POPE FRANCIS
GENERAL AUDIENCE
St. Peter's Square
Wednesday, 1st October 2014
Speaker:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis on the Church, we now turn to the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit which enliven and enrich the Body of Christ. Among these gifts are charisms, the graces which the Spirit freely bestows upon the faithful for the benefit of the whole community. These gifts, while granted to individuals, are discovered and acknowledged within the wider ecclesial community. As a sign of God’s superabundant love for his children, they are rich and varied, yet each is meant to serve the building up of the Church as a communion of faith and love. The very diversity of the Spirit’s gifts invites us to share them generously for the good of all, and never to let them become a source of division. Today let us ask the Lord to help us recognize with gratitude this great outpouring of spiritual gifts which enables the Church to persevere in faith, to grow in grace and to be an ever more credible sign and witness of God’s infinite love. In a particular way, may each of us consider the special gifts he or she has received, and how we choose to use those gifts to advance the Church’s unity, life and mission in the world.
