Pope Francis encouraged Christians to spread the fragrance of Christ throughout the world during the general audience held on Wednesday in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican, which was attended by numerous newly married couples, a detail that the Pontiff himself highlighted in his initial greeting.
In the sixth catechesis of the cycle entitled The Holy Spirit and the Bride , which began on May 29, Pope Francis focused on the passage of the spiritual anointing of Christ that occurred during his baptism in the Jordan River.
In it, he pointed out that “We know that, unfortunately, sometimes Christians do not spread the fragrance of Christ, but the bad smell of their own sin,” however, he emphasized, “this should not distract us from our commitment to carry out, to the extent of our possibilities and each one in his own environment, this sublime vocation of being the good smell of Christ in the world.”
This fragrance, he added, comes from the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which he cited following St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians: love, joy, peace, magnanimity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
In this regard, the Pontiff reflected on the impact produced by people who, through the grace of the Spirit, transmit these gifts: “A loving, joyful person who creates peace; a magnanimous person; a benevolent person, a good person… It is beautiful to meet a good person, a faithful person, a gentle person who is not envious. Someone will feel a little of this fragrance when we find ourselves among these people.”
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The Pope explained during the catechesis that in the passage about the baptism we see how “the whole Trinity gathered at that moment on the banks of the Jordan,” in a “very important moment of Revelation and of the history of salvation” that is confirmed shortly after in Jesus’ preaching in the synagogue of Nazareth: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”
In the Jordan, Jesus was anointed, Pope Francis explained, as kings, prophets and priests were anointed with perfumed oil: “In the case of Christ, instead of physical oil, there is spiritual oil which is the Holy Spirit.”
This is why Jesus is designated by the terms Messiah (in Hebrew) and Christ (in Greek) which mean “anointed one”. “Christ is the head, our High Priest, the Holy Spirit is the perfumed oil and the Church is the body of Christ in which it is spread”, the Pope explained.