As one delves into the accounts of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of St. Paul, one is struck by the mighty works of the Holy Spirit: tongues of fire descend, people speak in foreign languages, paralytics walk, and the dead are raised. The New Testament depiction of the Spirit’s work diverges from the typical experience of most Catholics. One could understandably ask: What happened between then and now? Nevertheless, today we can identify numerous ways the Spirit remains active within the Church,¹ notably in the liturgy. Pope St. Leo the Great famously said, “What was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries.” Perhaps we could paraphrase Leo and say of much of the Spirit’s work that what was manifest in signs of power has passed over into the powerful signs of the mysteries.

In the Creed professed at Mass, we affirm our belief in the Holy Spirit, “the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son….” At once the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, eternally proceeding from both, the Holy Spirit is—as articulated by St. Augustine—the mutual love of the Father and Son.² “The Holy Spirit is a certain unutterable communion of the Father and the Son.”³ The Spirit is the inner-trinitarian bond of love. Reflecting who the Spirit is eternally in the life of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit works in the Church as the source of her life and unity. In harmony with this dynamic, the Catechism of the Catholic Church outlines the Holy Spirit’s work in the liturgy through four central actions.⁴

Firstly, the Holy Spirit prepares the Church to encounter Christ in her sacramental celebrations, forming in her members the proper dispositions.⁵ The liturgy is no Pelagian enterprise or merely human exercise of self-help. Initiative always belongs to the Spirit’s prevenient grace, prompting the Church’s responsive cooperation. In the economy of salvation, the Father sends the Son, and the Father and Son jointly send the Spirit. In the liturgical return to the Father, the path is reversed: the Spirit readies the Church to encounter the Lord Jesus through whom we have access to the Father.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit serves as the living memory, the anamnesis of the Church who manifests Christ in the liturgy.⁶ The Spirit imparts a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to the faithful and uses the liturgical actions and symbols to establish them in relationship with Christ.⁷ “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Thomas Aquinas taught that “everything which is from another manifests that from which it is. Thus the Son manifests the Father because he is from the Father.”⁸ The Holy Spirit reveals the Son from whom he eternally proceeds while recalling Christ’s words to the Church. Nowhere is this more evident than in the liturgy.

The New Testament depiction of the Spirit’s work diverges from the typical experience of most Catholics. One could understandably ask: What happened between then and now?

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit brings about the presence of the mystery of Christ in each liturgical celebration. Unlike a mere commemoration of a past event lost to history, the Paschal Mystery becomes, in some way, contemporaneous with each liturgical celebration. This profound reality is achievable only through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Dom Anscar Vonier eloquently expressed, “The far-reaching conclusions of Catholic theology concerning the efficacy and the causation of sacraments could surprise those only who do not habitually associate the sacraments with the Holy Ghost nor recognize that through the presence of the Spirit each sacrament is linked up, through all space and all times, with the cause of all sacramental grace—the death of Christ on the Cross.”⁹ What was circumscribed in time and space in the humanity of Christ is made universal and accessible through the outpouring of the Spirit.¹⁰

Finally, in the liturgy the Holy Spirit unites the Church in communion with Christ. Through the transformative work of the Spirit, the liturgy molds the faithful into the mystical Body of Christ. Just as the Spirit is the bond of love common to the Father and Son, in the liturgy, the Spirit acts as the bond of communion uniting the Church with the Trinity and fostering fraternal communion among its members.¹¹

A notable feature in the Catechism’s depiction of the Holy Spirit’s role in the liturgy is the cooperation of the Church in this divine work. Through this cooperation, “the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.”¹² While the liturgy cannot be reduced simply to “the work of the people,” neither can it exclude a true divine-human synergy that invites our active participation.

In addition to these four general ways the Holy Spirit acts in each liturgy, the Spirit is uniquely active in each sacrament. A distinct movement of the Spirit is discernible as he is invoked in each sacrament’s epiclesis at the heart of each sacramental celebration.¹³ Jean Corbon proposes a method of mystagogy, suggesting we explore “the meaning of a celebration on the basis of the meaning of its uniquely special epiclesis…. The meaning sought is the meaning of the energy of the Spirit as it transforms the human beings offered to it.”¹⁴ Let us briefly follow this path to give some preliminary insights into the Spirit’s work in the sacraments of the Church.

While the liturgy cannot be reduced simply to “the work of the people,” neither can it exclude a true divine-human synergy that invites our active participation.

Baptism

The significance of invoking the Spirit over the baptismal waters is highlighted in the first known monograph on the sacrament, written by Tertullian in the early third century: “After God is invoked all waters attain the sacramental power to sanctify; for the Spirit immediately comes from heaven and rests on the water in order to make it holy. Once made holy, it acquires the power to sanctify.”¹⁵ In the Roman Rite today, the epiclesis occurs as the celebrant touches the water with his right hand during the blessing of baptismal waters. The hand serves as a symbol of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.¹⁶ Along with this gesture, the celebrant prays: “May this water receive by the Holy Spirit the grace of your Only Begotten Son, so that human nature, created in your image and washed clean through the Sacrament of Baptism from all the squalor of the life of old, may be found worthy to rise to the life of newborn children through water and the Holy Spirit.”¹⁷

The epiclesis reveals that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that the baptized are born anew.¹⁸ As St. Ambrose said, the same Spirit who conceived Christ in the womb of Mary now conceives new life in Christians through the womb of the Church’s baptismal font: “In coming upon Mary, the Holy Spirit brought about the conception and accomplished the redemption; in the same way, by resting on the baptismal font and on those who receive baptism, the same Spirit effects the reality of rebirth.”¹⁹ The baptismal epiclesis also indicates that it is through the Holy Spirit that the baptized are conformed to Christ’s Paschal Mystery: “May the power of the Holy Spirit, O Lord, we pray, come down through your Son into the fullness of this font, so that all who have been buried with Christ by Baptism into death may rise again to life with him.”²⁰ The prayer echoes the words of St. Paul to the Romans: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11; cf. Romans 6:3-5). The central images of God’s work in baptism, our rebirth and our dying and rising with Christ, are both attributed to the Holy Spirit in the blessing of baptismal waters.

Confirmation

The presence and work of the Spirit are equally palpable in the sacrament of Confirmation. St. Cyril of Jerusalem explained the Spirit’s operations in the oil of this sacrament in the most realistic of terms: “Beware of thinking that this holy oil is simply ordinary oil and nothing else. After the invocation of the Spirit it is no longer ordinary oil but the gift of Christ, and by the presence of his divinity it becomes the instrument through which we receive the Holy Spirit.”²¹ In the modern consecration of sacred chrism, the Bishop, if appropriate, breaths over the opening of the vessel of Chrism. In the prayer of consecration, with hands extended, he asks God “to pour into it the strength of the Holy Spirit, with the powerful working of your Christ.”²² The act of breathing, the gesture of the extended hands, and the words of the consecratory prayer are all epicletic in nature.²³

The Holy Spirit is invoked upon the chrism which, in a sense, contains and conveys the Spirit, who works in various ways when the chrism is administered in the Church’s liturgy. In Confirmation, there is a moment when the bishop extends his hands over the group of those to be confirmed. “Since the time of the apostles this gesture has signified the gift of the Spirit. The bishop invokes the outpouring of the Spirit….”²⁵ Prior to the gesture, the bishop asks those present to pray that the Father will pour out the Holy Spirit upon those to be confirmed and, strengthened (confirmet) by the Spirit’s gifts, that they would be more fully conformed to Christ. The ensuing prayer asks for the personal gift of the Holy Spirit himself as well as the Spirit’s sevenfold gifts.

The Eucharist

In the Eucharist, a dual epiclesis is evident in the Eucharistic Prayers, particularly in the texts composed following the Second Vatican Council. The Holy Spirit is first invoked over the gifts of bread and wine that they may become the body and blood of Christ. Following the consecration, the Holy Spirit is again invoked, this time upon those who will receive the Eucharist, “that the faithful, by receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to God,”²⁶ and “that those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit.”²⁷ Thus, the Holy Spirit is intimately involved in the sacramental action, so that by the Spirit’s work, the bread and wine (the sacramentum tantum) may become the Real Presence of Christ (the res et sacramentum) so that those who partake thereof may be drawn into the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ (the res tantum).

In the Eucharist, a dual epiclesis is evident in the Eucharistic Prayers, particularly in the texts composed following the Second Vatican Council.

Confession

The epiclesis in the sacrament of reconciliation is perhaps the least explicit in the sacramental celebrations of the Latin Church. The Holy Spirit’s role in the forgiveness of sins is apparent, however, already in the words of the risen Christ: “He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20:22-23). In the Rite of Penance, the Holy Spirit’s work in forgiving sins is encapsulated in the words of absolution.²⁸ With hands outstretched, the priest says: “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins….” As the bond of love between Father and Son, the Holy Spirit is also the Divine Person to whom it is attributed to restore repentant sinners to trinitarian communion.

Sacrament of the Sick

The blessing of the oil of the sick contains its own prayer invoking the Holy Spirit: “send forth from the heavens, we pray, your Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, upon this oil in all its richness, which you have graciously brought forth from the verdant tree to restore the body, so that by your holy blessing everyone anointed with this oil as a safeguard for body, soul, and spirit may be freed from all pain, all infirmity, and all sickness….”²⁹ The sacramental formula itself calls upon the action of the Spirit as the person is anointed: “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.” The Catechism, however, points to another moment in the ritual as the epiclesis. “The ‘priests of the Church’—in silence— lay hands on the sick; they pray over them in the faith of the Church—this is the epiclesis proper to this sacrament….”³⁰

The silent epiclesis of this sacrament is unusual. Perhaps confronted by the mystery of human sickness and suffering, the Church’s liturgy recognizes silence as a perfectly fitting response (see Job 2:13). We also know that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).

The epiclesis in the sacrament of Matrimony is found in the nuptial blessing.

Marriage

The epiclesis in the sacrament of Matrimony is found in the nuptial blessing. This only became the case in the 1991 editio typica altera, marking the first time all the nuptial blessings included an epiclesis in the history of the Roman Rite. The English version was introduced only in 2016.³¹ It prays: “Send down on them the grace of the Holy Spirit and pour your love into their hearts, that they may remain faithful in the Marriage covenant.”³² The Catechism explains: “In the epiclesis of this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church. The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity.”³³ In a marriage elevated to the dignity of a sacrament, the Holy Spirit, the Trinitarian Bond of love, is invoked as the source of the couple’s love and fidelity which they promise.

Do you want evidence of the Holy Spirit? Come to the liturgy and see sinners transfigured, elements transubstantiated, time transcended, sacrifices transacted, saints translated, and life transversed.
–David Fagerberg

Holy Orders

Finally, the sacrament of Holy Orders “confers a gift of the Holy Spirit which permits the exercise of a ‘sacred power’ (sacra potestas) which can come only from Christ himself through his Church.”³⁴ The essential rite for all three degrees (deacon, priest, and bishop) consists of the bishop’s imposition of hands along with the “consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and his gifts proper to the ministry to which the candidate is being ordained.”³⁵ The prayer for ordaining another bishop asks for an outpouring of “the power that is from you, the governing Spirit….”³⁶ For the ordination of priests, the bishop asks that God the Father would “renew deep within them the Spirit of holiness.”³⁷ Lastly, in ordaining deacons, the bishop prays: “Send forth the Holy Spirit upon them, O Lord, we pray, that they may be strengthened by the gift of your sevenfold grace to carry out faithfully the work of the ministry.”³⁸ It is the Holy Spirit, poured out anew at ordination, that we refer to when, in the liturgy, we respond to the ordained minister, “And with your spirit.”³⁹

Holiness in Training

The work of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s liturgy is rich and varied. David Fagerberg summarizes it well: “The movement of branches is a sign of the wind blowing, and I propose that the movement of liturgy is a sign of the Holy Spirit spirating. Do you want evidence of the Holy Spirit? Come to the liturgy and see sinners transfigured, elements transubstantiated, time transcended, sacrifices transacted, saints translated, and life transversed.”⁴⁰ Indeed, the liturgy is a work of the Holy Trinity which demands of us a theocentric vision to be truly understood. As Cardinal Robert Sarah said in his opening homily at the December 2023 Congress of African Liturgists, “Let us pray, dear brothers and sisters, that we may rediscover the Trinitarian origin of the liturgy.”⁴¹

The liturgy is the glorification of the trinitarian God, and the Trinity’s means of sanctifying God’s people. It serves as a training ground, forming us to see all of life aright through doxological lenses, so that at all times, and in all things, we can sing: “Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever.”

1. See Catechism of the Catholic Church (hereafter CCC), 688.
2. See Augustine, De Trinitate, XV.17.27: “The Holy Spirit, according to the Holy Scriptures, is neither of the Father alone, nor of the Son alone, but of both; and so intimates to us a mutual love, wherewith the Father and the Son reciprocally love one another.”
3. Augustine, De Trinitate, V.11.12.
4. See CCC, 1092: “In this sacramental dispensation of Christ’s mystery the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation….” The Catechism uses identical terms to describe the Holy Spirit’s actions in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (CCC 722-725) and in the Church (CCC 737). For a further treatment of these themes from the Catechism, see Christopher Carstens, Principles of Sacred Liturgy: Forming a Sacramental Vision (Hillenbrand Books, 2020), 40-45.
5. See CCC, 1092, 1098.
6. See CCC, 1092, 1099.
7. CCC, 1101.
8. Super Ioan. 16, lec. 4 (no. 2107).
9. Dom Anscar Vonier, The Spirit and the Bride (Assumption Press, 2012; originally published London: Burns, Oates, and Washbourne, 1935), 156.
10. See CCC, 1004.
11. See CCC 1108
12. CCC, 1091. Several other examples can be adduced: “The preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers” (CCC 1098).” “The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his work of salvation in the liturgy…” (CCC 1099). “The most intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is achieved in the liturgy” (CCC 1108). Emphases mine.
13. See CCC 1106
14. Jean Corbon, The Wellspring of Worship (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2005), 146.
15. Tertullian, De baptismo 4, quoted in Anscar Chupungco, What, Then, is Liturgy?: Musings and Memoir (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2010), 79.
16. See CCC 699.
17. Order of Baptism of Children (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2020), no. 54.
18. See CCC 1238.
19. Ambrose, De mysteriis 53, 59. See also Lumen Gentium, 564: “The Church indeed…by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By her preaching she brings forth to a new and immortal life the sons who are born to her in baptism, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God.”
20. Order of Baptism of Children, no. 54.
21. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 21.
22. The Order of Blessing the Oil of Catechumens and of the Sick and of Consecrating the Chrism [OBO] (Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019), no. 25.
23. See Paul Turner, Sacred Oils (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2021), 73, 79-80.
24. The Order of Blessing the Oil of Catechumens and of the Sick and of Consecrating the Chrism [OBO] (Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2019), no. 25.
25. CCC 1299.
26. CCC 1105.
27. CCC 1353. This latter work of the Spirit is articulated variously, asking that “we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit” (EP II); that “we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ” (EP III); and that “gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory” (EP IV).
28. See CCC 1449.
29. OBO no. 20.
30. CCC 1519.
31. See Paul Turner, Inseparable Love: A Commentary on the Order of Celebrating Matrimony in the Catholic Church (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017), 135.
32. Order of Celebrating Matrimony (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016.), no. 74.
33. CCC 1624.
34. CCC 1538
35. CCC 1573.
36. Ordination of a Bishop, or Priests, and of Deacons (Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2021), no. 47.
37. Ordination of a Bishop, or Priests, and of Deacons (Washington D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2021), no. 131.
38. Ordination of a Bishop, or Priests, and of Deacons, no. 207.
39. See Christopher Carstens and Douglas Martis, Mystical Body, Mystical Voice: Encountering Christ in the Words of the Mass (Chicago, IL: Liturgy Training Publications, 2011), 135-136.
40. David Fagerberg, Liturgical Dogmatics: How Catholic Beliefs Flow from Liturgical Prayer (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2021), 175.
41. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256231/cardinal-sarah-addresses-first-african-congress-on-liturgy