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Pope Francis has said the Holy Spirit creates movement within the Church, which at first sight might appear to be confusion.
Preaching at a Mass on May 8 at his Santa Marta residence, the Pope said if this movement of the Spirit is welcomed with prayer and a spirit of dialogue, it always generates unity between Christians.
The Pope was preaching on a reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which dealt with the Council of Jerusalem.
At issue was whether Jewish laws should be imposed on early Christians.
Paul of Tarsus was strongly opposed to this.
Pope Francis asked “How do they resolve this problem?”
“They hold a meeting and each person gives his opinion, his views,” the Pope said.
“They discuss this issue, but like brothers and sisters and not like enemies.
“They don’t form external lobbies in order to win, they don’t go to the civil authorities in order to win and they don’t kill in order to triumph.
“They seek the path of prayer and dialogue. Those who had opposing views have a dialogue with the other side and they reach an agreement.
“This is the work of the Holy Spirit.”
Pope Francis stressed that the Holy Spirit moves towards harmony and that was why the Council of Jerusalem was able to agree on a final decision.
“A Church where there are never problems of this type makes me think that the Holy Spirit is not very present within it,” the Pope noted.
“And a Church where its people are always arguing and there are lobbies and people are betraying their brothers and sisters, is a Church where there is no Holy Spirit!
“It’s the Spirit which creates change, which creates the momentum for going ahead, that creates new spaces, that creates that wisdom which Jesus promised: ‘It will teach you!’
“This moves things, but is also what at the end creates the harmonious unity between everyone.”
Sources
- Vatican Radio
- Image: The Church in Malta
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