Pope Francis says "In fact, it is through prayer that one overcomes loneliness, temptation, suspicion and opens one's heart to communion." Full Text

GENERAL AUDIENCE

St. Peter's Square
Wednesday, 29 May 2019

Catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles: 1. He showed himself to them alive ... and ordered them ... to await the fulfillment of the Father's promise "(Acts 1: 4,4).

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we begin a course of catechesis through the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. This biblical book, written by St. Luke the Evangelist, tells us about the journey - a journey: but which journey? Of the journey of the Gospel in the world and shows us the marvelous union between the Word of God and the Holy Spirit that inaugurates the time of evangelization. The protagonists of the Acts are just a lively and effective "couple": the Word and the Spirit.

God "sends his message on earth" and "his word runs fast" - says the Psalm (147.4). The Word of God runs, it is dynamic, it irrigates every ground on which it falls. And what is his strength? St. Luke tells us that the human word becomes effective not thanks to rhetoric, which is the art of good talk, but thanks to the Holy Spirit, which is the dýnamis of God, the dynamic of God, his strength, which has the power to purify the word, to make it the bearer of life. For example, in the Bible there are stories, human words; but what is the difference between the Bible and a history book? That the words of the Bible are taken by the Holy Spirit who gives a very great strength, a different strength and helps us to make that word a seed of holiness, a seed of life, to be effective. When the Spirit visits the human word it becomes dynamic, like "dynamite", that is able to light hearts and blow up patterns, resistances and walls of division, opening up new ways and expanding the boundaries of God's people. And we will see this in the course of these catecheses, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.

The one who gives vibrant sonority and incisiveness to our fragile human word, even capable of lying and escaping from its responsibilities, is only the Holy Spirit, through whom the Son of God was generated; the Spirit who anointed him and sustained him in the mission; the Spirit through which he chose his apostles and who guaranteed perseverance and fruitfulness to their proclamation, as he also guarantees them today in our announcement.

The Gospel ends with the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and the narrative plot of the Acts of the Apostles starts right here, from the overabundance of the life of the Risen One transfused into his Church. Saint Luke tells us that Jesus "showed himself ... alive, after his passion, with many trials, during forty days, appearing ... and speaking of things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 1: 3). The Risen Christ, the Risen Jesus, makes very human gestures, like sharing a meal with his own, and invites them to trustingly await the fulfillment of the Father's promise: "you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1: 5).

The baptism in the Holy Spirit, in fact, is the experience that allows us to enter into a personal communion with God and to participate in his universal salvific will, acquiring the gift of parresia, courage, that is the ability to utter a word "from children of God ", not only from men, but from children of God: a clear word, free, effective, full of love for Christ and for the brothers.

There is therefore no struggle to earn or merit the gift of God. Everything is given for free and in due time. The Lord gives everything for free. Salvation cannot be bought, it is not paid: it is a free gift. Faced with the anxiety of knowing in advance the time in which the events announced by Him will happen, Jesus answers his own: "It is not up to you to know times or moments that the Father has reserved for his power, but you will receive the strength from the Holy Spirit who will come down on you, and on me you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth "(Acts 1,7-8).

The Risen One invites his own people not to live the present with anxiety, but to make an alliance with time, to know how to wait for the unraveling of a sacred history that has not been interrupted but is advancing, it always goes on; to know how to wait for the "steps" of God, the Lord of time and space. The Risen One invites his people not to "manufacture" the mission by themselves, but to wait for the Father to energize their hearts with his Spirit, to be able to get involved in a missionary witness capable of radiating from Jerusalem to Samaria and to go beyond the borders of Israel to reach the outskirts of the world.
This expectation, the Apostles live it together, they live it as the family of the Lord, in the upper room or cenacle, whose walls are still witnesses of the gift with which Jesus consigned himself to his own in the Eucharist. And how await the strength, the dýnamis of God? Praying with perseverance, as if there were not so many but one. Praying in unity and with perseverance. In fact, it is through prayer that one overcomes loneliness, temptation, suspicion and opens one's heart to communion. The presence of women and of Mary, the mother of Jesus, intensifies this experience: they first learned from the Master to witness to the fidelity of love and the strength of communion that overcomes all fear.

We also ask the Lord for patience in waiting for his steps, for not wanting to "manufacture" us his work and to remain docile by praying, invoking the Spirit and cultivating the art of ecclesial communion.
Greetings in Various Languages:

Je salue cordialement les personnes de langue française, en particulier les pèlerins du diocèse de Pontoise, accompagnés de leur Evêque, Monseigneur Stanislas Lalanne, ainsi que les jeunes venus de France et de Suisse, et les Ecoles de Charité et de Mission. A l’exemple des Apôtres et de Marie réunis au Cénacle, demandons au Seigneur la patience d’attendre ses pas, et de ne pas vouloir fabriquer nous-mêmes son œuvre. Qu’il nous aide à rester dociles en priant l’Esprit Saint et en cultivant l’art de la communion ecclésiale. Que Dieu vous bénisse.

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Canada and the United States of America. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. May the Lord bless you all!

Gerne heiße ich die Pilger deutscher Sprache willkommen. Besonders grüße ich die Teilnehmer am peace ride der Jesus-Biker. Liebe Brüder und Schwestern, bitten wir den Herrn um die Geduld, sein Wirken zu erwarten und nicht Erzeuger, sondern Werkzeug seines Heilswerks zu sein und uns stets vom Heiligen Geist leiten zu lassen. Schönen Aufenthalt in Rom!

Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española venidos de España y Latinoamérica. Pidamos a Dios el don del Espíritu Santo que nos asista en nuestra vida y nos dé la fuerza para que con nuestras palabras y obras podamos ser testigos misioneros de su amor con todos los que están a nuestro alrededor. Que Dios los bendiga.

Com grande afeto, saúdo os peregrinos de língua portuguesa, em particular os grupos das dioceses de Barretos, Piracicaba e Jundiaí, desejando a todos vós a paciência de esperar os «tempos» fixados pelo Pai celeste e permanecer dóceis, orando ao Espírito Santo e cultivando a arte da comunhão eclesial. Vele sobre o vosso caminho a Virgem Maria e vos ajude a ser sinal de confiança e instrumento de caridade no meio dos vossos irmãos. Sobre vós e vossas famílias desça a Bênção de Deus.

أُرحّبُ بالحجّاجِ الناطقينَ باللّغةِ العربيّة، وخاصةً بالقادمينَ من الشرق الأوسط. أيّها الإخوةُ والأخواتُ الأعزّاء، يدعونا الرب لنفتح قلوبنا على عطيّة الروح القدس لكي يقودنا على دروب التاريخ. فهو يومًا بعد يوم يربّينا على منطق الإنجيل ومنطق المحبّة التي تستضيف؛ "يعلّمنا كل شيء" ويذكِّرنا بكلِّ ما قاله الرب لنا". ليبارككم الرب!

[I warmly welcome the Arabic-speaking pilgrims, especially those from the Middle East! Dear brothers and sisters, 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 educates us to the logic of the Gospel, the logic of welcoming love, "teaching us everything" and "reminding us of everything the Lord told us". The Lord bless you!]

Witam serdecznie Polaków. Szczególne pozdrowienie kieruję dzisiaj do młodzieży, która w sobotę przybędzie do Lednicy na Spotkanie Młodych. Przed Wniebowstąpieniem Pan Jezus zapytał Szymona Piotra: „Czy kochasz mnie?”. Żałując zaparcia się Syna Bożego, wyznał: „Ty wiesz, że cię kocham”. Te słowa, będące hasłem waszego spotkania, Bóg powtarza nieustannie do każdego w sakramencie Pokuty i Pojednania, a zwłaszcza w Eucharystii. Uważnie słuchajcie Jego głosu. Niech chwile przeżywane w „Polskiej Panamie”, jak nazywacie w tych dniach Lednicę, przenika entuzjazm waszej wiary, modlitwy, radości i wspólnego świętowania. Zabierzcie ze sobą w drogę to, co otrzymacie w darze: pieczęć, symbol więzi z Duchem Świętym oraz specjalny rachunek sumienia oparty na treści obrazu Caravaggia „Powołanie świętego Mateusza”. Pamiętajcie, że przeobrażenie się grzesznika w świętego, jak w życiu Celnika z Kafarnaum jest możliwe! Niech was prowadzi entuzjazm nawróconego serca, a Bóg niech wam błogosławi. Ogarniam was moją modlitwą.

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I warmly welcome the Italian-speaking pilgrims.

I am pleased to welcome the capitulars of the Congregation of the Holy Family, the participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Directors of the "Salesian Bulletin".

I greet the "Adultissimi" group of the Italian Catholic Action; the seminarians of the Propedeutico di Molfetta; the parish communities, in particular those of Forino, of Oppido Lucano and of Chianche; the participants in the "Clericus cup"; educational institutions, especially that of Crema; members of the Military Judiciary Council; as well as those of the Police Headquarters and of the Fermo Traffic Police.

I am particularly interested in young people, the elderly, the sick and newlyweds.

Tomorrow we will celebrate the Ascension of the Lord Jesus to Heaven. As to the Apostles, also to us today, the Lord repeats: "I will not leave you orphans, I will be with you all the days until the end" (see Jn 14: 17-18). If you are friends of Jesus, He will make his presence felt in your life, and you will never feel alone or abandoned.