2020/03/07 - Holy Spirit as common good retreat - CELAMI

 

14 h

Chapel : evocation to   the Holy Spirit

14h15

Ask yourself at first  how you understand that the Holy Spirit is a common good 

15h15 Pause

15h45 Teaching 20 minutes + discussion

16h15 discussion

16h30  second part

17h30 mass

 

 

14 h 15

 sharing 

15 h RK  after sharing

The Hoły Spirit: the gift given to someone's in order to be spread to all (1Co12,7).

Retreat as one part of quarantine.   

The period  necessary  to  permit  incubation of the real presence of the Holy Spirit into our lives.

the target of the whole christian live is to become spiritual beings as gift. (1Co15,44-46 read)

First part: common good is coming from God. 

1. Common good

Good is what God created for our life. 

God created the earth and humankind for the happiness of the man and woman.  

Happiness which is fulfilled by being in the presence of God and glorify Him. 

The arrival of sin  implies  the lost of such happiness and of the possibility to glorify God. 

But the man is still able to look for and desire it, even remaining able to do it  at least partially. 

Despite of it, or because of it God continues to follow man.

No to punish him, but  to guide him to be maker of good  and servant for his brothers. 

The common good is the royal way of salvation (Old and New Testament)

Going on the way of the common good suppose  creativity, innovation and initiative.  

It is an invitation to be active. 

As christians we have to do it for our salvation and  for the glorification of God.

Having it, we become more and  more perfect holders of the common good. 

And thus we can become landmarks to the common good for God and others. 

Our  whole lives have to be engaged, soul and body.  

We have to learn it from God himself. 

2. Holy Trinity

The Christian faith is  in One God into three persons, it is an unique faith among all religions.

The God of Jesus is the God of love, it was already acknowledged in the Old testament. 

But Jesus ‘baptism was the true and total revelation of this love (Mt 3,13-17; Mc 1,9-11; Lc 3,21-22)

the Holy spirit at first. He is like a dove, visible but apparently doing nothing. 

Why a dove?  Création Gn 1,2? ;  recreation Gn 8,8-12? ; Symbol of prophetic investiture?; voice of  dove in Ct 2;12, 5,2; 6,9?  Yonah, dove in hebrew, related to prophet Yonas, messenger of conversion of pagans.  God’s  power coming from heaven. 

what is the dove doing? : coming from the open heaven

He appears as being since eternity upon Jesus who is full of him.

In fact he is making  people able to hear the voice of God the father: Jesus himself, John the Baptist, others?. 

He is also the translator of the divine language in our human language. 

He is giving sense to the  baptism of Jesus.

This ordinary event of John for Jesus as it was for so many others. 

Jesus wanted to follow the common rule:

But Jesus knew that Holy Spirit will be there for the extraordinary revelation of his mission. 

Mission which was given by his own Father.

The first time when the three persons are revealed was when Jesus had been baptized. 

“Behold my beloved son in whom I put all my love”.

So the whole Trinity was there. Three persons distinguished  by three postures : body, voice and image. 

The Image of the Holy Spirit is   Love, divine Love and appears in a way and language that can be understood.

See and hear, two ways to be preserved for the future.

To see God into the Son through the  Holy Spirit. 

The Appearance of the dove  is one of the many related in the Bible.

But here it is like the bird of  Noah’s story bringing the olive leaves sign on God's peace.  

The Holy Spirit into the baptism of Jesus is a signature.

Signature of what the Father is doing and how the Son is responding. 

Second part : Holy Spirit and common good. 

1. The Holy Spirit given for the common good.

1Co 12;7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given  for the common good.

Each one has to live in the Spirit and in the Body for the common good.

The Holy spirit enables us to profess  our faith, Jesus as Lord 1Co 12; 3b no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit. He runs my life which is devoted to glorify God.

V11 : But one and the same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually as he wills. One Spirit behind a variety of gifts.

Each one has to show such manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

It is good for people to seek God as source of all good,  thus we have to do good  to others.

Good is what is shared, something of moving,  only being shared,  it is common good. 

Shared on which level? Just talk about it isn't enough, just wonder how others do it isn't, enough even praying for being fill by such spiritual power without targeting our engagement into  isn't enough.

The spirit is for the common good. His manifestation is for that purpose : the common good.

He gives gifts to

-manifeste himself and recognize him

-help us to do good to each other. 

Holy Spirit is a gift  himself.

He is the only one who can be given as gift without fearing to be selfish.

It is not possible for ourselves to receive it immediately,  because we are so  marked by selfishness present on  different manners.

If we want to be under the power of pure generosity, at first we have to ask the Holy Spirit to enables us to be opened to a generosity similar to his own. But we have a way to go in through mass. 

Holy Spirit makes us shared good.

I relate it to the celebration of the Eucharist. 

Gifts are for the glory of God and for salvation of the word. It is for our good and the good of the Church. I relate the Holy Spirit ;asking us shared good to the holy mass. 

When we bring the gifts for the eucharist, the priest presents it and then he says: 

Pray brethren that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God almighty Father, 

and the assembly answer: May the Lord accept the sacrifice  at yours hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church. 

It what happens in the Church as christian community,  in order to become someone good for every one other from outside of the Church

Then we can enter in the way  of the Holy Spirit to lead a good life and become  able to be, step by step, patiently but surely,  gifts for other the same way He is.

With the Holy Spirit we are not alone. Others are  under the power of the Holy Spirit as well. We are connected, we live it into the Church. To be under the power of Holy Spirit means to be in communion. 

So, we have to try to pursue what is good for us, knowing that is revealed by the Holy Spirit who does so in order to make us able to Glorify God. If we want to manifest God and make him known for who he really is, we make it our aim to do good to others.

2. Holy Spirit as common good

Can we go as far as saying that the Holy spirit is not only for the common good, but He is the common good? If so  in which sense can it be understood?

Who is the most relevant in the christian faith? Jesus Christ because he gave us  salvation revealing the love of God able to fight  the  devil and his fruits,  sin and death.  

Who Jesus sent after his departing into heaven ?

The Holy Spirit who will prolong  Jesus’ savior job of sanctification for the glory of God. 

Ending things:

Common goods are for our salvation from here.

They are imbued by the Holy Spirit. 

We have to become the spiritual gifts.

the Holy Spirit as gift cannot be nationalised like it is possible for the private goods and properties  by some of the political regimes.

Mass