The Apostle Paul wishes for his Christians: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (II Cor 13: 14).
These words, probably echoed in the worship of the newborn Church, emphasize how the free gift of the Father in Jesus Christ is realized and expressed in the communion brought about by the Holy Spirit.
This interpretation, based on the close parallelism between the three genitives that the text establishes: (“the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ… the love of God… and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit), presents “fellowship” as a specific gift of the Spirit, the fruit of the love given by God the Father and the grace offered by the Lord Jesus.
Benedict XVI
