Thursday, February 4, 2016

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?)

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