MISERANDO
ATQUE ELIGENDO
SOLEMNITY
OF PENTECOST
HOLY MASS WITH THE ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS
HOMILY
OF POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today
we contemplate and re-live in the liturgy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
sent by the risen Christ upon his Church; an event of grace which filled the
Upper Room in Jerusalem and then spread throughout the world.
But
what happened on that day, so distant from us and yet so close as to touch the
very depths of our hearts? Luke gives us the answer in the passage of the Acts of the Apostles which we have heard (2:1-11). The
evangelist brings us back to Jerusalem, to the Upper Room where the apostles
were gathered. The first element which draws our attention is the sound which
suddenly came from heaven “like the rush of a violent wind”, and filled the
house; then the “tongues as of fire” which divided and came to rest on each of
the apostles. Sound and tongues of fire: these are clear, concrete signs which
touch the apostles not only from without but also within: deep in their minds
and hearts. As a result, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit”, who
unleashed his irresistible power with amazing consequences: they all “began to
speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability”. A completely
unexpected scene opens up before our eyes: a great crowd gathers, astonished
because each one heard the apostles speaking in his own language. They all
experience something new, something which had never happened before: “We hear
them, each of us, speaking our own language”. And what is it that they are they
speaking about? “God’s deeds of power”.
In
the light of this passage from Acts,
I would like to reflect on three words linked to the working of the Holy
Spirit: newness, harmony and mission.
1. Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because
we feel more secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who
build, programme and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own
comfort, our own preferences. This is also the case when it comes to God. Often
we follow him, we accept him, but only up to a certain point. It is hard to
abandon ourselves to him with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be
the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision. We fear that God may
force us to strike out on new paths and leave behind our all too narrow, closed
and selfish horizons in order to become open to his own. Yet throughout the
history of salvation, whenever God reveals himself, he brings newness - God
always brings newness -, and demands our complete trust: Noah, mocked by all,
builds an ark and is saved; Abram leaves his land with only a promise in hand;
Moses stands up to the might of Pharaoh and leads his people to freedom; the
apostles, huddled fearfully in the Upper Room, go forth with courage to
proclaim the Gospel. This is not a question of novelty for novelty’s sake, the
search for something new to relieve our boredom, as is so often the case in our
own day. The newness which God brings into our life is something that actually
brings fulfilment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and
desires only our good. Let us ask ourselves today: Are we open to “God’s
surprises”? Or are we closed and fearful before the newness of the Holy Spirit?
Do we have the courage to strike out along the new paths which God’s newness
sets before us, or do we resist, barricaded in transient structures which have
lost their capacity for openness to what is new? We would do well to ask
ourselves these questions all through the day.
2.
A second thought: the Holy Spirit would appear to create disorder in the
Church, since he brings the diversity of charisms and gifts; yet all this, by
his working, is a great source of wealth, for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
unity, which does not mean uniformity, but which leads everything back to harmony. In the Church, it is
the Holy Spirit who creates harmony. One of Fathers of the Church has an
expression which I love: the Holy Spirit himself is harmony – “Ipse harmonia est”. He is
indeed harmony. Only the Spirit can awaken diversity, plurality and
multiplicity, while at the same time building unity. Here too, when we are the
ones who try to create diversity and close ourselves up in what makes us
different and other, we bring division. When we are the ones who want to build
unity in accordance with our human plans, we end up creating uniformity,
standardization. But if instead we let ourselve be guided by the Spirit,
richness, variety and diversity never become a source of conflict, because he
impels us to experience variety within the communion of the Church. Journeying
together in the Church, under the guidance of her pastors who possess a special
charism and ministry, is a sign of the working of the Holy Spirit. Having a sense
of the Church is something fundamental for every Christian, every community and
every movement. It is the Church which brings Christ to me, and me to Christ;
parallel journeys are very dangerous! When we venture beyond (proagon)
the Church’s teaching and community – the Apostle John tells us in his Second
Letter - and do not remain in them, we are not one with the God of Jesus Christ
(cf. 2 Jn 1:9). So let us ask ourselves: Am I
open to the harmony of the Holy Spirit, overcoming every form of exclusivity?
Do I let myself be guided by him, living in the Church and with the Church?
3.
A final point. The older theologians used to say that the soul is a kind of
sailboat, the Holy Spirit is the wind which fills its sails and drives it
forward, and the gusts of wind are the gifts of the Spirit. Lacking his impulse
and his grace, we do not go forward. The Holy Spirit draws us into the mystery
of the living God and saves us from the threat of a Church which is gnostic and
self-referential, closed in on herself; he impels us to open the doors and go
forth to proclaim and bear witness to the good news of the Gospel, to
communicate the joy of faith, the encounter with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the
soul of mission. The
events that took place in Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago are not
something far removed from us; they are events which affect us and become a
lived experience in each of us. The Pentecost of the Upper Room in Jerusalem is
the beginning, a beginning which endures. The Holy Spirit is the supreme gift
of the risen Christ to his apostles, yet he wants that gift to reach everyone.
As we heard in the Gospel, Jesus says: “I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another Advocate to remain with you forever” (Jn 14:16). It is the Paraclete
Spirit, the “Comforter”, who grants us the courage to take to the streets of
the world, bringing the Gospel! The Holy Spirit makes us look to the horizon
and drive us to the very outskirts of existence in order to proclaim life in
Jesus Christ. Let us ask ourselves: do we tend to stay closed in on ourselves,
on our group, or do we let the Holy Spirit open us to mission? Today let us
remember these three words: newness, harmony and mission.
Today’s
liturgy is a great prayer which the Church, in union with Jesus, raises up to
the Father, asking him to renew the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May each of
us, and every group and movement, in the harmony of the Church, cry out to the
Father and implore this gift. Today too, as at her origins, the Church, in
union with Mary, cries out:“Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts
of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love!” Amen.
