(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 05.19.2024).
- On the morning of Sunday, May 19th, Pope Francis participated in the Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost and delivered the homily. Below is the English translation of the homily: *** The account of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-11) shows us two areas of the Holy Spirit’s working in the Church: in us and in mission, with two characteristics: power and gentleness.
The Spirit’s work in us is powerful, as symbolized by the signs of wind and fire, which are often associated with God’s power in the Bible (cf. Ex 19:16-19). Without such power we would never be able to defeat evil on our own, nor overcome the “desires of the flesh” that Saint Paul refers to, those drives of the soul: “impurity, idolatry, dissension, and envy” (cf.
Gal 5:19-21). They can be overcome with the Spirit who gives us the power to do so, for he enters into our hearts that are “parched, stiff and cold” (cf. Sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus).
These drives spoil our relationships with others and divide our communities, yet the Spirit enters into our hearts and heals everything. Jesus too shows us this when, prompted by the Spirit, he withdraws for forty days and is tempted in the desert (cf. Mt.
4:1-11). During that time his humanity also grows, is strengthened and prepared for mission. At the same time, the Paraclete’s working in us is also gentle: powerful and gentle.
The wind and the fire do not destroy or reduce to ashes whatever they touch: the one fills.
