Pope urges Christians to joyfully cultivate fruits of the Spirit

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Not every Christian is called to be an apostle, prophet or evangelist, Pope Francis said, but all Christians can cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit by becoming “charitable, patient, humble, peacemakers.”

Continuing his series of audience talks on the Holy Spirit, the pope explained that the fruits of the Spirit are different from charisms, which are given spontaneously by the Spirit for the good of the church. Instead, the fruits of the Spirit represent a “collaboration between grace and freedom,” he said.

“These fruits always express the creativity of the person, in whom faith works through charity, sometimes in surprising and joyful ways,” he told visitors gathered for his general audience Nov. 27 in St. Peter’s Square.

Before the audience, Pope Francis met privately with U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who was in Italy for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers. While at the Vatican, Blinken also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister.

After riding around St. Peter’s Square in the popemobile, Pope Francis was accompanied to his seat by a group of children, who then sat on the steps of the stage throughout the audience.

In his main talk on the fruits of the Spirit, the pope singled out joy as central to the Christian life.

Spiritual joy, like other forms of joy, includes “a certain feeling of fullness and fulfillment, which makes one wish it would last forever,” he said.

“We know from experience, however, that this does happen, because everything down here passes quickly: youth, health, strength, wealth, friendship, loves,” Pope Francis said, and “even if these things did not pass, soon, after a while they are no longer enough or even become boring” since the heart can only find fulfillment in God.

The joy of the Gospel, on the other hand, “can be renewed each day and become contagious,” he said. Quoting his 2013 exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”), the pope said that it is an encounter with God that saves people from isolation and which is the “source of evangelizing action.”

“This is the twofold characteristic of the joy that is the fruit of the Spirit: not only does it not go subject to the inevitable wear and tear of time, but it is multiplied by sharing it with others,” he said.

As an example of living the joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis highlighted the life of St. Philip Neri, the 16th-century founder of the Oratorian order, who the pope said, “had such a love for God that at times it seemed as if his heart would burst in his chest.” The Italian saint is known for his work with poor children and marginalized communities as well as initiating a walking pilgrimage to seven of Rome’s most significant basilicas.

Recalling that the Gospel means “good news” in Greek, the pope said that its contents cannot be communicated “with long and dark faces, but only with the joy of one who has found a hidden treasure and a precious pearl.”

Pope Francis announced at the audience that beginning the following week, summaries of his audience talk will be translated into Chinese. Currently, the pope gives his catechesis in Italian, and aides read summaries in English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Polish and Arabic.

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