On the Holy Spirit

[catholic_heart]

On Saturday at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Pope Benedict XVI continued his catechesis to the young people gathered, this time focusing on the person of the Holy Spirit. Among the many great speeches he has given, this one is especially poignant because so many of us struggle with an understanding of our relationship to this mysterious

Comments

[lordhellebore]

Thank you for posting it - it really is beautiful. (Also, I think I need to read De Trinitate.)

You know what the sad thing is? I'm on a German Christian forum (www.jesus.de) and they are having this huge discussion about this precise speech...and guess which part? It's not hard to imagine...

Unfortunately the temptation to “go it alone” persists. Some today portray their local community as somehow separate from the so-called institutional Church, by speaking of the former as flexible and open to the Spirit and the latter as rigid and devoid of the Spirit.

Unity is of the essence of the Church (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 813); it is a gift we must recognize and cherish. Tonight, let us pray for the resolve to nurture unity: contribute to it! resist any temptation to walk away!This one, of course - and this alone. The rest of it is being ignored, and this discussed under the title of "The pope says to beware of free churches" - and then the old discussion of "So, they do think only Catholics are Christians, right?"

[catholic_heart]

What's sad about that is that it completely misses the point. He is not even talking about Protestant churches, he is specifically talking about Catholics and some local bishops (and I'm sure he is also thinking of Protestant Christians, but that is not his primary reference here) who think that they have the Spirit somehow apart from the institutional Church. It's one thing for non-Catholics to disregard the need for institutional church, at least they're consistent. For Catholics to say that is rather ironic.

But you're right, that's all an aside. I had actually considered not posting that part because I didn't want it to distract, but I just thought the whole speech was beautiful. Glad you liked it! I own De Trinitate, but have not yet read it. Shame on me :)

[lordhellebore]

See, that is even stupider - showing that some (and please, everone, not that I say some) non-Catholic Christians are just waiting for something they can use to bash the RCC.

I have to study Augustine anyway, I think. There is a German introduction to his theology that seems okay, now I only need to finally buy it. It's been on my list for a year or so ;)

[catholic_heart]

This current pope is a tremendous Augustinian scholar, probably one of the top in the world. One of the best ways to get acquainted with Augustine as a sort of introduction is to begin with his sermons, I think. This collection was edited by one of my professors of theology, it's very good.

[catholic_heart]

:) Glad you enjoyed!

[norwaygranny]

Have you ever gone to a Pentecostal church?

[catholic_heart]

I have not. I've actually only been to a non-Catholic church once. It was Episcopalian, and we were on vacation and didn't know the difference :)

It's always a difficult thing, because I would really like to check out another church sometime, but Sundays I have to go to Catholic Mass, so it's hard. I've been involved in non-demoninational prayers services and Bible studies, but never an actual non-Catholic church service.

[norwaygranny]

Most Pentecostal churches have evening services on Wed. and Sun. I belong to an Evangelical Free Church, but I have been to Catholic Churches many times - there's a lot of similarities to the Lutheran church in which I grew up. Blessings! Sara

[catholic_heart]

Excellent, thanks!

[cmaried]

Oh my goodness-the Pope and St. Augustine? You couldn't resist posting this!:-)

I think he's right in that in some Christian circles, the Holy Spirit is seen as less important than the Father and Son in. I wonder if the Pope is more of a Nicene Creed man than an Apostle's Creed man.

[catholic_heart]

I know, the best part about posting anything from this Pope is that I'm almost certain to get a good Augustine reference or four to go along with it :) He's such an Augustinian :)

(tutal told me that Ratzinger is also one of the top 20 Martin Luther scholars in the world. That's awesome!)

[cmaried]

(tutal told me that Ratzinger is also one of the top 20 Martin Luther scholars in the world. That's awesome!)

*giggle*

That's totally a compliment!

[catholic_heart]

I know! I think he liked him a lot as Ratzinger, and maybe not as much as Benedict. Something like that. I don't want to put words in his mouth.

[smilingplatypus]

Gosh, I really like this Pope. Really. Thanks for posting.

(And before anyone kills me, I'm not saying that I didn't like JP II as well. Maybe I'm just paying more attention now. /disclaimer)

[catholic_heart]

I do too! And I loved JPII, but there is just something about this guy, I love reading him so much.

It's been said that people would flock to see John Paul II, whereas people flock to hear Benedict XVI. He's less of a rock star, but I think that's actually good.