Word Word of of

LifeLife

Word Word of of

LifeLife

May 2008May 2008May 2008May 2008

““Where the Spirit of the Lord Where the Spirit of the Lord

is, there is freedom.”is, there is freedom.” ((2 Cor2 Cor 3, 3,

17)17)

The apostle Paul The apostle Paul wrote to the wrote to the

Christians of Corinth Christians of Corinth who were especially who were especially dear to him. While dear to him. While

he lived among them he lived among them for almost two years, for almost two years,

between the years between the years 50 and 52 AD, he 50 and 52 AD, he

sowed the word of sowed the word of God, laying the God, laying the

foundations of the foundations of the Christian community Christian community

to the point of to the point of generating it like a generating it like a

father father ..

A few years later, when he went back to visit them, some members of the community publicly

challenged his authority as an apostle. This was the occasion for reaffirming the greatness of his

ministry. He was announcing the Gospel not on his own initiative, but because he had been moved to

do so by God.

For him, the word of God was no longer veiled

because the Holy Spirit had enabled him to understand

it in the light of what had taken place in Christ

Jesus.

This is why he could live it and announce it in full liberty. It enabled

him to enter into communion with the Lord, and to be transformed in him to the point of being guided by his own

Spirit of freedom.

““Where the Spirit of the Lord Where the Spirit of the Lord

is, there is freedom.”is, there is freedom.”

The risen Jesus, the Lord, continues to act in history today, as in Paul’s time, and to act

particularly in the Christian community, through his Spirit.

He also enables us to

understand the Gospel in all its

newness, writing it on our hearts so

that it becomes our law of life.

We are not guided by laws imposed on us from without, we are not slaves forced to obey

regulations which we are not convinced about or that we do not share.

A Christian is moved by a principle of interior A Christian is moved by a principle of interior life that the Spirit has placed in him or her life that the Spirit has placed in him or her

through baptism, moved by the Spirit’s voice through baptism, moved by the Spirit’s voice which repeats the words of Jesus and makes which repeats the words of Jesus and makes

them understood in all their beauty, as them understood in all their beauty, as expressions of life and joy. He makes them expressions of life and joy. He makes them

timely, he teaches us how to live them and he timely, he teaches us how to live them and he also infuses in us the strength to put them into also infuses in us the strength to put them into

practice. practice.

It is the Lord himself who, thanks to the Holy Spirit, comes to live and act in us,

transforming us into a living Gospel.

To be guided by the Lord, by his Spirit, by his word: this is true freedom! It also

coincides with our deepest self-fulfillment.

““Where the Spirit of the Lord Where the Spirit of the Lord

is, there is freedom.”is, there is freedom.”

But we know that for the Holy Spirit to act, we must be ready to listen to him completely,

ready to change our way of seeing things, if necessary, and then to adhere fully to what his

voice tells us.

It is easy to become slaves or It is easy to become slaves or allow ourselves to be influenced allow ourselves to be influenced by the pressures exerted on us by the pressures exerted on us by customs and social approval, by customs and social approval, which can then lead to mistaken which can then lead to mistaken

choices.choices.

In order to live the Word of In order to live the Word of Life this month, we need to Life this month, we need to learn how to say a decisive learn how to say a decisive

no to the negative that no to the negative that surfaces in our heart every surfaces in our heart every time we are tempted to put time we are tempted to put

up with behavior that is up with behavior that is not in line with the Gospel;not in line with the Gospel;

to learn to say a convinced yes to God

each time we feel he is calling us to live in truth and in love.

We will discover the We will discover the connection between connection between

the cross and the the cross and the Spirit, as between Spirit, as between cause and effect.cause and effect.

Each cut, each pruning, each no to our egoism Each cut, each pruning, each no to our egoism becomes a source of new light, of peace, of becomes a source of new light, of peace, of joy, of love, of inner freedom, and of self-joy, of love, of inner freedom, and of self-

fulfillment; it is an open door to the Spirit. fulfillment; it is an open door to the Spirit.

During this time of Pentecost, he will then be able to bestow his gifts on us more abundantly: he will guide us; consequently we will be recognized as

true sons and daughters of God. We will be increasingly freer from evil, increasingly freer to

love.

““Where the Spirit of the Lord Where the Spirit of the Lord

is, there is freedom.”is, there is freedom.”

It was precisely freedom that an

officer of the United Nations found during his last

assignment in one of the Balkan nations.

The missions entrusted to him were gratifying,

although extremely demanding.

One great difficulty was the prolonged periods away from his family. When he returned home it was also hard to leave outside the door the burden of work he was involved in and then, free from worries, to devote himself to his

children and wife.

Suddenly he was told about being transferred to another city in the same region. It was not possible to bring his family with him because, in spite of the peace agreements recently signed, the hostilities continued. What to do? What was more important, his career or the family? He spoke at length about

it with his wife, with whom he had long been sharing an intense Christian life.

They also asked for light from the Holy Spirit and together, they sought to do the will of God for their family. Finally, the decision was made: to leave his job, such a sought-after job. It was truly an unusual decision in that professional

environment.

“The strength to make this

choice,” he himself shared, “was the fruit of mutual love with

my wife, who never made me feel the burden

of the discomforts I had

been causing her. For my part, I had sought the

good of the family, beyond

economic security and my

career, and I found real inner

freedom.”

““Where the Spirit of the Lord Where the Spirit of the Lord

is, there is freedom.”is, there is freedom.”

Text by Chiara Lubich