Who or what is the reality we call the Spirit? It is the abiding presence of Jesus, the manifestation of God among us. It is what guides the Church, and it is love between Father and Son. But what else? Is there more to say?
Maybe it is the personal and collective awareness that leads the individuals to a fullness that enables them to complete the body of the Church. Its manner of introducing itself may be diverse and confusing, and because of its nature as spirit its presence in a given situation or at any one time is uncertain. Maybe it is also the influence on the present of what occurred in the past in light of current needs and the hoped for, though not yet realized, "what is yet to come." The Spirit is a person in that it has and shares life, or is life to both Church and believer, neither of whom would be fulfilled without its fullness. It enables us to hope too by assuring its presence in whatever will be.
The Spirit is more than inspiration, an inclination or guide vaguely pointing out an unerring path, a path wending a weary way to wisdom, lacking in insight. Instead, it may drive us toward a number of paths twisting, turning, and doubling back upon itself. Paths that meander sometimes and sometimes seem so frightfully direct. They sometimes converge, cross, or run counter to other paths no less true.
That the Spirit lives and gives life we know by faith. That it sustains and enlivens us we know from experience. He is love and power, but also doubt and uncertainty - a part of (or maybe all of) the groping and wonder leading to truth and to God.
Will it suffice to say it is by the Spirit that we know and believe that in time and in God we will arrive where we began, having made progress along the way? Is it enough that it is he who assures that in time it will all be alright, although not necessarily right now?
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