Dear brothers and sisters,

Good morning! Today I would like to dwell on the action that the Holy Spirit performs in guiding the Church and each of us to the Truth. Jesus himself says to his disciples: the Holy Spirit "will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 16:13), being He himself "the Spirit of Truth (cf. Jn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).
We live in an age in which people are rather sceptical towards the truth. Benedict XVI has spoken many times of relativism, of the tendency, that is, to believe that there is nothing definitive and to think that the truth comes from consent or from what we want. The question arises: does "the" truth really exist? What is "the" truth? Can we know it? Can we find it? Here I am reminded of the question of the Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate when Jesus reveals to him the profound meaning of his mission: "What is truth?" (Jn 18:37.38). Pilate fails to understand that "the" Truth is in front of him, he fails to see in Jesus the face of truth, which is the face of God. Yet, Jesus is just that: the Truth that, in the fullness of time, "became flesh" (Jn 1:1.14), that came among us so that we might we know it. The truth cannot be grasped like an object, the truth has to be encountered. It is not a possession; it is an encounter with a Person.

But who will allow us to recognize that Jesus is "the" Word of truth, the only begotten Son of God the Father? St. Paul teaches that "no one can say: 'Jesus is Lord!' except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3). It is the Holy Spirit, the gift of the risen Christ, who makes us recognize the Truth. Jesus calls him the "Paraclete", i.e., "he who comes to help," who is on our side to support us on this journey of knowledge; and, during the Last Supper, Jesus assures his disciples that the Holy Spirit will teach them all things, reminding them of his words (cf. Jn 14:26).

What is then the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the Church to lead us to the truth? First of all, he reminds believers and imprints in their hearts the words that Jesus said, and, precisely through these words, God's law – as the prophets of the Old Testament had announced – is inscribed in our hearts and becomes in us a principle for evaluating our choices and a guide in daily actions, it becomes the principle of life. The great prophecy of Ezekiel is fulfilled: "I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols, I will give you a new heart, I will put within you a new spirit ... I will put my spirit within you and I will make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances"(36:25-27). In fact, it is from the depths of ourselves that our actions are born: it is the heart that must convert to God, and the Holy Spirit transforms it if we open ourselves to Him.

The Holy Spirit, then, as Jesus promised, guides us "into all the truth" (Jn 16:13); he helps us not only to encounter Jesus, the fullness of Truth, but also guides us "into" the Truth, makes us enter into an ever more profound communion with Jesus himself, giving us understanding of the things of God. And we cannot achieve this by our own strength. If God does not enlighten us inwardly, our being Christians will be superficial. The Tradition of the Church states that the Spirit of truth acts in our hearts by arousing that "sense of the faith (sensus fidei) through which, as the Second Vatican Council affirms, the People of God, under the guidance of the Magisterium, adheres indefectibly to the faith transmitted, deepens it with right judgment and applies it more fully in life (cf. Const. Dogm. Lumen Gentium, 12). Let us ask ourselves: am I open to the action of the Holy Spirit, do I pray for it to give me light, to make me more sensitive to the things of God? This is a prayer we must make every day: “Holy Spirit, make my heart be open to the Word of God, that my heart be open to good, that my heart be open to the beauty of God everyday”. I would like to ask you a question: how many of you pray to the Holy Spirit every day? Probably few, but we must satisfy this desire of Jesus and pray every day to the Holy Spirit, so that he opens our heart towards Jesus.

Let us think of Mary, who "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart "(Lk 2:19.51). The welcoming of the words and truths of faith in order that they may become life, happens and grows under the action of the Holy Spirit. In this sense we must learn from Mary, reliving her "Yes," her total willingness to receive the Son of God in her life, which from that moment onwards is transformed. Through the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son come to dwell in us: we live in God and of God. But is our life truly inspired by God? How many things do I put before God?
peace