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When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all together in one place. ~Acts 2:1 |
Address of His Holiness Pope Francis
Meeting with Ordinaries of the Holy Land
Upper Room, Jerusalem, 26 May 2014
Dear Brothers,
It is a great gift that the Lord has given us by bringing us
together here in the Upper Room for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Here, where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles;
where, after his resurrection, he appeared in their midst; where the Holy
Spirit descended with power upon Mary and the disciples. Here the Church was born, and was born to go
forth. From here she set out, with the
broken bread in her hands, the wounds of Christ before her eyes, and the Spirit
of love in her heart.
In the Upper Room, the risen Jesus, sent by the Father,
bestowed upon the apostles his own Spirit and with this power he sent them
forth to renew the face of the earth (cf. Ps 104:30).
To go forth, to set out, does not mean to forget. The Church, in her going forth, preserves the
memory of what took place here; the Spirit, the Paraclete, reminds her of every
word and every action, and reveals their true meaning.
The Upper Room speaks to us of service, of Jesus giving the
disciples an example by washing their feet.
Washing one another’s feet signifies welcoming, accepting, loving and serving
one another. It means serving the poor,
the sick and the outcast.
The Upper Room reminds us, through the Eucharist, of
sacrifice. In every Eucharistic celebration
Jesus offers himself for us to the Father, so that we too can be united with
him, offering to God our lives, our work, our joys and our sorrows… offering
everything as a spiritual sacrifice.
The Upper Room reminds us of friendship. “No longer do I call you servants – Jesus
said to the Twelve – but I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15). The Lord makes us his friends, he reveals
God’s will to us and he gives us his very self.
This is the most beautiful part of being a Christian and, especially, of
being a priest: becoming a friend of the Lord Jesus.
The Upper Room reminds us of the Teacher’s farewell and his
promise to return to his friends: “When I go… I will come again and will take
you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn 14:3). Jesus does not leave us, nor does he ever
abandon us; he precedes us to the house of the Father, where he desires to
bring us as well.
The Upper Room, however, also reminds us of pettiness, of
curiosity – “Who is the traitor?” – and of betrayal. We ourselves, and not just others, can
reawaken those attitudes whenever we look at our brother or sister with
contempt, whenever we judge them, whenever by our sins we betray Jesus.
The Upper Room reminds us of sharing, fraternity, harmony
and peace among ourselves. How much love
and goodness has flowed from the Upper Room!
How much charity has gone forth from here, like a river from its source,
beginning as a stream and then expanding and becoming a great torrent. All the saints drew from this source; and
hence the great river of the Church’s holiness continues to flow: from the
Heart of Christ, from the Eucharist and from the Holy Spirit.
Lastly, the Upper Room reminds us of the birth of the new
family, the Church, established by the risen Jesus; a family that has a Mother,
the Virgin Mary. Christian families
belong to this great family, and in it they find the light and strength to press
on and be renewed, amid the challenges and difficulties of life. All God’s children, of every people and
language, are invited and called to be part of this great family, as brothers
and sisters and sons and daughters of the one Father in heaven.
These horizons are opened up by the Upper Room, the horizons
of the Risen Lord and his Church.
From here the Church goes forth, impelled by the life-giving
breath of the Spirit. Gathered in prayer
with the Mother of Jesus, the Church lives in constant expectation of a renewed
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Send
forth your Spirit, Lord, and renew the face of the earth (cf. Ps 104:30)!
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