May 02, 2013: When we don't allow the Holy Spirit to work, divisions in the Church
grow. This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily Thursday morning concelebrated
with Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige, the Archbishop of Colombo Sri Lanka,
and staff from the Vatican Museums.
Pope Francis focused on the first reading
from Acts which recounts the first steps of the Church which, after Pentecost, went
out to the "outskirts of faith" to proclaim the Gospel. The Pope noted that the Holy
Spirit did two things: "first it pushed" and created "problems" and then "fostered
harmony within the Church." In Jerusalem, there were many opinions among the first
disciples on whether to welcome Gentiles into the Church. There were those who said
"no" to any agreement, and instead those who were open:
"There was a ‘No’ Church
that said, 'you cannot; no, no, you must not' and a ‘Yes’ Church that said, ‘but ...
let’s think about it, let’s be open to this, the Spirit is opening the door to us
'. The Holy Spirit had yet to perform his second task: to foster harmony among these
positions, the harmony of the Church, among them in Jerusalem, and between them and
the pagans. He always does a nice job, the Holy Spirit, throughout history. And when
we do not let Him work, the divisions in the Church begin, the sects, all of these
things ... because we are closed to the truth of the Spirit. "
But what then
is the key word in this dispute in the early Church? Pope Francis recalled the inspired
words of James, Bishop of Jerusalem, who emphasized that we should not impose a yoke
on the neck of the disciples that the same fathers were not able to carry:
"When
the service of the Lord becomes so a heavy yoke, the doors of the Christian communities
are closed: no one wants to come to the Lord. Instead, we believe that through the
grace of the Lord Jesus we are saved. First this joy of the charism of proclaiming
the grace, then let us see what we can do. This word, yoke, comes to my heart, comes
to mind”.
The Pope then reflected on what it means to carry a yoke today in
the Church. Jesus asks all of us to remain in his love. It is from this very love
that the observance of his commandments is born. This, he reiterated, is "the Christian
community that says yes". This love, said the Pope, leads us to be faithful to the
Lord" ... "I will not do this or that because I love the Lord”:
"A community
of' yes' and 'no' are a result of this' yes'. We ask the Lord that the Holy Spirit
help us always to become a community of love, of love for Jesus who loved us so much.
A community of this 'yes'. And from this 'yes' the commandments are fulfilled. A community
of open doors. And it defends us from the temptation to become perhaps Puritans, in
the etymological sense of the word, to seek a para-evangelical purity, from being
a community of 'no'. Because Jesus ask us first for love, love for Him, and to remain
in His love. "
Pope Francis concluded: this is "when a Christian community
lives in love, confesses its sins, worships the Lord, forgives offenses, is charitable
towards others and manifests love" and thus "feels the obligation of fidelity to the
Lord to observe the commandments."