His Promise To You – The Holy Spirit (Lesson 2)

I – The Holy Spirit – With Christ… With You!

1.       It is important to know that the Holy Spirit was always by the Lord’s Side.

a.       He is the Third Person of the Trinity.

b.      He assisted Jesus in fulfilling His MESSIANIC Mission.

  i.      What does the word, MESSIANIC mean to us.

2.       It comes from the word MESSIAH, which is Hebrew for ANNOINTED. MESSIAH is translated in the Greek language as CHRISTOS, which we get the word CHRIST.

3.       So the MESSIANIC Mission is to Proclaim the GOOD NEWS – God is with us, and brings us freedom from Sin.

4.       We as CHRISTIANS – followers of CHRIST, share in His ANNOINTING through BAPTISM. Later, we are given strength beyond our imagination, through the Sacrament of Confirmation.

c.       When Jesus received the Holy Spirit through the Baptism of John, He was lead to do this Mission. (The Gospel of John 1:19-34)

i.      This was told by the Prophets of Old, written in the Hebrew Old Testament, which was translated in Greek, for Jewish People who lived in the Greek Cities, and Culture under the Roman Empire.

ii.      Jesus proclaims a reading from the Prophet Isaiah, telling the people it is Him who was sent to fulfill the MESSIANIC MISSION. (The Gospel of Luke 4:16-30)

d.      Just like the Holy Spirit guided Jesus, He would guide us as well. (The Gospel of John 16:5-15)

i.      Giving us the courage to tell people what Jesus has done for you!

ii.      To stand up to folks who may scare you in not talking about Jesus.

e.      Jesus promised His disciples that He would send them the Holy Spirit to continue His MESSIANIC Mission – You will be called to continue sharing His Messianic Mission as well. This is why you are preparing for Confirmation. It will be your turn to speak about what Jesus has done for you, can do through you, and your World.  

II – His Spirit will ANOINT US – (2^nd Letter to the Corinthians 1:21-22)

1.        As we said before the, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity.

2.       There are 2 points in the Sacred Scriptures (BIBLE), which speaks about Jesus sending us the Holy Spirit

a.       1^st – When Jesus breathed on His Disciples (The Gospel of St. John 20:19-23)

b.      2^nd – The Most famous scene – Where the Disciples waited for the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, which we celebrate at the end of May or around June – depending on the Calendar. (Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11)

i.      Pentecost is the Hebrew Feast of the First Fruits – where our Jewish Brothers and Sisters offer to God the First Gifts they received: Birth of the First Born, First Born Animals, or First Production.

ii.      Here, Jesus offers His Disciples up to the Holy Spirit as His First Fruits – The Baptized CHRISTIANS. Here, they are fully aware of their Mission as Apostles – Ones who have a Message to share with the World. There is only one passage in the Old Testament, where we find the word APOSTLE, which describes their role in proclaiming an important message. (1st Book of Kings 14:6)

3.       The Holy Spirit is sent to us, His Church, to guide and protect us along this Spiritual Journey. The Holy Spirit lives in the Church, and gives life to us all.

4.       The Holy Spirit is the one who makes us Saints. Another word for saints is HOLY – The old English word for Holy is HALLOW. Here, the Holy Spirit gives us Grace to be Awesome.

5.       The Holy Spirit is given to you by way of your Baptism, where your parents brought you to God, and promised to give you the Gospel Message, so that you may live it.

6.       The Holy Spirit lives in us by way of Sanctifying Grace – this is through the Sacrament of Penance and Communion, which continuously transforms us to be more like Jesus – who is Holy..

7.       The Sacrament of Confirmation, which you will receive, was given to you by Christ, so that you may understand and live a special life, destined for God.

Homework 2: Due Sunday

I. Read Chapter 1 & 2 of Acts of the Apostles. Answer the following question.

1. Who would be the Person giving instructions to the Apostles?
2. What did the Angel tell the Apostles after Jesus left them?
3. What did the First Community do when they stayed in the Upper Room?
4. Who was the Successor of Judas?
5. Which people were “astounded” by the Apostles proclamation of the Good news?
6. St. Peter quoted the Prophet Joel – What did Joel write in Chapter 2 verse 17?

II.  In the short clip – X-Men First Class, what was Young Professor Xavier teaching his friend to do? What did it require for him to respond to Young Professor Xavier?

III. Who do you think needs a word of encouragement from you? Name that person, and why do they need it?