Vatican City, 24 May 2014 (VIS) –
Following his meeting with the Jordanian authorities, the Pope
transferred by car to the International Stadium in Amman, which forms
part of the “Al Husseini” sports complex, the construction of
which was initiated by King Hussein. The stadium, in which Benedict
XVI celebrated mass in 2009 during his apostolic trip to the Holy
Land, holds more than 25,000 people and several thousand were able to
follow the event broadcast on maxi-screens installed outside.
Numerous Christian refugees in Jordan, originally from Palestine,
Syria and Iraq, participated in the Eucharist presided by Pope
Francis, during which 1,400 children received their first Communion.
Pope Francis began his homily by
commenting, “We are not far from where the Holy Spirit descended
with power on Jesus of Nazareth after his baptism by John in the
River Jordan, and today I will go there”. He continued, “Today’s
Gospel and this place to which, by God’s grace, I have come as a
pilgrim, invite us to meditate on the Holy Spirit and on all that he
has brought about in Christ and in us. In a word, we can say that the
Holy Spirit carries out three actions – he prepares, he anoints and
he sends”.
He explained, “At the baptism, the
Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus to prepare him for his mission of
salvation. ... Yet the Holy Spirit, present from the beginning of
salvation history, had already been at work in Jesus from the moment
of his conception in the virginal womb of Mary of Nazareth ... and
acted in Simeon and Anna on the day of the presentation of Jesus in
the Temple. ... They gave prophetic expression to the joy of
encountering the Redeemer and, in a certain sense, served as a
preparation for the encounter between the Messiah and the people.
These various works of the Holy Spirit are part of a harmonious
action, a sole divine plan of love. The mission of the Holy Spirit,
in fact, is to beget harmony – he is himself harmony – and to
create peace in different situations and between different people.
Diversity of ideas and persons should not trigger rejection or prove
an obstacle, for variety always enriches. So today, with fervent
hearts, we invoke the Holy Spirit and ask him to prepare the path to
peace and unity”.
Secondly, “the Holy Spirit also
anoints. He anointed Jesus inwardly and he anoints his disciples, so
that they can have the mind of Christ and thus be disposed to live
lives of peace and communion. Through the anointing of the Spirit,
our human nature is sealed with the holiness of Jesus Christ and we
are enabled to love our brothers and sisters with the same love which
God has for us. We ought, therefore, to show concrete signs of
humility, fraternity, forgiveness and reconciliation. These signs are
the prerequisite of a true, stable and lasting peace. Let us ask the
Father to anoint us so that we may fully become his children, ever
more conformed to Christ, and may learn to see one another as
brothers and sisters. Thus, by putting aside our grievances and
divisions, we can show fraternal love for one another”.
Finally, the Holy Spirit sends. “Jesus
is the one who is sent forth, filled with the Spirit of the Father.
Anointed by the same Spirit, we also are sent as messengers and
witnesses of peace. The world has much need of us as messengers of
peace, witnesses of peace! The world needs this. The world asks us
to bring peace and to be a sign of peace! Peace is not something
which can be bought or sold; it is a gift to be sought patiently and
to be 'crafted' through the actions, great and small, of our everyday
lives. The way of peace is strengthened if we realise that we all of
the same stock and members of the one human family; if we never
forget that we have the same heavenly Father and are all his
children, made in his image and likeness”.
“It is in this spirit that I embrace
all of you: the Patriarch, my brother bishops and priests, the
consecrated men and women, the lay faithful, and the many children
who today make their First Holy Communion, together with their
families. I also embrace with affection the many Christian refugees;
let us all earnestly turn our attention to them, to the many
Christian refugees from Palestine, Syria and Iraq; please bring my
greeting to your families and communities, and assure them of my
closeness”.
“The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus
in the Jordan and thus inaugurated his work of redemption to free the
world from sin and death”. The Holy Father concluded. “Let us ask
the Spirit to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and
sisters, so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political
thinking, language, culture and religion. Let us ask him to anoint
our whole being with the oil of his mercy, which heals the injuries
caused by mistakes, misunderstandings and disputes. And let us ask
him for the grace to send us forth, in humility and meekness, along
the demanding but enriching path of seeking peace”.
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