Pope Francis wrapped up his teaching on St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians on November 10, pausing to give a lesson on how to pray to the Holy Spirit. St. Paul's constant exhortation is to experience the freedom of "walking according to the Spirit."
"We must trust that the Spirit always comes to assist us in our weakness and grants us the support we need," the Pope said.
He encouraged: "Let us, therefore, learn to invoke the Holy Spirit more often!"
But then, the Pope acknowledged that we might question how to pray to the Holy Spirit:
The Pope answered by emphasizing one word: Come.
Like Mary and the Apostles
The Holy Father suggested that another aid to our prayer could be the Church's prayer from the Feast of Pentecost, which he suggested carrying with us, tucked in the Gospel. He has repeatedly exhorted the faithful to carry the Gospels in a pocket or purse, to be able to take a few seconds with Scripture, as we wait in line or in other moments.
He recited part of the Church's Pentecost prayer:
"And so it continues, it is a very beautiful prayer," but the "gist of the prayer is 'Come,' as the Madonna and the Apostles prayed during the days when Christ ascended into Heaven. They were alone in the Upper Room begging: Come, that the Spirit would come."
"It would be good for us to pray it often," the Pope said. "Come, Holy Spirit."
