April 30, 2013      Martin Mallon  (Ireland)      Martin's previous articles                        

                           FRANCIS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

On Sunday, in his homily, when commenting on the second reading from the Book of the Apocalypse, Pope Francis informed us that:  

…we listened to the beautiful vision of Saint John : new heavens and a new earth, and then the Holy City coming down from God. All is new, changed into good, beauty and truth; there are no more tears or mourning… This is the work of the Holy Spirit: he brings us the new things of God. He comes to us and makes all things new; he changes us. The Spirit changes us! And Saint John’s vision reminds us that all of us are journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem , the ultimate newness which awaits us and all reality, the happy day when we will see the Lord’s face – that marvelous face, the most beautiful face of the Lord Jesus - and be with him for ever, in his love.  

Francis is pointing out to us how important the Holy Spirit is in our journey here on earth. It is the Holy Spirit who changes us and prepares us to spend eternity with the Lord and in his love. Therefore, we must be aware of and listen to the Holy Spirit. He does not usually shout at us or use lightning flashes to communicate with us; not usually. Normally he is that quiet voice in our head that prompts us to phone or visit someone, suggests something we need to do but had forgotten, reminds us how lucky we are and helps us to see God at work in the world and cosmos.  

It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of faith; and what a gift, I hate to think what my life would be like without it. The Holy Spirit gives us the experience of Jesus in our lives and this makes life beautiful and worth living. If we have not had this experience we only have to ask and we will receive it; “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Math 7:7)

 Francis then goes on to tell us what happens when we ask the Holy Spirit to enter our lives:  

…the Holy Spirit is truly transforming us, and through us he also wants to transform the world in which we live. Let us open the doors to the Spirit, let ourselves be guided by him, and allow God’s constant help to make us new men and women, inspired by the love of God which the Holy Spirit bestows on us! How beautiful it would be if each of you, every evening, could say: Today at school, at home, at work, guided by God, I showed a sign of love towards one of my friends, my parents, an older person! How beautiful!  

We can change the world for the better by cooperating with the Holy Spirit; the Spirit transforms us and we then help to make God’s love appear in the world through individual relationships, one person at a time. Yes, it is beautiful and by loving others we are filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit as well. The Holy Spirit is generous in his bounty and consoles everyone being guided by Him.  

Francis also points out that there are many difficulties on this path and that it is necessary to persevere. St Paul told us that our perseverance in hardships would be rewarded with hope:  

…and a hope which will not let us down, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Rom 5:5)  

This is magnificent and shows how much our God truly loves us. The love of God is poured into our hearts. Alleluia. And who pours this love into our hearts but the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has been given to us by God in the first place. We receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation with new outpourings at Pentecost and when we pray for such outpourings. The Holy Spirit is not difficult to receive, we only have to ask. So let us keep asking!  

The Pope’s homily can be read in full here

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