The Holy Spirit ‘guides, renews, and gives fruit,’ Pope preaches at Pentecost Mass

May 25, 2015

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Pentecost Sunday and emphasized during his homily that the Holy Spirit “guides us into all the truth, he renews the face of the earth, and he gives us his fruits.”

“The world needs men and women who are not closed in on themselves, but filled with the Holy Spirit,” Pope Francis preached. “Closing oneself off from the Holy Spirit means not only a lack of freedom; it is a sin. There are many ways one can close oneself off to the Holy Spirit: by selfishness for one’s own gain; by rigid legalism, seen in the attitude of the doctors of the law to whom Jesus referred as “hypocrites”; by neglect of what Jesus taught; by living the Christian life not as service to others but in the pursuit of personal interests; and in so many other ways.”

“The gift of the Holy Spirit has been bestowed upon the Church and upon each one of us, so that we may live lives of genuine faith and active charity, that we may sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace,” he concluded. “Strengthened in the Spirit and by these many gifts, may we be able to battle uncompromisingly against sin, to battle uncompromisingly against corruption, which continues to spread in the world day after day, by devoting ourselves with patient perseverance to the works of justice and peace.” --CatholicCulture