In celebrating the Eucharist, Catholics ask the Heavenly Father to send forth the Holy Spirit to sanctify the gifts of bread and wine that they may become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time they also implore the Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit on all participants in that by sharing the Body and Blood of Christ, they may become one body by the same Spirit. Turning the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, and the believers becoming one with each other, required a new spirituality, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has a rich meaning for Christians and represents ‘closeness to Christ’. In the Bible this is evident at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit motivates believers to proclaim the Gospel of Christ boldly and freely, showing that the risen Christ is with them and that they may proclaim Christ to others beyond their own boundaries.

The Holy Spirit is not a God other than the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is always with the Father and with the Risen Christ. Once knowing that the Holy Spirit is with Christ, then receiving Holy Communion is to receive Christ and the Holy Spirit at the same time. The power of the Spirit allows the recipient to become Christ’s mystical body. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and the power of the Father that raises Christ from the dead. The Holy Spirit enables all those who believe in the Risen Lord to know that Jesus of Nazareth is risen and He is not only a man who lived 2,000 years ago, but He lives with us today.

A perfect mirror reflects a perfect image. If it is broken, every single piece reflects part of that image. Jesus death on the cross is like that broken mirror. The Spirit of Jesus Christ radiates in every person. When we recognize Christ in others, the broken pieces of the mirror become a complete mirror that will reflect a perfect image of Christ. This is the power of the Holy Spirit, which puts the broken pieces together into a perfect mirror.

After Pilate had said to Jesus, “What is truth?” he went out to tell the Jews: “I find no guilt in him”. ( John 18:38） We often behave like Pilate, we drop the topic after asking the same question “what is truth”. Jesus said that He came into the world to testify to the truth. ( John 18:37）。 The truth that Jesus speaks makes people free and courageous. The Spirit of Jesus teaches us all truth and supports the whole community of the Church to spread the Truth to all people. Jesus is the Truth and the Church of Jesus must accept, guard and announce this Truth to all nations. Each epoch, each culture demands a new way to make people of that epoch and culture understand and accept Jesus’ Truth.

When believers, both shepherds and sheep, live in the Holy Spirit and are supported by the same Spirit, they will remain faithful to the Truth. In other words, when the Spirit is with us, we will not turn away from the source of strength and truth. We are the Church. We are all sinners. The Church has faults; however, this does not mean that the Church is not with the Holy Spirit. The Church cannot be without the Holy Spirit. The Church is infallible because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who always gives her freedom and courage.

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Christians believe in the Holy Spirit, who motivates believers to be faithful to Christ. Jesus never told his disciples to write down what He had taught them. The teachings of Jesus Christ were transmitted orally and were announced orally to all nations. After many years of Evangelization to all nations, it was felt the need of writing down what was transmitted. The Church believes that the writers who put in writing the oral tradition, were assisted and inspired by the Holy Spirit in this important work. The writers had to remain faithful to Jesus’ teachings, but each writer used his own style, his own way of writing, his metaphors, his personal general education, his spirituality etc. You will find out that the words of Jesus are reported differently in different Gospels. The “Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to recite is reported in a different form in different Gospels. The same can be said for the Beatitudes. We can say that one thing is the truth that the Bible wants to transmit and one thing is the manner in which it is transmitted. Christians are asked to believe in the Truth transmitted, not in the manner it is transmitted. The writers of the books of Holy Scriptures were mainly concerned about practical or doctrinal matters encountered in their Evangelization work. Christian faith is based on Jesus Christ, who is the complete Revelation to mankind. The written books help us to understand Jesus Christ and His teachings. After Jesus’ Ascension to heaven, the Apostles taught the faithful the words and deeds of the Lord Jesus with a fuller understanding. The apostles enjoyed this deep understanding because they were taught and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. (cfr. John 14:26; John 16:13）。

The Holy Spirit is not a god conceived by a human mind. The name ‘Spirit’ manifests the profound relationships of Father-Son-Spirit, the Triune God which is the basis and meaning of our faith. The Holy Spirit gives the faithful a renewing, adaptive strength to meet life’s challenges, so that we can restore our identity as God’s free children and regain the spirit of God’s children. This transformed life is what we often call “the life in the Spirit”. However, in the reality of our lives, we are often bound by certain ideas or circumstances. Christians need the courage of the Holy Spirit to break through these boundaries and barriers. When Christ was on earth, he was with the sinners and the downtrodden, giving people a sense of equality and unity. Jesus’ Truth goes always with mercy and love. This truth in love enables people to face reality and to break free from boundaries. This freedom can be expressed in different forms of life. Some are teachers, some are missionaries, some are prophets, some have the task of communication and counselling, some choose a married life, some choose a life of celibacy, some are willing to live in poverty, and some are willing to live in a monastic community. All these different forms are motivated by the same Holy Spirit to build up the same Church community. In order to build the Church as a sign of unity, some are called to the priesthood, to administer the sacraments and to proclaim the Gospel.

All Christians are called to be creative in the Holy Spirit, to draw near to Christ, to face all things boldly, to break the bonds of sin, to be free children of the Father and to bring freshness to an old world.