Pope Francis "...as Christians, holding hands beside Jesus, to pass from the illusions of youth to the treasure that is in heaven, walking behind Him." FULL TEXT + Video

POPE FRANCIS

GENERAL AUDIENCE

St. Peter's Square
Wednesday, 13 June 2018


Catechesis on the Commandments. 1. Introduction: The desire for a full life

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. Which one of you is called Antonio? A round of applause to all the "Antoni". Today we begin a new catechetical itinerary on the theme of commandments. The commandments of the law of God. To introduce it we take a cue from the passage just heard: the encounter between Jesus and a man - he is a young man - who, on his knees, asks him how to inherit eternal life (cf. Mk 10,17-21 ). And in that question there is the challenge of every existence, even ours: the desire for a full, infinite life. But how to get there? Which path to take? To live for real, to live a noble existence ... How many young people try to "live" and then they are destroyed by going after ephemeral things.

Some think it is better to turn off this impulse - the impulse to live - because it is dangerous. I would like to say, especially to the young: our worst enemy is not the concrete problems, however serious and dramatic: the greatest danger of life is a bad spirit of adaptation that is not meekness or humility, but mediocrity, pusillanimity. [1] A young mediocre is a young person with a future or not? No! It stays there, it does not grow, it will not succeed. Mediocrity or pusillanimity. Those young people who are afraid of everything: "No, I am so ...". These young people will not go forward. Meekness, strength and nothing pusillanimity, no mediocrity. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati - who was a young man - said that we must live, not vivacchiare. [2] The mediocre vivacchiano. Living with the power of life. We need to ask Heavenly Father for young people today for the gift of healthy restlessness. But, at home, in your homes, in every family, when you see a young man sitting all day, sometimes mom and dad think, "But this is sick, he has something", and they take him to the doctor. The young man's life is to go on, to be restless, the healthy restlessness, the ability not to be satisfied with a life without beauty, without color. If young people will not be hungry for authentic life, I wonder, where will humanity go? Where will humanity go with quiet and unquiet young people?

The question of that man of the Gospel we have heard is within each of us: how is life, life in abundance, happiness? Jesus replies: "You know the commandments" (v. 19), and quotes a part of the Decalogue. It is a pedagogical process, with which Jesus wants to guide to a specific place; in fact it is already clear, from his question, that the man does not have the full life, he tries more he is uneasy. What must therefore understand? He says: «Master, I have observed all these things from my youth» (v. 20).

How do you go from youth to maturity? When you start accepting your limits. We become adults when we become relativized and we become aware of "what is missing" (see verse 21). This man is forced to recognize that everything he can "do" does not exceed a "roof", he does not go beyond a margin.

How beautiful it is to be men and women! How precious is our existence! Yet there is a truth that in the history of the last centuries man has often refused, with tragic consequences: the truth of his limitations.

Jesus, in the Gospel, says something that can help us: "Do not believe that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to give full fulfillment "(Mt 5:17). The Lord Jesus gives the fulfillment, he came for this. That man had to arrive at the threshold of a leap, where he opens up the possibility to stop living of himself, of his works, of his goods and - just because he lacks full life - leaving everything to follow the Lord. [3] On closer inspection, in Jesus' final invitation - immense, marvelous - there is no proposal of poverty, but of wealth, the true one: "One thing is missing: go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; And Come! Follow me! "(V. 21).

Who, being able to choose between an original and a copy, would choose the copy? Here is the challenge: find the original of life, not the copy. Jesus offers no surrogates, but real life, true love, true richness! How can young people follow us in faith if they do not see us choose the original, if they see us addicted to half-measures? It is bad to find half-sized Christians, Christians - I allow myself the word - "nani"; they grow up to a certain height and then not; Christians with a diminished heart, closed. It's bad to find this. It takes the example of someone who invites me to "beyond", to "more", to grow a little. St. Ignatius called him the "magis", "the fire, the fervor of the action, that shakes the sleepy". [4]

The road of what is missing passes for what there is. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill. We have to start from reality to make the jump in "what is missing". We must scrutinize the ordinary to open ourselves to the extraordinary. In these catecheses we will take the two tables of Moses as Christians, holding hands beside Jesus, to pass from the illusions of youth to the treasure that is in heaven, walking behind Him. We will discover, in each of those laws, ancient and wise, the door opened by the Father who is in heaven because the Lord Jesus, who has crossed it, leads us into real life. His life. The life of the children of God.

Greetings in Various Languages of Pilgrims:

Je salue cordialement les pèlerins provenant de France et du Canada ainsi que d’autres pays francophones. Je salue en particulier les jeunes du lycée Paul Mélizan de Marseille et les fidèles du sanctuaire de Montligeon. Chers amis, n’ayez pas peur de prendre la main de Jésus pour marcher à sa suite. Il vous conduira sur le chemin de la vraie vie. Que Dieu vous bénisse !

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Scotland, Malta, Australia, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

Herzlich heiße ich die Pilger deutscher Sprache willkommen, besonders die Gruppe der Schönstattbewegung Deutschland. Der Monat Juni ist dem Heiligsten Herzen Jesu gewidmet, das wir in der entsprechenden Litanei anrufen als „Sehnsucht der Schöpfung von Anbeginn“. Vertrauen wir Jesus die Erfüllung all unserer Sehnsüchte an. Gott segne euch.

Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española provenientes de España y América Latina. De modo particular, saludo a los profesores y alumnos del Seminario Menor de Madrid. Pidamos a la Virgen María que obtenga para nosotros la gracia de volver a descubrir y revivir los diez mandamientos como un camino de amor que nos llevará a la vida verdadera, que es Cristo. Que el Señor los bendiga. Muchas gracias.

Dirijo uma cordial saudação aos peregrinos de língua portuguesa, nomeadamente aos grupos brasileiros de Anápolis e Palotina e aos numerosos fiéis de Lisboa e Porto, com destaque para o «Colégio da Paz» e a «Confraria da Pedra». Para todos, peço a Deus o dom duma sadia inquietude, de não vos contentardes jamais com uma vida sem ideal nem beleza. Apostai numa vida de jubilosa doação ao próximo. De bom grado vos abençoo a vós e aos vossos entes queridos!

أرحب بمودة بالحاضرين الناطقين باللغة العربية، وخاصة بالقادمين من سوريا ومن لبنان ومن الشرق ‏الأوسط. لقد وهبنا الله الحياة كيما نعيشها، لا بالخمول والتردد، إنما بالملء والاقدام، وقد كشف لنا عن كيفية ‏التوصل لهذه الحياة عبر كلمته المحيية ووصياه المقدسة. فمن يقبل هذه الكلمة ويحيا بحسب هذه الوصايا يتخطى ‏الغني البشري المحدود، وينال الغنى الحقيقي الذي وحده الله قادر على أن يعطيه. هكذا يجد الانسان في الله ‏السعادة الحقيقية والكنز الأثمن. ليبارككم الرب جميعا ويحرسكم من الشرير‏!

Serdecznie witam polskich pielgrzymów. Drodzy bracia i siostry, pielgrzymka do apostolskich korzeni chrześcijaństwa jest stosownym momentem, by szukać odpowiedzi na pytania zasadnicze, jak to, nad którym zastanawiamy się dzisiaj: Co robić, aby osiągnąć życie wieczne? Szukajcie jej w świetle świadectwa wiary, nadziei i miłości naśladowców Chrystusa, począwszy od apostołów Piotra i Pawła, aż do świętych naszych czasów. Miejcie odwagę pragnąć „skarbu w niebie”, jaki obiecał nam Chrystus! Z serca wam błogosławię.

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APPEAL

Tomorrow will open the World Cup in Russia. I would like to send my cordial greetings to the players and to the organizers, as well as to those who will follow through the means of social communication this event which exceeds all frontiers.

May this important sporting event become an occasion for meeting, dialogue and fraternity between different cultures and religions, fostering solidarity and peace among nations.

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I extend a cordial greeting to Italian-speaking pilgrims.

I am pleased to welcome the new Priests of the Diocese of Brescia; the Missionaries of Charity; the Missionary Sisters of the Consolata and the Sisters Servants of Mary Ministers of the Sick.

I greet the faithful of the parish of San Pietro in Abbadia di Montepulciano, accompanied by the Bishop Monsignor Stefano Manetti, and those of the Sacred Heart of Marigliano and Grottammare; Participants in the Congress promoted by the Italian Society of Pediatrics and the Flagwomen City of Volterra.

A special thought for the young, the elderly, the sick and the newlyweds. Today is the memory of St. Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church and Patron of the Poor. He teaches you the beauty of sincere and gratuitous love; just by loving as He loved, no one around you will feel marginalized and, at the same time, you will always be stronger in the trials of life.

[1] The Fathers speak of pusillanimity (oligopsychìa). St. John Damascene defines it as "the fear of carrying out an action" (Exact Exposure of the Orthodox Faith, II, 15) and St. John Climaco adds that "pusillanimity is a childish disposition, in a soul that is no longer young "(La Scala, XX, 1, 2).

[2] See Letter to Isidoro Bonini, 27 February 1925.

[3] "The eye was created for the light, the ear for the sounds, everything for its purpose, and the desire of the soul to rush towards the Christ" (Nicola Cabasilas, Life in Christ, II , 90).

[4] Address to the XXXVI General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, October 24, 2016: "It is about magis, of the plus that leads Ignazio to start trials, to accompany them and to evaluate their real impact on people's lives, in matters of faith , or of justice, or of mercy and charity ".