Castel Gandolfo, December 8, 1996
And now the Holy Spirit.
The third divine Person had not been explored in depth by our Church, at least not by the people. The Holy Spirit was said to be “the unknown God.” We knew that he existed. We prayed to him, “Veni, Sancte Spiritus,” but there was not much more
In the Focolare Movement, the Holy Spirit is considered, above all, for what he is in God and for humankind.
He is the bond of unity between the divine Persons, Father and Son, and the bond of unity among Christians.
Moreover, because he can be present in the hearts of non-Christians of good will, he is in a certain way the bond of unity also with them.
One characteristic of the Focolare is that of listening to his voice within us. And that is not all, for we also learn to listen to the voice of him present among us, united in the risen Lord. Indeed, we attribute great importance to listening to the voice of the Spirit when Jesus is among us, because Jesus perfects our listening to his voice in each one of us. And here we can see the “something more” in our consideration of the Holy Spirit.
Because of this “something more” we have always experienced a special atmosphere in our gatherings, in our communities, in our model towns, in our small or large-scale meetings.
It is the effect of the presence of the risen Lord, who is among us and who brings with him the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, breath of Jesus and atmosphere of heaven, is also the breath of his body, the Church. And we are aware of his presence if the Church is itself in the full sense; that is, if it is kingdom of God, heaven come down on earth, because of unity.
(Taken from: Chiara Lubich, A New Way, New City Press 2006)
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