[19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophetic utterances. [21] Test everything; retain what is good. [22] Refrain from every kind of evil. [23] May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it. [25] Brothers, pray for us (too).
(CCC 243) Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of "another Paraclete" (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously "spoken through the prophets", the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them "into all the truth" (Cf. Gen 1:2; Nicene Creed (DS 150); Jn 14:17, 26; 16:13). The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father. (CCC 798) The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body" (Pius XII, encyclical, Mystici Corporis: DS 3808). He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity (Cf. Eph 4:16): by God's Word "which is able to build you up" (Acts 20:32); by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body (Cf. 1 Cor 12:13); by the sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the grace of the apostles, which holds first place among his gifts" (LG 7 § 2); by the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the faithful "fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church" (LG 12 § 2; cf. AA 3). (CCC 367) Sometimes the soul is distinguished from the spirit: St. Paul for instance prays that God may sanctify his people "wholly", with "spirit and soul and body" kept sound and blameless at the Lord's coming (1 Th 5:23). The Church teaches that this distinction does not introduce a duality into the soul (Cf. Council of Constantinople IV (870): DS 657). "Spirit" signifies that from creation man is ordered to a supernatural end and that his soul can gratuitously be raised beyond all it deserves to communion with God (Cf. Vatican Council I, Dei Filius: DS 3005; GS 22 § 5; Humani generis: DS 3891).
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