After appearing to Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, the Risen Lord appeared for the first time among his disciples that same evening. Their immediate reaction was one of joy, heightened by peace, that true peace which only he can give (cf. Jn 14, 27): «Peace be with you» (v. 21). Joy and peace are fruits of the Spirit[1]. In fact, Jesus immediately tells them: «Receive the Holy Spirit» (v. 22).
«As the Father has sent me, so I send you.“ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ”Receive the Holy Spirit.“.
The Holy Spirit not only empowers disciples for the same mission that the Father gave to Jesus, but also recrea as a new humanity. The gesture of the Risen One who breathed on them is the same as the one the Creator made on the nostrils of man, whom he formed from dust of the ground (cf. Gn 2, 7). Just as creation is the continuous work of the Father's love, which sustains the entire universe, the new creation wrought by the Risen One in the Holy Spirit continually sustains humanity on its journey to the Kingdom.
This month's Word of Life reminds us that we have a great opportunity in our lives: to become "other Jesuses." This is true for each of us personally, but even more so as a community. Jesus speaks to his disciples in the plural, because only together, each member with their own unique qualities, can they repeat the mystical body of Jesus.
«As the Father has sent me, so I send you.“ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ”Receive the Holy Spirit.“.
Thus, as children in the Son, we have the same vocation as Jesus: having come forth from the bosom of the Father, we are called to return to Him and to repeat in the world His gestures and His words, accompanied by the grace of the Holy Spirit. If we open ourselves to this gift, we too can affirm with Paul: «It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me» (Ga 2, 20).
This word, then, invites us to deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit, both in prayer and in daily life, "listening to that voice" and remembering that "without the Holy Spirit, God is distant, Christ remains in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is a mere organization, and mission is propaganda. But with the Holy Spirit, the cosmos rises and groans in the birth of the Kingdom, the risen Christ is with us, the Gospel is the power of life, the Church signifies Trinitarian communion, and mission is a new Pentecost."«[2].
«As the Father has sent me, so I send you.“ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ”Receive the Holy Spirit.“.
Andrés is a teenager in the midst of an existential crisis: his doubts about the meaning of life, his fear of the future, and his sense of fragility seem like insurmountable mountains, and he often feels discouraged and unhappy. Someone suggests he talk to Chiara Lubich. Just before speaking with her, Andrés hears her softly say "Holy Spirit," and he realizes that Chiara is praying.
During their conversation, he feels deeply understood, heard just as he is. And he regains his peace, not because his problems have suddenly disappeared, but because now there is someone with whom to share them.
«"From Chiara I not only received concrete help," she confessed years later, "but I also learned a style: to be close to those who suffer with gentleness and understanding, without judging, just as Jesus would.".
This can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit if we welcome Him and allow Him to work within us.
Claudio Cianfaglioni and the Word of Life team
[1] «The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…» (Ga 5, 22).
[2] Ignatius IV Hazin, Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, World Council of Churches, Uppsala 1968.
