Pope appeals for access to aid for Rohingya affected by cyclone Mocha
The appeal for the 800,000 people affected by the cyclone on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, after the Pentecost Mass presided at St. Peter's Basilica. The invitation to the faithful: "Docile to the Spirit let us build harmony in the world and in the Church." "Today there is so much discord, so much division, so many wars, fruit of the spirit of division. Let us invoke the Spirit of unity that brings peace."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Let us put the Holy Spirit back at the center of the Church, otherwise our hearts will not be burned by love for Jesus, but by love for ourselves." This was Pope Francis invitaton in his homily on the Solemnity of Pentecost, celebrated today by the pontiff presiding at Mass in St. Peter's Square. It was an invitation accompanied by a heartfelt appeal - made during the Regina Caeli prayer, said at noon from the window of his study - for the populations living on the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, affected by Cyclone Mocha.
"There are more than 800,000 people, in addition to the many Rohingia who are already living in precarious conditions," the pope said. "As I renew to these populations my closeness, I appeal to those in charge to facilitate the access of humanitarian aid. And I appeal to the sense of human solidarity and ecclesial solidarity to come to the aid of these brothers and sisters of ours."
Reflecting on the mystery of the Holy Spirit descending on the Apostles, Francis invited us to recognize his action as the bearer of harmony in God's created world, in the Church and in our hearts. From the very beginning this face of God is in fact at work in a very special way. The Spirit," the pope explained, "is the One who, at the beginning and at all times, brings created realities from disorder to order, from dispersion to cohesion, from confusion to harmony. He gives the world, in a word, harmony. He renews the earth, but be careful: not by changing reality, but by harmonizing it; this is His style."
"Today in the world there is so much discord, so much division," he commented. "We are all connected and yet we find ourselves disconnected from each other, anesthetized by indifference and oppressed by loneliness. So many wars, so many conflicts: it seems incredible the evil that man can do. But, in reality, feeding our hostilities is the spirit of division, the devil, whose name means precisely 'divider.'" In the face of the evil of discord, our efforts to build harmony are not enough. This is why the Lord "at the culmination of his Passover, at the culmination of salvation, pours out on the created world his good Spirit, the Holy Spirit, who opposes the spirit of division because he is harmony, the Spirit of unity who brings peace. Let us invoke him daily upon our world," Francis urged.
But this same action also takes place in the Church: the Spirit does not initiate it "by giving instructions and norms to the community, but by descending on each Apostle: each one receives particular graces and different charisms. All this plurality of different gifts could cause confusion, but the Spirit, as in creation, precisely from plurality loves to create harmony. "It is not an imposed and homologated order," "it does not create an equal language for all, it does not erase differences, cultures, but harmonizes everything without homogenizing, without unifying." The Spirit "does not begin with a structured plan, as we would, who often then scatter in our own agendas; no, He begins by bestowing free and superabundant gifts. He creates harmony thus, inviting us to experience awe at his love and gifts present in others. To see each brother and sister in faith as part of the same body to which I belong: this is the harmonious gaze of the Spirit, the path He shows us."
This is also the path of the ongoing Synod, which is "not a parliament to claim rights and needs according to the world's agenda, not an opportunity to go where the wind leads, but an opportunity to be docile to the breath of the Spirit." Without the Spirit "the Church is inert, faith is only a doctrine, morality only a duty, pastoral care only a job. With Him, on the other hand, faith is life, the love of the Lord conquers us and hope is reborn." And the Spirit loves to descend while "all are together" (cf. Acts 2:1): "The people of God, in order to be filled with the Spirit, must walk together, make synod," Francis commented. "This is how harmony is renewed in the Church: by walking together with the Spirit at the center. We build harmony in the Church."
Finally, the Spirit makes harmony in our hearts. He is given to us "for a specific purpose: to forgive sins, that is, to reconcile souls, to harmonize hearts torn by evil, shattered by wounds, broken up by guilt. Only the Spirit puts harmony back into the heart. If we want harmony," the pope admonished, "let us seek Him, not worldly fillers. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit every day, begin each day by praying to Him, become docile to Him."
Hence the invitation to ask, "Am I docile to the harmony of the Spirit? Or do I pursue my own plans, my own ideas without letting Him shape me, without letting Him change me? Am I hasty in judging, pointing fingers and slamming doors in the faces of others, deeming myself a victim of everyone and everything? Or do I welcome His harmonious creative power, the 'grace of the whole' that He inspires, His forgiveness that gives peace? And do I in turn forgive, promote reconciliation and create communion?"
"If the world is divided, if the Church becomes polarized, if the heart becomes fragmented," Francis concluded, "let us not waste time criticizing others and getting angry with ourselves, but let us call upon the Spirit. Come Spirit of forgiveness, harmony of the heart, transform us as You know, through Mary."
.png)
