This morning's General Audience began at 9:25am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
During his speech, the Pope focused on the theme: Emmaus, the path to hope (cf Lk 24:28-32).
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular 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!
Today, I want to focus on the experience of the two disciples from Emmaus, which is spoken of in the gospel of Luke (cf Lk 24:13-35). Let us imagine the scene: two disappointed men are walking along, they are sad, convinced that they must leave behind a bitter experience that has taken place. Before this, they had been filled with enthusiasm: they had been convinced that those days would have been decisive for their hopes and for the hopes of all the people. Jesus, in whom they had trusted - even with their lives - seemed to have finally arrived at the decisive battle: now he would finally show his strength, after a long period of preparation spent in hiding. This was what they had hoped in. And things had not turned out in this way.
The two pilgrims had held on to merely human hope, which had now been shattered. That cross that was left lying on Calvary was a most eloquent sign of defeat, something they could not have predicted. If Jesus truly was at the heart of God, they had to conclude that God was helpless, unable to defend himself in the hands of the violent, unable even to resist evil.
So it was that on that Sunday morning, these two were fleeing from Jerusalem. In their eyes, they still saw the events of the passion, the death of Jesus: and in their souls, they had carried the painful weight of those events, during the forced period of Sabbath rest. This feast of Passover, which should have seen them singing the songs of freedom, instead saw them enduring the trauma of the saddest day of their lives. Leaving Jerusalem, they headed elsewhere, to a quiet village. They both bore the look of people who wanted to remove a memory that was burning within them. They were on the road, walking along, sad. This scenario - the street - had already become an important place in other stories recounted in the gospels: now it became even more so, at the moment when the history of the Church began to be told.
The encounter of Jesus with these two disciples seemed to be entirely by accident: not unlike one of the many other intersections that take place in life. The two disciples were walking along, pensive, and a stranger appeared beside them. It was Jesus but their eyes were unable to recognize him. So it was that Jesus began their hope therapy. What happened on that road was a kind of hope therapy. Who was the therapist? Jesus.
First, he asked and he listened: our God is not an invasive God. Even if he already knew the reasons why these two were despairing, he gave them time to deepen their bitterness. Theirs was a confession that had become a chorus of human existence: We had hoped, but ... We had hoped, but ... (Lk 24:21). How much sadness there is, how many defeats people have endured, how many failures there are in each person's existence! In truth, we are all a bit like those two disciples. How many times in our lives have we hoped, how many times we have felt only a step away from happiness, and then we have found ourselves fallen to the ground, disappointed. But Jesus walks with every one of us as we face our challenges, even if we are walking with our heads down. He walks along with us, in a discrete way, constantly helping us to regain the gift of hope.
Jesus speaks to us first through the Scriptures. Whoever takes into his hands the book of God will not find stories of easy heroism, thunderous conquests. True hope is never cheaply won: it always encounters defeat along the way. For those who never suffer, hope is not really hope. God is not content to merely be loved as an admirable leader who drags his followers to victory by destroying their opponents in blood. Our God is a dim light that flickers on a cold and windy day, and for this reason his presence seems to be weak at times in this world. He has chosen to live in the places where we would all disdain.
Then Jesus repeated - in the presence of the two disciples - the central gesture of every Eucharist: he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it. In this series of gestures, do we not understand the entirety of Jesus history? And is there not, in every Eucharist, also the sign of what the Church should be? Jesus takes, blesses, breaks our lives - for there is no love without sacrifice - and offers them to others, he offers them to everyone.
It was a quick encounter, the one that Jesus had with the two disciples of Emmaus, but in it, there was the entire destiny of the Church. He told them, and he tells us that the Christian community is not locked up in a fortified citadel, but that she walks through the most vital of environments. There, it encounters people, with their hopes and their disappointments, sometimes heavy ones. The Church listens to all the stories that everyone brings, as they emerge from the caskets of personal conscience; and then she offers the Word of life, the witness of love, love that is faithful to the end. In this way, people's hearts return to the ardour of hope.
All of us, in our lives, have encountered moments of difficulty, darkness, moments at which we walk along in sadness, thoughtful, without any sense of horizons, only seeing a wall in front of us. And Jesus is always beside us to give us hope, to warm our hearts and to say: Keep going, I am with you. Keep going. The secret to the path that leads to Emmaus is right here: even despite appearances to the contrary, we continue and we are loved, and God never fails to love us. God always walks with us, always, even in the moments of our deepest sorrow, even in the most difficult of moments, even in moments of conflict: the Lord is there. And this is our hope. Let us continue with this hope! He is beside us, walking with us, always!
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized and repeated in various languages. His Holiness also offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Guam, Zimbabwe, Canada and the United States of America. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. Today I wish to greet especially pilgrims from Hong Kong as they celebrate Our Lady of Sheshan. May the Lord bless you all!
During his speech, the Pope focused on the theme: Emmaus, the path to hope (cf Lk 24:28-32).
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular 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!
Today, I want to focus on the experience of the two disciples from Emmaus, which is spoken of in the gospel of Luke (cf Lk 24:13-35). Let us imagine the scene: two disappointed men are walking along, they are sad, convinced that they must leave behind a bitter experience that has taken place. Before this, they had been filled with enthusiasm: they had been convinced that those days would have been decisive for their hopes and for the hopes of all the people. Jesus, in whom they had trusted - even with their lives - seemed to have finally arrived at the decisive battle: now he would finally show his strength, after a long period of preparation spent in hiding. This was what they had hoped in. And things had not turned out in this way.
The two pilgrims had held on to merely human hope, which had now been shattered. That cross that was left lying on Calvary was a most eloquent sign of defeat, something they could not have predicted. If Jesus truly was at the heart of God, they had to conclude that God was helpless, unable to defend himself in the hands of the violent, unable even to resist evil.
So it was that on that Sunday morning, these two were fleeing from Jerusalem. In their eyes, they still saw the events of the passion, the death of Jesus: and in their souls, they had carried the painful weight of those events, during the forced period of Sabbath rest. This feast of Passover, which should have seen them singing the songs of freedom, instead saw them enduring the trauma of the saddest day of their lives. Leaving Jerusalem, they headed elsewhere, to a quiet village. They both bore the look of people who wanted to remove a memory that was burning within them. They were on the road, walking along, sad. This scenario - the street - had already become an important place in other stories recounted in the gospels: now it became even more so, at the moment when the history of the Church began to be told.
The encounter of Jesus with these two disciples seemed to be entirely by accident: not unlike one of the many other intersections that take place in life. The two disciples were walking along, pensive, and a stranger appeared beside them. It was Jesus but their eyes were unable to recognize him. So it was that Jesus began their hope therapy. What happened on that road was a kind of hope therapy. Who was the therapist? Jesus.
First, he asked and he listened: our God is not an invasive God. Even if he already knew the reasons why these two were despairing, he gave them time to deepen their bitterness. Theirs was a confession that had become a chorus of human existence: We had hoped, but ... We had hoped, but ... (Lk 24:21). How much sadness there is, how many defeats people have endured, how many failures there are in each person's existence! In truth, we are all a bit like those two disciples. How many times in our lives have we hoped, how many times we have felt only a step away from happiness, and then we have found ourselves fallen to the ground, disappointed. But Jesus walks with every one of us as we face our challenges, even if we are walking with our heads down. He walks along with us, in a discrete way, constantly helping us to regain the gift of hope.
Jesus speaks to us first through the Scriptures. Whoever takes into his hands the book of God will not find stories of easy heroism, thunderous conquests. True hope is never cheaply won: it always encounters defeat along the way. For those who never suffer, hope is not really hope. God is not content to merely be loved as an admirable leader who drags his followers to victory by destroying their opponents in blood. Our God is a dim light that flickers on a cold and windy day, and for this reason his presence seems to be weak at times in this world. He has chosen to live in the places where we would all disdain.
Then Jesus repeated - in the presence of the two disciples - the central gesture of every Eucharist: he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it. In this series of gestures, do we not understand the entirety of Jesus history? And is there not, in every Eucharist, also the sign of what the Church should be? Jesus takes, blesses, breaks our lives - for there is no love without sacrifice - and offers them to others, he offers them to everyone.
It was a quick encounter, the one that Jesus had with the two disciples of Emmaus, but in it, there was the entire destiny of the Church. He told them, and he tells us that the Christian community is not locked up in a fortified citadel, but that she walks through the most vital of environments. There, it encounters people, with their hopes and their disappointments, sometimes heavy ones. The Church listens to all the stories that everyone brings, as they emerge from the caskets of personal conscience; and then she offers the Word of life, the witness of love, love that is faithful to the end. In this way, people's hearts return to the ardour of hope.
All of us, in our lives, have encountered moments of difficulty, darkness, moments at which we walk along in sadness, thoughtful, without any sense of horizons, only seeing a wall in front of us. And Jesus is always beside us to give us hope, to warm our hearts and to say: Keep going, I am with you. Keep going. The secret to the path that leads to Emmaus is right here: even despite appearances to the contrary, we continue and we are loved, and God never fails to love us. God always walks with us, always, even in the moments of our deepest sorrow, even in the most difficult of moments, even in moments of conflict: the Lord is there. And this is our hope. Let us continue with this hope! He is beside us, walking with us, always!
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized and repeated in various languages. His Holiness also offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Guam, Zimbabwe, Canada and the United States of America. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the loving mercy of God our Father. Today I wish to greet especially pilgrims from Hong Kong as they celebrate Our Lady of Sheshan. May the Lord bless you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment