Page:The Paraclete.djvu/33

Rh this is no unimportant question, but one which strikes at the very foundations of the Catholic faith.

2. The arguments for the Personality of the Holy Spirit are naturally sought in the New Testament, and we may conveniently consider them separately as they occur in the Gospels, in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the Epistles.

(1) The testimony of the Gospels, and especially that of our Blessed Lord, recorded in the Gospels, will demand our first attention. Here we believe the evidence is complete, and will satisfy any one who acknowledges the authority of the Speaker and is willing to take His language in its simple, natural meaning.

Reference has already been made to the incidents connected with the Baptism of our Lord and their significance. Without dwelling longer on this subject and some others which bear a meaning in harmony with it, we would direct attention to the more formal teaching of our Lord with reference to the mission and office of the Holy Spirit, especially as contained in the valedictory address to His disciples, as recorded by S. John, and more particularly in the passages relating to the Comforter.

With regard to the exact meaning of the word, Paraclete, here translated Comforter and