In the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis began a new catechesis series on the sacrament of confirmation. It follows the liturgical time and remembers the feast of Pentecost.
He spoke about how “at Pentecost the Church received the Spirit in order to carry out her mission of preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth.” So too, the Holy Spirit gives people grace to be a part of His life and mission.
Finally, he asked for the sacrament to strengthen and raise awareness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
SUMMARY OF PAPAL CATECHESIS
Dear brothers and sisters,
In these days following the Church’s celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, our catechesis turns to the sacrament of Confirmation, which “confirms” the grace of our Baptism and “anoints” us with the Spirit to bear witness to Christ before the world. Jesus himself, filled with the Holy Spirit, carried out his mission as the Lord’s Anointed, and after his death and resurrection, bestowed the Spirit upon his disciples, who went forth from the Upper Room to proclaim God’s mighty works.
As Christ was anointed by the Spirit at his baptism in the Jordan, so at Pentecost the Church received the Spirit in order to carry out her mission of preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
In Confirmation, Jesus fills us with his Spirit and makes us sharers in his own life and mission, in accordance with the Father’s saving plan. May this sacrament strengthen us to be ever docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, as we strive in all our actions and words to live fully the new life received in Baptism and to advance the Church’s mission in the world.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Wales, Ireland, India, Philippines, Russia, Vietnam, Canada and the United States of America. I also offer a prayerful greeting to the
Felician Sisters preparing for their forthcoming General Chapter. In the continuing joy of our celebration of Pentecost, I invoke upon you and your families a rich outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord bless you all!
