Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale552

This evening I wish also to include those who are not present among us. I

am thinking especially of the sick or mentally ill, young people in prison,

those struggling on the margins of our societies, and those who for whatever

reason feel alienated from the Church. To them I say: Jesus is close to you!

Feel his healing embrace, his compassion and mercy!

Almost two thousand years ago, the Apostles, gathered in the upper room

together with Mary and some faithful women, were filled with the Holy

Spirit.1 At that extraordinary moment, which gave birth to the Church,

the confusion and fear that had gripped Christ's disciples were transformed

into a vigorous conviction and sense of purpose. They felt impelled to speak

of their encounter with the risen Jesus whom they had come to call affectio-

nately, the Lord. In many ways, the Apostles were ordinary. None could

claim to be the perfect disciple. They failed to recognize Christ,2 felt ashamed

of their own ambition,3 and had even denied him.4 Yet, when empowered by

the Holy Spirit, they were transfixed by the truth of Christ's Gospel and

inspired to proclaim it fearlessly. Emboldened, they exclaimed: repent, be

baptized, receive the Holy Spirit! 5 Grounded in the Apostles' teaching, in

fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread and prayer,6 the young Christian

community moved forward to oppose the perversity in the culture around

them,7 to care for one another,8 to defend their belief in Jesus in the face of

hostility,9 and to heal the sick.10 And in obedience to Christ's own command,

they set forth, bearing witness to the greatest story ever: that God has

become one of us, that the divine has entered human history in order to

transform it, and that we are called to immerse ourselves in Christ's saving

love which triumphs over evil and death. Saint Paul, in his famous speech to

the Areopagus, introduced the message in this way: "God gives everything -

including life and breath - to everyone ... so that all nations might seek God

and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. In fact he is

1 Cfr Acts 1:14; 2:4. 2 Cfr Lk 24:13-32. 3 Cfr Lk 22:24-27. 4 Cfr Lk 22:54-62. 5 Cfr Acts 2:37-38. 6 Cfr Acts 2:42. 7 Cfr Acts 2:40. 8 Cfr Acts 2:44-47. 9 Cfr Acts 4:33.

10 Cfr Acts 5:12-16.