Gospel Commentary: The Breath of God

By Fr. John J. Riley
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In the beginning God formed man in His image and likeness… "and Yahweh breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life … and man became a living being" (Gn 2:7). When we fell and rejected God’s plan, we lost paradise, sanctifying grace, and that share in the life and love of God which is the "Indwelling Presence" of the Holy Spirit.

Who and what is the Holy Spirit? His symbols — wind, water, fire, a descending dove — all convey to us some idea of His mysterious Presence and "intangibility." Images of Son and Father abound … but this Third Person of the Trinity is a hard one to know and love. As we grow in our understanding and love of God, it is essential that we understand the Person and relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son … and to us.

From all eternity God the Father has been and always will be. Without end or limit, He knows Himself. This Self-Knowledge (or Wisdom) is eternal, infinite, perfect and Divine — a distinct Person Who has always existed as "the Word" —the very Son of God. Before the world began, without beginning or end, Father and Son have existed in a loving relationship with each other. This perfect Love of Father for Son and Son for Father is also eternal, infinite, Perfect and Divine — a third distinct Person ceaselessly in relationship with Father and Son. His Name is the Holy Spirit. Thus our God, Who is One, All-Knowing, All-Loving, and Eternal is Three Divine Persons — not three "gods," but a Trinity of Persons all possessing One Divine Nature.

Jesus promised this Spirit (or "Paraclete") to the Apostles at the Last Supper. He promised that the Holy Spirit would come to us and be within us (Jn 14:17). In this week’s Gospel, on the feast of Pentecost, we ponder the consummation of that promise. The Risen Lord appears to the apostles on Easter Sunday evening. What is on His mind? What is He urgently compelled to do, driven as He is to do His Father’s will and to complete His mission? Jesus first greets the apostles … "Shalom" (peace). Then he embraces them and "breathes on them" — as Yahweh "breathed" life into man at the beginning of human history … "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive man’s sins, they are forgiven them. If you hold them bound, they are held bound" (Jn 20:22-23). In this gesture, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts and souls of these weak men whom He had chosen to be the pillars of His Church. On Pentecost Sunday this Indwelling Presence would be fanned into a flame, and the fearful fisherman, the followers who fled, would be transformed into apostles, boldly preaching to the crowds of Jerusalem, and eventually in Judea, Samaria, Galilee — indeed, to the ends of the earth.

At the moment of our baptism, the Holy Spirit is breathed into our souls and abides within us, making us temples of the Indwelling Trinity. His Presence in our souls is intensified by the sacrament of confirmation, and is nourished and strengthened by our reception of the Holy Eucharist. By virtue of His Presence in the "throne" of our soul, God lives, and moves and breathes, and dwells and loves within and through us. We are made members of the Mystical Body of Christ — and the Holy Spirit, the Soul of this Body which is our Church, binds us together with Jesus and with one another.

Yet all too frequently we tend to think of the Holy Spirit as a mere "silent partner" of the Holy Trinity. Catholics are easily drawn to embrace the Son of God through all the humanity of the God-Man Jesus Christ. Most of us relate readily enough to the First Person of the Trinity, addressing Him as "Our Father." But many practicing Catholics frequently allow days, weeks, or even months to pass without praying to or conversing with the Holy Spirit as a Person.

Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical "Tertio Millenio Adveniente," heralds the Holy Spirit as the "principal agent of the new evangelization." The Paraclete makes present and focused the Light of Truth which cannot be overcome by the darkness of the culture of death. The Holy Father perceives the Sprit leading us to a greater unity of the Body of Christ, fostering an "acceptance of the charisms and promotion of the laity," and inspiring a "catechetical enrichment of the Faith," which will spearhead the new evangelization for the 21st century.

On this Pentecost Sunday, we would do well to ponder the Presence of the Third Person of the Trinity in our souls, in the Church and throughout the world. It is in prayer — particularly in quiet daily, mental prayer — that we engage and are engaged by this "silent partner" of the Holy Trinity … the Sanctifier, the Consoler, the Spouse of our Souls … our Lord and our God. Amen.

Suggested texts: Acts, Jn 7:37-39, 14:16-21, 14:23-26, 20:19-23.

Fr. Riley is associate pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Warrenton and professor of Sacred Scripture at Christendom College in Front Royal.

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