Is there a time the Holy Spirit is not Active ?

INTRODUCTION

The Three persons in the Most Holy Trinity are Inseparable,  hence to say that there was a time the Holy Spirit is not active is heretical and not biblical.  

It is an indisputable fact that the knowledge of many faithful on the work or role of the Holy spirit in the economy of salvation is now beclouded with the recent drive of Pentecost experience such that whenever the Holy Spirit is mentioned today what comes to mind of many is the common saying “Holy Ghost!!! Fire”  The work of salvation is one operation of the Trinity. Hence, the angelic doctor on the doctrine of the most Holy Trinity in the Pars Prima of summa theologiae teaches that “Therefore, as the Father and the Son are one God, by reason of the unity of the form that is signified by this word "God"; so they are one principle of the Holy Spirit by reason of the unity of the property that is signified in this word "principle."

However, it is noteworthy that recent times have witnessed a renewed emphasis upon the Spirit’s person and work as such the Holy Spirit has not been wholly neglected by the mother church. For instance, it was mentioned in the Nicene Creed and in other documents of the church. St Augustine in his famous book De Trinitate dedicates  chapters seventeen to twenty and chapters twenty six to twenty seven to the  Holy Spirit because of the deemed inadequate pneumatological treatment. He postulates two key themes on the Holy Spirit;
The attribution of the Concept of love specifically to the spirit
The affirmation of the filioque in the Nicene Creed
Our aim in this work is to bring to limelight the fact that the Holy Spirit exist eternally and was active already before the Pentecost. According to Adedera; He is the creative dynamism in the process of salvation which has its origin from creation. Hence God made man in his own image and likeness. John Paul II believes that it is the Holy Spirit who is involved in creation producing within it what is capable of being raised into Glory when he writes:
 The biblical concept of creation includes not only the call to existences of the very being of the cosmos, that is to say, the giving to existence. But also the presence of the Spirit of God in salvation that is to say, the beginning of God’s salvific self communication to the things he created
Hence God’s Trinitarian communication to humanity in grace is a personal, individual communication. As the Spirit rested on Christ so does he also to mankind, leading us to the father who will accept us because we are formed by the Spirit who is involved in the incarnation of his Son.  A deep reflection on the work of the Holy Spirit in the economy of salvation will bring to one’s awareness its wide and inexhaustible nature. According to Thomas Oden;
 It is perplexing to organize systematically the themes of the work of the Spirit. Because, they are so vast in scriptural testimony; it is virtually impossible to reduce this complexity to simple sequence
Hence this work aims to re-emphasis the fact that the Holy Spirit is not merely a power or an influence but the third person of the triune God, who was inevitably involved in the work of salvation.
THE JOINT MISSION OF THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church; in their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. It is the Christ who is seen, He is the visible image of the invisible God while it is the Spirit who reveals Him. The angelic doctor says:
 “…the invisible things of God must be made clear to man by the things that are visible. As God, therefore, in a certain way has demonstrated Himself and His eternal processions to men by visible creatures, according to certain signs; so was it fitting that the invisible missions also of the divine persons should be made clear by some visible creatures. This mode of manifestation applies in different ways to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. For it belongs to the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds as Love, to be the gift of sanctification; to the Son as the principle of the Holy Spirit, it belongs to the author of this sanctification. Thus the Son has been sent visibly as the author of sanctification; the Holy Spirit as the sign of sanctification.”
In the mystery of incarnation we see this joint mission made manifest. In the discussion on “why the Word became flesh” the Catechism of the Catholic Church begins thus:
With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing “for us men and for our salvation he came from heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made man.
The mystery of incarnation was realized by the power of the Holy Spirit as we can see in the scripture;
“ The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”
To buttress this, Vatican II teaches that the mystery of Christ from its very beginning is linked with that of the Holy Spirit.  The salvific action of Christ which is carried out through the Spirit is for Human race. Hence the Vatican II council fathers states:
All this hold true not for Christians but also for all men of good will in whose hearts grace is active invisibly, for since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called one and the same destiny which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners in a way known to God in the paschal mystery
It is therefore clear that there is a connection between the salvific mystery of the incarnate word and of the Holy Spirit- who in effect helps in the actualization of the lives of the people called by God to a simple goal. Nevertheless, we should never forget that the action of the Spirit is not outside that of the Son, Hence John Paul II says; No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through Christ by working of the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSSION
The salvation of man was planned by God before the foundation of the world. It was procured and secured by his beloved Son through incarnation, his death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit made it known and continues to enforce it. Reflecting on this Conger observes:
During this life on earth, Jesus was the temple of the Holy Spirit, containing all men with the intention and power, to accept them as children of God. After the lord’s glorification, the Holy Spirit has that temple in us and in the church and he is active in the same way in us, enabling us to be born another (from above and anew see Jn.3:3) and to live as a member of the body of Christ. He himself consummates this quality in our body, in the glory and freedom of children of God (Rom.8:21-23)
The Holy Spirit, who began with us in our quest for salvation, will remain with us until we realize our goal. He is the third person of the blessed trinity and as we know, the blessed trinity is our beginning and end. Hence our life having begun from the Holy Spirit will also culminate in him.
Finally, I say a big congratulation to our model charismatic members of St Christopher on this occasion of your five years Anniversary. Remember do not be like a sign board leading others to eternal life but rather move also towards eternal life with a dedicated vigor of servitude to the Church in the clergy and ecclesia community of God.  There is one primary goal 

“ Be A Saint”
Fr Lawrence SDV.