In his morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope reflected on Christian identity.
Pope Francis said that the authority of Christian identity does not come from one's knowledge of theology, but rather, the presence of the Holy Spirit.
POPE FRANCIS
'The authority of Jesus - and the authority of the Christian â?? comes from this ability to understand the things of the Spirit, to speak the language of the Spirit. It is from this anointing of the Holy Spirit. Often, so often, we find among our faithful, simple old women who perhaps didnâ??t even finish elementary school, but who can speak to us of things better than any theologian, because they have the Spirit of Christ. Exactly like St. Paul.
The Pope ended his homily by asking those present to pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to think, feel and speak as Christ did.
SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY:
Source: Vatican Radio
'We too can ask ourselves, what is our identity as Christians? Paul puts it very well today when he says: â??And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom'. Paul's preaching is not the result of a course at the Lateran, or the Gregorian [Pontifical Universities - ed]... No, no, no! Not human wisdom, no! But taught by the Spirit: Paul preached with the anointing of the Spirit, expressing spiritual things of the Spirit in spiritual terms. Man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God by his own strength: Man alone cannot understand this!â?.
'Now, we have the thought of Christ and that is the Spirit of Christ. This is the Christian identity. Not having the spirit of the world, that way of thinking, that way of judging ... You can have five degrees in theology, but not have the Spirit of God! Maybe you'll be a great theologian, but you are not a Christian because you do not have the Spirit of God! That which gives authority, that which gives identity is the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the Holy Spiritâ?.
'The authority of Jesus - and the authority of the Christian â?? comes from this ability to understand the things of the Spirit, to speak the language of the Spirit. It is from this anointing of the Holy Spirit. Often, so often, we find among our faithful, simple old women who perhaps didnâ??t even finish elementary school, but who can speak to us of things better than any theologian, because they have the Spirit of Christ. Exactly like St. Paul. We all need to ask for this. Lord grant us Christian identity, which You had. Grant us Your Spirit. Grant us Your way of thinking, feeling, speaking: May the Lord grant us the anointing of the Holy Spirit. '
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