This Wednesday, August 7, Pope Francis resumed the general audiences suspended during the month of July, as is customary each year, to expand on the action of the Holy Spirit in the work of Redemption.
Thus, inspired by the passage from the Gospel according to Saint Luke that narrates the mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary, the Pope has called to trust like the Virgin that “nothing is impossible for God”, as the angel expressed to the Mother of Christ.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
“If we believe in this, we will perform miracles,” said Pope Francis at the conclusion of the catechism given in the Paul Vi Hall of the Vatican, in which he recalled that the Incarnation by the work of the Holy Spirit is a fact that the Catholic Church “placed at the heart of his Symbol of Faith” at the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople.
This certainty is the origin of the fact that “Catholic piety, since time immemorial, has derived from it one of its daily prayers, the Angelus,” the Pontiff recalled.
This article of faith “is the foundation that allows us to speak of Mary as the Bride par excellence, who is a figure of the Church”, something that was included in the Dogmatic Constitution. The light of the Second Vatican Council, he recalled.
Without the Holy Spirit the Church cannot preach
Supported by the verbs “conceive” and “give birth” used insistently in the Gospels, the Pope explained how Mary “first conceived, then gave birth to Jesus: First she welcomed him into her interior, into her heart and into her flesh, then she gave birth to him.”
In an analogous way, he continued, “it also happens with the Church: first she welcomes the Word of God, lets it “speak to her heart” and “fills her bowels,” according to two biblical expressions, and then gives birth to it with life and The preaching. The second operation is sterile without the first.”
Thus, in the face of difficulties, when the Church faces “tasks beyond its strength,” the question arises as to how preaching is possible. “The answer is the same as then: ‘you will receive the strength of the Spirit,’” she said, citing the Acts of the Apostles.
In this sense, he stressed: “Without the Holy Spirit the Church cannot move forward, the Church does not grow, the Church cannot preach.”
Concern about the situation in the Middle East
On a day in which Pope Francis met with the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, Raphael Yaakov Schutz, Pope Francis expressed at the end of the general audience that he follows “the situation in the Middle East with great concern” and He has insisted on his call “to all parties involved so that the conflict does not spread and to immediately cease fire on all fronts in Gaza where the humanitarian situation is very serious, it is unsustainable.”
The Pontiff shared that he prays “so that the sincere search for peace extinguishes confrontations, love conquers hate and revenge is disarmed by forgiveness” and has asked that the faithful also join in this prayer “for the martyred Ukraine , Myanmar, Sudan.”
Finally, he prayed that “ethnic discrimination in regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially discrimination against women, be eliminated.”
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.