October 22, 2025 • 22 mins
In the writings of St. Paul, the Holy Spirit is the “guarantee” and “first fruits” of the life of heaven for those “sealed” with the Holy Spirit in Baptism.
Based on this, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, who served as the Preacher to the Papal Household, and Pope St. John Paul II explain how the Holy Spirit is the source of Christian hope, which we are called to share with others.
Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at Faith and Reason.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Hello, this is Doctor Alan Schreck.
We're continuing our serieson the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
And our last podcast, we introduced theHoly Spirit in the writings of Saint Paul.
And in that last podcast, we talked about
how the Holy Spirit is not somethingthat is just a doctrine,
but that Christians can experiencein their own lives.
(00:34):
I referred to Saint Paul's second
letter to the Corinthians, chapterfive, verse 17.
If anyone is in Christ,he is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold, the new has come. Now,
I'd like to stress today
a few things that Saint Paul saysabout the Holy Spirit.
(00:55):
As experienced as a guarantee
of our inheritance of eternal life
and as the first fruits of that life.
Let's look at some of Saint Paul'swritings.
First, this concept of the Holy Spirit,as has someone who
we can know as Christians as a guaranteeof our inheritance of the life to come.
(01:17):
That is seen in his second letterto the Corinthians,
chapter one, verse 20 through 22,
where Paul
writes, for all the promises of Godfind their yes in him.
That is why we order the Amento through him to the glory of God.
But it is God who establishes us with youin Christ and has commissioned us.
(01:39):
He has put a seal upon us
and given us His Spirit in our heartsas a guarantee
or could be translated, a first payment,
another passagewhere Paul talks about the spirit
as a guarantee, and we'll talk about whatthat means in a minute.
And also in a second letterto the Corinthians,
(01:59):
a few chapters later, chapter five, verseone through five,
Paul says, for we know thatif the earthly tent we live in
is destroyed, we have a building from God,a house not made with hands eternal
in the heavens, here indeed we groanand long to put on our heavenly dwelling,
so that by putting it onwe may not be found naked.
(02:19):
For while we are still in this tent,we sigh with anxiety,
not that we would be unclothed,but that we would be further clothes
so that what is mortalmay be swallowed up by life.
He who has prepared us for thisvery thing is God,
who has given us the spiritas a guarantee.
(02:41):
So, twice in this second letterto the Corinthians, he uses this word.
It's a Greek word, era bond.
And before the use of money was commonin transactions, airborne
referred to like a sample or a foretasteof a product being purchased.
And this was given as a guaranteethat the full amount of the purchase
(03:03):
would be delivered on timeand be of the same quality of the sample.
So in a sense,this idea of the spirit is a guarantee
that we don't havethe fullness of what God is promising.
This dwelling in the heavensand the life of glory.
But the spirit we know that we're, we'rewe're on the right track.
(03:25):
We already have the spirit.
It's like a first paymentor a, a foretaste or a guarantee
of the fullnessthat God is promising another, and,
and this actually is a foretasteof, of glory.
It's Paul says in his fruit,one of his earliest letters, two
Thessalonians 213 and 14.
(03:46):
God shows you from the beginningto be saved through sanctification
by the spirit and belief and the truth.
To this he called you through our gospel,
so that you may obtainthe glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory is one of Saint Paul's many ways
of describing our entryinto this new mode of existence.
(04:09):
I elsewhere,
and it's connectedwith the virtue of hope.
We don't have the fullnessof the glory of God now,
but we're already having this guaranteeor down payment of the glory
we will receive.
Elsewhere, Saint Paul refers to this hopeas, quote,
an eternal weight of glorybeyond all comparison.
(04:31):
It's also in two Corinthians chapter four,and he promises,
Saint Paulsays that we shall be raised in glory.
And one Corinthians 1543 and he insiststhat the sufferings of the present time
are not worth comparing with the glorythat is to be revealed.
So in a sense,the Holy Spirit is it's been given to us
(04:54):
to give us, in a sense of a guaranteethat even though we are not yet
there in the fullness of glory,that this is where we're headed,
that, it'ssomething that we look forward to another,
way that
Saint Paul speaksabout, the presence of the spirit as as,
indicating that we're headed towardeternal life
(05:15):
is, Well, I'll read a couple passages.
Galatians fivefive for through the spirit, by faith,
we wait for the hope of righteousness.
So this is not somethingthat we fully possess yet,
but we possess it in hope.
Also in Romans 823 through 25,
(05:37):
Paul says, we ourselves,who have the first fruits of the spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait for adoption
as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we are saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope forwho hopes for what he sees.
But if we hope for what we do not see,we wait for it with patience.
(06:01):
But go back to the beginning of that verseI just read.
We ourselveswith the first fruits of the spirit.
Again, this is the Greek word mrk,which literally means first fruits.
We we don't have the fullness of glory.
We're awaiting that in hope.
But we do have this, as Paul sayswith Aruban, it's a down payment.
(06:22):
I guarantee in this, passage,he talks about the spirit
as the first fruits of the life of heaven.
So these are a couple of ways
that Saint Paul, talks about,
how possessingthe spirit is something that we can know
through faiththat we are going to achieve our hope.
(06:44):
And that hope,
of course, is the fullness of hopeis sharing in the glory of heaven.
And finally,another term that Saint Paul used,
I've looked at that Arabah inis the down payment or guarantee
and looked at upper case,the first fruits of our life of glory.
In two Corinthians chapter one.
(07:06):
Well, we already looked at this passage,but I'm going to repeat it
and focus on another word.
Two Corinthians 121 through 22.
But it is God who establishes us with youin Christ and has commissioned us.
He has put his seal upon us
and given us His Spirit in our heartsas a guarantee.
So what is Godputting his seal upon us? Me?
(07:29):
Well, another passagethat will shed some light on this.
Two passagesfrom his letter to the Ephesians.
Ephesians 113 and 14,
in whom you also have heard,
who have heard the word of truth,the gospel of your salvation,
and have believed in him, were sealedwith the promised Holy Spirit,
(07:50):
who is the guarantee of our inheritance
until we acquire possession of itto the praise of his glory.
So he refers to the Holy Spirit as that isthe guarantee of our inheritance.
But it says we are sealedwith the promise of the Holy Spirit.
And later in Ephesians, Ephesians 430,Paul says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit
(08:11):
of God, in whom you were sealedfor the day of redemption. Now
scholarsare in practically a unanimous agreement
that, this idea of sealing thethe the words to be sealed
is a reference to baptism,that the Holy Spirit.
When are we sealed with the spirit?
When we first receive the Holy Spiritand our baptism and and of course, it's
(08:37):
that sort of a guaranteethat if we persevere
in the grace we're given in our baptism,
we look forward to, the fullness
of receiving the glorythat is promised to us by Christ.
We're sealed in the spirit.
Who is the guarantee of our inheritance.
So all of these are different waysthat, Saint Paul talks about,
(09:00):
a way that we can know, that we are giventhis great promise of eternal life
and the redemption of our bodiesand the sharing and eternal glory,
because the Holy Spiritis already at work in us.
Now, I'd like to go onand I want to refer to a couple of other,
noted, authors who have spokenabout this idea of the Holy Spirit,
(09:23):
especially in referenceto the virtue of hope.
One is carnal, an arrow, kind of a mason.
In his book, Concrete or Spirit?
He says that the Holy Spiritis the one in particular
who makes it possiblefor us to abound in hope.
Now, that phrase abound in hope is Romans
(09:44):
1513, where Paul's praise.
May the God of hope fill youwith all joy and peace in believing,
so that you may abound in hopeby the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, he argues that the the Holy Spirit,
although the Holy Spirit is present, inin all of the virtues.
(10:06):
In fact, if we look at thisin, in a passage from Galatians five
five through six, Saint Paul writes,for through the spirit by faith
we eagerly awaitfor the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcisionor uncircumcision counts for anything.
The only thing that counts is faithworking through love.
(10:28):
So in that one short passage, he mentionsthe Holy Spirit related to faith,
and through faith it says, we eat.
Paul says we eagerly awaitfor the hope of righteousness.
And, that he also is
the source of lovewe've talked about in Saint John's Gospel.
The and we'll look at this in Saint Paul,even more so that the Holy Spirit is,
(10:51):
related to love.
He is the love of God,uniting the father and the son.
And as we'll see in Romans, he is the loveof God poured into our hearts.
Cardinal Cantalamessa goes on, though,and he he quotes
he he says hope is a necessity to us
if we are to continue to live,continue living,
and the Holy Spirit is a necessity to usif we are to have hope.
(11:15):
The poet Peguy tells usthat it is relatively easy to believe
God is so evident in the universein so many ways.
Even to love is comparatively easy.
We are all unhappy,
so it ought to be easyfor us to show compassion for one another.
Peggy says hope is the difficult one.
It is so easy to fall into despair,
(11:36):
and we are so inclined to do it.
This is the great temptation.
And so, Colonel Kalamazoo goeson, who will help us climb this hill
out of this pit of despairand wondering what life is about?
He says, only the Holy Spirit.
What persuasions will the Holy Spirit use?
None. Whatever.
He will do itsimply by being present in us,
(11:58):
for he Himself is promise.
You know the promise of the father.
That is the reason for his efficacy.
Where the spirit is present,it is impossible not to abound in hope.
So, hope is is this great promise?
And he says, if I can't come.
He says, in his hope that saves us.
(12:19):
Hope gives us the strength to start againfrom the beginning, to believe every time
that this time we will succeed, this timewe will really be converted.
And we knowwe all have troubles in our lives.
And one thing that the hopeof the Holy Spirit helps us not only
to overcome the strugglesand the problems of our lives,
(12:42):
but actually, the Holy Spirit works to,in a sense, convert those troubles
and those struggles into somethingthat brings us into salvation.
And this is one of the most beautifultexts of Saint Paul
related to the work of the Holy Spirit.
As bringing about hope of salvation.
(13:02):
This is from Paul'sletter to the Romans, chapter five,
verses three through five.
He says.
He writes.
We also boast about our sufferingsin other translations.
says, we boast of our weakness,knowing that
suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
(13:24):
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us,because God's love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,who has been given to us.
So it's almost like our sufferingsare really sort
of the grist of the mill,that if we persevere through
(13:45):
suffering, will be, as it says, itproduces endurance.
Endurance producescharacter, and character leads us to hope,
and hope is something that will not fail,that will not disappoint
us because of the presenceof the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the love of God pouredinto our hearts.
So he says, Cardinal Cantalamessain this way the spirit gives us
(14:07):
the strength not to give in in the faceof our many troubles and crosses.
we can persevere.
And in fact,up in this, from Cantalamessa.
So he says that, the Holy Spirit wants
to make us source of the seeds of hope.
He says there is no more beautiful callingthan to spread hope in our home,
in our community, in the parishand in the church as a whole.
(14:29):
He says.
Hope in the human lifeis like an effective modern air freshener.
It clears the air and lendsfragrance to its surroundings.
So we who possessthe spirit are a people of hope.
And we are called,That spirit is the guarantee.
Why do we have hope?
Because the spirit in us is a firstfruitsand a guarantee
that we will attain glory in the end.
(14:52):
And I'd like to closea couple of quotes from Saint John Paul
the second in, his catechesis
on the Holy Spirit, which is voluminous.
He has a couple of,sections on the spirit as,
as related to Christian hope. So,
he, he, he writes,
(15:13):
Saint Paul affirms that thethis is in 1991.
Saint Paul affirms
that the gift of the Holy Spiritis like a pledge of future happiness.
To the Ephesians he writes,you were sealed with the promised
Holy Spirit, which is the firstinstallment of our inheritance
towards redemption as God's possessionto the praise of his glory.
He goes on to say, Pope Saint John Paul,we could say that in Christian,
(15:38):
the Christian life on earthis like an initiation
into the full participationof the glory of God,
and it is the Holy Spirit who constitutes
the guarantee for achieving the fullnessof eternal life.
When by means of the effectsof the redemption,
all the other effects of sin will also beovercome, such as suffering and death.
(16:00):
Thus,Christian hope is not only a guarantee,
but also in anticipationof the future reality.
And he says, he goes on and says it'snot only we as, as,
as as people,as men and women who share in this hope.
He quotes Saint Paul a beautiful passage
also in Romans eight, verse 19 through 23.
(16:23):
Saint Paul writes in John Paul quotesthis creation itself
awaits with eager expectation.
The revelation of the children of Godfor creation was made subject of futility,
not of its own accord,but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itselfwould be set free from the slavery
(16:44):
to corruption and share in the gloriousfreedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation isgroaning in labor pains even until now.
And not only that, but we ourselves,who have the first fruits of the spirit.
We also groan within ourselves
as we await for adoption,the redemption of our bodies.
(17:05):
And John Paul comments on that.
He says the Christian knowsthat he already possesses
the first fruits of this adoptionin the Holy Spirit,
and therefore looks with confidenthope to the destiny of the world,
even amid the tribulations of our times.
he also, quotesthat in the words of Saint Paul,
(17:26):
the Apostle Paul, teach us to seein the gift of the third divine person
the guarantee of the fulfillmentof our hope of salvation.
And then he quotes the quoteI said of, Romans 525, The Holy Spirit
poured into our our hearts,and he says, Therefore, Paul's wish
is that we may have an abundance of hopeby the power of the Holy Spirit.
(17:47):
Romans 1513.
It says,this is the source of Christian optimism
and optimism about the world's destiny,the possibility of salvation at all times,
even in the hardest,most difficult moments in the development
of history toward the perfectglorification of Christ, he says.
In this perspective,
the Christian can hold his headhigh and join in the invocation
(18:11):
at the end of the Book of Revelation,the spirit and the bride say, come.
So, that is one of his, catechesis.
He also gave a catechesis,that was in 1991, eight years later,
and this was in the year that PopeSaint John Paul dedicated as a year
devoted to the Holy Spirit in preparation
(18:33):
for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000.
So in this Jubilee year, inmany of his catechesis, Saint
John Paul is talking about,about the Holy Spirit.
And in this catechesis, it's on November11th, 1998.
He speaks about, the Holy Spiritis, is is the source of hope.
(18:54):
He writes, Saint Paul underlinesthe intimate, deep bond which exists
between the gift of the Holy Spiritand the virtue of hope.
And then he quotes Romans five five,I hope does not disappoint,
because the Holy Spirithas been poured out into our hearts.
He goes on and says, Pope Saint John, yes,the very gift of the Holy Spirit,
filling our hearts with God's loveand making us children of the Father
(19:16):
in Jesus Christ, instills in usthe sure hope that nothing will be able
to separate us from the love of Godin Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 839.
For this reason that God revealedin the fullness of time in Jesus Christ,
is truly the God of hope,who fills believers with joy and peace.
(19:37):
So that quoteby the power of the Holy Spirit,
they may abound in hope, unquote.
Romans 1513.
Thus, Christians are calledto be witnesses to this joyful experience
in the world, and to always be preparedto make a defense
to anyone who calls them,to account for the hope that is in them.
That's one Peter 315. So,
(20:00):
he closes this catechesis.
So he's calling us to be witnessesof hope in the world.
He he says, therefore,the gift of salvation through the Holy
Spirit is the pledgeand seal of the full communion
with God,to which Christ leads us, the Holy Spirit.
One reads.
And but Paul's letter to Tituswas, quote, poured out
(20:22):
upon us richly throughJesus Christ, our Savior,
so that we may be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
Then he quotes Saint Hilary of Putti,a great saint of the fifth century.
He says,according to the fathers of the church,
the Holy Spirit is the giftwhich lavishes perfect hope upon us.
(20:44):
That's from Hilliard, 48.
In fact, says Saint Paul, it is the spirit
bearing witness with our spiritthat we are children of God.
And if children, then heirs, heirs of Godand fellow heirs with Christ.
So, it's interesting.
Saint JohnPaul, had a book that he it's an interview
actually calledCrossing the Threshold of Hope.
(21:07):
And at the end of this,this catechesis, it
says it is not enough to reawakenhope in individual consciences.
It is necessaryto cross the threshold of hope together.
So it says wewe have to call upon the Holy Spirit
to reawaken hope, first of all,in our own hearts and then in the world
around us, which is strugglingso much with hopelessness and despair.
(21:31):
So let us pray now that the Holy Spiritwould come to renew our hope,
and that it would give a sure light ofhope, to the world which is so troubled.
Let us pray.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your spirit,
and they shall be created,and you shall renew the face of the earth.
(21:53):
Oh God, who by the lightof the Holy Spirit, and instruct
the hearts of your faithful, grantthat by that same Holy Spirit
we may be truly wiseand ever rejoice in his consolations.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
But I also pray,Holy Spirit enable us to abound in hope.
Thank you for listening.
We're going to continue next podcastwith, going deeper into some other topics
(22:16):
and the Holy Spiritin the writings of Saint Paul.
Join me that.
Hello, this is Doctor Alan Schreck.
We're continuing our serieson the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
And our last podcast, we introduced theHoly Spirit in the writings of Saint Paul.
And in that last podcast, we talked about
how the Holy Spirit is not somethingthat is just a doctrine,
but that Christians can experiencein their own lives.
(00:34):
I referred to Saint Paul's second
letter to the Corinthians, chapterfive, verse 17.
If anyone is in Christ,he is a new creation.
The old has passed away.
Behold, the new has come. Now,
I'd like to stress today
a few things that Saint Paul saysabout the Holy Spirit.
(00:55):
As experienced as a guarantee
of our inheritance of eternal life
and as the first fruits of that life.
Let's look at some of Saint Paul'swritings.
First, this concept of the Holy Spirit,as has someone who
we can know as Christians as a guaranteeof our inheritance of the life to come.
(01:17):
That is seen in his second letterto the Corinthians,
chapter one, verse 20 through 22,
where Paul
writes, for all the promises of Godfind their yes in him.
That is why we order the Amento through him to the glory of God.
But it is God who establishes us with youin Christ and has commissioned us.
(01:39):
He has put a seal upon us
and given us His Spirit in our heartsas a guarantee
or could be translated, a first payment,
another passagewhere Paul talks about the spirit
as a guarantee, and we'll talk about whatthat means in a minute.
And also in a second letterto the Corinthians,
(01:59):
a few chapters later, chapter five, verseone through five,
Paul says, for we know thatif the earthly tent we live in
is destroyed, we have a building from God,a house not made with hands eternal
in the heavens, here indeed we groanand long to put on our heavenly dwelling,
so that by putting it onwe may not be found naked.
(02:19):
For while we are still in this tent,we sigh with anxiety,
not that we would be unclothed,but that we would be further clothes
so that what is mortalmay be swallowed up by life.
He who has prepared us for thisvery thing is God,
who has given us the spiritas a guarantee.
(02:41):
So, twice in this second letterto the Corinthians, he uses this word.
It's a Greek word, era bond.
And before the use of money was commonin transactions, airborne
referred to like a sample or a foretasteof a product being purchased.
And this was given as a guaranteethat the full amount of the purchase
(03:03):
would be delivered on timeand be of the same quality of the sample.
So in a sense,this idea of the spirit is a guarantee
that we don't havethe fullness of what God is promising.
This dwelling in the heavensand the life of glory.
But the spirit we know that we're, we'rewe're on the right track.
(03:25):
We already have the spirit.
It's like a first paymentor a, a foretaste or a guarantee
of the fullnessthat God is promising another, and,
and this actually is a foretasteof, of glory.
It's Paul says in his fruit,one of his earliest letters, two
Thessalonians 213 and 14.
(03:46):
God shows you from the beginningto be saved through sanctification
by the spirit and belief and the truth.
To this he called you through our gospel,
so that you may obtainthe glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory is one of Saint Paul's many ways
of describing our entryinto this new mode of existence.
(04:09):
I elsewhere,
and it's connectedwith the virtue of hope.
We don't have the fullnessof the glory of God now,
but we're already having this guaranteeor down payment of the glory
we will receive.
Elsewhere, Saint Paul refers to this hopeas, quote,
an eternal weight of glorybeyond all comparison.
(04:31):
It's also in two Corinthians chapter four,and he promises,
Saint Paulsays that we shall be raised in glory.
And one Corinthians 1543 and he insiststhat the sufferings of the present time
are not worth comparing with the glorythat is to be revealed.
So in a sense,the Holy Spirit is it's been given to us
(04:54):
to give us, in a sense of a guaranteethat even though we are not yet
there in the fullness of glory,that this is where we're headed,
that, it'ssomething that we look forward to another,
way that
Saint Paul speaksabout, the presence of the spirit as as,
indicating that we're headed towardeternal life
(05:15):
is, Well, I'll read a couple passages.
Galatians fivefive for through the spirit, by faith,
we wait for the hope of righteousness.
So this is not somethingthat we fully possess yet,
but we possess it in hope.
Also in Romans 823 through 25,
(05:37):
Paul says, we ourselves,who have the first fruits of the spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait for adoption
as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we are saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope forwho hopes for what he sees.
But if we hope for what we do not see,we wait for it with patience.
(06:01):
But go back to the beginning of that verseI just read.
We ourselveswith the first fruits of the spirit.
Again, this is the Greek word mrk,which literally means first fruits.
We we don't have the fullness of glory.
We're awaiting that in hope.
But we do have this, as Paul sayswith Aruban, it's a down payment.
(06:22):
I guarantee in this, passage,he talks about the spirit
as the first fruits of the life of heaven.
So these are a couple of ways
that Saint Paul, talks about,
how possessingthe spirit is something that we can know
through faiththat we are going to achieve our hope.
(06:44):
And that hope,
of course, is the fullness of hopeis sharing in the glory of heaven.
And finally,another term that Saint Paul used,
I've looked at that Arabah inis the down payment or guarantee
and looked at upper case,the first fruits of our life of glory.
In two Corinthians chapter one.
(07:06):
Well, we already looked at this passage,but I'm going to repeat it
and focus on another word.
Two Corinthians 121 through 22.
But it is God who establishes us with youin Christ and has commissioned us.
He has put his seal upon us
and given us His Spirit in our heartsas a guarantee.
So what is Godputting his seal upon us? Me?
(07:29):
Well, another passagethat will shed some light on this.
Two passagesfrom his letter to the Ephesians.
Ephesians 113 and 14,
in whom you also have heard,
who have heard the word of truth,the gospel of your salvation,
and have believed in him, were sealedwith the promised Holy Spirit,
(07:50):
who is the guarantee of our inheritance
until we acquire possession of itto the praise of his glory.
So he refers to the Holy Spirit as that isthe guarantee of our inheritance.
But it says we are sealedwith the promise of the Holy Spirit.
And later in Ephesians, Ephesians 430,Paul says, do not grieve the Holy Spirit
(08:11):
of God, in whom you were sealedfor the day of redemption. Now
scholarsare in practically a unanimous agreement
that, this idea of sealing thethe the words to be sealed
is a reference to baptism,that the Holy Spirit.
When are we sealed with the spirit?
When we first receive the Holy Spiritand our baptism and and of course, it's
(08:37):
that sort of a guaranteethat if we persevere
in the grace we're given in our baptism,
we look forward to, the fullness
of receiving the glorythat is promised to us by Christ.
We're sealed in the spirit.
Who is the guarantee of our inheritance.
So all of these are different waysthat, Saint Paul talks about,
(09:00):
a way that we can know, that we are giventhis great promise of eternal life
and the redemption of our bodiesand the sharing and eternal glory,
because the Holy Spiritis already at work in us.
Now, I'd like to go onand I want to refer to a couple of other,
noted, authors who have spokenabout this idea of the Holy Spirit,
(09:23):
especially in referenceto the virtue of hope.
One is carnal, an arrow, kind of a mason.
In his book, Concrete or Spirit?
He says that the Holy Spiritis the one in particular
who makes it possiblefor us to abound in hope.
Now, that phrase abound in hope is Romans
(09:44):
1513, where Paul's praise.
May the God of hope fill youwith all joy and peace in believing,
so that you may abound in hopeby the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, he argues that the the Holy Spirit,
although the Holy Spirit is present, inin all of the virtues.
(10:06):
In fact, if we look at thisin, in a passage from Galatians five
five through six, Saint Paul writes,for through the spirit by faith
we eagerly awaitfor the hope of righteousness.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcisionor uncircumcision counts for anything.
The only thing that counts is faithworking through love.
(10:28):
So in that one short passage, he mentionsthe Holy Spirit related to faith,
and through faith it says, we eat.
Paul says we eagerly awaitfor the hope of righteousness.
And, that he also is
the source of lovewe've talked about in Saint John's Gospel.
The and we'll look at this in Saint Paul,even more so that the Holy Spirit is,
(10:51):
related to love.
He is the love of God,uniting the father and the son.
And as we'll see in Romans, he is the loveof God poured into our hearts.
Cardinal Cantalamessa goes on, though,and he he quotes
he he says hope is a necessity to us
if we are to continue to live,continue living,
and the Holy Spirit is a necessity to usif we are to have hope.
(11:15):
The poet Peguy tells usthat it is relatively easy to believe
God is so evident in the universein so many ways.
Even to love is comparatively easy.
We are all unhappy,
so it ought to be easyfor us to show compassion for one another.
Peggy says hope is the difficult one.
It is so easy to fall into despair,
(11:36):
and we are so inclined to do it.
This is the great temptation.
And so, Colonel Kalamazoo goeson, who will help us climb this hill
out of this pit of despairand wondering what life is about?
He says, only the Holy Spirit.
What persuasions will the Holy Spirit use?
None. Whatever.
He will do itsimply by being present in us,
(11:58):
for he Himself is promise.
You know the promise of the father.
That is the reason for his efficacy.
Where the spirit is present,it is impossible not to abound in hope.
So, hope is is this great promise?
And he says, if I can't come.
He says, in his hope that saves us.
(12:19):
Hope gives us the strength to start againfrom the beginning, to believe every time
that this time we will succeed, this timewe will really be converted.
And we knowwe all have troubles in our lives.
And one thing that the hopeof the Holy Spirit helps us not only
to overcome the strugglesand the problems of our lives,
(12:42):
but actually, the Holy Spirit works to,in a sense, convert those troubles
and those struggles into somethingthat brings us into salvation.
And this is one of the most beautifultexts of Saint Paul
related to the work of the Holy Spirit.
As bringing about hope of salvation.
(13:02):
This is from Paul'sletter to the Romans, chapter five,
verses three through five.
He says.
He writes.
We also boast about our sufferingsin other translations.
says, we boast of our weakness,knowing that
suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
(13:24):
and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us,because God's love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,who has been given to us.
So it's almost like our sufferingsare really sort
of the grist of the mill,that if we persevere through
(13:45):
suffering, will be, as it says, itproduces endurance.
Endurance producescharacter, and character leads us to hope,
and hope is something that will not fail,that will not disappoint
us because of the presenceof the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the love of God pouredinto our hearts.
So he says, Cardinal Cantalamessain this way the spirit gives us
(14:07):
the strength not to give in in the faceof our many troubles and crosses.
we can persevere.
And in fact,up in this, from Cantalamessa.
So he says that, the Holy Spirit wants
to make us source of the seeds of hope.
He says there is no more beautiful callingthan to spread hope in our home,
in our community, in the parishand in the church as a whole.
(14:29):
He says.
Hope in the human lifeis like an effective modern air freshener.
It clears the air and lendsfragrance to its surroundings.
So we who possessthe spirit are a people of hope.
And we are called,That spirit is the guarantee.
Why do we have hope?
Because the spirit in us is a firstfruitsand a guarantee
that we will attain glory in the end.
(14:52):
And I'd like to closea couple of quotes from Saint John Paul
the second in, his catechesis
on the Holy Spirit, which is voluminous.
He has a couple of,sections on the spirit as,
as related to Christian hope. So,
he, he, he writes,
(15:13):
Saint Paul affirms that thethis is in 1991.
Saint Paul affirms
that the gift of the Holy Spiritis like a pledge of future happiness.
To the Ephesians he writes,you were sealed with the promised
Holy Spirit, which is the firstinstallment of our inheritance
towards redemption as God's possessionto the praise of his glory.
He goes on to say, Pope Saint John Paul,we could say that in Christian,
(15:38):
the Christian life on earthis like an initiation
into the full participationof the glory of God,
and it is the Holy Spirit who constitutes
the guarantee for achieving the fullnessof eternal life.
When by means of the effectsof the redemption,
all the other effects of sin will also beovercome, such as suffering and death.
(16:00):
Thus,Christian hope is not only a guarantee,
but also in anticipationof the future reality.
And he says, he goes on and says it'snot only we as, as,
as as people,as men and women who share in this hope.
He quotes Saint Paul a beautiful passage
also in Romans eight, verse 19 through 23.
(16:23):
Saint Paul writes in John Paul quotesthis creation itself
awaits with eager expectation.
The revelation of the children of Godfor creation was made subject of futility,
not of its own accord,but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itselfwould be set free from the slavery
(16:44):
to corruption and share in the gloriousfreedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation isgroaning in labor pains even until now.
And not only that, but we ourselves,who have the first fruits of the spirit.
We also groan within ourselves
as we await for adoption,the redemption of our bodies.
(17:05):
And John Paul comments on that.
He says the Christian knowsthat he already possesses
the first fruits of this adoptionin the Holy Spirit,
and therefore looks with confidenthope to the destiny of the world,
even amid the tribulations of our times.
he also, quotesthat in the words of Saint Paul,
(17:26):
the Apostle Paul, teach us to seein the gift of the third divine person
the guarantee of the fulfillmentof our hope of salvation.
And then he quotes the quoteI said of, Romans 525, The Holy Spirit
poured into our our hearts,and he says, Therefore, Paul's wish
is that we may have an abundance of hopeby the power of the Holy Spirit.
(17:47):
Romans 1513.
It says,this is the source of Christian optimism
and optimism about the world's destiny,the possibility of salvation at all times,
even in the hardest,most difficult moments in the development
of history toward the perfectglorification of Christ, he says.
In this perspective,
the Christian can hold his headhigh and join in the invocation
(18:11):
at the end of the Book of Revelation,the spirit and the bride say, come.
So, that is one of his, catechesis.
He also gave a catechesis,that was in 1991, eight years later,
and this was in the year that PopeSaint John Paul dedicated as a year
devoted to the Holy Spirit in preparation
(18:33):
for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000.
So in this Jubilee year, inmany of his catechesis, Saint
John Paul is talking about,about the Holy Spirit.
And in this catechesis, it's on November11th, 1998.
He speaks about, the Holy Spiritis, is is the source of hope.
(18:54):
He writes, Saint Paul underlinesthe intimate, deep bond which exists
between the gift of the Holy Spiritand the virtue of hope.
And then he quotes Romans five five,I hope does not disappoint,
because the Holy Spirithas been poured out into our hearts.
He goes on and says, Pope Saint John, yes,the very gift of the Holy Spirit,
filling our hearts with God's loveand making us children of the Father
(19:16):
in Jesus Christ, instills in usthe sure hope that nothing will be able
to separate us from the love of Godin Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 839.
For this reason that God revealedin the fullness of time in Jesus Christ,
is truly the God of hope,who fills believers with joy and peace.
(19:37):
So that quoteby the power of the Holy Spirit,
they may abound in hope, unquote.
Romans 1513.
Thus, Christians are calledto be witnesses to this joyful experience
in the world, and to always be preparedto make a defense
to anyone who calls them,to account for the hope that is in them.
That's one Peter 315. So,
(20:00):
he closes this catechesis.
So he's calling us to be witnessesof hope in the world.
He he says, therefore,the gift of salvation through the Holy
Spirit is the pledgeand seal of the full communion
with God,to which Christ leads us, the Holy Spirit.
One reads.
And but Paul's letter to Tituswas, quote, poured out
(20:22):
upon us richly throughJesus Christ, our Savior,
so that we may be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
Then he quotes Saint Hilary of Putti,a great saint of the fifth century.
He says,according to the fathers of the church,
the Holy Spirit is the giftwhich lavishes perfect hope upon us.
(20:44):
That's from Hilliard, 48.
In fact, says Saint Paul, it is the spirit
bearing witness with our spiritthat we are children of God.
And if children, then heirs, heirs of Godand fellow heirs with Christ.
So, it's interesting.
Saint JohnPaul, had a book that he it's an interview
actually calledCrossing the Threshold of Hope.
(21:07):
And at the end of this,this catechesis, it
says it is not enough to reawakenhope in individual consciences.
It is necessaryto cross the threshold of hope together.
So it says wewe have to call upon the Holy Spirit
to reawaken hope, first of all,in our own hearts and then in the world
around us, which is strugglingso much with hopelessness and despair.
(21:31):
So let us pray now that the Holy Spiritwould come to renew our hope,
and that it would give a sure light ofhope, to the world which is so troubled.
Let us pray.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your spirit,
and they shall be created,and you shall renew the face of the earth.
(21:53):
Oh God, who by the lightof the Holy Spirit, and instruct
the hearts of your faithful, grantthat by that same Holy Spirit
we may be truly wiseand ever rejoice in his consolations.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
But I also pray,Holy Spirit enable us to abound in hope.
Thank you for listening.
We're going to continue next podcastwith, going deeper into some other topics
(22:16):
and the Holy Spiritin the writings of Saint Paul.
Join me that.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.