SYNOPTICS AND ACTS BRO. CHINNAPPARAJ D.

PAUL
FR. ARNIE VISITACION THEOLOGY II YEAR
SMIRS

PNEMATOLOGY
Acts of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles

1. INTRODUCTION

“Holy spirit”, the word much familiar for Pentecostal Churches and Protestant

Churches and for some of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal group; but much

forgotten in the Catholic Church. I feel, this may be the reason why the Catholic

Church is so much stagnant without much growth, because where there is Holy Spirit

there will be a movement, vibrant with life, speedy growth as that of the early

Christian Community. The Bible starts with the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of God

hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2) – and ends with the Holy Spirit - The Spirit and

the Bride say, "Come!" (Rev. 22:17). There is no Holy Spirit no life. In the beginning

after creating man out of clay breathed into his nostrils the ‘breath of life’, then man

came in to being (Gen. 2:7), and this ‘breath of life’ is the Holy Spirit. That is why St.

Paul would say that “All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters

of God” (Rom. 8:14) and “your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because

the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not

belong to him.” (Rom. 8:9) which means with the Holy Spirit we are child of God who

also belong to Christ and without the Holy Spirit we are nothing, no more.

But who is this Holy Spirit, where does he come from, what he has to do with us? I

am not going to deal with all these but among all the books of the Bible there are two

books which speak more about the Holy Spirit, i.e., Gospel of Luke and Acts of the

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Apostles. In this paper let us examine the Book of Acts of the Apostles for the Acts

of the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit do in the First Christian Communities?

2. PNEUMATOLOGY

As we all know Pneumatology means the ‘Theology of the Holy Spirit’. The ancient

Greek word π ν ε υ µ α / pneuma has a variety of meanings and translations:

wind, breath, ghost, spirit. We see all the usages in the Bible as Fr. Felix Just, S.J.

lists it:

NT
Greek English Matt Mark Luke John Acts Paul Heb Cath 123Jn Rev
Total
spirit,
π ν ε υ µ α breath, 19 23 36 24 70 146 12 13 12 24 379
wind
π ν ε υ µ α α Holy
5 4 13 3 41 15 5 3 0 0 89
γ ι ο ν Spirit
π ν ε υ µ α Κ Spirit of
0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4
υ ρ ι ο υ the Lord
π ν ε υ µ α [τ Spirit of
2 0 0 0 0 13 0 0 1 [3] 16
ο υ ] θ ε ο υ God
π ν ε υ µ α Χ Spirit of
0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 3
ρ ι στ ο υ Christ
π ν ε υ µ ατ ι
spiritual 0 0 0 0 0 24 0 2 0 0 26
κ ο ς
π ν ε υ µ ατ ι
spiritually 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
κ ως
to blow +
π ν ε ω +
blow 2 0 1 2 1+1 0 0 0 0 1 7+1
υ π ο π ν ε ω
gently
to
ε κ π ν ε ω breathe 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
out

Various Meanings of pneuma in the New Testament:

• Something divine:

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 ○ Spirit of (our) God, Spirit of the Living God, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of

your Father, Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead;

○ Spirit of His Son, Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of Jesus Christ;

○ Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit of God, Spirit that is from God, Spirit of Truth,

eternal Spirit;

○ seven spirits of God (only in Rev 3:).

• Something demonic:

○ evil spirit, unclean spirit, demonic spirit, foul spirit, spirit of an unclean

demon, spirit of cowardice, spirit of divination, spirit of error, spirit of

slavery, spirit of the antichrist, spirit of the world, sluggish spirit.

• Something human, but coming from God:

○ spirit of adoption, spirit of faith, spirit of gentleness, spirit of glory, spirit

of grace, spirit of holiness, spirit of life, spirit of power and of love and

of self-discipline, spirit of prophecy, spirit of wisdom and revelation,

spirit of your minds, spirits of the prophets, spirits of the righteous, spirit

of Elijah.

• Something in nature:

○ air, wind, breath.1

3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR ST. LUKE

1 http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/LukeActs-Spirit.htm

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St. Luke was born to pagan Greek parents, a native of Antioch, the metropolis of

Syria and possibly a slave. He is one of the earliest converts to Christianity. He is

also a Physician which we know through the statement of St. Paul mentioning him as

"Luke, the beloved physician"(Colossians 4:14), studying in Antioch and Tarsus,

probably travelled as a ship’s doctor. Legend has that he was also a painter who

may have done portraits of Jesus and Mary, but none have ever been correctly or

definitively attributed to him. Luke appears in Acts during Paul’s second journey,

remains at Philippi for several years until Paul returns from his third journey,

accompanies Paul to Jerusalem and remains near him when he is imprisoned in

Caesarea. During these two years, Luke had time to seek information and interview

persons who had known Jesus. He wrote the Gospel according to Luke, much of

which was based on the teachings and writings of Paul, interviews with early

Christians, and his own experiences. He also wrote a history of the early Church in

the Acts of the Apostles2.

Luke wrote as a Gentile for Gentile Christians. This Gospel reveals Luke's expertise

in classic Greek style as well as his knowledge of Jewish sources. The character of

Luke may best be seen by the emphases of his Gospel, which has been given a

number of subtitles: (1) The Gospel of Mercy: Luke emphasizes Jesus' compassion

and patience with the sinners and the suffering. He has a broadminded openness to

all, showing concern for Samaritans, lepers, publicans, soldiers, public sinners,

unlettered shepherds, and the poor. Luke alone records the stories of the sinful

woman, the lost sheep and coin, the prodigal son, the good thief. (2) The Gospel of

Universal Salvation: Jesus died for all. He is the son of Adam, not just of David, and

2 http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-luke-the-evangelist/

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Gentiles are his friends too. (3) The Gospel of the Poor: "Little people" are prominent

—Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, shepherds, Simeon and the elderly

widow, Anna. He is also concerned with what we now call "evangelical poverty." (4)

The Gospel of Absolute Renunciation: He stresses the need for total dedication to

Christ. (5) The Gospel of Prayer and the Holy Spirit: He shows Jesus at prayer

before every important step of his ministry. The Spirit is bringing the Church to its

final perfection. (6) The Gospel of Joy: Luke succeeds in portraying the joy of

salvation that permeated the primitive3.

His life after the death of St. Paul is uncertain; there were different opinions about it4.

We not sure of his death too, some say that he is martyred and others he died a

natural death at the age of according to some 84 and others 86; but it is believed

even by many Church Fathers that he suffered martyrdom. According to the

traditions the bones of St. Luke were translated from Patras in Achaia in 357 by

order of the Emperor Constantius, and deposited in the Church of the Apostles at

Constantinople, together with those of St. Andrew and St. Timothy5. But the latest

reports say that the remains of St. Luke were brought to Padua, Italy, sometime

before 1177. In 1992, the then Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Ieronymos of Thebes

and Levathia (currently the Archbishop of Greece) requested from Bishop Antonio

Mattiazzo of Padua the return of a significant fragment of the relics of St. Luke to be

placed on the site where the holy tomb of the Evangelist is located and venerated

today. This prompted a scientific investigation of the relics in Padua, and by

numerous lines of empirical evidence (archeological analyses of the Tomb in Thebes

3 http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1172

4 http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/stluke.htm

5 Ibid.,

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and the Reliquary of Padua, anatomical analyses of the remains, Carbon-14 dating,

comparison with the purported skull of the Evangelist located in Prague) confirmed

that these were the remains of an individual of Syrian descent who died between 130

and 400 A.D. The Bishop of Padua then delivered to Metropolitan Ieronymos the rib

of St. Luke that was closest to his heart to be kept at his tomb in Thebes, Greece 6.

St. Luke is identified as the patron saint of Artists, Doctors, Notaries, Painters,

Physicians, and Surgeons. His feast is celebrated on October 18.

4. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

The Acts of the Apostles must not be believed to be an isolated writing, but rather an

integral part in a well-ordered series. Acts presupposes its readers to know the

Gospels; it continues the Gospel narrative. The Four Evangelists close with the

account of the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ. St. Mark is the only one

who essays to give any of the subsequent history, and he condenses his account

into one brief sentence: “and they went forth and preached everywhere: the Lord

working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed” (Mark 16:20).

Now the Acts of the Apostles takes up the narrative here and records succinctly the

mighty events which were wrought by the Holy Spirit through chosen human agents7.

What would be if there is no Acts of the Apostles? It is very difficult to assess about

this. The absence of the Book of Acts would diminish the contribution of the

remaining New Testament epistles. There would be a significant historical gap

between the events of the Gospels and the writing of the New Testament epistles.

6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_the_Evangelist

7 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01117a.htm

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The Gospels leave a negative note on St. Peter telling that he denied Christ but we

see the conversion of St. Peter after the Pentecost and how courageous he is even

in front of Sanhedrin witnessing for Christ. He proves to be the Head of the Church

as appointed by Jesus Christ. If there was no Acts of the Apostles we would have

not know about St. Paul at all. It is St. Paul, in the beginning, who started small

churches and nurtured them. We would have been left without any knowledge of

Apostolic Teachings, the initial development of Theology and about the Council of

Jerusalem and much more than these we would have missed the sound knowledge

about the Holy Spirit the Heart of the Church.

Acts of the Apostles is a condensed record of the fulfillment of the promises of Jesus

Christ. The Evangelists record Christ’s promises which He made to the disciples,

regarding the establishment of the Church and its mission (Matthew 16:15-20); the

gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; John 14:16); the calling of the gentiles (Matthew

28:18-20; Luke 24:46, 47). Acts records the fulfillment. The history begins at

Jerusalem and ends at Rome. With divine simplicity Acts shows us the growth of the

religion of Christ among the nations. Nowhere in Holy Writings is the action of the

Holy Spirit in the Church so forcibly set forth as in the Acts.

Though this is named as Acts of the Apostles it does not record all the Acts of the

Apostles. Mainly it speaks about the activities of St. Peter and St. Paul. Basing on

this we can divide the Acts of the Apostles into two major parts.

 The beginning and propagation of the Christian religion among

the Jews (1-9);

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 The beginning and propagation of the Christian religion among

the Gentiles (10-28). St. Peter plays the chief role in the first part; St.

Paul, in the second part.

The main themes of the Acts of the Apostles we can consider as follows:

1) The Holy Spirit. Christ’s promise that His followers would receive the Holy

Spirit following His Ascension is fulfilled when the Holy Spirit is poured out on the

gathered Christians at Pentecost. St. Luke further shows the importance of the

presence of the Holy Spirit by depicting His being received by Samaritans,

Gentiles in Caesarea, and Jews in Ephesus.

2) Evangelism. St. Luke’s emphasis on the missionary work of the Apostles —

especially Ss. Peter and Paul — underscores the central theme of the importance

of evangelism.

3) Apostolic Authority. The work of the Apostles in organizing the Church and

teaching the Gospel — and particularly the importance of the Apostolic gathering

at the first council in Jerusalem — reinforces the importance of bishops in the

Church.

4) Opposition to Christianity. Another important theme in the Acts of the Apostles

is that Christians will encounter opposition. The opposition endured by the early

Christians, and their faithfulness to Christ and His Church in the face of that

opposition, is very instructive to modern Christians.

5) Defense of the Gospel. Related to the theme of opposition is the theme of

defending the Gospel. From St. Peter’s defense of the Gospel before the

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 religious and governmental leaders in Jerusalem to St. Paul’s defense before

philosophers in Athens and governmental authorities throughout the Empire,

early Christians were willing and able to answer any objection to their faith.

4. WHY ST. LUKE SPEAKS MORE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

To understand this we need to go back to Paul. As Luke was the disciple of. Paul,

he travelled together with Paul we need to understand the Holy Spirit in Paul.

Without any fail once can accept that it was Paul who spoke more about the Holy

Spirit. Oral Tradition says that Paul’s epistles were the earliest documents of the

New Testament8. It is, however, Paul who gives us our earliest view of Christian

teaching on the Spirit. Practically-minded as he is, Paul views the Spirit primarily

through its effects. Firstly, the Spirit, dwelling in the Christian, enables the Christian

to call God intimately ‘Abba, Father’ and to pray in a spirit of confident sonship,

knowing that the Spirit is at prayer within, praying the prayer which cannot be put into

words: ‘You received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, “Abba, Father”.

The Spirit himself joins our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God’ (Rom.

8.15-16). Secondly, the Spirit empowers Christians to action9. From his accent in the

gospel on the Spirit it is clear that Luke is familiar with the Pauline communities

where the Spirit is so active. It is as though in Acts Luke works back from there,

seeing the story of the earliest Church in the light of the activity of the Spirit which he

knows from his own experience; and then in the gospel, further back still, the Spirit

was at work also in the history of Jesus. So from the Acts it will be clear that the

Spirit was active in the communities of believers from the very beginning; they were

8 http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sben0056/actsoftheapostles.htm

9 Ibid

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communities of the Spirit. In the gospel, similarly, Luke wishes to show that from the

very beginning of the Good News, the preparation for the birth of John the Baptist

and of Jesus in the Infancy Narratives, the Spirit has been at work.

Jesus’ last words before his parting from his disciples are the promise of the Spirit to

give them power for their apostolic work, and the instructions to return

to Jerusalem to wait for the advent of the Spirit. The action begins only when the

Spirit bursts upon them at Pentecost. Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit to begin his

speech to the Sanhedrin (4.8). The community is filled with the Holy Spirit – as sort

of mini-Pentecost as the house rocks – to continue their witness under persecution

(4.31). The summaries of life in this first, ideal community of Jerusalem do not

mention the Spirit (2.42-47; 4.32-35; 5.12-16), but they come immediately after the

Pentecost and the repetition of the phenomena, and so the prayer, the harmony, the

witness, the generosity and the awe in which they were held may be seen as the

working out of the effects of the Spirit. And so it continues, with Stephen (6.5; 7.55),

the Samaritans (8.17), Barnabas (11.24), Paul (11.29) all ‘filled with the Spirit’. The

Spirit directs the action: of Philip to and away from the Ethiopian (8.29, 39), to alert

Peter to Cornelius’ messengers (10.19), to forestall and direct Peter’s action in

baptising Cornelius (10.44), to confirm the crucial decision about fellowship with the

gentiles (15.28), to check Paul from preaching in Asia and Bithynia, and then leading

him into Europe (16.6-9), ‘binding’ Paul to lead him to Jerusalem and captivity

(20.22). Every significant move in the progress of the gospel is explicitly occasioned

by the guidance of the Spirit.

4. PERSONALITY TRAITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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Who is the Holy Spirit? The first answer that one can give for this question is he the

third Person of the Holy Trinity. But from the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles we

can say that he is a Promise of the Father. In Luke 24:49 Jesus says that he will

send what his Father promised; and in Acts of the Apostles 1:4 Jesus asks the

disciples not to leave the city but wait for the promise to be fulfilled. What is this

Promise of the Father? Quoting the Old Testament passage, St. Peter answers that

the Promise of the Father is the Holy Spirit and that promise is for all of them even

for their Children. But generally we say that the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the

Holy Trinity. When we say that he is a person, then he has the characteristics of a

Personality: The Holy Spirit has a Mind (Rom. 8:27), he has a Will (1 Cor. 12:11).

The Holy Spirit has Emotions: he grieves (Eph. 4:30, Isaiah 63:10), he gives joy

(Lk. 10: 21, 1 Thess. 1:6). The Holy Spirit Teaches (Jn. 14:26), Testifies of Christ

(Jn. 15:26), Convicts (Jn. 16:8), he Leads (Rom. 8:14), he Reveals Truth (Jn.

16:13), He Strengthens and Encourages (Acts 9:31), He Comforts (Jn. 14:16)

He Helps Us in our Weakness (Rom. 8:26), He Intercedes (Rom

8:26),He Searches the Deep Things of God (1 Cor. 2:11), He Sanctifies (Rom

15:16), He Bears Witness or Testifies (Rom. 8:16), He Forbids (Acts 16:6-7), He

Can be Lied to (Acts 5:3), He Can be Resisted (Acts 7:51), He Can

be Blasphemed (Mt. 12:31-32) and He Can be Quenched (1Thess. 5:19).10 Still we

can say many things about the personality of the Holy Spirit.

5. ACTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT in ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

5.1. Make Witnesses Of The Weaklings

10 http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/hs/hs_02.htm

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In the book of Acts of the Apostles, almost in every chapter, we see the account of

the Acts of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Apostles and of the Church. As we have

seen above we have the occurrence of the word Holy Spirit more than 40 times.

What does the Holy Spirit do in the life of the Apostles and in the life of the Early

Christian Community is awesome. We read as the first account of the Holy Spirit in

Acts that Jesus is commissioning his disciples in the Holy Spirit, “first he had

instructed through the Holy Spirit the apostles he had chosen.” (Acts 1:2) Then he

informs them that they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit and asks them to wait for

that day. The most important and the central theme of the Acts of the Apostles is

found in 1:8 Jesus telling them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes

upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and

Samaria, even to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) When the Holy Spirit comes the

first thing he does is making the Apostles as Witnesses, a bold and courageous

witnesses for Jesus. “With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus…”

Consider the initial weakness of the disciples

i. Fighting for position arguing who is the great among them.

ii. Peter lied and denied He knew Jesus.

iii. Thomas doubted Jesus' own words about His resurrection.

iv. The Disciples deserted Jesus in His hour of difficulty.

Yet, this tiny group turned the world upside down. This tiny group of cowards, liars,

and deserters turned the world upside down. Not because of their words, not

because of their wisdom, and not because of the might. It was because of the Holy

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Spirit who filled them and empowered them to speak the Word with boldness. This

is what the Holy Spirit brings to the glory of God.

5.2. Making Fellowship From Faction

The Spirit accompanies and encourages the Church to evangelize in unity and to

build unity. Pentecost occurred when the disciples "were all together in one place"

(Acts 2:1) and "all with one accord devoted themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:14). There

were only one Baptism of Fire but the Apostles were filled by the Holy Spirit often

whenever they prayed. We see two important events where the Apostles were filled

with the Holy Spirit; one account is on the day of Pentecost which we read in 2:1-6 of

the Acts of the Apostles and the second account we read in 4:23-31. If we closely

observe these two events we could see that there is account of the fellowship and

community living of the faithful is being narrated both in 2:42-46 and 4:32-36. After

receiving the Holy Spirit the Apostles together with the faithful were lived in

communion which we call as First Christian Community that which is an exemplary

community for all the religious even today. So the next important Act of the Holy

Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles is to gather the faithful into one flock. We read,

“Now all the believers lived together and shared all their belongings.” (Acts 2:44)

“The whole communities of believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed

private ownership of any possessions, but rather they shared all things in common.”

(Acts 4:32) The Holy Spirit united not only the Apostles or Jews alone but He united

all those who believed in Christ by filling them with His gifts even the Gentiles like the

Ethiopian and Cornelius. (Acts 8, 10) So, the Work of the Holy Spirit is to fulfill the

Divine Plan of God the Father which is manifested through Jesus Christ to be one

flock and one Shepherd. (Jn 10:16)

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5.3. Growth In The Church

Whenever there was infilling of the Holy Spirit we also see there was preaching of

the Word of God and whenever there was preaching of the Word of God we also see

that there was a conversion. There were conversions not one or two but in

thousands. When St. Peter the Apostle spoke for the first time with the people there

were 3000 conversions (Acts 2:41); in spite of the persecutions the number

increased about 5000 (Acts 4:4); there were increasing number of men and women

whomever saw the signs and wonders done by the Apostles (Acts 5:14); and

summarizing the growth of the faithful Luke says in 6:7 as, “The Word of God

continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly

and even many priests accepted the faith.” So, wherever there is Holy Spirit there

will be growth both individually and collectively, in both qualitatively and

quantitatively. We should not miss to observe one thing all through the Acts of the

Apostles, many a time Luke says two things repeatedly – the Word was spreading

and the Number of believers were on the increase.

5.4. Active Animator Of The Church

No one can deny that from the Beginning of the Church – the Birth of the Church is

the Pentecost – till today the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit in every event of the

Church. The initial work of the Holy Spirit was very much needed in everything. As

Jesus promised the Apostles that when the Holy Spirit comes He will teach them

about everything. Yes, about everything. First such guidance or animation of the

Holy Spirit is on the day of Pentecost itself, enabling the Apostles to speak in

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different tongues so that all the people present there could understand. When they

were on trial before the Jewish Authorities they were not afraid as Jesus said, “For

the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say” (Lk. 12:12) so it

happened. When Jewish Leaders questioned them, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy

Spirit, spoke up …” (Acts 4:8). When Stephen was brought before the Jewish

Authorities the same Holy Spirit inspires him to summarize the Bible to them and

gives him courage and gives him the heavenly vision. The Holy Spirit was with the

Apostles in teaching, preaching and performing the wonders. When they stretched

their hands even the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:17)

Not only had these, but even the Spirit directly spoken with the disciples what to do?

How to do? In the case of Philip we read that, “the Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go and

catch up that Chariot’”. The instruction is very clear and distinct and when the

mission was accomplished he was taken away by the Spirit himself and he finds

himself in another place preaching the good news. During the mission work the Holy

Spirit totally takes control of them and guides them. In the case of St. Peter going to

the house of Cornelius, “the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for

you.” (Acts 10:19) In the case of Saul and Barnabas’ mission “the Holy Spirit

said, “Now then set aside for me Barnabas and Saul”. (Acts 13:2) It is very distinct.

He sets them aside and sends them where to go. And in certain cases he prevents

them going to certain places. (Acts 16:7) In totality the Spirit was always with

them, “the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)

And when there was confusion and misunderstanding among the believers it is the

Holy Spirit inspired them to gather together to sort out the problem – the Jerusalem

Counsel – indeed the work of the Holy Spirit.

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6. CONCLUSION

The Acts of the Holy Spirit does not end up with the Acts of the Apostles even today

the Holy Spirit is guiding the Activities of the Church in various ways. Pope John

Paul II was right when he said, “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

time11,” which indicates that even today the Holy Spirit guides the Church to go

forward in her mission. Pope Leo XIII said, "If Christ is the Head of the Church, the

Holy Spirit is her soul12". And it is true. St. Paul says that Christ is the head of the

church and we are all parts of that mystical body, the Church. There cannot be life in

the body without soul – the Spirit, the Breath. It is the Holy Spirit who helps the

body, the church to live and move.

Before concluding just I would like to present some excerpts from the General

Audience of Pope John Paul II on July 8, 1998. He said, “The Holy Spirit dwells in

the Church not as a guest who still remains an outsider, but as the soul that

transforms the community into "God's holy temple" (1 Cor 3:17; cf. 6:19; Eph 2:21)

and makes it more and more like himself through his specific gift, which is love (cf.

Rom 5:5; Gal 5:22). Love--the Second Vatican Council teaches in the Dogmatic

Constitution on the Church--"governs, gives meaning to and perfects all the means

of sanctification" (Lumen gentium, n. 42). Love is the "heart" of Christ's Mystical

Body, as we read in a beautiful autobiographical passage of St. Therese of the Child

Jesus: "I understood that if the Church had a body composed of different members,

11 Pope John Paul II. The Spirit Is Source of Communion, General Audience, July 29, 1998

12 Pope John Paul II. The Holy Spirit Enlivens and Animates the Church, General Audience, July 8, 1998.

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the most necessary and noble of all could not be lacking to it, and so I understood

that the Church had a heart and that this heart was burning with Love. I understood

that it was Love alone that made the Church's members act, that if Love were ever

extinguished, apostles would not proclaim the Gospel and martyrs would refuse to

shed their blood.... I understood that Love was everything that it embraced all times

and places ... in a word that it was eternal!" (Autobiographical Manuscript B, 3vo)13.”

Yes the Acts of the Holy Spirit in the life of every faithful is filled with the Love of

God, for St. Paul says that it is through the Holy Spirit that the Love of God is poured

into our hearts, and this is eternal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://catholic-resources.org

http://saints.sqpn.com

http://www.americancatholic.org

http://www.ewtn.com

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.newadvent.org

http://users.ox.ac.uk

http://www.ccel.org

http://www.clergycongress2.org

http://www.vatican.va

13 Pope John Paul II. The Holy Spirit Enlivens and Animates the Church, General Audience, July 8, 1998.

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