Pope
Francis: women first and foremost in transmitting faith
(Vatican
Radio) The primary and indispensable role of women in transmitting the faith to
new generations: this was the focus of Pope Francis’ remarks to the faithful
following the readings of the day at Mass on Monday morning in the chapel of
the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. On the day when the Church celebrates
the memory of Saints Timothy and Titus – bishops and disciples of St Paul the
Apostle, Pope Francis commented in particular on the second letter of Paul to
Timothy.
Mothers
and Grandmothers transmit the faith
Paul
reminds Timothy of where his “sincere faith” comes from: his faith comes from
the Holy Spirit, “through his mother and grandmother.” Pope Francis went
on to say, “Mothers and grandmothers are the ones who [in primis]
transmit the faith.” The Holy Father went on to say:
It
is one thing to pass on the faith, and another to teach the matters of faith.
Faith is a gift: it is not possible to study Faith. We study the things of
faith, yes, to understand it better, but with study [alone] one never comes to
Faith. Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit, which surpasses all [“academic”]
formation.
Faith,
moreover, is a gift that passes from generation to generation, through the
“beautiful work of mothers and grandmothers, the fine work of the women who
play those roles,” in a family, “whether they be maids or aunts,” who transmit
the faith:
It
occurs to me: why is it mainly women, who to pass on the faith? Simply because
the one who brought us Jesus is a woman. It is the path chosen by Jesus. He
wanted to have a mother: the gift of faith comes to us through women, as Jesus
came to us through Mary.
Cherish
the gift of faith because you waters down
“We
need,” said Pope Francis, “in our own day to consider whether women really are
aware of the duty they have to transmit the faith.” Paul invites Timothy to
guard the Faith, the deposit of Faith, avoiding “empty pagan chatter, empty
chatter of the world.” He went on to say, “We have – all of us – received
the gift of faith: we have to keep it, at least in order that it not become
watered down, so that it remains strong, with the power of the Holy Spirit who
gave it to us.” We keep the faith by cherishing and nurturing it every day:
If
we do not have this care, every day, to revive this gift of God which is Faith,
but rather let faith weaken, become diluted, Faith ends up being a culture:
‘Yes, but, yes, yes, I am a Christian, yes yes,’ – a mere culture – or a
gnosis, [specialized kind of] knowledge: ‘Yes, I know well all the matters of
Faith, I know the catechism’. But how do you live your faith? This, then, is
the importance of reviving every day this gift: to bring it to life.
Timidity
and shame they do not increase the faith
Saint
Paul says that there are two things in particular, which contrast with a living
Faith: “the spirits of timidity and of shame”:
God
has not given us a spirit of timidity. The spirit of timidity goes against the
gift of faith: it does not let faith grow, advance, be great. Shame, in turn,
is the following sin, [which says]: ‘Yes, I have Faith, but I cover it up, that
it not be seen too much’. It’s a little bit here, a little bit there – it is,
as our forebears called it, a “rosewater” Faith – because I am ashamed to live
it powerfully. No: this is not the Faith: [Faith knows] neither timidity nor
shame. What is it, then? It is a spirit of power and of love and of prudence:
that is what Faith is This is the faith. "
Faith
is not negotiable
Pope
Francis explained that the spirit of prudence is knowing that we cannot do
everything we want: it means looking for the ways, the path, the manners by
which to carry the Faith forward, cautiously. “We ask the Lord’s grace,” he
concluded, “that we might have a sincere Faith, a Faith that is not negotiable depending
on the opportunities that come, a Faith that every day I try to revive or at
least ask the Holy Spirit to revive it, and make it bear much fruit.”
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