This morning's General Audience began at 9:25am (3:25am EDT) in Saint Peter's Square where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and every corner of the world.
During his speech, the Pope focused his meditation on Baptism: 3. The strength to overcome evil.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. Then, he issued a call for the Inter-Korean Summit.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Let us continue our reflection on Baptism, in the light of the Word of God.
It is the gospel that enlightens the candidates and arouses their belonging in faith: Baptism is in a very special way 'the sacrament of faith', for it marks the sacramental entry into a life of faith (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1236). Faith is the surrender of ourselves to the Lord Jesus, who is recognized as the source of water ... for eternal life (Jn 4:14), light of the world (Jn 9:5), life and resurrection (Jn 11:25), as the journey travelled teaches, even today, to catechumens who are now soon to receive Christian initiation. Educated by listening to Jesus, by his instruction and his works, catechumens relive the experience of the Samaritan woman who was thirsty for living water, the experience of the man born blind who opened his eyes to the light, of Lazarus who came out of the tomb. The gospel carries within itself the strength to transform those who welcome it with faith, tearing them away from the dominion of the devil so that they can learn how to serve the Lord with joy and newness of life.
No one ever approaches the baptismal font alone; we are accompanied by the prayer of the entire Church, as the litany of Saints bears evidence as it precedes the prayer of exorcism and the pre-baptismal anointing with the Oil of Catechumens. These are gestures which, from ancient times, assure those who are preparing to be reborn as children of God that the prayer of the Church's prayer assists them in their fight against evil, accompanies them on the path toward goodness, helps them to escape the power of sin in order to pass into the kingdom of divine grace. The prayer of the Church. The Church prays and prays for everyone, for all of us! We, the Church, pray for others. It is beautiful to pray for others. How many times we do not have any urgent need and so we do not pray. We must pray, united to the Church, for others: Lord, I ask you to take care of those who are in need, I pray for those who do not have faith ... Don't forget: prayer for the Church is always needed. We should enter into this prayer and pray for all the people of God and for those who are in need of prayer. For this reason, the journey of adult catechumens is marked by repeated exorcisms pronounced by the priest (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1237), that is to say, by prayers which invoke liberation from everything that separates us from Christ and impedes us from enjoying intimate union with Him. Even for children, we ask God to free them from original sin and to consecrate them as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (cf Rite of Baptism of Children, 56). Children: Pray for children, for their spiritual and corporeal health. One way of protecting children is through prayer. As the gospel attests, Jesus himself fought against and cast out demons in order to manifest the coming of God's kingdom (cf Mt 12:28): his victory over the power of the devil leaves free space for the lordship of God who rejoices and reconciles with life.
Baptism is not a magic formula but a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables those who receive it to fight against the spirit of evil, believing that God sent his Son into the world to destroy the power of Satan and to transform mankind from darkness into his kingdom of infinite light (cf Rite of Baptism of Children, 56). We know from experience that Christian life is always a subject of temptation, above all in temptation for us to separate ourselves from God, from his will, from communion with him, so that we fall back into worldly seductions. And Baptism prepares us, gives us strength to face this daily struggle, even the struggle against the devil who - as Saint Peter says - is like a lion trying to devour us, to destroy us.
Besides prayer, there is also the anointing on the chest with the Oil of Catechumens, who receive strength to renounce the devil and sin, before approaching the font and being reborn to new life (Blessing of the Oils, Prologue, 3). Because of the oil's property of penetrating into the body's tissues and bringing with it a special benefit, ancient wrestlers used to sprinkle oil in order to tone their muscles and in order to more easily escape from their opponents' grip. In light of this symbolism, Christians in the early centuries adopted the use of anointing the bodies of candidates for Baptism with oil that was blessed by the Bishop*, in order to indicate, through this sign of salvation, that the strength of Christ our Saviour strengthens us to fight and to overcome evil (cf Rite of Baptism of Children, 105).
It is difficult to fight against evil, to escape its deceptions, to regain strength after a tiring struggle, but we must remember that all Christian life is a fight. We must however also remember that we are not alone, that our Mother Church is praying that all her children, reborn in Baptism, will not surrender to the insidious presence of the devil but triumph over him through the strength of Christ's resurrection. Strengthened by the risen Lord, who defeated the prince of this world (cf Jn 12:31), we too can repeat with the faith of Saint Peter: I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). We all can triumph, triumph over all trials, with the strength that comes from Jesus.
*Here is the prayer of blessing, which expresses the significance of this oil: O God, support and defence of your people, bless this oil in which you wished to provide for us a sign of your divine strength; give energy and vigour to catechumens who will be anointed with it, so that enlightened by your wisdom, they may understand more profoundly the gospel of Christ; sustained by your power, may they generously assume the commitments of the Christian life; made worthy of adoption as children, may they know the joy of being born again and living in your Church (Blessing of Oil, 21).
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, 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. May the Lord bless you all!
At the conclusion of the General Audience, the Holy Father offered the following call:
Next Friday, 27 April, in Panmunjeom there will be an Inter-Korean Summit, which will be attended by the Leaders of the two Koreas, Mister Moon Jae-in and Mister Kim Jong Un. This encounter will be a favourable occasion to hold a transparent dialogue and to pave a concrete path toward reconciliation and renewed fraternity, in order to guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the entire world.
To the Korean people, who ardently desire peace, I assure my personal prayer and the closeness of the entire Church. The Holy See accompanies, supports and encourages all useful and sincere efforts to build a better future, in the name of encounter and friendship among all people. To all those who have direct political responsibility, I ask you to have the courage of hope that you can be artisans of peace, while I exhort you to continue in faith the journey that has begun for the good of all people. And since God is Father of all and Father of peace, I invite you to pray to our Father, God, the Father of all people, for the Korean people, both those in the South and those in the North.
(Prayer of the Our Father)
During his speech, the Pope focused his meditation on Baptism: 3. The strength to overcome evil.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father addressed particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. Then, he issued a call for the Inter-Korean Summit.
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!
Let us continue our reflection on Baptism, in the light of the Word of God.
It is the gospel that enlightens the candidates and arouses their belonging in faith: Baptism is in a very special way 'the sacrament of faith', for it marks the sacramental entry into a life of faith (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1236). Faith is the surrender of ourselves to the Lord Jesus, who is recognized as the source of water ... for eternal life (Jn 4:14), light of the world (Jn 9:5), life and resurrection (Jn 11:25), as the journey travelled teaches, even today, to catechumens who are now soon to receive Christian initiation. Educated by listening to Jesus, by his instruction and his works, catechumens relive the experience of the Samaritan woman who was thirsty for living water, the experience of the man born blind who opened his eyes to the light, of Lazarus who came out of the tomb. The gospel carries within itself the strength to transform those who welcome it with faith, tearing them away from the dominion of the devil so that they can learn how to serve the Lord with joy and newness of life.
No one ever approaches the baptismal font alone; we are accompanied by the prayer of the entire Church, as the litany of Saints bears evidence as it precedes the prayer of exorcism and the pre-baptismal anointing with the Oil of Catechumens. These are gestures which, from ancient times, assure those who are preparing to be reborn as children of God that the prayer of the Church's prayer assists them in their fight against evil, accompanies them on the path toward goodness, helps them to escape the power of sin in order to pass into the kingdom of divine grace. The prayer of the Church. The Church prays and prays for everyone, for all of us! We, the Church, pray for others. It is beautiful to pray for others. How many times we do not have any urgent need and so we do not pray. We must pray, united to the Church, for others: Lord, I ask you to take care of those who are in need, I pray for those who do not have faith ... Don't forget: prayer for the Church is always needed. We should enter into this prayer and pray for all the people of God and for those who are in need of prayer. For this reason, the journey of adult catechumens is marked by repeated exorcisms pronounced by the priest (cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1237), that is to say, by prayers which invoke liberation from everything that separates us from Christ and impedes us from enjoying intimate union with Him. Even for children, we ask God to free them from original sin and to consecrate them as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (cf Rite of Baptism of Children, 56). Children: Pray for children, for their spiritual and corporeal health. One way of protecting children is through prayer. As the gospel attests, Jesus himself fought against and cast out demons in order to manifest the coming of God's kingdom (cf Mt 12:28): his victory over the power of the devil leaves free space for the lordship of God who rejoices and reconciles with life.
Baptism is not a magic formula but a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables those who receive it to fight against the spirit of evil, believing that God sent his Son into the world to destroy the power of Satan and to transform mankind from darkness into his kingdom of infinite light (cf Rite of Baptism of Children, 56). We know from experience that Christian life is always a subject of temptation, above all in temptation for us to separate ourselves from God, from his will, from communion with him, so that we fall back into worldly seductions. And Baptism prepares us, gives us strength to face this daily struggle, even the struggle against the devil who - as Saint Peter says - is like a lion trying to devour us, to destroy us.
Besides prayer, there is also the anointing on the chest with the Oil of Catechumens, who receive strength to renounce the devil and sin, before approaching the font and being reborn to new life (Blessing of the Oils, Prologue, 3). Because of the oil's property of penetrating into the body's tissues and bringing with it a special benefit, ancient wrestlers used to sprinkle oil in order to tone their muscles and in order to more easily escape from their opponents' grip. In light of this symbolism, Christians in the early centuries adopted the use of anointing the bodies of candidates for Baptism with oil that was blessed by the Bishop*, in order to indicate, through this sign of salvation, that the strength of Christ our Saviour strengthens us to fight and to overcome evil (cf Rite of Baptism of Children, 105).
It is difficult to fight against evil, to escape its deceptions, to regain strength after a tiring struggle, but we must remember that all Christian life is a fight. We must however also remember that we are not alone, that our Mother Church is praying that all her children, reborn in Baptism, will not surrender to the insidious presence of the devil but triumph over him through the strength of Christ's resurrection. Strengthened by the risen Lord, who defeated the prince of this world (cf Jn 12:31), we too can repeat with the faith of Saint Peter: I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). We all can triumph, triumph over all trials, with the strength that comes from Jesus.
*Here is the prayer of blessing, which expresses the significance of this oil: O God, support and defence of your people, bless this oil in which you wished to provide for us a sign of your divine strength; give energy and vigour to catechumens who will be anointed with it, so that enlightened by your wisdom, they may understand more profoundly the gospel of Christ; sustained by your power, may they generously assume the commitments of the Christian life; made worthy of adoption as children, may they know the joy of being born again and living in your Church (Blessing of Oil, 21).
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, 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. May the Lord bless you all!
At the conclusion of the General Audience, the Holy Father offered the following call:
Next Friday, 27 April, in Panmunjeom there will be an Inter-Korean Summit, which will be attended by the Leaders of the two Koreas, Mister Moon Jae-in and Mister Kim Jong Un. This encounter will be a favourable occasion to hold a transparent dialogue and to pave a concrete path toward reconciliation and renewed fraternity, in order to guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the entire world.
To the Korean people, who ardently desire peace, I assure my personal prayer and the closeness of the entire Church. The Holy See accompanies, supports and encourages all useful and sincere efforts to build a better future, in the name of encounter and friendship among all people. To all those who have direct political responsibility, I ask you to have the courage of hope that you can be artisans of peace, while I exhort you to continue in faith the journey that has begun for the good of all people. And since God is Father of all and Father of peace, I invite you to pray to our Father, God, the Father of all people, for the Korean people, both those in the South and those in the North.
(Prayer of the Our Father)
No comments:
Post a Comment