By Very Rev. THOMAS S. PRESTON, V.G.,
III.
Of this visible body the Holy Ghost took possession, dwelling in it and giving it a divine character.The mission of the Holy Ghost on earth is directly connected with the Christian Church. Our confession of faith in the Holy Ghost is immediately followed by that of belief in the Holy Catholic Church. This, in the baptismal creed, implies the truth that we cannot rightly believe in the divine Spirit unless we understand His operations in the visible body which He animates for the sanctification of its members and the world. The union between the church and the Holy Ghost is divine. From this union springs the supernatural character which is the life and glory of the Christian dispensation.
The entry of the eternal Spirit into the Church took place on the day of Pentecost, in fulfilment of the promise of Christ. It was a triumphal entry, which moved the earth and brought a new life to the apostles. The external miracles which glorified this day, in the flames of fire, the rushing, mighty wind, and the gift of tongues, were the signs of a divine power which the world had not known before. The church was formed by our Lord in all its essential framework, and stood ready to receive the supernal guest who was to quicken it and make it the dwelling of God. In this manner the Holy Spirit had never been in the world until this day. He had been one in the operations of the Father and the Son. He had blessed the different ages and dispensations with His influence. He had been the unseen author of every good thought and work. All, the race of man had known of sanctity, came from the effusion of His gifts. Now He comes, by a special and personal presence, to complete the work of the Incarnate Son. It was necessary for the Son in our nature to atone for our transgressions, and in that nature to ascend to the throne on high, before the Holy Ghost could thus personally dwell on earth. The expiation of our sins was necessary, and the preparation of our fallen nature to be a fitting home for the quickening Spirit: "It is expedient for you that I go: for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." St. John xvi. 7.
That the Holy Ghost came to the church on Pentecost in a different manner, and with a permanent end, is evident from the words of our Lord. He came to the church, to the visible body founded by Christ, and He came there to abide. He did not come to any not in union with this visible body ; and to partake of His presence it was necessary to become a member of this visible body by baptism, the divinely-established rite. "They who received the word of St. Peter were baptized, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Acts ii. 28, 41. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body." II Cor. xii. 13. Into this body He came to dwell by a personal, substantial, and permanent presence. To this end are the words of St. Gregory Nazianzen: "Now the Holy Ghost is given more perfectly, for He is no longer present by His operation as of old, but He speaks and converses with us in a substantial manner. For it was fitting that as the Son had conversed with us in a body, the Spirit also should come among us in a bodily manner." Orat. xII. In Pentecost.
In virtue of this presence the members of the church are sauctified by a real union with the divine Spirit. This substantial union gives to each one the grace of the uncreated life, while the human personality remains intact. So says St. Cyril of Alexandria: "The Holy Ghost works in us by Himself, truly sanctifying us and uniting us to Himself, while He joins us to Himself and makes us partakers of the divine nature." De Trinitate.
