This morning's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square, where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
During his speech, the Pope continued his catecheses on mercy, adding a meditation on the theme: Feed the hungry. Give the thirsty something to drink.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
One of the consequences of so called being well is that it leads people to withdraw into themselves, making them insensitive to the needs of others. They do everything they can to deny this truth, presenting ephemeral models of life that fade after a few years, as though our lives were were a matter of following and changing at every stage. This is not the case. The reality must be faced and dealt with for what it is, and often this need can be urgent. This is the reason why, among the works of mercy, we are reminded of hunger and thirst: feed the hungry - there are so many of them today - and give the thirsty something to drink. Often, the media informs us of people who are suffering due to a lack of food or of water, with serious consequences, especially for children.
Faced with certain news and especially with certain images, people sometimes feel touched and sometimes set out to contribute their help as part of solidarity campaigns. Donations are given generously and in this way we can contribute to alleviating the suffering of many. This form of charity is important, but sometimes it doesn't involve us directly. Instead, when we set out on the road, drawing close to a person in need, or when a poor person comes knocking at the door of our house, this is very different since we are no longer sitting before an image, but we become personally involved. There is no longer any distance between me and him or her, and I feel compelled. Abstract poverty does not compel us, but it makes us think, it makes us lament; but when we see someone's poverty up close, the poverty of a man, a woman, a child, this inspires us to act! On the contrary, the habit we sometimes have of ignoring the needy, turning away from them, associates the realities of the needy with the habit of distancing ourselves from them. There is no longer any distance between a poor person and me if I draw close to him or her. In these cases, what is my reaction? Do I turn away my face and pass by? Or do I stop and talk to the person, demonstrating my interest in their situation? And if you do this, you will not miss someone who says: This is crazy; why should I speak with someone who is poor? I'll see if I can help this person in some way or try to get rid of them as soon as possible. But perhaps the person is only asking for something they need: for something to eat or to drink. Let us think about this for a moment: how many times do we recite the Our Father, and we really don't pay attention to the words: Give us this day our daily bread?
In the bible, one of the psalms says that God is the one who gives food to all the living (Ps 136:25). The experience of hunger is difficult. It seems as though the psalmist knows something about the experience of those who have lived through war or famine. This experience is also repeated every day, experienced side by side with abundance and waste. The words of the apostle James are true: What is the use, my brothers, if one of you says that you have faith, but that you need not do good works? Can your faith possibly save you? If a brother or a sister is in need of clothes and lacking for food every day and one of you says to him or her: 'Go in peace, keep warm and well fed,' without providing their bodily needs, what good is that? In this way, even faith: if it is not followed by good works, is dead (James 2:14-17) because it is incapable of doing good works, of exercising charity, of loving. There is still someone who is hungry and thirsty, who needs me. I cannot delegate this task to someone else. This poor person needs me, needs my help, needs my words, needs my commitment. We are all involved in this task.
This is also the teaching we find in the pages of the gospel, in which Jesus, seeing many people who had been following him for hours, asked the disciples: Where should we buy bread so that these people can eat? (Jn 6:5). And the disciples respond: It is impossible, it would be better if we were to send them away ... Instead, Jesus tells them: No. You yourselves, give them something to eat (cf Mk 14:16). He made them give the few loaves of bread and the fish they had with them, he blessed them, broke them and distributed them to everyone. This is a very important lesson for all of us. It tells us that even the little that we have, if we place it in the hands of Jesus and share it in faith, will become an overabundant wealth.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Caritas in veritate, affirms: Feeding the hungry is an ethical imperative for the universal Church ... The right to food, like the right to water has an important role to play in the realization of other rights ... Therefore it is necessary that we cultivate a social conscience that preserves food and access to water as universal rights for all human beings, without distinction or discrimination (CV, 27). We should never forget the words of Jesus: I am the bread of life (Jn 6:35) and Come to me, all you who are thirsty (Jn 7:37). These words are addressed to all of us believers, motivating us to recognize the fact that, through giving food to the hungry and by giving the thirsty something to drink, we are strengthening our relationship with God, a God who in Jesus has revealed his merciful face.
This catechesis was then offered in summary in various translations, and the Holy Father offered greetings to each group in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Malta, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
During his speech, the Pope continued his catecheses on mercy, adding a meditation on the theme: Feed the hungry. Give the thirsty something to drink.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
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!
One of the consequences of so called being well is that it leads people to withdraw into themselves, making them insensitive to the needs of others. They do everything they can to deny this truth, presenting ephemeral models of life that fade after a few years, as though our lives were were a matter of following and changing at every stage. This is not the case. The reality must be faced and dealt with for what it is, and often this need can be urgent. This is the reason why, among the works of mercy, we are reminded of hunger and thirst: feed the hungry - there are so many of them today - and give the thirsty something to drink. Often, the media informs us of people who are suffering due to a lack of food or of water, with serious consequences, especially for children.
Faced with certain news and especially with certain images, people sometimes feel touched and sometimes set out to contribute their help as part of solidarity campaigns. Donations are given generously and in this way we can contribute to alleviating the suffering of many. This form of charity is important, but sometimes it doesn't involve us directly. Instead, when we set out on the road, drawing close to a person in need, or when a poor person comes knocking at the door of our house, this is very different since we are no longer sitting before an image, but we become personally involved. There is no longer any distance between me and him or her, and I feel compelled. Abstract poverty does not compel us, but it makes us think, it makes us lament; but when we see someone's poverty up close, the poverty of a man, a woman, a child, this inspires us to act! On the contrary, the habit we sometimes have of ignoring the needy, turning away from them, associates the realities of the needy with the habit of distancing ourselves from them. There is no longer any distance between a poor person and me if I draw close to him or her. In these cases, what is my reaction? Do I turn away my face and pass by? Or do I stop and talk to the person, demonstrating my interest in their situation? And if you do this, you will not miss someone who says: This is crazy; why should I speak with someone who is poor? I'll see if I can help this person in some way or try to get rid of them as soon as possible. But perhaps the person is only asking for something they need: for something to eat or to drink. Let us think about this for a moment: how many times do we recite the Our Father, and we really don't pay attention to the words: Give us this day our daily bread?
In the bible, one of the psalms says that God is the one who gives food to all the living (Ps 136:25). The experience of hunger is difficult. It seems as though the psalmist knows something about the experience of those who have lived through war or famine. This experience is also repeated every day, experienced side by side with abundance and waste. The words of the apostle James are true: What is the use, my brothers, if one of you says that you have faith, but that you need not do good works? Can your faith possibly save you? If a brother or a sister is in need of clothes and lacking for food every day and one of you says to him or her: 'Go in peace, keep warm and well fed,' without providing their bodily needs, what good is that? In this way, even faith: if it is not followed by good works, is dead (James 2:14-17) because it is incapable of doing good works, of exercising charity, of loving. There is still someone who is hungry and thirsty, who needs me. I cannot delegate this task to someone else. This poor person needs me, needs my help, needs my words, needs my commitment. We are all involved in this task.
This is also the teaching we find in the pages of the gospel, in which Jesus, seeing many people who had been following him for hours, asked the disciples: Where should we buy bread so that these people can eat? (Jn 6:5). And the disciples respond: It is impossible, it would be better if we were to send them away ... Instead, Jesus tells them: No. You yourselves, give them something to eat (cf Mk 14:16). He made them give the few loaves of bread and the fish they had with them, he blessed them, broke them and distributed them to everyone. This is a very important lesson for all of us. It tells us that even the little that we have, if we place it in the hands of Jesus and share it in faith, will become an overabundant wealth.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Caritas in veritate, affirms: Feeding the hungry is an ethical imperative for the universal Church ... The right to food, like the right to water has an important role to play in the realization of other rights ... Therefore it is necessary that we cultivate a social conscience that preserves food and access to water as universal rights for all human beings, without distinction or discrimination (CV, 27). We should never forget the words of Jesus: I am the bread of life (Jn 6:35) and Come to me, all you who are thirsty (Jn 7:37). These words are addressed to all of us believers, motivating us to recognize the fact that, through giving food to the hungry and by giving the thirsty something to drink, we are strengthening our relationship with God, a God who in Jesus has revealed his merciful face.
This catechesis was then offered in summary in various translations, and the Holy Father offered greetings to each group in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Malta, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Japan, the Philippines and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that the present Jubilee of Mercy will be a moment of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment