We believe in the Holy Spirit
Every Sunday, we confess to one another, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Think about what we’re
saying.
We’re saying that the living Spirit of God breathed upon the stardust that makes up our
bodies and gave us breath and life. We’re also saying that when the water of Baptism was
poured over us, the Spirit began the lifelong work of shaping each of us who are destined to be
formed in the pattern of His Son.
We live Christ’s life, a mystery permeating our daily busyness. For with our baptism, the
Spirit breathed into our lives a purpose and a mission. Each of us is to go into the sinful,
desolate world we were born into, and bring with us this Holy Spirit of God. We won’t make a big
noise. We are what Jesus said: the leaven that is the Kingdom right at hand. To our distraught
world, we bring the Spirit’s gifts of peace and kindness and humility. We are the big tree—now
one third of all the people on earth! —that began as one little seed: Jesus of Nazareth, who is
the Christ. We live in Him, and the tree is still growing because we are living true to who we are.
The almighty Spirit does the rest.
All of this is some of what it means to “believe in the Holy Spirit.” We need to keep praying
so we’ll really mean it next Sunday.
Fr. Joe Tetlow, S.J.