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Pope Francis’ Cycle of Catechesis. The Spirit and the Bride.
The Holy Spirit guides the people of God towards Jesus our hope 17.
The Spirit and the Bride say: “Come!”. The Holy Spirit and Christian hope
Saint Peter’s Square – Wednesday, 11 December 2024
Book of Revelations Revelation 22:17-21
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints.[a]Amen.
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“Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
Always be ready to answer anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope”.
“But do it with gentleness and reverence”
We have arrived at the end of our catecheses on the Holy Spirit and the Church.
We will devote this final reflection to the title we gave to the entire cycle, namely:
“The Holy Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides the People of God towards Jesus our hope”.
This title refers to one of the last verses of the Bible, in the Book of Revelation, which says: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come’” (Rev 22:17).
To whom is this invocation addressed? It is addressed to the Risen Christ.
In fact, both St. Paul (cf. 1 Cor 16:22 – If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed.
Our Lord, come!) and the Didaché, (a text from apostolic times), testify that in the liturgical gatherings of the first Christians the cry in Aramaic was, “Maràna tha!”, which indeed means “Come, Lord!”.
It was a prayer to Christ, for Him to come.
At those early days, the invocation had a background that we would now describe as eschatological.
In fact it expressed the fervent expectation of the glorious return of the Lord.
And this cry, and the expectation it expresses, has never been extinguished in the Church.
Even today, in the Mass, immediately after the consecration, she proclaims the death and resurrection of Christ “in expectation of his coming”. The Church is waiting for the coming of the Lord.
But this expectation of the final coming of Christ has not remained the one and only.
It has also been joined by the expectation of his continuing coming in the present and pilgrim situation of the Church. And it is this coming that the Church thinks of above all, when, animated by the Holy Spirit, she cries out to Jesus: “Come!”.
A change – better, a development – has taken place, full of meaning, regarding the cry ‘Come!’, ‘Come, Lord! It is not only usually addressed to Christ, but also to the Holy Spirit Himself!
The One who cries out is now also the One to whom one cries out.
“Come!” is the invocation with which almost all the hymns and prayers of the Church addressed to the Holy Spirit: “Come, O Creator Spirit ”, we say in the Veni Creator, and “Come, Holy Spirit”, “Veni Sancte Spiritus”, in the Pentecost sequence and in so many other prayers.
It is right that it should be so, because, after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit is the true ‘alter ego’ of Christ, He who takes His place, who makes Him present and operative in the Church..
It is He who “announces the things that are coming” (Jn 16:13 – When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.) and makes them desired and expected.
This is why Christ and the Spirit are inseparable, also in the economy of salvation.
The Holy Spirit is the ever-gushing source of Christian hope.
St. Paul left us these precious words: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rm 15:13).
If the Church is a boat, the Holy Spirit is the sail that propels it and lets it advance on the sea of history, today as in the past!
Hope is not an empty word, or a vague desire of ours that things may turn out for the best; hope is a certainty, because it is founded on God’s faithfulness to His promises.
And this is why it is called a theological virtue: because it is infused by God and has God as its guarantor. It is not a passive virtue, which merely waits for things to happen.
It is a supremely active virtue that helps make them happen.
Someone who fought for the liberation of the poor wrote these words: “The Holy Spirit is at the origin of the cry of the poor. He is the strength given to those who have no strength. He leads the struggle for the emancipation and full realization of the people of the oppressed”.
The Christian cannot be content with having hope; he or she must also radiate hope, must be a sower of hope. This is the most beautiful gift that the Church can give to all mankind, especially at times in which everything seems to be pulling down the sails.
The apostle Peter exhorted the first Christians with these words: “Worship Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer anyone who asks you about the hope that is in you”.
But he added a recommendation: “However this should be done with gentleness and respect”
(1 Pt 3:15-16 – but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.).
And this is because it is not so much the strength of the arguments that will convince people, but of the love that we will be able to put into them.
This is the first and most effective form of evangelization. And it is open to everyone!
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Spirit always, always help us to “abound in hope by virtue of the Holy Spirit!
Thank you.
Summary of the Holy Father’s words: Dear Brothers and Sisters: In this final catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church, we consider the Spirit as the source of the Church’s hope for the Lord’s return in glory and the fulfilment of his saving plan at the end of time.
The New Testament ends with the Spirit and the Bride, the Church, crying out in ardent expectation, “Come, Lord Jesus” (cf. Rev 22:17.20).
The Church’s tradition likewise invokes the Spirit with the ancient prayer, “Come, Holy Spirit”, asking that he confirm our trust in Christ’s promises and strengthen us in fidelity to our mission of bearing witness to the hope offered by the Gospel.
As Christians, we are called not only to have hope but also to radiate hope, so that all may come to know the Lord and joyfully await the coming of his kingdom
