ANGELUS
POPE FRANCIS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 14 August 2016
Sunday, 14 August 2016
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Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
The Gospel for this Sunday (Lk 12:49-53) is part of
Jesus’ teachings to the disciples during his journey to Jerusalem, where death
on the cross awaits him. To explain the purpose of his mission, he takes three
images: fire, baptism and division. Today I wish
to talk about the first image: fire.
Jesus expresses it with these words: “I came to cast
fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” (v. 49). The fire
that Jesus speaks of is the fire of the Holy Spirit, the presence living
and working in us from the day of our Baptism. It — the fire — is a creative
force that purifies and renews, that burns all human misery, all selfishness,
all sin, which transforms us from within, regenerates us and makes us able to
love. Jesus wants the Holy Spirit to blaze like fire in our heart, for it is
only from the heart that the fire of divine love can spread and advance the
Kingdom of God. It does not come from the head, it comes from the heart. This
is why Jesus wants fire to enter our heart. If we open ourselves completely to
the action of this fire which is the Holy Spirit, He will give us the boldness
and the fervor to proclaim to everyone Jesus and his consoling message of mercy
and salvation, navigating on the open sea, without fear.
In fulfilling her mission in the world, the Church —
namely all of us who make up the Church — needs the Holy Spirit’s help so as
not to let herself be held back by fear and by calculation, so as not to become
accustomed to walking inside of safe borders. These two attitudes lead the
Church to be a functional Church, which never takes risks. Instead, the
apostolic courage that the Holy Spirit kindles in us like a fire helps us to
overcome walls and barriers, makes us creative and spurs us to get moving in
order to walk even on uncharted or arduous paths, offering hope to those we
meet. With this fire of the Holy Spirit we are called to become, more and more,
communities of people who are guided and transformed, full of understanding;
people with expanded hearts and joyful faces. Now more than ever there is need
for priests, consecrated people and lay faithful, with the attentive gaze of an
apostle, to be moved by and to pause before hardship and material and spiritual
poverty, thus characterizing the journey of evangelization and of the mission
with the healing cadence of closeness. It is precisely the fire of the Holy
Spirit that leads us to be neighbours to others, to the needy, to so much human
misery, to so many problems, to refugees, to displaced people, to those who are
suffering.
At this moment I am thinking with admiration
especially of the many priests, men and women religious and lay faithful who,
throughout the world, are dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel with great love
and faithfulness, often even at the cost of their lives. Their exemplary
testimony reminds us that the Church does not need bureaucrats and diligent
officials, but passionate missionaries, consumed by ardour to bring to everyone
the consoling word of Jesus and his grace. This is the fire of the Holy Spirit.
If the Church does not receive this fire, or does not let it inflame her, she
becomes a cold or merely lukewarm Church, incapable of giving life, because she
is made up of cold and lukewarm Christians. It will do us good today to take
five minutes to ask ourselves: “How is my heart? Is it cold? Is it lukewarm? Is
it capable of receiving this fire?”. Let us take five minutes for this. It will
do everyone good.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to pray with us and for us
to the Heavenly Father, that he dispense upon all believers the Holy Spirit,
the divine flame which warms hearts and helps us to be in solidarity with the
joys and the sufferings of our brothers and sisters. May we be sustained on our
journey by the example of St Maximilian Kolbe, martyr of charity, whose feast
day is today: may he teach us to live the fire of love for God and for our
neighbour.
After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, I warmly greet you all,
people of Rome and pilgrims who are present!
Today I also had the joy of greeting several groups of
young people: first of all the Scouts from Paris; then the young people who
came to Rome on pilgrimage on foot or on bicycle from Bisuschio, Treviso,
Solarolo, Macherio, Sovico, Vall’Alta di Bergamo and the Seminarians from the
Minor Seminary of Bergamo. To you too I repeat the words that were the theme of
the great meeting in Krakow: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy”; always strive to forgive and have a compassionate heart.
I wish everyone a happy Sunday and a good lunch.
Please do not forget to pray for me. Arrivederci!
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