The Holy Spirit as the Source
of Communion
H. H.
John Paul II
General Audience
July 29, 1998
1. The Acts of the
Apostles show us the first Christian community united by a strong
bond of fraternal communion: “All who believed were together and had
all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and
distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). There is
no doubt that the Holy Spirit is at the root of this demonstration
of love. His outpouring at Pentecost lays the foundations of the new
Jerusalem, the city built on love, quite the opposite of the ancient
Babel. According to the text of Genesis 11, the builders of Babel
had decided to build a city with a great tower whose top would reach
the heavens. The sacred author sees in this project a foolish pride
which flows into division, discord and lack of communication. On the
day of Pentecost, on the other hand, Jesus’ disciples do not want to
climb arrogantly to the heavens but are humbly open to the gift that
comes down from above. While in Babel the same language is spoken by
all but they end up not understanding each other, on the day of
Pentecost different languages are spoken, yet they are very clearly
understood. This is a miracle of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Holy Spirit’s proper and specific action already within the
Trinity is communion. “It can be said that in the Holy Spirit the
intimate life of the Triune God becomes totally gift, an exchange of
mutual love between the divine Persons, and that through the Holy
Spirit God exists in the mode of gift. It is the Holy Spirit who is
the personal expression of this self-giving, of this being-love” (Dominum
et Vivificantem, n. 10). The third Person — we read in St Augustine
— is “the supreme love that unites both the Persons” (De Trin., n.
7, 3, 6). Indeed the Father begets the Son by loving him; the Son is
begotten by the Father, letting himself be loved and receiving from
him the capacity to love; the Holy Spirit is love given in total
gratuitousness by the Father, received with full gratitude by the
Son, and returned by him to the Father. The Spirit is also the love
and the personal gift which contains every created gift: life, grace
and glory. The mystery of this communion shines forth in the Church,
the Mystical Body of Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit. The
Spirit himself makes us “one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28) and thus
integrates us within the same unity which binds the Son to the
Father. We are left in wonder at this intense and intimate communion
between God and us!
3. The Book of the Acts presents several symbolic situations which
let us understand how the Spirit helps the Church to live communion
in practice, enabling her to overcome the problems she will
encounter from time to time. When persons who do not belong to the
people of Israel enter the Christian community for the first time, a
dramatic moment is experienced. The Church’s unity is put to the
test. However at this moment the Spirit is to descend on the house
of the first pagan to be converted, Cornelius, the centurion. He
renews the miracle of Pentecost and works a sign favouring unity
between the Jews and the Gentiles (cf. Acts 10-11). We can say that
this is the direct manner of building communion: the Spirit
intervenes with the full power of his grace and creates a new,
utterly unforeseeable situation. But the Spirit frequently acts
using human mediation. This is what happened — again, according to
the narrative of the Acts — when a discussion arose within the
community of Jerusalem about the daily distribution among the widows
(cf. Acts 6:1ff.). Unity is then re-established thanks to the
intervention of the Apostles who ask the community to elect seven
men “full of the Spirit” (Acts 6:3; cf. 6:5) and they appoint this
group of seven to serve tables. A critical moment is also
experienced by the community of Antioch, which consisted of
Christians who had formerly been Jews or pagans. Several
Jewish-Christian converts insisted that the latter be circumcised
and observe the law of Moses. Regarding this, St Luke writes “the
Apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this
matter” (Acts 15:6), and after “there had been much debate”, they
reached an agreement, formulated in the solemn words: “For it has
seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us ...” (Acts 15:28). Here it
can clearly be seen how the Spirit acts through the mediation of the
Church’s “ministers”. Between the Spirit’s two great paths: the
direct one, more unpredictable and charismatic, and the mediated
one, more permanent and institutional, there can be no real
conflict. Both come from the same Spirit. In cases where human
weakness might see causes for tension and conflict, it is necessary
to abide by the discernment of authority, with the assistance of the
Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 14:37).
4. It is thanks to the “grace of the Holy Spirit” (Unitatis
redintegratio, n. 4) that there is a desire for full unity among
Christians. In this regard, it must never be forgotten that the
Spirit is the first common gift to divided Christians. As “the
principle of the Church’s unity” (ibid., n. 2), he urges us to
rebuild it through conversion of heart, common prayer, mutual
knowledge, ecumenical formation, theological dialogue, and
co-operation in the various contexts of social service inspired by
love. Christ gave his life so that all his disciples might be one
(cf. Jn 17). The celebration of the Jubilee of the third millennium
must represent a new phase in overcoming the divisions of the second
millennium and, since unity is a gift of the Paraclete, it comforts
us to recall that precisely on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit
significant steps have been made towards unity among the various
Churches, especially among the Catholic Church and the Orthodox
Churches. In particular, on the specific problem of the Filioque
concerning the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word who
proceed from the Father, it is possible to maintain that the
difference between the Latin and Eastern traditions does not affect
the identity of the faith “in the reality of the same mystery
confessed” but its expression, constituting a “legitimate
complementarity” which does not jeopardize but indeed can enrich
communion in the one faith (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church,
248; Apostolic Letter Orientale lumen, 2 May 1995, n. 5; Note of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, 29 June 1995: The
Greek and Latin Traditions Regarding the Procession of the Holy
Spirit, L’Osservatore Romano English edition, 20 September 1995, p.
3).
5. Lastly the forthcoming Jubilee must also see fraternal love grow
within the Catholic Church. That effective love which must prevail
in every community “especially [for] those who are of the household
of faith” (Gal 6:10), involves every member of the Church, every
parish and diocesan community, every group, association and movement
in a serious examination of conscience which will dispose hearts to
accept the unifying action of the Holy Spirit. St Bernard’s words
are still timely: “We all need one another: from others I receive
the spiritual good which I do not have and do not possess.... And
all our differences, which express the riches of God’s gifts, will
hold good in the one house of the Father, which includes so many
mansions. Now there is a division of graces: then there will be a
distinction of glories. Unity, both here and there, consists in one
and the same love” (Apology to William of St Thierry, IV, 8: PL 182,
9033-9034).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors the Holy Father said:
I welcome the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, especially the
members of the Hong Kong Catholic Pastoral Association for the Deaf,
and the students and teachers from Saint Paul High School in Tokyo.
I also welcome those who have come from Scotland, Nigeria and the
United States of America.
Upon all of you I cordially invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace.
Return to General Audiences on
the Holy Spirit...
This page is the work of the Servants of the
Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary |
