Holy Power, Holy Presence: Rediscovering Medieval Metaphors for the Holy Spirit (review)

Lamenting neglect of the Holy Spirit has long been a topos in modern theology. G. J. Sirks in 1957 called the third Person of the Holy Trinity “the Cinderella of theology,” and in 1984 Frederick Bruner and William Hordern dedicated a book to The Holy Spirit—Shy Member of the Trinity. In Holy Power, Holy Presence, historical theologian Elizabeth Dreyer aims to rekindle a lively sense of the Spirit among Catholics by recuperating medieval metaphors, drawn largely from mystical texts. Spanning the period from 400 to 1400, she devotes chapters to three male saints (Augustine, Bernard, and Bonaventure) and three women (Hildegard, Catherine of Siena, and Julian of Norwich). A preliminary chapter justifies the method of historical recovery and the value of focusing on images, rather than abstractions, while a concluding chapter urges the necessity of a more vibrant Spirit-theology in the contemporary Church. “To do pneumatology is to do Trinity,” Dreyer argues (p. 244), and to “do Trinity” is to recover an awareness of God both as and in loving community.

Dreyer is not writing for specialists, so she opens each chapter with an account of the medieval author’s life and times before turning to central themes in his or her portrayal of the Holy Spirit. Drawing from Augustine’s sermons and letters, Dreyer concentrates on his preaching of the Spirit as an agent of church unity and reconciliation, a source of courage, and a guide to intelligent Christian living. From Hildegard comes the celebrated notion of the Holy Spirit as viriditas or “greening power,” along with metaphors of music, fire, and warmth. In Bernard, Dreyer chooses to emphasize the idea of the Spirit as kiss uniting Father and Son, Christ and the Church, body and soul. Bonaventure’s primary image is of an overflowing fountain: water complements fire, as in the ancient Pentecostal hymn Veni Creator. Catherine contributes the striking figure of the Holy Spirit as waiter who serves us at the Father’s table with the food of Christ, roasted on the altar of the Cross. Finally, Julian offers the more abstract idea of our Lord the Spirit as goodness, balancing God our Father (might) and Christ our Mother (wisdom). Each of these highlighted motifs participates in a larger whole. Dreyer has chosen her six writers in part because of their balanced Trinitarian theologies; the Holy Spirit never stands apart from Father and Son. Another favorite image, often cited, is Irenaeus’s description of Son and Spirit as the “two hands of God.”

The volume includes an iconographic section, which perhaps unwittingly contrasts the variety of literary figures with the relative paucity of artistic representations of the Spirit. Two biblical motifs predominate: the fiery tongues of Pentecost and the dove, which appears in such fifteenth-century Trinitarian subjects as the Coronation of the Virgin, the Gnadenstuhl (“Throne of Grace”), and the “Suffering Trinity” or Pietà of the Father. Only Hildegard displays a stunning originality in her Trinitarian visions.

Dreyer interweaves her historical material with asides on contemporary concerns, such as abuse of the body, inclusiveness, and skepticism about institutional power, and she concludes with some directives on the discernment of spirits. Although her first and last chapters address professional theologians, her book will provide richer material for preachers, spiritual directors, retreat leaders, and lay study groups. Each chapter ends with a set of existential discussion questions titled “Food for Thought.”