Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass on Pentecost in St. Peter’s Square
VATICAN CITY — In a world marked by wars and where people are disconnected and numb with indifference, Pope Leo XIV prayed that the Holy Spirit would “open borders, break down walls” and dissolve hatred so everyone can live as children of one human family.
“The Spirit breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred” because He teaches and encourages “the commandment of love that the Lord has made the center and summit of everything,” he said.
“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,” Pope Leo said in his homily for Pentecost Mass in St. Peter’s Square June 8.
The pope also spoke out against “an unhealthy desire for domination” and violence in relationships.
“The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, brings to maturity within us the fruits that enable us to cultivate good and healthy relationships,” Pope Leo said.
In his homily, the pope reflected on the Holy Spirit’s gift of opening borders, building on an image of Pentecost described by Pope Benedict XVI in his homily on the feast day in 2005.
“The Spirit opens borders, first of all, in our hearts,” then in one’s relationships with others and, finally, between peoples, Pope Leo said.
“He is the gift that opens our lives to love” by breaking 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,” the pope said.
“The Holy Spirit comes to challenge us, to make us confront the possibility that our lives are shriveling up, trapped in the vortex of individualism,” he said. “Sadly, oddly enough, in a world of burgeoning ‘social’ media, we risk being ever more alone. Constantly connected, yet incapable of ‘networking.”’
The Spirit “put 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” and to have one’s life become a place “of welcome and refreshment.”
The Holy Spirit also “broadens the borders of our relationships and opens us to the joy of fraternity,” which is “also a critical yardstick for the Church,” he said.
To truly be a Church of the Lord, he said, there must be “no borders or divisions among us.” The faithful must be able to “dialogue and accept one another in the Church and to reconcile our diversities,” becoming “a welcoming and hospitable place for all.”
The Holy Spirit “also opens borders between peoples,” the pope said, by uniting people’s hearts and making “us view others as our brothers and sisters.” This is how “differences no longer become an occasion for division and conflict but rather a shared patrimony from which we can all draw.”
The Mass marked the conclusion of the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities. The Jubilee included an evening prayer vigil in the square June 7 led by Pope Leo with about 70,000 people.
