Can you explain the significance of the Holy Spirit to your children? These questions and answers from YOUCAT for Kids will help guide your conversations.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God,
as is the Father
and as is the Son.
It is the Holy Spirit
who, since the very beginning, fills creation.
It is the Holy Spirit
who spoke through the prophets.
It is the Holy Spirit
through whom Mary became the Mother of God.
It is the Holy Spirit
who descended upon Jesus at the baptism in the Jordan.
It is the Holy Spirit
who freed the disciples from their fear at Pentecost.
It is the Holy Spirit
who brings the divine into the Church.
It is the Holy Spirit
who makes me a dwelling place of God.

What does the Holy Spirit look like?

We do not know.
Nobody has seen the Holy Spirit.
But you can feel him.
The bible describes him
in many powerful images:
He is mighty like fire,
gentle like a dove,
captivating like a storm,
soft like a light murmuring sound.

How do we know that the Holy Spirit is here?

We can see the working of the Holy Spirit in the joy, the courage and the strength that he gives. The Holy Spirit inspires us with good ideas and urges us to carry them out.

It was on Pentecost that the disciples experienced the Holy Spirit for the first time. They had been hiding out of fear. All of a sudden, the Holy Spirit came like a fire upon them. Their fear was gone! A great joy filled them. “They… began to speak foreign languages, as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.” “Each one [was] bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language.” (Ac 2:4.6) It was overwhelming for the people of Jerusalem: More than 3,000 came to faith.

To this day the Holy Spirit brings holy unrest into the world. He continues to work wonders and spread his gifts across the world. At times he is like fire that lets us burn for the good. Other times we feel him in our conscience: “Do something! Help! Interfere!” And another time he is like a silent guest who lives in our soul, changes us from within and makes us new people.

Extra Bits About the Holy Spirit:

• If you want to explain to your child in a story what a prophet is and how he is called by the Holy Spirit, you can read aloud the story of the prophet Jonah. You can find it in the first part of the bible, in the Old Testament.
• An exemplary story for the working of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is the encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian court official: the Spirit moves Philip to explain the bible to the foreign official. The official is moved by the Spirit to recognise the truth of the scripture, which leads to his immediate conversion. Read aloud the story of the baptism of the Ethiopian to your child. It is written in Ac 8:26–40.
• The fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Goodness Trustfulness Gentleness Self-control (Cf. Ga 5:22–23)
• Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. 1 K 19:11–12
• The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord (cf. Is 11:1-2). The apostle Paul lists them: “The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose. One may have the gift of preaching with wisdom given him by the Spirit; another may have the gift of preaching instruction given him by the same Spirit; and another the gift of faith given by the same Spirit; another again the gift of healing, through this one Spirit; one, the power of miracles; another, prophecy; another the gift of recognising spirits; another the gift of tongues and another the ability to interpret them. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses.” (1 Co 12:7–11)

This blog is extracted from YOUCAT for Kids, an engaging, child-friendly Catechism to help children (ages 8-13) and parents to discover their Catholic faith together. Includes fun graphics, quotes from Saints and thought-provoking images.

Support the mission of CTS by ordering your copy of YOUCAT for Kids here.