Is the Holy Spirit something like a good feeling or the energy of the universe?

🔥The question: “If my heart gets warm or something amazing happens, is that all the power of the Holy Spirit?”

🛡️The Church's answer: The Holy Spirit is not an anonymous force or energy that God sends, but a person who together with the Father and the Son is wholly God. The Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, yet is the same one God as they are. The Spirit comes to us before we make a move, awakens faith, brings us to confess Jesus as Lord, and makes us holy so that we grasp the word of Christ and bear the fruit of love. The Spirit gives different gifts, and has those gifts build up the Church, which is one body.

Strong emotion does not automatically prove that the Spirit is present, and feeling nothing does not mean the Spirit is absent. When someone claims that an impulse or a saying came from the Holy Spirit, you have to discern whether it fits the Gospel of Jesus and the faith of the Church, whether it bears fruit such as love, joy, peace, and patience, and whether it keeps clear of egging on lies, violence, and self-display.

🧐If they press further: “Should you do as you're told by someone who says they heard the voice of the Holy Spirit?” — if a person says “the Holy Spirit told me” and demands money, secrecy, physical contact, something illegal, or unconditional obedience, do not go along with it. The name of the Holy Spirit is not a permit for controlling another person. Tell a safe adult and a responsible church leader, and look at the facts and the fruits together.

✨In one sentence: “The Holy Spirit isn't a mood or an energy but a person who together with the Father and the Son is one God. The Spirit draws us to Christ and makes us bear the fruit of love.”