Pope at Angelus: Married couples,
laity, models for the faith
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| Pope Francis at the General Audience (ANSA) |
Pope Francis, in his continuing catechesis on the Acts of
the Apostles, recalls St Paul’s journey to Corinth and his encounter with a
devout married couple, Aquila and Priscilla, describing them as an example of
Christian hospitality.
By Lydia O’Kane
Pope Francis on Wednesday during his General Audience
focused his attention on St Paul’s journey to Corinth, and the welcome he
received from husband and wife Aquila and Priscilla, who, like the Apostle,
were tentmakers by trade.
Christian hospitality
Continuing his catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles, the
Pope highlighted this devout married couple’s Christian hospitality.
Persecution
He explained to the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square
that the couple had been forced to move from Rome to Corinth after the emperor
Claudius had ordered the expulsion of the Jews. Dwelling on this point in off
the cuff remarks, the Pontiff spoke of the suffering of Jewish people down
through history. He said, they were “driven out, persecuted” and suffered many
brutalities.
The Pontiff also underlined that the “habit of persecuting
Jews is beginning “to be reborn here and there.” “The Jews are our brothers”,
he said, and “they should not be persecuted.”
Returning to the theme of hospitality, the Pope noted how
the house of Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth opened its doors not only to the
Apostle, but also to their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Domus ecclesiae
Pope Francis described how St Paul speaks of the
"'community that gathers in their house' which becomes a 'house of the
Church', a 'domus ecclesiae', a place of listening to the Word of God and of
celebrating the Eucharist."
Even today, he stressed, in some countries where there is no
religious freedom and no freedom for Christians, Christians gather in hiding to
pray and celebrate the Eucharist.
The role of laity
The Pope pointed out that “among the many collaborators of
Paul, Aquila and Priscilla, emerge as ‘models of a married life responsibly
committed to the service of the entire Christian community’ and remind us that,
thanks to the faith and commitment to the evangelization of so many lay people
like them, Christianity has come down to us.”
Concluding his catechesis and quoting his predecessor Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, said that “Christianity from the beginning
was preached by the laity. You too, the laity, are responsible for your Baptism
to carry on the faith.”
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