Pope at Audience: Christians turn
our gaze to Christ crucified
At his General Audience, Pope Francis continues his catechesis
on the Ten Commandments, this week once again reflecting on the topic of
idolatry.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis continued his meditation on the Ten
Commandments at Wednesday’s General Audience, focusing on the theme of
idolatry. He took his cue from the episode of the golden calf, the idol par
excellence.
The story of the golden calf, found in the book of Exodus,
takes place in the desert, “a place where instability and insecurity reign,
where water, food, and shelter are lacking.” The desert, the Pope said, “is an
image of human life,” which is filled with uncertainty that can lead to
idolatry. Like the Jewish people in the desert, men and women of every age seek
security in visible “gods,” gods of their own making, “a do-it-yourself
religion.” “When God does not show Himself,” the Pope said, “we fashion a god
to suit us.”
The golden calf made by Aaron represented fertility and
abundance, but also energy and strength, the Pope said. It was made of gold to
symbolize riches. “Success, power, and money” will always be temptations; the
golden calf is “the symbol of all the desires that give us the illusion of
freedom,” but actually end up enslaving us.
Pope Francis said all this comes from an inability to trust
completely in God, “which allows us to endure even weakness, uncertainty, and
instability.” When our confidence in God fails, “it is easy to fall into
idolatry, and become content with meagre assurances.”
It is only when we look to Christ, who became poor for our
sake, “that we discover that recognizing our own weakness is not the misfortune
of human life, but rather the condition” that allows us “to open ourselves to
Him who is truly strong.” The salvation that comes from God “enters through the
gate of weakness.”
We Christians, the Pope said, “turn our gaze to Christ
crucified, who is weak, despised, and stripped of everything He possesses.” But
Jesus crucified shows us the true face of God. “He comes to reveal the
paternity of God: In Christ, our fragility is no longer a curse, but a place of
encounter with the Father, and a source of new strength from on high.”
At the conclusion of the Audience, Pope Francis had special
greetings for all those named for the Saint of the day, St Dominic Guzman.
"His example as a faithful servant of Christ and of His Church should be
an encouragement and an incentive for all of us." And he recalled that
Thursday is the feast of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, (Edith Stein), whom
he described as "a martyr, a woman of coherent witness, a woman who sought
God with sincerity, with love; a woman martyr of her Jewish and Christian
people." "From heaven, may she, a Patron of Europe, pray and preserve
Europe."
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