Pope Francis’s Pentecost Homily
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we contemplate and re-live in
the liturgy the outpouring of the Holy Spirit sent by the risen Christ upon his
Church; an event of grace which filled the Upper Room in Jerusalem and then
spread throughout the world.
But what happened on that day, so
distant from us and yet so close as to touch the very depths of our hearts?
Luke gives us the answer in the passage of the Acts of the Apostles which we have heard (2:1-11). The
evangelist brings us back to Jerusalem, to the Upper Room where the apostles
were gathered. The first element which draws our attention is the sound which
suddenly came from heaven “like the rush of a violent wind”, and filled the
house; then the “tongues as of fire” which divided and came to rest on each of
the apostles. Sound and tongues of fire: these are clear, concrete signs which
touch the apostles not only from without but also within: deep in their minds
and hearts. As a result, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit”, who
unleashed his irresistible power with amazing consequences: they all “began to
speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability”. A completely
unexpected scene opens up before our eyes: a great crowd gathers, astonished
because each one heard the apostles speaking in his own language. They all
experience something new, something which had never happened before: “We hear
them, each of us, speaking our own language”. And what is it that they are they
speaking about? “God’s deeds of power”.
In the light of this passage from Acts, I would like to reflect on
three words linked to the working of the Holy Spirit: newness, harmony and
mission.
1. Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because we feel more
secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who build,
programme and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own comfort,
our own preferences. This is also the case when it comes to God. Often we
follow him, we accept him, but only up to a certain point. It is hard to abandon
ourselves to him with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be the soul
and guide of our lives in our every decision. We fear that God may force us to
strike out on new paths and leave behind our all too narrow, closed and selfish
horizons in order to become open to his own. Yet throughout the history of
salvation, whenever God reveals himself, he brings newness and change, and
demands our complete trust: Noah, mocked by all, builds an ark and is saved;
Abram leaves his land with only a promise in hand; Moses stands up to the might
of Pharaoh and leads his people to freedom; the apostles, huddled fearfully in
the Upper Room, go forth with courage to proclaim the Gospel. This is not a
question of novelty for novelty’s sake, the search for something new to relieve
our boredom, as is so often the case in our own day. The newness which God
brings into our life is something that actually brings fulfilment, that gives
true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and desires only our good. Let us
ask ourselves: Are we open to “God’s surprises”? Or are we closed and fearful
before the newness of the Holy Spirit? Do we have the courage to strike out
along the new paths which God’s newness sets before us, or do we resist,
barricaded in transient structures which have lost their capacity for openness
to what is new?
2. A second thought: the Holy Spirit
would appear to create disorder in the Church, since he brings the diversity of
charisms and gifts; yet all this, by his working, is a great source of wealth,
for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of unity, which does not mean uniformity, but
which leads everything back to harmony.
In the Church, it is the Holy Spirit who creates harmony. One of Fathers of the
Church has an expression which I love: the Holy Spirit himself is harmony – “Ipse harmonia est”. Only the Spirit
can awaken diversity, plurality and multiplicity, while at the same time
building unity. Here too, when we are the ones who try to create diversity and
close ourselves up in what makes us different and other, we bring division.
When we are the ones who want to build unity in accordance with our human
plans, we end up creating uniformity, standardization. But if instead we let
ourselve be guided by the Spirit, richness, variety and diversity never become
a source of conflict, because he impels us to experience variety within the
communion of the Church. Journeying together in the Church, under the guidance
of her pastors who possess a special charism and ministry, is a sign of the
working of the Holy Spirit. Having a sense of the Church is something
fundamental for every Christian, every community and every movement. It is the
Church which brings Christ to me, and me to Christ; parallel journeys are
dangerous! When we venture beyond (proagon)
the Church’s teaching and community, and do not remain in them, we are not one
with the God of Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Jn
9). So let us ask ourselves: Am I open to the harmony of the Holy
Spirit, overcoming every form of exclusivity? Do I let myself be guided by him,
living in the Church and with the Church?
3. A final point. The older
theologians used to say that the soul is a kind of sailboat, the Holy Spirit is
the wind which fills its sails and drives it forward, and the gusts of wind are
the gifts of the Spirit. Lacking his impulse and his grace, we do not go
forward. The Holy Spirit draws us into the mystery of the living God and saves
us from the threat of a Church which is gnostic and self-referential, closed in
on herself; he impels us to open the doors and go forth to proclaim and bear
witness to the good news of the Gospel, to communicate the joy of faith, the
encounter with Christ. The Holy Spirit is the soul of mission. The events that took place in Jerusalem almost two
thousand years ago are not something far removed from us; they are events which
affect us and become a lived experience in each of us. The Pentecost of the
Upper Room in Jerusalem is the beginning, a beginning which endures. The Holy
Spirit is the supreme gift of the risen Christ to his apostles, yet he wants
that gift to reach everyone. As we heard in the Gospel, Jesus says: “I will ask
the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to remain with you forever” (Jn 14:16). It is the Paraclete
Spirit, the “Comforter”, who grants us the courage to take to the streets of
the world, bringing the Gospel! The Holy Spirit makes us look to the horizon
and drive us to the very outskirts of existence in order to proclaim life in
Jesus Christ. Let us ask ourselves: do we tend to stay closed in on ourselves,
on our group, or do we let the Holy Spirit open us to mission?
Today’s liturgy is a great prayer
which the Church, in union with Jesus, raises up to the Father, asking him to
renew the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May each of us, and every group and movement,
in the harmony of the Church, cry out to the Father and implore this gift.
Today too, as at her origins, the Church, in union with Mary, cries out:“Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Come Holy
Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your
love!” Amen.
