"People first and foremost."Italy is living reminiscences of the confinement decreed in March last year. The new measures adopted by the government of the nation have made any trace of visitors disappear in the vicinity of St. Peter's Square.
Therefore, as he had been doing in previous weeks, Pope Francis held the general audience via streaming from the Library of the Apostolic Palace.
The fundamental gift
Continuing the catechesis on prayer, the Pope began by recalling that "today we complete the catechesis on prayer as a relationship with the Most Holy Trinity, in particular with the Holy Spirit".
"The first gift of every Christian existence," he said, "is the Holy Spirit. It is not one of the many gifts, but one of the many gifts," he said. the Don fundamental. Without the Spirit there is no relationship with Christ and with the Father. For the Spirit opens our heart to the presence of God and draws it into that "whirlwind" of love which is the very heart of God. We are not only guests and pilgrims on our journey on this earth, we are also guests and pilgrims in the mystery of the Trinity. We are like Abraham, who one day, welcoming three travelers into his tent, found God. If we can truly invoke God by calling Him "Abba - Papa", it is because the Holy Spirit dwells in us; it is He who transforms us deeply and makes us experience the moving joy of being loved by God as true children".
The Spirit draws us to the path of prayer
Francis quoted the Catechism, which contains very clear points on prayer: "Every time we turn to Jesus in prayer, it is the Holy Spirit who, with his prevenient grace, draws us to the way of prayer. Since he teaches us to pray by reminding us of Christ, how can we not also turn to him in prayer? For this reason, the Church invites us to implore the Holy Spirit every day, especially at the beginning and at the end of every important action" (n. 2670).
Christ educates his disciples by transforming their hearts, as he did with Peter, with Paul, with Mary Magdalene.
Pope FrancisGeneral Audience of March 17, 2021
The Spirit transforms our hearts, the Pope affirms, "this is the work of the Spirit in us. He "remembers" Jesus and makes him present in us, so that he is not reduced to a figure of the past. If Christ were only distant in time, we would be alone and lost in the world. But in the Spirit everything is enlivened: to Christians of every time and place the possibility of encountering Christ opens up. He is not distant, he is with us: he still educates his disciples by transforming their hearts, as he did with Peter, with Paul, with Mary Magdalene".
According to the "measure" of Christ
The example of the saints is evident: "This is the experience of many prayerful people: men and women whom the Holy Spirit has formed according to the "measure" of Christ, in mercy, in service, in prayer... It is a grace to meet people like this: we realize that in them beats a different life, their gaze sees "beyond". Let us not think only of monks and hermits; they are also found among the common people, people who have woven a long life of dialogue with God, sometimes of interior struggle, which purifies the faith. These humble witnesses have sought God in the Gospel, in the Eucharist received and adored, in the face of a brother in difficulty, and they guard his presence like a secret fire".
The Catechism also mentions the action of the Holy Spirit in the living tradition of prayer: "The Holy Spirit, whose anointing permeates our whole being, is the interior Teacher of Christian prayer. He is the architect of the living tradition of prayer. Certainly, there are as many ways of prayer as there are pray-ers, but it is the same Spirit who acts in all and with all. In communion in the Holy Spirit, Christian prayer is prayer in the Church" (n. 2672).
The infinite field of holiness
The Pope concludes by pointing out that "it is therefore the Spirit who writes the history of the Church and of the world. We are open pages, available to receive his calligraphy. And in each of us the Spirit composes original works, because there will never be one Christian completely identical to another. In the infinite field of holiness, the one God, Trinity of Love, makes the variety of witnesses flourish: all equal in dignity, but also unique in the beauty that the Spirit has willed to radiate in each one of those whom God's mercy has made his children".
