In the Christian tradition the dove is a symbol of the Spirit. The evangelist bears witness that at the baptism of Jesus on the Jordan, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove ( cf Mt 3:16-17). From the earliest times, in the liturgical books of the Church and in Christian art, the Holy Spirit has been depicted in the form of a dove. It is noteworthy that in the Basilica of St Peter's at the Vatican, which is the seat of the Church, the Holy Spirit is represented by the symbol of a dove in flight with wings emitting fire. The symbol of a flying dove signifies that the Holy Spirit is above the limitations of time and space. We can also view the symbol of the dove as a sign that unites heaven and earth. He carries earth to heaven and brings heaven to earth. In other words, assuming the form of a dove, he acts as a source of communication between heaven and earth.
 
 

In the synoptic Gospels the Holy Spirit is described as " The Finger of God". It signifies that the Holy Spirit is God's power, authority and his tender touch. The Holy Spirit is the person who, as God's finger, translates into the believer's life the plan of God made complete through Christ. We can see that right from the beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit acts as God's finger. He comes and regulates the act of creation (cf Gen 1:1-2; 2:7). It is clear that he acts as God's finger in Christ's birth, his public life and his resurrection (cf Lk 1:35; 4:16-18; 24:51; 1 Pet: 3:8). The Holy Spirit is the hand of God that ensures God's constant protection and providence to the believer. The Holy Spirit guides the Church to Christ and to the Father as a mother guides her child.
 
 

The Scriptures picture the Holy Spirit as the oil of anointing. ( cf Is 61:1; Lk 4:18; Acts 10:38; 1Jn 2:27). When the Holy Spirit is described as the oil of anointing, the Spirit's characteristics of penetrating anywhere, and of bestowing unction and tenderness become evident. Just as oil removes friction and makes everything smooth and easy, the Holy Spirit eases the tension in the life of the believers. It was the Holy Spirit who, at Pentecost, dispelled the anguish caused to the Apostles by the death of Jesus. Anointing with oil is performed when the faithful are chosen for special mandates in the Church and are made fit to carry out their mission. Of the seven Sacraments in the Church, for four of them (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick), the presence and fullness of the Holy Spirit are signified by the use of the oil of chrism. This emphasises the importance of the oil of anointing as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, that is the oil of anointing, penetrates the flesh and the veins and the marrow of the bones. As a consequence, the impact of the world, the influence of evil and the despair and deterioration in the life of the faithful are banished. Moreover, the faithful become more God-oriented (cf Jer 20:1-7).
 
 

St Paul, gifted with supernatural wisdom, describes the Holy Spirit as a seal (cf 2 Cor 1:22, Eph 1:13, 4:30). When the Spirit is regarded as a seal, his permanent abiding in the hearts of men and in the Church, is confirmed. Through the usage of the word 'seal' it is clear that the Holy Spirit is the one who confirms, nourishes and guards the new convenant made through the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit guards the new covenant perfectly established in Jesus Christ and guides it forward creatively. As this seal is set more on the soul than on the body of the believer, the eternal dimension is established in his life. Because of this seal of the Holy Spirit, the believer, though on this earth, can taste heavenly joys.

Acting as a seal set by the Father through the Christ-event, the Holy Spirit works as a source of union between God and man, between man and his fellow-men, and between man and nature. This three-dimensional relationship, sealed in the Holy Spirit, is a visible sign of the kingdom of heaven established on this earth.
 
 

The Holy Spirit is the mutual love between the Persons of the Father and the Son. St Paul makes this very clear: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). To put it in another way , the Holy Spirit is the special gift of the Father and the Son. Pope John Paul II, by describing the Holy Spirit as a personal gift, points to his individuality. This Holy Spirit is the constant procession from the Father to the Son, from the Son to the Father, from the Father through the Son to the faithful.

He pours the Father's creative love, the Son's saving love through his own purifying love into the hearts of the faithful. As a result, the faithful are born again in the image and likeness of the Trinity. The life of faith that attains the trinitarian dimension becomes gradually a sacrament that enables us to love one another and share with one another. To put it in another way, through the love of the Holy Spirit, each believer becomes a replica of the Father-Son-Holy Spirit and is transformed into a channel of mercy in this world.
 
 

Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit to the disciples as Helper ( Jn 14:16; 26; 16:7; 15:26; 1 Jn 2:1). Through the name ‘Paraclete’ , he asserts that the Holy Spirit is protector, helper, comforter, intermediary and adviser to man. The greatest help the Holy Spirit can give is to make the faithful the children of God. The Holy Spirit forms the nature of the faithful after the nature of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. Thus he makes them children of God. Moreover, as a helper, the Holy Spirit can be said to be the forerunner of heavenly verities to earth and of earthly verities to heaven. When the believer receives the Holy Spirit as a result of the Pentecostal mystery, the Father and the Son come to dwell in him through the mediation of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit, the source of the trinitarian fellowship, the beauty and splendour of the trinitarian mystery, fills the believers through the Father and the Son. The same spirit purifies them and prepares them for the indwelling of the Father and the Son.

In this sense the Holy Spirit acts as the forerunner of the indwelling of the Father and the Son in the faithful. This divine dispensation is the indwelling of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. At the same time the Spirit guides the believer to the Father through Jesus, the Son. Thus the Holy Spirit becomes the predecessor of the believer to the Father and the Son. This human activity in the Spirit can be called a gigantic leap forward of the universe. In short, if the Spirit is the outlet for the persons of the Father and the Son, the same Spirit is the entrance door for the believer to the life of the Father and the Son.
 
 

When we study the word of God and the tradition of the Church carefully, it is clear that the Holy Spirit is the pulse of a new power. He is the One who replaces the heart of stone with a heart of flesh (cf Ez 36:24-28), makes the skeleton assume flesh, gives life to the dead ( cf Is 37:1-10), fills the young with ardour and gives new dreams to the old ( cf Joel 2:28). In that divine Spirit, yesterdays are todays and today is tomorrow. Through him the wheel of life is ever rejuvenated and becomes creative(cf Mt 3:8, Is 48:16; Num 7:12; Acts 1:8; 2:2; 4:30-31; Ez 36:25-27; Lk 24:49; 2 Tim 1:6-7,14).

Thus everything acquires meaning and life all the time. The Holy Spirit unravels the mysteries of the universe and reveals heavenly secrets to man (cf Jn 16:13). By being always with the faithful (cf Jn 14:16) the Holy Spirit constantly unites heaven and earth. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to guide creation, particularly believers, to the perfection of the Father and the maturity of the Son ( a maturity that always searches for the Father's glory and the good of one's fellow-men) ( cf Jn 16:13). And for this purpose, the Holy Spirit helps us to discover the power of evil and to remove it, to embrace the good and preserve it.
 
 

In the New Testament the Holy Spirit, who is the gift of Christ, is not just a power but a person. Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Blessed Trinity who guides the Church to Christ and through him to the Father. Interpreting the Holy Bible, Yves Congar says, "First of all, the Spirit possesses a real and fully personal character. Christ speaks of him as ‘another paraclete’, personal like himself (Jn 14:16-17). St Paul, like St John, shows him as the object of a second mission, following that of the Son yet of the same kind (Gal 4:4-6), and speaks of him as of a real, acting subject, assisting us, praying and interceding (Rom 8:16, 26,27); very often, too, the Spirit is mentioned in a Trinitarian formula, parallel with and perfectly equal to the Father and the Son" ( cf 1 Cor 12:4-6, 2:13, Mt 28:19, 4:29). The Greek fathers teach that based on this individual nature, the work of creation is centered on the Father, the work of salvation on the Son and the work of sanctification on the Spirit. According to their teaching, the work of sanctification is not just attributed to the Spirit, but is his true individual activity.
 
 

The Holy Spirit, who is always with the people of God through the Christ-event, presents himself to the faithful through symbols in the created universe. He thus reveals his infinite love for the faithful and the created universe. He makes use of symbols that man can easily understand--wind, seal, water, oil, fire-- and reveals his simplicity and self-emptying in depth. Similarly, the Holy Spirit makes it clear through symbols that he dwells in the poorest and the weakest. One thing is clear through these symbols. The Spirit of God is one who is available and can be possessed by all, in all things.