This morning's General Audience began at 9:30am in the Paul VI Hall. the Holy Father, Pope Francis met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
In his speech, the Pope focused on the theme: Behold, I am making all things new (Rev 21:5). The newness of Christian hope.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered specific greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
We have heard the Word of God in the book of Revelation which says: Behold, I am making all things new (Rev 21:5). Christian hope is based on faith in God that always creates novelty in the lives of humans, creates novelty in history, creates novelty in the cosmos. Our God is a God who creates novelty (newness), for he is the God of surprises.
It is not Christian to walk with our faces downcast - like the pigs do: they are always like that - without raising their eyes toward the horizons as though our journey always goes out from here, spreading out even for the first few metres of the journey; as though in our lives there were never any destination or place of landing, and we were abandoned to an eternal wandering, without any reason for expending so much effort. This is not the Christian way.
The final pages of the bible show us the ultimate horizon of the journey of all believers: Jerusalem in the skies, the Heavenly Jerusalem. We can imagine first of all an immense tent, where God welcomes all people, a place where we will live forever with him (Rev 21:3). This is our hope. And what will God do when we are finally in His presence? He will show us infinite tenderness, like a father who welcomes his children who have struggled and suffered for far too long. In the book of Revelation, John prophesies: Behold the tenderness of God toward mankind! ... He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death nor struggle nor lament nor hunger, for the first things will all be past ... Behold I am making all things new! (Rev 21:3-5). The God of novelty.
Try to meditate on this passage of Sacred Scripture, not in an abstract way, but after having read a chronicle of our days, after having seen the news or the headlines in the newspapers, where there are so many tragedies, where we find sad news and where we all are at risk of finding ourselves. On my way in, I greeted some of you from Barcelona: what sad news we have heard from that place! I greeted some from the Congo, there is sad news from there as well! And many others! I have only named two countries from among all those who are represented here ... Try to think of the faces of children who are afraid because of war, the tears of mothers, the broken dreams of so many young people, refugees who face terrifying voyages, and those who have been exploited so often ... Unfortunately, life is also like that. Sometimes we can be tempted to say that life is like that.
Perhaps. But there is a Father who is weeping with us; there is a Father who is crying tears of infinite pity for his children. We have a Father who knows how to cry, who cries with us. A Father who waits for us in order to console us, for he knows our suffering and has prepared a different kind of future for us. This is the great vision of Christian hope that expands throughout all the days of our existence, a vision that includes our growth.
It was not by mistake that God desired our lives, he does not force Himself nor us to endure nights of anguish. Instead, he created us so that we could be happy. He is our Father, and if we, here and now, are living a life that is the life that He wants for us, Jesus assures us that God himself is offering the ultimate ransom: He is working to redeem us.
We believe and we know that death and hatred are not the final words pronounced in the parable of human existence. To be Christian implies a new perspective: a gaze that is full of hope. Some people believe that all happiness in life is limited to youth and to the past, and that living is a matter of slow decay. Others believe that our joy is only a matter of passing episodes, and that throughout human life, these episodes make no sense. There are those who, when they are faced with many tragedies say: Life doesn't make sense. Our path is non-sense. But we Christians do not believe this. Instead, we believe that at the horizon there is a sun that is always burning. We believe that our best days are yet to come. We are more spring people than autumn people. I would like to ask you now - everyone answer in his heart, in silence, but respond - Am I a man, a woman, a boy or a girl of springtime or of autumn? Is my soul in its springtime or its autumn? Everyone respond. We see the seedlings of a new world rather than the yellowing leaves on the branches. We do not yield to nostalgia, regret or lamentation: we know that God wants us to inherit a promise and to be tireless dream-makers. Don't forget this question: Am I a person of springtime or of autumn? Of springtime, awaiting the flowers, awaiting the fruit, awaiting the sun that is Jesus, or the autumn, which always has its face downcast, sour and, as I have said before, with a face of peppers and vinegar.
The Christian knows that the Kingdom of God, his Lordship of love is growing like a large field of grain, even if there are weeds also growing there. We always have problems, there is always gossip, there are wars, there are illnesses ... there are all kinds of problems. But the grain grows, and in the end evil will be eliminated. The future does not belong to us, but we know that Jesus Christ is life's greatest grace: God's embrace awaits us in the end, but already here, He accompanies us and consoles us along the way. He leads us toward the great tent of encounter where God and man will meet (cf Rev 21:3), with all our other brothers and sisters, when we will bring to God the memory of the days we have lived here below. It will be good to discover in that moment that nothing has been lost, no smile and no tear. As long as our lives have been long, it seems that we have lived them as a time of breathing, and that creation did not stop on the sixth day but rather it continued untiringly, for God has always been concerned about us ... until the day when everything will be accomplished, in the morning when all tears will be wiped away, at the very instant when God will pronounce his final word of blessing: Behold - says the Lord - I am making all things new! (Rev 21:5). Yes, our Father is a God of novelty and of surprises. On that day we will be truly happy, we will cry. Yes, we will cry with joy.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and he offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. 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, India and Vietnam. In a particular way, I extend a warm welcome to pilgrims from the Cardjin Community International on the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn, and I encourage them in their generous service to the Gospel. May Jesus Christ confirm all of you in faith and make you witnesses of his love in the world. God bless you!
As part of his greetings to the Italian-speaking pilgrims, the Holy Father expressed his prayerful closeness to victims of the magnitude 4.0 earthquake that struck the Italian island of Ischia:
At least two people were killed and three young children, including a 7 month old baby were pulled from the rubble by firefighters. One of the victims was an elderly woman who was in a church that crumbled in the disaster. Dozens of people were injured when the quake struck and around 2,600 people were left homeless.
... Finally, I turn my thoughts toward and express my close affection for all those who have suffered as a result of the earthquake that struck the island of Ischia on Monday evening. I am praying for those who have died, for those who have been wounded, for their families and for all the people who have lost their homes.
In his speech, the Pope focused on the theme: Behold, I am making all things new (Rev 21:5). The newness of Christian hope.
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered specific greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
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
Biblical text (Rev 21:5-7)The One who sat on the throne said: Behold, I am making all things new. And he added: Write this, for these words are certain and true. And He said to me: Behold, it is accomplished! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty, I will freely give the springs of living water so that he can drink. The one who is victorious will inherit these things: I will be his God and he will be my son.Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
We have heard the Word of God in the book of Revelation which says: Behold, I am making all things new (Rev 21:5). Christian hope is based on faith in God that always creates novelty in the lives of humans, creates novelty in history, creates novelty in the cosmos. Our God is a God who creates novelty (newness), for he is the God of surprises.
It is not Christian to walk with our faces downcast - like the pigs do: they are always like that - without raising their eyes toward the horizons as though our journey always goes out from here, spreading out even for the first few metres of the journey; as though in our lives there were never any destination or place of landing, and we were abandoned to an eternal wandering, without any reason for expending so much effort. This is not the Christian way.
The final pages of the bible show us the ultimate horizon of the journey of all believers: Jerusalem in the skies, the Heavenly Jerusalem. We can imagine first of all an immense tent, where God welcomes all people, a place where we will live forever with him (Rev 21:3). This is our hope. And what will God do when we are finally in His presence? He will show us infinite tenderness, like a father who welcomes his children who have struggled and suffered for far too long. In the book of Revelation, John prophesies: Behold the tenderness of God toward mankind! ... He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death nor struggle nor lament nor hunger, for the first things will all be past ... Behold I am making all things new! (Rev 21:3-5). The God of novelty.
Try to meditate on this passage of Sacred Scripture, not in an abstract way, but after having read a chronicle of our days, after having seen the news or the headlines in the newspapers, where there are so many tragedies, where we find sad news and where we all are at risk of finding ourselves. On my way in, I greeted some of you from Barcelona: what sad news we have heard from that place! I greeted some from the Congo, there is sad news from there as well! And many others! I have only named two countries from among all those who are represented here ... Try to think of the faces of children who are afraid because of war, the tears of mothers, the broken dreams of so many young people, refugees who face terrifying voyages, and those who have been exploited so often ... Unfortunately, life is also like that. Sometimes we can be tempted to say that life is like that.
Perhaps. But there is a Father who is weeping with us; there is a Father who is crying tears of infinite pity for his children. We have a Father who knows how to cry, who cries with us. A Father who waits for us in order to console us, for he knows our suffering and has prepared a different kind of future for us. This is the great vision of Christian hope that expands throughout all the days of our existence, a vision that includes our growth.
It was not by mistake that God desired our lives, he does not force Himself nor us to endure nights of anguish. Instead, he created us so that we could be happy. He is our Father, and if we, here and now, are living a life that is the life that He wants for us, Jesus assures us that God himself is offering the ultimate ransom: He is working to redeem us.
We believe and we know that death and hatred are not the final words pronounced in the parable of human existence. To be Christian implies a new perspective: a gaze that is full of hope. Some people believe that all happiness in life is limited to youth and to the past, and that living is a matter of slow decay. Others believe that our joy is only a matter of passing episodes, and that throughout human life, these episodes make no sense. There are those who, when they are faced with many tragedies say: Life doesn't make sense. Our path is non-sense. But we Christians do not believe this. Instead, we believe that at the horizon there is a sun that is always burning. We believe that our best days are yet to come. We are more spring people than autumn people. I would like to ask you now - everyone answer in his heart, in silence, but respond - Am I a man, a woman, a boy or a girl of springtime or of autumn? Is my soul in its springtime or its autumn? Everyone respond. We see the seedlings of a new world rather than the yellowing leaves on the branches. We do not yield to nostalgia, regret or lamentation: we know that God wants us to inherit a promise and to be tireless dream-makers. Don't forget this question: Am I a person of springtime or of autumn? Of springtime, awaiting the flowers, awaiting the fruit, awaiting the sun that is Jesus, or the autumn, which always has its face downcast, sour and, as I have said before, with a face of peppers and vinegar.
The Christian knows that the Kingdom of God, his Lordship of love is growing like a large field of grain, even if there are weeds also growing there. We always have problems, there is always gossip, there are wars, there are illnesses ... there are all kinds of problems. But the grain grows, and in the end evil will be eliminated. The future does not belong to us, but we know that Jesus Christ is life's greatest grace: God's embrace awaits us in the end, but already here, He accompanies us and consoles us along the way. He leads us toward the great tent of encounter where God and man will meet (cf Rev 21:3), with all our other brothers and sisters, when we will bring to God the memory of the days we have lived here below. It will be good to discover in that moment that nothing has been lost, no smile and no tear. As long as our lives have been long, it seems that we have lived them as a time of breathing, and that creation did not stop on the sixth day but rather it continued untiringly, for God has always been concerned about us ... until the day when everything will be accomplished, in the morning when all tears will be wiped away, at the very instant when God will pronounce his final word of blessing: Behold - says the Lord - I am making all things new! (Rev 21:5). Yes, our Father is a God of novelty and of surprises. On that day we will be truly happy, we will cry. Yes, we will cry with joy.
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages and he offered greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. 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, India and Vietnam. In a particular way, I extend a warm welcome to pilgrims from the Cardjin Community International on the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn, and I encourage them in their generous service to the Gospel. May Jesus Christ confirm all of you in faith and make you witnesses of his love in the world. God bless you!
As part of his greetings to the Italian-speaking pilgrims, the Holy Father expressed his prayerful closeness to victims of the magnitude 4.0 earthquake that struck the Italian island of Ischia:
At least two people were killed and three young children, including a 7 month old baby were pulled from the rubble by firefighters. One of the victims was an elderly woman who was in a church that crumbled in the disaster. Dozens of people were injured when the quake struck and around 2,600 people were left homeless.
... Finally, I turn my thoughts toward and express my close affection for all those who have suffered as a result of the earthquake that struck the island of Ischia on Monday evening. I am praying for those who have died, for those who have been wounded, for their families and for all the people who have lost their homes.
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