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A. The Holy Ghost is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.
A. The Holy Ghost appeared at times under the form of a dove, and again under
the form of tongues of fire; for, being a pure spirit without a body, He can
take any form.
A. The Holy Ghost is called also the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Spirit of
Truth and other names given in Holy Scripture.
A. The Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son.
A. The Holy Ghost is equal to the Father and the Son, being the same Lord and
God as they are.
A. The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles ten days after the Ascension of
our Lord; and the day on which He came down upon the Apostles is called
Whitsunday, or Pentecost.
A. The day on which the Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles is called
Whitsunday or White Sunday, probably because the Christians who were baptized
on the eve of Pentecost wore white garments for some time afterward, as a mark
of the purity bestowed upon their souls by the Sacrament of Baptism.
A. This feast is called also Pentecost because Pentecost means the fiftieth;
and the Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles fifty days after the
resurrection of Our Lord.
A. The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire.
A. The form of tongues of fire denoted the sacred character and divine
authority of the preaching and teaching of the Apostles, by whose words and
fervor all men were to be converted to the love of God.
A. Our Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.
A. The Apostles knew that the Holy Ghost would come down upon them; for Christ
promised His Apostles that after His Ascension He would send the Holy Ghost,
the Spirit of Truth, to teach them all truths and to abide with them forever.
A. Some persons have denied the existence of the Holy Ghost; others have denied
that He is a real person equal to the Father and the Son; but all these
assertions are shown to be false by the words of Holy Scripture and the
infallible teaching of the Church.
A. The sins against the Holy Ghost which Our Lord said will not be forgiven
either in this world or in the next, are sins committed out of pure malice, and
greatly opposed to the mercy of God, and are, therefore, seldom forgiven.
A. Christ sent the Holy Ghost to sanctify His Church, to enlighten and
strengthen the Apostles, and to enable them to preach the Gospel.
A. The Church was sanctified through the coming of the Holy Ghost by receiving
those graces which Christ had merited for His ministers, the bishops and
priests, and for the souls of all those committed to their care.
A. The Apostles were enlightened through the coming of the Holy Ghost by
receiving the grace to remember and understand in its true meaning all that
Christ had said and done in their presence.
A. The Apostles were strengthened through the coming of the Holy Ghost by
receiving the grace to brave every danger, even death itself, in the
performance of their sacred duties.
A. "Apostle" means a person sent, and "Gospel" means good tidings or news.
Hence the name "Gospel" is given to the inspired history of Our Lord's life and
works upon earth.
A. The Apostles were: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas,
Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot, in whose place Mathias was
chosen.
A. St. Paul was an Apostle, but as he was not called till after the Ascension
of Our Lord he is not numbered among the twelve. He is called the Apostle of
the Gentiles; that is, of all those who were not of the Jewish religion or
members of the Church of the Old Law.
A. While on his way to persecute the Christians St. Paul was miraculously
converted and called to be an Apostle by Our Lord Himself, who spoke to him.
St. Paul was called Saul before his conversion.
A. St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John are called Evangelists, because
they wrote the four Gospels bearing their names, and Evangelia is the Latin
name for Gospels. St. Mark and St. Luke were not Apostles, but St. Matthew and
St. John were both Apostles and Evangelists.
A. The Apostles did not fully understand when Christ Himself taught them
because during His stay with them on earth they were only preparing to become
Apostles; and their minds were yet filled with many worldly thoughts and
desires that were to be removed at the coming of the Holy Ghost.
A. The Holy Ghost will abide with the Church forever, and guide it in the way
of holiness and truth.
A. From the knowledge that the Holy Ghost will abide with the Church forever we
are made certain that the Church can never teach us falsehood, and can never be
destroyed by the enemies of Our Faith.
A. Through the coming of the Holy Ghost the Apostles received the "gift of
tongues," by which they could be understood in every language, though they
preached in only one.
A. Such wonderful gifts accompanied Confirmation in the first ages of the
Church to prove the power, truth and divine character of Christianity to those
who otherwise might not believe, and to draw the attention of all to the
establishment of the Christian Church.
A. These signs are not continued everywhere at the present time, because now
that the Church is fully established and its divine character and power proved
in other ways, such signs are no longer necessary.
A. Such powers as the "gift of tongues" were not a part of the Sacrament of
Confirmation, but they were added to it by the Holy Ghost when necessary
for the good of the Church.
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