POPES GENERAL AUDIENCE: VATICAN CITY - 18TH JUNE Gods endless love, mercy help Church be blessing for world, Pope says Beginning a series of audience talks about the Church, its identity and mission, Pope Francis said it would be a bit like a son talking about his mother, his own family, because the church is the mother of Christs disciples and is called to be united as a family. The story of salvation and of the Church is the story of Gods fidelity and the infidelity of his people, he said at his weekly general audience in St. Peters Square. But while members of the Church have strayed over and over again, he said: God never tires. God has patience, so much patience, and continues to form and to educate his people just like a father does with his own sons and daughters. Jesus established the Church, but it has a history that began thousands of years earlier when God made himself known to Abraham, the Pope explained. Abraham heard Gods call and became the father of a great nation, as God had promised, and Jesus was born into this people. Abraham and his family listened to Gods call and set out despite the fact that they did not know who this God was and where he wanted to lead them, the pope said. Its true. Abraham set out when this God called him, but he didnt have a theology book to study to find out who this God was. He trusted. He trusted in the love that God made him feel. The trust demonstrated by Abraham, by the Israelites and by Christians throughout the ages was not unwavering, the pope said. From the beginning there was resistance and betrayals and sins that have marked the story of Gods people all throughout salvation history. But in ancient times and still today, God walks with us, Pope Francis said. When we recognise that we are sinners, God fills us with his mercy and love, and he forgives us. He always forgives us. This is what makes us grow as the people of God, the Church. It is the daily experience of how much God loves us that makes the church a blessing to its members and a blessing for the world, he said. When God called Abraham this was his plan: form a people blessed by his love and who would bring his blessing to all the people of the earth. This plan has never changed and in Christ it reached its fulfillment and, still today, God continues this work in the church, the Pope said. I like to think that a synonym for being Christian is being men and women - a people - who always bless. Through their lives, Christians must always bless God and bless others, he said. Its a beautiful vocation. The text of the popes audience remarks in English is available online at vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/audiences/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140618_udienza-generale_en.html
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 09:29:31 +0000
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