This morning'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 from various parts of Italy and from all corners of the world.
During his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the Church, adding a mediation on the Church as mother.
His Holiness' teaching was then summarized in various languages, and he offered particular greetings to each of the groups of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
In previous catecheses, we have noted on various occasions, the fact that we do not become Christians on our own, that is by means of our own strength, autonomously, nor do we become Christians in a laboratory. We become Christians and faith grows within us as we live within the great body of the Church. In this sense, the Church is truly a mother, our mother the Church - it's good to refer to the Church in this way: our mother, the Church - a mother who gives life in Christ and who makes it possible for us to live with all our brothers and sisters in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
In her maternity, the Church takes as her model the Virgin Mary, the most beautiful and most perfect model there could ever be. The first Christian communities shed light on this truth, and the Second Vatican Council referred to it in an admirable way (cf. Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium, 63-64). Mary's motherhood is certainly unique, singular; it was accomplished in the fullness of time when the Virgin give birth to the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and the Church's motherhood places us directly in relation to the motherhood of Mary, as the prolongation of her maternity in history. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church continues to give birth to new sons and daughters in Christ, always listening to the Word of God and docile to his plan of love. The Church is a mother. The birth of Jesus in Mary's womb is in fact a prelude to the birth of every Christian in the womb of the Church, since Christ is the firstborn of a multitude of brothers (cf Rm 8:29). Jesus is our older brother, born of Mary; he is our model, and we are all born in the Church. Therefore we understand that Mary and the Church are united in a most profound way: looking to Mary, we see the most beautiful, the most tender face of the Church; and looking at the Church, we recognize the sublime features of Mary. We Christians are not orphans, we have a mommy, we have a mother, and this is a wonderful thing! We are not orphans! The Church is a mother, Mary is a mother!
The Church is our mother because she has given birth to us in Baptism. Every time that a child is baptized, he or she becomes a son or daughter of the Church and enters into the Church. From that day onward, the Church, like a caring mother, helps us to grow in faith and shows us by the strength of the Word of God, the way to salvation, defending us against evil.
The Church has received from Jesus the precious treasure of the gospel, not in order to keep it for herself but in order to share it generously with others, like a mother does. In this service of evangelization we see in a particular way the maternity of the Church who, like a mother, is committed to offering her sons and daughters the spiritual nourishment that feeds us and makes it possible for our Christian lives to flourish. We are all called to welcome the Word of God with open hearts and minds, a Word which the Church proposes every day, because this Word has the ability to change us from within. Only the Word of God has this ability to change us for good from within, from the level of our deepest roots. The Word of God can do this. Who gives us the Word of God? Our mother, the Church. She feeds her children with this word, she nourishes us throughout our entire lives with this word, and this is very good! It is our mother the Church who changes us from within with the Word of God. The Word of God which we receive from our mother, the Church, transforms us; it teaches us not to be imbued with worldliness but to live according to the Spirit.
In her maternal care for us, the Church provides strength by showing believers the way that we should follow in order to live a fruitful life of joy and of peace. Enlightened by the light of the gospel and supported by the grace of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, we can direct our choices toward good and therefore face even the moments of obscurity and the most torturous paths with courage and hope. The path to salvation, along which the Church guides us and accompanies us with the strength of the Gospel and the support of the Sacraments, gives us the ability to defend ourselves against evil. The Church has the courage of a mother who knows how to defend her children from the danger of Satan's presence in the world, and to bring her children closer to Jesus. A mother will always defend her children. This defence also urges us to be vigilant against the deception and seduction of evil because even if God has already triumphed over Satan, he always returns, bringing with him all his temptations; we know this, we all know temptation, we have all been tempted and we are tempted. Satan comes, comes like a raging lion (1 Pt 5:8), says the apostle Peter, and it's up to us not to be naive, but to be vigilant and to stand firm in our faith. We can resist him with the counsel of our mother the Church, we can resist him with the help of our mother the Church, who like a good mommy is always close to her children in times of difficulty.
Dear friends, this is the Church, this is the Church that we all love, this is the Church that I love: a mother who has the good of every one of her children at heart and who is able to give her life for them. However, we should never forget that the Church is not only made up of priests and bishops, no, we are all the Church! The Church is all of us! Do you agree? All of us are children, but we are also mothers of other Christians. All the baptized, men and women, together we are the Church. How many times in our lives we choose not to bear witness to the maternity of the Church, to the maternal courage of the Church! How often it is that we are cowards! Let us entrust ourselves therefore to Mary, for as the mother of our first-born brother Jesus, she teaches us to possess the same maternal spirit when we are faced by our brothers, with the sincere ability to welcome them, to forgive them, to strengthen them and to instil in them both confidence and hope. This is what a mother does.
His Holiness' teaching was then summarized in various languages, and he offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful who were present. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Ireland, Malta, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Canada and the United States. May your stay in the Eternal City confirm you in love for our Lord and his Church. May God bless you all!
During his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the Church, adding a mediation on the Church as mother.
His Holiness' teaching was then summarized in various languages, and he offered particular greetings to each of the groups of the faithful who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imparting of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
In previous catecheses, we have noted on various occasions, the fact that we do not become Christians on our own, that is by means of our own strength, autonomously, nor do we become Christians in a laboratory. We become Christians and faith grows within us as we live within the great body of the Church. In this sense, the Church is truly a mother, our mother the Church - it's good to refer to the Church in this way: our mother, the Church - a mother who gives life in Christ and who makes it possible for us to live with all our brothers and sisters in the communion of the Holy Spirit.
In her maternity, the Church takes as her model the Virgin Mary, the most beautiful and most perfect model there could ever be. The first Christian communities shed light on this truth, and the Second Vatican Council referred to it in an admirable way (cf. Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium, 63-64). Mary's motherhood is certainly unique, singular; it was accomplished in the fullness of time when the Virgin give birth to the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and the Church's motherhood places us directly in relation to the motherhood of Mary, as the prolongation of her maternity in history. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church continues to give birth to new sons and daughters in Christ, always listening to the Word of God and docile to his plan of love. The Church is a mother. The birth of Jesus in Mary's womb is in fact a prelude to the birth of every Christian in the womb of the Church, since Christ is the firstborn of a multitude of brothers (cf Rm 8:29). Jesus is our older brother, born of Mary; he is our model, and we are all born in the Church. Therefore we understand that Mary and the Church are united in a most profound way: looking to Mary, we see the most beautiful, the most tender face of the Church; and looking at the Church, we recognize the sublime features of Mary. We Christians are not orphans, we have a mommy, we have a mother, and this is a wonderful thing! We are not orphans! The Church is a mother, Mary is a mother!
The Church is our mother because she has given birth to us in Baptism. Every time that a child is baptized, he or she becomes a son or daughter of the Church and enters into the Church. From that day onward, the Church, like a caring mother, helps us to grow in faith and shows us by the strength of the Word of God, the way to salvation, defending us against evil.
The Church has received from Jesus the precious treasure of the gospel, not in order to keep it for herself but in order to share it generously with others, like a mother does. In this service of evangelization we see in a particular way the maternity of the Church who, like a mother, is committed to offering her sons and daughters the spiritual nourishment that feeds us and makes it possible for our Christian lives to flourish. We are all called to welcome the Word of God with open hearts and minds, a Word which the Church proposes every day, because this Word has the ability to change us from within. Only the Word of God has this ability to change us for good from within, from the level of our deepest roots. The Word of God can do this. Who gives us the Word of God? Our mother, the Church. She feeds her children with this word, she nourishes us throughout our entire lives with this word, and this is very good! It is our mother the Church who changes us from within with the Word of God. The Word of God which we receive from our mother, the Church, transforms us; it teaches us not to be imbued with worldliness but to live according to the Spirit.
In her maternal care for us, the Church provides strength by showing believers the way that we should follow in order to live a fruitful life of joy and of peace. Enlightened by the light of the gospel and supported by the grace of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, we can direct our choices toward good and therefore face even the moments of obscurity and the most torturous paths with courage and hope. The path to salvation, along which the Church guides us and accompanies us with the strength of the Gospel and the support of the Sacraments, gives us the ability to defend ourselves against evil. The Church has the courage of a mother who knows how to defend her children from the danger of Satan's presence in the world, and to bring her children closer to Jesus. A mother will always defend her children. This defence also urges us to be vigilant against the deception and seduction of evil because even if God has already triumphed over Satan, he always returns, bringing with him all his temptations; we know this, we all know temptation, we have all been tempted and we are tempted. Satan comes, comes like a raging lion (1 Pt 5:8), says the apostle Peter, and it's up to us not to be naive, but to be vigilant and to stand firm in our faith. We can resist him with the counsel of our mother the Church, we can resist him with the help of our mother the Church, who like a good mommy is always close to her children in times of difficulty.
Dear friends, this is the Church, this is the Church that we all love, this is the Church that I love: a mother who has the good of every one of her children at heart and who is able to give her life for them. However, we should never forget that the Church is not only made up of priests and bishops, no, we are all the Church! The Church is all of us! Do you agree? All of us are children, but we are also mothers of other Christians. All the baptized, men and women, together we are the Church. How many times in our lives we choose not to bear witness to the maternity of the Church, to the maternal courage of the Church! How often it is that we are cowards! Let us entrust ourselves therefore to Mary, for as the mother of our first-born brother Jesus, she teaches us to possess the same maternal spirit when we are faced by our brothers, with the sincere ability to welcome them, to forgive them, to strengthen them and to instil in them both confidence and hope. This is what a mother does.
His Holiness' teaching was then summarized in various languages, and he offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful who were present. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Ireland, Malta, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Canada and the United States. May your stay in the Eternal City confirm you in love for our Lord and his Church. May God bless you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment