SUMMARY:
General
Audience: The Church is the Body of Christ!
______________________________________
General
Audience: The Church is the Body of Christ!
Vatican
City, 22 October 2014 (VIS) -This morning, the Holy Father gave a
general audience in St. Peter’s Square. An hour earlier he received
the athletes of the Bayern Munich Football Club in the Paul VI
Audience Hall.
At
the general audience, after traversing the square in his Popemobile
greeting the faithful present, he continued his series of catechesis
on the Church.Today’s mediation focused on the Church as the Body
of Christ. Pope Francis defined the Church as “a masterpiece of the
Spirit that instills in all the new life of the risen Christ, placing
us side by side to serve and support one another, thus making of us
one body, built in communion and love”. He emphasized, however,
that it is not just “a body built in the Spirit – the Church is
the Body of Christ. This is not just a figure of speech. It is what
we truly are! It is the great gift that we received on the day of our
Baptism!”
The
Pope noted that it would be good to remind ourselves more often of
what we are and of what the Lord Jesus has made of us. “We are His
body,” he stated, “a body that nothing and nobody can snatch away
from him and that He fills with all His passion and love just as a
husband loves his wife”. He also noted that divisions, jealousies,
misunderstandings, and marginalizations “are not good because,
instead of building up and growing the Church as the Body of Christ,
it is fractured into many pieces and dismembered”.
He
recalled some advice that the Apostle Paul gave to the Corinthians,
who at the time were facing the same difficulties. It is apt advice
for us today: “We should not be jealous but, in our communities, we
should appreciate the gifts and qualities of our brothers and
sisters. We should draw near to and participate in the suffering of
the poor and the most needy. We should express our gratitude to all.
Finally,” he concluded, “we should not consider ourselves as
superior to others but should, in charity, think of ourselves as
members of one another, living and giving of ourselves to the benefit
of all.”
At
the end of the catechism, Francis greeted the pilgrims and gathered
faithful in different languages. He especially addressed the
employees of Meridiana airlines, based in the Tempio-Ampurias Diocese
of Sardinia, Italy, who are experiencing a very difficult moment of
uncertainty regarding their jobs. “I hope,” he said, “that you
can reach an equitable solution that takes into account, above all,
the dignity of the human person and the essential needs of the
families. I send this appeal to all those responsible: please, no
family without a job!”
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