At his General Audience 28 March, Pope John Paul II continued his catechetical series on the role of the Holy Spirit:

1. In earlier religious instructions we were able to show how, throughout the Old Testament tradition, there appear mention of and references and allusions to the existence of the divine Spirit: they appear almost as a prelude to the revelation given in the New Testament of the Holy Spirit as person.

In truth, we know that God inspired and led Israel's sacred writers, preparing the definitive revelation which was to be accomplished by Christ and given by him to the Apostles, so that they might preach and spread it throughout the world.

In the Old Testament, therefore, there is an initial and gradual revelation of not only the Holy Spirit, but also the Messiah-Son of God, his redeeming action and his kingdom. This revelation makes a distinction between God the Father, the eternal Wisdom proceeding from him and the powerful and kindly Spirit with which God works in the world from the creation and directs history according to his plan of salvation.

2. Doubtlessly this was not yet a clear manifestation of the divine mystery. But it was at the same time a kind of preparatory course for f uture revelation, which God himself was carrying out during the period of the Old Covenant through "the Law and the Prophets" (cf. Mt 22:40; Jn 1:45) and the history of Israel itself, since "omnia in figuia contingebant illis"; everything in that history had figurative and preparatory value for the future (1 Cor 10:11; 1 Pt 3:21; Hb 9:24).

In fact, on the threshold of the New Testament we find some people—Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Anna, Simeon, and above all Mary—who, thanks to the inner enlightenment of the Spirit, knew how to discover the true meaning of Christ's coming into the world.

The reference which the evangelists Luke and Matthew make to the Holy Spirit in regard to these very devout representatives of the Old Covenant (cf. Mt l:18, 20; Lk 1:15, 35, 41, 67; 2:26-27), documents a link between and, we can also say, a passage from the Old to the New Testaments, later fully recognized in the light of Christ's revelation and after the Pentecost experience. The fact remains significant that the Apostles and Evangelists use the term "Holy Spirit" to speak of God's intervention both in the Incarnation of the Word and in the birth of the Church on Pentecost day. It is worth pointing out that in both events Mary the Virgin Mother is at the center of the portrait described by Luke—Mary who conceives Jesus by the action of the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35; Mt 1:1 8), and, with the Apostles and the other first members of the Church, she remains in prayer expecting the very same Spirit (cf. Acts 1: 1 4). 

3. Jesus himself illustrates the role of the Spirit when he explains to the disciples that only with the Spirit's help will they be able to penetrate the depths of the mystery of his person and mission: "When the Spirit of truth comes, the Spirit will guide you to all truth" (Jn 16:13-14). Therefore, it is the Holy Spirit who lets people grasp the greatness of Christ and thus "glorifies" the Savior. But it is also the same Spirit who reveals his role in Jesus's life and mission.

This is a point of great interest, to which I wish to direct your attention with this new series of religious instruction.

If previously we have shown the wonders of the Holy Spirit announced by Jesus and experienced at Pentecost and during the initial journey of the Church in history, the time has come to accent the fact that the first and greatest wonder accomplished by the Holy Spirit is Christ himself. It is towards this wonder that we want to direct our attention.

4. In fact we have already reflected on the person, life and mission of Christ in the Christological series: but now we can return briefly to that topic under the heading of pneumatology, that is, in the light of the action accomplished by the Holy Spirit within the Son of God made man.

Treating the topic of the "Son of God", in catechetical instruction one speaks about him after having considered "God the Father", and before speaking of the Holy Spirit, who "proceeds from the Father and the Son ". For this reason, Christology proceeds Pneumatology. And it is right that it is so, because even seen from a chronological standpoint, Christ's revelation in our world happened before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit who formed the Church on the day of Pentecost. Furthermore, that outpouring was the fruit of Christ's redemptive offering and the manifestation of the power acquired by the Son now seated at the Father's right hand.

5. Still a pneumatological integration with Christology seems to be inevitable—as the Orientals observe—by the fact that the Holy Spirit is found at the very origin of Christ as the Word Incarnate come into the world "by the power of the Holy Spirit," as the Creed says.

In accomplishing the mystery of the Incarnation, there was a decisive presence of the Spirit, to the degree that, if we want to grasp and enunciate this mystery more fully, it is not enough for us to say that the Word was made flesh: we must also underline—as happens in the Creed —the Spirit's role in forming the humanity of the Son of God in the virginal womb of Mary. We will speak about this later. And we will attempt to follow the action of the Holy Spirit in the life and mission of Christ: in his childhood, in the inauguration of his public life through his Baptism, in his sojourn in the desert, in prayer, in preaching, in sacrifice, and, finally, in resurrection.

6. A basic truth emerges from examination of the Gospel texts: what Christ was, and what he is for us, cannot be understood apart from the Holy Spirit. That means that not only is the Holy Spirit's light necessary for penetrating Christ's mystery, but the influence of the Holy Spirit in the Incarnation of the Word and in the entire life of Christ must be taken into account to explain the Jesus of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit left the mark of his own divine personality on the face of Christ.

Therefore, arriving at a deeper awareness of Christ demands also a deeper awareness of the Holy Spirit. "To know who Christ is" and "to know who the Spirit is" are two indissolubly linked requirements, the one implying the other.

We can add that even the Christian's relationship with Christ is integrally joined to his or her relationship with the Spirit. The Letter to the Ephesians helps us understand this when it expressed the hope that believers may be "strengthened with power " by the Spirit of the Father in the inner man, in order to be able to "know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge " (cf. Eph 3:16-19). That means that in order to reach Christ with our knowledge and love —as happens in true Christian wisdom—we need the inspiration and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the interior master of truth and life.