Office for Christian Unity,
Thursday, September 22nd, 2022
Meditation
The Gift of Knowledge
Today I would like to highlight another gift of the Holy Spirit: the gift of knowledge. When we speak of knowledge, we immediately think of man’s capacity to learn more and more about the reality that surrounds him and to discover the laws that regulate nature and the universe. The knowledge that comes from the Holy Spirit, however, is not limited to human knowledge; it is a special gift, which leads us to grasp, through creation, the greatness and love of God and his profound relationship with every creature.
When our eyes are illumined by the Spirit, they open to contemplate God, in the beauty of nature and in the grandeur of the cosmos, and they lead us to discover how everything speaks to us about Him and His love. All of this arouses in us great wonder and a profound sense of gratitude! It is the sensation we experience when we admire a work of art or any marvel whatsoever that is borne of the genius and creativity of man: before all this, the Spirit leads us to praise the Lord from the depths of our heart and to recognize, in all that we have and all that we are, an invaluable gift of God and a sign of his infinite love for us.
[…]
the gift of knowledge helps us not to fall into attitudes of excess or error. The first lies in the risk of considering ourselves the masters of creation. Creation is not some possession that we can lord over for our own pleasure; nor, even less, is it the property of only some people, the few: creation is a gift, it is the marvellous gift that God has given us, so that we will take care of it and harness it for the benefit of all, always with great respect and gratitude. The second erroneous attitude is represented by the temptation to stop at creatures, as if these could provide the answer to all our expectations. With the gift of knowledge, the Spirit helps us not to fall into this error.
[…] We must protect creation for it is a gift which the Lord has given us, it is God’s present to us; we are the guardians of creation.
POPE FRANCIS, GENERAL AUDIENCE, St. Peter’s Square Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Intercessions
Prepared by our brothers and sisters from Chambery
To be used as appropriate
(Intercessory Chorus)
1 / For several years, major Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Anglican organizations have united to encourage Christians around the world to pray from September 1 to October 4 for creation, and to engage together in concrete actions for the ‘environment. This year’s theme, “Listen to the voice of creation”, makes us realize that we must listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Lord, together with Pope Francis, we pray to you:
The poor and the earth cry out:
Lord take hold of us
By your power and your light
To protect all life,
To prepare for a better future,
Therefore, that comes
Your Kingdom of justice, peace, love and beauty.
(Intercessory Chorus)
2/Lord, we pray to you for the unity of your Church in Savoy, we entrust to you all the unity initiatives that are taking place at the beginning of the year. We ask your blessing on the leaders of each of the Christian denominations in this region; grant them the grace to be servants of unity and ambassadors of fraternal relations.
(Intercessory Chorus)
3/ Lord, we pray to you for the unity of your Church in Savoy, we entrust to you all the unity initiatives that are taking place at the beginning of the year. We ask your blessing on the leaders of each of the Christian denominations in this region; grant them the grace to be servants of unity and ambassadors of fraternal relations.