By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Through the power of the Spirit, our proclamation is filled with joy and hope, for we — yes, we ourselves — are the newness of the world, the light and the salt of the earth…”
Pope Leo XIV offered this comforting reminder during his Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost on Sunday morning in St Peter’s Basilica, noting that the Easter Season reaches its fulfillment in this solemnity.
READ POPE LEO XIV’S FULL HOMILY
The Pope recalled the day’s Gospel passage in which the Apostles had shut themselves in the Upper Room, overcome by fear. Yet Jesus came and stood among them despite the closed doors, filling them with joy. Christ, he stressed, accompanied His actions with the words, “Peace be with you,” and immediately afterward breathed the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.
The Holy Father underscored how the Holy Spirit accomplished something extraordinary in the lives of the Apostles and noted that the Spirit continues to work today.
He stressed that Pentecost “is a Paschal feast” and “a feast of the Body of Christ, which by grace is all of us.”
In celebrating this mystery, the Pope focused on three aspects of the Spirit: first as the “Spirit of peace,” second as the “Spirit of mission,” and third as the “Spirit of truth.”
Pouring peace into our hearts
Focusing first on the Spirit of peace, Pope Leo noted that it was the Holy Spirit, through Christ’s Paschal Mystery, who restored peace between God and humanity, pouring this peace into our hearts and spreading it throughout the world.
The Holy Father stressed that this peace stems from forgiveness and leads us to forgiveness. He highlighted that the Lord “pours out His Spirit of peace from one end of history to the other, for he who has redeemed everyone from death excludes no one.”
We are all invited to bear witness
Turning to the Spirit’s missionary aspect, the Pope recalled that the Holy Spirit is “the living charity of Christ that fills us, spurs us on and sustains us in our mission.”
Recalling that on the very day of Pentecost the Apostles began proclaiming Jesus through the power of the Spirit, the Pope said the Spirit’s first work in us is granting us the faith to proclaim that Jesus is Lord.
Marveling that this faith lives and is expressed in every good deed, every act of mercy, and every virtue, Pope Leo said that “the work of God, therefore, is each one of us,” who are “invited to the Lord’s table, gathered to listen to His Word and called to bear witness to it everywhere.”
Co-workers of the Gospel
The Pope stressed that all the faithful are truly “co-workers of the Gospel,” adding that “the whole Church is its protagonist, not merely its guardian.”
Through the power of the Spirit, he noted, our proclamation is filled with joy and hope.
He stressed that we ourselves “are the newness of the world” and “the light and the salt of the earth,” not because of our own merit or privilege, but because of the word of the Lord, “who sanctifies the sinner, heals the leper and transforms the one who denied Him into an Apostle.”
The Pope acknowledged that “there are changes that do not bring new life to the world, but make it grow old through error and violence.” Nevertheless, he said, “the Holy Spirit enlightens minds and instills new vitality in our hearts.”
Promoting unity in truth
In this way, he said, the Spirit “transfigures history, opening it to salvation, which is the gift that the Lord offers to everyone.” The Church’s mission, he added, bears witness to this offer, thereby transforming the world’s confusion into communion with God and among ourselves.
He reminded the faithful that the Spirit, who has spoken through the prophets, always promotes unity in truth by imbuing us with understanding, harmony, and coherence of life.
The Paraclete protects us and is source of holiness
Finally, Pope Leo said the Paraclete protects us from everything that hinders this understanding, including partisanship, hypocrisy, and fads that obscure the light of the Gospel.
Thus, he said, “the truth that God gives us stands as a liberating word for all peoples, a message that transforms every culture from within.”
The Holy Spirit, Pope Leo emphasized, is not poured out once and for all, but constantly.
“Just as the Eucharist is the living presence of Christ, who nourishes us unceasingly, so too,” he said, “does the Holy Spirit imprint his character upon us in Baptism, which makes us Christians.”
Similarly, he said, the Holy Spirit acts in Confirmation, establishing us as witnesses, and in Holy Orders, constituting ministers and shepherds for God’s people.
“In every sacrament,” Pope Leo said, “he is the dator munerum, the source of holiness who multiplies gifts and charisms through prayer, works of mercy and the study of the Word of God.”
Recalling St Paul’s words to the Corinthians, that “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good,” Pope Leo said that it is precisely for this reason that we are the Church, the one Body that lives in God and serves the world.
“Thanks to the Spirit,” the Pope invited, “we can bring true peace to all, the Truth that saves — the same Christ our Lord.”
Save us from the evil of war
The Holy Father drew his homily to a close by inviting all the faithful to join him in praying that the Holy Spirit “may save us from the evil of war, which is overcome not by a superpower, but by the omnipotence of love,” “free humanity from misery,” and “heal us from the scourge of sin through the salvation proclaimed to all peoples in the name of Jesus.”
Pope Leo XIV concluded by praying that the Holy Spirit instill in us the grace that gave courage to the Apostles, today and always, through the Blessed Mother’s intercession. – Vatican News
