Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

On this Solemnity of Pentecost, we are called to contemplate the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was poured out in abundance upon the early Church and is bestowed anew upon its members today, granting us light and strength throughout our everyday circumstances.

Let us reflect on an image of the Spirit that today’s liturgy sets before us: the Spirit opens doors. The Gospel, in fact, tells us that “the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews” (Jn 20:19). At the same time, the book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us that the Spirit came like a mighty wind (cf. Acts 2:2), which opened those doors, impelling the disciples to go out and proclaim the Good News of the risen Christ.

We can ask ourselves: what doors does the Holy Spirit open today?

The first door is that of God himself, for the Spirit gives us access to the mystery of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ. Through the gift of his Spirit, God grants us true faith, helps us understand the meaning of Scripture, reveals himself as our neighbour and allows us to share in his very life. The Holy Spirit helps us to have a personal experience of God, to encounter him in Jesus and not merely in the observance of a law, to recognize him within us, and to discover the signs of his presence in daily life.

The second door is that of the Upper Room, that is, of the Church. Without the fire of the Spirit, the Church remains a prisoner of fear, timid in the face of the world’s challenges, closed in on itself, and thus also incapable of entering into dialogue with changing times. The Spirit opens the doors of the Church so that it can be welcoming and hospitable to all, even to those who have closed their doors on God and neighbour, on hope and the joy of living. As Pope Francis recalled, we are called to be “a Church that blesses and encourages… The doors of the Church are open to everyone” (Homily at the Opening of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, October 4, 2023).

Finally, the Holy Spirit opens the door of our heart, helping us to overcome resistance, selfishness, mistrust and prejudice, while enabling us to live as children of God and brothers and sisters to one another. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, fraternity is born among individuals, groups and peoples of the Earth, and all speak the same language of love, which unites and brings harmony despite our differences.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

The Easter season reaches its fulfilment today on the Solemnity of Pentecost. To highlight the continuity of this salvific event, the Gospel takes us back to the “first day of the week” (Jn 20:19), that is, to that new day on which the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples, showing them “his hands and his side” (v. 20). The Lord reveals his glorious body, specifically his wounds, the marks of the crucifixion. These signs of the Passion, more eloquent than words, are now transfigured; he who was dead lives forever.

Upon seeing the Lord, the disciples too are restored back to life. They had shut themselves in the Upper Room, overcome by fear, but Jesus comes and stands among them, even though the doors were closed, and fills them with joy. He passes through our “death,” opening the tomb and throwing it wide open when there was no way out for us. Christ accompanies his actions with the words: “Peace be with you” (v. 19); and immediately afterward, he breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. The risen One is full of life. After having proven that he was restored to life as true man, he bestows the life of God as the beloved Son of the Father who has become, for our sake, our brother and Redeemer. In the same Upper Room where he instituted the new and eternal covenant, Jesus pours out the Spirit. The place of the Last Supper and the betrayal is transformed; the tomb of the Apostles becomes, for the entire Church, the womb of the Resurrection. Pentecost is therefore a Paschal feast and a feast of the body of Christ, which by grace is all of us.

In celebrating this mystery, I would like to focus on three aspects.

First of all, the Spirit of the risen One is the Spirit of peace. Indeed, through his Paschal Mystery, Christ restores peace between God and humanity, and the Holy Spirit pours this peace into our hearts and spreads it throughout the world. This peace stems from forgiveness and leads us to forgiveness. It begins with the forgiveness given by Jesus himself, whom we betrayed, condemned and crucified. Surprising us with his love, the risen One himself says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven” (Jn 20:23). With these words, Jesus involves us in a divine work, for only God can forgive sins (cf. Mk 2:7). This authority is bestowed as a sign of universal reconciliation: the Lord pours out his Spirit of peace from one end of history to the other, for he who has redeemed everyone from death excludes no one. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is Lord and giver of life since the beginning of creation, when he hovered over the waters (cf. Gen 1:2); and now, in renewing creation, he transforms the history of the world. Pentecost truly appears as the feast of the New Covenant, the Covenant between God and all the peoples of the world. While the roaring sound from above, the wind and the tongues of fire in the Upper Room are reminiscent of the ancient signs at Sinai (cf. Acts 2:2–3; Ex 19:16–19), God’s holy law is inscribed in our hearts, engraved by the Spirit with letters of love in the flesh of Christ and in his body the Church.

This law is the rule of peace: It is the twofold commandment of love that the Spirit reminds us of with every heartbeat. With our heart, we can therefore pray “Veni Sancte Spiritus,” for he has already been given to us. We can long for him, for he has already been promised to us. We can welcome him, for he himself is the sweet guest of the soul.

A second point is that the Spirit of the risen One is the Spirit of mission: “As the Father has sent me,” says the Lord, “so I send you” (Jn 20:21). We are consequently drawn into Jesus’ mission, the mission of the one who proceeds from God and returns to God through the power of the Spirit — who in turn proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is worshiped and glorified with them as one God. The Holy Spirit is the living charity of Christ that fills us, spurs us on and sustains us in our mission (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). While bestowing on the Apostles the power to preach (cf. Acts 2:4), the same Spirit teaches humanity the word of salvation. Now that the Apostles have received the breath of the risen One within themselves, this proclamation pours from their lips, borne by the voice of Peter and of those who are with him. On the very day of Pentecost, the Apostles began to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen. In other words, the “mighty works of God” (Acts 2:11) are summed up in redemption, which begins with faith. Indeed, the first work of the Holy Spirit in us is the faith with which we profess: “Jesus is Lord!” (1 Cor 12:3). This faith lives and is expressed in every good deed, in every act of mercy and virtue. The work of God, therefore, is each one of us, who came here today from all parts of the world, invited to the Lord’s table, gathered to listen to his word and called to bear witness to it everywhere.

Dear friends, we are truly co-workers of the Gospel: the whole Church is its protagonist, not merely its guardian. Through the power of the Spirit, our proclamation is filled with joy and hope, for we — yes, we ourselves — are the newness of the world, the light and the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13–14). Certainly not because of our own merit or privilege, but because of the word of the Lord, who sanctifies the sinner, heals the leper and transforms the one who denied him into an apostle. As we can clearly see, there are changes that do not bring new life to the world, but make it grow old through error and violence. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit enlightens minds and instils new vitality in our hearts. This is how he transfigures history, opening it to salvation, which is the gift that the Lord offers to everyone. The Church’s mission bears witness to this offer, thereby transforming the world’s confusion into communion with God and among ourselves.

This mission begins by proclaiming the truth about God and man, for the Spirit of the risen One is the “Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17), whom the Lord himself promised us, asking for the unity of his Church — a unity founded on the love of God, the source of our love. The Spirit, who has spoken through the prophets, always promotes unity in truth, for he imbues in us understanding, harmony and coherency of life. As Saint Augustine teaches, “the Holy Spirit willed that this should be the sign of his presence” (Discourse 269, 1): The gift of tongues that are understood within the one faith. The Paraclete protects us from everything that hinders this understanding, including partisanship, hypocrisy and fads that obscure the light of the Gospel. The truth that God gives us thus stands as a liberating word for all peoples, a message that transforms every culture from within.

Indeed, the Spirit of the risen One is not poured out once and for all, but constantly. Just as the Eucharist is the living presence of Christ, who nourishes us unceasingly, so too does the Holy Spirit imprint his character upon us in Baptism, which makes us Christians; in Confirmation, which establishes us as witnesses; and in Holy Orders, which constitutes ministers and shepherds for God’s people. In every sacrament, he is the dator munerum, the source of holiness who multiplies gifts and charisms through prayer, works of mercy and the study of the word of God. As the Apostle teaches: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7). It is precisely for this reason that we are the Church, the one body that lives in God and serves the world. Thanks to the Spirit, we can bring true peace to all, the truth that saves — the same Christ our Lord.

Dear friends, with fervent hearts, let us pray today that the Spirit of the risen One may save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower, but by the omnipotence of love. Let us pray that he free humanity from misery, which is redeemed not by immeasurable wealth, but by an inexhaustible gift. Let us pray that he heal us from the scourge of sin through the salvation proclaimed to all peoples in the name of Jesus. This is the grace that instils courage in the Apostles; may he similarly instil it in us, today and always, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.

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