Pontiff Uses Augustine to Explain Holy Spirit (Gives Theological Explanation of Trinity) [Ecu]

ZNA ^ | July 19, 2008

[NYer]

p>SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 19, 2008 (Zenit.org).- With the help of St. Augustine, Benedict XVI gave a brief theology lesson on the third person of the Trinity at the World Youth Day vigil Saturday night at the Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.

The Holy Spirit "has been in some ways the neglected person of the Blessed Trinity" the Pope told the youth. "A clear understanding of the Spirit almost seems beyond our reach."

The Pontiff recalled that as a young boy he learned of the Holy Spirit, but never quite understood the third person of the Trinity until he was a priest and began to study St. Augustine's writings.

He said Augustine’s understanding of the Holy Spirit also "evolved gradually," and that "it was a struggle."

The Holy Father said the theologian had "three particular insights about the Holy Spirit as the bond of unity within the blessed Trinity: unity as communion, unity as abiding love, and unity as giving and gift."

"These three insights," said the Pope, "are not just theoretical. They help explain how the Spirit works.

"In a world where both individuals and communities often suffer from an absence of unity or cohesion, these insights help us remain attuned to the Spirit and to extend and clarify the scope of our witness."

Unity

Benedict XVI said that Augustine's first insight came from reflecting on the words "Holy" and "Spirit," which "refer to what is divine about God."

"In other words," he added, "what is shared by the Father and the Son -- their communion."

"So, if the distinguishing characteristic of the Holy Spirit is to be what is shared by the Father and the Son, Augustine concluded that the Spirit’s particular quality is unity," the Pontiff explained. "It is a unity of lived communion: a unity of persons in a relationship of constant giving, the Father and the Son giving themselves to each other."

"We begin to glimpse," the Holy Father reflected, "how illuminating is this understanding of the Holy Spirit as unity, as communion. True unity could never be founded upon relationships which deny the equal dignity of other persons.

"Nor is unity simply the sum total of the groups through which we sometimes attempt to 'define' ourselves.

"In fact, only in the life of communion is unity sustained and human identity fulfilled: We recognize the common need for God, we respond to the unifying presence of the Holy Spirit, and we give ourselves to one another in service."

Love

Benedict XVI said Augustine’s second insight was "the Holy Spirit as abiding love."

In the 1 John 1:16 it says that "God is love," the Pope noted. "Augustine suggests that while these words refer to the Trinity as a whole, they express a particular characteristic of the Holy Spirit."

The Pontiff explained: "Reflecting on the lasting nature of love -- 'whoever abides in love remains in God and God in him' -- [Augustine] wondered: Is it love or the Holy Spirit which grants the abiding?"

Quoting Augustine's "De Trinitate," the Holy Father said the theologian concluded: "The Holy Spirit makes us remain in God and God in us; yet it is love that effects this. The Spirit therefore is God as love!"

"It is a beautiful explanation," said Benedict XVI. "God shares himself as love in the Holy Spirit.

The Pontiff reflected further: "Love is the sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit! Ideas or voices which lack love -- even if they seem sophisticated or knowledgeable -- cannot be 'of the Spirit.'

"Furthermore, love has a particular trait: Far from being indulgent or fickle, it has a task or purpose to fulfill: to abide. By its nature love is enduring."

"Again, dear friends," he said, "we catch a further glimpse of how much the Holy Spirit offers our world: love which dispels uncertainty; love which overcomes the fear of betrayal; love which carries eternity within; the true love which draws us into a unity that abides!"

Gift

Benedict XVI said Augustine's third insight -- the Holy Spirit as gift -- was derived from the Gospel account of Christ’s conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well.

"Here Jesus reveals himself as the giver of the living water, which later is explained as the Holy Spirit," he explained.

Quoting for the Gospel of John, the Pope said "the Spirit is 'God’s gift' -- the internal spring, who truly satisfies our deepest thirst and leads us to the Father."

Quoting "De Trinitate," the Holy Father said "Augustine concludes that God sharing himself with us as gift is the Holy Spirit."

The Pontiff continued, "Friends, again we catch a glimpse of the Trinity at work: the Holy Spirit is God eternally giving himself; like a never-ending spring he pours forth nothing less than himself.

"In view of this ceaseless gift, we come to see the limitations of all that perishes, the folly of the consumerist mindset. We begin to understand why the quest for novelty leaves us unsatisfied and wanting.

"Are we not looking for an eternal gift? The spring that will never run dry? With the Samaritan woman, let us exclaim: give me this water that I may thirst no more!"

"Dear young people," he said, "we have seen that it is the Holy Spirit who brings about the wonderful communion of believers in Jesus Christ. True to his nature as giver and gift alike, he is even now working through you. Inspired by the insights of St. Augustine: Let unifying love be your measure; abiding love your challenge; self-giving love your mission!"

Reality

Benedict XVI told the youth that "there are times [...] when we might be tempted to seek a certain fulfillment apart from God," and asked the question Christ himself asked of the Twelve Apostles: "Do you also wish to go away?"

"Such drifting away perhaps offers the illusion of freedom. But where does it lead? To whom would we go? For in our hearts we know that it is the Lord who has 'the words of eternal life.'"

Quoting St. Augustine, Benedict XVI said that to "turn away from him is only a futile attempt to escape from ourselves."

"God is with us in the reality of life, not the fantasy," he said. "It is embrace, not escape, that we seek! So the Holy Spirit gently but surely steers us back to what is real, what is lasting, what is true. It is the Spirit who leads us back into the communion of the Blessed Trinity!"

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Full text of the Pope's address: www.zenit.org/article-23277?l=english

[NYer]

Just “wow” ping!

[wagglebee]

Wonderful explanation of the Trinity!

[fso301]

bump

[DarthVader]

Awesome explanation and a truth I experience daily.

[SumProVita]

Benedict has always been an EXCELLENT teacher!

;-)

[Quix]

Have long been convinced of The Spirit

that any valid Biblical unity of Believers in our era

will come only as

unity in HIS BLOOD AND HIS SPIRIT

quite apart from, having little, if anything to do with organizational sensibilities, proprieties, perspectives, distinctives . . .

It will be grass roots based; God based; God engineered; God executed and God led.

It will be tailored to each situation, each context, each locale and each moment.

His WIND WILL BLOW WHERE HE WISHES AS HE WISHES TO HIS OWN ENDS

And any organization or organizationally addicted individual that dares to question or get in HIS way had better have their asbesto suit on—though I’m confident it will be insufficient.

Man will either go with God on it or be left in the dust with all man’s distincitve organizational pontifications, dusty halls and deadly committees.

[infool7]

Thanks Nyer

That makes this Prayer even better

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood,Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.

[Boagenes]

Benedict XVI is a brilliant theologian. He awes me. I am not a Catholic, but I am reading his fantastic book “Jesus of Nazareth” and each page requires time to digest. It’s the slowest, most amazing, most deeply insightful and spiritual description of the life and meaning of Jesus of Nazareth that I have ever come across.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so very much for sharing your insights, dear brother in Christ!

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. – Romans 8:1

To God be the glory!

[NYer]

I am reading his fantastic book “Jesus of Nazareth” and each page requires time to digest. It’s the slowest, most amazing, most deeply insightful and spiritual description of the life and meaning of Jesus of Nazareth that I have ever come across.

He is a tremendous gift to this world! Three times he planned to retire and return to Bavaria where he intended to write but each time, JPII asked him to continue his work at the Vatican. The rest is history.

If you are enjoying this book, you will want to add this one to your Christmas list.

Book Description
Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples -- his Apostles and their associates -- and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives.

You may also want to join ELS's ping list that covers the pope's weekly audiences.

[NYer]

Thank you for posting that beautiful prayer. And here is one the Angel of Fatima taught the 3 children.

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love Thee. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love Thee.

[Boagenes]

All I can say is that he better live long enough to finish his Jesus book. He said he avoided the infancy narratives to get to the meat of it, and it sounds like he will put that in the second book. But in his introduction he seems to imply he doesn’t know if he’ll live long enough to finish it. I pray he does, because “Jesus of Nazareth” is one of the most brilliant books I have ever read.

[Boagenes]

BTW, I did buy his “Introduction to Christianity”, which I am told is also excellent. I have had it recommended by many people, and it gets great reviews on Amazon. I can’t wait to read that next. Like I said, I’m not a Catholic, but I love Benedict XVI - he is a brilliant man, and I get the feeling I would enjoy his company tremendously if I could just sit and chat with him around a fire. His love for the Lord is deep and abiding, that comes through loud and clear in his book.

[ELS]

You can read the transcripts of his earlier weekly catecheses that I have been posting on FR. The results appear to start with the most recent and go backwards, but I haven't checked all of them to see if that is true. Also, in many of the threads I have posted links to earlier threads in the series. Benedict XVI began his weekly audience topics where John Paul II had left off - the Psalms. Once he finished his expositions on the Psalms, he began with the Apostles and now is focusing on the Early Church Fathers.

[Petronski]

Observing Benedict at the closing Mass at WYD Syd, I am encouraged that we will be blessed with his stewardship for many years to come.

I pray it be so.

[maryz]

and each page requires time to digest.

That's for sure! I've read it twice (and reread sections), and plan to read it again. I just wish I could memorize the whole thing!

[AnalogReigns]

So, dear brother Quix, can we now say that this Bishop of Rome—in reflecting on Augustine (a man from whom as many Protestent distinctives derive as Roman Catholic ones....) has given us some terrific insight in the the 3rd Person of the holy Trinity?

I for one—as a dyed in the wool Evangelical whom you know firmly rejects the errors of Rome—say yes, this Pope taught well on the Holy Spirit, very well indeed!

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...

[Quix]

No problem agreeing.

PRAISE THE LORD.

I realize, however, that some RC sensibilities will not be able to wrap their understanding around my agreeing. They might even do their routine thing of calling it a lie.

Thankfully, God knows the truth, as usual.

[Quix]

I think it’s very wise to pray for his protection and health.

I think dark forces are intent on doing him ill. And I’d hate to see them cut his reign short even by an hour.