Pope Francis' cycle of catecheses dedicated to the Holy Spirit began on May 29, and this Wednesday morning, October 9, the eighth session of the cycle took place at the Audience The pilgrims came from Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil, among other places.
"In this catechesis we reflect on the Holy Spirit and the Church in the Acts of the Apostles. The author of this sacred book - who is the Evangelist Luke - highlights the universal mission of the Church as a sign of a new unity among all peoples. There are, therefore, two movements: universality and unity", the Pontiff said at the beginning of his reflection.
Universal mission of the Church
"The account of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost begins with the description of some preparatory signs - the rushing wind and the tongues of fire - but finds its conclusion in the affirmation: 'And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:4). St. Luke - who wrote the Acts of the Apostles - underlines that it is the Holy Spirit who assures the universality and unity of the Church".
"The immediate effect of being "filled with the Holy Spirit" is that the Apostles 'began to speak in other tongues' and went out of the Upper Room to proclaim Jesus Christ to the multitude," he continued. "In doing so, Luke wanted to emphasize the universal mission of the Church, as a sign of a new unity among all peoples".
Church outward, 'another Pentecost'.
In two ways we see the Spirit working for unity, the Pontiff pointed out. "On the one hand, he pushes the Church outward, so that she can welcome more and more persons and peoples; on the other, he gathers her within herself to consolidate the unity achieved. It teaches her to extend herself in universality and to gather herself in unity."
The first of the two movements, universality, we see in action in Acts chapter 10, in the episode of the conversion of Cornelius, he added, "On the day of Pentecost, the Apostles had proclaimed Christ to all Jews and observers of the Mosaic law, whatever the people to which they belonged. It took another 'Pentecost', very similar to the first, that of the house of the centurion Cornelius, to induce the Apostles to broaden the horizon and break down the last barrier, the one that separated Jews and pagans (cf. Acts 10-11).
The Gospel was going out of Asia and into Europe
"To this ethnic expansion is added the geographical one. Paul - we read again in Acts (cf. 16:6-10) - wanted to proclaim the Gospel in a new region of Asia Minor; but, it is written, 'the Holy Spirit prevented him'; he wanted to go to Bithynia 'but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit him'. One discovers immediately the reason for these surprising prohibitions of the Spirit: the following night, the Apostle received in a dream the order to pass into Macedonia. The Gospel was thus leaving his native region, Asia, and entering Europe," the Pope emphasized.
Unit. Council of Jerusalem-Synod
The second movement of the Holy Spirit - the one that creates unity - is seen in action in Acts chapter 15, in the development of the so-called Council of Jerusalem. "The problem is how to ensure that the universality achieved does not compromise the unity of the Church," Francis stressed.
"The Holy Spirit does not always bring about unity suddenly, with miraculous and decisive interventions, as at Pentecost. He also does it - and in most cases - with a discreet work, respectful of time and human differences, passing through persons and institutions, prayer and confrontation. In a way, we would say today, synodal".
"This is what happened, in fact, at the Council of Jerusalem, for the question of the obligations of the Mosaic law to be imposed on converts from paganism. Its solution was announced to the whole Church in the words that are well known to them: 'It was the Holy Spirit's judgment and ours...' (Acts 15:28).
Difficult also in marriage and in the family
On the other hand, the Holy Spirit" gathers the community intimately around Christ, the 'bond of unity. However, we know that achieving and maintaining unity in the Church is not easy, as is also the case in other areas," the Successor of Peter continued, referring to the area of marriage and the family.
"A point of examination to see why it is so difficult for us is to see who we put at the center. Let us not forget that the unity of Pentecost, that is, the unity made possible by the Spirit of God, is realized by placing Christ at the center and not ourselves."
How it is achieved: moving forward together toward Christ
Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by pointing out that "the unity of the Church is unity among people and it is not achieved by acting in a theoretical way, but in life. We all want unity, we all desire it from the depths of our hearts; yet it is so difficult to achieve that, even within marriage and the family, unity and concord are among the most difficult things to attain and even more difficult to maintain."
"The reason is that everyone wants, yes, unity, but around his own point of view, without thinking that the other person in front of him thinks exactly the same about "his" point of view. In this way, unity only moves away."
"The unity of Pentecost, according to the Spirit, is achieved when one strives to put God, and not oneself, at the center," he stressed. "Christian unity is also built in this way: not by waiting for others to join us where we are, but by moving forward together towards Christ. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us to be instruments of unity and peace."
Month dedicated to the missions and to Mary: daily rosary
In this month dedicated to the missions, the Pontiff recalled, let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us renew our baptismal commitment, and may Christ be the cornerstone of our lives, to offer a joyful witness of the unity and peace that He gives us.
Finally, the Pope went on to encourage us to pray to the Virgin Mary. "The month of October, dedicated to the Holy Rosary, is a precious occasion to enhance this traditional Marian prayer. I exhort all of you to pray the Rosary every day, abandoning yourselves trustingly into Mary's hands."
"To her, our solicitous Mother, we entrust the suffering and the desire for peace of peoples suffering from the madness of war, especially the tormented Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar. Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, Sudan".
