Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - At this week’s General Audience on May 7, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, was present on his official visit and at the beginning of the catechesis, he was greeted by the Holy Father Benedict XVI with these words: “I would like to once again express my joy for the opportunity of greeting you this morning. Your presence today revives our hope for the full unity of all Christians.” After thanking him for his welcoming of the Cardinal Secretary of State in his visit to Armenia, Benedict XVI mentioned the “unforgettable visit of the Catholicos to Rome in 2000, soon after your election.” The Holy Father then spoke of the “commitment of the Armenian Apostolic Church to ecumenical dialogue,” recalling that, “these days of preparation that immediately precede the Solemnity of Pentecost stimulate us to renew our hope in the help of the Holy Spirit to advance along the path of ecumenism. We have the certainty that the Lord Jesus never abandons us in our search for unity, because His Spirit is tirelessly at work to support the efforts we make to overcome all forms of division and to mend every tear in the living cloth of the Church.”
According to the Gospel account, in the final days of His earthly mission, Jesus promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit “so that they might continue to perceive His presence.” The Gospels say that following the Resurrection, Jesus entered the Cenacle and “greeted the disciples with the words ‘Peace be with you’ and breathing on them said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ He gave them the authority to forgive sins. The Holy Spirit, therefore, appears here as a power for the forgiveness of sins, for the renewal of our hearts and our lives...Thus, on the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was shown through other signs: an impetuous wind, tongues of fire, and the apostles speaking all languages. This was the sign that the Babylonian dispersion, fruit of the pride which divides mankind, was overcome in the Spirit, which is charity and gives us unity in diversity. Since the first moment of her existence the Church, thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit, has spoken in all tongues and lived in all cultures. She destroys nothing of their history and gifts, but assumes them all in a great and new unity, which reconciles unity with the multiplicity of forms.”
The Pontiff said that the Holy Spirit “unites divided man in divine charity and thus creates the great and manifold community which is the Church in all the world.” He later recalled the prayer of the disciples with Mary, gathered in the Cenacle, after Jesus’ Ascension: “They knew that alone they couldn't found, organize the Church: the Church had to be established and organized by a divine initiative; it is not a creature of ours, but rather a gift of God. Only in this way is unity also created, a unity that has to grow. The Church in all times, and in particular in those nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost, unites itself spiritually in the Cenacle with the apostles and with Mary to implore incessantly for the effusion of the Holy Spirit. Moved by the impetuous wind it will be capable of announcing the Gospel to the furthest confines of the earth.”
At the close of his catechesis, the Holy Father pointed out that Christians cannot resign themselves, nor give in to discouragement in the midst of difficulties and divisions, because the Lord asks them to “hold fast in prayer to keep alive the flames of faith, charity and hope, which nourish the longing for full unity.” Recalling the centrality of prayer in the road of ecumenical dialogue, which he had mentioned in his recent visit to the United States of America, he invoked the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon all Christians, “so that in the joint and generous service of the Gospel they may be a sign in the world of God's love for humanity.”
At the close of the Audience, the Pope made an appeal for Myanmar, saying, “I make my own the cry of pain and the call for assistance of the dear people of Myanmar, who without warning saw so many lives, and so much property and means of sustenance destroyed by the terrifying violence of the cyclone Nargis. As I already said in the message of solidarity I sent to the President of the Episcopal Conference, I remain spiritually close to the people affected. I would also like to repeat to everyone my call to open their hearts to pity and generosity so that, thanks to the collaboration of people who can and wish to bring help, the suffering caused by such an immense tragedy may be relieved.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 8/5/2008; righe 58, parole 806)
