“War, violence, in many parts of the world. Uncertainty for the future, anxiety for tomorrow. We are all living this time with difficulty. Not only adults, but also young people experience their problems.” The bishop of Foggia said it, Giorgio Ferretti during the Pentecost vigil in the “Spirito Santo” parish. The first meeting of the young people with the prelate also took place in the church.
“Why are we here then? What is Pentecost? Pentecost is a breath of hope – continued Ferretti -. Pentecost is a breath of good, clean and generous air. In Jerusalem there was a roar of wind that hit the disciples who were together. Even on us who are gathered today: a strong wind hits. On all together. A good wind, of love that counteracts resignation, fear, our closures.
The Holy Spirit is also a gift today. The Spirit, like a flame, burns on each of us. We can see it with the eyes of the soul. Yes, the Spirit is on everyone: on sinners and on the righteous; about those who feel bad and those who don’t feel that way; on the lazy and the most generous.
Because no one is forgotten by God. No one is forgotten by his Spirit. The Spirit can fill everyone’s heart, if only we want it. But then let’s not close ourselves! Let’s escape victimism, an ugly disease that makes us think that everything is bad, that nothing can be changed. So what to do? Emigrate, escape, change of scenery. Escape Foggia… But victimhood is a sin! Who will change the things that are wrong? Who will change this earth? Let us leave room for the Spirit in our hearts today. Even if we don’t feel a clear faith within us, or we think we don’t believe at all, let’s make our hearts clear for a while this evening of our worries, our feelings and resentments that close us down.
Especially that the our hearts are not closed out of fear, as the house of the disciples was closed on the day of Pentecost. But the Spirit also opens closed doors. Fifty days have passed since Easter. One could forget, men forget, it is their condemnation. The days pass and we forget. The best thoughts are forgotten. Men repeat their mistakes, their sin, because they forget the sadness and shame for the evil done. But Easter doesn’t pass. Easter is the heart of our life.
Pentecost is then like a seal, impresses in us the memory of the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We read in the Acts after Pentecost the first speech of Peter, after the outpouring of the Spirit, recalls the death and resurrection of Jesus. The first apostle tells the people that had gathered: Jesus ‘was handed over to you, you nailed him to the cross at the hands of the wicked and killed him. But God resurrected him, freeing him from the anguish of death, because it was not possible for it to hold him in its power. (Acts 2, 23-24) You see how Peter’s first speech is profoundly marked by the memory of Easter imprinted by Pentecost. He says: ‘God raised this Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses’ (Acts 2:32). It is the Pentecost speech: Easter doesn’t pass! The Spirit forever reminds us of the Gospel of the Resurrection. And as if to tell us: You are not destined to waste your life! you are not destined to waste your life chasing what is worthless! you are not meant to live for small feelings, you are not meant to be sad, you are not meant to die!
The Spirit reminds the Church that Christ is risen. He reminds each of us: don’t waste yourself looking for life among dead things! It has risen! He awaits you in Galilee! And Galilee where it awaits us is here, it is our city. Galilee is Foggia: change it with our hands! Let’s make it welcoming towards immigrants, showing solidarity towards those in need. Let’s dream it together and roll up our sleeves together: Young people and adults. With our priests, let’s all get to work. We cannot forget the resurrection of Jesus! Even in the saddest and darkest hours, even when faced with illness and death. Even when we are the ones touched by evil: we cannot forget the resurrection!
The resurrection of Jesus it is the beginning of the resurrection of all: it is the beginning of a world that is renewed and that rises from its grave. Pentecost imprints in us the memory of the resurrection of Jesus. For this reason we look at our time with hope and live peacefully. For this reason, in the Acts of the Apostles, we see the apostles communicating as never before, so much so that all those who listened to them were amazed and beside themselves with amazement. They said: ‘But who are these?’ ‘Are they drunk?’ ‘Why are they so excited?’ ‘What did they drink?’. Amazement always accompanies miracles in the Gospels. Here, for Pentecost, there is a miracle: that of a small group of disciples who begin to love, to be communicative without fear. It’s a great miracle. A miracle of the Holy Spirit. But that group is not only that of Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago.
Pentecost is also today. It is also here for each of us. For those who think they can’t speak. For those who believe they have seen too many bad things to trust anymore. For those who believe they are too old or too young to change. Or for those who already believe they are good and do not need to change… because sometimes we are like that too… But the Spirit makes the miracle of Pentecost possible: not only in Jerusalem but in all places in the world.
And in Jerusalem seeing this miracle of the Spirit, everyone was amazed and perplexed, asking: What does this mean? (Ac 2, 12). This is Pentecost, so much so that the apostles left the place where they were. They began to communicate with love to others, to the people who were in Jerusalem, what they had inside. Love makes itself understood beyond languages. Love makes itself understood even beyond enmity. But when love makes itself understood beyond hatred, enmities cease. When love makes itself understood beyond desperation, desperation ceases.
The Holy Spirit reanimates the disciples of Jesus with a communicative love. There is a need for that love that binds. There is a need for that love that heals loneliness. There is a need for love towards those who are close to you, towards those in your family, towards your friends. But there is also a need for love for those who are far away, who have nothing to do with you. And if there is a lack of loving men, if there is a lack of loving women, it is never too late to start loving: you start! Let’s start together! From Pentecost, from here, a path of love for our city can start with more strength. Each of us, sisters and brothers, illuminated by the Spirit, as with a flame, can be a light of sympathy in the world, in darkness, in pain, in resignation. We will be a witness of love! Brothers, sisters, we are men and women who love, with sympathy, with tenderness, with faith. Let us lift our gaze, let us trust in Jesus who wants our good, let us listen to him and he will show us the way.”
