Vatican City, 30 April 2014 (VIS) –
Continuing his catechesis on the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, Pope
Francis' catechesis at this Wednesday's general audience focused on
understanding. “It is not human understanding or the intellectual
capacity with which we are gifted to a greater or a lesser extent”,
he explained. “It is a grace the only the Holy Spirit may infuse
and which awakens in the Christian the capacity to go beyond external
appearances and to scrutinise the depths of God's thought and His
plan of salvation”.
Pope Francis recalled the words the
apostle Paul addressed to the Corinthians, in which he described the
effects of this gift: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for
those who love him – these are the things God has revealed to us by
his Spirit”.
“This obviously does not mean that a
Christian can understand everything, and have full knowledge of God's
plans”, he emphasised. “However, as the word itself suggests, the
intellect permits us to 'intus legere', to 'read within'. This gift
enables us to comprehend things as God does, with God's
understanding. … It is a gift intimately linked to faith. When the
Holy Spirit abides in our heart and enlightens our mind, it allows us
to grow, day after day, in our understanding of what the Lord has
said and done”.
Pope Francis explained that the same
thing happened to the Apostles on the way to Emmaus, when they did
not recognise Jesus because they were not capable of doing so. “But,
when the Lord explained his Scriptures to them, so that they were
able to understand that He had to suffer and die in order to be
resurrected, their minds opened and hope reawakened in their hearts.
This is what the Holy Spirit does for us through the gift of
understanding”.
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