This morning's General Audience began at 9:30am (3:30am EDT) in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. The Holy Father met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from other corners of the world.
In his speech, the Pope continued the new cycle of catechesis on the Commandments, adding a meditation on the theme: Have no other gods but me (cf Ex 20:3-5a).
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!
We have heard the first commandment of the Decalogue: You shall have no gods before me (Ex 20:3). It is good for us to focus on the theme of idolatry, which is of great importance and very current.
This Commandment forbids making idols [1] or images [2] of any kind: [3] everything, in fact, can be used as an idol. We are talking about a human tendency that does not spare either believers or atheists. For example, we Christians can ask ourselves: what is really my God? Is Love One and Triune or is it my image, my personal success, perhaps within the Church? "Idolatry is not just about the false cults of paganism. There remains a constant temptation of faith. It consists in divinizing what is not God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2113).
What is a god on an existential level? It is what is at the centre of one's life and on which what one does and thinks depends. [4] One can grow up in a nominally Christian family, but centred, in reality, on points of reference that are not part of the Gospel. [5] Human beings do not live without focusing on something. So here the world offers the supermarket of idols, which can be objects, images, ideas, roles. For example, even prayer. We must pray to God, our Father. I remember once I went to a parish in the diocese of Buenos Aires to celebrate a Mass and then I had to celebrate Confirmations in another parish located one kilometre away. I went, walking, and I went through a park, nice. But in that park there were more than 50 tables each with two chairs and people sitting in front of each other. What were they doing? Tarot cards. They went there to pray to an idol. Instead of praying to God for the providence of the future, they went there because they read the cards to see the future. This is an idolatry of our times. I ask you: how many of you have gone to have your cards read in order to see the future? How many of you, for example, have gone to have your palms read in order to see the future, instead of praying to the Lord? This is the difference: the Lord is alive; the others are idols, idolatries that are useless.
How does an idolatry develop? The Commandment describes phases: You will not make yourself an idol or an image ... You shall not bow down to them and you will not serve them (Ex 20:4-5).
The word idol in Greek derives from the verb to see. [6] An idol is a vision that tends to become a fixation, an obsession. The idol is actually a projection of oneself into objects or projects. For example, this dynamic is used in advertising: I do not see the object itself, but I perceive that car, the smartphone, that role - or other things - as a means of achieving and responding to my essential needs. And I look for that thing, I talk about it, I think about it; the idea of owning that object or realizing that project, reaching that position, seems a marvellous way to happiness, a tower to reach heaven (cf Gen 11,1-9), and everything becomes geared toward that goal.
Then you enter the second phase: You will not bow down to them. The idols demand a cult of rituals; to them we prostrate ourselves and sacrifice everything. In ancient times human sacrifices were made to the idols, but also today: many people sacrifice their children for their careers, neglecting them or simply not having them; beauty calls for human sacrifice. How many hours do some people spend in front of the mirror! Some people, some women, how much do they spend on make up? This is also an idolatry. It is not bad to wear make-up; but in a normal way, not to become a goddess. Beauty calls for human sacrifice. Fame demands the giving of oneself, one's own innocence and authenticity. Idols ask for blood. Money steals life and pleasure leads to loneliness. Economic structures sacrifice human lives for greater profits. We can think of so many people who are without work. Why? Because sometimes it happens that the entrepreneurs of this company or that company, have decided to dismiss people in order to earn more money. The idolatry of money. One lives in hypocrisy, doing and saying what others expect, because the god of his affirmation imposes it. And lives are ruined, families are destroyed and young people are left in the hands of destructive models, merely to increase profit. Drugs are also an idol. How many young people ruin their health, even their lives, by worshiping the idol of drugs.
Here, we arrive at the third and most serious stage which says: ... and you will not serve them. Idols enslave. They promise happiness but do not deliver; and we find ourselves living for that thing or that vision, caught in a self-destructive vortex, waiting for a result that never comes.
Dear brothers and sisters, idols promise life, but in reality they take it away. The true God does not ask for life but gives it. The true God does not offer a projection of our success, but teaches us to love. The true God does not ask for children, but he gives his Son for us. Idols project future hypotheses and make the present despise such plans; the true God teaches us to live in the reality of every day, concretely, not with illusions about the future: today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, walking towards the future. The concreteness of the true God against the liquidity of idols. I invite you to think today: how many idols do I have or what is my favorite idol? Because recognizing one's idolatries is a beginning of grace, and this exercise puts us on the path of love. In fact, love is incompatible with idolatry: if something becomes absolute and untouchable, then it is more important than a spouse, a child, or a friendship. Attachment to an object or an idea makes us blind to love. And so to go after idols, after an idol, we can even deny a father, a mother, children, a wife, a groom, a family ... the most beloved things. Attachment to an object or an idea makes us blind to love. Carry this in your heart: idols steal our love, idols make us blind to love and to truly love we must be free from every idol from all idols.
What is my idol? Cut it off and throw it out the window!
_______________________
[1] The term Pesel indicates "a divine image originally carved in wood or stone, and above all in metal" (L. Koehler - W. Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 3, p. 949).
[2] The term Temunah has a very broad meaning; it refers to resemblance, form; therefore, the prohibition is very wide and these images can be of any kind (see L. Koehler - W. Baumgartner, Op cit., vol.1, pp. 504).
[3] The Commandment does not forbid the images themselves - God himself will command Moses to make the cherubs of gold on the cover of the ark (cf Ex 25,18) and a bronze serpent (cf Nm 21:8) - but forbids worshiping them and serving them, that is, the whole process of deification of something, not just reproduction.
[4] The Hebrew Bible refers to the Canaanite idolatries with the term Ba'al, which means lordship, intimate relationship, reality on which one depends. The idol is what dominates, takes the heart and becomes the pivot of life (cf Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 1, 247-251).
[5] cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2114: Idolatry is a perversion of the innate religious sense in man. The idolater is one who 'refers his indestructible notion of God to anyone rather than to God' (Origen, Contra Celsum, 2, 40).
[6] The etymology of the Greek eidolon, derived from eidos, is from the root weid which means to see (cf Great Lexicon of the Old Testament, Brescia 1967, Volume III, page 127).
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages; Pope Francis also greeted each group of the faithful. To English-speaking pilgrims in attendance at today's General Audience, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
In his speech, the Pope continued the new cycle of catechesis on the Commandments, adding a meditation on the theme: Have no other gods but me (cf Ex 20:3-5a).
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!
We have heard the first commandment of the Decalogue: You shall have no gods before me (Ex 20:3). It is good for us to focus on the theme of idolatry, which is of great importance and very current.
This Commandment forbids making idols [1] or images [2] of any kind: [3] everything, in fact, can be used as an idol. We are talking about a human tendency that does not spare either believers or atheists. For example, we Christians can ask ourselves: what is really my God? Is Love One and Triune or is it my image, my personal success, perhaps within the Church? "Idolatry is not just about the false cults of paganism. There remains a constant temptation of faith. It consists in divinizing what is not God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2113).
What is a god on an existential level? It is what is at the centre of one's life and on which what one does and thinks depends. [4] One can grow up in a nominally Christian family, but centred, in reality, on points of reference that are not part of the Gospel. [5] Human beings do not live without focusing on something. So here the world offers the supermarket of idols, which can be objects, images, ideas, roles. For example, even prayer. We must pray to God, our Father. I remember once I went to a parish in the diocese of Buenos Aires to celebrate a Mass and then I had to celebrate Confirmations in another parish located one kilometre away. I went, walking, and I went through a park, nice. But in that park there were more than 50 tables each with two chairs and people sitting in front of each other. What were they doing? Tarot cards. They went there to pray to an idol. Instead of praying to God for the providence of the future, they went there because they read the cards to see the future. This is an idolatry of our times. I ask you: how many of you have gone to have your cards read in order to see the future? How many of you, for example, have gone to have your palms read in order to see the future, instead of praying to the Lord? This is the difference: the Lord is alive; the others are idols, idolatries that are useless.
How does an idolatry develop? The Commandment describes phases: You will not make yourself an idol or an image ... You shall not bow down to them and you will not serve them (Ex 20:4-5).
The word idol in Greek derives from the verb to see. [6] An idol is a vision that tends to become a fixation, an obsession. The idol is actually a projection of oneself into objects or projects. For example, this dynamic is used in advertising: I do not see the object itself, but I perceive that car, the smartphone, that role - or other things - as a means of achieving and responding to my essential needs. And I look for that thing, I talk about it, I think about it; the idea of owning that object or realizing that project, reaching that position, seems a marvellous way to happiness, a tower to reach heaven (cf Gen 11,1-9), and everything becomes geared toward that goal.
Then you enter the second phase: You will not bow down to them. The idols demand a cult of rituals; to them we prostrate ourselves and sacrifice everything. In ancient times human sacrifices were made to the idols, but also today: many people sacrifice their children for their careers, neglecting them or simply not having them; beauty calls for human sacrifice. How many hours do some people spend in front of the mirror! Some people, some women, how much do they spend on make up? This is also an idolatry. It is not bad to wear make-up; but in a normal way, not to become a goddess. Beauty calls for human sacrifice. Fame demands the giving of oneself, one's own innocence and authenticity. Idols ask for blood. Money steals life and pleasure leads to loneliness. Economic structures sacrifice human lives for greater profits. We can think of so many people who are without work. Why? Because sometimes it happens that the entrepreneurs of this company or that company, have decided to dismiss people in order to earn more money. The idolatry of money. One lives in hypocrisy, doing and saying what others expect, because the god of his affirmation imposes it. And lives are ruined, families are destroyed and young people are left in the hands of destructive models, merely to increase profit. Drugs are also an idol. How many young people ruin their health, even their lives, by worshiping the idol of drugs.
Here, we arrive at the third and most serious stage which says: ... and you will not serve them. Idols enslave. They promise happiness but do not deliver; and we find ourselves living for that thing or that vision, caught in a self-destructive vortex, waiting for a result that never comes.
Dear brothers and sisters, idols promise life, but in reality they take it away. The true God does not ask for life but gives it. The true God does not offer a projection of our success, but teaches us to love. The true God does not ask for children, but he gives his Son for us. Idols project future hypotheses and make the present despise such plans; the true God teaches us to live in the reality of every day, concretely, not with illusions about the future: today and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, walking towards the future. The concreteness of the true God against the liquidity of idols. I invite you to think today: how many idols do I have or what is my favorite idol? Because recognizing one's idolatries is a beginning of grace, and this exercise puts us on the path of love. In fact, love is incompatible with idolatry: if something becomes absolute and untouchable, then it is more important than a spouse, a child, or a friendship. Attachment to an object or an idea makes us blind to love. And so to go after idols, after an idol, we can even deny a father, a mother, children, a wife, a groom, a family ... the most beloved things. Attachment to an object or an idea makes us blind to love. Carry this in your heart: idols steal our love, idols make us blind to love and to truly love we must be free from every idol from all idols.
What is my idol? Cut it off and throw it out the window!
_______________________
[1] The term Pesel indicates "a divine image originally carved in wood or stone, and above all in metal" (L. Koehler - W. Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vol. 3, p. 949).
[2] The term Temunah has a very broad meaning; it refers to resemblance, form; therefore, the prohibition is very wide and these images can be of any kind (see L. Koehler - W. Baumgartner, Op cit., vol.1, pp. 504).
[3] The Commandment does not forbid the images themselves - God himself will command Moses to make the cherubs of gold on the cover of the ark (cf Ex 25,18) and a bronze serpent (cf Nm 21:8) - but forbids worshiping them and serving them, that is, the whole process of deification of something, not just reproduction.
[4] The Hebrew Bible refers to the Canaanite idolatries with the term Ba'al, which means lordship, intimate relationship, reality on which one depends. The idol is what dominates, takes the heart and becomes the pivot of life (cf Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 1, 247-251).
[5] cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, number 2114: Idolatry is a perversion of the innate religious sense in man. The idolater is one who 'refers his indestructible notion of God to anyone rather than to God' (Origen, Contra Celsum, 2, 40).
[6] The etymology of the Greek eidolon, derived from eidos, is from the root weid which means to see (cf Great Lexicon of the Old Testament, Brescia 1967, Volume III, page 127).
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages; Pope Francis also greeted each group of the faithful. To English-speaking pilgrims in attendance at today's General Audience, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
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