No. 33 Hello, Professor Sanchez. My name is Nick, and I serve the people of Central Los Angeles. While we have members, visitors and potential members from every nation on earth. Their interest in the Holy Spirit runs high, so never a week rolls by without my having several Spirit-related questions to address. For instance, it is common for people to ask and talk about the Holy Spirit�s work in their individual personal lives. But I would like to ask if there is a broader �social� or �relational� character to the Spirit�s work? >>DR. LEOPALDO SANCHEZ M.: Thank you for your question, Nick. It is true that in highly individualistic cultures, such as we find sometimes in the North American context it is too common to think of the Spirit in me or my gifts of the Spirit or my life of sanctification. So in an individualistic context, the question of the Spirit's work in one's individual personal life could tend to assume a view of the sanctified person as a being in himself or a being to himself, this concern only about his own personal holiness but not about how that works itself out in relationship to others. Folks from Hispanic and African backgrounds often bring with them a more communal view of life where interdependence between peoples and groups is not only highly valued, but it's actually seen as a basic dimension of what it means for humans and what it means to be a Christian. In this more relational social context, the person is often seen as a being in relation or as a being with another, a being for another. And therefore, the question of the Spirit's work in one's individual personal life can never be separated from the Spirit's work in our relationship to another. Sanctification then is not simply a matter of the Spirit in me, for me, or of my gifts of the Spirit for my own sake. Rather, life in the Spirit, sanctification, is living in the Spirit of Christ both in relationship to God and in relationship to my neighbor. So this is a more social communitarian relational view of life in the Spirit of Christ. Now, the person of the Holy Spirit is not simply a being himself but also a being in relation. There is a relational or social dimension to the Spirit's works. And if we look at the presence and activity of the Spirit in Christ, this comes forth very, very clearly. Think about this: At the Jordan the Father anoints Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit for admission of faithful Son and suffering servant. We hear the voice of the Father from heaven saying: You are my beloved son. With you I am well pleased. That last part of the Father's words, "with you I am well pleased, that comes from Isaiah 42:1. That's one of the servant songs of Isaiah. So at the Jordan the Father anoints the admission as his faithful Son, "You are my beloved son," but also as our suffering student, "With you I am well pleased." What this means is that Christ's life in the Spirit is always lived in relation to another. That is to say it's always lived in faithfulness to the Father as the obedient Son. And always lives in service to the neighbor. As our suffering servant. So Christ does not live his life in the Spirit to himself and for himself in a selfish way as if we were closed in upon itself. No, Christ lives his life in the Spirit in relationship to his loving Father. And for the sake of the neighbor. Through baptism we, too, receive the Holy Spirit who leads us also to be faithful and to put our trust in the Heavenly Father above all things and to be the servant of our neighbor.