The last public event of Pope Francis’ visit to Bahrain was the meeting with local bishops, priests, seminarians, consecrated persons and pastoral workers in the capital, Manama. The Pope stressed to them that the Holy Spirit is a source of joy, unity and prophetic nature and exhorted them to live the grace of the Holy Spirit. In this prayer meeting, the Pope led the singing of the Angelus and prayed for lasting peace in Ethiopia and for the sufferings of Ukraine.
(Vatican News Network)The Catholic community in Bahrain exudes a universal air, as the faithful come from different parts of the world and profess a Christian faith. So was the Catholic community when Pope Francis met in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, on the morning of November 6. In the Church of the Sacred Heart, the Pope prayed in unison with the local bishops, priests, seminarians and pastoral workers, leading them to recite the Angelus.
In front of the faithful immigrants from all over the world, the Pope said: “Seeing the numerous Lebanese faithful present, I undertake to pray and take care of that beloved country and of all the people who suffer in the Middle East”. on the recent signing of the peace agreement on the situation in Ethiopia, saying: “I encourage all people to support this effort for lasting peace, so that with God’s help the path of dialogue can continue and people can return to life in peace and dignity as soon as possible “.
In the prayer meeting that day, the people first heard a passage from the Gospel about living water (cf. Jn 7: 37-39). Connecting the living waters of the Scriptures to the natural landscape of Bahrain, the Pope said: “There are indeed many deserts in this land, but there are also freshwater springs that flow quietly underground, irrigating the deserts.”
This is at the same time a beautiful picture of the Christian life: due to fragility, fear, challenges and all kinds of calamities, the human being appears dry on the surface, “but in the depths of the soul, in the depths of the heart. , the sweet source of the Holy Spirit is peaceful and silent. It flows, irrigates our deserts, invigorates everything that might otherwise dry up, washes our filth, quenches our thirst for happiness “.
The Pope then deepened the three gifts of the Holy Spirit: joy, unity and propheticity. We should receive and live these graces. “The Holy Spirit is above all a source of joy”. The Lord desires that sweet springs gush out in the desert of our fragile humanity. «In fact the Holy Spirit does not leave us alone, he is the Comforter. He comforts us with his presence, accompanies us with love, supports us in struggles and difficulties, encourages us to dream better, wishes to open our hearts to the surprises and beauty of life ”.
Christian joy is contagious. To this end, the Pope exhorts everyone to “make the joy of the Gospel flow also in lively pastoral action, especially in youth, family and vocational ministry in priestly and monastic life”. “The joy of a Christian cannot be left to itself. When we let this joy flow, it multiplies.”
Referring to the Holy Spirit as a source of unity, the Pope stressed that “those who receive this grace also receive the love of the Father and become his children”. God’s children must not act according to the flesh, that is, not selfish, divided, quarrelsome, slanderous and ironic. “Diversities in the world, as well as racial, cultural and liturgical differences, cannot harm the unity of the Holy Spirit”. On the contrary, the fire of the Holy Spirit burns worldly desires and ignites the life of our love, which is the love of Jesus for us, so that we too can love one another. “Therefore, the Holy Spirit of the risen Lord descended on the disciples as a source of unity, a source of brotherhood against selfishness”.
Unity is also the backbone of fraternity. “To be convincing in our conversations with others, we must live in fraternity with one another”, the Pope said. “The same is true in our multireligious and multicultural society: always promoting dialogue and living in harmony with brothers and sisters of other faiths and religions “.
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is also a source of prophecy. As we all know, there are numerous prophets in the history of salvation. “God called them, ordered them, sent them out into the crowd and spoke in his name.” “We too have this prophetic vocation: all the baptized have received the Holy Spirit and all have the grace of the prophet”, the Pope underlined. hands … Sooner or later, Christians must get their hands dirty in order to live the Christian life well and bear witness ».
The Pope explained: «Prophecy allows us to practice the beatitudes of the Gospel in our daily situations, which is to build the kingdom of God with determination and meekness. In the kingdom of God, love, justice, peace and all forms of selfishness, violence and depravity go hand in hand ”.
The Pope concluded by expressing his gratitude, saying, “I bless you all with gratitude, especially those who have worked hard for this. As these are my last words in public, allow me to express my gratitude to all of you. His Majesty the King and the national authorities, including the Minister of Justice, who is here, thank them for their kind hospitality “.
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