In the original Nicene Creed that was completed in 325 at the Council of Nicaea, the only thing that the Creed stated about the Holy Spirit was “And the Holy Spirit.”  Many reasons could account for the brevity of what was stated about the Holy Spirit, but the simplest answer would be the Council was more focused on explaining who Jesus Christ is and eliminating any relating heresies about the divine Son that their focus was not on the third person of the Trinity.  It would not be until the Council of Constantinople in 381 that the inclusion of the Holy Spirit, as we would know, was added.  This just shows how the Holy Spirit is sometimes the forgotten person of the Trinity.  We believe in it, but do we know how the Holy Spirit acts in our lives?

In the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul states, “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is given to us (Romans 5:5).”  The Holy Spirit is meant to be that love God shows us poured into our lives.  The primary way this occurs is through Baptism.  At our Baptism, we have water poured over us to become that new creation in Christ, but we also receive the Holy Spirit.  God gives us the Holy Spirit out of His love for us.  At Baptism, the Holy Spirit becomes our loving guide in seeking to live as God calls us to live.  It helps us grow in the faith, it helps us make good decisions, and it ultimately can help us find our path to heaven.  Since the Holy Spirit is God, we have God as our guide through this live, which is a profound sign of His love for us.

Wonderfully, God does not leave us with the Holy Spirit at our Baptism.  We receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit at our Confirmation.  It is not as if we receive part of the Holy Spirit then and part of the Holy Spirit now.  It is more like chocolate milk.  We pour a glass of milk then put chocolate syrup into it.  At our Confirmation, we stir the syrup into the milk that we receive at our Baptism. The milk can exist on its own; the chocolate syrup simply adds to it. Likewise, Baptism can exist on its own, but Confirmation helps us to receive more grace. The purpose is that we need to grow into the Holy Spirit in our lives, but once we are confirmed, the Holy Spirit should have the same effect it had on St. Peter at Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit goes from being an internal guide to us individually growing in the faith to the grand proclamation of what we believe.  The Holy Spirit should set us on fire to proclaim our faith to the nations.  Why is it important to have the Holy Spirit in this way?  So that we know that when we speak words of our faith, it is not our own words but the words of God speaking through us through the Spirit that dwells in us.  What confidence we have in the Holy Spirit that becomes part of our lives!

In these two Sacraments, we can see how important the Holy Spirit is in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is given to us out of God seeking to share His love with us.  At Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit to guide us by the grace received to seek to learn and deepen the faith in our own lives.  At Confirmation, the Holy Spirit comes alive in our souls to share the faith that was grown.  The Holy Spirit, God Himself, dwells with us, and we give thanks for its advocacy in our lives.