The Holy Spirit Acts in All Creation and History

by Pope John Paul II

 

1. In view of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, ever since the Encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem I have invited you to see "with the eyes of faith the 2,000 years of the action of the Spirit of truth, who down the centuries has drawn from the treasures of the Redemption achieved by Christ and given new life to human beings, bringing about in them adoption in the Only-begotten Son, sanctifying them, so that they can repeat with St Paul: 'We have received ... the Spirit which is from God' (cf. I Cor 2:12)" (Dominum et Vivificantem, n. 53a).

In our previous catecheses, we have described the manifestation of God's Spirit in the life of Christ, at Pentecost, from which the Church came into being, and in the personal and community life of believers. Our gaze now extends to the horizons of the world and the whole of human history. Thus we are moving within the plan outlined by this same Encyclical on the Holy Spirit, in which it is stressed that it is impossible for us to limit ourselves to the 2,000 years which have passed since the birth of Jesus Christ. Indeed, we need "to go further back, to embrace the whole of the action of the Holy Spirit even before Christ — from the beginning, throughout the world, and especially in the economy of the Old Covenant" (ibid., n. 53b). At the same time "we need to look further and go further afield, knowing that 'the wind blows where it wills' according to the image used by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus (cf. Jn 3:8)" (ibid., 53c).

 

The Spirit acts in every corner of creation

2. Moreover, the Second Vatican Council, focusing on the Church's mystery and mission in the world, offered this breadth of vision. The Council holds that the Holy Spirit's action cannot be limited to the institutional dimension of the Church, where the Spirit also works in a unique and full manner, but should be recognized outside the visible frontiers of Christ's Body as well (cf. Gaudium et spes, n. 22; Lumen gentium, n. 16). For its part, the Catechism of the Catholic Church recalls with the whole of Tradition: "The Word of God and his Breath are at the origin of the being and life of every creature" (n. 703). And a meaningful text of the Byzantine liturgy says: "It belongs to the Holy Spirit to rule, sanctify and animate creation, for he is God consubstantial with the Father and the Son.... Power over life pertains to the Spirit, for being God, he preserves creation in the Father through the Son" (ibid.). Thus there is no corner of creation and no moment of history in which the Spirit is not at work.

It is true that all things were created by God the Father through Christ and in Christ (cf. Col 1:16), so that the meaning and the ultimate purpose of creation is to "unite all things in him" (Eph 1:10). However, it is just as true that all this happens through the power of the Holy Spirit. Illustrating this Trinitarian "rhythm" of salvation history, St Irenaeus says that "the Spirit prepares man beforehand for the Son of God, the Son leads him to the Father and the Father gives him incorruptibility and eternal life" (Adv. Haer., IV, 20, 5).

3. The Spirit of God, present in creation and active in all the phases of salvation history, directs all things towards the definitive event of the Incarnation of the Word. Obviously, this Spirit is no different from the one who was given "not by measure" (cf. Jn 3:34) by the crucified and risen Christ. The same identical Holy Spirit prepares the advent of the Messiah in the world and, through Jesus Christ, is communicated by God the Father to the Church and to all humanity. The Christological and pneumatological dimensions are inseparable and not only run through the history of salvation, but the entire history of the world.

Therefore we can legitimately think that the way to salvation is open wherever there are elements of truth, goodness, genuine beauty and true wisdom, wherever generous efforts are made to build a more human society in conformity with God's plan. Even more so, wherever there is a sincere expectation of God's revelation and a hope open to the saving mystery, we can recognize the hidden and effective work of the Spirit of God who spurs man to the encounter with Christ "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn 14:6). When we turn over certain wonderful pages of literature and philosophy, justly admire some masterpiece of art or listen to passages of sublime music, we spontaneously recognize in these expressions of human genius a radiant reflection of God's Spirit. Of course, these reflections are on a different plane from those interventions which make the human being, raised to the supernatural order, a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells together with the other Persons of the Blessed Trinity (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theol., 1-11, q. 109, a. I, ad 1). Thus the Holy Spirit, directly or indirectly, orients man to his integral salvation.

 

We are sent to transmit fullness of the Spirit to all humanity

4. For this reason we would like to pause in the next catecheses to contemplate the Spirit's action in the vast arena of humanity's history. This vision will also help us grasp the deep relationship that unites the Church and the world, the overall history of man and the particular history of salvation. The latter is not actually a "separate" history, but rather plays a role with regard to the former that we could describe as "sacramental", that is, as a sign and instrument of the one great offer of salvation which reached humanity through the Incarnation of the Word and the outpouring of the Spirit.

With this as the key, it is easy to understand several marvelous pages of the Second Vatican Council on the solidarity that exists between the Church and humanity. In this pneumatological perspective I am pleased to reread the preface of Gaudium et spes: "The joy and the hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of men, of men who, united in Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, press onwards towards the kingdom of the Father and are bearers of a message of salvation intended for all men. That is why Christians cherish a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history" (n. 1).

It can be clearly seen here how the Church's solidarity with the world and her mission to it must be understood as starting from Christ, in the light and power of the Holy Spirit. The Church thus experiences herself at the service of the Spirit who works mysteriously in hearts and in history. And we feel we are sent to transmit to all humanity the fullness of the Spirit received on the day of Pentecost.

--Holy Father's General Audience Address of August 12, 1998

© L'Osservatore Romano, Editorial and Management Offices, Via del Pellegrino, 00120, Vatican City, Europe, Telephone 39/6/698.99.390.

 

Creation Must Be Dwelling Place of Peace

by Pope John Paul II

 

1. In the eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans, as he explains the action of the Holy Spirit who makes us sons of the Father in Christ Jesus (cf. Rom 8:14-16), the Apostle Paul introduces the theme of the world's path towards its fulfillment according to the divine plan. Indeed the Holy Spirit, as we have already explained in previous catecheses, is present and active in creation and in the history of salvation. We could say that he enfolds the cosmos in God's love and mercy, and thus directs humanity's history towards its definitive goal.

The cosmos is created by God as the dwelling place of man and the theatre of his adventure of freedom. In the dialogue with grace, every human being is called to accept responsibly the gift of divine sonship in Jesus Christ. For this reason, the created world acquires its true significance in man and for man. He cannot, of course, dispose as he pleases of the cosmos in which he lives, but must, through his intelligence, consciously bring the Creator's work to completion.

"Man", teaches Gaudium et spes, "was created in God's image and was commanded to conquer the earth with all it contains and to rule the world in justice and holiness: he was to acknowledge God as maker of all things and relate himself and the totality of creation to him, so that through the dominion of all things by man the name of God would be majestic in all the earth" (n. 34).

Man must use his freedom in harmony with God's will

2. For the divine plan to be fulfilled, man must use his freedom in harmony with God's will and overcome the disorder introduced into human life and into the world by sin. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, this twofold achievement cannot occur. The prophets of the Old Testament put great stress on this. Thus the prophet Ezekiel says: "A new heart I will give you. and a new spirit I will put within you: and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances ... you shall be my people, and I will be your God" (Ez 36:26-28).

This profound personal and community renewal, awaited in the "fullness of time" and brought about by the Holy Spirit, will to some extent involve the whole cosmos. Isaiah writes: "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, / and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field... / Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, / and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. / And the effect of righteousness will be peace, / and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever. / My people will abide in a peaceful habitation" (Is 32:15-18).

3. For the Apostle Peter, this promise is fulfilled in Christ Jesus, crucified and risen. In fact, through the Spirit Christ redeems and sanctifies whoever accepts his Word of salvation in faith, transforming his heart and consequently social relations.

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the world of men becomes a "spatium verae fraternitatis", a place of true brotherhood (cf. Gaudium et spes, n. 37). This transformation of man's behavior and of social relations is expressed in ecclesial life, in the commitment to temporal realities and in dialogue with all people of goodwill. This witness becomes a prophetic sign and leaven in history towards the advent of the kingdom, overcoming everything that prevents communion among men.

 

God has appointed man as guardian of creation

4. The cosmos is also called, in a mysterious but real way, to participate in this newness of life in the building up of universal peace through justice and love. As the Apostle Paul teaches, "the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Rom 8:19-23).

Creation, given life by the presence of the Creator Spirit, is called to become "a dwelling place of peace" for the entire human family. Creation achieves this goal by means of the freedom of man whom God has appointed as its guardian. If man selfishly withdraws into himself, through a false conception of freedom, he fatally involves creation itself in this perversion.

On the contrary, through the gift of the Holy Spirit which Jesus Christ pours out upon us from his side pierced on the Cross, man acquires the true freedom of a son in the Son. He can thus understand the true meaning of creation and work to make it a "dwelling place of peace".

In this sense, Paul can say that creation is groaning and awaiting the revelation of the sons of God. Only if man, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, recognizes himself as a son of God in Christ and looks at creation with fraternal sentiment, can the whole cosmos be set free and redeemed in accordance with the divine plan.

5. The consequence of these reflections is truly comforting: the Holy Spirit is the true hope of the world. Not only does he work in the hearts of men into which he introduces that wonderful participation in the filial relationship which Jesus Christ lives with the Father, but he exalts and perfects human activities in the world.

As the Second Vatican Council teaches, they "must be purified and perfected by the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. Redeemed by Christ and made a new creature by the Holy Spirit, man can, indeed he must, love the things of God's creation: it is from God that he has received them, and it is as flowing from God's hand that he looks upon them and reveres them. Man thanks his divine benefactor for all these things, he uses them and enjoys them in a spirit of poverty and freedom: thus he is brought to a true possession of the world, as having nothing yet possessing everything: 'All [things] are yours; and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's' (I Cor 3:22-23)" (Gaudium et spes, n. 37).

© L'Osservatore Romano, Editorial and Management Offices, Via del Pellegrino, 00120, Vatican City, Europe, Telephone 39/6/698.99.390.

--Holy Father's General Audience of August 19, 1998

 

Trinity Is Mysteriously Present in Creation

by Pope John Paul II

1. "How greatly to be desired are all his works, and how sparkling they are to see!... He has made nothing incomplete.... Who can have enough of beholding his glory? Though we speak much we cannot reach the end, and the sum of our words is: "He is the all'. Where shall we find strength to praise him? He is greater than all his works..." (Sir 42:22, 24-25; 43:27-28). With these words full of wonder, Sirach, a biblical sage, contemplated the splendor of creation and sang God's praises. It is a tiny piece of the thread of contemplation and meditation which runs throughout Sacred Scripture, from the first lines of Genesis when creatures, summoned by the powerful Word of the Creator, spring from the silence of nothingness.

God's majesty is exalted above the heavens

"God said, "Let there be light'; and there was light" (Gn 1:3). In this part of the first account of creation the Word of God is already seen in action; John will say of him: "In the beginning was the Word ... the Word was God ... all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made" (Jn 1:1-3). Paul will emphasize in the hymn in the Letter to the Colossians that "in him [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col 1:16-17). But at the very first moment of creation the Spirit also seems to be foreshadowed: "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters" (Gn 1:2). The glory of the Trinity — we can say with Christian tradition — is resplendent in creation.

2. We can see in the light of Revelation how the creative act is appropriated in the first place to the "Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (Jas 1:17). He shines resplendently over the whole horizon, as the Psalmist sings: "O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth! You have exalted your majesty above the heavens" (Ps 8:2). God "has made the world firm, not to be moved" (Ps 96:10), and as he faces nothingness, symbolized by the chaotic waters which lift up their voice, the Creator arises, giving firmness and safety: "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty" (Ps 93:3-4).

3. In Sacred Scripture creation is also often linked to the divine Word which breaks in and acts: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.... He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth.... He sends forth his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly" (Ps 33:6, 9; 147:15). In the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament it is divine Wisdom personified that brings forth the universe, carrying out the plan God has in mind (cf. Prv 8:22-31). It has been said that in God's Word and Wisdom John and Paul saw the foretelling of the action of Christ "from whom are all things and for whom we exist" (1 Cor 8:6), because it is "through [Christ] also [that God] created the world" (Heb 1:2).

4. At other times Scripture stresses the role of God's Spirit in the act of creation: "When you send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). The same Spirit is symbolically described as the breath of God's mouth. He gives life and consciousness to man (cf. Gn 2:7), and brings him back to life in the resurrection, as the prophet Ezekiel announces in an evocative passage where the Spirit is at work breathing life into dry bones (cf. 37:1-14). This same breath subdues the waters of the sea at Israel's exodus from Egypt (cf. Ex 15:8, 10). Again the Spirit regenerates the human creature, as Jesus will say in his night-time conversation with Nicodemus: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Jn 3:5-6).

God's invisible reality can be perceived in creation

5. So, in beholding the glory of the Trinity in creation, man must contemplate, sing and rediscover wonder. In contemporary society people become indifferent "not for lack of wonders, but for lack of wonder" (G. K. Chesterton). For the believer, to contemplate creation is also to hear a message, to listen to a paradoxical and silent voice, as the "Psalm of the sun" suggests: "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Ps 19:1-5).

Nature thus becomes a gospel which speaks to us of God: "from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator" (Wis 13:5). Paul teaches us that "ever since the creation of the world his [God's] invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made" (Rom 1:20). But this capacity for contemplation and knowledge, this discovery of a transcendent presence in created things must lead us also to rediscover our kinship with the earth, to which we have been linked since our own creation (cf. Gn 2:7). This is precisely the goal which the Old Testament wished for the Hebrew Jubilee, when the land was at rest and man ate what the fields spontaneously gave him (cf. Lv 25:11-12). If nature is not violated and degraded, it once again becomes man's sister.

--General Audience of January 26, 2000

 

© L'Osservatore Romano, Editorial and Management Offices, Via del Pellegrino, 00120, Vatican City, Europe, Telephone 39/6/698.99.390

 

God Is The Lord Of Creation And History

by Pope John Paul II

1. The Year 2000 is now close at hand. I therefore consider it opportune to focus the Wednesday catecheses on themes which will more directly help us understand the meaning of the Jubilee, in order to live it in depth.

In the Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente, I asked all the Church's members "to open their hearts to the promptings of the Spirit", to prepare to "celebrate the Jubilee with renewed faith and generous participation" (n. 59). This exhortation becomes more and more urgent with the approach of that historic date. In fact the event acts as a watershed between the past two millenniums and the new phase dawning for the future of the Church and of humanity.

We must prepare for it in the light of faith. Indeed, for believers the passage from the second to the third millennium is not merely a stage in the relentless march of time, but a significant occasion to become more aware of God's plan unfolding in the history of humanity.

Trinitarian key to preparing for the Jubilee

2. This new cycle of catecheses aims to do precisely this. For a long time we have been conducting a systematic program of reflections on the Creed. Our last theme was Mary in the mystery of Christ and the Church. We had previously reflected on Revelation, the Trinity, Christ and his saving work, the Holy Spirit and the Church.

At this point, the profession of faith would invite us to consider the resurrection of the body and life everlasting, which concern the future of man and of history. But precisely this eschatological theme coincides naturally with what has been proposed by Tertio millennio adveniente, which described a path of preparation for the Jubilee in a Trinitarian key, planning this year to focus especially on Jesus Christ and then to move on to the year of the Holy Spirit and later to that of the Father.

In the light of the Trinity the "last things" also acquire meaning, and it is possible to understand more deeply the journey of man and history towards their ultimate goal: the world's return to God the Father, to whom Christ, the Son of God and Lord of history, leads us through the life-giving gift of the Holy Spirit.

3. This broad horizon of history in motion suggests several basic questions: What is time? What is its origin?? What is its goal?

Indeed, as we look at Christ's birth, our attention focuses on the 2,000 years of history which separate us from that event. But our gaze also turns to the millenniums that preceded it and spontaneously we look back to the origins of man and the world. Contemporary science is involved in formulating hypotheses about the beginning and development of the universe. Nevertheless, what can be grasped by scientific instruments and criteria is not everything, and both faith and reason refer, beyond verifiable and measurable data, to the perspective of mystery. This perspective is indicated in the first sentence of the Bible: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gn 1:1).

Everything was created by God. Therefore nothing existed before creation except God. He is a transcendent God, who created everything by his own omnipotence, without being constrained by any necessity, by an absolutely free and gratuitous act, dictated only by love. He is God the Trinity, who reveals himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

4. In creating the universe God created time. From him comes the beginning of time, as well as all its later unfolding. The Bible stresses that living beings depend at every moment on divine action: "When you hide your face they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104 [103] :29-30).

Time therefore is God's gift. Continuously created by God, it is in his hands. He guides its unfolding according to his plan. Every day is a gift of divine love for us. From this standpoint, we also welcome the date of the Great Jubilee as a gift of love.

5. God is Lord of time not only as creator of the world, but also as author of the new creation in Christ. He intervened to heal and renew the human condition, deeply wounded by sin. He spent much time preparing his people for the splendor of the new creation, especially through the words of the prophets: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy" (Is 65:17-18).

We look to the future filled with hope

His promise was fulfilled 2,000 years ago with the birth of Christ. In this light, the jubilee event is an invitation to celebrate the Christian era as a period of renewal for humanity and the universe. Despite the difficulties and sufferings, the past years have been 2,000 years of grace.

The years to come, too, are in God's hands. The future of man is first of all God's future, in the sense that he alone knows it, prepares it and brings it about. Of course, he calls for and invites human co-operation, but he never ceases to be the transcendent "director" of history.

With this certainty we prepare for the Jubilee. Only God knows how the future will be. We know, however, that in any event it will be a future of grace; it will be the fulfillment of a divine plan of love for all humanity and for each one of us. That is why, as we look to the future, we are full of hope and are not overcome with fear. The journey to the Jubilee is a great journey of hope.

--Holy Father's General Audience Address of November 19, 1997

© L'Osservatore Romano, Editorial and Management Offices, Via del Pellegrino, 00120, Vatican City, Europe, Telephone 39/6/698.99.390

 

  

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