"Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest."
The words of this well-known hymn affirm that the Holy Spirit is the Creator of all things. In the Creed, we say we believe that the Father is the "maker of heaven and earth." Yet so is the Holy Spirit. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, "Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do" (n. 267).
The Bible begins by declaring that when God created all things, "a mighty wind swept over the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The word "wind" here is the same as "spirit" or "breath." We can see an echo of this in the English word "respiration." "Spirit" is in the middle of it! So it is no accident that God, in creating the first man, "blew into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7). On the first Easter night, when He appeared to the apostles, the Risen Christ "breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22), and on Pentecost, the Spirit came with "a noise like a strong driving wind" (Acts 2:2).
In the beginning the Spirit brought about creation. Through the Paschal Mystery, He brings about the new creation, pouring forth eternal life.
The movement of the Spirit is in one direction: life. He gives it, He restores it, He elevates it, and He will raise it from the dead. "If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you" (Rom. 8:11).
Therefore the movement of the thoughts and choices of those who are united with the Holy Spirit is also in the direction of life. St. Paul can therefore contrast the works of the Spirit, including "peace, patience," and "kindness," with those of the flesh, which include "hatreds, outbursts of fury," and "acts of selfishness" (see Gal. 5:18-23).
Into which list would acts of dismemberment be placed, or acts of ending a baby's life with scissors? Into which list, according to the descriptions of those who perform it, would the abortion procedure fall? It is amazing that so many Christians can easily see that slapping someone in the face is not consistent with life in the Spirit, but think that tearing a child apart sometimes can be.
Some choices, no matter what our motives or circumstances, cannot ever be reconciled with the movement of the Holy Spirit in our soul. Abortion is one of them.
Nor can one say, "I follow the Holy Spirit, but abortion is not my problem." Can we follow the one who gives life, and remain unconcerned about the taking of life by a procedure that claims more victims than any crime, disease, or war?
The Holy Spirit is everywhere. The taking of life, wherever it occurs, is of concern to Him. No matter how far away I may be, in body or mind, from the act that takes life, if I am close to God, then that act is of concern to me.
Part One: The Holy Spirit and Abortion
Part Three: The Spirit of Truth
Part Four: The Advocate
Part Five: The Spirit of Love