Pope: 'learn the language of the Holy Spirit'
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged
Christians to engage with the Holy Spirit, and to open their hearts to the
Spirit before taking important decisions.
Speaking during the homily at morning Mass
on Monday at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope explained it is the
Holy Spirit, which moves our hearts, inspires us and triggers emotions,.
Looking ahead to Pentecost Sunday, the Pope said
the Church is asking for prayers that the Holy Spirit may come into our hearts,
into our parishes and into our communities.
Drawing inspiration from the first reading of the day which,
he said, could be called “the Pentecost of Ephesus” he explained that although
the community in Ephesus had received the faith, it didn’t even know that the
Holy Spirit existed.
“They were good people, people of faith” the Pope said, but
they were not aware of this gift of the Father: “When Paul laid his hands on
them the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues”.
The Holy Spirit moves the heart
The Holy Spirit, the Pope said, moves hearts as we can read
in the Gospels that tell of many people who are moved to approach Jesus, like
Nicodemus, like the woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,
like the Samaritan, like the sinner. Thus the Pope invited the faithful to ask
themselves: ‘what place does the Holy Spirit have in my life?’.
"Am I able to hear it? Am I able to ask for inspiration
before taking a decision or doing something? Or is my heart quiet, lacking in
emotion and turmoil?” he said.
And he commented on the fact that “should an ECG be
performed on some hearts, the result would be a flat line – totally lacking in
emotion”.
He said that even in the Gospels there are “still” hearts:
“we think of the doctors of the law, they believed in God, they knew all the
commandments, but their hearts were closed, they were “still”, they were not
disturbed”.
Let yourself be engaged by the Holy Spirit
Let yourself be engaged by the Holy Spirit
The Pope exhorted the faithful to let themselves be
“disturbed,” that is to ask the Holy Spirit to help them discern and not to
have an “ideological faith”:
"Let yourself be disturbed by the Holy Spirit: 'Eh, I
felt this… But Father, isn’t that being sentimental?' - 'No, it may be,
but no. If you're on the right track, you're not being sentimental.’' You must
be able to feel the urge to go and to visit that sick person or change your
life…'” he said.
The Pope said the Holy Spirit is the master of discernment.
A person who does not have this kind of turmoil in his or her heart does not
discern what is happening; he or she “is a person who has a cold faith, an
ideological faith”.
Ask yourself about your relationship with the Holy Spirit
Pope Francis said the “drama” of the doctors of the law who
were angry with Jesus derived from the fact that their hearts were closed to
the Holy Spirit.
“Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you on the path of life and of
everyday life. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the grace to distinguish good
from less good, because it is easy to distinguish good from evil” he said.
The Pope concluded urging the faithful to look into their
hearts and open them to the Holy Spirit.
In the Revelation, the Pope said, the Apostle John begins by
inviting the "Seven Churches" - the seven dioceses of that time - to
listen to the Holy Spirit:
“Let us too ask for the grace of being able to hear what the
Spirit says to our Church, to our community, to our parish, to our family, and
for the grace to learn the language with which to understand” he said.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét