During the general audience on December 11, Pope Francis concluded a series of seventeen catecheses titled “The Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides the People of God towards Jesus our hope.” In his address, the Holy Father emphasized the importance of Christian hope, a theological virtue based on God’s faithfulness to His promises.
The Holy Spirit: The Engine of Hope
Francis described the Holy Spirit as “the ever-flowing source of Christian hope.” He compared the Church to a boat in which the Holy Spirit acts as the sail, propelling and guiding it through the sea of history. With the opening of the twenty-fifth Ordinary Jubilee Year approaching, the Pope underscored that hope is not merely a vague wish for things to get better but a certainty grounded in divine fidelity.
Radiating and Sowing Hope
In his reflection in Paul VI Hall, the Pope highlighted that hope is an active virtue that drives us to action. He quoted Belgian priest and theologian José Comblin, who fought for the liberation of the poor and wrote that “the Holy Spirit is the source of the cry of the poor. It is the strength given to those who have no strength and guides the struggle for emancipation and the full realization of the oppressed people.”
Francis called on believers not only to have hope but to radiate and sow it. He stressed that this is the most beautiful gift the Church can offer humanity, especially in difficult times.
Love: The Most Effective Form of Evangelization
The Pope recalled the words of the Apostle Peter, who urged the early Christians to always be ready to explain the reason for their hope with gentleness and respect. Francis emphasized that it is not strong arguments that convince people but the love with which they are communicated. He noted that this is the first and most effective form of evangelization, accessible to all.
The Holy Spirit and the Presence of Christ in the Church
Referring to the catecheses on the Holy Spirit and the Church, the Pope mentioned the invocation “Come,” directed by the Spirit and the Bride to the risen Christ, found in the Book of Revelation. This cry, which the early Christians expressed with the shout “Marana tha!” (“Come, Lord!”), remains alive in the Church, manifesting both the expectation of Christ’s final coming and His continuous presence in the pilgrim Church.
The Inseparable Relationship between Christ and the Holy Spirit
Francis concluded by explaining that, after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit acts as Christ’s “alter ego,” making His work present and operative in the Church. It is the Spirit who “announces future things” and makes us desire and expect them. Therefore, Christ and the Spirit are inseparable in the economy of salvation.
In summary, Pope Francis invites us to be bearers of hope, driven by the Holy Spirit, radiating Christ’s love in our daily actions. This hope, infused by God, is the certainty that guides us and propels us forward, even in the darkest moments.
