Spirit Witnessing Human Trauma
Spirit claims that Christ witnesses everything that is done on Earth 24 hours a day. He sees things that are inaccessible to others: the thoughts and feelings of others, both good and bad. According to Spirit, Christ witnesses all fears, doubts, pain, and their manifestations, both external and internal (Simpson, 2016). He witnesses every family, every person, no matter how small and insignificant they seem to themselves or others.
Not only does the Spirit observe, but it also feels compassion for every individual (Rambo & Keller, 2010). To be compassionate is “to be in the same anguish as the one being harmed” (Bishop Robert, 2014b, 05:32). Thus, Spirit witnesses to human trauma, as in it, Christ experiences the same pain as the traumatized person. Spirit shows how Christ emotionally dies every day when He sees millions of victims of injustice.
Articulating Witness
Holy Saturday is a day when there is still a feeling of mental fatigue from empathizing with the Savior in His torments. The evidence of the Spirit trauma of people is transmitted with the present tension from the horror of the Sacrifice made for human crimes (Bishop Robert, 2014a). Since Christ saw people’s injuries, He wanted to help them and therefore went to death.
Therefore, the testimony is transmitted in the Holy Saturday scene through the incipient bright joy of the upcoming Celebration and the appearance of a premonition of the most essential Holiday (Harvard Divinity School, 2014). Between the ideas of «later life conquering death and first death conquering life», there is a concept of Holy Saturday (Rambo & Keller, 2010, p. 130). Therefore, the joy comes from the fact that Christ sees human trauma and will help atone for it and bear it by being close to a person and sharing their pain.
Understanding the Holy Spirit in Light of Trauma
By suffering, the Lord shakes a person in their indifference and points out their dangerous spiritual state. God uses pain as a pointer to show a person the need for salvation. Thus, suffering becomes a sign of God’s mercy to fallen man and indicates infinite love for His creation (Pneumatology, 2019).
The Holy Spirit, in light of trauma, is understood as a way to find salvation, to which a person is pushed by pain. Suffering teaches a person God’s truths and spiritual laws, in practice showing the action of the Holy Spirit (McGrath, 2011). The Lord wants to point out that it is not chaos that operates in life, but an excellent, clear order, the authenticity of which is confirmed by several sacred texts, including the Holy Spirit.
Church Implications for Holy Spirit Understanding
The implications for the Church of this understanding of the Holy Spirit are to explain to parishioners the meaning of suffering. Suffering contains a particular mystery in itself, awakens compassion and respect in a person, and at the same time fills them with fear and experience (Pneumatology, 2019). To achieve the goal of suffering laid upon them by Christ and described in the Holy Spirit, the Church helps people understand this (Simpson, 2016). It gives the parishioner an interpretation of the Holy Spirit’s incomprehensible or often misunderstood moments, helping them accept their suffering and use it to approach the kingdom of God.
References
Bishop Robert Barron. (2014a). Bishop Barron on Hans Urs von Balthasar (Part 1 of 2). YouTube.
Bishop Robert Barron. (2014b). Bishop Barron on Hans Urs von Balthasar (Part 2 of 2). YouTube.
Harvard Divinity School. (2014). Witnessing breath between death and life: Reinterpreting Holy Saturday. YouTube.
McGrath, A. E. (2011). Theology: The basics. Wiley-Blackwell.
Pneumatology. (2019). Why worship the Spirit? A historical introduction to pneumatology.
Rambo, S., & Keller, K. (2010). Spirit and trauma: A theology of remaining. Westminster John Knox Press.
Simpson, S. B. (2016). Modern Christian theology. T&T Clark.