DeoQuest and TweetignwithGOD

 

1.32 Was tut der Heilige Geist? Brauche ich ihn?

Was tut der Heilige Geist?

Der Heilige Geist hilft uns, ein gutes christliches Leben zu führen. Diese Hilfe erhalten wir auf besondere Weise in der Taufe und in der Firmung, wenn wir auch die Gaben des Heiligen Geistes empfangen. Dank des Heiligen Geistes können wir an Gott glauben und von ganzem Herzen zu ihm beten (1 Kor 12,31 Kor 12,3: Darum erkläre ich euch: Keiner, der aus dem Geist Gottes redet, sagt: Jesus sei verflucht! Und keiner kann sagen: Jesus ist der Herr!, wenn er nicht aus dem Heiligen Geist redet.; Gal 4,6Gal 4,6: Weil ihr aber Söhne seid, sandte Gott den Geist seines Sohnes in unsere Herzen, den Geist, der ruft: Abba, Vater.).

An Pfingsten steht der Heilige Geist im Mittelpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit: Wir feiern das Kommen des Helfers, den Jesus seinen Jüngern versprochen hat (Joh 14,16f)Joh 14,16f: Und ich werde den Vater bitten und er wird euch einen anderen Beistand geben, der für immer bei euch bleiben soll,den Geist der Wahrheit, den die Welt nicht empfangen kann, weil sie ihn nicht sieht und nicht kennt. Ihr aber kennt ihn, weil er bei euch bleibt und in euch sein wird.. Der Heilige Geist kann uns mit seinen Gaben wie Weisheit und Einsicht helfen. Die Wahl liegt jedoch bei uns: Wir können mit diesen Geschenken zusammenarbeiten. Der Heilige Geist kann uns daher nur helfen, wenn wir diese Hilfe annehmen und versuchen zu glauben.

Jede richtige Wahl, die wir treffen, wird durch den Heiligen Geist inspiriert. Du brauchst seine Hilfe, um ein wirklich christliches Leben zu führen. Bitte ihn darum!
The Wisdom of the Church

What is the meaning of the expression “conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit...”?

This expression means that the Virgin Mary conceived the eternal Son in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit without the cooperation of a man. The angel told her at the Annunciation that “the Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Luke 1:35). [CCCC 94]

Why is Mary a Virgin?

God willed that Jesus Christ should have a truenhuman mother but only God himself as his Father, because he wanted to make a new beginning that could  be credited to him alone and not to earthly forces.

Mary’s virginity is not some outdated mythological notion but rather fundamental to the life of Jesus. He was born of a woman but had no human father. Jesus Christ is a new beginning in the world that has been instituted from on high. In the Gospel of Luke, Mary asks the angel, “How can this be, since I have no  husband?” (= do not sleep with a man, Lk 1:34); the angel answered, “The holy spirit will come upon you” (Lk 1:35). Although the Church from the earliest days was mocked on account of her belief in Mary’s virginity, she has always believed that her virginity is real and not merely symbolic. [Youcat 80]

What are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit?

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. With these the Holy Spirit “endows” Christians, in other words, he grants them particular powers that go beyond their natural aptitudes and gives them the opportunity to become God’s special instruments in this world.  

We read in one of Paul’s letters: “To one is given through the spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another faith by the same spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor 12:8–10). [Youcat 310]

What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?

The fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (cf. Gal 5:22–23).

In the “fruits of the Holy Spirit” the world can see what becomes of people who let themselves be adopted, led, and completely formed by God. The fruits of the Holy Spirit show that God really plays a role in the life of Christians. [Youcat 311]

What is the effect of Confirmation?

The effect of Confirmation is a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit like that of Pentecost. This outpouring impresses on the soul an indelible character and produces a growth in the grace of Baptism. It roots the recipient more deeply in divine sonship, binds him more firmly to Christ and to the Church and reinvigorates the gifts of the Holy Spirit in his soul. It gives a special strength to witness to the Christian faith. [CCCC 268]

Who can receive this sacrament?

Only those already baptized can and should receive this sacrament which can be received only once. To receive Confirmation efficaciously the candidate must be in the state of grace. [CCCC 269]

What happens in Confirmation?

In confirmation the soul of a baptized Christian is imprinted with a permanent seal that can be received only once and marks this individual forever as a Christian. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the strength from above in which this individual puts the grace of his Baptism into practice through his life and acts as a “witness” for Christ.  

To be confirmed means to make a “covenant” with God. The confirmand says, “Yes, I believe in you, my God; give me your Holy Spirit, so that I might belong entirely to you and never be separated from you and may witness to you throughout my whole life, body and soul, in my words and deeds, on good days and bad.” And God says,“Yes, I believe in you, too, my child—and I will  give you my spirit, my very self. I will belong entirely to you. I will never separate myself from you, in this life or eternally in the next. I will be in your body and your soul, in your words and deeds. Even if you forget me, I  will still be there—on good days and bad”. [Youcat 205]

This is what the Church Fathers say

Think first... of the original cause of all things that are made, the Father; of the creative cause, the Son; of the perfecting cause, the Spirit; so that [Creation] subsist by the Will of the Father, is brought into being by the operation of the Son, and perfected by the presence of the Spirit.  [St. Basil, On the Holy Spirit, Chap. 16: 38 (MG 32, 136)]