Week 17: Passages 787-822

Enjoy this week's readings, I hope to be back to blogging soon :)

Week 16: Passages 748-786

Great readings this week! I can't wait to get back into the blogging swing again! Thanks for the prayers, hopefully soon I'll be back with updates of whats been going on around here.

Week 15: Passages 702-747

Due to some family circumstances blogging will be postponed for a few weeks. I'll just post the weekly readings, no notes. Feel free to comment as always. Talk amongst yourselves! I hope to be back soon.

Week 14: Passages 668-702

Article 7 “From Thence He Will Come Again To Judge The Living and the Dead”
I. He Will Come Again in Glory
Christ is the head of the Church, his body. At the Ascension God’s plan came to fulfillment, we are living in the “last hour”, Christ has brought us redemption by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Church. Christ’s kingdom is present in the Church. The Church on earth is endowed with a sanctity that is real but imperfect.
Christ’s reign is yet to be fulfilled by his return to earth. Thus the Church carries the mark of the world and we pray for Christ’s return. This is a time of the Spirit and of witness, of distress and of waiting and watching.
The Messiah could come again at any moment, he will come when “all Israel” recognizes him. Before this coming the church will pass through a great trial which will test the faith of many. This religious deception will take the form of an Antichrist. We can see this deception already in the world every time someone attempts to create here in history what can only happen at the last judgement.

“The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only though this final Passover,
when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom
will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a
progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of
evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph
over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final
cosmic upheaval of this passing world.” (CCC 677)

II. To Judge the Living and the Dead

“Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced
the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching. Then will the conduct of
each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. Then will the
culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as nothing will be
condemned. Our attitude about our neighbor will disclose acceptance or
refusal of grace and divine love. On the last day Jesus will say: ‘Truly I
say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it
to me.’
Christ is the Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass
definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of
the world. He ‘acquired’ this right by his cross. The Father has given
‘all judgment to the Son.’ Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save
and to give the life he has in himself. By rejecting grace in this life,
one already judges oneself, receives according to one’s works, and can even
condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.” (CCC
678-679)

Chapter Three: I Believe in the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the first to awaken faith within us, but the last of the persons of the Holy Trinity to be revealed. God revealed himself to us gradually so we wouldn’t get all overwhelmed and confused!
The Holy Spirit was at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning but it is only now in these “end times” that the Spirit is recognized and welcomed.

“Now can this divine plan, accomplished in Christ, the firstborn and head of the
new creation, be embodied in mankind by the outpouring of the Spirit: as the
Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the body, and the life everlasting.” (CCC 686)

Article 8: “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”
God’s Spirit reveals God and Christ, but we cannot hear his voice and he tells us nothing about himself. We can only see the movement through which he reveals the Word to us. When we believe in Christ he comes to dwell in us.
In the Church we can know the Holy Spirit:

• in the Scriptures he inspired;



• in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses;



• in the Church’s Magisterium, which he assists;



• in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ;



• in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us;



• in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up;



• in the signs of apostolic and missionary life;



• in the witness of saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation.
  

I. The Joint Mission of the Son and the Spirit
When the Father sends his word he always sends his Breath. The Holy Spirit is invisible but nonetheless shares in the divinity and mission of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us.
II. The Name, Titles, and Symbols of the Holy Spirit
“Holy Spirit” is the proper name of the third person of the Trinity. The Church has received this name from the Lord, it comes from the Hebrew word “ruah” which means breath, wind, or air.
Titles of the Holy Spirit

• Paraclete (advocate, consoler)



• Spirit of truth



• Spirit of the promise



• Spirit of adoption



• Spirit of Christ



• Spirit of the Lord



• Spirit of God



• Spirit of Glory
  

Symbols of the Holy Spirit

• Water



• Anointing



• Fire



• Cloud and Light



• The seal



• The hand



• The finger



• The dove

Questions for Reflection:

• CCC 678-679 really gave me a kick in the pants! It reminded me that so often we can reject or accept grace. I'm going to read those passages over a few times this week.
• I didn't realize there were so many symbols of the Holy Spirit! I think I knew about fire and the dove. Read CCC 694-701 to learn about the rest.