The Holy Spirit opens borders in hearts, relationships and between peoples, Pope Leo XIV said June 8 as he celebrated Mass for 80,000 Romans and pilgrims from all continents in St. Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday.
“The Spirit breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred because he ‘teaches us all things’ and ‘reminds us of Jesus’ words’ (cf. Jn 14:26),” the pope said. “He writes in our hearts before all else the commandment of love that the Lord has made the center and summit of everything.”
Then in words that have particular significance at this moment in history, Pope Leo emphasized that “Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms.”
The vast crowd at the Mass listened in silence. They had come from countries near and far, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Australia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines and India, for this Jubilee of ecclesial movements and associations.
Some of these associations and movements originated before the Second Vatican Council. Others sprung up in the 60 years following that historic event, and attracted many young people. They include Catholic Action, Catholic Scouts, the Focolare movement, Communion and Liberation, the Sant’ Egidio Community, the Neo Catechumenate movement and countless others from countries around the world. Many are committed to peace, social action and the protection of our common home.
Last evening, Pope Leo joined 70,000 of them in St. Peter’s Square for a vigil of prayer, signing on the eve of Pentecost. He heard testimonies from the war torn Gaza, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, before delivering a powerful homily that drew extended applause when finished.
They cheered and chanted “Viva il Papa” this Sunday morning as he drove among them before Mass in that same square. Afterwards, he concelebrated the Mass for them together with 42 cardinals, 200 bishops and 250 priests—all wearing red vestments—under a blazing sun and temperatures in the upper 80s Fahrenheit. The Sistine Choir sang and the Scripture readings were read in French, English and Italian, while prayers were said in Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, German and Hindi, reflecting a small number of the many languages spoken by those present.
Pope Leo began his homily, speaking in Italian, with a quote from a sermon of St. Augustine for Pentecost.
“The day has dawned upon us when,” St. Augustine said, “glorified by his ascension into heaven following his resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit.”
Leo, the first Augustinian pope, told those in the square and a vast global audience following on television or the social media, “Today, too, what took place in the Upper Room takes place anew in our midst. Like a mighty wind that overtakes us, like a crash that startles us, like a fire that illuminates us, the gift of the Holy Spirit descends upon us.”
He said the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that “the Spirit accomplished something extraordinary in the lives of the Apostles” because “following Jesus’ death, they had retreated behind closed doors, in fear and sadness.”
But when the Holy Spirit comes “they receive a new way of seeing things, an interior understanding that helps them to interpret the events that occurred and to experience intimately the presence of the Risen Lord. The Holy Spirit overcomes their fear, shatters their inner chains, heals their wounds, anoints them with strength and grants them the courage to go out to all and to proclaim God’s mighty works.”
In Jerusalem at that time, he said, there were a multitude of people from various backgrounds, yet “each one heard them speaking in his own native tongue.” In a word, “at Pentecost, the doors of the Upper Room were opened because the Spirit opens borders.”
He recalled that Benedict XVI explained well the significance of the impact of the Holy Spirit in the homily he gave on Pentecost Sunday 2005, a month after his election as pope. Benedict said: “The Holy Spirit bestows understanding. The Spirit overcomes the ‘breach’ that began in Babel, the confusion of mind and heart that sets us one against the other. The Spirit opens borders... The church must always become anew what she already is. She must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race. In her, there cannot be those who are neglected or disdained. In the church there are only free men and women, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.”
Pope Leo said he wanted to reflect on that “eloquent image of Pentecost” in his own homily today.
“The Spirit opens borders, first of all, in our hearts,” the Chicago born pope said. “He is the gift that opens our lives to love. His presence breaks down our hardness of heart, our narrowness of mind, our selfishness, the fears that enchain us and the narcissism that makes us think only of ourselves.”
He said, “The Holy Spirit comes to challenge us, to make us confront the possibility that our lives are shrivelling up, trapped in the vortex of individualism.” Pope Leo, who uses a smartphone and knows how it can impact the lives of people, remarked, “Sadly, oddly enough, in a world of burgeoning ‘social’ media, we risk being ever more alone. Constantly connected, yet incapable of ‘networking.’ Always immersed in a crowd, yet confused and solitary travellers.”
Notwithstanding all this, the American pope said, “The Spirit of God allows us to find a new way of approaching and experiencing life. He puts us in touch with our inmost self, beneath all the masks we wear. He leads us to an encounter with the Lord by teaching us to experience the joy that is his gift.”
“He convinces us… that only by abiding in love, will we receive the strength to remain faithful to his word and to let it transform us,” he said. “The Spirit opens our interior borders, so that our lives can become places of welcome.”
Turning then to explain how the spirit opens borders in relationships, Pope Leo said: “Jesus tells us that this Gift [of the Spirit] is the love between him and the Father that comes to dwell within us, and we then become capable of opening our hearts to our brothers and sisters, overcoming our rigidity, moving beyond our fear of those who are different, and mastering the passions that stir within.”
Moreover, he said, “The Spirit also transforms those deeper, hidden dangers that disturb our relationships, like suspicion, prejudice or the desire to manipulate others.” Leo lamented that “relationships…marked by an unhealthy desire for domination, an attitude that often leads to violence” can lead to “femicide,” alluding to what has happened numerous times in Italy in recent times.
On the other hand, he said, “The Holy Spirit brings to maturity within us the fruits that enable us to cultivate good and healthy relationships: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
This openness is a way to measure the work of the church, he said.
“We are truly the church of the Risen Lord and disciples of Pentecost if there are no borders or divisions among us,” he said, “if we are able to dialogue and accept one another in the church, and to reconcile our diversities; and if, as church, we become a welcoming and hospitable place for all.”
Last but not least, the missionary pope said recalling the first Pentecost, “the Spirit also opens borders between peoples.” The same is true today because “whenever God’s ‘breath’ [Spirit] unites our hearts and makes us view others as our brothers and sisters, differences no longer become an occasion for division and conflict but rather a shared patrimony from which we can all draw, and which sets us all on journey together, in fraternity.”
He recalled that Pope Francis, in his homily on Pentecost Sunday 2023, observed: “In our world today, there is so much discord, such great division. We are all ‘connected,’ yet find ourselves disconnected from one another, anesthetized by indifference and overwhelmed by solitude.”
“The wars plaguing our world are a tragic sign of this,” Pope Leo said, while urging people, “Let us invoke the Spirit of love and peace, that he may open borders, break down walls, dispel hatred and help us to live as children of our one Father who is in heaven.”
He concluded his homily saying, “Pentecost renews the church and the world! May the strong wind of the Spirit come upon us and within us, open the borders of our hearts, grant us the grace of encounter with God, enlarge the horizons of our love and sustain our efforts to build a world in which peace reigns.”
