God’s love can even burn sins.
When people are
united, faith is strong.
Everyone, even Francis, have felt lost or had
doubts along their faith’s journey.
The Pope said this at Wednesday’s
General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, describing the "very beautiful
reality of our faith."
Francis recalled that “the Catechism refers to
two realities: communion with holy things and communion with holy
people.”
The Pope stopped to focus on the second meaning
for a few moments: "one of the most comforting truths of our faith,
because it reminds us that we are not alone, that there is a communion
of life between all those who belong to Christ. A communion that is born
of faith, in fact, the term saints refers to those who believe in the
Lord Jesus and are incorporated in Christ through Baptism in the
Church.” This is why the early Christians were also called “saints”.
The Gospel of John says that before his Passion
Jesus asked the Father for communion among disciples using these words:
“I pray…that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I
am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that
you have sent me.” (17:21) “The Church, in its deepest truth is
in communion with God, intimacy with God, a communion of love with
Christ and with the Father in the Holy Spirit , which continues in a
fraternal communion. This relationship between Jesus and the Father is
the "matrix” of the bond between us Christians: if we are intimately
included in this "matrix" in this ardent furnace of love that is the
Trinity, then we can become truly one heart and one soul among us,
because the love of God burns our selfishness, our prejudices, our
internal and external divisions. God's love burns even our sins,"
Francis said.
The Pope then stressed that "if we are rooted in
the source of Love, which is God, then there is also a reciprocal
movement: from my brothers to God, the experience of fraternal communion
with God leads us to be united among ourselves, it leads us to be
united with God, in this connection with God who is our Father. Our
faith needs the support of others, especially in difficult times. And if
we are united, the faith is strong. How beautiful it is to support one
another in this wonderful adventure of faith!”
The Pope highlighted “the tendency to retreat into
the private has also influenced the religious sphere, so that it is
often hard to ask for the spiritual help of those who share the
Christian experience with us.”
“Who among us - everybody, everybody! - who among
us has not experienced insecurity, loss and even doubts on their journey
of faith? Everyone! We've all experienced this, me too. Everyone. It is
part of the journey of faith, it is part of our lives. This should not
surprise us, because we are human beings, marked by fragility and
limitations. We are all weak, we all have limits: do not panic. We all
have them,” Francis affirmed.
"However, - the Pope continued - in these
difficult times it is necessary to trust in God, through prayer, and at
the same time, it is important to find the courage and the humility to
be open to others and ask for help, to ask for a hand: 'Give me a hand, I
have this problem.' How many times have we done this? And then, we
overcame the problem and found God again. In this communion - communion
which means 'common union', all united, common union - in this communion
we are a big family, all of us, where all the components help and
support each other."
After the Catechesis the Pope launched an appeal
for peace in Iraq: “I invite you to pray for the dear nation of Iraq
which is unfortunately the scene of tragic episodes of violence. May it
find the path towards reconciliation, peace, unity and stability.”
The
Pope then addressed Arabic speaking pilgrims, especially Iraqi pilgrims,
saying: “When you experience insecurity, loss and even doubts along
your journey of faith, try to trust in God’s help, through filial
prayer, whilst finding the courage and humility to open up to others.
How beautiful it is to support one another in this wonderful adventure
of faith!”