Today, the Holy Spirit is usually imagined in terms of the Trinity as one person among the three. The characteristics of persons attach to our imagery as a result. For instance, discussions of the Spirit in baptism and confirmation ask if the Spirit is given in baptism how can it be given again. Individuality and differentiation, as of persons, underlie this question.
In the ancient world, spirit had a very different context. It was in some ways another word for air, wind, breath. The Spirit gives life not as a dispenser passing it out, but because breath is necessary for breathing. The Spirit gives us the words to speak not just by mental inspiration, but because spoken words are formed by the breath that comes from our lungs. We say "God bless you" not because of superstition, but because evil spirits, diseased breath, comes out of us. The spirit drives us as the wind pushes us in a storm, as sails are filled on the seas.
When we take this imagery of Spirit and and the notion of Holy we have a new context. Imagine a group of men who have been fishing for several days. On shore they unload their catch in the hot sun. Imagine the air around them, filled with the smells of fish and sweat and mud and water among others. Foul air most of us would say, not good or holy spirit.
A sacrament of the Holy Spirit must bear a natural resemblance to the Holy Spirit, to the invisible air around us. Visual similarity is impossible, but Holy Spirit can be evoked by the opposite of the foul air described above. A sweet fragrance, a scent of health and beauty enveloping us is a symbol of immersion into the sweet, beautiful Holy Spirit. This is why the perfumed chrism is used in sacraments of the Holy Spirit.
The Fourth Gospel uses this imagery. "the good odor of Christ which fills the house (John 12,3) becomes the anointing of the whole body of the Church in all the universe and the whole world " as Gregory of Nyssa puts it. This contrasts with the stench of death accompanying Lazarus.
If we return to the question of the relation of baptism and confirmation, we have a new insight about the Spirit's presence. If we take our dirty fisherman, or any one sullied with the stench of sin, and wash them, there is a fresh clean smell. This cleanness is a necessary prelude to the odor of sanctity that is suggested by the perfumed anointing. The fresh clean air is a sign of the Holy Spirit, and in another way the perfume is. There is one atmosphere in which we breathe, made pleading in different ways; there is one Spirit who comes to us in many ways.
These words are part of a larger idea that is sketched on the main page .
I encourage everyone to look there.
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