The Holy Spirit

We can turn to the Nicene Creed, which proclaims the Holy Spirit as “the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.” This language reflects the biblical revelation of who the Holy Spirit is and the work he has been doing throughout salvation history.

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Most Holy Trinity and is often considered the most mysterious Person of the Trinity. He is not merely an impersonal force or power, but a divine person who gives life, speaks through the prophets, reveals Christ, and draws us into the life of the Trinity. He is eternal, present without beginning or end, and not created. Throughout this study, explore who the Holy Spirit is and how he has been at work throughout Scripture and continues to work in your life today.

As outlined in the doctrine of inseparable operations, all three Persons of the Trinity are at work in every divine action. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms, "Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit" (CCC 267; see also 689).

In other words, the actions of the three Divine Persons of the Trinity are distinct but not separate. The mission of the Holy Spirit, who is sent by the Father and the Son to humanity to bring us into communion with God through the outpouring of grace, and to reveal God to us. While all three Persons are at work in every divine action, the Holy Spirit's unique mission is to sanctify us by dwelling within us, and draw us into the life of the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit is important to understand because knowing him helps us recognize God's presence and work in our lives. He invites us into the mystery of the Trinity, enables us to encounter his transforming power, and calls us to embrace the divine life for which we were created, leading us toward the heights of sanctity.

The Holy Spirit is not distant or static. He is living, present, and always at work in ways both seen and unseen, sanctifying us from within and drawing us ever closer to God.

The Holy Spirit has been at work since the beginning of time. From hovering over the waters at Creation to the life of the Church today, he has continually poured out God's goodness upon the world. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets, empowered the apostles, and formed saints throughout the ages.

While the Holy Spirit was present throughout the Old Testament and throughout Jesus' earthly life, Christ's saving work on the Cross won for us the gift of the Holy Spirit, poured out upon the Church at Pentecost and still at work in our lives today.

The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). These fruits of life in the Spirit are the visible signs of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. To exhibit them in our daily lives is to "walk by the Spirit," be "led by the Spirit," and desire the things of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–18).

Pneumatomachianism is a 4th-century heresy that denied the full divinity and personhood of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. This belief was also called Macedonianism, named after the Macedonian followers, who believed the Holy Spirit was a created being or a “lower force” rather than fully God. 

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There are three ways your group could view the study videos:

• You could watch the videos on DVD, gathered as a group.
• You could watch the videos streaming from our Thinkific website, gathered as a group.
• Each person could purchase the online access and watch the videos independently at home on the Thinkific website.

We strongly recommend purchasing the DVDs for in-person group viewing because this is usually the easiest method for volunteer leaders to manage and because the DVD sets can be reused later by other Bible study groups in your parish.

Online access to our studies do expire after one year (or two years, if you are using The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation, Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or Matthew: The King and His Kingdom). This access begins from the day you purchase your online access, or from the day you set up your access (if you are using a group enrollment link given to you from your small group leader).

After you purchase a product that includes access, check your inbox for an email from our partner Thinkific. In order to access your online study, you will receive a link in that email to create a free account with Thinkific and access your study.

You will then be able to access your online study at ascensionpress.thinkific.com.

(Note that if you have already created a Thinkific account through Ascension, you will not need to create a new one, but will then receive a link to access your online study directly.)

If you purchased multiple online course enrollments for your small group, you'll receive an email the day of your purchase with a link which you can then forward to your students. With this link, each student can create their account and access their online course.

The workbook is an integral part of the study, containing reflection and discussion questions. To get the most out of the study, we recommend each participant have a Bible, his or her own workbook, and for studies that include an additional reading book, we encourage a copy of that as well.

You can choose the study materials that best fit how you plan to journey through the study! 

If you are leading a small group, we recommend purchasing the program’s Starter Pack for yourself, along with a Study Set/Workbook and Online Access for each participant.

If you are journeying through the study on your own, we recommend purchasing a Study Set/Workbook and Online Access for yourself.

In addition, we recommend that everyone have a Catholic Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church. We recommend the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Ascension Edition and The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, which incorporates the same color-coded learning system used throughout our studies.

Our online edition of a study includes a digital copy of your workbook. This workbook is in a read-only format, and therefore cannot be printed out as this is a violation of copyright and intellectual property law. This version of the workbook is also unable to save student responses.

If you would prefer a printed copy of your workbook and have ordered the online-only option in error, please contact us with your order number and we will be able to help you set up your order for the printed materials instead!