the holy spirit illuminates the human spirit by revealing
christ crucified and risen
On the Solemnity of
Pentecost
H.H. Benedict XVI
June 4, 2006
Zenit.org
Dear Brothers
and Sisters,
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended with
power upon the Apostles; thus began the mission of the
Church in the world.
Jesus himself prepared the Eleven for this mission,
appearing to them on many occasions after his Resurrection
(cf. Acts 1: 3).
Prior to the Ascension into Heaven, he ordered them "not to
depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the
Father" (cf. Acts 1: 4-5); that is, he asked them to stay
together to prepare themselves to receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. And they gathered in prayer with Mary in the
Upper Room, awaiting the promised event (cf. Acts 1: 14).
To stay together was the condition laid down by Jesus in
order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; the premise of
their harmony was prolonged prayer. In this way we are
offered a formidable lesson for every Christian community.
Some think at times that missionary effectiveness depends
primarily on careful programming and its subsequent
intelligent application through a concrete commitment.
The Lord certainly does ask for our collaboration, but
before any other response his initiative is necessary: his
Spirit is the true protagonist of the Church. The roots of
our being and of our action are in the wise and provident
silence of God.
The images used by St Luke to indicate the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit - wind and fire - recall Sinai, where God
revealed himself to the people of Israel and offered his
covenant (cf. Ex 19: 3ff.). The feast of Sinai, which Israel
celebrated 50 days after the Passover, was the feast of the
Covenant.
Speaking of the tongues of fire (cf. Acts 2: 3), St Luke
wants to show Pentecost as a new Sinai, as the feast of the
New Covenant, where the Covenant with Israel is extended to
all the nations of the earth.
The Church has been catholic and missionary from her birth.
The universality of salvation is meaningfully manifested
with the list of the numerous ethnic groups to which those
who heard the Apostles' first proclamation belonged (cf.
Acts 2: 9-11).
The People of God, which had found its first configuration
in Sinai, extends today to the point of surmounting every
barrier of race, culture, space and time. As opposed to what
occurred with the tower of Babel (cf. Gn 11: 1-9), when
people wanted to build a way to heaven with their hands and
ended up by destroying their very capacity of mutual
understanding, in Pentecost the Spirit, with the gift of
tongues, demonstrates that his presence unites and
transforms confusion into communion.
Human pride and egoism always create divisions, build walls
of indifference, hate and violence. The Holy Spirit, on the
other hand, makes hearts capable of understanding the
languages of all, as he re-establishes the bridge of
authentic communion between earth and heaven. The Holy
Spirit is Love.
But how is it possible to enter into the mystery of the Holy
Spirit? How can the secret of Love be understood?
The Gospel passage takes us today to the Upper Room where,
after the Last Supper, a sense of loss has saddened the
Apostles. This is due to the fact that Jesus' words arouse
disturbing questions: He spoke of the world's hatred of him
and of his own, he spoke of his mysterious departure; and
there were still many other things to be said, but for the
time being the Apostles were not able to bear the weight
(cf. Jn 16: 12).
To console them, he explains the meaning of his departure:
he will go, but he will return; meanwhile, he will not
abandon them, will not leave them orphans. He will send the
Consoler, the Spirit of the Father, and the Spirit will
enable them to understand that Christ's work is a work of
love: love of the One who gave himself, love of the Father
who has given him.
This is the mystery of Pentecost: the Holy Spirit
illuminates the human spirit and, by revealing Christ
Crucified and Risen, indicates the way to become more like
him, that is, to be "the image and instrument of the love
which flows from Christ" (Deus Caritas Est, n. 33).
The Church, gathered with Mary as at her birth, today
implores: "Veni, Sancte Spiritus! - Come, Holy Spirit, fill
the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of
your love!". Amen.
© Copyright 2006 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
