Recognizing the difficulties of the new converts, they agreed not to impose excessive burdens on them, but rather to insist only on what was essential (cf. Acts 15:2829). In this way, what might have seemed a problem became for everyone an opportunity for reflection and growth. The biblical text, however, tells us something else, beyond the rich and interesting human dynamics of the event. We see this in the words used by the brethren in Jerusalem to communicate their decisions to those in Antioch. They wrote: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (cf. Acts 15:28). In other words, they emphasized that the most important part of the entire event was listening to God’s voice, which made everything else possible. In this way, they remind us that communion is built primarily “on our knees,” through prayer and constant commitment to conversion. For only in this way can each of us hear within the voice of the Spirit crying out: “Abba! Father!” (Gal 4:6) and then, as a result, listen to and understand others as our brothers and sisters. The Gospel reaffirms this point (cf. Jn 14:23-29). It assures us that we are not alone in making our decisions in life. The Spirit sustains us and shows us the way to follow, “teaching” us and “reminding” us of all that Jesus said to us (cf. Jn 14:26). First, the Spirit teaches us the Lord’s words by impressing them deep within us, written, as the biblical image would have it, no longer on tablets of stone but in our hearts (cf. Jer 31:33). This gift helps us grow and become “a letter of Christ” (cf. 2 Cor 3:3) for one another. Naturally, the more we let ourselves be convinced and transformed by the Gospel — allowing the power of the Spirit to purify our heart, to make our words straightforward, our desires honest and clear, and our actions generous — the more capable we are of proclaiming its message. Here, the other verb comes into play: we remember, that is, we reflect in our hearts upon what we have experienced and learned, in order to understand more fully its meaning and to savour its beauty. I think in this regard of the challenging process of listening that the Diocese of Rome has undertaken in these years, a process carried out at various levels: listening to the world around us to respond to its challenges, and listening within our communities to understand needs and to propose sage and prophetic initiatives of evangelization and charity. This has been a challenging, ongoing journey meant to embrace a very rich and complex reality. Yet it is worthy of the history of this local Church, which has shown, time and again, that it is able to “think big”, unafraid to embark on bold projects and to confront new and challenging scenarios. This is evident in the great efforts and many initiatives that the Diocese has made to welcome and provide for the needs of pilgrims during the present Jubilee.
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