Pope at Audience: Vatican II calls us to friendship with Christ
During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV continues
his catechesis series on the Second Vatican Council, looking more closely at
"one of the most beautiful and important of the Council," namely the
Dogmatic Constitution 'Dei Verbum,' on Divine Revelation.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not
know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends."
Pope Leo XIV recalled Jesus' words in the Gospel passage
according to St. John during his Wednesday General Audience on January 14, as
he continued his new catechesis series, which is dedicated to the Second
Vatican Council and a rereading of its Documents.
READ
POPE LEO'S FULL CATECHESIS HERE
Focusing on the Dogmatic Constitution Dei
Verbum, on Divine Revelation, the Pope called it one of the most
beautiful and important Documents of the Council.
The Holy Father noted that the text recalls Jesus'
invitation for us to be His friends.
"This is a fundamental point of Christian faith,
which Dei Verbum reminds us of: Jesus Christ radically
transforms man’s relationship with God, which is henceforth a relationship of
friendship. Therefore, the only condition of the new covenant is love."
God makes us sons and daughters
He acknowledged that we are not equal to God, and the
relationship between God and humanity always remains asymmetrical, as we are
only creatures of the Creator.
In spite of this, the Holy Father said, with the coming of
the Son in human flesh, God's Covenant opens up to His final purpose.
"In Jesus," he said, "God makes us sons and
daughters, and calls us to become like Him, albeit in our fragile
humanity."
With this in mind, Pope Leo reminded us of our need to
listen, "so that the Divine Word may penetrate our minds and our
hearts," and also "to speak with God," "not to communicate
to Him what He already knows, but to reveal ourselves to ourselves."
Must make time for prayer each day
This, he explained, is why prayer is so important for us to
live and to cultivate friendship with the Lord. We do so first of all, he said,
in liturgical and community prayer, "in which we do not decide what to
hear from the Word of God, but it is He Himself who speaks to us through the
Church."
This liturgical prayer, he continued, is "achieved in
personal prayer, which takes place in the interiority of the heart and
mind."
For these reasons, the Holy Father insisted, "time dedicated
to prayer, meditation, and reflection cannot be lacking in the Christian’s day
and week."
Finally, Pope Leo XIV pointed out that we know from
experience how friendships easily end through a 'rupture' or neglect.
"Jesus calls us to be friends," he said. "Let
us not leave this call unheeded." By welcoming and caring for this
relationship, the Holy Father insisted, "we will discover that friendship
with God is our salvation."
Pope Leo XIV at
Wednesday General Audience (@Vatican Media)
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