This morning's General Audience began at 10:15am in Saint Peter's Square where the Holy Father met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from all over Italy and from various parts of the world.
Shortly before 9:00am today, before making his way to the Square, the Pope stopped in the Paul VI Hall to greet those who were sick, along with their family members and friends.
In his catechesis, Pope Francis continued the new cycle of teachings dedicated to the Church, adding a meditation on the theme of belonging to the people of God.
Following the catechesis, which was spoken in its entirety in Italian, summaries of this teaching were presented in various languages, and the Holy Father addressed special greetings to each of the groups of people who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
Today, there is another group of pilgrims gathered here with us in the Paul VI Hall: they are pilgrims who are sick. In this weather, since it is so warm and there is a possibility of rain, it was a wiser choice to have them gather there. They are able to see and hear us though, over the jumbotron, so we are united at the same audience. Let's all pray today especially for them, for those who are sick. Thank you.
In the first catechesis on the Church, last Wednesday, we began with the initiative of God who wants to gather a people who carry his blessing to all people of the world. He began with Abraham and then, patiently - and God has patience, he has lots of patience - he prepares this people though the Old Covenant so that, in Jesus Christ, they might become a sign and an instrument of unity between man and God and between themselves (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 1). Today, we want to focus on the importance, for Christians, of being a part of this people. We will speak today about belonging to the Church.
We are not isolated or alone, and we are not individual Christians, each of us on our own, no! Our Christian identity is based on belonging! We are Christians because we belong to the Church. It's like a family name: if our first name is I am a Christian, our surname is I belong to the Church. It is beautiful to see how this belonging is expressed even in the name that God gives to himself. Responding to Moses, in the wonderful encounter at the burning bush (cf. Ex 3:15), He defines himself in fact as the God of our fathers. He doesn't say: I am the Omnipotent One ... no: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. In this way, He shows himself to be the God who established a covenant with our fathers and who always remains faithful to this covenant. He invites us to enter into this relationship which has preceded us. This relationship of God with his people has existed before any of us, it was established in the time of our fathers in faith.
In this sense, our thoughts are drawn in the first place, with gratitude toward those who have preceded us and who were welcomed in the Church. No one becomes a Christian by himself or herself! Is this clear? No one becomes a Christian by himself or herself! Christians are not manufactured in a laboratory. Christians are part of a people who have existed for a long time. Christians belong to a people who are called Church and this Church makes them Christian, on the day of their baptism, and then through the teaching of the faith in catechesis, and so on. But no one, no one becomes a Christian on his or her own. If we believe, if we know how to pray, if we know the Lord and if we can listen to his Word, we will be close to him and recognize him in our brothers and sisters, and we will understand that before us, there were others who lived the faith: those who have passed it on to us. We have received the faith from our fathers, from our ancestors, and they have taught it to us. If we think about it, who knows how many beloved faces are passing before our eyes or in our hearts, even at this moment: perhaps we are thinking about the faces of our parents who asked to have us baptized; or the face of our grandmother or some other family member who taught us to make the sign of the cross and to say our very first prayers. I always remember the face of the nun who taught me catechism, she always comes to mind - she is in heaven, I'm sure, because she is a holy woman - but I always remember her and give thanks to God for this nun. Perhaps we remember the face of a pastor or another priest, or a nun, or a catechist who passed on to us the content of faith and helped us to grow as Christians ... That's the Church: a big family, into which people are welcomed, where they learn to live by faith and to be disciples of the Lord Jesus.
This journey is possible, not only thanks to other people, but with other people. In the Church, there are no do it yourselfers, there are no free agents. Pope Benedict spoke many times of the Church as an ecclesial we! Sometimes, you might hear someone say: I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, but the Church is of no interest to me ... How many times have we heard this? This kind of statement makes no sense. There are some who think that you can have a personal, direct relationship with Jesus Christ without any need for the communion or the mediation of the Church. These are dangerous and harmful temptations. They are, as the great Paul VI used to say, absurd dichotomies. It is true that journeying together is challenging, sometimes it can be tiring: then it happens that one of our brothers or sisters has a problem, or causes a scandal ... But the Lord has entrusted his message of salvation to human beings, to all of us, we are his witnesses; in our brothers and sisters, with their gifts and their limitations, we meet the Lord and we come to recognize his presence. This is what it means to belong to the Church. Remember it well: to be a Christian means to belong to the Church. Our first name is Christian, our family name is belonging to the Church.
Dear friends, let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to grant us the grace of never falling into the temptation of thinking that we can do without others, that we can do without the Church, that we can be saved on our own, that we can be laboratory Christians. On the contrary, we cannot love God if we don't love our brothers and sisters, we cannot love God outside of the Church; we cannot be in communion with God without being in communion with the Church, and we cannot be good Christians if we do not strive to be one with all those who seek to follow the Lord Jesus, as part of one people, one body, and this is the Church. Thank you.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and His Holiness spoke greetings to each group of the faithful who were present, according to language groupings. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer a cordial greeting to the delegation of Bethlehem University, which this year celebrates the fortieth anniversary of its establishment, with appreciation for its praiseworthy educational apostolate among the Palestinian people. I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Greece, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, the Antilles and the United States. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus.
Shortly before 9:00am today, before making his way to the Square, the Pope stopped in the Paul VI Hall to greet those who were sick, along with their family members and friends.
In his catechesis, Pope Francis continued the new cycle of teachings dedicated to the Church, adding a meditation on the theme of belonging to the people of God.
Following the catechesis, which was spoken in its entirety in Italian, summaries of this teaching were presented in various languages, and the Holy Father addressed special greetings to each of the groups of people who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
Today, there is another group of pilgrims gathered here with us in the Paul VI Hall: they are pilgrims who are sick. In this weather, since it is so warm and there is a possibility of rain, it was a wiser choice to have them gather there. They are able to see and hear us though, over the jumbotron, so we are united at the same audience. Let's all pray today especially for them, for those who are sick. Thank you.
In the first catechesis on the Church, last Wednesday, we began with the initiative of God who wants to gather a people who carry his blessing to all people of the world. He began with Abraham and then, patiently - and God has patience, he has lots of patience - he prepares this people though the Old Covenant so that, in Jesus Christ, they might become a sign and an instrument of unity between man and God and between themselves (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 1). Today, we want to focus on the importance, for Christians, of being a part of this people. We will speak today about belonging to the Church.
We are not isolated or alone, and we are not individual Christians, each of us on our own, no! Our Christian identity is based on belonging! We are Christians because we belong to the Church. It's like a family name: if our first name is I am a Christian, our surname is I belong to the Church. It is beautiful to see how this belonging is expressed even in the name that God gives to himself. Responding to Moses, in the wonderful encounter at the burning bush (cf. Ex 3:15), He defines himself in fact as the God of our fathers. He doesn't say: I am the Omnipotent One ... no: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. In this way, He shows himself to be the God who established a covenant with our fathers and who always remains faithful to this covenant. He invites us to enter into this relationship which has preceded us. This relationship of God with his people has existed before any of us, it was established in the time of our fathers in faith.
In this sense, our thoughts are drawn in the first place, with gratitude toward those who have preceded us and who were welcomed in the Church. No one becomes a Christian by himself or herself! Is this clear? No one becomes a Christian by himself or herself! Christians are not manufactured in a laboratory. Christians are part of a people who have existed for a long time. Christians belong to a people who are called Church and this Church makes them Christian, on the day of their baptism, and then through the teaching of the faith in catechesis, and so on. But no one, no one becomes a Christian on his or her own. If we believe, if we know how to pray, if we know the Lord and if we can listen to his Word, we will be close to him and recognize him in our brothers and sisters, and we will understand that before us, there were others who lived the faith: those who have passed it on to us. We have received the faith from our fathers, from our ancestors, and they have taught it to us. If we think about it, who knows how many beloved faces are passing before our eyes or in our hearts, even at this moment: perhaps we are thinking about the faces of our parents who asked to have us baptized; or the face of our grandmother or some other family member who taught us to make the sign of the cross and to say our very first prayers. I always remember the face of the nun who taught me catechism, she always comes to mind - she is in heaven, I'm sure, because she is a holy woman - but I always remember her and give thanks to God for this nun. Perhaps we remember the face of a pastor or another priest, or a nun, or a catechist who passed on to us the content of faith and helped us to grow as Christians ... That's the Church: a big family, into which people are welcomed, where they learn to live by faith and to be disciples of the Lord Jesus.
This journey is possible, not only thanks to other people, but with other people. In the Church, there are no do it yourselfers, there are no free agents. Pope Benedict spoke many times of the Church as an ecclesial we! Sometimes, you might hear someone say: I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, but the Church is of no interest to me ... How many times have we heard this? This kind of statement makes no sense. There are some who think that you can have a personal, direct relationship with Jesus Christ without any need for the communion or the mediation of the Church. These are dangerous and harmful temptations. They are, as the great Paul VI used to say, absurd dichotomies. It is true that journeying together is challenging, sometimes it can be tiring: then it happens that one of our brothers or sisters has a problem, or causes a scandal ... But the Lord has entrusted his message of salvation to human beings, to all of us, we are his witnesses; in our brothers and sisters, with their gifts and their limitations, we meet the Lord and we come to recognize his presence. This is what it means to belong to the Church. Remember it well: to be a Christian means to belong to the Church. Our first name is Christian, our family name is belonging to the Church.
Dear friends, let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to grant us the grace of never falling into the temptation of thinking that we can do without others, that we can do without the Church, that we can be saved on our own, that we can be laboratory Christians. On the contrary, we cannot love God if we don't love our brothers and sisters, we cannot love God outside of the Church; we cannot be in communion with God without being in communion with the Church, and we cannot be good Christians if we do not strive to be one with all those who seek to follow the Lord Jesus, as part of one people, one body, and this is the Church. Thank you.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and His Holiness spoke greetings to each group of the faithful who were present, according to language groupings. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer a cordial greeting to the delegation of Bethlehem University, which this year celebrates the fortieth anniversary of its establishment, with appreciation for its praiseworthy educational apostolate among the Palestinian people. I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Greece, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, the Antilles and the United States. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus.
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