The Holy Spirit, Hope of the World
24 August 1998 18:11
Catechesis on the Holy Spirit, “Hope of the World”
VATICAN CITY, AUG 19 – In today’s general audience, the Holy Father continued his ongoing catechesis on the Holy Spirit, “the true hope of the world.” The Holy Father said that “the destiny of the cosmos is linked to that of man.”
“The created world,” explained John Paul II, “receives its true meaning in man and through man. Man certainly cannot use the cosmos in which he lives as he pleases, but rather, with his intelligence and will, he should raise the work of the Creator to its fullness.”
There were about eight thousand pilgrims from around the world present for the audience. The Pope recalled that “the cosmos was created by God as a dwelling place for man and the stage for his adventure of freedom. Man must use his freedom in harmony with God’s will so as to realize the divine plan and conquer the disorder introduced by sin into his life in the world. This double enterprise cannot be realized without the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
At this point, the Pontiff mentioned the celebrated passage of the prophet Ezekiel: “And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stone heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.” (Ez 11:19) He continued, “The Holy Spirit thus realizes a profound personal and community renewal; he transforms men’s hearts, and thus their social relations, and he makes the world a space of true brotherhood.”
“This transformation of acting on man and his social relations,” noted the Holy Father, “is expressed in the life of the Church, in the commitment to temporal realities, and in dialogue with all men of good will.” But not just this: “Even the cosmos, in a mysterious but real way, is called to participate in this new life in the building of universal peace through justice and love.”
Thus, “creation, made alive by the presence of the Creator Spirit, is called to become a ‘dwelling of peace’ for the whole human family. Creation realizes this objective through the mediation of freedom of man, whom God has placed as his custodian. If man becomes egotistical about himself, through a false conception of liberty, he becomes fatally involved in this perversion of creation itself.”
“Only if man recognizes himself as child of God in Christ, by the light of the Holy Spirit,” added Pope John Paul II, “and sees creation with a feeling of brotherhood, the whole cosmos will be freed and redeemed according to the divine plan.”
John Paul II also indicated “the truly consoling consequence of these reflections: the Holy Spirit is the true hope of the world. In fact, He not only acts in the hearts of men, but also elevates and perfects human activities in the universe.”
