speaks comes into existence. The relation of of the prophetic word to the event is more than the relation of prediction and fulfillment The word is an entity endowed with power that effects the thing signified by the word The word partakes of Yahweh’s eternity (Isa 40:8) Its dynamism may be delayed, but its fulfillment is inevitable (Isa 9:8)

  18. Concept of Word The word of Yahweh is the essential operative agent in the history of Israel From the first act of the creative process (Gen 1:3) To the rebuilding of Jerusalem by the decree of Cyrus (Isa 44:28) The utterance of Yahweh brings about the call of Abraham and of Moses, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, the conquests of Joshua, the call of Samuel, the establishment of the monarchy, the election of David, the division of the kingdom, the fall of the house of Omri, the invasion of the Assyrians and the Chaldeans, the fall of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah.

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