Pope
Francis said the Holy Spirit pushes people and the Church forward but
we resist this and do not want to change.
His remarks came during his
homily at the Mass on Tuesday morning celebrated at the Santa Marta
residence which was dedicated to Benedict XVI in honour of his 86th
birthday.
Text follows:
Pope Francis dedicated Tuesday's mass to Benedict XVI 16th who turned 86 on this date. “May the Love be with him, comfort him and gave him much consolation,” he said.
Pope
Francis’ homily at the mass was centred on the theme of the Holy Spirit
and our resistance to it. It took its inspiration from the first
reading of the day which was the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen
who described his accusers as stubborn people who were always resisting
the Holy Spirit.
Put frankly, the Pope continued, “the Holy
Spirit upsets us because it moves us, it makes us walk, it pushes the
Church forward.” He said that we wish “to calm down the Holy Spirit,
we want to tame it and this is wrong.” Pope Francis said “that’s
because the Holy Spirit is the strength of God, it’s what gives us the
strength to go forward” but many find this upsetting and prefer the
comfort of the familiar.
Nowadays, he went on, “everybody
seems happy about the presence of the Holy Spirit but it’s not really
the case and there is still that temptation to resist it.” The Pope
said one example of this resistance was the Second Vatican council which
he called “a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit.” But 50 years later,
“have we done everything the Holy Spirit was asking us to do during the
Council,” he asked. The answer is “No,” said Pope Francis. “We
celebrate this anniversary, we put up a monument but we don’t want it to
upset us. We don’t want to change and what’s more there are those who
wish to turn the clock back.” This, he went on, “is called stubbornness
and wanting to tame the Holy Spirit.”
The Pope said the same
thing happens in our personal life. “The Spirit pushes us to take a
more evangelical path but we resist this.” He concluded his homily by
urging those present not to resist the pull of the Holy Spirit. “Submit
to the Holy Spirit,” he said, “which comes from within us and makes
go forward along the path of holiness.”