This morning's General Audience began at 9:20am (3:20am EST) in Saint Peter's Square where the Holy Father met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from all corners of the world.
In his speech, Pope Francis continued the cycle of catechesis on the Our Father, adding his mediation on the phrase Hallowed be thy name (Ezekiel 36:22-23).
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
It seems as though winter is departing and therefore we have returned to the Square. Welcome to the Square! In our journey of rediscovering the prayer of the Our Father, today we will explore the first of Jesus' seven invocations: hallowed be thy name.
There are seven questions in the Our Father, which are are easily divisible into two subgroups. The first three have the You of God the Father as their focus; the other four have us and our human needs as their focus. In the first part, Jesus makes us enter into his desires, all addressed to the Father: hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done; in the second it is He who enters into us and becomes the interpreter of our needs: our daily bread, forgiveness of our sins, help in times of temptation and liberation from evil.
This is the matrix of every Christian prayer - I would say of every human prayer - which is always made up, on the one hand, of contemplation of God, of his mystery, of his beauty and goodness, and, on the other hand, of sincere and courageous requests for what we need in order to live, and to live well. Thus, in its simplicity and its essentials, the Our Father teaches those who pray to Him not to multiply vain words, because - as Jesus himself says - your Father knows what things you need even before you ask them (Mt 6.8).
When we speak to God, we do not do so in order to reveal what we have in our hearts: He knows us much better than we know ourselves! If God is a mystery to us, we are not an enigma in his eyes (cf Ps 139:1-4). God is like those mothers who need only a glance to understand everything about their children: if they are happy or sad, if they are sincere or if they are hiding something ...
The first step in Christian prayer is therefore the surrender of ourselves to God, to his providence. It is like saying: Lord, You know everything, you do not even need me to tell you about my pain, I only ask you to stay here beside me: you are my hope. It is interesting to note that Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, immediately after repeating the text of the Our Father, exhorts us not to worry about things. It seems like a contradiction: first he teaches us to ask for our daily bread and then he tells us: Do not worry therefore, saying: what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? (Mt 6:31). But the contradiction is evident: the Christian's questions express confidence in the Father; and it is precisely this trust that makes us ask for what we need without worry and agitation.
This is why we pray by saying: Hallowed be thy name!. In this question - the first! - Hallowed be thy name!" - you can feel all the admiration of Jesus for the beauty and the greatness of the Father, and the desire that all people may recognize him and love him for what he really is. And at the same time there is the supplication that his name be sanctified in us, in our families, in our communities, in the whole world. It is God who sanctifies us, who transforms us with his love, but at the same time we too are the ones who, through our witness, manifest the holiness of God in the world, making his name present. God is holy, but if we are not holy, if our lives are not holy, there is a great incoherence! The holiness of God must be reflected in our actions, in our lives. I am a Christian, God is holy, but I do so many bad things, no, this is not good. This also hurts; this scandalizes and does not help.
The holiness of God is an expanding force, and we plead with Him that this force may quickly break down the barriers of our world. When Jesus begins to preach, the first to pay the consequences is precisely the evil one who afflicts the world. The evil spirits call out: What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to ruin us? I know who you are: the saint of God! (Mk 1:24). No one had never seen such holiness: holiness that helps us not to be worried about ourselves, but outstretched and willing to serve others. A holiness - that of Jesus - that spreads out in concentric circles, like when a stone is thrown into a pond. Evil has its days counted - evil is not eternal - evil can no longer harm us: the strong man who takes possession of his house has arrived (cf Mk 3: 23-27). And this strong man is Jesus, who also gives us the strength to take possession of our inner homes.
Prayer drives away all fear. The Father loves us, the Son raises his arms side by side with ours, the Spirit works in secret for the redemption of the world. And us? We do not waver in uncertainty. But we have a great certainty: God loves us; Jesus gave his life for us! The Spirit is inside of us. This is the great and sure thing. And the evil one? He's afraid. And this is beautiful.
(Original text in Italian)
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of pilgrims in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Wales, Norway and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
In his speech, Pope Francis continued the cycle of catechesis on the Our Father, adding his mediation on the phrase Hallowed be thy name (Ezekiel 36:22-23).
After having summarized His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular 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
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
It seems as though winter is departing and therefore we have returned to the Square. Welcome to the Square! In our journey of rediscovering the prayer of the Our Father, today we will explore the first of Jesus' seven invocations: hallowed be thy name.
There are seven questions in the Our Father, which are are easily divisible into two subgroups. The first three have the You of God the Father as their focus; the other four have us and our human needs as their focus. In the first part, Jesus makes us enter into his desires, all addressed to the Father: hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done; in the second it is He who enters into us and becomes the interpreter of our needs: our daily bread, forgiveness of our sins, help in times of temptation and liberation from evil.
This is the matrix of every Christian prayer - I would say of every human prayer - which is always made up, on the one hand, of contemplation of God, of his mystery, of his beauty and goodness, and, on the other hand, of sincere and courageous requests for what we need in order to live, and to live well. Thus, in its simplicity and its essentials, the Our Father teaches those who pray to Him not to multiply vain words, because - as Jesus himself says - your Father knows what things you need even before you ask them (Mt 6.8).
When we speak to God, we do not do so in order to reveal what we have in our hearts: He knows us much better than we know ourselves! If God is a mystery to us, we are not an enigma in his eyes (cf Ps 139:1-4). God is like those mothers who need only a glance to understand everything about their children: if they are happy or sad, if they are sincere or if they are hiding something ...
The first step in Christian prayer is therefore the surrender of ourselves to God, to his providence. It is like saying: Lord, You know everything, you do not even need me to tell you about my pain, I only ask you to stay here beside me: you are my hope. It is interesting to note that Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, immediately after repeating the text of the Our Father, exhorts us not to worry about things. It seems like a contradiction: first he teaches us to ask for our daily bread and then he tells us: Do not worry therefore, saying: what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? (Mt 6:31). But the contradiction is evident: the Christian's questions express confidence in the Father; and it is precisely this trust that makes us ask for what we need without worry and agitation.
This is why we pray by saying: Hallowed be thy name!. In this question - the first! - Hallowed be thy name!" - you can feel all the admiration of Jesus for the beauty and the greatness of the Father, and the desire that all people may recognize him and love him for what he really is. And at the same time there is the supplication that his name be sanctified in us, in our families, in our communities, in the whole world. It is God who sanctifies us, who transforms us with his love, but at the same time we too are the ones who, through our witness, manifest the holiness of God in the world, making his name present. God is holy, but if we are not holy, if our lives are not holy, there is a great incoherence! The holiness of God must be reflected in our actions, in our lives. I am a Christian, God is holy, but I do so many bad things, no, this is not good. This also hurts; this scandalizes and does not help.
The holiness of God is an expanding force, and we plead with Him that this force may quickly break down the barriers of our world. When Jesus begins to preach, the first to pay the consequences is precisely the evil one who afflicts the world. The evil spirits call out: What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to ruin us? I know who you are: the saint of God! (Mk 1:24). No one had never seen such holiness: holiness that helps us not to be worried about ourselves, but outstretched and willing to serve others. A holiness - that of Jesus - that spreads out in concentric circles, like when a stone is thrown into a pond. Evil has its days counted - evil is not eternal - evil can no longer harm us: the strong man who takes possession of his house has arrived (cf Mk 3: 23-27). And this strong man is Jesus, who also gives us the strength to take possession of our inner homes.
Prayer drives away all fear. The Father loves us, the Son raises his arms side by side with ours, the Spirit works in secret for the redemption of the world. And us? We do not waver in uncertainty. But we have a great certainty: God loves us; Jesus gave his life for us! The Spirit is inside of us. This is the great and sure thing. And the evil one? He's afraid. And this is beautiful.
(Original text in Italian)
The Holy Father's catechesis was then summarized in various languages, and His Holiness offered greetings to each group of pilgrims in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, especially those from England, Wales, Norway and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace. God bless you!
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