Pope's General Audience: The Church is our Mother. She gives us the gift of life.




September 11, 2013. (Romereports.com)  During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis described the Church as a Mother. He explained that just like a parent, the Church gives life, nourishes and accompanies her children throughout life. Reflecting on this powerful bond, the Pope then added that part of the relationship includes bringing others to the faith.

POPE'S CATECHESIS

Dear Brothers and Sisters: Today I wish to continue our catechesis on the Church by reflecting on an image used by the early Fathers and the Second Vatican Council: the Church as our Mother.  By reflecting on the human experience of maternity, we understand that the Church is like our own Mothers.

First, like our Mothers, the Church gives us the gift of life.  Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are reborn as children of God and receive his life.  While faith is a personal act, we also recognize that faith comes to us through others – our families and communities who teach us how to believe.
Second, like our Mothers, the Church nourishes us, helps us to grow, teaches us the path to follow, and accompanies us in life, especially in our illnesses and sufferings, through the Sacraments and the Word of God.

Third, it is also our mission to go forth and share in the maternity of the Church by bringing others to a life of faith.  And so we ask ourselves, do we love the Church as our Mother, who helps us to grow as Christians?  And how do we go  beyond ourselves in order to bring Christ to others? As faithful children, let us bring the light of Christ to the ends of the earth.

Santo Padre:
Saluto cordialmente i pellegrini di lingua inglese presenti all’odierna Udienza, specialmente quelli provenienti da Inghilterra, Scozia, Galles, Danimarca, Norvegia, Svezia, Germania, Malta, Kenya e Stati Uniti.  Il vostro soggiorno nella Città eterna faccia crescere il vostro amore per Cristo e la sua Chiesa, nostra Madre.  Dio vi benedica tutti!

Speaker: I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Malta, Kenya and the United States.  May your stay in the Eternal City increase your love for Christ and his Church, our Mother.  God bless you all! 1 Cor 12:12-13 A Reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of the one Spirit.

The Word of the Lord.
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