The Holy Spirit and three enemies of self-giving

This post draws on two articles reporting on the Pentecost Sunday homily of Pope Francis, one from the Jesuit publication,  America Magazine, and the other from Vatican News.

The Spirit, the living memory of the church

In his Pentecost Sunday homily, Pope Francis told Christians worldwide, “The Spirit, the living memory of the church, reminds us that we are born from a gift and that we grow by giving, not by holding on, but by giving of ourselves.”
He said that, after Pentecost, one thing that kept the Apostles going was “the desire to give what they received”. If we realize that what we are is due to His free and unmerited gift, then “we too will want to make our lives a gift”. “By loving humbly, serving freely and joyfully, we will offer to the world the true image of God.”

Pope Francis alerted believers to “three enemies” that are “always lurking at the door of our hearts” and which “prevent us from giving ourselves”: narcissism, victimhood and pessimism.

Narcissism

Narcissism, the Pope said, makes us concerned only with how we can profit. In this time of the pandemic, the Pope lamented the tendency to think only of our own needs, to be indifferent to those of others.  

Victimhood

Victimhood, he said, is equally dangerous. Victims complain every day about their neighbours – that no one understands them, no one experiences what they experience and everyone is against them. In the present crisis, he noted, we are experiencing how ugly victimhood is. 

Pessimism

Pessimism is an unending complaint that “nothing is going well in society, politics, the Church…”.  A pessimist gets angry with the world, but sits back and does nothing. In the current crisis, the Pope said it is damaging to “see everything in the worst light and to keep saying that nothing will return as before”.

The Pope pointed out, “When someone thinks this way, the one thing that certainly does not return is hope… We are experiencing a famine of hope, and we need to appreciate the gift of life, the gift that each of us is… We need the Holy Spirit, the gift of God who heals us of narcissism, victimhood and pessimism.”

Read the original articles here:
America Magazine: In his Pentecost homily, Pope Francis asks Christians to reject narcissism and pessimism - by Gerard O’Connell

Vatican News: Pope at Pentecost: Holy Spirit unites Christians as God’s children in self-giving by Robin Gomes