At noon today in Rome (6:00am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Regina Coeli with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel for this sixth Sunday of Easter presents a part of the conversation that Jesus had with the disciples at the Last Supper (cf Jn 14:23-29). He spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit and made a promise: The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you (Jn 14:26). As the moment of the cross approached, Jesus reassured the Apostles that they would not remain alone: with them there would always be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who would support them in the mission of bringing the Gospel to the whole world. In the original Greek language, the term Paraclite means the one who stands next to in order to support and console. Jesus returned to the Father, but continues to instruct and animate his disciples through the action of the Holy Spirit.
What is the mission of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promises as a gift? He says it himself: He will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you. In the course of his earthly life, Jesus had already transmitted all he wanted to entrust to the Apostles: he brought to completion the divine Revelation, that is all that the Father wanted to say to humanity with the incarnation of the Son. The task of the Holy Spirit is to help people remember, that is to say to fully understand and induce us to concretely implement the teachings of Jesus. And this is also the mission of the Church, which realizes it through a precise lifestyle, characterized by certain needs : faith in the Lord and the observance of his Word; docility to the action of the Spirit, which continually makes the Risen Lord alive and present; the acceptance of his peace and the testimony given to that peace with an attitude of openness and encounter with others.
To achieve all this, the Church cannot remain static, but, with the active participation of each baptized person, she is called to act as a community on the move, animated and supported by the light and strength of the Holy Spirit who makes all things new. It is a question of freeing ourselves from the worldly bonds represented by our views, our strategies, our goals, which often burden the journey of faith, and place ourselves in docile listening to the Word of the Lord. Thus it is the Spirit of God that guides us and guides the Church, so that the authentic face, beautiful and luminous, is made known according to the will of Christ.
Today, the Lord invites us to open our hearts to the gift of the Holy Spirit, to guide us along the paths of history. Day by day he teaches us the logic of the Gospel, the logic of welcoming love, teaching us everything and reminding us of everything the Lord has told us. Mary, who in this month of May we venerate and pray with in special devotion as our heavenly mother, always protects the Church and all of humanity. She who, with humble and courageous faith, fully cooperated with the Holy Spirit for the Incarnation of the Son of God, also helps us to let ourselves be instructed and guided by the Paraclete, so that we can welcome the Word of God and bear witness to it with our lives.
Following the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters!
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims: families, parish groups and associations.
In particular, I greet the faithful from Malta and from Madrid, the Banda Juvenil 504 from Honduras, and the Opera Kolping from Germany.
I greet the young people who have recently been Confirmed, who have come from Genoa - there are so many of you! - the graduates from the Caterina di Santa Rosa school in Rome, the children and young people from Torre Gaia and the faithful from Berchiddeddu with the Laudato Sii choir.
I send a greeting and my blessing to the Polish pilgrims: who are participating in the great pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Piekari Slaskie. On the occasion of the Day of Relief, I send a special thought to those who are gathering at the Gemelli Policlinic to promote fraternal initiatives with those who are sick.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye! Thank you!
Original text in Italian
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Regina Coeli
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The gospel for this sixth Sunday of Easter presents a part of the conversation that Jesus had with the disciples at the Last Supper (cf Jn 14:23-29). He spoke of the work of the Holy Spirit and made a promise: The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you (Jn 14:26). As the moment of the cross approached, Jesus reassured the Apostles that they would not remain alone: with them there would always be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who would support them in the mission of bringing the Gospel to the whole world. In the original Greek language, the term Paraclite means the one who stands next to in order to support and console. Jesus returned to the Father, but continues to instruct and animate his disciples through the action of the Holy Spirit.
What is the mission of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promises as a gift? He says it himself: He will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you. In the course of his earthly life, Jesus had already transmitted all he wanted to entrust to the Apostles: he brought to completion the divine Revelation, that is all that the Father wanted to say to humanity with the incarnation of the Son. The task of the Holy Spirit is to help people remember, that is to say to fully understand and induce us to concretely implement the teachings of Jesus. And this is also the mission of the Church, which realizes it through a precise lifestyle, characterized by certain needs : faith in the Lord and the observance of his Word; docility to the action of the Spirit, which continually makes the Risen Lord alive and present; the acceptance of his peace and the testimony given to that peace with an attitude of openness and encounter with others.
To achieve all this, the Church cannot remain static, but, with the active participation of each baptized person, she is called to act as a community on the move, animated and supported by the light and strength of the Holy Spirit who makes all things new. It is a question of freeing ourselves from the worldly bonds represented by our views, our strategies, our goals, which often burden the journey of faith, and place ourselves in docile listening to the Word of the Lord. Thus it is the Spirit of God that guides us and guides the Church, so that the authentic face, beautiful and luminous, is made known according to the will of Christ.
Today, the Lord invites us to open our hearts to the gift of the Holy Spirit, to guide us along the paths of history. Day by day he teaches us the logic of the Gospel, the logic of welcoming love, teaching us everything and reminding us of everything the Lord has told us. Mary, who in this month of May we venerate and pray with in special devotion as our heavenly mother, always protects the Church and all of humanity. She who, with humble and courageous faith, fully cooperated with the Holy Spirit for the Incarnation of the Son of God, also helps us to let ourselves be instructed and guided by the Paraclete, so that we can welcome the Word of God and bear witness to it with our lives.
Following the recitation of the Regina Coeli, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters!
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims: families, parish groups and associations.
In particular, I greet the faithful from Malta and from Madrid, the Banda Juvenil 504 from Honduras, and the Opera Kolping from Germany.
I greet the young people who have recently been Confirmed, who have come from Genoa - there are so many of you! - the graduates from the Caterina di Santa Rosa school in Rome, the children and young people from Torre Gaia and the faithful from Berchiddeddu with the Laudato Sii choir.
I send a greeting and my blessing to the Polish pilgrims: who are participating in the great pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine of Piekari Slaskie. On the occasion of the Day of Relief, I send a special thought to those who are gathering at the Gemelli Policlinic to promote fraternal initiatives with those who are sick.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye! Thank you!
Original text in Italian
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