What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? The Bible itself teaches that there exist cases in which a person goes so far from God that it is not possible any longer to return. It cites excerpts as what speaks of hardened hearts and of Jesus Himself who speaks of soil that was trampled and compacted to the point that not one seed could germinate. Where there is no acceptance of the Holy Spirit, there is nothing more that God can do, then the final destiny of the person, after the death of his body, is the death of his spirit in eternal fire.

Finally, who will be our advocate before men? The Holy Spirit! The first years of Christianity were very difficult and Jesus needed to prepare his disciples for what they were going to confront when He left. The tests were immense. But the testimony of them, dying in the name of Jesus, would be a test of what they believed in the message of the teacher to the ultimate consequences.

That we may know to receive the Holy Spirit and we allow that He acts in us! To this Jesus thought and taught what we should do in order that the Holy Spirit may act: “Do not remain worried. The Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.” It when we quiet our heart that we can hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit guiding us. When we live in the noise of our thoughts, we may be afraid of listening to the voice of our own conscience, you may not know what I am speaking. But you can experience it. It is enough to want it! The Holy Spirit moves in you.

Thus, to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to retreat or to move away from God. It is to separate  oneself. It is abandonment, rebellion, desertion, decay. To be an apostate means to cut the salvific relation with Christ or to separate oneself from the vital union with Him and from the true faith in Him. Apostasy is only after the person already experienced the salvation, regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Our advocate before the Father will be Jesus himself, He will give testimony of us, giving account that we also gave testimony of Him here, in this world, before men.

Jesus arrives to say that  even up to speaking ill of Him, that they will pardoned, but he will not accept blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. And this is the point that should be reflected upon. What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? It is important to know, that it is the only sin that will not be pardoned and the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself affirms that it is the only sin that brings eternal condemnation.

When we negate the action of the Holy Spirit we are saying exactly that we do not believe in the Father that created the world, in the Son that came to save the world and the Holy Spirit that is the Sanctifier. It is important to know that the Father has the will to pardon always and when He pardons we are saved. The only way He will not pardon is when we do not recognize that we sin or that we don’t repent of sin. In this case, there will not be pardon.

Father, may I be instructed by the Holy Spirit in order to be always ready to give courageous testimony of my faith in your Son Jesus.

Fr. Bantu Mendonça

translated from Portuguese

(nb: Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, even publicly, who later repent and recognize the action of the Holy Spirit in their lives can be saved. -ed.)