Y0ucat commented through CCC - Question n. 119 - Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 119 - Part II. What does the Holy Spirit do in the Church?

(Youcat answer - repeated) The Holy Spirit builds up the Church and impels her. He reminds her of her mission. He calls people into her service and sends them the necessary gifts. He leads us ever deeper into communion with the Triune God.          

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 735) He, then, gives us the "pledge" or "first fruits" of our inheritance: the very life of the Holy Trinity, which is to love as "God [has] loved us" (1 Jn 4:11-12; cf. Rom 8:23; 2 Cor 1:21). This love (the "charity" of 1 Cor 13) is the source of the new life in Christ, made possible because we have received "power" from the Holy Spirit  (Acts 1:8; cf. 1 Cor 13).     

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Even though the Church during her long history has often seemed “abandoned by all good spirits”, the Holy Spirit has been at work in her despite all the human failings and inadequacies. The mere fact of her two-thousand-year existence and the many saints of all eras and cultures are the visible proof of his presence. The Holy Spirit is the one who maintains the Church as a whole in the truth and leads her ever deeper into the knowledge of God. It is the Holy Spirit who works in the Sacraments and brings Sacred Scripture to life for us. Even today he gives his gifts of grace (charisms) to those who are completely receptive to him.   

 (CCC Comment)

(CCC 737) The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This joint mission henceforth brings Christ's faithful to share in his communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with his grace, in order to draw them to Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of his Death and Resurrection. He makes present the mystery of Christ, supremely in the Eucharist, in order to reconcile them, to bring them into communion with God, that they may "bear much fruit" (Jn 15:8, 16).    

(The next question is: What does the Holy Spirit do in my life?)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 119 - Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 119 - Part I. What does the Holy Spirit do in the Church?

(Youcat answer) The Holy Spirit builds up the Church and impels her. He reminds her of her mission. He calls people into her service and sends them the necessary gifts. He leads us ever deeper into communion with the Triune God.       

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 734) Because we are dead or at least wounded through sin, the first effect of the gift of love is the forgiveness of our sins. The communion of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:14) in the Church restores to the baptized the divine likeness lost through sin.   

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Even though the Church during her long history has often seemed “abandoned by all good spirits”, the Holy Spirit has been at work in her despite all the human failings and inadequacies. The mere fact of her two-thousand-year existence and the many saints of all eras and cultures are the visible proof of his presence. The Holy Spirit is the one who maintains the Church as a whole in the truth and leads her ever deeper into the knowledge of God. It is the Holy Spirit who works in the Sacraments and brings Sacred Scripture to life for us. Even today he gives his gifts of grace (charisms) to those who are completely receptive to him.      

 (CCC Comment)

(CCC 736) By this power of the Spirit, God's children can bear much fruit. He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear "the fruit of the Spirit:… love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22-23). "We live by the Spirit"; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we "walk by the Spirit" (Gal 5:25; cf. Mt 16:24-26). Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God "Father" and to share in Christ's grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory (St. Basil, De Spiritu Sancto, 15, 36: PG 32, 132).    

(This question: What does the Holy Spirit do in the Church? is continued)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 118 - Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 118 - Part II. What happened on Pentecost?

(Youcat answer - repeated) Fifty days after his Resurrection, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit down from heaven upon his disciples. The age of the  Church began.        

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 732) On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity. By his coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the "last days," the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated. We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us (Byzantine liturgy, Pentecost Vespers, Troparion, repeated after  communion).    

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) On Pentecost the Holy Spirit transformed fearful apostles into courageous witnesses to Christ. In a very short time, thousands had themselves baptized: it was the birthday of the Church. The miracle of the languages on Pentecost shows that the Church is there for all peoples from the very beginning: She is universal ( the Latin term for the Greek kat’ holon, catholic) and missionary. She speaks to all men, overcomes ethnic and linguistic barriers, and can be understood by all. To this day the Holy Spirit is the “soul” of the Church, the essential principle of her life.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 244) The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit is revealed in his mission in time. The Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once he had returned to the Father (Cf. Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:14). The sending of the person of the Spirit after Jesus' glorification (Cf. Jn 7:39) reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy Trinity.    

(The next question is:  What does the Holy Spirit do in the Church?)

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 118 - Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 118 - Part I. What happened on Pentecost?

(Youcat answer) Fifty days after his Resurrection, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit down from heaven upon his disciples. The age of the  Church began.        

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 731) On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance (Cf. Acts 2:33-36).  

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) On Pentecost the Holy Spirit transformed fearful apostles into courageous witnesses to Christ. In a very short time, thousands had themselves baptized: it was the birthday of the Church. The miracle of the languages on Pentecost shows that the Church is there for all peoples from the very beginning: She is universal ( the Latin term for the Greek kat’ holon, catholic) and missionary. She speaks to all men, overcomes ethnic and linguistic barriers, and can be understood by all. To this day the Holy Spirit is the “soul” of the Church, the essential principle of her life.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 733) "God is Love" (1 Jn 4:8,16) and love is his first gift, containing all others. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5).    

(This question: What happened on Pentecost? is continued)