News October 2024

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today we will continue our reflection on the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church through the Sacraments.

The sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit reaches us primarily through two channels: the Word of God and the Sacraments. And among all the Sacraments, there is one that is quintessentially the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit, and it is on this that I would like to focus today. It is the Sacrament of Confirmation.

In the New Testament, beyond baptism with water, another rite is mentioned, that of the imposition of hands, which has the purpose of communicating the Holy Spirit visibly and in a charismatic way, with effects analogous to those produced by the Apostles at Pentecost. The Acts of the Apostles refer to a significant episode in this regard. Having heard that some in Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John there from Jerusalem. They “went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (8:14-17).

Added to this is what Saint Paul writes in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: “The one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God; He has also put His seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment” (1:21-22). The guarantee of the Spirit. The theme of the Holy Spirit as a “royal seal” with which Christ marks his sheep is at the basis of the doctrine of the “indelible character” conferred by this rite.

With the passing of time, the rite of anointing took shape as a Sacrament in itself, assuming diverse forms and content in the various ages and different rites of the Church. This is not the place to retrace this very complex history. What the Sacrament of Confirmation is in the understanding of the Church seems to me to be described in a very simple and clear way by the Catechism of adults of the Italian Episcopal Conference. It says: “Confirmation is for all the faithful what Pentecost was for the entire Church. … It reinforces the baptismal incorporation into Christ and the Church and the consecration to the prophetic, royal and priestly mission. It communicates the abundance of the gifts of the Spirit. … If, therefore, Baptism is the Sacrament of birth, Confirmation is the Sacrament of growth. For this very reason it is also the Sacrament of witness, because this is closely linked to the maturity of Christian existence”. [1] The Catechism up to this point.

The problem is how to ensure that the Sacrament of Confirmation is not reduced, in practice, to “last rites”, that is the Sacrament of “departure” from the Church. It is said that it is the farewell Sacrament, because once young people do it they go away and then return for marriage. This is what people say… but we must ensure that it is rather the Sacrament of participation, of active participation in the life of the Church. It is a milestone that can seem impossible, given the current situation throughout the Church, but this does not mean that we should stop pursuing it. It will not be so for all Confirmands, children or adults, but it is important that it is at least for some who will then go on to be the animators of the community.

It can be useful, for this purpose, to be helped in preparing for the Sacrament by lay faithful who have had a personal encounter with Christ and have had a true experience of the Spirit. Some people say that they have experienced it as a blossoming of the Sacrament of Confirmation received as children.

But this does not relate only to future Confirmands; it relates to all of us and at any time. Together with Confirmation and anointing, we have received, the Apostle assures us, also the bond of the Spirit, which elsewhere he calls “the first fruits of the Spirit” (Rm 8:23). We must “spend” this bond, savour these first fruits, not bury underground the charisms and talents received.

Saint Paul exhorted the disciple Timothy to “stir into flame the gift of God* that you have through the imposition of my hands” (2 Tim 1:6), and the verb used suggests the image of one who breathes on the fire to revive the flame. Here is a good goal for the Jubilee year! To remove the ashes of habit and disengagement, to become, like the torchbearers at the Olympics, bearers of the flame of the Spirit. May the Spirit help us to take a few steps in this direction!

30.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Mk 10:46-52) tells us about Jesus who cures a man from blindness. His name is Bartimaeus, but the crowd in the street ignore him: he is a poor beggar. Those people do not have eyes for the blind man; they leave him, they ignore him. No caring gaze, no feeling of compassion. Bartimaeus does not see either, but he hears and he makes himself heard. He shouts, he cries loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (v. 48). Jesus, however, hears and sees him. He places himself at his disposal and asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” (v. 51).

“What do you want me to do for you?”. This question, before a blind person, seems to be a provocation, and instead, it is a test. Jesus is asking Bartimaeus who he is truly looking for, and for what reason. Who is for you the “Son of David”? And thus the Lord starts to open the blind man’s eyes. Let us consider three aspects of this encounter, which becomes a dialogue: the cry, faith, the journey.

First of all, the cry of Bartimaeus, which is not only a request for help. It is an affirmation of himself. The blind man is saying, “I exist, look at me. I do not see you, Jesus. Do you see me?”. Yes, Jesus sees the beggar, and he listens to him, with the ears of the body and those of the heart. Think of ourselves, when we cross paths with a beggar on the street: how many times do we look away, how many times do we ignore him, as though he did not exist? And do we hear the cry of beggars?

Second point: faith. What does Jesus say? “Go your way; your faith has made you well” (v. 52). Bartimaeus sees because he believes; Christ is the light of his eyes. The Lord observes how Bartimaeus looks at him. How do I look at a beggar? Do I ignore him? Do I look at him like Jesus does? Am I capable of understanding his demands, his cry for help? When you give alms, do you look the beggar in the eye? Do you touch his hand to feel his flesh?

Finally, the journey. Bartimaeus, healed, “followed him on the way” (v. 52). But each one of us is Bartimaeus, blind within, who follows Jesus once he has approached Him. When you approach a poor person and make your proximity felt, it is Jesus who approaches you in the person of that poor man. Please, let us not be confused: alms are not the same as handouts. The person who receives the most grace from almsgiving is the one who gives, because he makes himself seen by the eyes of the Lord.

Let us pray together to Mary, the dawn of salvation, that she may guard our path in the light of Christ.

27.10.24 a

Today’s Gospel presents us with Bartimaeus, a blind man forced to beg at the side of the road, an outcast lacking hope. Yet, when he heard Jesus passing by, he began to shout after him. All Bartimaeus could do was to cry out in pain to Jesus and express his desire that he might regain his sight. While others were troubled by his cries and rebuked him, Jesus paused. For God always hears the cry of the poor, and no cry of pain goes unheard by him.

Today, at the conclusion of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, with our hearts filled with gratitude for the moments we have shared, let us reflect on what happened to Bartimaeus. Initially he was “sitting by the roadside” (Mk 10:46), but by the end he was called by Jesus, recovered his sight and “followed him on the way” (v. 52).

The first thing that the Gospel tells us about Bartimaeus is that he was begging by the roadside. His position is typical of someone who sits by the side of a road, caught up in his own grief, as if there were nothing else to do but receive something from the many pilgrims passing through the city of Jericho as Passover drew near. Yet, as we know, if we are truly to live, we cannot remain seated. Life entails being on the move, setting out, dreaming, planning, opening up to the future. Blind Bartimaeus, then, represents that inner blindness which restrains us, keeps us stuck in one place, holds us back from the dynamism of life and destroys our hope.

This can help us reflect not only on our own lives, but also on what it means to be the Lord’s Church. So many things along the way can make us blind, incapable of perceiving the presence of the Lord, unprepared to face the challenges of reality, sometimes unable to offer adequate responses to the questions of so many who cry out to us, as Bartimaeus did to Jesus. We cannot remain inert before the questions raised by the women and men of today, before the challenges of our time, the urgency of evangelization and the many wounds that afflict humanity. Sisters and brothers, we cannot afford to sit back. A sedentary Church, that inadvertently withdraws from life and confines itself to the margins of reality, is a Church that risks remaining blind and becoming comfortable with its own unease. If we remain stuck in our blindness, we will continuously fail to grasp the urgency of giving a pastoral response to the many problems of our world. Let us ask the Lord to send us the Holy Spirit, so that we do not sit in our blindness, which in other words can be a worldliness, complacency, or closed heart. We cannot stay sitting in our blindness.

Yet, we should remember that the Lord passes by every day. The Lord always passes by and pauses in order to attend to our blindness. We should ask ourselves, “Do I hear him passing by? Do I have the capacity to hear the Lord’s footsteps? Do I have the capacity to discern when the Lord is passing by?” It is good if the Synod is urging us as a Church to be like Bartimaeus: a community of disciples who, hearing that the Lord is passing by, feel the joy of salvation, allow ourselves to be awakened by the power of the Gospel, and to cry out to him. The Church does this when it takes up the cry of all the women and men of the world, of those who wish to discover the joy of the Gospel, and of those who have turned away; the silent cry of those who are indifferent; the cry of those who suffer, of the poor and marginalized, of children who are enslaved in so many parts of the world for work; the broken voice of those who no longer have the strength to cry out to God, either because they have no voice or because they are in despair. We do not need a sedentary and defeatist Church, but a Church that hears the cry of the world – I wish to say this even if some might be scandalised – a Church that gets its hands dirty in serving.

Thus, we come to the second aspect. The Gospel tells us that if initially Bartimaeus was seated, at the end we see him following Jesus along the road.  This is a typical expression in the Gospel, meaning that he has become the Lord’s disciple and has followed in his footsteps. When the beggar cried out to him, Jesus stopped and called for him. Bartimaeus, from where he was sitting, jumped up on his feet and immediately afterwards regained his sight. Now he can see the Lord; he can recognize God’s action in his life and finally set out to follow him. Let us do likewise. Whenever we are seated and settled, when as a Church we cannot find the strength, the courage or the boldness to arise and continue along the way, let us always remember to return to the Lord and his Gospel. We always need to return to the Lord and the Gospel. As he passes by again and again, we need to listen to his call so that we can get back on our feet and he can heal our blindness; and then we can follow him once more, and walk with him along the way.

I would like to reiterate that the Gospel says of Bartimaeus that he “followed him on the way”. This is an image of the synodal Church. The Lord is calling us, lifting us up when we are seated or fallen down, restoring our sight so that we can perceive the anxieties and sufferings of the world in the light of the Gospel. And when the Lord puts us back on our feet, we experience the joy of following him on the way. We follow the Lord along the way, we do not follow him enclosed in our comforts or we do not follow him in the mazes of our minds. We follow him only along the way. Let us remember never to walk alone or according to worldly criteria, but to walk on the way alongside him.

Brothers and sisters, not a seated Church, but a Church on her feet. Not a silent Church, but a Church that embraces the cry of humanity. Not a blind Church, but a Church, enlightened by Christ, that brings the light of the Gospel to others. Not a static Church, but a missionary Church that walks with her Lord through the streets of the world.

Today, as we give thanks to the Lord for the journey we have made together, we will be able to see and venerate the relic of the carefully restored ancient Chair of Saint Peter. As we contemplate it with the wonder of faith, let us remember that this is the Chair of love, unity and mercy, according to Jesus’ command to the Apostle Peter not to lord it over others, but to serve them in charity. And, as we admire the majestic Bernini Baldachin, more sublime than ever, we can rediscover that it frames the true focal point of the entire basilica, namely the glory of the Holy Spirit. This is the synodal Church: a community whose primacy lies in the gift of the Spirit, who makes us all brothers and sisters in Christ and raises us up to him.

Sisters and brothers, let us therefore continue our journey together with confidence. Today, the word of God speaks to us, as to Bartimaeus: “Take heart; get up, he is calling you”. Do I feel called? Do I feel weak and cannot get up? Do I call for help? Let us throw off the cloak of resignation; let us entrust our blindness to the Lord; let us stand once more and carry the joy of the Gospel through the streets of the world.

27.10.24 m

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click here

“HE LOVED US”, Saint Paul says of Christ (cf. Rom 8:37), in order to make us realize that nothing can ever “separate us” from that love (Rom 8:39). Paul could say this with certainty because Jesus himself had told his disciples, “I have loved you” (Jn 15:9, 12). Even now, the Lord says to us, “I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15). His open heart has gone before us and waits for us, unconditionally, asking only to offer us his love and friendship. For “he loved us first” (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). Because of Jesus, “we have come to know and believe in the love that God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16).

24.10.24 e

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Last time we explained what we proclaim about the Holy Spirit in the Creed. The reflection of the Church, however, did not stop at that brief profession of faith. It continued, both in the East and in the West, by the work of the great Fathers and Doctors. Today, in particular, we would like to gather a few crumbs of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit developed in the Latin tradition, to see how it enlightens all of Christian life and the sacrament of marriage in particular.

The main originator of this doctrine is Saint Augustine, who developed the doctrine on the Holy Spirit. He sets out from the revelation that “God is love” ( 1 Jn 4:8). Now love presupposes one who loves, one who is beloved and love itself that unites them. The Father is, in the Trinity, He who loves, the source and origin of everything; the Son is He who is beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the love that unites them. [1] The God of Christians is therefore a “sole” God, but not solitary; His is a unity of communion and love. Along these lines, some have proposed to call the Holy Spirit not the “third-person singular” of the Trinity, but rather the “first-person plural”. In other words, He is the We, the divine We of the Father and the Son, the bond of unity between different persons, [2] the very principle of the unity of the Church, which is indeed a “sole body” resulting from several persons.

As I said, today I would like to reflect with you in particular on what the Holy Spirit has to say about the family. What can the Holy Spirit have to do with marriage, for example? A great deal, perhaps the essential, and I will try to explain why! Christian marriage is the sacrament of self-giving, one for the other, of man and woman. This is how the Creator intended it when he “So God created man in his own image … male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). The human couple is therefore the first and most elementary realization of the communion of love that is the Trinity.

Married couples, too, should form a first-person plural, a “we”. Stand before each other as an “I” and a “you”, and stand before the rest of the world, including the children, as a “we”. How beautiful it is to hear a mother say to her children: “Your father and I...”, as Mary said to Jesus when they found him at the age of twelve in the temple, teaching the Doctors (cf. Lk 2:48), and to hear a father say: ‘Your mother and I’, as if they were one. How much children need this unity– mother and father together – unity of parents, and how much they suffer when it is lacking! How much the children of separated parents suffer, how much they suffer.

However, to correspond to this vocation, marriage needs the support of He who is the Gift, indeed the quintessential giver. Where the Holy Spirit enters, the capacity for self-giving is reborn. Some Fathers of the Latin Church affirmed that, as the reciprocal gift of the Father and the Son in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is also the reason for the joy that reigns between them, and they were not afraid, when speaking about it, to use the image of gestures proper to married life, such as the kiss and the embrace. [3]

No-one says that such unity is an easy task, least of all in today’s world; but this is the truth of things as the Creator designed them, and it is therefore in their nature. Certainly, it may seem easier and quicker to build on sand than on rock; but Jesus tells us what the result is (cf. Mt 7:24-27). In this case, then, we do not even need the parable, because the consequences of marriages built on sand are, unfortunately, there for all to see, and it is mainly the children who pay the price. Children suffer from the separation or the lack of love of the parents! With regard to so many couples, one must repeat what Mary said to Jesus, at Cana in Galilee: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). The Holy Spirit is He who continues to perform, on a spiritual level, the miracle that Jesus worked on that occasion; namely, to change the water of habit into a new joy of being together. It is not a pious illusion: it is what the Holy Spirit has done in so many marriages, when the spouses decided to invoke Him.

It would not be a bad thing, therefore, if alongside the information of a legal, psychological and moral nature that is given in the preparation of engaged couples for marriage, we were to deepen this “spiritual” preparation, the Holy Spirit who makes unity. An Italian proverb says, “Never place a finger, never intervene, between husband and wife”. There is in fact a “finger” to be placed between husband and wife, the “finger of God”: that is, the Holy Spirit!

[1] Cfr St. Augustine, De Trinitate, VIII,10,14

[2] Cfr H. Mühlen, Una mystica persona. La Chiesa come il mistero dello Spirito Santo, Città Nuova, 1968.

[3] Cfr S. Ilario di Poitiers, De Trinitate, II,1; St. Augustine, De Trinitate, VI, 10,11.

23.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click here

The theme I have chosen for this year’s World Mission Day is taken from the Gospel parable of the wedding banquet (cf. Mt 22:1-14). After the guests refused his invitation, the king, the main character in the story, tells his servants: “Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find” (v. 9). Reflecting on this key passage in the context of the parable and of Jesus’ own life, we can discern several important aspects of evangelization. These appear particularly timely for all of us, as missionary disciples of Christ, during this final stage of the synodal journey that, in the words of its motto, “Communion, Participation, Mission”, seeks to refocus the Church on her primary task, which is the preaching of the Gospel in today’s world.

20.10.24 wmd

Before the conclusion of this Eucharistic celebration, I thank all of you who have come to honour the new Saints. I greet the Cardinals, the bishops, the consecrated men and women, especially the Friars Minor and the Maronite faithful, the Consolata Missionaries, the Little Sisters of the Holy Family and the Oblates of the Holy Spirit, as well as the other groups of pilgrims who have come from various places. I address a respectful greeting to the President of the Italian Republic, the other official delegations and the civil authorities.

May the witness of Saint Giuseppe Allamano remind us of the necessary attention towards the most fragile and vulnerable populations. I think in particular of the Yanomami people, in the Brazilian Amazonian forest, among whose members the miracle linked to today’s canonization occurred. I appeal to the political and civil authorities to ensure the protection of these peoples and their fundamental rights, and to counter any form of exploitation of their dignity and their territories.

Today we celebrate World Mission Day, whose theme – “Go and invite everyone to the banquet” (cf. Mt 22:9) – reminds us that missionary proclamation means to bring to all the invitation to a festive encounter with the Lord, who loves us and wants us to share in his spousal joy. As the new Saints teach us: “Every Christian is called to take part in this universal mission by offering his or her own witness to the Gospel in every context” (Message for the 98th World Mission Day, 25 January 2024). Let us support, with our prayer and our aid, all the missionaries who, often at great sacrifice, bring the shining proclamation of the Gospel to every part of the world.

And let us continue to pray for the populations who are suffering as a result of war – tormented Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, tormented Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar and all the others – and let us invoke the gift of peace for all.

May the Virgin Mary help us to be, like Her and like the Saints, courageous and joyful witnesses of the Gospel.

20.10.24 a

Jesus asks James and John: “What is it you want me to do for you?” (Mk 10:36). Immediately afterwards he presses them: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mk 10:38). Jesus poses questions and, in doing so, helps us to discern, because questions allow us to discover what is within us, casting light on our hearts’ desires, even those of which we are unaware.

Let us allow the word of the Lord to question us. Let us imagine that he is asking each one of us: “What is it you want me to do for you?”; and the second question: “Are you able to drink my cup?”.

Through these questions, Jesus reveals the ties between him and the disciples, as well as their expectations of him, with all the aspects typical of any relationship. James and John are indeed connected to Jesus, but they also have certain demands. They express the desire to be near him, but only in order to occupy a place of honour, to play an important role, “to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory” (Mk 10:37). They obviously think of Jesus as the Messiah, a victorious and glorious Messiah, and expect him to share his glory with them. They see in Jesus the Messiah, but regard him with the category of power.

Jesus does not stop at the disciples’ words, but delves deeper, listening to and reading the hearts of each of them and also each one of us. Then, in the exchange, through two questions, he tries to reveal the desire within their requests. Sometimes also in the Church we see these ideas about honour or power.

First, he asks: “What is it you want me to do for you?”, a question that reveals the thoughts of their hearts, bringing to light the hidden expectations and dreams of glory that the disciples secretly cultivate. It is as if Jesus asks: “Who do you want me to be for you?”. In this way, he unmasks their real desire: for a powerful and victorious Messiah who will give them a place of honour.

With his second question, Jesus refutes this image of a Messiah and so helps them to change their perspective, that is to be converted: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Thus, he reveals that he is not the Messiah that they think; he is the God of love, who stoops down to reach the one who has sunk low; who makes himself weak to raise up the weak, who works for peace and not for war, who has come to serve and not to be served. The cup that the Lord will drink is the offering of his life, given to us out of love, even unto death, and death on a cross.

Moreover, on his right and on his left there will be two thieves, hanging like him on the cross and not seated on thrones of power; two thieves nailed with Christ in pain, not enthroned in glory. The crucified king, the just man condemned becomes the slave of all: truly this man is God’s Son! (cf. Mk 15:39). Those who dominate do not win, only those who serve out of love. We were also reminded of this in the Letter to the Hebrews: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are” (Heb 4:15).

At this point, Jesus can help his disciples to convert, to change their mindset: “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them” (Mk 10:42). But it must not be that way for those who follow God, who made himself a servant to reach everyone with his love. Those who follow Christ, if they wish to be great, must serve by learning from him.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus reveals the thoughts, desires and projections of our hearts, unmasking at times our expectations of glory, domination, power, and vanity. He helps us to think no longer according to the world’s criteria, but according to the way of God, who becomes last so that the last may be lifted up and become first. While these questions of Jesus, with his teaching on service, are often incomprehensible to us as they were to the disciples, yet by following him, by walking in his footsteps and welcoming the gift of his love that transforms our way of thinking, we too can learn God’s way of service. Let us not forget the three words that show God’s style of serving: closeness, compassion and tenderness. God draws near, becomes compassionate, and is tender in order to serve. Closeness, compassion and tenderness.

This is what we should yearn for: not power, but service. Service is the Christian way of life. It is not about a list of things to do, so that once done, we can consider our part completed; those who serve with love do not say: “now it’s someone else’s turn”. This is how employees think, not witnesses. Service is born from love, and love knows no bounds, it makes no calculations, it spends and it gives. It does not just do things to bring about results, it is not occasional service, but it is something that is born from the heart, a heart renewed by love and in love.

When we learn to serve, our every gesture of attention and care, every expression of tenderness, every work of mercy becomes a reflection of God’s love. So in this way, let all of us – each one of us – continue Jesus’ work in the world.

In light of this, we can remember the disciples of the Gospel who are being canonized today. Throughout the troubled history of humanity, they remained faithful servants, men and women who served in martyrdom and in joy, like Father Manuel Ruiz López and his companions. They are priests and religious fervent with missionary zeal, like Father Joseph Allamano, Sister Marie Leonie Paradis and Sister Elena Guerra. These new saints lived Jesus’ way: service. The faith and the apostolate they carried out did not feed their worldly desires and hunger for power but, on the contrary, they made themselves servants of their brothers and sisters, creative in doing the good, steadfast in difficulties and generous to the end.

We confidently ask their intercession so that we too can follow Christ, follow him in service and become witnesses of hope for the world.

20.10.24 m

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click here

The 44th World Food Day invites us to reflect on the right to food for a better life and future. This is a priority, as it satisfies one of the basic needs of human beings, namely to be nourished in order to live in accordance with adequate qualitative and quantitative standards that guarantee the dignified existence of the human person. However, we see this right frequently undermined and not fairly applied, with the harmful consequences that this entails.

In the interest of promoting the right to food, the FAO keenly proposes to consider a transformation of food systems that takes into account the plurality and variety of nutritious, affordable, healthy and sustainable foods as a means to achieve food security and healthy diets for all.

16.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

With today’s catechesis, we will move on from what the Holy Spirit revealed to us in the Holy Scripture to how He is present and active in the life of the Church, in our Christian life.

In the first three centuries, the Church did not feel the need to give an explicit formulation of her faith in the Holy Spirit. For example, in the Church’s most ancient Creed, the so-called Symbol of the Apostles, after proclaiming: “I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born, died, descended into hell, rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven”, adds: “I believe in the Holy Spirit” and nothing more, without any specification.

But it was heresy that drove the Church to define this faith. When this process began – with Saint Athanasius in the fourth century – it was precisely the experience she had of the sanctifying and divinizing action of the Holy Spirit that led the Church to the certainty of the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. This occurred during the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople in 381, which defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit with the well-known words we still repeat today in the Creed: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets”.

To say that the Holy Spirit “is the Lord” was like saying that He shares the “Lordship” of God, that He belongs to the world of the Creator, not to that of creatures. The strongest affirmation is that He is due the same glory and adoration as the Father and the Son. It is the argument of equality in honour, dear to Saint Basil the Great, who was the main architect of that formula: the Holy Spirit is the Lord, He is God.

The Council definition was not a point of arrival, but of departure. And indeed, once the historical reasons that had obstructed a more explicit affirmation of the divinity of the Holy Spirit had been overcome, this was confidently proclaimed in the worship of the Church and in her theology. Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, in the aftermath of the Council, went on to state without hesitation: “Is the Holy Spirit then God? Certainly! Is He consubstantial? Yes, if He is true God” (Oratio 31, 5.10).

What does the article of faith we proclaim every Sunday at Mass say to us, believers of today: “I believe in the Holy Spirit”? In the past, it was mainly concerned with the statement that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father”. The Latin Church soon supplemented this statement by adding, in the Creed of the Mass, that the Holy Spirit proceeds “also from the Son”. Since in Latin the expression “and from the Son” is called ‘Filioque’, this gave rise to the dispute known by this name, which has been the reason (or pretext) for so many disputes and divisions between the Church of the East and the Church of the West. It is certainly not the case to address the issue here, which, moreover, in the climate of dialogue established between the two Churches, has lost the acrimony of the past and today allows us to hope for full mutual acceptance, as one of the main “reconciled differences”. I like to say this: “reconciled differences”. Among Christians there are many differences: he belongs to this school, that other one; this person is a Protestant, that person… The important thing is that these differences are reconciled, in the love of walking together.

Having overcome this obstacle, today we can value the most important prerogative for us that is proclaimed in the article of the Creed, namely that the Holy Spirit is “life-giving”, the “giver of life”. Let us ask ourselves: what life does the Holy Spirit give? At the beginning, in creation, the breath of God gives Adam natural life; the statue of mud is made “a living being” (cf. Gen 2:7). Now, in the new creation, the Holy Spirit is He who gives believers new life, the life of Christ, supernatural life, as children of God. Paul can exclaim: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2).

In all of this, where is the great and consoling news for us? It is that the life given to us by the Holy Spirit is eternal life! Faith frees us from the horror of having to admit that everything ends here, that there is no redemption for the suffering and injustice that reign sovereign on earth. Another of the Apostle’s words assures us of this: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom 8:11). The Spirit dwells in us, He is within us.

Let us cultivate this faith also for those who, often through no fault of their own, are deprived of it and are unable to give meaning to life. And let us not forget to thank Him, who with His death, obtained this inestimable gift for us!

16.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

The Gospel of today’s liturgy (Mk 10, 17:30) tells us about a rich man who encounters Jesus and asks Him: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v. 17). Jesus invites him to leave everything and follow Him, but the man, sorrowful, goes away because, as the text says, “he had great possessions” (v. 23). It costs to leave everything.

We can see the two movements of this man: at the beginning he runs, to go to Jesus; at the end, though, he goes away sorrowful, he goes away sad. First, he runs towards, and then he goes away. Let us dwell on this.

First of all, this man goes to Jesus running. It is as if something in his heart urges him on: in fact, although he has many riches, he is dissatisfied, he feels restlessness inside, he is searching for a fuller life. As the sick and the possessed often do (cf. Mk 3:10; 5:6), we see this in the Gospel, he throws himself at the Master's feet; he is rich, yet in need of healing. He is rich but needs to be healed. Jesus looks at him with love (v. 21); then, He proposes a “therapy”: to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and follow Him. But, at this point, comes an unexpected conclusion: this man’s face falls and he goes away! So great and impetuous was his desire to meet Jesus; how cold and swift was his farewell.

We, too, carry in our hearts an irrepressible need for happiness and for a life full of meaning; however, we can fall into the illusion of thinking that the answer is found in the possession of material things and earthly securities. Instead, Jesus wants to bring us back to the truth of our desires and to make us discover that, in reality, the goodness we yearn for is God Himself, His love for us and the eternal life that He and He only can give us. The true wealth is to be looked upon with love by the Lord – this is a great wealth – and, as Jesus does with that man, to love each other by making our life a gift for others. Brothers and sisters, therefore, Jesus invites us to risk, to “risk love”: to sell everything to give it to the poor, which means divesting ourselves of the self and our false securities, making ourselves attentive to those who are in need and sharing our possessions, not just things, but what we are: our talents, our friendship, our time, and so on.

Brothers and sisters, that rich man did not want to risk, to risk what? He did not want to risk love, and he went away with a sad face. And us? Let us ask ourselves: what is our heart attached to? How do we satiate our hunger for life and happiness? Do we know how to share with those who are poor, with those who are in difficulty or in need of listening, of a smile, of a word to help them regain hope? Or who need to be listened to… Let us remember this: the true wealth is not the goods of this world, the true wealth is being loved by God, and learning to love like Him.

And now let us ask for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, so that she may help us discover in Jesus the treasure of life.

13.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

On this day, when we commemorate the opening of the Second Vatican Council, which marked the official entry of the Catholic Church into the ecumenical movement, we are gathered together with the fraternal delegates, our brothers and sisters of other Churches.

Christian unity and synodality are linked. In fact, “the path of synodality is what God expects of the Church of the third millennium” , and it must be travelled by all Christians. “The journey of synodality... is and must be ecumenical, just as the ecumenical journey is synodal”. In both processes, it is not so much a matter of creating something as it is of welcoming and making fruitful the gift we have already received.  And what does the gift of unity look like? The Synod experience is helping us to discover some aspects of this gift.

11.10.24 e

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

In our itinerary of catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church, today we will refer to the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.

The account of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost begins with a description of some preparatory signs – the rush of wind and the tongues of fire – but finds its conclusion in the affirmation that “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4). Saint Luke – who wrote the Acts of the Apostles – emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is He who ensures the universality and unity of the Church. The immediate effect of being “filled with the Holy Spirit” is that the Apostles “began to speak in other tongues”, and came out of the Upper Room to proclaim Jesus Christ to the crowd (cf. Acts 2:4 et seq.).

In so doing, Luke wished to highlight the universal mission of the Church, as a sign of a new unity between all peoples. We see the Spirit work for unity in two ways. On the one hand, He drives the Church outwards, so that she can welcome an ever-greater number of people and peoples; on the other hand, she gathers them within to consolidate the unity achieved. He teaches her to expand in universality, and consolidate in unity. Universal and one: this is the mystery of the Church.

We see the first of the two movements – universality – in process in Chapter 10 of the Acts, in the episode of the conversion of Cornelius. On the day of Pentecost, the Apostles had proclaimed Christ to all the Jews and observers of the Mosaic law, whatever people they belonged to. It takes another “Pentecost”, very similar to the first, in the house of the centurion Cornelius, to induce the Apostles to expand their horizon and break down the last barrier, the one between Jews and pagans (cf. Acts 10-11).

This ethnical expansion is accompanied by a geographical one. Paul – we read again in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 16:6-10) – wanted to proclaim the Gospel in a new region of Asia Minor; but it is written that they had been “forbidden by the Holy Spirit”; he attempted to enter Bithyn’ia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”. We immediately discover the reason for these surprising prohibitions of the Spirit: the following night the Apostle received in a dream the order to pass into Macedonia. The Gospel thus left its native Asia and entered into Europe.

The second movement of the Holy Spirit – that which creates unity – is seen in action in Chapter 15 of the Acts, in the proceedings of the so-called Council of Jerusalem. The problem is how to ensure that the universality achieved does not compromise the unity of the Church. The Holy Spirit does not always create unity suddenly, with miraculous and decisive actions, as at Pentecost. He also does so – and in the majority of cases – with discreet work, respecting human time and differences, passing through people and institutions, prayer and confrontation. In, we would say today, a synodal manner. Indeed, this is what happens at the Council of Jerusalem, regarding the matter of the obligations of the Mosaic Law to be imposed on those who converted from paganism. The solution was announced to the entire Church, with the well-known words: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28).

aint Augustine explains the unity achieved by the Holy Spirit with an image, which has become classic: “How the soul is of the body of man is the holy Spirit of the body of Christ, which is the Church” . The image helps us to understand something important. The Holy Spirit does not create the unity of the Church from the outside; He does not limit Himself to commanding us to be united. He Himself is the “bond of unity”. It is He who creates the unity of the Church.

As always, we will conclude with a thought that helps us to pass from the Church as a whole to each one of us. The unity of the Church is the unity between people and is not achieved on the drawing board, but in life. It is implemented in life. We all want unity, we all desire it from the depths of our heart; and yet it is so difficult to attain that, even within marriage and the family, union and concord are among the most difficult things to achieve and even harder to maintain.

The reason why unity among us is difficult is that, yes, everyone wants unity, but based on one’s own point of view, without considering that the other person in front of him thinks exactly the same thing about his “own” point of view. In this way, unity becomes even more elusive. The unity life, the unity of Pentecost, according to the Spirit, is achieved when one makes the effort to put God, not oneself, at the centre. Christian unity is built in this way too: not waiting for others to reach us where we are, but moving together towards Christ.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us be instruments of unity and peace.

09.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today, in the Gospel of the liturgy (cf. Mk 10:2-16), Jesus speaks to us about marital love. As they have already done on some other occasions, some Pharisees ask him a provocative question about a controversial issue: a husband's divorce from his wife. They would like to drag him into a quarrel, but he does not let them. Instead, he welcomes the opportunity to draw their attention to a more important discussion: the value of love between a man and a woman.

In Jesus’ time, the condition of the woman in marriage was greatly disadvantaged compared to that of the man: the husband could send his wife away, divorce her, even for trivial reasons, and this would be justified by legalistic interpretations of Scripture. For this reason, the Lord brings his interlocutors back to the demands of love. He reminds them that woman and man were willed by the Creator as equal in dignity and complementary in diversity. In this way they would be each the other’s helper, companion, but they would also be mutually stimulating and a challenge to grow (cf. Gen 2:20-23).

And for this to happen, he emphasizes the need for their mutual gift to be full, to be engaging, to be without "half measures" - this is love - that it be the beginning of a new life (cf. Mk 10:7; Gen 2:24), destined to last not "as long as everything goes well" but forever, accepting each other and living united as "one flesh" (cf. Mk 10:8; Gen 2:24). Of course, this is not easy, this requires fidelity, even in difficulties, it requires respect, honesty, simplicity (cf. Mk 10:15). It requires being open to confrontation, sometimes even to discussion, when it is necessary, but also to be always ready to forgive and to be reconciled to the other. And I tell you: husband and wife, fight as much as you like, provided you always make peace, before the day is over! Do you know why? Because the cold war that comes the next day is dangerous. “And tell me, father, how should we make peace?” – “A gentle caress, like this, is enough”, but never end your day without making peace.

Let us not forget, also, that for spouses it is essential to be open to the gift of life, to the gift of children, that are the most beautiful fruit of love, the greatest blessing from God, a source of joy and hope for every home and all of society. Have children! Yesterday, I received a great consolation. It was the day of the Gendarmerie Corps, and a gendarme came with his eight children! It was beautiful to see him. Please, be open to life, to what God may send you.

Dear brothers and sisters, love is demanding, yes, but it is beautiful, and the more we allow ourselves to be involved by it, the more we discover true happiness in it. And now, let each one of us ask themselves: How is my love? Is it faithful? Is it generous? Is it creative? How are our families? Are they open to life, to the gift of children?

May the Virgin Mary help Christian spouses. Let us turn to her in spiritual union with the faithful gathered at the Shrine of Pompeii for the traditional Supplication to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

06.10.24 a

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today we celebrate the liturgical Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, and we re-open the Plenary Session of the Synod of Bishops. After listening to the Word of God, let us take three images as starting points for our consideration: voice, refuge and a child.

First, the voice. On the way to the Promised Land, God advises the people to listen to the “voice of the angel” whom he had sent (cf. Ex 23:20-22). It is an image that is relevant to us. As we walk down the path of this Synod, the Lord places in our hands the history, dreams and hopes of a great people. They are our sisters and brothers scattered throughout the world, inspired by the same faith, moved by the same desire for holiness. With them and for them, let us strive to understand the path we must follow in order to reach the destination the Lord desires for us. But how can we listen to the “voice of the angel”?

02.10.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

As Sirach reminds us, “the prayer of the humble pierces the clouds” (35:21).

We are here as beggars of the Father's mercy, asking for forgiveness.

The Church is always the Church of the poor in spirit and sinners seeking forgiveness. It is not only a Church of the righteous and saints, but rather of the righteous and saints who recognize that they are poor sinners.

I wanted to write down the requests for forgiveness that were read by some of the Cardinals, because it was necessary to call our principal sins for what they are. We hide them or say them with too many polite words.

Sin is always a wound in relationships: the relationship with God and the relationship with our brothers and sisters. Sisters and brothers, no one is saved alone, but it is equally true that the sin of one affects many others. Just as everything is connected in the good, it is also connected in evil.

The Church in its essence is a Church that is always relational in its faith and proclamation, and only by healing sick relationships can we become a synodal Church. How could we be credible in our mission if we do not acknowledge our mistakes and stoop to heal the wounds we have caused by our sins? 

01.10.24 e