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Good morning, father and wishes. 

I want to ask you something. A person on YouTube rightly says that the Holy Spirit is indicated by the female form.

The Holy Spirit is not a woman, but the name is expressed by the female form.
I checked this information and it is correct.
Can you tell me something about this? 

Answer of the priest

Dearest,

1. the translation of “spirit” in Hebrew is ruah, and it is a female grammar form.

As you are saying it does not refer to the person, but it means that the noun is a female form.

It is just a way to talk about it and nothing more.

For example, in Latin the noun fonte (fountain, spring) is a male form while in Italian it is a female one.

In the same way the Holy Spirit is called “living fountain” (fons vivus) and “fire” (ignis) which are male forms, and, in a female form, “love” (caritas).

2. At the beginning of the Sacred Scripture we read that God’s spirit swept over the waters. Here the word “spirit” means “breathing life”.

The Old Testament often expresses God’s action using a humanized language.

Also in the moment of man’s creation God “blew into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2,7).

But this expression does not refer to the third divine Person, as it will be revealed in the New Testament.

3. In the Old Testament the spirit of God communicates life to all beings, so it is written: “When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground” (Psalm 104, 29-30). The spirit of God also arouses judges. For example: “The spirit of the Lord came upon him (Otniel), and he judged Israel” (Judges 3, 10) so the hand of God was powerful with him in defeating the enemies.

Moreover it gives the ability to artisans (Exodus 31, 3), the discernment to judges (Numbers 11, 17), the wisdom to Joseph (Genesis 41, 38).

4. Finally and above all it inspires prophets: “So the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke to him: He took a part of the spirit that was on him (Moses) while the false prophets follow just their own thought“ (Ezekiel 13,3).
Particularly it is said that the spirit of God will be given in fullness to the Messiah: “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11,2-3).

5. Prophet Joel says that through the Messiah men will be gifted with an extraordinary effusion of the Spirit: “Then afterward I will pour out my spirit upon all mankind. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; Even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” (Joel 3,1-2).
But, in a more meaningful way, the Spirit will be the principle of a interior renewal  for each and this interior renewal will make each one capable to faithfully keep the Lord’s law: “I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the stony heart from their bodies, and replace it with a natural heart, so that they will live according to my statutes, and observe and carry out my ordinances” (Ezekiel 11,19-20).

6. This will be the beginning of the new Covenant: “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (…) this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31, 31.33).
In this sense it is said: “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life” (Ezekiel 37,5).

7. Only with Jesus we talk about the Holy Spirit in terms of person: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (John 14,16).
After the departure of Christ the Spirit replaces him with the Christian faithful: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you” (John 14,16-17).

8. The Holy Spirit replaces Christ with men; moreover the Holy Spirit is the “consoler”, the advocate who intercedes with the Father (cf. 1 John 2,1) or argues  for those who are with Him before the courts: “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” (Luke 12,11-12).

9. Is it the Spirit of truth who guides towards the whole and entire truth (John 16,13).
He makes us understand the mysterious personality of Christ. He makes us understand how Christ brings to fulfilment the Sacred Scriptures (“You search the scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf” John 5,39), which is the meaning of his words (“But he was speaking about the temple of his body” John 2, 19), his actions and his “signs” (John 14, 16) which the disciples had not understood before (John 2, 22).

10. In this way the Holy Spirit will give witness to Christ: “”When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me” (John 15,26).
And the Holy Spirit will confuse the unbelief of the world: “And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation” (John  16, 8).

11. To conclude: the fact that the Holy Spirit in Hebrew is expressed with the female form does not matter.
Also God’s thinking, which is the Son, is sometimes called “Wisdom” [ndr. the Italian translation of “wisdom” is “sapienza” and it is a female noun]. 

I thank you for giving me the opportunity to write something about the expression “spirit of God” which recurs many times in the Old Testaments and in the New one.

I wish you a serene, graceful and peaceful Octave of Christmas.
I remember you to the Lord and I bless you.

Father Angelo