VATICAN (CNS): “The Holy Spirit bestows wisdom and good counsel. In these days, let us invoke his aid upon those charged with making complex and pressing decisions, that they may defend human life and the dignity of work,” Pope Francis said in a video message on Pentecost, May 31.
As the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic continues, the pope joined an initiative of the Anglican Church, praying that people would be converted and use the pandemic’s disruption to begin anew.
“This is what must be invested in: health, employment and the elimination of inequalities and poverty,” he said in the message that was part of Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby’s Thy Kingdom Come prayer service.
Thy Kingdom Come is a programme that began in the Church of England in 2016, asking Anglicans to pray intensely, in the 10 days from Ascension Thursday to Pentecost, that people would come to know the love of Jesus.
The project has become ecumenical and because of the Covid-19 lockdown, the 2020 prayer service concluding was held online.
Pope Francis said that as people look forward to an end of the pandemic lockdowns “we need a vision rich in humanity; we cannot start up again by going back to our selfish pursuit of success without caring about those who are left behind.”
“The Lord is asking us to change course,” the pope said, adding, “On the day of Pentecost, Peter spoke with a bold courage—parrhesia—prompted by the Spirit. ‘Repent,’ he urged, be converted, change the direction of your lives.”
He said, “That is what we need to do: Go back, turn back to God and our neighbour, no longer isolated and anesthetised before the cry of the poor and the devastation of our planet,”
Pope Francis said, “We need to be united in facing all those pandemics that are spreading: that of the virus, but also those of hunger, war, contempt for life and indifference to others. Only by walking together will we be able to go far.”
The pope continued: “At Pentecost, God ‘infected’ the world with life. How different this is from the contagion of death that has ravaged the earth for months now! Today, more than ever, it is necessary to implore the Holy Spirit to pour forth into our hearts the life of God, who is love.”
However, Pope Francis noted that to bring that better future people must be willing to open their eyes and hearts and to change.
With the “appropriate and necessary measures” enacted to prevent the spread of the virus, he said, people have been brought together by the same fear and uncertainty.
“How many troubled and broken hearts are in need of comfort,” Pope Francis asked. He pointed out that Christians believe they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised would bring comfort, and that they are called to extend that comfort to others.
He said the way forward is not that difficult and mainly involves doing for others that which one would hope for oneself.
“Do we want to be heard? Let us first listen. Do we need encouragement? Let us give encouragement. Do we want someone to care for us? Let us care for those who are alone and abandoned. Do we need hope for tomorrow? Let us give hope today,” the pope exhorted.
He said Christians must give a united witness of mercy and of the reality that all people are brothers and sisters.
