Theologico-Historical Commission

THREE STORIES OF THE SPIRIT

Giuseppe Scotti

The word of John Paul II in Tertio Millennio Adveniente is explicit: «In 1998, the second year of the preparatory phase, will be dedicated in a particular way to the Holy Spirit and to his sanctifying presence within the Community of Christ's disciples». And shortly after, he adds: «The Church cannot prepare for the new millennium "in any other way than in the Holy Spirit"». Welcoming with great availability and in profound spirit of faith these assertive words of the Pope, the Church of Milan moves to live the second year of the preparatory phase of the Jubilee with the new pastoral letter of Cardinal Maria Martini, which has as its title Three Stories of the Spirit.

It is the 14th letter written by the Archbishop of Milan for the faithful of his diocese during his 17 years in the Episcopate. The main aim of the pastoral letter of the Archbishop is that of entering even more firmly in the climate of preparation for the Jubilee. It is a preparation made of reflections, prayers and study to use as a credible model of the Church in a society which has characteristics of secularization introduced by the neopagan culture. In fact, Cardinal Martini writes: «These are the reflections which are proposed to the Diocese in the pastoral year of 1997/1998, which for us will be the second year of preparation of the great Jubilee». The Cardinal reminds us again that the last year was «dedicated to the centrality of Jesus Christ, Son of God» as the Pope invited in Tertio Millennio Adveniente in number 40. In fact, we read, in the Apostolic Letter that «The first year, 1997, will thus be devoted to reflection on Christ, the Word of God, made man by the power of the Holy Spirit. The distinctly Christological character of the Jubilee needs to be emphasized, for it will celebrate the Incarnation and coming into the world of the Son of God, the mystery of salvation for all mankind»

Assertive words, to which the Church of Milan responded with a «Saint Ambrogio year». In 1997, it was the year which thus became one, in which the 1600 years since the death of Ambrogio were commemorated, while making central the remembrance of the affirmation which constituted the central nucleus of the preaching of the great Bishop: «Everything is Christ for us».

Now for 1998, Cardinal Martini, with the letter of The Three Stories of the Spirit, he invites us to re-examine the face of the Ambrogian Christian community, beginning with what he calls «a decalogue of life according to the Spirit». But before reaching this, decalogue, the Bishop of Milan - in a sort of fraternal communication of faith - decides that it is the case to express with liberty something personal. In this way, he brings himself into play, narrating something of real experience of faith, read in the opening lines of the letter: «I don't remember the exact day - he writes - but I remember that it was the month of July in 1970. I was then 43 years old. I was holding a course on the Acts of the Apostles at the University of San Francisco, in California. More than ever, in the continuous lessons and in the contact with the students, a question in me burned: are there in the Church of our time, similar communities which are talked about in this book? Where do we find today that joy, that enthusiasm of prayer, that strength of witness, whose story, after two millennium, still fascinates us? Where do we find assemblies like those spoken about by Saint Paul, in which he who enters as a stranger is found to be at a certain point understood, revealed, involved and feels the acclamation born spontaneously: "Truly, God is amongst you"».

This is therefore the sense of the second year of preparation for the great Jubilee of the year 2000. In the words and the writing of the Bishop of Milan, there is first of all, a strong exhortation to the Church, so that it regains the «conviction that the Spirit exists, even today, just like the time of Jesus and the Apostles». I invite you to open the eyes of the heart, but also those of the mind, to realize that the Spirit «is there and is working, he arrives before us, works longer than us and better than us: it is up to us to not plant it or wake it, but rather to recognize it, welcome it, agree with it, lead it, and follow it».

Simple words, which strike at the hearts of every believer. It is like this that Cardinal Martini warns the Ambrogian Church to grasp that «the real place in the game is the opening to the invisible, its the Transcendental experience, it is the encounter with the Spirit, who is the Lord and gives life and can solicit the newness of God seen in the heart or in the most sealed environment, heavy and sick».

We find in this text of the Cardinal of Milan the entire theological reflection which pushed John Paul II to write in 1994: «It is important that in the primary preparations for the Jubilee include the rediscovery of the presence and the action of the Spirit, which acts in the Church and in the Sacraments, especially through Confirmation, and though multiple charisms, roles and ministries which he inspires for the good of the Church». In the writings of the Archbishop to his Church we find the richness of the words of the Pope, to which there is added another treasure of knowledge and of faith which comes from the Church of Milan, thanks to the Saint Ambrogian year. It is not by chance that in the many conferences of study which were held in Milan, many times it was affirmed that «Ambrogio is the most Oriental of Western theologians» and to sustain this expression, that it is he who is extremely careful on the theology of the Spirit to the point of proclaiming: «Even river was said to be the Holy Spirit». And, continuing in the citations of Ambrogio, the Cardinal Martini writes: «Therefore, a river is the Holy Spirit, its a great river, since...it starts from the intimacy of Jesus, as we learn from the prophecy of Isaiah. Great is this river, which runs and never comes less, and not only is it a river, but also a river of vast impetus and of extraordinary greatness, just as David also said: "The impetus of the river waters the city of God." The "city of God," the famous Jerusalem, is not wet by the course of some terrestrial river, but that of the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the source of life and which quenches us with a small taste, it runs, it seems to be, in those celestial "thrones, domination and powers," angels and archangels, with more grand abundance, full in its course of the seven spiritual virtues. If, therefore the river overflows after having surpassed the summits of the embankment, how much more the Spirit, surpassed every creature, if on one side it flowers the lower fields, and that is those of our mind, and on the other side it feeds the nature of the celestial creatures with a greater fertility of sanctification!»

It is a long passage to restate the fundamental importance of the Spirit which «is invisible and is everywhere, it pervades all things and is beyond everything». The Spirit which tells the story by itself, according to the expression of the Cardinal, to finally say «all that the Spirit is and does for Jesus; that is that the Spirit is and does for man; that is that the Spirit is and does for the world». It is the second part of the Three Stories of the Spirit which can be defined as the theological part of the letter. In this attempt by the Bishop to tell the Church the work, action and the person of the Spirit, there is not only the desire of the attention to the Oriental theology and to contribute to build a correct ecumenical relationship, but there is also the knowledge, just as John Paul II wrote, that the «Spirit is also for our epoch the principal agent of the new evangelization. It is therefore important to rediscover the Spirit as he who builds the Kingdom of God in the course of history and prepares his full manifestation in Jesus Christ, animating men in themselves and letting the seeds of definitive salvation grow within the entire human life, the salvation that will come at the end of our time».

The Church of Milan, so rich in history and in faith, so full of grace to the point of being able to count an innumerable spectrum of Saints born in its bosom, begins like this to «grasp the mystery of the living God, here and now».