This morning's General Audience began at 10:00am in the Paul VI Hall, where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every part of the world.
In his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the family, beginning a reflection on three dimensions that characterize family life: celebration, work and prayer, focusing today in particular on the theme of celebration.
Following the customary summaries of His catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father directed 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 Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, we begin a special series of reflections on three dimensions that characterize, so to speak, the rhythm of family life: celebration, work and prayer.
We begin with celebration. Today, we will speak about celebrations, and let us say right away that celebrations were invented by God. We recall the conclusion of the creation story, in the Book of Genesis which we have just heard: On the seventh day, God completed the work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, for on the seventh day he rested from all the work of creating he had done (Gn 2:2-3). God himself teaches us the importance of dedicating some time to contemplation and to enjoying the fact that a job has been well done. Of course, I am speaking about work, not only in the sense of a craft or a profession, but in a broader sense: every action with which we men and women can collaborate in the creating work of God.
Thus the celebration is not a matter of laziness as though sitting on a throne, or the thrill of senseless escapism, no, the celebration is above all a matter of a loving gaze and gratitude for a job well done; we celebrate good work. You too, newlyweds, are celebrating the completion of a fruitful time of engagement: and this is beautiful! This is the time to look upon children or your nephews and nieces as they are growing up, and think: this is good! This is the time to look at our house, our friends who are welcomed there, the community that surrounds us, and to think: how wonderful! God did the same thing when he created the world. He continually does this, because God is continually creating, even in this moment!
It may happen that a celebration results in difficult circumstances or even suffering, and takes place even with a lump in the throat. Yet, even in such situations, we ask God for the strength to not spend our energies entirely. You, mothers and fathers know this only too well: how many times, for love of your children, do you find yourselves swallowing your own sorrows while they themselves enjoy a party, so that they can have a taste of the good life! There is so much love in such an act of giving!
Even in our workplaces, sometimes - not because of a failure to act! - we have had experiences of injecting a sense of celebration: a birthday, a wedding, a new birth, even a departure or a new arrival ... this is important! It's important to celebrate. These are moments for building and strengthening relationships, good for morale and for productivity: they are good for us!
But when there is a real celebration, we suspend all professional work, for such moments are sacred, because they remind men and women that we are made in the image of God, that we are not slaves to our work, but to the Lord, and therefore we should never be slaves to work, but lords instead. There is a commandment for this, a commandment that involves everyone, no one is excluded! However, we know that there are millions of men and women and even children who are slaves to their work! Even today, there are slaves, people who are exploited, cases of slave labour and this is contrary to God and contrary to the dignity of the human person! The obsession of economic profit and technical efficiency threatens the rhythms of human life, because life has it's own human rhythms. Time for rest, especially on Sunday, is reserved for us so that we can enjoy that which is not produced or consumed, that which cannot be bought or sold. Instead, we see that the ideology of profit and of consumption can even eat away at the concept of such celebration: life is reduced to a series of deals, to a question of making and spending money. Is this the reason why we work? Greed for consumption, which even involves waste, is a terrible virus that, among other things, makes us in the end more tired than we were before. It does harm to real work and consumes our life. The irregular rhythms of these kinds of celebrations often take victims, especially among the youth.
Finally, the time for a celebration is sacred because God is present there in a special way. The Sunday Eucharist brings the grace of Jesus Christ to the celebration: his presence, his love, his sacrifice, his ability to draw us into community, his presence with us ... In this way, every reality receives its full sense: work, family, joy, our daily trials, our sufferings and even death; everything is transformed by the grace of Christ.
Families have an extraordinary capacity for understanding, for guiding and for supporting the authentic value of a celebration. How beautiful it is to spend time together with family in a celebration, such experiences are absolutely beautiful, especially on Sunday! It is not by coincidence that celebrations where the whole family can gather in one large room are often the most successful!
This same family life, seen through the eyes of faith, looks better than all the efforts that are necessary. It appears to be a masterpiece of simplicity, particularly beautiful because it is not artificial, unending, but able to include all aspects of true life. It seems to be a very good thing, as God said of man and woman when creation was complete (cf Gn 1:31). So, a celebration is the special gift of God; a precious gift that God gives to the human family: don't spoil it!
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and He himself offered words of greeting to each of the groups of pilgrims that was 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 Malta, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, and Trinidad and Tobago. May your families celebrate daily the Lord’s love and mercy, and be a sign of his abiding presence in the world. May God bless you all!
In his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the family, beginning a reflection on three dimensions that characterize family life: celebration, work and prayer, focusing today in particular on the theme of celebration.
Following the customary summaries of His catechesis, presented in various languages, the Holy Father directed 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 Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, we begin a special series of reflections on three dimensions that characterize, so to speak, the rhythm of family life: celebration, work and prayer.
We begin with celebration. Today, we will speak about celebrations, and let us say right away that celebrations were invented by God. We recall the conclusion of the creation story, in the Book of Genesis which we have just heard: On the seventh day, God completed the work that he had done and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, for on the seventh day he rested from all the work of creating he had done (Gn 2:2-3). God himself teaches us the importance of dedicating some time to contemplation and to enjoying the fact that a job has been well done. Of course, I am speaking about work, not only in the sense of a craft or a profession, but in a broader sense: every action with which we men and women can collaborate in the creating work of God.
Thus the celebration is not a matter of laziness as though sitting on a throne, or the thrill of senseless escapism, no, the celebration is above all a matter of a loving gaze and gratitude for a job well done; we celebrate good work. You too, newlyweds, are celebrating the completion of a fruitful time of engagement: and this is beautiful! This is the time to look upon children or your nephews and nieces as they are growing up, and think: this is good! This is the time to look at our house, our friends who are welcomed there, the community that surrounds us, and to think: how wonderful! God did the same thing when he created the world. He continually does this, because God is continually creating, even in this moment!
It may happen that a celebration results in difficult circumstances or even suffering, and takes place even with a lump in the throat. Yet, even in such situations, we ask God for the strength to not spend our energies entirely. You, mothers and fathers know this only too well: how many times, for love of your children, do you find yourselves swallowing your own sorrows while they themselves enjoy a party, so that they can have a taste of the good life! There is so much love in such an act of giving!
Even in our workplaces, sometimes - not because of a failure to act! - we have had experiences of injecting a sense of celebration: a birthday, a wedding, a new birth, even a departure or a new arrival ... this is important! It's important to celebrate. These are moments for building and strengthening relationships, good for morale and for productivity: they are good for us!
But when there is a real celebration, we suspend all professional work, for such moments are sacred, because they remind men and women that we are made in the image of God, that we are not slaves to our work, but to the Lord, and therefore we should never be slaves to work, but lords instead. There is a commandment for this, a commandment that involves everyone, no one is excluded! However, we know that there are millions of men and women and even children who are slaves to their work! Even today, there are slaves, people who are exploited, cases of slave labour and this is contrary to God and contrary to the dignity of the human person! The obsession of economic profit and technical efficiency threatens the rhythms of human life, because life has it's own human rhythms. Time for rest, especially on Sunday, is reserved for us so that we can enjoy that which is not produced or consumed, that which cannot be bought or sold. Instead, we see that the ideology of profit and of consumption can even eat away at the concept of such celebration: life is reduced to a series of deals, to a question of making and spending money. Is this the reason why we work? Greed for consumption, which even involves waste, is a terrible virus that, among other things, makes us in the end more tired than we were before. It does harm to real work and consumes our life. The irregular rhythms of these kinds of celebrations often take victims, especially among the youth.
Finally, the time for a celebration is sacred because God is present there in a special way. The Sunday Eucharist brings the grace of Jesus Christ to the celebration: his presence, his love, his sacrifice, his ability to draw us into community, his presence with us ... In this way, every reality receives its full sense: work, family, joy, our daily trials, our sufferings and even death; everything is transformed by the grace of Christ.
Families have an extraordinary capacity for understanding, for guiding and for supporting the authentic value of a celebration. How beautiful it is to spend time together with family in a celebration, such experiences are absolutely beautiful, especially on Sunday! It is not by coincidence that celebrations where the whole family can gather in one large room are often the most successful!
This same family life, seen through the eyes of faith, looks better than all the efforts that are necessary. It appears to be a masterpiece of simplicity, particularly beautiful because it is not artificial, unending, but able to include all aspects of true life. It seems to be a very good thing, as God said of man and woman when creation was complete (cf Gn 1:31). So, a celebration is the special gift of God; a precious gift that God gives to the human family: don't spoil it!
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and He himself offered words of greeting to each of the groups of pilgrims that was 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 Malta, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, and Trinidad and Tobago. May your families celebrate daily the Lord’s love and mercy, and be a sign of his abiding presence in the world. May God bless you all!
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