Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “On Pentecost, the Church is constructed not by human will, but by the power of the Spirit of God. It is immediately evident how this Spirit gives life to a community that at the same time is one and universal, thus overcoming the curse of Babel. In fact, only the Holy Spirit, that creates unity in love and in the mutual acceptance of diversity, can free humanity from the constant tendency towards the desire for earthly power that seeks to dominate and uniform all things.” These were the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his homily at the Mass he presided in the Vatican Basilica on Sunday, May 11, Solemnity of Pentecost.
After reflecting on the Scriptural account of Pentecost, as it is told in the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles in the Mass, the Holy Father spoke on “the intertwining of multiplicity and unity” referred to in the Second Reading. He said, “In the event of Pentecost it is made clear that multiple languages and different cultures belong to the Church; they can understand and make each other fruitful. St. Luke clearly wants to convey a fundamental idea, namely, in the act itself of her birth the Church is already 'catholic,' universal. She speaks all languages from the very beginning, because the Gospel that is entrusted to her is destined for all peoples, according to the will and the mandate of the risen Christ. The Church that is born at Pentecost is not above all a particular community -- the Church of Jerusalem -- but the universal Church, that speaks the language of all peoples. From her, other communities in every corner of the world will be born, particular Churches that are all and always actualizations of the one and only Church of Christ. The Catholic Church is therefore not a federation of churches, but a single reality: The universal Church has ontological priority. A community that is not catholic in this sense would not even be a Church.”
Another aspect that the Holy Father reflected on was that, “among those present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, Luke mentions ‘foreigners from Rome.’ At that time, Rome was still considered far away...and it was the symbol of the pagan world in general. Yet, the power of the Holy Spirit would guide the steps of the witnesses 'to the ends of the earth,’ all the way to Rome.” When Saint Paul reaches the capital of the empire and announces the Gospel, “the journey of the word of God, begun in Jerusalem, reaches its destination, because Rome represents the entire world and thus embodies the Lucan idea of catholicity. The universal Church is realized, the Catholic Church, which is the continuation of the chosen people, takes on its own history and mission.”
The Pope’s last reflection was on the Gospel of John. The Risen Christ appears to the disciples in the Upper Room twice using the term “Shalom - peace to you!”. The Pope explained, saying: “The expression 'shalom' is not a simple greeting; it is much more. It is the gift of the promised peace and is won by Jesus with the price of his blood, it is the fruit of this victory and his struggle against the spirit of evil. It is thus a peace 'not as given by the world' but as God alone can give it. On this feast of the Spirit of the Church we would like to thank God for having given to his people, chosen and formed from all nations, the inestimable gift of peace, of his peace!”
The Church has the responsibility to “constitutionally be a sign and an instrument of the peace of God for all peoples” and realizes her service “above all in her ordinary presence and action among men, with the preaching of the Gospel and with the signs of love and mercy that accompany it. Among these signs, we must emphasize the primary importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that the Risen Christ instituted in the same moment in which He gave the disciples the gift of His peace and His Spirit.”
The Pope then mentioned “how insufficiently understood” is the gift of Reconciliation, that brings peace to hears. “Christ's peace spreads only through the renewed hearts of men and women who have been reconciled and made themselves servants of justice, ready to spread peace in the world only with the force of truth, without compromising with the mentality of the world, because the world cannot give Christ's peace. This is how the Church can be a ferment of that reconciliation that comes from God. She can do this only if she remains docile to the Spirit and bears witness to the Gospel, only if she carries the Cross like Jesus and with Jesus.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 12/5/2008; righe 57, parole 804)
