GENERAL AUDIENCE: THE CHURCH AS BETHROTHED, BRIDE, MOTHER

VATICAN CITY, FEB 7, 2001 (VIS) - The theme of John Paul II's catechesis for today's general audience, held this morning in the Paul VI Hall, was: "The Church, bride of the Lamb, adorned for her husband."

John Paul II recalled that in the Book of Apocalypse St. John speaks of the heavenly Jerusalem as "'a bride adorned for her husband'. The feminine symbol portrays the face of the Church in her various aspects of betrothed, bride, and mother, thus emphasizing a dimension of love and fruitfulness."

"To be loved by Christ and to love Him with spousal love is integral to the mystery of the Church. ... The Church must let this supreme love shine through, reminding humanity - which often feels alone and abandoned in the wastelands of history - that it will never be forgotten and deprived of the warmth of divine tenderness. ... Precisely because she has been born of love, the Church pours out love."

The Holy Father further affirmed that "another fundamental dimension of the spousal nature of the Church is fruitfulness. ... Distinction and reciprocity in the human couple are a sign of the love of God not only as the basis of a vocation to communion, but also in its purpose of productive fruitfulness. ... It is thus understood how also the Church, in the Spirit which animates and unites her to Christ her Spouse, is endowed with an intimate fruitfulness, thanks to which she continually brings new children to birth in the waters of baptism and raises them up to fullness in Christ."

The heavenly Jerusalem, the Holy Father concluded, is "the final destination of the Church, which advances faithfully in its historical pilgrimage, though often feeling nearby ... the hostile and furious presence of another feminine figure, 'Babylon,' the 'great prostitute', who embodies the 'bestiality' of hatred, death, and inner sterility."

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