Today was the final catechesis from Pope Francis on Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. During his general weekly audience, the Holy Father spoke about St. Paul “as an apostle, as a theologian, as a pastor—three ways that he really seems to present himself in this letter,” said Relevant Radio Rome Correspondent Ashley Noronha.

She explained that the Pope encourages the faithful to take to heart this letter and “pursue the way of Christian love” which “should be a reminder to not grow weary, to not get discouraged by failures, by lack of progress, but continue on in a stanch way of pursuing that path of Christian love.”

Of course, our journey will not always be easy—St. Paul’s certainly was not! What should we do when we face difficulty and struggles? The Holy Father tells us to follow the example of the disciples on the boat in the midst of a storm.

“What did the apostles do? They woke Christ up. Wake up Christ who sleeps and you are in the storm, but He is present. This is the only thing we can do in terrible moments: wake up Christ who is within us, but sleeps like [He did] in the boat. It is exactly like this. We must rouse Christ in our hearts and only then will we be able to contemplate things with his eyes for He sees beyond the storm. Through that serene gaze, we can see a panorama that is not even conceivable on our own.”

Call to the Holy Spirit

Finally, Pope Francis spoke about calling on the Holy Spirit to help us in Christian life. He gave instructions for how we are to invoke the Holy Spirit in moments of difficulty.

“In difficult moments, you need to ask: “Holy Spirit, come”. The key word is this: come. Come. But you need to say it yourself in your own words. Come, because I find myself in difficulty. Come, because I am in the dark. Come, because I don’t know what to do. Come, because I am about to fall. Come. Come. This is the Holy Spirit’s word – how to call upon the Spirit.”

The Holy Father encourages you to call upon the Spirit frequently during the day and using these simple words: Come, Holy Spirit. Why do we need the Holy Spirit to work in our lives? His presence protects our Christian freedom, explains Pope Francis.

“This prayer will help us walk in the Spirit, in freedom and in joy because when the Holy Spirit comes, joy, true joy comes.”

Listen to the Relevant in Rome podcast for more from Ashley Noronha about this week’s general audience. Find a new episode weekly on the Relevant Radio app!

 

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