Pope Francis: “The unity of the Church is not achieved on the drawing board”
“The unity of the Church is the unity between people and is not achieved on the drawing board, but in life”, Pope Francis said in his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square, devoted to the Holy Spirit and the Church, drawing on the Acts of the Apostles. “We all want unity, we all desire it from the depths of our heart”, he noted: “and yet it is so difficult to attain that, even within marriage and the family, union and concord are among the most difficult things to achieve and even harder to maintain.” “The reason why unity among us is difficult is that, yes, everyone wants unity, but based on one’s own point of view, without considering that the other person in front of him thinks exactly the same thing about his ‘own’ point of view”, Francis said: “In this way, unity becomes even more elusive. The unity of Pentecost, according to the Spirit, is achieved when one makes the effort to put God, not oneself, at the centre. Christian unity is built in this way too: not waiting for others to reach us where we are, but moving together towards Christ.” “Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us be instruments of unity and peace”, the final exhortation.
“The Holy Spirit is He who ensures the universality and unity of the Church”,
Francis said in his opening remarks drawing on the Acts of the Apostles that highlight “the universal mission of the Church, as a sign of a new unity between all peoples.” “We see the Spirit work for unity in two ways”, he explained: “On the one hand, He drives the Church outwards, so that she can welcome an ever-greater number of people and peoples; on the other hand, she gathers them within to consolidate the unity achieved. He teaches her to expand in universality, and consolidate in unity. Universal and one: this is the mystery of the Church”, he added off-text.
“The Holy Spirit does not always create unity suddenly, with miraculous and decisive actions, as at Pentecost”, Francis pointed out: “He also does so – and in the majority of cases – with discreet work, respecting human time and differences, passing through people and institutions, prayer and confrontation.”
“In, we would say today, a synodal manner”, Francis said conferring topical relevance to his words and mentioning the Council of Jerusalem, where “the problem is how to ensure that the universality achieved does not compromise the unity of the Church.” “Saint Augustine explains the unity achieved by the Holy Spirit with an image, which has become classic.” The citation: “How the soul is of the body of man is the holy Spirit of the body of Christ, which is the Church.” “The Holy Spirit does not create the unity of the Church from the outside; He does not limit Himself to commanding us to be united”, the Pope said: “He Himself is the bond of unity. It is He who creates the unity of the Church.” “The month of October, dedicated to the Holy Rosary, is a precious occasion to enhance this traditional Marian prayer”, the exhortation to the Italian-speaking faithful at the end of the Wednesday audience: “I call on you all to recite the Rosary every day, confidently entrusting yourselves into the hands of Mary. To her motherly gaze we entrust the suffering and the desire for peace of the peoples afflicted by the insanity of war, especially war-torn Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar and Sudan.”
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