At his regular weekly audience on February 7, Pope Benedict XVI continued his series of talks on the early Church, remarking how Christianity first grew in believers’ homes.Addressing about 7,000 people in the Paul VI auditorium, the Holy Father spoke about Priscilla and Aquila, who were expelled from Rome by the Emperor Claudius and traveled to Corinth to help St. Paul build the Christian community there.
In Rome, the home of Priscilla and Aquila had been a meeting place for the growing Christian community, where they “came together to hear the Word of God and celebrate the Eucharist,” the Pope said.
Thus, the Pope observed, “the Church came into being in the houses of the believers.” It was only in the 3rd century that churches were built, so for the first few hundred years the faith could only flourish through the commitment of familieis.
“And still it is only in this way that the Church grows,” Pope Benedict continued. Christian homes can be transformed into “little churches,” he said, and the life of the family reflects the life of the Church.
In fact, the Pope remarked, “We could even say that the Apostle indirectly models the entire life of the Church upon that of the family.”
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