Pope's Pentecost Regina Coeli: How can I better listen to Holy Spirit?

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

May we be docile to the voice of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis prayed this Solemnity of Pentecost during his noon Regina Coeli address in the Vatican.

As he addressed the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square from his window of the Apostolic Palace, the Pope recalled that today we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles.

Highlighting that in today's Gospel, Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit and says that He will teach us “whatever He hears,” the Pope asked, "what does this expression mean? What has the Holy Spirit heard? What will He speak about?"

Shedding light on the responses, the Pope said He speaks to us with words that express wonderful feelings, such as affection, gratitude, entrustment, and mercy, "that reveal to us a beautiful, luminous, concrete, and lasting relationship, such as the eternal Love of God."

Nourishing ourselves daily

They are precisely, he continued, "the transformative words of love," which the Holy Spirit repeats in us, and, which are good for us to hear, "because they give rise to and nurture in our hearts the same feelings and intentions."

For this reason, he said, it is important to nourish ourselves with them every day by reading a piece of the Gospel, which we can do easily by "having a small pocket Gospel that we carry around with us."

Making room for Holy Spirit's voice

Listening to the Lord's Word, and channeling Him in personal prayer and adoration, he suggested, helps us make room in ourselves for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Even in saying good words to each other, he added, we also become for one other "an echo of the gentle voice of the Consoler."

"Reading and meditating on the Gospel, praying in silence, saying good words: they are not difficult things; we can all do them."

With Mary's help

Therefore, Pope Francis invited faithful to ask themselves, "What place do these actions have in my life? How can I cultivate them to better listen to the Holy Spirit and become an echo of Him for others?"

Pope Francis concluded by imploring the Blessed Mother, who was present at Pentecost with the Apostles, to make us docile to the voice of the Holy Spirit.