SW News: Pope Francis addressed the faithful in his general audience at the Vatican on Ash Wednesday. He said the ritual of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful serve as a reminder of who we are and the fundamental reality of our existence, namely, that only the Lord is God and that we are His creation.
The Holy Father exhorts us to do two things: to return to the truth about ourselves and to return to God and our brothers and sisters.
“Lent is the favorable season to get back to the basics, let go of the things that drag us down, make peace with God, and rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit that has been dormant beneath the ashes of our weak humanity. Refocus on the important things.”
Therefore, the proclamation of the Gospel is only realized in the power of the Spirit, who precedes the missionaries and prepares hearts: He is ‘the engine of evangelization.’ This is shown in the Acts of the Apostles, where it is clear on every page that the Holy Spirit, not Peter, Paul, Stephen, or Philip, is the main character of the proclamation.
The Holy Father also warns the audience that politicization of the Gospel must be avoided as Christians throughout the world begin the Lenten season of fasting leading up to Easter. He said that every religious tradition is useful if it facilitates the encounter with Jesus. Everything in the Church must be conformed to the requirements of the proclamation of the Gospel; not to the opinions of the conservatives or the progressives.
The Holy Father remarked, “Therefore, every choice, every usage, every structure, and every tradition is to be evaluated based on whether they favor the proclamation of Christ. And when decisions are found in the Church – for example, ideological divisions: ‘I am conservative because...’ ‘I am progressive because...’ But where is the Holy Spirit? Be careful that the Gospel is not an idea, the Gospel is not an ideology: the Gospel is a proclamation that touches your heart and makes you change your heart, but if you take refuge in an idea, in an ideology, whether right or left or center, you are making the Gospel a political party, an ideology, a club of people. The Gospel always gives you this freedom of the Spirit that acts within you and carries you forward. And how much it requires of us today to take hold of the freedom of the Gospel and allow ourselves to be carried forward by the Spirit.”
The Holy Father said that the Church's path is always illuminated in this way by the Spirit. Christ is indeed the light that guides the Church; He offers clarity, aids in differentiation, and aids in discernment. He is not merely the light of hearts. Because of this, it is important to invoke Him frequently.
Pope Francis said without the Spirit, everything in the Church remains soulless, even though we have well-organized communities, institutes, and movements.