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Catechism of the Catholic Church

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Christ Jesus

727 The entire mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of time, is contained in this: that the Son is the one anointed by the Father's Spirit since his Incarnation - Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.

Everything in the second chapter of the Creed is to be read in this light. Christ's whole work is in fact a joint mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Here, we shall mention only what has to do with Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit and the gift of him by the glorified Lord.

728 Jesus does not reveal the Holy Spirit fully, until he himself has been glorified through his Death and Resurrection. Nevertheless, little by little he alludes to him even in his teaching of the multitudes, as when he reveals that his own flesh will be food for the life of the world. 110 He also alludes to the Spirit in speaking to Nicodemus, 111 to the Samaritan woman, 112 and to those who take part in the feast of Tabernacles. 113 To his disciples he speaks openly of the Spirit in connection with prayer 114 and with the witness they will have to bear. 115

729 Only when the hour has arrived for his glorification does Jesus promise the coming of the Holy Spirit, since his Death and Resurrection will fulfill the promise made to the fathers. 116 The Spirit of truth, the other Paraclete, will be given by the Father in answer to Jesus' prayer; he will be sent by the Father in Jesus' name; and Jesus will send him from the Father's side, since he comes from the Father. The Holy Spirit will come and we shall know him; he will be with us for ever; he will remain with us. The Spirit will teach us everything, remind us of all that Christ said to us and bear witness to him. The Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and will glorify Christ. He will prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment.

730 At last Jesus' hour arrives: 117 he commends his spirit into the Father's hands 118 at the very moment when by his death he conquers death, so that, "raised from the dead by the glory of the Father," 119 he might immediately give the Holy Spirit by "breathing" on his disciples. 120 From this hour onward, the mission of Christ and the Spirit becomes the mission of the Church: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 121

Notes:

110 Cf. Jn 6:27, 51, 62-63.

111 Cf. Jn 3:5-8.

112 Cf. Jn 4:10, 14, 23-24.

113 Cf. Jn 7:37-39.

114 Cf. Lk 11:13.

115 Cf. Mt 10:19-20.

116 Cf. Jn 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15; 17:26.

117 Cf. Jn 13:1; 17:1.

118 Cf. Lk 23:46; Jn 19:30.

119 Rom 6:4.

120 Cf. Jn 20:22.

121 Jn 20:21; cf. Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47-48; Acts 1:8.

English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

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