Pope: the Spirit is a gift to be shared, 'the soul is not a storehouse'
Francis' new warning against gossip that "are war". "Gossip destroys what comes from God. Please stop gossiping." "Someone thinks that in the Church there are the Masters: the bishops, the Pope and then there are the workers". "No, we are the Church".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Confirmation more closely links Confirmation to the Church and its mission to witness to Christ. The gift of the Holy Spirit that he receives must be shared with others. "We must think of the Church as a living organism, composed of people we know and walk with, and not as an abstract and distant reality". "We are the Church".
Continuing in the cycle of catechesis on the sacrament of Confirmation, Pope Francis centred his reflection on the gift of the Holy Spirit that "No one receives for himself". "We always receive to give. The soul is not a storehouse".
To the 20 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square, Francis then underlined the value of "peace": "the Bishop says, in fact, to each confirmand: "Peace be with you". "Receiving peace commits us to work to improve accord in the parish". But then "we go out and start gossiping and gossip is war".
The Holy Spirit is "a gift that enters us and makes us bear fruit so we can give it to others". "Always receive to give. The soul is not a storehouse. Receive to give ". "By completing the resemblance to Christ in the baptized, Confirmation unites them more strongly as living members of the mystical body of the Church (cf. Rite of Confirmation, No. 25). The Church's mission in the world proceeds through the contribution of all those who are part of it ". "Someone thinks that there are the masters in the Church: the bishops, the Pope and then there are the workers". "No, we are the Church". "We must think of the Church as a living organism, composed of people we know and walk with, and not as an abstract and distant reality. Confirmation binds to the universal Church, spread all over the earth, but actively involving the confirmed in the life of the particular Church to which they belong, with the Bishop at the head, who is the successor of the Apostles. This is why the Bishop is the original minister of Confirmation (cf. Lumen Gentium, 26). Because he unites the confirmed in the Church ".
"This ecclesial incorporation is symbolized well by the sign of peace that concludes the ritual of chrismation. The Bishop says, in fact, to each confirmed: "Peace be with you". Recalling the greeting of Christ to the disciples on Easter evening, filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 20: 19-23), these words illuminate a gesture that "expresses ecclesial communion with the Bishop and with all the faithful" (cf. 1301). We in Confirmation receive the Holy Spirit and the peace that we must give to others ". "This means peace". "But then what happens? we go out and start gossiping and gossip is war ". "Gossip destroys what comes from God. Please stop gossiping."
"Receiving peace from the Bishop commits the confirmed ones to work to weave communion inside and outside the Church, with enthusiasm and without being paralyzed by resistance. Receiving peace commits us to work to improve accord in the parish, encouraging agreement with others, including and not discarding or marginalizing. Receiving peace commits us to cooperating with those who are different from us, aware that the Christian community is built up through different and complementary riches. The Spirit is creative and not repetitive. His gifts arouse symphony and not monotony! His work involves all those who bear his seal".
"No one receives Confirmation only for themselves, but to cooperate in the spiritual growth of others. Only in this way, opening ourselves and going out of ourselves to meet our brothers, can we really grow and not only deceive ourselves that we are doing it. What we receive as a gift from God must in fact be given to be fruitful, and not buried because of selfish fears, as the parable of the talents teaches (cf. Mt 25: 14-30) ".
"I urge confirmands – Francis concluded - not to 'cage' the Holy Spirit, not to resist the wind blowing to push them to walk in freedom, not to stifle the burning Fire of charity that leads to consume our life for God and for our brothers. May the Holy Spirit grant us all the apostolic courage to communicate the Gospel, with works and words, to all those we meet on our way. But with good words, not with gossip".
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