During his homily on Thursday at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope praised the courage of the Holy Spirit that makes the Church and Catholics move forward.
Pope Francis explained that today there are still many resistances within the Church and recalled that it occurred during the Second Vatican Council. But the Holy Spirit, the Pope said, carries the Church forward despite its problems.
POPE FRANCIS
'That resistance continues today in one way or another. Yet the Spirit moves ahead. And the way of the Church is this: get together, join together, listen, discuss, pray and decide. And this is the so-called
synodality of the Church, in which the communion of the Church is expressed. And who does communion? It's the Spirit!â?
The Pope recalled how the Spirit stopped St. Paul and set him on the right road. With this, the Spirit guides Catholics to follow the path which Christ wants for us and for the whole Church.
EXCERPTS FROM PAPAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio)
Itâ??s the Spirit who gives believers the strength to stand firm in the faith, even if they face resistance and anger from the doctors of the law. In the passage from Acts, the Pope noted, there was a double resistance to the Spirit, from those who believed that Jesus came only for the chosen people and from those who wanted to impose the law of Moses, including the practice of circumcision, on those who had converted. There was great confusion over all this, but the Spirit led their hearts in a new direction. The apostles were surprised by the Spirit, he said, as they found themselves in new and unthinkable situations. But how were they to manage these circumstances? No doubt heated
debate, because on the one hand they were pushed on and on by the Spirit, but on the other, they were facing new situations that they had never seen or even imagined, such as pagans receiving the Holy Spirit.
The disciples were holding a â??hot potatoâ?? in their hands and didnâ??t know what to do, the Pope said.
Thus they called a meeting in Jerusalem where each one could recount their experiences of how the Holy Spirit had been received by the Gentiles. And
in the end they came to an agreement. But first , 'The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them.â? Never be afraid to listen with humility, the Pope said. When you are afraid to listen, you donâ??t have the Spirit in your heart. When the apostles had listened, they decided to send several of the disciples to the Greeks, the pagan communities, that had become Christians to reassure them.
The decision was communicated to them in a letter in which the disciples say that 'The Holy Spirit and we have decidedâ?¦.â? This is the way of the Church when faced with novelties. Not the worldly novelties of fashion, but the novelties of the Spirit who always surprises us. How does the Church resolve these problems? Through meetings and discussions, listening and praying, before making a final decision. This is the way of the Church when the Spirit surprises us, recalling the resistance that emerged in recent times during the Second Vatican Council.
That resistance continues today in one way or another, yet the Spirit moves ahead. And the way the Church expresses its communion is through
synodality, by meeting, listening, debating, praying and deciding. The Spirit is always the protagonist and the Lord asks us not to be afraid when the Spirit calls us. Just as the Spirit stopped St Paul and set him on the right road, so the Spirit will give us the courage and the patience to win over adversity and stand firm in the face of martyrdom. Let us ask the Lord for grace, the Pope concluded, to understand how the Church can face the surprises of the Spirit, to be docile and to follow the path which Christ wants for us and for the whole Church.
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