The Council is a” fruit of the Spirit” but many want to
“turn back time.”
Roncalli seemed to be “a good parish priest” and the
Second Vatican Council remains current.
“50 years on, have we done
everything the Holy Spirit told us to during the Council? In that period
of continued growth in the Church that was marked by the Council?”
The person asking these questions is Pope Francis. He
uses the term continuity, referring to the interpretation given by
Benedict XVI in the crucial speech he gave to the Roman Curia on 20
December 2005, on the hermeneutics of continuity which contrasts against
the rift theory put forward by the Bologna School. The new Pope says
the Council has remained largely unenforced.
So the Second Vatican Council represented a historical
occasion for a great ecclesiastical revolution, which has not quite
happened yet. That to the spirit of the Council, the Church opened
itself up to the world; a number of steps remain to be taken however.
“Let us celebrate this anniversary – he said – let us make a monument
that doesn't bother anyone. We don't want to change. Indeed, there are
some who wish to go backwards. This is what is called being stubborn,
this is called wanting to tame the Holy Spirit, this is called poor
judgement and slow hearted.”
“The same thing happens in our personal
lives,” the Pope said. In fact, “the Spirit pushes us to take a more
evangelical path, “ but we resist. Finally, he urged: “don't try to
fight the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that sets us free, with Jesus'
freedom, with that freedom of God's children.”
“Don't resist the Holy Spirit: this – Pope Francis said –
is what I would like all of us to ask the Lord for: docility to the
Holy Spirit, to that Spirit that comes to us and makes us go forward on
the path of holiness, that holiness of the Church which is so beautiful.
The grace of docility to the Holy Spirit.”
“To say it clearly, the Holy
Spirit annoys us. Because he moves us”, he explained, “he makes us
journey, he pushes the Church to go forward,” the Pope underlined during
the mass he celebrated this morning in St. Martha House's chapel, in
the Vatican.
“And we are like Peter at the Transfiguration: 'Oh, how
wonderful it is for us to be here, all together!' But let it not
inconvenience us. We would like the Holy Spirit to doze off. We want to
subdue the Holy Spirit. And that just will not work. For he is God and
he is that wind that comes and goes, and you do not know from where. But
to go forward! And this is bothersome. Convenience is nicer,” the Pope
criticised.
“Now,” the Pope continued - “we are all content with the
Holy Spirit'. No, that is not true! This is still today's
temptation.”And we are like Peter at the Transfiguration: 'Oh, how
wonderful it is for us to be here, all together!' But let it not
inconvenience us.”
“There is something more: there are voices which
would have us go backwards. This is called 'to be stiff-necked', this we
call wishing 'to subdue the Holy Spirit', this means becoming 'foolish
and slow of heart',” the Pope added. In his homily, Francis gave a clear
example: the Second Vatican Council which we would like to celebrate
but without experiencing its consequences.
The Pope referred back to the first reading of the day,
which talked about St. Stephen's martyrdom. Before he was stoned, St.
Stephen announced the Resurrection of the Risen Christ, calling out to
those present: “You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears.
You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used
to do.” Stephen recalled how many persecuted the prophets and after
killing them built a nice tomb for them. Only afterwards did they
venerate them. The Council was an extraordinary event, not just for the
Church but for the whole world, because it changed the face of the
ecclesiastical hierarchy and gave mankind hope during the Cold War years
and the opposing blocs. The Church was finally seen as the People of
God and the hierarchy began to serve the faithful. Pope Francis pointed
out that even Jesus himself gave his disciples a gentle telling off: “O
foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken!”
“Even among us - the Pontiff added - we see manifestations of this
resistance to the Holy Spirit.” “It was not by chance that the Holy
Father referred to Vatican Council II, which — he said — “was a
beautiful work of the Holy Spirit. Think of Pope John: he seemed a good
parish priest and he was obedient to the Holy Spirit.” Despite the fact
Roncalli was initially seen as a transitional Pope, he promoted the most
important event in modern Church history. He called on all men of good
will, he engaged in dialogue with other religions and non-believers, he
went out of the Vatican to spread the Christian message in prisons,
hospitals, homes and on trains.