P. Redemptus Maria Valabek O.Carm., Rome
(Part 3)
The Spirit and Prayer in the Church Fathers
The foundations laid by Scripture regarding the mission of the Holy Spirit, especially in relation to prayer, were studied, clarified, and developed by the Church Fathers. This pneumatological dimension of Christian faith and life was especially emphasized in the Eastern Church. Although this dimension did not completely disappear in the West, the person and work of Jesus Christ were nevertheless emphasized much more. Because the doctrine of the Holy Trinity was elaborated in the East, which has always remained strongly connected to the early Christian centuries, during which various disputes forced the best Catholic thinkers to explain the mystery of the Trinity—as far as human thought and reason allow—the Eastern Fathers were pioneers among those who developed the teaching about the Holy Spirit regarding both his person and his mission.
The Fathers recognize that the Holy Spirit has the task of guiding the believer "into all truth," which specifically refers to the Holy Trinity. The Spirit reveals the Trinity, as liturgy sings: "The Holy Spirit gives life to souls, raises them in purity, allowing the one nature of the Trinity to shine in them mysteriously." 27 Human beings are created in the image of God and become living icons of the Trinity. 28 On Pentecost, the mystery of the Trinity is celebrated in the East, for its revelation is the foundational work of the Spirit. Only on the Monday of Pentecost is the Spirit particularly honored. An icon of the Trinity is displayed in the temple; this image leads the Church on earth to be immersed in contemplation and praise of the "absolute ‘church’ of the three divine Persons, their eternal plan or decree." 29 This is precisely what St. Gregory of Nyssa meant when he remarked: "Christianity is imitation of divine nature." 30
The Eastern understanding sees Christ the Savior as one who gathers and incorporates humanity into the unity of his Body, the Church. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, guarantees not only preservation but also the inner growth of individual members of the Church. He approaches them individually and fills them with charismatic gifts, as is appropriate for each of them. This was precisely symbolized on Pentecost by the division of fiery tongues that rested upon each of those present (Acts 2:3). The Holy Spirit enables diversity within the unity of Christ's Body. And among these charisms, the gift of prayer must take precedence.
Just as He sent the Son, the Father now continuously sends His Church the Holy Spirit. Christ came as a person; likewise, the Spirit now comes as a person: he is to be the substitute for Christ and to comfort Christians at times when Christ's presence is not visible, but not independently of Christ. The Spirit has one goal: "To renew in the world the presence of Christ within and to reveal Christ not anymore before his disciples but with them." 31 Because the Eastern Fathers see in the Holy Spirit rather "personalized" holiness than love between the Father and the Son (the Western theory), they see in him the giver of love, allowing man to partake in the inner love of the Holy Trinity. "This quality of the Spirit determines the character of the Church's prayer, which is an urgent call for his coming, an epiclesis. And due to this giver and gift, this humble request—epiclesis— is always answered. The Fathers say: God hears all prayers, without guaranteeing that they will be heard; the exception is the plea for the Holy Spirit. The Lord himself said: ‘If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’ (Luke 11:13). Refusal would contradict the very nature of the giver." 32 The best gifts that a loving Father can give are those that guarantee happiness lasting not only for a fleeting moment, nor for the whole life, but for eternity. Beginning with Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has become a gift for every Christian personally and individually, enriching him in his inner life. He gives us not just a share in some created gift (in scholastic terminology, this is about ability), but something from himself, thus giving Christians the strength to live with a dynamism that surprises not only the world but also themselves. The Eastern Fathers assert that the dove that descended upon Jesus during his baptism now descends upon every "son in the Son" and fills him. The Eastern Fathers spontaneously believe that the Holy Spirit acts most effectively in the prayer par excellence—in the liturgy. In the East, prayer takes various forms, but among these forms, one can find much more harmony than in the West, where until recently there was a vast chasm between liturgical prayer and personal, inner prayer. In the East, the liturgy has sustained the faith of many believers, beset by harsh history, and thus the East could not but see in the liturgy much more than just the best remedy for our wickedness; the liturgy is primarily the self-revelation of God through the outpouring of divine energy (cf. the teaching of Gregory Palamas) by the Holy Spirit.
The Eastern mentality even today underappreciates the fraternal forms of communion (communio) that characterize the Roman liturgy of our times. The East is convinced that the liturgy introduces us as Christians into the fullness of our lives, into the very presence of the divine Persons. The Holy Spirit is thus referred to as the "Spirit of communion"—according to the favorite saying of St. Basil.
For it is the Spirit that unifies the hearts of Christians in this sovereign prayer and enables them to share. 33 The culmination of this communion (communio) is explicitly expressed at the conclusion of the Eastern liturgy: "We have received the heavenly Spirit. We have seen the true light. We have found the unblemished faith, when we worship the undivided Trinity, for the Trinity has saved us." This privileged prayer introduces us into communion with the Father, especially because it prompts us to be convinced that we are sons in the Son. Thus for the Eastern mentality, the liturgy represents heaven and the eternal goods that open to us for a fleeting moment while we are still on this earth. The Spirit inspires the prayer in which we call: "Abba—Father!", and confess: "Jesus is Lord!"
The entire dispute regarding the epiclesis is of such importance to Eastern thinking only because it touches upon the core of the doctrine concerning the dynamic influence of the Holy Spirit. This influence of the Spirit gives the rites their saving power, enables them to touch the minds and hearts of the faithful, and gives the believers a partial glimpse and taste of what is expected in the eschatological kingdom. As in every prayer, so also in this most sublime, privileged moment, "the Giver of life and Treasure of grace," "personalized" holiness reveals himself as the active source of all divine activity. 34 If prayer is to reach God, it must have the Holy Spirit as its source: only he can give it what is essential, namely, that it is not a human monologue but a dialogue between man and God, where, as always, the most important element is the initiative of God.
In this too brief summary, we have indicated that the Holy Spirit has a fundamental role in Christian prayer. This is explicitly written when the writers deal with the theme of prayer ex professo. In the East, gnosis (knowledge) and love are intimately connected. The Holy Spirit operates in various stages of man's ascent to God through increasingly spiritual types of prayer, beginning with the prayer of humble petition. "Step by step the soul is renewed, regaining its unity, special petitions diminish and seem superfluous as God answers prayer through the revelation of all-embracing providence. Requests cease when the soul completely entrusts itself to God's will. This state is called 'pure prayer'." 35 The peak of prayer is reached in the peace and rest of contemplation. "The movement of the soul participates in the influence of the Holy Spirit through its complete purity." 36 This state, which seems terrifying and inhuman to those who have not been introduced to it, is the closest approximation of the earthly person to what life in heaven will be, when earth and that which pulls man down will no longer have power to separate him from the all-pervasive guidance of the Spirit. St. Isaac, whom we quoted earlier, writes: "Just as the saints in the coming age no longer pray, because their minds are immersed in the divine Spirit, but dwell in ecstasy in that ineffable glory, so too the mind, when made worthy to perceive the blessedness of the coming age, forgets itself and all that is here, and no thought of anything will move it." 37
