The Spirit in St Paul's letters
Catechesis by Pope John Paul II on the Holy Spirit
General Audience, Wednesday 3 October 1990 - in Italian & Spanish
"1. This is the famous wish with which St. Paul concludes his Second Letter to the Corinthians: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you" (2 Cor 13:13). This is the wish which the liturgy places upon the lips of the priest celebrant at the beginning of the Mass. With this text of obviously trinitarian significance we begin our examination of what the Apostle Paul's letters tell us about the Holy Spirit as a Person in the trinitarian unity of the Father and the Son. The text from the Second Letter to the Corinthians seems to come from the language of the first Christian communities, and perhaps from the liturgy of their assembly. With these words the Apostle expresses the trinitarian unity beginning with Christ. As the one who brought about salvific grace, Christ reveals to humanity the love of God the Father and imparts it to believers in the communion of the Holy Spirit. Thus, according to St. Paul, the Holy Spirit is the Person who brings about the communion of man - and of the Church - with God.
The Pauline formula clearly speaks of a one and triune God, even though in different terms than the baptismal formula which Matthew refers to: "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19). It lets us know the Holy Spirit as he was presented in the teaching of the Apostles and received in the life of the Christian communities.
2. A further text from St. Paul has as its basis for its teaching about the Holy Spirit the wealth of charisms distributed with variety and unified order within the community: "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone" (1 Cor 12:4-6). The Apostle attributes to the Holy Spirit the gifts of grace (charisms); to the Son, as Lord of the Church, the ministries (ministeria); to God the Father, the creator of everything in everyone, the "working."
The parallel between the Spirit, the Lord Jesus and God the Father is very significant. It indicates that the Spirit is also recognized as a divine Person. It would not be proper to place two Persons, the Father and the Son, in the same phrase with an impersonal force. It is equally significant that the free giving of the charisms and all divine gifts to humanity and the Church is particularly attributed to the Holy Spirit.
3. All this is further emphasized in the immediate context of the First Letter to the Corinthians: "One and the same Spirit produces all these things, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes" (1 Cor 12:11). Thus the Holy Spirit is manifested as a free and spontaneous donor of the good in the order of charisms and grace; as a divine Person who chooses and bestows diverse gifts upon their recipients. "To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit" (1 Cor 12:8-9). And again: "The gift of healings...the gift of prophecy...the gift of discernment of spirits...the gift of varieties of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues" (1 Cor 12:9-10). And behold: "To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit" (1 Cor 12:7). Therefore, from the Holy Spirit comes the multiplicity of their gifts, as well as their unity and their co-existence. All this shows the Holy Spirit as a Person who subsists and works within the divine unity, in the communion of the Son with the Father.
4. Other passages from the Pauline letters also express the same truth about the Holy Spirit as a Person in the trinitarian unity, with the economy of salvation as their departure point. "But we ought to give thanks for you always...because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth...to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." Thus the Apostle writes in his Second Letter to the Thessalonians (2 Thess 2:13-14), to indicate to them the goal of the Gospel preached by him. And to the Corinthians: "But now you have had yourselves washed; you were sanctified; you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor 6:11).
According to the Apostle, the Father is the first principle of sanctification, which is conferred by the Holy Spirit upon the person who believes "in the name" of Christ. The sanctification deep within a person therefore comes from the Holy Spirit, a Person who lives and works in unity with the Father and the Son.
In another passage the Apostle expresses the same concept in an evocative manner: "The one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God; he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment" (2 Cor 1:21-22). The words "in our hearts" indicate the intimacy of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying activity.
This same truth can be found in the Letter to the Ephesians in a more developed form: "God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, in Christ" (Eph 1:3). Shortly after that the author says to the believers: "You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance" (Eph 1:13-14).
5. Another magnificent expression of St. Paul's thought and intention is that of the Letter to the Romans. In it he writes that the purpose of his Gospel ministry is "so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit" (Rom 15:16). He asks those to whom the letter is addressed to pray to God for this service. He does so through Christ and through "the love of the Spirit" (Rom 15:30). "Love" is a special attribute of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5) as well as "communion" (cf. 2 Cor 13:13). From this love comes holiness which makes the offering acceptable. This is also a work of the Holy Spirit.
6. According to the Letter to the Galatians, the Holy Spirit gives people the gift of adoption as God's children, arousing in them the prayer of the Son himself. "As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" (Gal 4:6). The Spirit "cries out" and thus reveals himself as a Person who is able to express himself with great intensity. He makes Christian hearts echo with the prayer which Jesus himself addresses to the Father (cf. Mk 14:36) with childlike love. The Holy Spirit is the one who makes us adoptive children and gives us the capacity for childlike prayer.
7. St. Paul's doctrine on this topic is so rich that we will have to take it up again in our next instruction. For now we can conclude that in the Pauline letters the Holy Spirit is seen as a divine Person living in the trinitarian unity with the Father and the Son. The Apostle attributes to him the work of sanctification in a particular manner. He is the direct author of holiness in souls. He is the fount of love and prayer in which the gift of the person's divine "adoption" is expressed. His presence in souls is the pledge and the beginning of eternal life."
After the Catechesis, Papa Giovanni Paolo II greeted the pilgrims in various languages
A gruppi di espressione linguistica tedesca
Liebe Schwestern und Brüder!
Mit dieser kurzen Betrachtung grüße ich alle Pilger und Besucher deutscher Sprache sehr herzlich. Ein besonderer Willkommensgruß gilt den Teilnehmern der 11. Pilgerfahrt ”Rom im Rollstuhl“ aus der Schweiz sowie der Chorgemeinschaft St. Nikomedes aus Borghorst.
Die Begegnung mit Euch, liebe Schwestern und Brüder aus Deutschland, gerade am heutigen Tag ist für mich willkommener Anlaß, gemeinsam mit Euch dem Herrn der Zeiten dafür zu danken, daß nach so langen Jahren der gewaltsamen und schmerzlichen Trennung die staatliche Einheit Eures Vaterlandes wirksam werden konnte. Die grundlegenden Veränderungen der gesellschaftlichen und politischen Verhältnisse in den Ländern Mittelund Osteuropas durch die Überwindung totalitärer Ideologien, die den Menschen unterjochten und die Freiheit des Geistes unterdrückten, haben auch die Vollendung der Einheit Deutschlands in freier Selbstbestimmung ermöglicht. An diesem für die Geschichte Eures Landes so bedeutsamen Tag hoffe und wünsche ich, daß alle Länder Europas auf dem begonnenen Weg der Verständigung und des vertrauensvollen Miteinanders weiter voranschreiten und Euer in seinem christlichen Erbe und seiner geistigen Tradition so reiches Land der ihm zukommenden großen Verantwortung für eine gesicherte und friedliche Zukunft Europas und der ganzen Völkergemeinschaft auch weiterhin gerecht wird.
Euch allen, den deutschsprachigen Pilgern und Besuchern, sowie Euren Lieben in der Heimt erteile ich von Herzen meinen Apostolischen Segen.
Ai fedeli provenienti dalla Polonia
Pragnę przytoczyć słowa z listu Prymasa Polski, skierowane do braci w episkopacie dwunastego stycznia tego roku: “Naród nasz stanął . . . (jakby) po drugiej stronie Morza Czerwonego. Wyzwolenie dokonało się u nas przy pomocy Bożej i za wstawiennictwem Maryi, Królowej Polski . . . żywa wiara każe nam widzieć obecność Boga we wszystkich tych wydarzeniach”.
Przychodzę dziś do Ciebie, Pani Jasnogórska, ze sprawą, w której w sposób szczególny waży się nie tylko żywa wiara wierzących Polaków, lecz także ład moralny całego społeczeństwa, wszystkich wierzących i niewierzących.
Po okresie minionym prawodawstwo polskie odziedziczyło ustawę godzącą w życie dzieci poczętych, a jeszcze nie narodzonych. Ustawa ta narusza ład moralny, pozwala bowiem zabijać człowieka niewinnego, a równocześnie najbardziej bezbronnego, co więcej dokonuje się to w łonie kobiety, która jest matką poczętego dziecka. Za jego życie w sposób szczególny jest odpowiedzialna ona i ojciec, jako rodzice. Są odpowiedzialni w sumieniu przed Bogiem. Wraz z nimi są odpowiedzialne inne osoby, a pośrednio całe społeczeństwo.
Staję więc dzisiaj przed Tobą, Pani Jasnogórska, ze sprawą kluczową dla całego ładu moralnego, który zarazem wyznacza porządek praw człowieka. To prawo jest pierwsze i podstawowe. Ustawa godząca w życie nie narodzonych nosi w sobie znamiona ustroju totalitarnego. Została wprowadzona, właściwie narzucona społeczeństwu. Dziś chodzi o to, ażeby od tej tragicznej spuścizny się uwolnić. Żeby zabezpieczyć prawo do życia każdego człowieka, a w szczególności tego, któremu to zabezpieczenie i opieka - również ze strony prawa państwowego - najbardziej jest potrzebna. Senat Rzeczypospolitej podjął w tej sprawie stosowną inicjatywę, która - jak słyszymy - spotkała się z poparciem znacznej większości.Jest to pierwszy krok na drodze do przezwyciężenia złego dziedzictwa, obciążonego piętnem materialistycznego totalitaryzmu. W dniu dzisiejszym pragnę ten pierwszy krok, doniosły krok, złożyć, o Matko, w Twoje ręce. Składam ten pierwszy, doniosły krok w Twoje ręce, Pani Jasnogórska, ażeby nie uległo zniszczeniu to, co już zostało dokonane. Jest to droga trudna, gdyż lata minione zostawiły wielorakie złe ślady w ludzkich sumieniach i społecznym obyczaju, dlatego właśnie potrzebna jest ogromna modlitwa, społeczna modlitwa, aby przezwyciężyć pokusę, która trafia do nas z różnych stron, szukając sprzymierzeńca w naszych słabościach, może nawet łudząc mirażem nowoczesności i łatwego postępu. Wiele sił pracuje nad tym, aby te słabości wykorzystać, a ostatecznie chodzi o to, żeby człowiek, gwałcąc w sobie obecność Boga, Stwórcy i Ojca, pozostał sam ze swoim grzechem i swoim cierpieniem.
Powiedział Chrystus o rodzącej kobiecie: “Gdy ma rodzić, odczuwa smutek, że przyszła jej godzina”. Właśnie w tym smutku, w tym smutku trzeba w szczególny sposób być z kobietą, matką. Jest to pierwszy i zasadniczy obowiązek męża, mężczyzny, obowiązek rodziny, a także wielu innych ludzi, zwłaszcza pośród służby zdrowia. Jest to zarazem obowiązek kapłanów i duszpasterzy, jeżeli chcą być wierni Chrystusowi, Dobremu pasterzowi. Musi kobieta oczekująca dziecka odczuwać miłość i troskę tych wszystkich ludzi. Ta miłość pomoże przezwyciężyć smutek i lęk, o którym mówi Pan Jezus. Proszę Cię więc, Matko Jasnogórska, o taką miłość, o taką troskędla wszystkich kobiet oczekujących dziecka i proszę Cię też o to, aby nikt wtedy nie stawał przy nich ze słowami“Przecież możesz usunąć ciążę, prawo na to pozwala”. Żadne ludzkie prawo nie może zezwalać na zabicie człowieka. Niewiasta gdy rodzi, gdy ma rodzić, odczuwa smutek, gdyż przyszła jej godzina, wielka godzina. Lecz gdy urodzi - mówi dalej Chrystus - już nie pamięta udręki z powodu radości, bo człowiek się na świat narodził.
Ai fedeli di lingua francese
Chers Frères et Sœurs,
J’accueille avec plaisir les personnes de langue française présentes à cette audience. En particulier, j’adresse un salut cordial aux Frères Maristes, en période de recyclage spirituel, et aux membres du Conseil de Congrégation des Sœurs de la présentation de Marie. Je leur offre mes encouragements pour leur vie religieuse et leur apostolat.
Que l’Esprit Saint vous comble tous de ses dons! Et que Dieu vous bénisse!
Ai fedeli di lingua inglese
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I extend a cordial welcome to the new students of the Venerable English and Welsh College. Dear young men: may the time you are about to spend in Rome, preparing for the priesthood, leave a profound spiritual and cultural mark on your future service to the Church. I also greet the participants in the Biennial Assembly of Provincial Superiors of the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Felix of Cantalice. I pray that your meeting will bring encouragement and joy in the Lord to all the members of your Congregation in living the consecrated life, and in bearing witness through your apostolate to the evangelical love which animated your Foundress, Mother Angela.
I also welcome the visitors from English-speaking Africa taking part in a course sponsored by the “Centro internazionale di perfezionamento professionale e tecnico” in Turin. And upon all the Englishspeaking pilgrims and visitors from England, Ireland, the Philippines, Australia, Canada and the United States I invoke abundant divine blessings.
Ad una folta delegazione giapponese
Dilettissimi componenti della Delegazione guidata dal sindaco di Sendai.
Lo storico tentativo del vostro concittadino Tsunenaga, che quattro secoli or sono profuse i suoi sforzi per il dialogo tra l’Est e l’Ovest, rimane ancora oggi come esempio ed insegnamento dell’importanza del dialogo.
Ora, carissimi membri della Delegazione, auspico che la vostra missione sia fruttuosa e i suoi frutti rimangano duraturi come quelli di Tsunenaga.
Con questo augurio vi benedico di cuore.
Ai fedeli di espressione spagnola
Amadísimos hermanos y hermanas,
Saludo ahora muy cordialmente a todos los peregrinos y visitantes de lengua espanola.
En particular, a las Hermanas Mercedarias de la Caridad, a quienes aliento a una generosa entrega a la Iglesia, dando siempre testimonio del amor de Cristo a los hombres.
Igualmente, saludo a los integrantes del “Movimiento Familiar Cristiano”, de la diócesis de Armenia (Colombia)
A todas las personas, familias y grupos de los diversos Países de América Latina y de España imparto con afecto la Bendición Apostólica.
Ai pellegrini di lingua portoghese
Amadíssimos irmãos e irmãs,
Saúdo todos os peregrinos de língua portuguesa, em particular os brasileiros, vindos de São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, São Salvador e do Rio de Janeiro, entre os quais incluo o grupo da Paróquia de Nossa Senhora das Dores; a todos concedo de bom grado, como penhor de abundantes dons divinos, a minha Bênção Apostólica.
Ad alcuni gruppi di lingua italiana
Il mio cordiale saluto va ora ai pellegrini di lingua italiana, sempre numerosi. In particolare agli studenti che hanno frequentato il corso estivo d’Italiano per stranieri presso l’Ateneo Salesiano e il pontificio Istituto “Altioris Latinitatis” di Roma. A tutti il mio compiacimento per l’iniziativa che mette insieme persone di diversa estrazione culturale. Auspico che la conoscenza della lingua di Roma, delle sue tradizioni storiche, dei suoi monumenti sia di stimolo per vivere anche lo spirito cristiano della Città eterna.
Benedico poi volentieri la prima pietra dell’Oratorio della Parrocchia dei Ss. Giuda e Callisto, in Corneliano Laudense, diocesi di Lodi. L’impegnativa opera, destinata alla formazione dei giovani, sia strumento efficace per l’educazione della loro personalità e per la promozione dei valori cristiani nella società.
Ai giovani, agli ammalati e agli sposi novelli
Rivolgo ora il mio saluto, come di consueto, ai giovani, ammalati, ed alle numerose coppie di sposi novelli. Ricorrendo domani la memoria liturgica di San Francesco di Assisi, desidero attirare la vostra attenzione sulla sua suggestiva figura di vero seguace di Cristo. Quale assertore dell’amore di Dio e del prossimo, araldo di pace e ambasciatore di fraternità evangelica tra i popoli, egli rimane un maestro sempre attuale di vita cristiana.
Cari giovani, in un mondo così diviso ed oggi lacerato da pericolose minacce di guerra, proponetevi di essere anche voi sinceri costruttori di pace e operatori di concordia mediante scelte di vita coraggiose, oneste ed ispirate al Vangelo.
Invito gli ammalati alla contemplazione del Crocifisso, che San Francesco propose alla riflessione con efficace realismo. Invocate il Cristo paziente sulla Croce per la pace tra gli uomini.
Agli sposi novelli chiedo di ricordare sempre l’intenso amore di Francesco per Gesù Cristo e la sua Madre Santissima, in modo che questi due amori siano motivi ispiratori all’interno delle vostre nascenti famiglie. A tutti imparto la mia Benedizione.
Nuovo appello per il Libano
Un nuovo pressante appello in favore delle martoriate popolazioni del Libano viene lanciato dal Santo Padre questa mattina, durante il consueto incontro settimanale con i fedeli raccolti nell’Aula Paolo VI per l’udienza generale. Queste le parole pronunciate dal Santo Padre.
Sento il dovere di invitarvi nuovamente a pregare per il Libano. egli ultimi giorni sono purtroppo ancora pervenute notizie di combattimenti, uccisioni indiscriminate di gente inerme e di una popolazione fatta ostaggio della violenza e dell’odio. È un fatto deplorevole e che esige la più ferma condanna.
In nome dell’affetto che nutro per quel popolo tanto provato, chiedo insistentemente a tutti i responsabili di riflettere davanti a Dio sui progetti e obiettivi, che non possono essere se non il bene del loro Paese e dei loro concittadini!
Nostra Signora di Harissa ispiri a ognuno sentimenti di comprensione, volontà di intesa e desiderio di pace!
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