This morning's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
During his discourse, the Pope continued the cycle of teachings on the family, focusing once again on the complementarity between men and women in the plan of creation.
Following the summaries of His catechesis presented in various languages, the Holy Father addressed 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 Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters,
In previous catecheses on the family, I have focused on the first account of the creation of human beings, in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is written: God created man in his image: in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gn 1:27).
Today, I want to complete my reflection on the second account, which we find in the second chapter of Genesis. Here, we read that the Lord, after having created the heavens and the earth, formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being (Gn 2:7). Man was the culmination of creation. But something else was missing: then God placed man in a beautiful garden to cultivate and care for it (cf Gn 2:15).
The Holy Spirit, who inspired the entire bible, suggests for a moment the image of man alone - who was missing something - without woman. The Spirit suggests the thoughts of God, the sentiments of God who was watching, who observed Adam alone in the garden: free, in charge ... but alone. And God saw that this was not good: like a lack of communion, man was lacking communion, he lacked his fulfilment. It is not good - God said - and he added: I want to create a suitable partner for him (Gn 2:18).
God presents all the animals to man: man gives to each one of them its name - and this is another image of man's lordship over creation - but he does not find a suitable partner in any of the animals. Man continues alone. Finally, when God presents woman, man recognizes with exaltation that this creature, and only this one, is part of him: bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh (Gn 2:23). Finally, there is a reflection, a reciprocity. When a person - this is an example to help you understand - wants to give his hand to another, he has to have another hand in front of him: if someone gives his hand and there is no one there, his hand remains there ... there is a lack of reciprocity. This is the way it was with man - there was something missing for him to achieve his fulfillment, he was missing reciprocity. The woman is not a replica of man; she comes directly from the creating act of God. The image of the rib does not in fact express inferiority or subordination, but on the contrary, that man and woman are from the same substance, that they are complementary and that they also have reciprocity. The fact is that - in the parable - God created woman while man was sleeping, underscoring the fact that in no way is she a creation of man, but of God. I would also suggest another thing: to find woman - and we can also say to find love in a woman - man must dream first and then find her.
God's trust in man and woman, to whom he entrusts the earth, is generous, direct and full. He trusts them. But the evil one introduces into their minds the concepts of suspicion, disbelief and mistrust. Finally, there was disobedience to the commandment that protected them. They fell into the delirium that pollutes everything and destroys harmony. Even we feel this delirium within us, so many times, we all do.
Sin creates difference and division between man and woman. Their relationship can be undermined by thousands of forms of abuse and provocation, misleading seduction and humiliating arrogance, including the most dramatic and violent of forms. History bears the evidence. Let us think for example of the negative exercises of patriarchal cultures. We can think of many forms of sexism where women are considered as second class. We can think of the exploitation and the objectification of the female body in today's media culture. But we can also think about the recent epidemic of mistrust, skepticism and hostility that is spreading in our culture - in particular from an understandable lack of trust on the part of women - about whether an alliance between man and woman is even possible at this time, or whether they are willing to protect the intimacy of communion and care for the dignity of difference.
If we do not find a swell of sympathy for this alliance, capable of setting new generations on a path to overcoming distrust and indifference, our children will experience a world that is increasingly uprooted from the maternal womb. The social devaluation of the stable and generative covenant between man and woman is certainly a loss for all of us. We must learn to honour marriage and family! The bible says a beautiful thing: the man found the woman, they met and the man had to leave something behind in order to fully find her. For this reason, a man will leave his father and his mother and go to his wife. It is beautiful! This signifies the beginning of a new path. The man is everything for the woman and the woman is everything for the man.
Protecting the covenant between a man and a woman, even if we are sinners and wounded, confused and humiliated, discouraged and uncertain, is a challenging and exciting vocation for us who are believers. The same account of the creation and of sin, in its final telling, provides us with a beautiful icon: The Lord God made clothing for Adam and his wife out of skins and clothed them (Gn 3:21). This is an image of tenderness toward a sinful couple who are left with their mouths wide open: the tenderness of God for man and for woman! IT is an image of paternal concern for the human couple. God himself cares for and protects his masterpiece.
Summaries of this catechesis were then offered in various languages, and the Holy Father addressed greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims who were present. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from Ireland, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Australia, China, Japan, Canada and the United States. May the Risen Lord confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of his love and mercy. May God bless you all!
During his discourse, the Pope continued the cycle of teachings on the family, focusing once again on the complementarity between men and women in the plan of creation.
Following the summaries of His catechesis presented in various languages, the Holy Father addressed 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 Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters,
In previous catecheses on the family, I have focused on the first account of the creation of human beings, in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is written: God created man in his image: in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gn 1:27).
Today, I want to complete my reflection on the second account, which we find in the second chapter of Genesis. Here, we read that the Lord, after having created the heavens and the earth, formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being (Gn 2:7). Man was the culmination of creation. But something else was missing: then God placed man in a beautiful garden to cultivate and care for it (cf Gn 2:15).
The Holy Spirit, who inspired the entire bible, suggests for a moment the image of man alone - who was missing something - without woman. The Spirit suggests the thoughts of God, the sentiments of God who was watching, who observed Adam alone in the garden: free, in charge ... but alone. And God saw that this was not good: like a lack of communion, man was lacking communion, he lacked his fulfilment. It is not good - God said - and he added: I want to create a suitable partner for him (Gn 2:18).
God presents all the animals to man: man gives to each one of them its name - and this is another image of man's lordship over creation - but he does not find a suitable partner in any of the animals. Man continues alone. Finally, when God presents woman, man recognizes with exaltation that this creature, and only this one, is part of him: bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh (Gn 2:23). Finally, there is a reflection, a reciprocity. When a person - this is an example to help you understand - wants to give his hand to another, he has to have another hand in front of him: if someone gives his hand and there is no one there, his hand remains there ... there is a lack of reciprocity. This is the way it was with man - there was something missing for him to achieve his fulfillment, he was missing reciprocity. The woman is not a replica of man; she comes directly from the creating act of God. The image of the rib does not in fact express inferiority or subordination, but on the contrary, that man and woman are from the same substance, that they are complementary and that they also have reciprocity. The fact is that - in the parable - God created woman while man was sleeping, underscoring the fact that in no way is she a creation of man, but of God. I would also suggest another thing: to find woman - and we can also say to find love in a woman - man must dream first and then find her.
God's trust in man and woman, to whom he entrusts the earth, is generous, direct and full. He trusts them. But the evil one introduces into their minds the concepts of suspicion, disbelief and mistrust. Finally, there was disobedience to the commandment that protected them. They fell into the delirium that pollutes everything and destroys harmony. Even we feel this delirium within us, so many times, we all do.
Sin creates difference and division between man and woman. Their relationship can be undermined by thousands of forms of abuse and provocation, misleading seduction and humiliating arrogance, including the most dramatic and violent of forms. History bears the evidence. Let us think for example of the negative exercises of patriarchal cultures. We can think of many forms of sexism where women are considered as second class. We can think of the exploitation and the objectification of the female body in today's media culture. But we can also think about the recent epidemic of mistrust, skepticism and hostility that is spreading in our culture - in particular from an understandable lack of trust on the part of women - about whether an alliance between man and woman is even possible at this time, or whether they are willing to protect the intimacy of communion and care for the dignity of difference.
If we do not find a swell of sympathy for this alliance, capable of setting new generations on a path to overcoming distrust and indifference, our children will experience a world that is increasingly uprooted from the maternal womb. The social devaluation of the stable and generative covenant between man and woman is certainly a loss for all of us. We must learn to honour marriage and family! The bible says a beautiful thing: the man found the woman, they met and the man had to leave something behind in order to fully find her. For this reason, a man will leave his father and his mother and go to his wife. It is beautiful! This signifies the beginning of a new path. The man is everything for the woman and the woman is everything for the man.
Protecting the covenant between a man and a woman, even if we are sinners and wounded, confused and humiliated, discouraged and uncertain, is a challenging and exciting vocation for us who are believers. The same account of the creation and of sin, in its final telling, provides us with a beautiful icon: The Lord God made clothing for Adam and his wife out of skins and clothed them (Gn 3:21). This is an image of tenderness toward a sinful couple who are left with their mouths wide open: the tenderness of God for man and for woman! IT is an image of paternal concern for the human couple. God himself cares for and protects his masterpiece.
Summaries of this catechesis were then offered in various languages, and the Holy Father addressed greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims who were present. To English-speaking visitors, he said:
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from Ireland, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Australia, China, Japan, Canada and the United States. May the Risen Lord confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of his love and mercy. May God bless you all!
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