This morning's General Audience began at 9:20am 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.
In his speech, the Pope continued his cycle of catecheses on the Commandments, adding his meditation on The day of rest (Gospel passage: from the Book of Exodus 20:8-11).
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!
Our voyage through the Decalogue takes us today to the commandment concerning the day of rest. It seems to be a commandment that is easy to understand, but this would be a mistaken impression. Truly resting is not easy, because there is false rest and true rest. How can we recognize them?
Today's society is thirsting for entertainment and for holidays. The tourism industry is flourishing and advertising portrays the ideal world as a large playground where everyone enjoys themselves. The predominant concept of life today does not have its centre of gravity in activity and commitment but in relaxation: earn money for fun, satisfy yourself. The ideal image is that of a successful person who can afford wide and different spaces for pleasure, but this mentality slips towards the dissatisfaction of an anesthetized existence of entertainment that is not rest, but rather alienation and escape from reality. Humanity has never rested as much as we do today, yet we have never experienced as much emptiness as we do today! The possibilities for having fun, going out, cruises, travel, many things do not fill our hearts, but neither do they give us rest.
The words of the Decalogue seek out and find the heart of the problem, throwing a different light on the meaning of rest. The commandment has a peculiar element: it provides a motivation. Resting in the name of the Lord has a precise motive, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and what is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord has blessed the Sabbath and consecrated it (Exodus 20:11).
This refers to the end of the creation account when the author says: God saw what he had done, and behold it was very good (Gen 1:31). Thus begins the day of rest, which is God's joy for what he has created. It is the day of contemplation and blessing.
What then is rest according to this commandment? It is the moment of contemplation, it is the moment of praise, not of evasion. It is time to look at reality and say: how beautiful life is! Instead of rest as an escape from reality, the Decalogue presents rest as a blessing. For us Christians, the centre of the Lord's Day - Sunday - is the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. It is the day to say to God: thank you Lord of life, for your mercy, for all your gifts. Sunday is not a day to cancel the other days but to remind us of them, to bless them and for us to make peace with life. How many people there are who have so many opportunities to have fun, and do not live in peace with life! Sunday is the day to make peace with life, saying: life is precious; it's not easy, sometimes it's painful, but it's precious.
Being introduced to authentic rest is a work of God in us, but it requires us to move away from any curses and to draw closer to its charm (see Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 83). In fact, it is very easy to bend the heart toward unhappiness and to emphasize reasons for discontent. Blessing and joy imply an openness to the good that is an adult movement of the heart. Goodness is loving and never imposes itself. It must be chosen.
Peace is chosen, it cannot be imposed and cannot be found by chance. Moving away from the bitter folds of his heart, man needs to make peace with that from which he flees. We need to reconcile ourselves with our own history, with facts that we do not accept, with the difficult parts of our existence. I ask you: have each of you been reconciled with your own story? A question to think about: me, am I reconciled with my story? In fact, true peace is not a matter of changing our own histories but rather of welcoming them, valuing them, as they have unfolded.
How often have we met sick Christians who have consoled us with a serenity that is not found in pleasure-seekers and hedonists? How often have we seen humble and poor people rejoice in small graces with a happiness that tasted of eternity?
In the Book of Deuteronomy, the Lord says: I have placed before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life therefore, so that you and your descendants may life (Deut 30:19). This choice is the Virgin Mary's fiat, an opening to the Holy Spirit who places us in the footsteps of Christ, Him who gives himself to the Father at the most dramatic moment of his life and therefore chooses the path that leads to the Resurrection.
When does life become beautiful? When you start to think well of it, whatever our story is. When the gift of a doubt makes its way: that which is all grace (as Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus recalls, as recounted in G. Bernanos, Diary of the Country Priest, Milan, 1965), and that holy thought crumbles the inner wall of dissatisfaction, inaugurating authentic rest. Life becomes beautiful when you open your heart to Providence and you find truth in what the Psalm says: Only in God does my soul find rest (Ps 62:2). This phrase from the Psalms is beautiful: Only in God does my soul find rest.
(Original text in Italian)
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and the Pope offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, Pope Francis said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and the United States of America. I also greet the priests of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education of the Pontifical North American College. 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 his cycle of catecheses on the Commandments, adding his meditation on The day of rest (Gospel passage: from the Book of Exodus 20:8-11).
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!
Our voyage through the Decalogue takes us today to the commandment concerning the day of rest. It seems to be a commandment that is easy to understand, but this would be a mistaken impression. Truly resting is not easy, because there is false rest and true rest. How can we recognize them?
Today's society is thirsting for entertainment and for holidays. The tourism industry is flourishing and advertising portrays the ideal world as a large playground where everyone enjoys themselves. The predominant concept of life today does not have its centre of gravity in activity and commitment but in relaxation: earn money for fun, satisfy yourself. The ideal image is that of a successful person who can afford wide and different spaces for pleasure, but this mentality slips towards the dissatisfaction of an anesthetized existence of entertainment that is not rest, but rather alienation and escape from reality. Humanity has never rested as much as we do today, yet we have never experienced as much emptiness as we do today! The possibilities for having fun, going out, cruises, travel, many things do not fill our hearts, but neither do they give us rest.
The words of the Decalogue seek out and find the heart of the problem, throwing a different light on the meaning of rest. The commandment has a peculiar element: it provides a motivation. Resting in the name of the Lord has a precise motive, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and the sea and what is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord has blessed the Sabbath and consecrated it (Exodus 20:11).
This refers to the end of the creation account when the author says: God saw what he had done, and behold it was very good (Gen 1:31). Thus begins the day of rest, which is God's joy for what he has created. It is the day of contemplation and blessing.
What then is rest according to this commandment? It is the moment of contemplation, it is the moment of praise, not of evasion. It is time to look at reality and say: how beautiful life is! Instead of rest as an escape from reality, the Decalogue presents rest as a blessing. For us Christians, the centre of the Lord's Day - Sunday - is the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. It is the day to say to God: thank you Lord of life, for your mercy, for all your gifts. Sunday is not a day to cancel the other days but to remind us of them, to bless them and for us to make peace with life. How many people there are who have so many opportunities to have fun, and do not live in peace with life! Sunday is the day to make peace with life, saying: life is precious; it's not easy, sometimes it's painful, but it's precious.
Being introduced to authentic rest is a work of God in us, but it requires us to move away from any curses and to draw closer to its charm (see Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 83). In fact, it is very easy to bend the heart toward unhappiness and to emphasize reasons for discontent. Blessing and joy imply an openness to the good that is an adult movement of the heart. Goodness is loving and never imposes itself. It must be chosen.
Peace is chosen, it cannot be imposed and cannot be found by chance. Moving away from the bitter folds of his heart, man needs to make peace with that from which he flees. We need to reconcile ourselves with our own history, with facts that we do not accept, with the difficult parts of our existence. I ask you: have each of you been reconciled with your own story? A question to think about: me, am I reconciled with my story? In fact, true peace is not a matter of changing our own histories but rather of welcoming them, valuing them, as they have unfolded.
How often have we met sick Christians who have consoled us with a serenity that is not found in pleasure-seekers and hedonists? How often have we seen humble and poor people rejoice in small graces with a happiness that tasted of eternity?
In the Book of Deuteronomy, the Lord says: I have placed before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life therefore, so that you and your descendants may life (Deut 30:19). This choice is the Virgin Mary's fiat, an opening to the Holy Spirit who places us in the footsteps of Christ, Him who gives himself to the Father at the most dramatic moment of his life and therefore chooses the path that leads to the Resurrection.
When does life become beautiful? When you start to think well of it, whatever our story is. When the gift of a doubt makes its way: that which is all grace (as Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus recalls, as recounted in G. Bernanos, Diary of the Country Priest, Milan, 1965), and that holy thought crumbles the inner wall of dissatisfaction, inaugurating authentic rest. Life becomes beautiful when you open your heart to Providence and you find truth in what the Psalm says: Only in God does my soul find rest (Ps 62:2). This phrase from the Psalms is beautiful: Only in God does my soul find rest.
(Original text in Italian)
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and the Pope offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, Pope Francis said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and the United States of America. I also greet the priests of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education of the Pontifical North American College. 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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