SUMMARY:
-
POPE: BEING ADOPTED CHILDREN OF GOD IS GREATEST GIFT OF PASCHAL
MYSTERY
-
POPE'S NEARNESS TO VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE IN IRAN
-
POPE GREETS HIS SOCCER TEAM
______________________________________
POPE:
BEING ADOPTED CHILDREN OF GOD IS GREATEST GIFT OF PASCHAL MYSTERY
Vatican
City, 10 April 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father dedicated his
catechesis of this Wednesday's general audience to the salvific
importance of Jesus' resurrection. After traversing St. Peter's
Square in the open-top car, greeting the thousands of persons
applauding his appearance, the Pope explained that the Christian
faith “is based upon Christ's death and resurrection just like a
house is built on its foundations. If those give way, the whole house
topples. On the cross, Jesus offers himself, taking our sins upon
himself and descending into the abyss of death, defeating it by his
resurrection, eliminating it and opening the way to be reborn to new
life.”
“With
Jesus' resurrection,” he continued, “something entirely new
occurs. We are freed from the bondage of sin and become children of
God. That is, we are reborn to a new life. When does this happen for
us? In the Sacrament of Baptism. In the past this was normally
received through immersion. … The those baptised would step out of
the bath and put on the new garment, the white one. They were born to
a new life, immersing themselves in Christ's Death and Resurrection.
They had become a child of God. St. Paul, in his Letter to the
Romans, writes: 'you received a spirit of adoption, through which we
cry, “Abba, Father!”' It is precisely the Holy Spirit that we
have received in Baptism that teaches us, that urges us to say to
God: 'Father', or better 'Abba', which means 'dad'. This is our God:
he is a dad to us. The Holy Spirit creates in us this new condition
of being children of God and this is the greatest gift we receive
from Jesus' Paschal Mystery. God treats us as children, understands
us, forgives us, embraces us, loves us, even when we make mistakes.”
Nevertheless,
this filial relationship with God “isn't like a treasure that we
keep in a corner of our lives but it must grow, must be nourished
every day by listening to the Word of God, by prayer, by
participating in the Sacraments, especially those of Penance and the
Eucharist, and by charity. We can live as children! This is our
dignity: we have the dignity of children. Let us act as true
children! This means that, every day, we have to allow Christ to
transform us ... It means trying to live as Christians, trying to
follow him even if we see our limits and our weaknesses. The
temptation to leave God aside and put ourselves in the centre is
always at the door … That is why we must have the courage of faith
and not let ourselves be led by the mentality that tells us: 'You
don't need God. He's not important for you,' and so on. It is just
the opposite: only by living as children of God, without being
discouraged by our missteps or by our sins, feeling loved by him will
our lives be new, inspired by serenity and joy. God is our strength!
God is our hope!”
“We
have to be the first to have a strong hold on this hope and we have
to be its visible, clear, and bright sign for all. The Risen Lord is
the hope that never fails, that does not disappoint. Hope does not
disappoint, the hope of the Lord! How many times in our lives do
hopes fade? How many times are the expectations that we hold in our
hearts unrealized? Our hope as Christians is strong, sure, strong in
this land where God has called us to walk, and is open to eternity
because it is founded in God who ... is always faithful to us. …
Being a Christian cannot be reduced to following commands but means
being in Christ, thinking like him, acting like him, loving like him.
It means letting him take possession of our lives and change them,
transform them, free them from the darkness of evil and sin.”
“To
anyone who asks for a reason for our hope, let us point to the Risen
Christ. Let us point him out with the proclamation of the Word, but
especially with our resurrected lives. Let us show the joy of being
children of God; the freedom that living in Christ gives us, which is
the true freedom that saves us from the slavery of evil, sin, and
death! Let us look to the heavenly Kingdom from which we have new
light and strength in our commitment and our daily efforts. It is a
precious service that we must give to our world, which often cannot
lift its gaze upward and is unable to lift its gaze toward God.”
At
the end of the audience, the Pope left the dais to greet and hug
those on the sides of the Sagrato, including handicapped persons and
newly weds, who had attended the catechesis.
POPE'S
NEARNESS TO VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE IN IRAN
Vatican
City, 10 April 2013 (VIS) – At the end of this morning's
catechesis, the Holy Father made an appeal for those affected by the
powerful earthquake in southern Iran, which has killed at least 37
people, injured hundreds more, and caused serious damage. “I pray
for the victims,” the Pope said, “and express my nearness to
those struck by this catastrophe. Let us pray for all our brothers
and sisters in Iran.”
POPE
GREETS HIS SOCCER TEAM
Vatican
City, 10 April 2013 (VIS) – Among those present at this morning's
general audience was a group from the St. Lawrence Athletic Club of
Buenos Aires, Argentina, of which Pope Francis has been member number
88235N since 2008. The Holy Father gave a particularly warm greeting
to “The Ravens”, as the team's fans are called, saying: “Ah,
this is very important!”. He also greeted the Spanish-speaking
pilgrims from Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and the other Latin American
countries. At the same time he greeted the priests participating in a
continuing education course at the Pontifical Spanish College in
Rome.
Addressing
the English-speaking pilgrims, he offered “prayerful good wishes”
to the students of the NATO Defense College “that their service to
international peace and cooperation be always fruitful”.
Particularly addressing the groups of German students from Munster
and Diessen, he thanked them for the music that they provided for the
audience.
In
conclusion, he spoke to the Italian pilgrims among whom were a group
of employees from the IDI private clinic (Istituto Dermopatico
dell'Immacolata, the Dermopathic Institute of the Immaculate), which
is experiencing a severe labour crisis. “I hope,” the Pope said,
“that a positive solution for such a difficult situation can be
found as soon as possible.”
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