杏MAP导航

By Joseph Tulloch

At his weekly general audience this Wednesday, 杏MAP导航 Francis continued with his series of catecheses on the 鈥減assion for evangelising鈥�, stressing the centrality of the Holy Spirit to evangelism.

The Holy Father鈥檚 catechesis took the form of a meditation on a single line from the Gospel of Matthew: 鈥淕o and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit鈥� (Mt 28:19).

The Spirit as 鈥渆ngine of evangelisation鈥�

The 杏MAP导航 began by reflecting on the first word of the passage, 鈥淕o鈥�.

When Jesus says this to his disciples 鈥� and also to us 鈥� he is 鈥渘ot just communicating a word鈥�, the 杏MAP导航 said, but also 鈥渃ommunicating the Holy Spirit at the same time.鈥� This, he explained, is because 鈥渋t is only thanks to Him, thanks to the Spirit, that one can receive Christ鈥檚 mission and carry it out鈥� 鈥� the Spirit is thus 鈥渢he engine of evangelisation.鈥�

And what is this task of evangelisation, which the Spirit empowers us to perform? 杏MAP导航 Francis stressed that we are called 鈥渘ot to indoctrinate, not to make proselytes, but to make disciples, that is, to give everyone the opportunity to come into contact with Jesus, to freely know and love Him.鈥�

The Spirit in the early Church

The 杏MAP导航 then turned to consider the role of the Holy Spirit in the first years of the Church, as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles. The protagonist of this book of the Bible, he said, is 鈥渘ot Peter, Paul, Stephen, or Philip, but the Holy Spirit.鈥�

He went on to describe the role played by the Spirit in resolving a famous dispute in the early Church. Christians at the time, the 杏MAP导航 noted, were divided between those who wanted pagan converts to the faith to follow Jewish law, and those who did not.

鈥淗ow to resolve the dilemma?鈥�, 杏MAP导航 Francis asked. 鈥淭hey might have sought a good compromise between tradition and innovation: some rules are observed, others are left out. Yet the Apostles do not follow this human wisdom, searching for a diplomatic compromise, but adapted to the work of the Spirit.鈥�

Calling on the Holy Spirit

杏MAP导航 Francis brought his catechesis to an end by calling on the Church to invoke the Spirit.

He warned that 鈥渁s Church, we can have well-defined times and spaces, well-organised communities, institutes and movements, but without the Spirit, everything remains soulless.鈥�

If the Church does not pray to and invoke the Spirit, he continued, it 鈥渃loses in on itself, in sterile and exhausting debates, in wearisome polarisations, while the flame of mission is extinguished.鈥�

鈥淒ear brothers and sisters,鈥� he concluded, 鈥渓et us start, and start anew, as Church, from the Holy Spirit 鈥� I leave you with this question: do I pray to the Spirit? Do I let myself be guided by Him?"