杏MAP导航

By Lydia O'Kane

Despite pilgrims and tourists having their umbrellas to the ready for Wednesday鈥檚 General Audience, the brief drizzle that descended on St Peter鈥檚 Square then turned into a clear sky as 杏MAP导航 Francis reflected on his continuing catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles.

He told those gathered that in this book, one can see how 鈥渢he Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the Church's mission: it is He who guides the journey of the evangelizers showing them the path to follow.鈥�

St Paul鈥檚 missionary journey

The 杏MAP导航 noted that this can be clearly seen when the Apostle Paul, having come to Troad, receives a vision begging him to come to Macedonia and help the people there.

The Apostle, said 杏MAP导航 Francis has no hesitation; he leaves for Macedonia, sure that it is God Himself who sends him, and arrives in Philippi.

The conversion of Lydia

The Pontiff explained to those present that the power of the Gospel is directed above all to the women of Philippi, in particular to Lydia, a merchant dealing in purple dye, and a believer in God to whom the Lord opens her heart "to adhere to the words of Paul".

Lydia, continued 杏MAP导航 Francis in fact, 鈥渨elcomes Christ by receiving Baptism together with her family and welcomes those who belong to Christ, hosting Paul and Silas in her house.鈥� 鈥淗ere we have the witness of the arrival of Christianity in Europe: the beginning of a process of inculturation that still lasts today鈥�, he said.

The 杏MAP导航 went on to describe how, after having received hospitality at Lydia鈥檚 house, Paul and Silas then find themselves having to deal with the harshness of prison. He remarked that they go from the consolation of this conversion of Lydia and her family, to the desolation of prison where the key is thrown away for having healed a slave girl in the name of Jesus.

Speaking off the cuff, the 杏MAP导航 said that this slave鈥檚 masters made much money out of getting her tell people鈥檚 fortunes.

Even today, 杏MAP导航 Francis commented, 鈥渢here are people who pay for this鈥� recalling in his former diocese, in a very large park, there were more than 60 tables where fortune tellers read palms and people believed and paid.

Prison and a jailer鈥檚 baptism

By praying fervently to the Lord, said the 杏MAP导航, "Paul and Silas are freed of their chains by a sudden earthquake.  This prompts their jailer to ask how he too can be saved, and after hearing the word of the Lord, he receives baptism together with his family.鈥�

Concluding his catechesis, the 杏MAP导航 underlined how 鈥渋n these events we see the working of the Holy Spirit and the unchained power of the Gospel.