"On the Fire of the Holy Spirit" - Pope Francis

[MariaChristi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Some excerpts from Pope Francis’ Angelus Address last Sunday:

Today’s Gospel (Lk 12: 49-53) is part of the teachings of Jesus to his disciples as they made their way up toward Jerusalem, where He awaits death on the Cross. To indicate the purpose (scope) of His mission, He uses three images: fire, baptism and division. Today, I wish to speak about the first image: fire. Fire.

Jesus expresses it in these words: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (v.49). The fire which Jesus speaks about to is the fire of the Holy Spirit, the alive and active presence in all of us since our Baptism. It is a creative force that purifies and renews, it burns away every human misery, all selfishness and every sin, and transforms us from within, regenerates and makes us capable of loving. Jesus desires that the Holy Spirit may blaze like fire in our hearts, because it is only from the heart—pay attention to this—that the fire of divine love will flourish and advance the Kingdom of God…

…The Apostolic courage that the Holy Spirit kindles in us is like a fire that helps us overcome walls and barriers, making us creative and encouraging us to put ourselves in motion to even walk down unexplored or inconvenient roads, offering hope to those we meet. With the fire of the holy spirit, we are called more and more to become communities of people led and transformed by the Holy Spirit, full of understanding, from having more open hearts and joyful faces. More than ever, today, more than ever today, we need priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful, with the attentive gaze of the Apostle, to be moved and to stand before hardships and material and spiritual poverty, characterizing the process of evangelization and of mission with the sounding rhythm of closeness.

…If the Church does not receive this fire of the Holy Spirit, or doesn’t let it enter into Herself, it becomes a cold or lukewarm Church, incapable of giving life, because it is made up of cold or lukewarm Christians. It would do us good today to take five minutes and each of us ask ourselves: But how is my heart? Is it cold or lukewarm, or instead capable of receiving this fire? Let us take five minutes for this. It would do good for us all.

We ask the Virgin Mary to pray with us and for us, Heavenly Father, to pour out upon all believers the Holy Spirit, the Divine fire that warms hearts and helps us be in solidarity with the joys and sufferings of our brothers…

Let us ask ourselves, as the Pope suggests: "How is my heart? Is it cold? lukewarm? or instead capable of receiving this fire?

 

[RPRPsych]

Thanks for posting this!

 

[MariaChristi]

Thanks for posting this!

Dear RPRPsych,

So happy you read it! Thanks for your reply. How very much the Church today needs to pray to the Holy Spirit and each of us needs to open our hearts to receive that Fire of Love in our hearts!