Pope says Holy Spirit brings newness, harmony and mission
20 May, 2013 - St. Peter’s Square in Rome was awash with some 200,000 pilgrims on
Sunday, as Pope Francis celebrated the feast of the Pentecost, commemorating the descent
of the Holy Spirit on the Virgin Mary and the Apostles, an event regarded as the birth
of the Church. Celebrating a solemn Mass with members of Catholic movements and associations
from around the world, the Pope told them to be open to “God’s surprises” because
they bring true happiness. “The newness which God brings into our life is something
that actually brings fulfillment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God
loves us and desires only our good,” he stated. Sunday’s Pentecost Mass wrapped up
two days of celebrations by the Church movements and associations in the current year
of Year of Faith, which included a pilgrimage on Saturday to St. Peter’s tomb, and
a prayer vigil. The Holy Father dedicated his Sunday homily to three ways that
the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians: “newness, harmony and mission.”
Speaking about “newness”, he explained that it requires letting the Holy Spirit be
the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision. The second aspect of the Spirit’s
work is that he gives different gifts to people, creating diversity in the Church
that ends up all being united in harmony by him. He warned that when “we are the ones
who try to create diversity and close ourselves up in what makes us different and
other, we bring division.” The key, Pope Francis taught, is to “let ourselves be
guided by the Spirit” and live in and with the Church. Pope Francis’ final point centered
on how the “Holy Spirit is the soul of mission.” Pope Francis warned the Catholic
Church not to close in on itself, urging the faithful to be open and present in a
new and changing world. The Church should ask itself daily whether it is resisting
new challenges and remaining "barricaded in transient structures which have lost their
capacity for openness to what is new," he said. "Newness always makes us a bit fearful,
because we feel more secure if we have everything under control," Pope Francis said.
He warned of the threat of an institution which is "self-referential, closed in on
herself," and spoke of the courage to "take to the streets of the world" and reach
"the very outskirts of existence". At the end of the Mass, before the Regina Coeli
prayer, the Pope thanked the various groups for their presence and noted that the
Holy Spirit had transformed St. Peter’s Square into an open-air Upper Room. He said
that the harmony inspired by the Holy Spirit was evident in the Square with the “variety
of charisms” and the beauty of those being united in the Church. While thanking the
communities and associations for the gift they are to the Church, he urged them to
mission, the third aspect of the Spirit’s work in Christians’ lives. “Always carry
the power of the Gospel! Always have the joy and passion for communion in the Church!
The Risen Lord is always with you and the Madonna protects you!” he proclaimed. The
vast cobblestone square in front of St. Peter's Basilica is traditionally the Vatican
territory where pontiffs greet the faithful at outdoor Vatican gatherings. But Pope
Francis kept going in his pope-mobile beyond the Vatican border waving cheerfully
and greeting the enthusiastic crowd, in a symbolic act of the Church reaching out
to the margins. (Source: CNA/EWTN)