If You Can Read This You Are a Pope

Pope Francis greets nuns during his general audience in the Paul Half-dozen hall at the Vatican Feb. 2, 2022. (CNS photograph/Paul Haring)

Below is the text of Pope Francis' weekly Wed audition, delivered on Feb. 2, 2022.

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Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

In recent weeks we have been able to deepen our understanding of the figure of Saint Joseph, guided by the few just of import pieces of information given in the Gospels, and as well by the aspects of his personality that the Church over the centuries has been able to highlight through prayer and devotion. Starting precisely from this sentire commune (common feeling) of the Church building that has accompanied the figure of St Joseph, today I would similar to focus on an important article of faith that can enrich our Christian life and also shape our relationship with the saints and with our deceased loved ones in the best possible way: I am talking near the communion of saints.

We often say, in the Creed, "I believe in the communion of saints." Merely if you ask what the communion of saints is, I remember as a kid I used to answer immediately, "Ah, the saints receive Communion." It's something that...we don't sympathise what nosotros are maxim. What is the communion of saints? It's not the saints receiving Communion, it's not that. Information technology's something else.

Sometimes even Christianity can fall into forms of devotion that seem to reflect a mentality that is more infidel than Christian. The cardinal departure is that our prayer and our devotion of the faithful people is non based, in these cases, on trust in a human existence, or in an image or an object, even when we know that they are sacred. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us: "Cursed is the man who trusts in human, [...] blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord" (17:5,7).

It is not the saints who work miracles, no! "This saint is so miraculous...." No, stop there. The saints don't work miracles, but but the grace of God that acts through them.

Fifty-fifty when nosotros rely fully on the intercession of a saint, or even more and so that of the Virgin Mary, our trust merely has value in relation to Christ. Every bit if the path toward this saint or toward Our Lady does not finish there, no. Not there, but in human relationship with Christ. He is the bail, Christ is the bond that unites u.s.a. to him and to each other, and which has a specific proper noun: This bail that unites us all, between ourselves and us with Christ, information technology is the "communion of saints."

It is not the saints who piece of work miracles, no! "This saint is so miraculous...." No, stop there. The saints don't work miracles, merely but the grace of God that acts through them. Miracles are done by God, by the grace of God interim through a holy person, a righteous person. This must be made clear. There are people who say, "I don't believe in God, I don't know, but I believe in this saint." No, this is incorrect. The saint is an intercessor, one who prays for us and we pray to him, and he prays for us and the Lord gives the states grace: the Lord, through the saint.

What, then, is the "communion of saints"? The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms: "The communion of saints is the Church" (no. 946). See what a cute definition this is! "The communion of saints is the Church." What does this hateful? That the Church is reserved for the perfect? No. Information technology means that it is the community of saved sinners [peccatori salvati]. The Church is the community of saved sinners. It'south beautiful, this definition. No one can exclude themselves from the Church building, we are all saved sinners. Our holiness is the fruit of God's dearest manifested in Christ, who sanctifies us by loving the states in our misery and saving us from it.

The joy and sorrow that touch on my life impact everyone, merely equally the joy and sorrow that touch the life of the blood brother and sister side by side to us too affect me. I cannot be indifferent to others, because we are all in 1 body, in communion.

Thanks ever to him we form one single body, says St. Paul, in which Jesus is the caput and we are the members (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). This prototype of the Body of Christ and the image of the body immediately makes u.s.a. understand what it means to exist bound to 1 some other in communion: Let us listen to what St. Paul says: "If ane fellow member suffers," writes St. Paul, "all the members suffer together; and if 1 fellow member is honored, all the members rejoice with him. At present you are the body of Christ and, each according to his part, his members" (1 Cor 12:26-27). This is what Paul says: nosotros are all i trunk, all united through religion, through baptism... All in communion: united in communion with Jesus Christ. And this is the communion of saints.

Dear brothers and beloved sisters, the joy and sorrow that bear upon my life affect everyone, just every bit the joy and sorrow that touch the life of the blood brother and sister next to us also affect me. I cannot be indifferent to others, because we are all in ane trunk, in communion. In this sense, even the sin of an individual person e'er affects anybody, and the love of each individual person affects everyone. In virtue of the communion of saints, this union, every member of the Church is bound to me in a profound manner. But I don't say "to me" because I am the pope; [I say] to each i of us he is bound, we have been bound, and bound in a profound mode and this bond is so strong that it cannot be cleaved even past death. Even past expiry.

In fact, the communion of saints does not concern but those brothers and sisters who are abreast me at this historic moment, or who live in this historic moment, only also those who have concluded their journey, the earthly pilgrimage and crossed the threshold of death. They besides are in communion with us. Let us consider, dearest brothers and sisters, that in Christ no one can ever truly carve up u.s. from those we beloved because the bond is an existential bail, a strong bond that is in our very nature; only the manner of existence together with one some other them changes, but nada and no one can intermission this bond.

"Father, let's remember nearly those who accept denied the faith, who are apostates, who are the persecutors of the Church, who have denied their baptism: Are these also at home?" Yeah, these besides. All of them.

"Father, let's think about those who accept denied the faith, who are apostates, who are the persecutors of the Church building, who have denied their baptism: Are these as well at home?" Aye, these besides. All of them. The blasphemers, all of them. Nosotros are brothers. This is the communion of saints. The communion of saints holds together the community of believers on globe and in heaven, and on earth the saints, the sinners, all.

In this sense, the relationship of friendship that I can build with a blood brother or sister beside me, I tin can also establish with a brother or sister in heaven. The saints are friends with whom we very often establish friendly relations. What we phone call devotion to a saint—"I am very devoted to this or that saint"—what we phone call devotion is actually a way of expressing love from this very bail that unites us. Also, in everyday life one tin can say, "But this person has such devotion for his elderly parents": no, it is a manner of dearest, an expression of beloved. And we all know that we tin always plow to a friend, especially when nosotros are in difficulty and demand help. And we have friends in heaven. We all need friends; we all need meaningful relationships to assistance us get through life. Jesus, too, had his friends, and he turned to them at the nearly decisive moments of his human feel.

In the history of the Church at that place are some constants that accompany the believing customs: get-go of all, the great affection and the very strong bond that the Church has always felt towards Mary, Mother of God and our Mother. But also the special honor and affection she has bestowed on St. Joseph. After all, God entrusts to him the most precious things he has: his Son Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

It'south non some kind of magic, it'southward non superstition, it's devotion to the saints. It'due south but talking to a brother, a sister, who is in the presence of God, who has led a righteous life, a model life, and is now in the presence of God.

Information technology is ever cheers to the communion of saints that we feel that the men and women saints who are our patrons—because of the name we acquit, for example, because of the Church building to which we belong, because of the place where we live, then on, besides every bit through personal devotion—are close to us. And this is the trust that must always animate u.s. in turning to them at decisive moments in our lives. It'southward not some kind of magic, information technology's not superstition, information technology'southward devotion to the saints. Information technology'due south simply talking to a brother, a sister, who is in the presence of God, who has led a righteous life, a model life, and is now in the presence of God. And I talk to this brother, this sister, and ask for their intercession for the needs that I have.

Precisely for this reason, I want to conclude this catechesis with a prayer to St. Joseph to which I am particularly attached and which I have recited every day for more than 40 years. It is a prayer that I found in a prayer book of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, from the 1700s, the end of the eighteenth century. It is very beautiful, but more than a prayer it is a challenge, to this friend, to this father, to this our guardian, Saint Joseph. It would be wonderful if y'all could learn this prayer and echo it. I will read it.

"Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, whose power makes the impossible possible, come to my help in these times of ache and difficulty. Take nether your protection the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you, that they may take a happy outcome. My beloved begetter, all my trust is in you. All my trust is in y'all. Let information technology not exist said that I invoked you in vain, and since y'all can exercise everything with Jesus and Mary, testify me that your goodness is as smashing equally your power. Amen."

And it ends with a challenge, this is to claiming St. Joseph: "You lot can do everything with Jesus and Mary, evidence me that your goodness is as great equally your power." This is a prayer... I have been entrusting myself to St. Joseph every day with this prayer for more than than 40 years: Information technology's an quondam prayer. Amen.

[While Pope Francis was reading this prayer, a man in the back of the audience hall began shouting, including almost wearing masks. Vatican police escorted him out of the building.]

A few minutes ago, we heard a person shouting, shouting, who had some kind of problem, I don't know if it was physical, psychological, spiritual: merely it's 1 of our brothers in trouble. I would like to end past praying for him, our blood brother who is suffering, poor thing: if he was shouting information technology is because he is suffering, he has some need. Permit us not exist deafened to this brother's need. Permit us pray together to Our Lady for him: Hail Mary....

Permit u.s.a. go forward, have courage, in this communion of all the saints we have in heaven and on globe: the Lord does non abandon the states. Give thanks you.

Reporting from Cosmic News Service was used in this article.

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Source: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2022/02/02/pope-francis-audience-communion-saints-242321

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