VATICAN CITY, SEP 20, 2000 (VIS) - "The experience of God 'Abba' in Christ and in the Spirit" was the theme of John Paul II's catechesis during the general audience which was held this morning in St. Peter's Square in the presence of 40,000 pilgrims.
"The typically Christian way of considering God always passes through Christ. He is the Way and no one comes to the Father except by Him. ... The experience of God can never be reduced to a generic 'sense of the divine,' nor should the mediation of Christ's humanity be considered as surpassable, the greatest mystics have demonstrated this," rather it must develop "in total coherence with the Gospel."
The Holy Father continued by indicating that "Christ also bore effective witness of the Father's love. In the incredible parable of the prodigal son, Jesus presents the Father as ever awaiting for sinful man to return to His arms." He added, "Those who truly experience God's love, cannot but repeat with ever-fresh emotion the words of the First Letter of St. John: 'See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are.' In this light, we can turn to God with the tender, spontaneous and intimate invocation: 'Abba,' Father."
"Christ," he went on, "grants us the very life of God, a life that overcomes time and introduces us into the mystery of the Father, into His joy and infinite light. ... This participation in the life of Christ, that makes us 'sons and daughters in the Son,' is made possible by the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Following the audience, the Pope blessed the statue of St. Marcellin Champagnat, founder of the Marist Teaching Brothers, in the Vatican's Santa Marta Square. The statue is a gift from the Republic of Costa Rica.
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