§257"O blessed light, O Trinity and first Unity!"93 God is eternal blessedness, undying life, unfading light. God is love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God freely wills to communicate the glory of his blessed life. Such is the "plan of his loving kindness", conceived by the Father before the foundation of the world, in his beloved Son: "He destined us in love to be his sons" and "t…

§693Besides the proper name of "Holy Spirit," which is most frequently used in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we also find in St. Paul the titles: the Spirit of the promise,21 The Spirit of adoption,22 The Spirit of Christ,23 The Spirit of the Lord,24 and the Spirit of God25 - and, in St. Peter, the Spirit of glory.26 Symbols of the Holy Spirit

§1303From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace: - it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!";115 - it unites us more firmly to Christ; - it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us; - it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;116 - it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread an…

The Holy Ghost, throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, made mention of no other God or Lord, save him who is the true God. 1. Therefore neither would the Lord, nor the Holy Spirit, nor the apostles, have ever named as God, definitely and absolutely, him who was not God, unless he were truly God; nor would they have named any one in his own person Lord, except God the Father r…

There is but one author, and one end to both covenants. 1. All things therefore are of one and the same substance, that is, from one and the same God; as also the Lord says to the disciples Therefore every scribe, which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like a man that is an householder, which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old. Matthew 13:52 He did …

The gifts of the Holy Spirit which we receive prepare us for incorruption, render us spiritual, and separate us from carnal men. These two classes are signified by the clean and unclean animals in the legal dispensation. 1. But we do now receive a certain portion of His Spirit, tending towards perfection, and preparing us for incorruption, being little by little accustomed to r…

1. I said the other day, that John, to resolve the doubts of those who should question with themselves how the Lord, though He came after to the preaching, became before and more glorious than he, added, for He was before me. And this is indeed one reason. But not content with this, he adds again a second, which now he declares. What is it? And of his fullness, says he, have al…

1. They who come to the divine preaching and give heed to the faith, must manifest the desire of thirsty men for water, and kindle in themselves a similar longing; so will they be able also very carefully to retain what is said. For as thirsty men, when they have taken a bowl, eagerly drain it and then desist, so too they who hear the divine oracles if they receive them thirsti…

1. Great is the tyranny of despondency, and much courage do we need so as to stand manfully against the feeling, and after gathering from it what is useful, to let the superfluous go. It has somewhat useful; for when we ourselves or others sin, then only is it good to grieve; but when we fall into human vicissitudes, then despondency is useless. And now when it has overthrown t…

Source. Translated by J. Walker, J. Sheppard and H. Browne, and revised by George B. Stevens. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 11. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210214.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Adven…

1. I could have wished to know for certain whether any hear with fitting earnestness the things that are said, whether we are not casting the seeds by the wayside: for in that case I should have made my instructions with more cheerfulness. For we shall speak, though no one hear, for the fear which is laid on us by our Saviour. For, says He, testify to this people; even if they …

Chapter 9.—Of the Perturbations of the Soul Which Appear as Right Affections in the Life of the Righteous. But so far as regards this question of mental perturbations, we have answered these philosophers in the ninth book687687 C. 4, 5. of this work, showing that it is rather a verbal than a real dispute, and that they seek contention rather than truth. Among ourselves, accordi…

§56If we examine closely this divine principle of life and power given by Christ, insofar as it constitutes the very source of every gift and created grace, we easily perceive that it is nothing else than the Holy spirit, the Paraclete, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, and who is called in a special way, the "Spirit of Christ" or the "Spirit of the Son."[100] For it was b…

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. This is the pinnacle of the epistle. Calvin shows the golden chain of salvation: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification. The Spirit of adoption enables believers to cry Abba, Father. All things work together for good to them that love God. If God be for us, who can be against…

1. How Christians are the Spiritual Israel. That people which was called of old the people of God was divided into twelve tribes, and over and above the other tribes it had the levitical order, which itself again carried on the service of God in various priestly and levitical suborders. In the same manner, it appears to me that the whole people of Christ, when we regard it in t…

1. Relation of the Baptist to Elijah. The Theory of Transmigration Considered. The disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? Matthew 17:10 The disciples indeed who went up with Jesus remembered the traditions of the scribes concerning Elijah, that before the advent of Christ, Elijah would come and prepare for Him the souls of those who w…

Should wisdom be reckoned among the gifts of the Holy Ghost? What is its subject? Is wisdom only speculative or also practical? Is the wisdom that is a gift compatible with mortal sin? Is it in all those who have sanctifying grace? Which beatitude corresponds to it? Article 1. Whether wisdom should be reckoned among the gifts of the Holy Ghost? Objection 1. It would seem that w…

Is it befitting to a Divine Person to assume? Is it befitting to the Divine nature? Can the nature abstracted from the Personality assume? Can one Person assume without another? Can each Person assume? Can several Persons assume one individual nature? Can one Person assume two individual natures? Was it more fitting for the Person of the Son of God to assume human nature than f…

By which words a description of the Justification of the impious is indicated, as being a translation from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ our Saviour. And this translation cannot, since the promulgation of the Gospel, be effected without the laver of reg…

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven. This is the comprehensive prayer which our Lord taught His disciples. In saying "Our Father" we acknowledge Him as our Creator, Preserver, and Governor, and ourselves as His children by adoption and grace. In saying "which art in heaven" we lift our hearts above the earth to where He is.

Q. What do you believe when you say: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth? A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not …

Q. Why is he called God's only begotten Son when we also are children of God? A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are adopted children of God — adopted by grace through Christ.

Q. What belongs to a prayer that pleases God and is heard by him? A. First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, who has revealed himself in his Word, asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for. Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in his majestic presence. Third, we must rest on this unshakabl…