Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on
Wednesday. After thanking the pilgrims present in St Peter's Square for braving
the brief, late Spring rainstorm that surprised them, there was read a passage
from the Gospel according to St John (19:32-35), in which the episode of the
soldiers' piercing of His side is recounted. Then the Holy Father began his
catechises, which this week began a new series of reflections on the mystery of
the Church, based in the documents of the II Vatican Council. Below, please
find Vatican Radio's English translation of the Holy Father's catechesis.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Last Wednesday I stressed the deep
connection between the Holy Spirit and the Church. Today I would like to start
some reflections on the mystery of the Church, a mystery that we all live and
of which we are part. I would like to do this, using some well-known phrases
taken from the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
Today the first: the Church as Family
of God
In recent months, more than once I
have made reference to the parable of the prodigal son, or rather of the
merciful father (cf. Lk 15:11-32). The youngest son leaves the house of his
father, squanders everything, and decides to return because he realizes he made
a mistake, though he no longer considers himself worthy of sonship. He thinks
he might be welcomed back as a servant. Instead, the father runs to meet him,
embraces him, gives him back his dignity as a son, and celebrates. This
parable, like others in the Gospel, shows well the design of God for humanity.
What is this God’s plan? It is to
make us all the one family of his children, in which each of you feels close to
Him and feels loved by Him – feels, as in the Gospel parable, the warmth of
being the family of God. In this great design, the Church finds its source.
[The Church is] is not an organization founded by an agreement among [a group
of] persons, but - as we were reminded many times by Pope Benedict XVI - is the
work of God: it was born out of the plan of love, which realises itself progressively
in history. The Church is born from the desire of God to call all people into
communion with Him, to His friendship, and indeed, as His children, to partake
of His own divine life. The very word “Church”, from the Greek ekklesia, means
“convocation”.
God calls us, urges us to escape from
individualism, [from] the tendency to withdraw into ourselves, and calls us –
convokes us – to be a part of His family. This convocation has its origin in
creation itself. God created us in order that we might live in a relationship
of deep friendship with Him, and even when sin had broken this relationship
with God, with others and with creation, God did not abandon us.
The whole history of salvation is the
story of God seeking man, offer[ing] humanity His love, embracing mankind. He
called Abraham to be the father of a multitude, chose the people of Israel to
forge an alliance that embraces all nations, and sent, in the fullness of time,
His Son, that His plan of love and salvation be realised in a new and everlasting
covenant with humanity. When we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus gathers
around him a small community that receives His word, follows Him, shares His
journey, becomes His family – and with this community, He prepares and builds
His Church.
Whence, then, is the Church born? It
is born from the supreme act of love on the Cross, from the pierced side of
Jesus from which flow blood and water, a symbol of the sacraments of Baptism
and the Eucharist. In the family of God, the Church, the lifeblood is the love
of God that is realised in loving Him and others, loving all without
distinction, without measure. The Church is a family that loves and is loved.
When does the Church manifest itself?
We celebrated [the Church’s manifestation] two Sundays ago: the Church
manifests itself when the gift of the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of the
Apostles and pushes them to go out and start the journey to proclaim the
Gospel, to spread the love of God.
Even today, some say, “Christ yes,
the Church no,” like those who say, “I believe in God, but in priests, no.”
They say, “Christ: yes. Church: no.” Nevertheless, it is the Church that brings
us Christ and that brings us to God. The Church is the great family of God's
children. Of course it also has the human aspects: in those who compose it,
pastors and faithful, there are flaws, imperfections, sins – the Pope has his,
as well: he has lots of them; but the beautiful thing is that, when we become
aware that we are sinners, we find the mercy of God. God always forgives: do
not forget this. God always forgives, and He receives us in His love of
forgiveness and mercy. Some people say – this is beautiful – that sin is an
offence against God, but it is also an opportunity: the humiliation of
realising [that one is a sinner] and that there is something [exceedingly]
beautiful: the mercy of God. Let us think about this.
Let us ask ourselves today: how much
do I love the Church? Do I pray for her? Do I feel myself a part of the family
of the Church? What do I do to make the Church a community in which everyone
feels welcomed and understood, [in which] everyone feels the mercy and love of
God who renews life? Faith is a gift and an act that affects us personally, but
God calls us to live our faith together, as a family: as the Church.
We ask the Lord, in a special way in
this Year of the faith, that our communities, the whole Church be ever more
true families that live and carry the warmth of God.
The Holy Father also had greetings
for English-speaking pilgrims, which he delivered through an interpreter:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In today’s
Audience I would like to speak of the Church as God’s family. Like the merciful
father in the parable of the prodigal son, God wants all of us to live in his
love and to share in his life. The Church is an essential part of this divine
plan; we were made to know and love God and, despite our sins, he continues to
call us to return to him. In the fullness of time, he sent his Son into our
world to inaugurate the new and eternal covenant with humanity through his
sacrifice on the cross. The Church was born of this supreme act of reconciling
love, in the water and blood which flowed from Christ’s pierced side. At
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit sent the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel of God’s
love to the ends of the earth. Christ can never be separated from his Church,
which he has made the great family of God’s children. Today, let [us] pledge
ourselves to renewing our love for the Church and to letting her be God’s true
family, where everyone feels welcomed, understood and loved. (Pope Francis, homely,
29/05/13)