Pope
greets members of the Renewal of the Holy Spirit
(Vatican
Radio) On Friday afternoon in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis met with members
of the Renewal of the Holy Spirit, who have come to Rome for their 38th annual
Convocation.
A
light rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of the tens of thousands of people
gathered together in St Peter’s Square for an evening of prayer, spirituality,
and evangelization. The event had a distinctively ecumenical character, with
the theme of “Ways of Unity and Peace – Voices of prayer for the martyrs of
today and for a spiritual ecumenism.” Representatives of various Christian
Churches and Ecclesial Communities were present for the meeting with the Pope
Francis, testifying to “the power of ecumenical prayer and the need for a new
fraternity among Christians.”
In
his prayer at the beginning of the Audience, Pope Francis prayed that God the
Father might send the Holy Spirit, Who will guide us to unity. It is the Holy
Spirit, he said, who gives the various charisms within the Church, who works
through the variety of gifts in the Church, and who grants unity. Pope Francis
asked that Jesus, who prayed for unity in His Church, might help us to walk
along the path of “unity, or of reconciled diversity.”
In
his address, which he delivered “off-the-cuff,” the Holy Father reminded the
members of the Renewal of the Holy Spirit of the words of Cardinal Leo Joseph
Suenens, who called the charismatic renewal a “stream of grace.” The current
of grace, he said, must always flow into the ocean of God, the love of God, and
must not be turned in on itself.
Pope
Francis also spoke about the idea of “unity in diversity.” Unity is not
uniformity, he said, but reflects the confluence of all the different parts
that go to make it up.
He
warned of the temptation of leaders – or rather, servants – to imagine that
they are indispensable, a temptation that can lead to authoritarianism or
personalism, which “does not allow the renewed communities to live in the
Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, Pope Francis exclaimed, is the only indispensable
actor in the renewal, just as Jesus is the one Lord. At the same time he spoke
of good founders who lead the communities they found, caring for them and
leading them to spiritual maturity.
The
Holy Father gave thanks for the “current of grace” which has borne much fruit.
He encouraged those who have had the experience of the renew “to go forward,
share it with the Church,” a service he called very important. He encouraged
them especially “to form bonds of trust and cooperation with the Bishops, who
have the pastoral responsibility of guiding the Body of Christ, including the
charismatic renewal."
Finally,
Pope Francis emphasized the ecumenical dimension of the charismatic movement,
rooting it in our common Baptism. Unity among Christians, he said, must begin
with prayer. He spoke, too, of modern-day martyrs: “The blood of the martyrs of
today makes us one!” He gave the examples of a Catholic priest and a Lutheran
minister who were both executed by the Nazis, and of the 23 Coptic Christians
who, just a few months ago, were murdered in Libya. He noted, too, that Paul
VI, in canonizing the Ugandan martyrs made reference to the Anglican catechists
who shed their blood with them. “Excuse me, don’t be scandalized, they are our
martyrs,” he said.
Pope
Francis concluded his remarks by reminding those in the Square of the upcoming
50th anniversary of the charismatic movement, which will be marked in St Peters
on Pentecost in 2017. This jubilee, he said, quoting Bd Paul VI, will be an
opportunity for the Church “to give thanks to the Holy Spirit for this current
of grace which is for the Church and for the world; and to celebrate the
marvelous works the Holy Spirit has done in the course of these 50 years,
changing the lives of millions of Christians.”
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