LITURGY MATTERS: In the Holy Spirit we have a friend!

As we emerge from our celebrations of Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, it is opportune to reflect that on 20 May this year the Church commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the Council of Nicaea in 325AD.

The first of seven ecumenical councils convened in the period to 787AD, the Council of Nicaea’s primary purpose was to deal with the Arian heresy which denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Affirming the belief that Jesus Christ is truly God and of the same substance as God the Father, along with the Council of Constantinople in 381AD, Nicaea’s most notable fruit was the Creed that we profess at Mass on Sundays and the other Solemnities.

As a statement of belief it assembles, defines, and proclaims the faith in salvation in Jesus Christ, and in the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

As a divine person, wholly possessing the same divine nature that is both the unity and singularity of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit has existed before and has been made manifest throughout history.

Referred to as the Spirit of God, or the Ruach in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was actively involved in creation, sustaining life, and empowering individuals for God’s purposes like Moses, Joshua and the great prophets. Indeed, John the Baptist was said to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” from his mother’s womb.

The greatest of the prophets, it is at John’s hand that Jesus is baptised, after which the Holy Spirit is said to have descended in manifest form.

Scripture reveals to us that the Holy Spirit can be grieved, quenched, resisted, blasphemed, and even lied to (Acts 5:3). As a person, the Holy Spirit is described as having emotions (Eph 4:30), intellect (1 Cor 2:11), and an ability to communicate and act (Rom 8:26).

St Paul writes “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13). The statement reveals the Holy Spirit as one whom invites us to enter into fellowship. Alive and active in the history of our world, the Holy Spirit continues to be active in the life of the Church.

The Holy Spirit gives life to those who accept him. Indeed, as a person, He has the capacity to befriend. That friendship – or fellowship – is a priceless gift from God which we do well to explore.