Pope at Audience: 'all love is
meant to be faithful, generous and fruitful'
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| Pope Francis at General Audience.- ANSA |
Pope Francis says every Christian vocation, including the
priesthood and consecrated virginity, are deeply spousal, life-giving and
self-sacrificing. He was speaking at the General Audience during which he
reflected on the 6th Commandment.
By Linda Bordoni
Speaking to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for
the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francisreflected on the 6th
Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery”, and said that as Christians, our
“original call” is "to full and faithful spousal love", which Jesus
Christ revealed and gave to us.
Commenting on the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, he
described the concept as “revolutionary” saying that notwithstanding the
“anthropology of the time” it affirms that “the husband must love his wife as
Christ loves the Church”.
And elaborating on this, the Pope explained that although
the Commandment refers “explicitly to matrimonial fidelity”, it also speaks to
every human relationship and vocation.
The Pope said the development of human maturity follows the
path of love that goes from receiving care to the ability to offer care, from
receiving life to the ability to give life.
Marriage is a beautiful journey
He said that when we become adults we are called to live a
spousal and parental attitude, which is manifested in various situations of
life, and explained that a person who is “adulterous, luxurious, unfaithful” is
really an immature person who “keeps his life for himself” and interprets
situations “on the basis of his own well-being and self-satisfaction”.
“To really get married”, he said, “it is not enough to
celebrate marriage! We need to make a journey from the ‘I’ to the ‘We’ and
think and live for each other”.
Marriage, the Pope said, is a beautiful journey, and true
love enables us to find ourselves and give ourselves away.
Priesthood and consecrated virginity
Pope Francis then went on to say that the undying love of
Christ, that is the basis of marital fidelity, is also reflected in the spousal
love and spiritual parenthood that mark the vocations to priestly ministry and
consecrated virginity.
In this sense, he said, every Christian vocation is spousal.
He said the priesthood is such because it is the call, in
Christ and in the Church, to serve the community with all the love, care and
wisdom that the Lord gives.
“In the priesthood we love the people of God with all the
paternity, tenderness and strength of a spouse and a father” he said.
In the same way, he continued, consecrated virginity in
Christ must be lived faithfully and joyfully as a spousal relationship of
fruitful motherhood and fatherhood.
The full meaning of sexuality
And referring to the very words of the 6th Commandment, Pope
Francis said that as men and women, body and spirit, we are called to love in
ways that leave no room for lust or promiscuity.
The command – “You shall not commit adultery” – he said, is
an invitation to live fully our original calling to that pure and faithful
spousal love that is revealed in Jesus Christ.
In His mystery, he continued, and in his love we come to
understand the full meaning of the gift of our human sexuality and the fidelity
demanded by the marriage covenant.
“The human creature, in its inseparable unity of spirit and
body, and in its masculine and feminine polarity, is a very good reality,
destined to love and be loved. The human body is not an instrument of pleasure,
but the place of our call to love, and in authentic love there is no room for
lust and its superficiality. Men and women deserve more than this!” he said
1 and 2 November
In his final greetings Pope Francis recalled that tomorrow
we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints and, on November 2, we commemorate all
those who have departed.
“The witness of faith of those who have gone before us,
should strengthen in us the certainty that God accompanies us on the path of
life, never abandoning anyone to himself, and wants all of us to be holy, as he
is holy” he said.
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