Pope Francis greeted pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square this morning where he held his weekly General Audience, beginning at 10:30am. Groups of pilgrims from various parts of Italy and from other parts of the world were present today.
Continuing the cycle of catecheses on the subject of the Year of Faith, the Holy Father added his meditation this morning on the theme: On the third day he rose: the salvific sense and meaning of the Resurrection.
According to the established order of the General Audiences, there is first a reading from scripture, then the Holy Father presents his catechesis (usually in Italian), then there are a series of syntheses of the catechesis in various languages, then the Holy Father greets the pilgrims. When the greetings were complete this morning, the Holy Father called for prayers for the people of Southern Iran, where there was a powerful earthquake yesterday.
The General Audience concludes with the recitation of the Our Father and the Apostolic Blessing pronounced by the Holy Father.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In the last catechesis we focused on the event of the Resurrection of Jesus, in which women played a special role. Today I would like to reflect on its meaning for salvation. What does the Resurrection mean for our lives? And why is it that without the Resurrection our faith is in vain? Our faith is based on the death and resurrection of Christ, just like a house is built on its foundations: if they give out, the whole house collapses. On the cross, Jesus offered himself, taking upon himself our sins and descending into the abyss of death, and saving also those who he found there through the power of the Resurrection. Through the power of the Resurrection, he removes them from the abyss and opens the way to be reborn to a new life. St. Peter expresses it briefly at the beginning of his First Letter, as we have heard: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into a heritage that can never be spoiled or soiled and ever fade away. (1:3-4).
The Apostle tells us that the resurrection of Jesus is something new: we are freed from the slavery of sin and become children of God, in fact we are begotten to a new life. When does this happen to us? In the Sacrament of Baptism. In ancient times, it would normally be received through immersion. The one to be baptized stood in a large tub in the Baptistery, leaving clothes behind, and the bishop or the priest would pour water three times on the head, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then the baptized would come out of the bath and wear new clothes, white ones: signifying that he was born to a new life, immersing himself in the death and resurrection of Christ. He was henceforth a child of God. Saint Paul writes in the Letter to the Romans: you received the spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, 'Abba, Father!' (Rom. 8:15). It is this Spirit that we received in baptism, that teaches us, leads us to call God: Father, or rather, Abba! which means daddy. In this tender fashion, our God is a father to us. The Holy Spirit produces in us this new status as children of God, and this is the greatest gift we receive from the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. God treats us as children, understands us, forgives us, embraces us, loves us even when we make mistakes . In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah said that even though a mother may forget the child, God never forgets us, at any time (cf. 49:15). And this is beautiful!
However, this filial relationship with God is like a treasure that is kept in a corner of our lives, but must grow, must be fed every day by listening to the Word of God, through prayer, participation in the sacraments, especially Penance and the Eucharist, and charity. We can live as children! And this is our dignity - we have the dignity of children. Behave as true children! This means that each day we must allow Christ to transform us and make us like Himself; it means that we must try every day to live as Christians, try to follow him, even despite our limitations and our weaknesses. The temptation to leave by God and to put ourselves at the centre is always around the corner and the experience of sin hurts our Christian life, our being children of God. We must have the courage of faith and not allow ourselves to be led by the mentality that tells us: God is not needed, he is not important to you and so on. In fact, it is just the opposite: only by behaving as children of God, not allowing ourselves to be discouraged by our failings, by our sins - instead feeling loved by Him, our life will be new, inspired by serenity and joy. God is our strength! God is our hope!
Dear brothers and sisters, we must first be firm in our hope and we must be a visible, clear, bright signs for everyone. The Risen Lord is the hope that never fails, that does not disappoint (cf. Rom 5:5). Hope does not disappoint. Hope in the Lord! How many times in our life do hopes vanish, how many times do the expectations that we carry in our hearts not prove to bear fruit! The hope of Christians is strong, safe and sound in this land, where God has called us to walk, and it is open to eternity, because it is founded on God, who is always faithful. We must not forget: God is always faithful, God is always faithful to us. Be risen with Christ through baptism, with the gift of faith, to an inheritance which is imperishable and which leads us to look to God, to think more of him, to pray more. Being a Christian cannot be reduced to simply following the Commandments. Being a Christian means trying each day to be like Christ, to think like him, to act like him, to love like Him. Being Christian means that we must let him take possession of our lives and change them, transform them and free them from the darkness of evil and sin.
Dear brothers and sisters, to those who ask for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15), let us point to the Risen Christ. Point to Him with the proclamation of the Word, but especially with our resurrected lives. In so doing, we demonstrate the joy of being children of God, who gives us the freedom to live in Christ, who is the true freedom that saves us from the slavery of evil, sin and death! Let us look toward our heavenly home, let us allow the Lord to put new light and strength in our commitment and in our daily efforts. We provide a valuable service to our world, which often can no longer look upward, which is no longer able to lift its gaze toward God.
Continuing the cycle of catecheses on the subject of the Year of Faith, the Holy Father added his meditation this morning on the theme: On the third day he rose: the salvific sense and meaning of the Resurrection.
According to the established order of the General Audiences, there is first a reading from scripture, then the Holy Father presents his catechesis (usually in Italian), then there are a series of syntheses of the catechesis in various languages, then the Holy Father greets the pilgrims. When the greetings were complete this morning, the Holy Father called for prayers for the people of Southern Iran, where there was a powerful earthquake yesterday.
The General Audience concludes with the recitation of the Our Father and the Apostolic Blessing pronounced by the Holy Father.
Catechesis of the Holy Father
for the General Audience
(original language spoken was Italian)
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In the last catechesis we focused on the event of the Resurrection of Jesus, in which women played a special role. Today I would like to reflect on its meaning for salvation. What does the Resurrection mean for our lives? And why is it that without the Resurrection our faith is in vain? Our faith is based on the death and resurrection of Christ, just like a house is built on its foundations: if they give out, the whole house collapses. On the cross, Jesus offered himself, taking upon himself our sins and descending into the abyss of death, and saving also those who he found there through the power of the Resurrection. Through the power of the Resurrection, he removes them from the abyss and opens the way to be reborn to a new life. St. Peter expresses it briefly at the beginning of his First Letter, as we have heard: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into a heritage that can never be spoiled or soiled and ever fade away. (1:3-4).
The Apostle tells us that the resurrection of Jesus is something new: we are freed from the slavery of sin and become children of God, in fact we are begotten to a new life. When does this happen to us? In the Sacrament of Baptism. In ancient times, it would normally be received through immersion. The one to be baptized stood in a large tub in the Baptistery, leaving clothes behind, and the bishop or the priest would pour water three times on the head, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then the baptized would come out of the bath and wear new clothes, white ones: signifying that he was born to a new life, immersing himself in the death and resurrection of Christ. He was henceforth a child of God. Saint Paul writes in the Letter to the Romans: you received the spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, 'Abba, Father!' (Rom. 8:15). It is this Spirit that we received in baptism, that teaches us, leads us to call God: Father, or rather, Abba! which means daddy. In this tender fashion, our God is a father to us. The Holy Spirit produces in us this new status as children of God, and this is the greatest gift we receive from the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. God treats us as children, understands us, forgives us, embraces us, loves us even when we make mistakes . In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah said that even though a mother may forget the child, God never forgets us, at any time (cf. 49:15). And this is beautiful!
However, this filial relationship with God is like a treasure that is kept in a corner of our lives, but must grow, must be fed every day by listening to the Word of God, through prayer, participation in the sacraments, especially Penance and the Eucharist, and charity. We can live as children! And this is our dignity - we have the dignity of children. Behave as true children! This means that each day we must allow Christ to transform us and make us like Himself; it means that we must try every day to live as Christians, try to follow him, even despite our limitations and our weaknesses. The temptation to leave by God and to put ourselves at the centre is always around the corner and the experience of sin hurts our Christian life, our being children of God. We must have the courage of faith and not allow ourselves to be led by the mentality that tells us: God is not needed, he is not important to you and so on. In fact, it is just the opposite: only by behaving as children of God, not allowing ourselves to be discouraged by our failings, by our sins - instead feeling loved by Him, our life will be new, inspired by serenity and joy. God is our strength! God is our hope!
Dear brothers and sisters, to those who ask for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pt 3:15), let us point to the Risen Christ. Point to Him with the proclamation of the Word, but especially with our resurrected lives. In so doing, we demonstrate the joy of being children of God, who gives us the freedom to live in Christ, who is the true freedom that saves us from the slavery of evil, sin and death! Let us look toward our heavenly home, let us allow the Lord to put new light and strength in our commitment and in our daily efforts. We provide a valuable service to our world, which often can no longer look upward, which is no longer able to lift its gaze toward God.
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