The Missions of the Son and Spirit

The teachings of the Catholic Church on the missions of the Son and Spirit might be summarized in the following points:

• Along with causing the existence of creation from moment to moment, God enters into what God has created by acting in human history.
• We call the two ways in which God participates in human history the missions (from the Latin missio, to send) of the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• By taking on a human existence, the eternal Son of God becomes a participant in human history and acts within that history. All of Jesus's words and deeds cause us to know the truth of who God is and what the world is. 
• Jesus does this by taking his humanity up into the full reality of God and pouring out the Holy Spirit into the hearts of all who come to know him by faith. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only heals the damage of our wrongdoing but, ultimately, causes us to become as God is.
• Known as "salvation," "divinization," or "theosis," the transformation of our humanity into divinity is the whole point of God's action in history

Incarnation of Christ

• Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #422-570 (Webpage)
• For a down to earth reflection, check out Michael Himes' introduction to the Incarnation in The Mystery of Faith (PDF)
• For a more historical exploration, read Monika Hellwig's "Jesus, Savior and Son of God" in Understanding Catholicism (PDF)
• What does the Incarnation have to do with your prayer life? Renowned retreat leader Anthony DeMello talks about meditation on the life of Christ in Contact with God (PDF)

Atonement of Christ

• Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #571-667 (Webpage)
• There is no more approachable account of the atonement than C.S. Lewis's "The Perfect Penintent" in Mere Christianity (PDF)
• Want something else to read on the paschal mystery? Check out Monika Hellwig, "The Death of Jesus, Our Liberation, from Understanding Catholicism (PDF).
• Curious about the doctrine of penal substitionary atonement, the teaching that Jesus needed to be punished for our sins? Here's Jon Stotts' take. (Webpage) 
• As with all Catholic teachings, the mystery of the cross isn't just a theory -- it's a reality that we must live and pray. One of the most widely used Catholic methods of contemplating the paschal mystery is the rosary, a form of prayer that uses several distinct vocal prayers to lead us into a period of quiet meditation. Learning how to pray the rosary here or here. Read more about the spirituality of the rosary here. Need a rosary? Head to St. Mary's Bookstore downtown. It's a little tough to get started with this prayer form, but once you figure it out, you'll have a time tested means of entering into communion with God whenever you have a couple minutes to spare.

The Holy Spirit

• Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #683-747 (Webpage)
• Check out Catholic theologian Herbert McCabe's delightful "A Sermon for Pentecost" from God Still Matters. (PDF)
• The Compendium of the Catholic Church offers a helpful summary of Catholic teaching on the Holy Spirit. (PDF)
• Have you ever prayed to the Holy Spirit? Try praying the Veni Sanctus Spiritus, or "Come Holy Spirit," an ancient Christian prayer. Read more about it here: (Webpage)

We're breathing all the time. Our breathing keeps us alive. As we breathe air into our lungs, vital oxygen is absorbed into our bloodstream, carried to our heart, and pumped to all the oxygen-hungry cells in our body. As we breathe out, the potentially harmful carbon dioxide emissions produced by our cells cycle back through the lungs and out of our bodies. 

• Take a minute and observe your breathing. Notice your in-breaths and your out-breaths. Are they deep? Shallow? Fast? Slow? As you breathe in, imagine your breath carrying energy to all parts of your body. As you breath out, imagine your breath releasing anxiety out of your body and back into the world.

In the Greek of the New Testament, the word English translations render as "Spirit" is  pneuma, a Greek term which does mean "spirit" (an immaterial being),  but it also means "breath" (from which we get the word "pneumatic.") The third Person of the Trinity is the holy Breath of God, the breath of life and love shared between the Father and Son. 
 

• Take another minute and return to your breathing. Notice how your breath is part of you, never leaving you despite your inhales and exhales. Think of how your breath grows fast and shallow when you get excited; slow and deep as you relax. Your breath is an image of who you are and what you are doing, intimately united to the activities of your soul.

As the incarnate Son of God, Jesus shares the Holy Spirit with the Father as though they were breathing the same breath. He promises this same Holy Breath to his disciples. In baptism, we begin to breath with God, to let God's life be breathed into us, transforming us and giving us courage to make our lives a gift to God and neighbor.

• Return to your breathing for a final minute. Recognize in your breath the very life of God, breathing in you, with you, and for you. Let your in-breaths be Jesus breathing in with you, and let your exhales be Jesus breathing out with you. Let your breathing, united to the holy Breath of God, turn into a prayer of gratitude, a prayer of surrender, a prayer of longing, a prayer of love.