This morning's General Audience began at 10:00am 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 from all corners of the world.
In his address, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the family, focusing today on Christian Marriage.
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful who was present. He then issued a call for peace throughout the world on the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!
In our series of catecheses on the family, today we touch directly on the beauty of Christian marriage. It is not simply a ceremony carried out in church, with flowers, the dress and photos. Christian marriage is a Sacrament that takes place in the Church and that the Church also performs, effectively beginning a new family community.
It is what the Apostle Paul summarizes in his well-known expression: This is a great mystery, and I mean this in reference to Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul affirms that the love between spouses is an image of the love between Christ and the Church – an unthinkable dignity! However, in reality it is inscribed in the creative design of God, and with the grace of Christ innumerable Christian couples, despite their own limitations and their sins, have realized it!
Speaking of the new life in Christ, Saint Paul says that all Christians are called to love one another as Christ has loved them, namely to subject themselves to one another (Ephesians 5:21), which means to be at the service of one another. And here he introduces the analogy between the husband-wife couple and that of Christ-Church. It is clearly an imperfect analogy, but we must gather the spiritual sense which is very lofty and revolutionary, and at the same time simple, within the reach of every man and woman that entrusts himself/herself to the grace of God.
The husband – Paul says –must love his wife as his own body (Ephesians 5:28); he must love her as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). But do you husbands who are present here understand this? What it means to love your wife as Christ loves the Church? These are not jokes but serious things! The effect of this radicalism of the dedication asked of man, for the love and dignity of the woman, following the example of Christ, must have been great in the Christian community itself.
This seed of the evangelical novelty, which re-establishes the original reciprocity of dedication and of respect, matured slowly in history but in the end prevailed.
The Sacrament of Marriage is a great act of faith and love: it bears witness to the courage to believe in the beauty of God’s creative act and to live that love that pushes one to always go beyond, beyond oneself and also beyond the family itself. The Christian vocation to love without reservation and without measure is what, with Christ’s grace, is also at the base of the free consensus that constitutes marriage.
The Church herself is fully involved in the history of every Christian marriage: she is built on its successes and suffers in its failures. However, we must ask ourselves seriously: do we ourselves, as believers and as pastors, fully accept this indissoluble bond of the history of Christ and of the Church with the history of marriage and of the human family? Are we prepared to assume this responsibility seriously, namely, that every marriage follows the way of love that Christ has with the Church? This is great!
In this depth of the creaturely mystery, recognized and re-established in its purity, a second great horizon opens that characterizes the Sacrament of Marriage. The decision to be married in the Lord also contains a missionary dimension, which means to have in our hearts the willingness to be so throughly the blessing of God and the grace of the Lord for all. In fact, Christian spouses participate in as much as spouses in the mission of the Church. Courage is needed for this! That is why when I greet newlyweds I say: See these courageous ones! – because courage is needed to love one another as Christ loves the Church.
The celebration of the Sacrament cannot leave out this co-responsibility of family life in regard to the great mission of love of the Church. Thus the life of the Church is enriched every time by the beauty of this spousal alliance, as it is impoverished every time that it is disfigured. To offer to all the gifts of faith, of love and of hope, the Church is also in need of the courageous fidelity of spouses to the grace of their Sacrament! The People of God is in need of their daily journey in faith, in love and in hope, with all the joys and efforts that this journey entails in a marriage and in a family.
The route is thus marked forever, it is the route of love: one loves the way God loves, forever. Christ does not cease to take care of the Church: he always loves her, he always guards her, as he guards himself. Christ does not cease to take away from the human face stains and wrinkles of all sorts. Moving and beautiful is this radiation of the strength and tenderness of God that is transmitted from couple to couple, from family to family. Saint Paul was right: this is in fact a great mystery! Men and women who are sufficiently courageous to carry this treasure in the clay pots of our humanity – these very courageous men and women are an essential resource for the Church and also for the whole world! May God bless them a thousand times over for this!
This catechesis was then summarized and offered in various languages, and the Holy Father spoke greetings to each group of the faithful who were present, as is his custom. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from Denmark, Switzerland, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Canada and the United States. May Jesus Christ confirm you in faith and make your families witnesses to his love and mercy. May God bless you!
After the greetings had been offered to each of the groups of the faithful, the Holy Father issued a special call:
In the coming days, in some places throughout the world, commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe will be observed. On this occasion, I confide to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, my wish that human society might learn from her past errors, and faced with current conflicts which are tearing some regions of the world apart, all civil leaders may commit themselves to seeking the common good and promoting a culture of peace.
In his address, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the family, focusing today on Christian Marriage.
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful who was present. He then issued a call for peace throughout the world on the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!
In our series of catecheses on the family, today we touch directly on the beauty of Christian marriage. It is not simply a ceremony carried out in church, with flowers, the dress and photos. Christian marriage is a Sacrament that takes place in the Church and that the Church also performs, effectively beginning a new family community.
It is what the Apostle Paul summarizes in his well-known expression: This is a great mystery, and I mean this in reference to Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul affirms that the love between spouses is an image of the love between Christ and the Church – an unthinkable dignity! However, in reality it is inscribed in the creative design of God, and with the grace of Christ innumerable Christian couples, despite their own limitations and their sins, have realized it!
Speaking of the new life in Christ, Saint Paul says that all Christians are called to love one another as Christ has loved them, namely to subject themselves to one another (Ephesians 5:21), which means to be at the service of one another. And here he introduces the analogy between the husband-wife couple and that of Christ-Church. It is clearly an imperfect analogy, but we must gather the spiritual sense which is very lofty and revolutionary, and at the same time simple, within the reach of every man and woman that entrusts himself/herself to the grace of God.
The husband – Paul says –must love his wife as his own body (Ephesians 5:28); he must love her as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25). But do you husbands who are present here understand this? What it means to love your wife as Christ loves the Church? These are not jokes but serious things! The effect of this radicalism of the dedication asked of man, for the love and dignity of the woman, following the example of Christ, must have been great in the Christian community itself.
This seed of the evangelical novelty, which re-establishes the original reciprocity of dedication and of respect, matured slowly in history but in the end prevailed.
The Sacrament of Marriage is a great act of faith and love: it bears witness to the courage to believe in the beauty of God’s creative act and to live that love that pushes one to always go beyond, beyond oneself and also beyond the family itself. The Christian vocation to love without reservation and without measure is what, with Christ’s grace, is also at the base of the free consensus that constitutes marriage.
The Church herself is fully involved in the history of every Christian marriage: she is built on its successes and suffers in its failures. However, we must ask ourselves seriously: do we ourselves, as believers and as pastors, fully accept this indissoluble bond of the history of Christ and of the Church with the history of marriage and of the human family? Are we prepared to assume this responsibility seriously, namely, that every marriage follows the way of love that Christ has with the Church? This is great!
In this depth of the creaturely mystery, recognized and re-established in its purity, a second great horizon opens that characterizes the Sacrament of Marriage. The decision to be married in the Lord also contains a missionary dimension, which means to have in our hearts the willingness to be so throughly the blessing of God and the grace of the Lord for all. In fact, Christian spouses participate in as much as spouses in the mission of the Church. Courage is needed for this! That is why when I greet newlyweds I say: See these courageous ones! – because courage is needed to love one another as Christ loves the Church.
The celebration of the Sacrament cannot leave out this co-responsibility of family life in regard to the great mission of love of the Church. Thus the life of the Church is enriched every time by the beauty of this spousal alliance, as it is impoverished every time that it is disfigured. To offer to all the gifts of faith, of love and of hope, the Church is also in need of the courageous fidelity of spouses to the grace of their Sacrament! The People of God is in need of their daily journey in faith, in love and in hope, with all the joys and efforts that this journey entails in a marriage and in a family.
The route is thus marked forever, it is the route of love: one loves the way God loves, forever. Christ does not cease to take care of the Church: he always loves her, he always guards her, as he guards himself. Christ does not cease to take away from the human face stains and wrinkles of all sorts. Moving and beautiful is this radiation of the strength and tenderness of God that is transmitted from couple to couple, from family to family. Saint Paul was right: this is in fact a great mystery! Men and women who are sufficiently courageous to carry this treasure in the clay pots of our humanity – these very courageous men and women are an essential resource for the Church and also for the whole world! May God bless them a thousand times over for this!
This catechesis was then summarized and offered in various languages, and the Holy Father spoke greetings to each group of the faithful who were present, as is his custom. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from Denmark, Switzerland, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, Canada and the United States. May Jesus Christ confirm you in faith and make your families witnesses to his love and mercy. May God bless you!
After the greetings had been offered to each of the groups of the faithful, the Holy Father issued a special call:
In the coming days, in some places throughout the world, commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe will be observed. On this occasion, I confide to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, my wish that human society might learn from her past errors, and faced with current conflicts which are tearing some regions of the world apart, all civil leaders may commit themselves to seeking the common good and promoting a culture of peace.
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