 |
THE ACTIVITY OF COMMISSIONS
Commission for Interreligious Dialogue
PRESENCE AND ACTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
IN THE WORLD AND IN OTHER RELIGIONS
Giovanni Cereti
The year dedicated to reflection on the Holy Spirit within the context of
preparation for the Great Jubilee also invites us to fix our attention on the
presence and action of the Spirit in other religions and in the world. In fact,
many Christians, and not only those in the Catholic Church, see God's hand at
work in the religious life of followers of other religions and they believe that
all humanity, and thus also the people who follow other religions, live under
the action of the Spirit, which in these last days has been given to all
humankind (cf. Gal 3,1-5; Acts 2,17-21). The Christian
community lives in the firm belief that it is guided by the Spirit, but God's
closeness to humankind, which is accomplished by the power of the Spirit, cannot
be limited to the Christian community alone. The Spirit is free, and blows where
it wills (Jn 3,8); wherever the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom.
The Second Vatican Council had given some very clear guidelines also on this
point, recognizing the presence and action of the Holy Spirit not only in
the Church but also outside it, and above all in other religions. The Spirit
has been at work in the world since the beginning of time:«Without doubt,
the Holy Spirit was at work in the world before Christ was glorified» (AG
4). God's mysterious action in people's hearts, which we attribute to the
Spirit, is mingled with human elements, which are not always positive. «It
(the Church) purges of evil associations those elements of truth and grace which
are found among peoples, and which are, as it were, a secret presence of God;
and it restores them to Christ their source...» (AG 9). In any
case, the salvation brought in Christ through the Spirit works beyond the
Church's frontiers: «All this holds true not for Christians only but also
for all men of good will in whose hearts grace is active invisibly. For since
Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same
destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the
possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal
mystery» (GS 22). All this takes place above all through other
religions. Indeed Vatican II teaches that «whatever good or truth is found»
in other religions is «given by him who enlightens all men that they may at
length have life» (LG 16). Consequently, it seems that through
interreligious dialogue we can discover this action of the Spirit better and
become more docile to it: «Our thoughts go out to all who acknowledge God
and who preserve precious religious and human elements in their traditions; it
is our hope that frank dialogue will spur us all on to receive the impulses of
the Spirit with fidelity and act upon them with alacrity» (GS 92).
Celebrating the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Secretariat for
non-Christians, Paul VI recalled the decisive change that has taken place in the
Church's attitude towards non-Christian religions since the Council. This led
the conciliar Fathers to see in them «a very significant, though
incomplete, expression of the religious genius of mankind, a testimony of the
secret action carried out in the course of the centuries by the grace of the
Holy Spirit - which fills the whole earth (cf.
Wis 1,7; Is 6,3) - in order to bring forth in upright souls "the
seeds of the Word which lie hidden in them" (AG 11), so that those
religious manifestations, in spite of the differences, "often reflect a ray
of that truth which enlightens all men" (NA 2)».
Sincere and full recognition of the Spirit's action in the world and among
non-Christians, fully consistent with biblical facts, has come about in the
Catholic Church above all thanks to the courageous declarations made by John
Paul II. With regard to the Church's reconciliation and dialogue with members of
non-Christian religions, already in his first encyclical John Paul II recalls
the firm belief that accompanies many of them, and that can be an example to
Christians: this, too, is «an effect of the Spirit of truth operating
outside the visible confines of the Mystical Body». Later, speaking of the
Church's mission, he recalls how she must approach with respect «the
magnificent heritage of the human spirit that has been manifested in all
religions». She must, therefore, carry out her mission «with the
esteem, respect and discernment that since the time of the Apostles has marked
the missionary attitude, the attitude of the missionary». Then he refers to
the attitude of Paul in Athens regarding the piety of the Athenians (cf. Acts
17:22-31). «The missionary attitude always begins with a feeling of deep
esteem for "what is in man" (Jn 2,25), for what man has
himself worked out in the depths of his spirit concerning the most profound and
important problems. It is a question of respecting everything that has been
brought about in him by the Spirit, which "blows where it wills" (Jn
3,8)».
In his message addressed from Manila to the people of Asia in 1981, the Pope
says he has come as a witness of the Spirit, who acts in the history of peoples
and nations, and whose action thus seems not to be limited to calling
non-Christians to the Church. «In the Holy Spirit every individual and all
people have become, through the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, children of
God, partakers in the divine nature and heirs to eternal life. All are redeemed
and called to share in glory in Jesus Christ, without any distinction of
language, race, nation or culture».
«God is love (1 Jn 4,8-16). This saving love of God has been
revealed and communicated to mankind in Christ and is present and active
throughout the world by means of the Holy Spirit», affirms the 1984
document of the Secretariat for non-Christians on Dialogue and Mission.
Later, it continues by acknowledging that «in God, the Holy Spirit, our
faith allows us to perceive the force of life and movement and continuous
regeneration (cf. LG 4) who acts in the depth of people's consciences
and accompanies them on the secret path of hearts towards the truth (cf. GS
22). The Spirit also works "outside the visible confines of the Mystical
Body" (RH 6; cf. LG 16; GS 22; AG 15). The
Spirit both anticipates and accompanies the path of the Church which,
nevertheless, feels itself impelled to discern the signs of Her presence, to
follow Her wherever She leads and to serve Her as a humble and discrete
collaborator». In the encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem the theme
is taken up again with the affirmation regarding the universal action of the
Holy Spirit in the world not only in the course of these two thousand years of
Christianity but going even further back, to before Christ «from the
beginning, throughout the world, and especially in the economy of the Old
Covenant». Today, therefore, we need to «look further and go further
afield, knowing that the wind blows where it wills, according to the
image used by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus (Jn 3,8). The
Second Vatican Council... reminds us of the Holy Spirit's activity also
outside the visible body of the Church».
A few months after the publication of the Encyclical the Day of Prayer for
Peace was held in Assisi. Answering those who asked him about its theological
foundation, John Paul II felt he had to defend it in an address to the Roman
Curia, at Christmas 1986, in which he declared forcefully that, «every
authentic prayer is under the influence of the Spirit... We can indeed maintain
that every authentic prayer is called forth by the Holy Spirit, who is
mysteriously present in the heart of every person».
This intervention was mentioned in the Document of 1991, Dialogue and
Proclamation. After recalling that the positive values acknowledged by the
Second Vatican Council, «not only in the religious life of individual
believers of other religious traditions, but also in the religious traditions to
which they belong», are attributed by this same Council «to the active
presence of God through his Word, pointing also to the universal action of the
Spirit», the same document continues: «In his address to the Roman
Curia after the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, Pope John Paul II
stressed once more the universal presence of the Holy Spirit, stating that every
authentic prayer is called forth by the Holy Spirit, who is mysteriously present
in the heart of every person, Christian or otherwise. But again, in the same
discourse, the Pope, going beyond an individual perspective, articulated the
main elements which together can be seen as constituting the theological basis
for a positive approach to other religious traditions and the practice of
interreligious dialogue». Among these, «there needs to be mentioned
the active presence of the Holy Spirit in the religious life of the members of
the other religious traditions».
This brings consequences that fill us with great hope regarding the
possibility of salvation for all humanity, even for those who still do not know
Christ. «From this mystery of unity it follows that all men and women who
are saved share, though differently, in the same mystery of salvation in Jesus
Christ through his Spirit. Christians know this through their faith, while
others remain unaware that Jesus Christ is the source of their salvation. The
mystery of salvation reaches out to them, in a way known to God, through the
invisible action of the Spirit of Christ».
Immediately afterwards the same document also affirms that «the fruits
of the Spirit of God in the personal life of individuals, whether Christian or
otherwise, are easily discernible (cf. Gal 5,22-23). To identify in
other religious traditions elements of grace capable of sustaining the positive
response of their members to God's invitation is much more difficult. It
requires a discernment for which criteria have to be established. Sincere
individuals marked by the Spirit of God have certainly put their imprint on the
elaboration and the development of their respective religious traditions».
These teachings are reflected and, as it were, taken up again in the
encyclical Redemptoris Missio, which, after recalling that «the
Spirit's presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and
history, peoples, cultures and religions», reaffirms that the same Spirit «who
blows where he wills (Jn 3,8), who was already at work in the
world before Christ was glorified (AG 4), and who has filled the world,
... holds all things together (and) knows what is said (Wis 1,7),
leads us to broaden our vision in order to ponder his activity in every time and
place».
Apart from acknowledging the Spirit's action in other religious traditions,
the reflection on the Holy Spirit proposed for next year could consider two
other views which are closely connected. The first involves recognizing that it
is the Spirit's action in the Church that has brought an awareness and a change
in the way the Church considers the reality of other religions. The Church is
led by the Spirit and it is under the guidance of the Spirit that she has
changed her attitude to other religions and has devoted herself to the
advancement of interreligious dialogue. Inviting all to be fully docile to
this action of the Spirit, the document Dialogue and Proclamation asks
Christians and others to «collaborate with the Spirit of the Risen Lord who
is universally present and active. Interreligious dialogue does not merely aim
at mutual understanding and friendly relations. It reaches a much deeper level,
that of the spirit, where exchange and sharing consist in a mutual witness to
one's beliefs and a common exploration of one's respective religious convictions».
The second concerns the Spirit's action in bringing to completion - and
fullness - knowledge of Christian revelation, according to the Lord's
promise, by which «the Holy Spirit will lead you to the whole truth...»
(Jn 16,13). In fact this fullness is reached also through the
contributions, purifications, provocations and enrichments that can come to the
Christian community from the great world religions. The document Dialogue
and Proclamation also insists on this point. «In dialogue Christians
and others are invited to deepen their religious commitment, to respond with
increasing sincerity to God's personal call and gracious self-gift which, as our
faith tells us, always passes through the mediation of Jesus Christ and the work
of his Spirit». Through confrontation, dialogue and peaceful competition
with the great world religious traditions, by the power of the Spirit,
Christians increase their understanding of their own faith and are impelled to
live it ever more fully with fidelity and love.
|