The Lord, the giver of Life

The prayer card from my ordination in 1984 featured this Scripture passage: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me.' The bishop laid his hands upon my head and anointed my palms with the oil of Chrism. My priestly life began with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. 

The Council of Nicaea concluded with the phrase, “And in the Holy Spirit.” In the following decades, theological debates arose regarding the Holy Spirit, known as the Pneumatic heresies, with Macedonianism being among the most prominent.

Macedonianism did not deny the existence or divinity of the Spirit but denied its full divinity and consubstantiality with the Father and the Son. It taught that the Holy Spirit was created by the Son and therefore subordinate to God.

To counter its growing influence, Emperor Theodosius I convened the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, which affirmed the Holy Spirit as “The Lord, the Giver of Life.”

The Lord:

The Greek term Kyrios (Lord) translates the Hebrew Yahweh. To call the Holy Spirit “the Lord” is, therefore, to ascribe to Him the very name and attributes of God Almighty, affirming His sovereignty and co-equality with the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit is not merely a force or power of God, but a person. While the Greek word for “Spirit” (pneuma) is grammatically neuter, Scripture consistently refers to the Spirit with personal pronouns—He and Him, not it.

The Bible also describes the Spirit in personal terms: He teaches, guides, comforts, and intercedes. He can be grieved, He has a will, He searches the deep things of God with His mind, and He shares fellowship with believers. Clearly, the Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father and the Son are God.

Giver of Life:

This title articulates the Holy Spirit’s indispensable role in both creation and salvation, highlighting his active, life-imparting power.

The Spirit is the source of all life. For ancient people, breath was a sign of life and vitality. Over time, the Spirit came to represent the very source of life, both physical and spiritual.

At creation, God's divine breath gave life, and "man became a living being." The Spirit of the Lord repeatedly intervened throughout the history of Israel, saving and guiding its people through patriarchs, judges, kings, and prophets.

Psalm 104 declares, “Send forth your spirit, they are created and you renew the face of the earth.” Just as on the sixth day, Adam was a lifeless vessel until the Lord of life breathed into him, so too the Church was like a lifeless vessel until the Lord of life breathed His Spirit into her.

Ezekiel's vision powerfully illustrates the people's renewal after exile: a vast valley of dry bones brought back to life when the spirit "came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet."

The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her, so that the Word took flesh to bring life to the human race.

The Spirit is the source of spiritual life and salvation. To have eternal life, a person must be born “of water and the Spirit” (Jn 3:5).

St. Paul says, “the Spirit brings life” and fills our hearts with charity. He is the source of true life in God. That’s why, in the Creed, we say the Holy Spirit is “the giver of life.”

Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He imparted to them the life giving Spirit. 

The third person of the Trinity is my Lord. Being the source of my life He continues to fill me with both physical and spiritual life.