Francis leads a Pentecost vigil Mass in Venice and encourages Christians to allow the Spirit to change their hearts, demonstrating the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
Vatican News
The Pope’s pastoral visit to the northern Italian city of Verona concluded with a celebration of the Pentecost Vigil in the grounds of Pentecost. Francis set aside a prepared sermon for the occasion and spoke spontaneously to the more than 30,000 faithful.
Focusing his reflection on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians, the Pope showed that today, as in the time of the Apostle Paul, many Christian communities do not know who the Holy Spirit is. And in this regard, he recounted his experience at a mass event with children, one of whom confused the word ‘paraclete’ with ‘paralytic’.
“He – he explained – is the one who takes us forward, who helps us to go forward, who makes us grow in the Christian life. The Holy Spirit is within us.” The Holy Father pointed out that we all received the Holy Spirit with confirmation. He then asked:
Courage of the Spirit to Live Christianly
Remembering that today we celebrate the feast of the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Bishop of Rome invites us to think about the apostles who were locked in the palace and were afraid. How, when the Holy Spirit came, “it changed their hearts, and they went out boldly to preach.”
Many times – the Pope noted – we find Christians like warm water: neither hot nor cold. They have no courage. Therefore, he called us to pray and entrust ourselves to the Spirit, because “the Spirit gives us courage to live Christianly.”
The Spirit creates the harmony of the Church
Next, Francis highlighted that the Holy Spirit fosters harmony and unity. Recalling that people of all nations, languages and cultures were present at Pentecost, he assured that with these people the Spirit “builds up the Church.” This does not make us the same, we are all different, but “with one heart, with love that unites us.”
The Spirit saves us from the danger of becoming the same. We are all redeemed, all loved by the Father, all taught by Jesus Christ. And what does the spirit do? It does just that: “the sum total of everything.” There is a word that explains this well: the Spirit creates harmony. Harmony of the Church. Each is different from the other, but in a harmonious environment.
“This is the miracle of today: to lead cowardly men into courage; “Call men and women from all cultures, unite them all, build the Church,” the Pope said.
Finally, the Pope invited everyone to reflect on their own lives:
We all need harmony. We all need the Spirit to give us harmony in our soul, in our family, in our city, in our society, in our work. The opposite of harmony is war, which is fighting with one another. (…) with the Apostle, the day he came, the Virgin Mary, our Lady. We ask her to give us the grace to receive the Holy Spirit; May she, as mother, teach us to receive the Holy Spirit.
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