This morning's General Audience began at 9:20am in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. The Holy Father met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
In his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the Our Father, adding his meditation on At the centre of the sermon on the mount (Biblical reference: Mt 6:5-6).
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 and Happy New Year once again!
Let us continue our catecheses on the Our Father, in the light of the mystery of Christmas which we have recently celebrated.
The gospel of Matthew places the text of the Our Father at a strategic point, in the midst of the sermon on the mount (cf Mt 6:9-13). Let us observe the scene: Jesus climbs the mountain near the lake and sits down; around him, there is the circle of his most intimate disciples, and then a great crowd of anonymous faces. It is this heterogeneous assembly that first receives the recital of the Our Father.
As I said, the placement of this episode is very significant because in this long teaching, which is known by the name of sermon on the mount (cf Mt 5: 1-7, 27), Jesus condenses the fundamental aspects of his message. The first part is like a decorated bow for the party: the Beatitudes. Jesus happily crowns a series of categories of people who in his time - but also in ours! - were not thought of very highly. Blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the humble of the heart ... This is the revolution of the Gospel. Where there is the Gospel, there is revolution. The Gospel does not leave us quiet, it pushes us: it is revolutionary. All the people who are capable of love, the peacemakers who had - until that point - been on the margins of history, are instead builders of the Kingdom of God. It is as if Jesus were saying: go forward; you bring the mystery of a God who has revealed his omnipotence in love and forgiveness into our hearts!
From this entrance portal, which overturns the values of history, comes the newness of the Gospel. The Law should not be abolished but needs a new interpretation, which leads us back to its original meaning. If a person has a good heart, predisposed to love, then he understands that every one of God's words must be incarnated until its last consequences are revealed. Love has no boundaries: one can love one's spouse, one's friend and even one's enemy with a completely new perspective. Jesus says: But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; he makes his sun rise on the bad and on the good, and makes rain fall on the just and on the unjust (Mt 5:44-45).
Here is the great secret that underlies all the sermon on the mount: be sons of your Father who is in heaven. Apparently these chapters of the Gospel of Matthew seem to be a moral discourse, they seem to evoke such an exacting ethic that it seems to be impracticable, and instead we find that they are above all a theological discourse. The Christian is not one who is committed to being better than others: he knows that he is a sinner like everyone else. The Christian is simply the man who pauses before the new Burning Bush, to the revelation of a God who does not carry the enigma of an unpronounceable name, but who asks his children to invoke him with the name of Father, to let himself be renewed by his power and to reflect a ray of his goodness for this world that is so thirsty for good, so hungry for good news.
This is how Jesus introduces the teaching of the prayer of the Our Father. He does this by distancing himself from two groups of his time. First of all the hypocrites: Do not be like the hypocrites who like to pray standing upright in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, so they can be seen by the people (Mt 6:5). There are people who are able to invent atheistic prayers, without God: and they do it to be admired by men. And how many times we see the scandal of those people who go to church and stay there all day or go every day and then live their lives hating others or talking badly about people. This is a scandal! It would be better not to go to church: if I had to live like that, like I was an atheist. But if you go to church, live like a son, like a brother and give true testimony, not counter-testimony. Christian prayer, on the other hand, has no other credible witness than its own conscience, where a continuous dialogue with the Father intertwines intensely: When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is in secret (Mt 6: 6).
Then Jesus distances himself from the prayer of the pagans: Do not waste words ...: they believe they are heard by the fact that they use many words (Mt 6:7). Here perhaps Jesus is alluding to that captatio benevolentiae which was the necessary premise of many ancient prayers: the divinity had to be somewhat tamed by a long series of praises, even by prayers. Think of that scene on Mount Carmel when the prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal. They shouted, danced, asked for so many things, even for their god to listen to them. And instead Elijah was silent and the Lord revealed himself to Elijah. The pagans think that they need to speak, speak some more, talk and speak some more, that all of this is praying. And I also think of many Christians who believe that praying is - excuse me - talking to God like a parrot. No! Praying is done from the heart, from within. Instead - says Jesus - when you pray, turn to God like a son to his father who knows what things he needs before he asks them (cf Mt 6:8). It could also be a silent prayer, the Our Father: it is enough to put ourselves under the gaze of God, to remember his Father's love, and this is enough for us to be fulfilled.
It is good to think that our God has no need of sacrifices in order for us to attain his favour! He does not need anything, our God: in prayer, he merely asks that we keep a channel of communication open with him so that he can always discover his beloved children. And He loves us so much.
(Original text in Italian)
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 welcome the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland, Australia, Korea, Canada and the United States of America. I thank the choirs for their praise of God in song. May you and your families cherish the joy of this Christmas season and draw near in prayer to the Saviour who has come to dwell among us. God bless you!
In his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the Our Father, adding his meditation on At the centre of the sermon on the mount (Biblical reference: Mt 6:5-6).
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 and Happy New Year once again!
Let us continue our catecheses on the Our Father, in the light of the mystery of Christmas which we have recently celebrated.
The gospel of Matthew places the text of the Our Father at a strategic point, in the midst of the sermon on the mount (cf Mt 6:9-13). Let us observe the scene: Jesus climbs the mountain near the lake and sits down; around him, there is the circle of his most intimate disciples, and then a great crowd of anonymous faces. It is this heterogeneous assembly that first receives the recital of the Our Father.
As I said, the placement of this episode is very significant because in this long teaching, which is known by the name of sermon on the mount (cf Mt 5: 1-7, 27), Jesus condenses the fundamental aspects of his message. The first part is like a decorated bow for the party: the Beatitudes. Jesus happily crowns a series of categories of people who in his time - but also in ours! - were not thought of very highly. Blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the humble of the heart ... This is the revolution of the Gospel. Where there is the Gospel, there is revolution. The Gospel does not leave us quiet, it pushes us: it is revolutionary. All the people who are capable of love, the peacemakers who had - until that point - been on the margins of history, are instead builders of the Kingdom of God. It is as if Jesus were saying: go forward; you bring the mystery of a God who has revealed his omnipotence in love and forgiveness into our hearts!
From this entrance portal, which overturns the values of history, comes the newness of the Gospel. The Law should not be abolished but needs a new interpretation, which leads us back to its original meaning. If a person has a good heart, predisposed to love, then he understands that every one of God's words must be incarnated until its last consequences are revealed. Love has no boundaries: one can love one's spouse, one's friend and even one's enemy with a completely new perspective. Jesus says: But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; he makes his sun rise on the bad and on the good, and makes rain fall on the just and on the unjust (Mt 5:44-45).
Here is the great secret that underlies all the sermon on the mount: be sons of your Father who is in heaven. Apparently these chapters of the Gospel of Matthew seem to be a moral discourse, they seem to evoke such an exacting ethic that it seems to be impracticable, and instead we find that they are above all a theological discourse. The Christian is not one who is committed to being better than others: he knows that he is a sinner like everyone else. The Christian is simply the man who pauses before the new Burning Bush, to the revelation of a God who does not carry the enigma of an unpronounceable name, but who asks his children to invoke him with the name of Father, to let himself be renewed by his power and to reflect a ray of his goodness for this world that is so thirsty for good, so hungry for good news.
This is how Jesus introduces the teaching of the prayer of the Our Father. He does this by distancing himself from two groups of his time. First of all the hypocrites: Do not be like the hypocrites who like to pray standing upright in the synagogues and in the corners of the squares, so they can be seen by the people (Mt 6:5). There are people who are able to invent atheistic prayers, without God: and they do it to be admired by men. And how many times we see the scandal of those people who go to church and stay there all day or go every day and then live their lives hating others or talking badly about people. This is a scandal! It would be better not to go to church: if I had to live like that, like I was an atheist. But if you go to church, live like a son, like a brother and give true testimony, not counter-testimony. Christian prayer, on the other hand, has no other credible witness than its own conscience, where a continuous dialogue with the Father intertwines intensely: When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is in secret (Mt 6: 6).
Then Jesus distances himself from the prayer of the pagans: Do not waste words ...: they believe they are heard by the fact that they use many words (Mt 6:7). Here perhaps Jesus is alluding to that captatio benevolentiae which was the necessary premise of many ancient prayers: the divinity had to be somewhat tamed by a long series of praises, even by prayers. Think of that scene on Mount Carmel when the prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal. They shouted, danced, asked for so many things, even for their god to listen to them. And instead Elijah was silent and the Lord revealed himself to Elijah. The pagans think that they need to speak, speak some more, talk and speak some more, that all of this is praying. And I also think of many Christians who believe that praying is - excuse me - talking to God like a parrot. No! Praying is done from the heart, from within. Instead - says Jesus - when you pray, turn to God like a son to his father who knows what things he needs before he asks them (cf Mt 6:8). It could also be a silent prayer, the Our Father: it is enough to put ourselves under the gaze of God, to remember his Father's love, and this is enough for us to be fulfilled.
It is good to think that our God has no need of sacrifices in order for us to attain his favour! He does not need anything, our God: in prayer, he merely asks that we keep a channel of communication open with him so that he can always discover his beloved children. And He loves us so much.
(Original text in Italian)
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 welcome the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from Ireland, Australia, Korea, Canada and the United States of America. I thank the choirs for their praise of God in song. May you and your families cherish the joy of this Christmas season and draw near in prayer to the Saviour who has come to dwell among us. God bless you!
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