Holy Spirit: Unbounded Gift of Joy, The

Spiritual Life, Winter 1999 by Williams, Joan

The Holy Spirit: Unbounded Gift of Joy. By Mary Ann Fatula, O.P. The Liturgical Press: Collegeville, MN 56321, 1998. Pp. 188. Paper. $16.95.

In preparation for the Jubilee Year of 2000, Pope John Paul 11 dedicated one of the years of preparation to the Holy Spirit. This world-wide emphasis makes Fatula's book particularly welcome since, to my knowledge at least, there aren't too many works both erudite and readable on this mysterious Person of the Trinity. In the rising flood of "How to" books, it's lovely to read Fatula@s introductory sentence in chapter one: "The sweetest fruit of knowing the Holy Spirit is a happy heart." No "how to" here, just the promise.

Composed of eleven tidy chapters with clear subdivisions, this book has a format that encourages lectio divina, a leisurely reading interspersed with prayer. A convenient, if not extensive, index of both names and subjects and a good bibliography are helpful tools. Thankfully the publisher avoids giving the reader carpal tunnel syndrome by allowing space enough in the book's gutter so that the pages remain open without having to clutch the book with both hands.

The author sets a consistent style in chapter one. All through this book the voice we hear is that of an experienced person of prayer and a gifted theologian. Fatula is a professor of theology at Ohio Dominican College in Columbus. I find this combination of devotion and erudition unusual. Footnotes abound, but since they appear at the bottom of each page, I did not find them distracting.

Among others, Eusebius, Seraphim of Sarov, Macarius, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, and Aquinas make up some of the forty-eight notes in this first chapter alone. These many strands throughout the book are caught up in a tightly woven discourse, beginning with the explanation of how the Paraclete, the Spirit of Love "dwells in us as our inseparable and intimate friend .... our counselor, our advocate and helper, our comfort and consoler" (p. 5). In this chapter we see how the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of peace, "that tranquillity of order" (p. 5) and the "Wealth of the Poor" (p. 7).

The author next examines Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension in the light of the Spirit's joyful outpouring of gifts at Pentecost. The next chapter illumines the Holy Spirit's gifts given to us in baptism and confirmation. In reading these pages, the image that comes to my mind is that of the medieval manuscripts with their intricate scrolls and flourishes of gold and brilliant blues and red: so much exquisite detail, yet the words remain clear. This chapter closes with an interesting review of the Charismatic Renewal which I found helpful, especially given the spread of the movement in Pentecostal groups both in the States and abroad. Fatula's extensive theological training is evident in her balanced approach to the questions these movements have raised. Referring to Vatican Il's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World, she writes, 'This same Spirit is intimately at work in our world, in any culture or religion where good is found, and in our every effort and progress toward truth and goodness" (p. 50).

1 have underlined many sentences in chapter four where Fatula reflects beautifully on how the Spirit of Love is at the center of every true love and friendship. Flowing from this more personal approach, the author then shows how a community of love is formed by the Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart of the Church and in the sacraments.

Fatula has a valuable overview of some contemporary theologians' approach to the Holy Spirit in chapter six. Here she moves from the historical background to a study of Karl Rahner, Walter Kasper, and Kilian McDonnell O.S.B., among many others.

Returning to a more devotional approach, the author shows how the "Spirit of Healing" is our comforter and the cure not only for our present addictions and burdens but for those familial problems from our past: "Through prayer for inner healing, the Holy Spirit who transcends time can take us back not only to our recent past but also to our youth, infancy, and even to our time in the womb, touching with infinite love the roots of wounds we may not even remember" (P. 114).

A tantalizing reference in chapter eight, which I wish had been more fully developed, deals with the "Spirit as our Inner Teacher" and the baptismal gift of the "sense of the faith" (sensus fidei) which Fatula defines as "an instinctive, supernatural sense of what does and does not belong to the faith we have received from the apostles" (p. 126). In this same context the author writes, "Vatican II tells us that the entire Church community receives from the Spirit this baptismal 'anointing... which cannot err in matters of faith, and which is at work in us when the entire Church gives its universal consent in matters of faith and morals." The ordinary person would greatly benefit from a better understanding of this teaching which often is obscured by the letter of the law.

Returning again to the Holy Spirit as the heart of our prayer, we see how this intimacy leads us into a deeper relationship with each divine person, an idea continued and more fully developed in the following pages. Fittingly enough, in the closing chapter we see the Holy Spirit at the heart of our death and of our risen life in heaven.