Pope: in the Church, there have always been resistance to the "surprises" of the Holy Spirit
“[G]et together, join together, listen, discuss, pray and decide. This is the so-called sinodality of the Church, which expresses the communion of the Church,” the pope said. “Let us ask the Lord for grace to understand how the Church can face the surprises of the Spirit, to be docile and to follow the path which Christ wants for us and for the whole Church.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke during his homely in today’s Mass in Santa Marta chapel about resistance within the Church against new things brought by the Holy Spirit, which is “main mover of the Church” since the time of the Apostles.
The starting point in the Holy Father’s address was the passage in the Acts of the Apostles about the so-called Council of Jerusalem, where they were able to "get together, join together, listen, discuss, pray and decide. This is the so-called sinodality of the Church, which expresses the communion of the Church."
In Jerusalem, resistance to the action of the Spirit was two-fold, one that stressed that "Jesus had come only for the chosen people," and the other that sought to impose the Law of Moses, including circumcision, on Gentile converts. “Out of this came a lot of confusion," the pope said.
"The Spirit led hearts to a new way. These were the surprises of the Spirit. The Apostles found themselves in situations that they would have never believed, new situations.” Their challenge was “How to deal with these new situations?”
“Hence, as the start of today’s passage indicates, “After much debate had taken place,’ a warm debate, because they were talking about that subject. They, on the one hand, had the power of the Spirit – the main player – who was pushing to go forward, forward, forward . . . But the Spirit was leading them towards certain new things, certain things that had never been done before. Never. Things they could have never imagined, that Gentiles might receive the Holy Spirit, for example."
The disciples "had the hot potato in their hands and did not know what to do." So, they called a meeting in Jerusalem where everyone could relate their experiences on how the Holy Spirit descended upon the Gentiles.
"In the end they came to an agreement. But first this there was something beautiful. 'The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them’.”
“Listening, not being afraid to listen. When one is afraid of listening, one does not have the Spirit in one’s heart. Listening ‘What do you think and why?' Listening with humility. And after listening, they decided to send to the Greek community – that is the Christians who came from paganism – to send some disciples to reassure them and say, 'It ‘is all right! Go on!"
Gentiles who convert are not required to be circumcised. This decision came in a letter in which "the Holy Spirit is the main player". In fact, the disciples said, "The Holy Spirit and we have decided . . .”.
This is the way of the Church "faced with new things, not new things of this world, like fashion," but "new things, the surprises of the Spirit, because the Spirit always surprises us. How does the Church solve this? How do I handle these problems, solve them? With meetings, listening, discussions, prayers and the final decision."
"This has been the way of the Church until now. When the Spirit surprises us with something that seems new” rather than “‘this was never done this way, or ‘one must do it this way’, think about Vatican II, about the resistance during Second Vatican Council. I am saying this because this is closer to us. There was so much resistance; [people saying] ‘no way!' Even today, there is resistance that continue in one form or another, and [yet] the Spirit goes on.”
“The way of the Church is this: get together, join together, listen, discuss, pray and decide. This is the so-called sinodality of the Church, which expresses the communion of the Church. Who gives communion? The Spirit does! He is once more the main player. What does the Lord asks of us? Docility to the Spirit. What does the Lord asks of us? Not to fear, when we see that it is the Spirit that is calling us."
"Sometimes, the Spirit stops us,” as he did with Saint Paul, in order to lead us elsewhere. “It does not leave us alone.” It “gives courage; it gives us patience; it sets us safely on Jesus’ road; it helps us to overcome adversity and stand firm in the face of martyrdom.”
“Let us ask the Lord for grace,” the pope said at the end of his homily, so that we may “understand how the Church can face the surprises of the Spirit,” and “be docile and follow the path which Christ wants for us and for the whole Church.”
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13/07/2022 19:10
