Wednesday's General Audience began at 10:30am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from various parts of Italy and every corner of the world.
During his speech, spoken in Italian, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the Church, adding a mediation on the Church which is one and holy.
Following the customary summaries of the catechesis, the Holy Father added greetings which were addressed to each group of the faithful which was 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!
Every time we renew our profession of faith reciting the Creed, we affirm that the Church is one and holy. She is one because she has her origin in the Triune God, a mystery of unity and full communion. The Church is holy in as much as she is founded on Jesus Christ, animated by His Holy Spirit and filled with His love and His salvation. At the same time however, she is holy and is made up of sinners, all of us. Every day, we experience our own fragilities and our miseries. Now, this faith that we profess pushes us to conversion, to have the courage to live daily in unity and holiness, and if we are not united, if we are not holy, it is because we are not faithful to Him. However, He does not leave us alone; He does not abandon His Church! He walks with us. He understands us. He understands our weaknesses, our sins, and he forgives us. He always forgives us. He is always with us, helping us, and making us to be less sinful, more saintly and more united.
Our first comfort comes from the fact that Jesus prayed so much for the unity of the disciples. He prayed for unity, and He did so above all in the moments leading up to His Passion, when He was about to offer His whole life for us. It is that prayer which we are continually invited to reread and meditate, in one of the most intense and moving pages of John’s Gospel, chapter 17 (cf. vv. 11.21-23). How lovely it is to know that the Lord, just before dying, was not concerned about Himself, but thought of us! And in His heartbroken dialogue with the Father, He prayed in fact that we would be one with Him and among ourselves. You see, with these words, Jesus makes Himself our intercessor with the Father, so that we can also enter into the full communion of love with Him. At the same time, He entrusts us to the Father as His spiritual testament, in order that unity might become increasingly the distinctive characteristic of our Christian communities and the most beautiful answer to anyone who asks us the reason for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).
That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me (John 17:21). The Church has sought from the beginning to realize this intention, which is so much in Jesus’ heart. The Acts of the Apostles remind us that the first Christians were distinguished by the fact of having one heart and soul (Acts 4:32). The Apostle Paul then exhorted his communities not to forget that they are one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). However, experience tells us that there are many sins against unity. And we do not think only of the great heresies and the schisms; we think of the many common failures in our communities, of parish sins, those sins in the parishes ... Sometimes, in fact, our parishes, called to be places of sharing and communion, are sadly marked by envy, jealousy and antipathy. And this chitchat is carried to all people and places. How much this chitchat exists in the parishes! This is not good.This is not the Church! One must not do this, we must not do it! We need to ask the Lord for the grace not to do this.
This is human, all right, but not Christian! This happens when we seek the first places, when we put ourselves at the centre, with our personal ambitions and our ways of seeing things, and we judge others; when we look at the defects of our brothers and sisters instead of their gifts, when we give more weight to what divides that to what brings us together.
Faced with all this, we must make a serious examination of conscience. In a Christian community, division is one of the gravest sins, because it renders not the work of God but a sign of the devil, who by definition is the one who separates, who ruins relationships, who insinuates prejudices. Instead, God wants us to grow in our capacity to accept, forgive and love one another, to be ever more like Him who is communion and love. Herein lies the holiness of the Church who recognizes herself as the image of God, filled with His mercy and His grace.
Dear friends, let us allow these words of Jesus to resound in our hearts: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Let us ask sincerely for forgiveness for all the times we have been the occasion of division or incomprehension within our communities, knowing full well that communion is not attained except through constant conversion. And let us pray that the daily fabric of our relationships can become an ever more beautiful and joyful reflections of the relationship between Jesus and the Father.
There followed a series of summaries of this catechesis, offered in various languages. The Holy Father then added particular greetings which he offered to each group of visitors. To English-speaking pilgrims who were present at the Audience, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Malta and Canada. May Jesus Christ confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of the holiness and unity of the Church. May God bless you all!
During his speech, spoken in Italian, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the Church, adding a mediation on the Church which is one and holy.
Following the customary summaries of the catechesis, the Holy Father added greetings which were addressed to each group of the faithful which was present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Every time we renew our profession of faith reciting the Creed, we affirm that the Church is one and holy. She is one because she has her origin in the Triune God, a mystery of unity and full communion. The Church is holy in as much as she is founded on Jesus Christ, animated by His Holy Spirit and filled with His love and His salvation. At the same time however, she is holy and is made up of sinners, all of us. Every day, we experience our own fragilities and our miseries. Now, this faith that we profess pushes us to conversion, to have the courage to live daily in unity and holiness, and if we are not united, if we are not holy, it is because we are not faithful to Him. However, He does not leave us alone; He does not abandon His Church! He walks with us. He understands us. He understands our weaknesses, our sins, and he forgives us. He always forgives us. He is always with us, helping us, and making us to be less sinful, more saintly and more united.
Our first comfort comes from the fact that Jesus prayed so much for the unity of the disciples. He prayed for unity, and He did so above all in the moments leading up to His Passion, when He was about to offer His whole life for us. It is that prayer which we are continually invited to reread and meditate, in one of the most intense and moving pages of John’s Gospel, chapter 17 (cf. vv. 11.21-23). How lovely it is to know that the Lord, just before dying, was not concerned about Himself, but thought of us! And in His heartbroken dialogue with the Father, He prayed in fact that we would be one with Him and among ourselves. You see, with these words, Jesus makes Himself our intercessor with the Father, so that we can also enter into the full communion of love with Him. At the same time, He entrusts us to the Father as His spiritual testament, in order that unity might become increasingly the distinctive characteristic of our Christian communities and the most beautiful answer to anyone who asks us the reason for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).
That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me (John 17:21). The Church has sought from the beginning to realize this intention, which is so much in Jesus’ heart. The Acts of the Apostles remind us that the first Christians were distinguished by the fact of having one heart and soul (Acts 4:32). The Apostle Paul then exhorted his communities not to forget that they are one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). However, experience tells us that there are many sins against unity. And we do not think only of the great heresies and the schisms; we think of the many common failures in our communities, of parish sins, those sins in the parishes ... Sometimes, in fact, our parishes, called to be places of sharing and communion, are sadly marked by envy, jealousy and antipathy. And this chitchat is carried to all people and places. How much this chitchat exists in the parishes! This is not good.This is not the Church! One must not do this, we must not do it! We need to ask the Lord for the grace not to do this.
This is human, all right, but not Christian! This happens when we seek the first places, when we put ourselves at the centre, with our personal ambitions and our ways of seeing things, and we judge others; when we look at the defects of our brothers and sisters instead of their gifts, when we give more weight to what divides that to what brings us together.
Faced with all this, we must make a serious examination of conscience. In a Christian community, division is one of the gravest sins, because it renders not the work of God but a sign of the devil, who by definition is the one who separates, who ruins relationships, who insinuates prejudices. Instead, God wants us to grow in our capacity to accept, forgive and love one another, to be ever more like Him who is communion and love. Herein lies the holiness of the Church who recognizes herself as the image of God, filled with His mercy and His grace.
Dear friends, let us allow these words of Jesus to resound in our hearts: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Let us ask sincerely for forgiveness for all the times we have been the occasion of division or incomprehension within our communities, knowing full well that communion is not attained except through constant conversion. And let us pray that the daily fabric of our relationships can become an ever more beautiful and joyful reflections of the relationship between Jesus and the Father.
There followed a series of summaries of this catechesis, offered in various languages. The Holy Father then added particular greetings which he offered to each group of visitors. To English-speaking pilgrims who were present at the Audience, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Malta and Canada. May Jesus Christ confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of the holiness and unity of the Church. May God bless you all!
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