“I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord,
the Giver of Life……”
Some months ago, I had an unexpected ‘visitor’ come to ‘my inner room’. This ‘visitor’ arrived in the form of the phrase from the Nicaean Creed: I believe in the Holy Spirit…. the Lord, the Giver of Life…… The unexpected arrival of the phrase surprised me as it seemed to make itself at home in a quiet space in my inner room as a simple, gentle, reassuring presence. Over the weeks it has become an abiding presence that is always waiting for me, sometimes nudging me to simply be with, or to engage in a heart-to-heart conversation about how much I really do believe and allow the Holy Spirit to influence my way of engaging in the world and Church today.
The more I chose to sit with the ‘phrase’ the more I began to understand why it has been given to me at this particular time.
We are living in a time of great chaos, of great political and social instability, driven by a myriad of conflicting forces and motivations, intensified by the use of technology and social media and the rapid advance of ‘artificial intelligence’, all of which are having a major impact on our daily lives, our societies and the life of our planet. Like many people, I am, at times, weighted down by the pain and sense of powerlessness before the forces of death and destruction in the many wars raging in different parts of our world resulting in the numerous displaced peoples desperately searching for security and the bare necessities for survival, and the seemingly indifference and deafening silence of governments to suffering. The stories we dare to listen to and to hear, the images we dare to look at and to see of civilian populations, especially the children, being bombed out of their homes, even out of their hospital beds, are heart wrenching. These horrific realties, together with the escalating severe climatic events and their devastating effects on people’s lives are sometimes overwhelming. At times I want to turn away, to switch off, to disconnect, to pretend that they are not happening…but they are! And, I know that if I want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, I need to allow my heart to be touched by them. Not to do so will lead to me to become disconnected and heartless. Pope Francis expressed very powerfully in his Encyclical ‘Dilexit Nos’ the dangers of turning away:
“A society dominated by narcissism and self-centredness will increasingly become “heartless”. This will lead in turn to the “loss of desire”, since as other persons disappear from the horizon, we find ourselves trapped within walls of our own making, no longer capable of healthy relationships. As a result, we also become incapable of openness to God.” [17]
So, I am profoundly grateful to my ‘visitor’ who is enabling me to look and see with new eyes, to listen and hear with new ears the greater reality of Life present in our midst, a Presence to whom I can go to and say, again and again, Yes, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life.” So, instead of being overwhelmed and tempted to disconnect from the suffering of my sisters and brothers, and of the planet, I am called to bring them to “the Lord, the Giver of Life”, to bring the pain of the victims of war, of poverty and injustices, together with my own pain, powerlessness and outrage at the injustices towards the most vulnerable, and to ask ‘what more can I do?’
I have come to realize that this particular phrase from the Nicaean Creed is just another facet of that Spirit filled phrase from our Constitutions that has sustained, inspired, challenged and supported me for many years,
“… With confidence in the abiding and transforming power of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our world, we participate in the spiritual renewal of the human heart so that justice and peace may reign (…)” (#12)
Today, the blending of the two phrases invites me to believe afresh in the Presence of the creative transforming Spirit of God, breathing new life into the chaos of our time and in particular into the People of God, the Church.
Indeed, I can now see more clearly how these phrases also deepen my understanding of our Cenacle mission here in Brixton, London. Our community is missioned “to become a transforming presence at the heart of this city (…).” . I am learning that ‘becoming’ a transforming presence demands an open, listening, compassionate heart, a heart that is present to the everyday life of people and events, that is not afraid to engage in dialogue with all peoples, or to be present in those liminal spaces and places, on the thresholds of dying and birthing, in these changing times, these paschal times. Becoming evokes that constant necessary movement towards ongoing transformation, that call to ‘turn around’…… ‘to cast the net on the other side’… to seek and discern, with others, the voice of “the Lord, the Giver of Life” inviting me/us to follow Him…. always to seek the More! The dynamic of becoming opens my eyes and ears to recognize and be touched by the beauty and goodness of all those searching for ways to ease the burden of those who are suffering, of those searching for meaning, and with them to strive to build a caring, compassionate hope filled community in our local area, and beyond.
So, I give thanks for my ‘visitor’ who in the midst of this paschal time has enlivened my faith and enabled me to freely proclaim,
Yes!
I believe God,
in Jesus Christ,
and in the Holy Spirit….
the Lord, the Giver of Life……
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son….
Sr Patricia Byrne
Brixton Community, London
19 May 2025
