More on the Communion of the Saints

Today’s General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter’s Square.  The Holy Father, Pope Francis met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from various parts of Italy and other parts of the world.

During the discourse which was spoken in Italian, the Pope focused once more on the Communion of the Saints.

Following the syntheses of the catechesis given in various languages, Pope Francis spoke greetings to various language groups among the pilgrims who were present.  The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Last Wednesday, I spoke about the Communion of the Saints as a communion between holy persons, that is between us believers.  Today, I would like to deepen the other aspect of this reality: do you remember that there are two aspects – the first being communion, the unity between us and the other being communion with holy things, with spiritual gifts.  The two aspects are closely linked to each other.  In fact, the communion between Christians grows through our participation in spiritual gifts  In particular consider: the sacraments, gifts and charity (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 949-953).  We believe in unity, in communion, with: the Sacraments, gifts which each of us have received from the Holy Spirit and with charity.

Communion is of prime importance among the sacraments.  The sacraments express and bring about an effective and profound communion between us, for in them we encounter Christ the Savior and, through Him, our brothers and sisters in faith.  The sacraments are not mere appearances or rituals, but they are the strength of Christ; Jesus Christ is present in the Sacraments.  When we celebrate the Eucharist, it is the living Jesus who gathers us together, who forms us into a community, who invites us to adore the Father.  Each of us, in fact, through Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, is incorporated into Christ and united to the entire community of believers.  Therefore, while it is the Church that offers the sacraments, on the other hand, it is the sacraments that make the Church present, that edify it, that generate new children, making them one with the holy people of God and strengthening them in their belonging.

Every encounter with Christ, which gives us salvation in the sacraments, invites us to go and to communicate to others a salvation that we have seen, touched, encountered and welcomed; a salvation that is truly believable because it is love.  In this way, the sacraments teach us to be missionaries, filling us with apostolic commitment to bring the Gospel to every place, even to those places which are most hostile, where the most authentic fruit of an assiduous sacramental life is found, as a participation in the salvific work of God which seeks to bring salvation to all people.  The grace of the sacraments feeds within us a strong and glorious faith, a faith that is stilled by the marvels of God and is strong enough to resist the idols of the world.  For this reason, it is important that children should be baptized, that they should celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation, because the sacraments are the presence of Jesus Christ within us, a presence that helps us.  It is important, when we feel that we have sinned, that we approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Someone might say:  But I’m afraid, because the priest will chastise me.  No, the priest will not chastise you; do you know who it is that you meet in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?  You will meet Jesus who forgives you!  It is Jesus who waits for you there; and this is a sacrament that allows the Church to grow.

A second aspect of communion in the things that are holy is the communion of charisms.  The Holy Spirit dispenses to the faithful a multitude of gifts and spiritual graces; this fantastic wealth of gifts provided by the Holy Spirit is shared with us for the edification of the Church..  Charisms – a somewhat difficult word – are gifts which the Holy Spirit endows, abilities, possibilities … Gifts given not because they are hidden, but so that they may be shared with others.  They are not given for the benefit of those who receive them, but so that they may be used by the people of God.   If a charism, however, a gift of the Spirit should prove to be self-serving, we should be doubtful as to whether it is an authentic charism, or whether it has been authentically given.  Charisms are particular graces, given to some in order that they might do good for many others.  They represent attitudes, inspirations and interior motivations which arise in the consciousness and experience of certain people who are called ot put these gifts at the service of the community.    In particular, these spiritual gifts benefit the holiness of the Church and her mission.  We are all called to recognize them within ourselves and in others, to welcome them as useful stimuli for the fruitful presence and work of the Church.  Saint Paul warned: Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19).  Let us not quench the Spirit who gives us these gifts, these abilities, these beautiful virtues to help the Church grow.

What is our attitude toward these gifts of the Spirit?  Are we aware that the Spirit of God is free to give these gifts to those he chooses?  Do we consider them as spiritual helps, through which the Lord sustains our faith and strengthens our mission in the world?

And now we come to the third aspect of communion in holy things, that is the communion of charity, unity among us who practice charity and love.  The pagans, observing the early Christians, would say: how they love one another, how much they love each other!  They do not hate, they do not speak badly of each other.  This is the charity, the love of God that the Holy Spirit puts into our hearts.  The charisms are important in the life of the Christian community, but they are always means for growth in charity, in love, which Saint Paul cherishes above all other charisms (cf 1 Cor 13: 1-13).  Without love, in fact, even the most extraordinary gifts are in vain; a man can heal people, possess this quality or this other virtue, but does he have love in his heart?  Even if he has all the best of intentions but does not have love, he is incapable of serving the Church.  Without love, all these gifts and charisms cannot serve the Church, because where there is no love, there is always a face that is filled with egotism.  I ask myself:  if all of us are egotistical, is it possible for us to live in communion and peace?  Impossible!  If we are to live in peace, we need love to unite us.  The smallest of our gestures has good effects for everyone!  Therefore, to live in unity within the Church and in the communion of charity means that we do not seek our own interests, but share in the sufferings and joys of others (1 Cor 12:26), ready to carry the burdens of those who are weaker and poorer.  This fraternal solidarity is not a rhetorical figure of speech, but an integral part of the communion between Christians.  If we live it, we will be signs in our world, sacraments of the love of God.  We are sacraments one for the other and we are sacraments for all people!  It is not a matter of petty charity that we can offer to one another; it is something much deeper: a communion that enables us to enter into the joy and the sorrow of others in order to make them truly ours.

We can often be too stand-offish, indifferent, aloof and instead of transmitting fraternity, we portray moodiness, a cold exterior or selfishness.  With moodiness, a cold exterior and selfishness we cannot help the Church to grow; the Church grows only with love which comes from the Holy Spirit.  The Lord invites s to open ourselves to communion with him, in the sacraments, in the charisms and in love, in order to live in a manner worthy of our Christian vocation!

Now, permit me to ask of you an act of charity: rest assured that we will not take a collection!  Before coming into the piazza today, I went to see an eighteen-month-old child who is suffering from a grave illness.  His father and his mother are praying and asking the Lord for a return to full health for this little child.  Her name is Noemi.  She smiled at me, the poor thing!  Let us make an act of love.  We do not know her, but she is a baptized child, she is one of us, she is a Christian.  Let us make an act of love for her: in silence, let us ask the Lord to help her now, to give her health.  In silence for a moment, and then we will pray the Hail Mary.  Now, all together, let us pray to Our Lady for Noemi’s health.  Hail Mary …  Thank you for this act of charity.

Following the syntheses of the above catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father addressed each linguistic group of pilgrims.  To the English-speaking visitors, he said:

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims present at today's Audience, including those from England and Wales, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, Japan and the United States.  In a special way I greet the priests from England celebrating the anniversaries of their ordination.  I also thank the choirs present for their praise of God in song.  Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke God's blessings of joy and peace!