The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 98: The Son and the Spirit (2024)

Episode Date: April 7, 2024

Fr. Mike continues to examine the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s mission. We explore the joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. When the Son and the Spirit act, they act together. Fr. Mike emphasizes that though the Son and the Spirit are two distinct persons, they are inseparable. We also examine the proper name of the Holy Spirit and the different titles we use for the Holy Spirit. Today’s readings from the Catechism are paragraphs 689-693. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sure goodness for us, revealed in Scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. It is Day 98. You guys, we're so close to Day 100!

This is amazing! We're reading paragraphs 689 to 693 in the heart of the Holy Spirit. So good. I'm using, as always, the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach. You can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C I Y.

You can also click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. Today is day 98 reading paragraphs 689 to 693. We're continuing our time with the Holy Spirit and we're going to talk about two kind of big things and the two big things are the joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit and also the names, titles and symbols of the Holy Spirit and we're going to talk about two kind of big things and the two big things are the joint mission Of the Son and the Holy Spirit and also the names titles and symbols of the Holy Spirit We're just going to get to the names and titles of the Holy Spirit But what we mean by paragraph 689 to 6 and 690 The joint mission of the Son and the Spirit is that oh man

This is incredible when the Son and the Spirit act they act together We also we recognize of course they are distinct They are two of the three divine persons in the most Holy Trinity So they're distinct the church always professes the distinction of persons at the same time This is paragraph 689 when the father sends his word He also sends his breath and I think that's it's such a poetic But also you can see how that's the case and I think that might have been like a st Augustine kind of a example like whether you have the speaker that's the father you have the word spoken That's the Sun and you have the breath that you know accompanies the word

We have this when the father sends his word He always sends his breath and this is the last line in paragraph 689 And this is the last line in paragraph 689 or second the last line in their joint mission The Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable and this is just remarkable So we're gonna talk about the joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit that here's Jesus Who's anointed and the Spirit is his anointing like all that it's just remarkable and they're also gonna hear from st Gregory of Nyssa who I just I think he captures this with this image of the surface of a water and oil. You're gonna hear all about it,

but basically, there's oil in the water, you come in contact with the water, you're coming in contact with the oil, and vice versa. It's one of those, you'll love it. It's a great example, great analogy that St. Gregory of Nyssa uses in paragraph 690. We're also gonna talk about the proper name of the Holy Spirit.

And so that is Holy Spirit, right? So we can call the Father the Father, we call the Son Jesus, and we call the third person of the Trinity the Holy Spirit. And so the church is gonna make a distinction, this is really remarkable I think. We receive that name, Holy Spirit, from the Lord.

And we use it in Holy Baptism. I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and that name Holy Spirit from the Lord and we use it in holy baptism I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit So we recognize that we use that when we baptize people anyone the term spirit is The Hebrew word Ruach right which means breath air and wind and so that's the Holy Spirit is the name of the third person of the Trinity He had at the same time. This makes the catics that makes this point in paragraph 691 that The word spirit and the word holy are divine attributes common to all three divine persons that make sense So the father is this spirit and the son is spirit and the father is holy and the son is holy But by joining those two terms, you know, scripture talks about this,

our liturgy talks about this, how we talk about God in theological language, designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit in that particular way, even though there's other ways we can use the terms Spirit and Holy. So lastly we have, that's the name of the Holy Spirit. Lastly, we talk about the titles of the Holy Spirit. He's the Perlite the advocate and just we're gonna talk about all of that is so good So let's let's just pray and ask our Lord to send us this advocate to send us this periclite to send us this Consolidate into our hearts right now Father in heaven we give you praise and glory. We thank you for this opportunity to be here. Thank you for this incredible moment where we get to learn more about who you are.

Holy Spirit, too often we forget about you. Too often you are the forgotten person of the Holy Trinity. We do not want to forget you. We forget you because we don't know. We forget you because of our't know forget you because of our lack of appreciation or lack of memory or lack of love In this moment help us to know more clearly so that we can love you Holy Spirit. You are true God from true God Help us to love you help us to know you helps to walk in your power in your strength this day and every day in Jesus

Name we pray amen in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it's day 98, we're reading paragraphs 689 to 693. The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit The one whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them in both the inner life of the Trinity and His gift of love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the Church's faith also professes the distinction of persons.

When the Father sends His Word, He always sends His breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals Him. Jesus is Christ, anointed, because the Spirit is His anointing, and everything that occurs from the Incarnation on derives from this fullness. When Christ is finally glorified, he can in turn send the Spirit from his place with the Father to those who believe in him. He communicates to them his glory, that is, the Holy Spirit who glorifies him.

From that time on, this joint mission will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the body of His Son. The mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite them to Christ and make them live in Him. As St. Gregory of Nyssa wrote, The notion of anointing suggests that there is no distance between the Son and the Spirit. Indeed, just as between the surface of the body and anointing with oil, neither reason nor sensation recognizes any intermediary, so the contact of the Son with the Spirit is immediate, so that anyone who would make contact with the Son by faith must first encounter

the oil by contact. In fact, there is no part that is not covered by the Holy Spirit. That is why the confession of the Son's lordship is made in the Holy Spirit by those who receive Him, the Spirit coming from all sides to those who approach the Son in faith. The Name, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit The Proper Name of the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit is the proper name of the one whom we adore and glorify with the Father and the Son. The Church has received this name from the Lord and professes it in the baptism of her

new children. The term spirit translates the Hebrew word ruach, which in its primary sense means breath, air, wind. Jesus indeed uses the sensory image of the wind to suggest to Nicodemus the transcendent newness of him who is personally God's breath, the Divine Spirit. On the other hand, Spirit and Holy are divine attributes common to the three divine persons. By joining the two terms, Scripture, Liturgy, and Theological Language designate the inexpressible person of the Holy Spirit without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms

Spirit and Holy. Titles of the Holy Spirit without any possible equivocation with other uses of the terms Spirit and Holy. Titles of the Holy Spirit When he proclaims and promises the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus calls him the Periklet, literally, he who is called to one's side, ad vocatus. Periklet is commonly translated by consoler, and Jesus is the first consoler. The Lord also called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. Besides the proper name of Holy Spirit, which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in St. Paul the titles the Spirit of the Promise, the Spirit of

Adoption, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirit of God, and in St. Peter, the Spirit of Glory. Alright, there it is, Day 98, paragraphs 689 to 693, the joint mission of the Son and Spirit. The name of the Holy Spirit, the titles of the Holy Spirit. Man, I just think it's remarkable to recognize that the only way we know come to know Jesus is by the Holy Spirit. In fact, I love this. It's in the Holy Spirit and the Son are distinct but inseparable in their joint mission. In a joint mission, they are distinct but inseparable. And I love this last line of paragraph 689. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, right? He's the image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him. And just this union between the two, right? The 690 in their economy,

right? They're obviously united in the theology of the Trinity. But 690, Jesus Christ is anointed because the Spirit is his anointing. And everything that occurs from the incarnation on drives from this fullness. I love this. When Christ is finally glorified, He can in turn send the Spirit from His place with the Father to those who believe in Him, and He communicates to them His glory. That is, the Holy Spirit who glorifies Him. Like, well, what does that mean? Well, how about this? You are a temple of the Holy Spirit.

You're a temple of the Holy Spirit. So in glory, Jesus Christ and the Father who are glorified send the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit dwells in your hearts your temple the Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit glorifies one and this is incredible I love this and paragraph 690 once again from that time on this joint mission of the Son and Spirit Will be manifested in the children adopted by the Father in the body of his son That's you and I the The mission of the Spirit of adoption is to unite us to Christ and make us live in Him. And there's, again, this image that I mentioned before,

which I think is so cool. There's no distance between the Son and the Spirit. And talk about this, the anointing. Like, think about anointing. If you've ever been anointed, hopefully, at your baptism, you're anointed. Help at your confirmation, you're anointed. Just as between the surface of the body, like here's your body, and the anointing with oil,

there's nothing between the oil and your body. It's immediate. And here is Saint Gregory of Nyssa saying in a similar way, the contact of the Son with the Spirit is immediate. So that anyone who would make contact with the Son by faith must first encounter the oil by contact. There's no part that's not covered by the Holy Spirit. Every time we confess Christ's Lordship, it is always by the power of the Holy Spirit. That might give you a little bit of a headache, but at the same time it's something we don't, it's so simple. It is so simple. This inseparability in the mission of Son and Holy Spirit. We talked about also, you know, before this, the proper name of the Holy Spirit, of the third person of the Trinity is Holy Spirit, and the term Spirit, like Ruach, means breath, wind, air, and at the same time,

spirit and holy, divine attributes, right? So that's common to the Father and to the Son as well. But when we put them together, scripture, liturgy, theological language, when we say Holy Spirit, we are always referring to the third person of the Trinity. So that's just a really remarkable thing. And lastly though, tomorrow we're gonna talk about

the symbols of the Holy Spirit There are quite a few just FYI kind of heads up but today we have the titles of the Holy Spirit and One title of the Holy Spirit Jesus calls him the periclete the advocate right the advocate Advocatus the one who's called literally periclete means he was called to one's side It has some references to like a courtroom like someone who's like your defense attorney essentially That can also be commonly translated as consoler or you know again that advocate Jesus At the end of his life. He says I will pray to the father and he will send you another advocate

Which is remarkable. I'm going once again. Keep this in mind The mission of the son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. And here's Jesus who says, I will ask the Father, he will send you another advocate. What does that mean, other than Jesus is the first advocate. He is the first one who is called to our side. He's the first one who's come to our defense. And he says, I'm going Father and he's gonna send you another advocate, both of us. That's the joint mission, right? The joint mission of the Son and the Spirit. The Son is the advocate who is called to our side, Emmanuel who dwells among us, and the Holy Spirit, that one who is called to our side, who advocates for us, who is the Pericles, who is the

Consoler and also the Spirit of Truth. And then I love, you know, 693 concludes with these different titles, these different titles of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul calls him the Spirit of Promise, Spirit of Adoption, right, because you and I, being given the Holy Spirit, become God's sons and daughters, he becomes our Father,

the Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of God, and then of course, Saint Peter calls him the Spirit of Glory. And we just, man, just what a gift. Holy smokes. Oh man, we just get to be in this moment in awe of God. That inseparable mission of the Son and Spirit, and in the way in which if you're like, I don't have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, if you have a relationship with the Son, then the Holy Spirit is operative in your life if you have read scripture as it's spoken to you the Holy Spirit is operative if you can pray the Holy Spirit is operative you've appealed to

the sacraments and entered into them the Holy Spirit is operative and so we just give God praise today and every single day for sending his Holy Spirit among us and dwelling inside of us may his Holy Spirit among us and dwelling inside of us. May that Holy Spirit in us, in our lives, give God glory forever and ever. Please pray for each other because it's one thing to hear about this stuff, you know, it's one thing to hear about here's God's action, here's God's work, here's God's Holy Spirit. It's another thing to say yes. Sometimes it's really hard to say yes to the Holy Spirit. So let's again, please pray for each other. I

am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Frank. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless