Vatican
City, 18 September 2013 (VIS) – The Church as mother was again the
theme chosen by Francis for today's catechesis at the Wednesday
general audience. “I like this image a lot, as it seems to me that
it tells us not only how the Church is, but also shows us the face
the Church, this Church of ours, should increasingly show”, he
explained.
The
Pope began by considering what a mother does for her children. First
of all, “she teaches us how to proceed in life … she orientates
us, she always tries to show us the right path in life in order to
grow and become adults. And she does this with tenderness, with
affection, with love, always – even when she tries to correct our
path because we lose our way a little or take routes that might lead
us to a fall”.
“The
Church does likewise: she orientates our lives, she offers us
instruction on how to walk in the right way. Think of the ten
Commandments: they show us the route to follow if we are to mature,
fixing certain cardinal points in our behaviour. And these are the
fruits of tenderness, of the very love that God gives us. You might
say to me: but these are commandments! They are a list of negatives!
I would like to invite you to read them, … and then think about
them positively. You will see that they concern our way of behaving
towards God, towards ourselves and towards others, just as a mother
teaches us how to live well. They remind us not to make material
idols for ourselves, which then turn us into slaves; to remember God;
to respect our parents; to be honest; to respect others … Try to
see them in this way and consider them as if they were the words and
teachings a mother gives us in order to take a good path through
life. A mother never teaches anything that is bad, she wants only
what is best for her children, and the same is true of the Church”.
Secondly,
“when a child grows and becomes an adult … and assumes his
responsibilities … he does what he wants, and at times, he may
happen to stray away from the path. … A mother always, in every
situation, has the patience to continue to accompany her children.
She is animated by the strength of love … and even when [her
children] make mistakes, she always finds a way of understanding them
… to help them. We say that a mother 'stands up and is counted' for
her own children; that is, she always seeks to defend them”.
“The
Church is the same: she is a merciful mother who understands, who
always tries to help, to give encouragement even when her children
have made mistakes or continue to do so. She never closes the doors
of her house to them: she does not judge, but rather offers God's
forgiveness, she offers her love to invite her children to return to
the right path and even when they have fallen into the deepest abyss,
the Church is not afraid to enter into their darkest night with them
in order to give them hope; the Church is not afraid to enter into
our night when our soul and conscience are surrounded by darkness, to
give us hope! Because the Church is our mother!”
Finally,
“a mother also knows how to ask, to knock on every door for her
children, without calculation but with love. And I think of how
mothers know, most of all, how to knock on God's door! Mothers pray a
lot for their own children, especially for those … most in need,
whose lives have taken dangerous or mistaken paths. … The Church
does likewise: through prayer, she places the lives of all her
children in the hands of the Lord. Let us trust in the strength of
prayer of the Mother Church: the Lord never remains indifferent. He
always knows how to astonish us when we least expect us. The Mother
Church knows this!”
“So,
these are the thoughts I wanted to share with you today: we see in
the Church a good mother who shows us the path to walk in life, who
is always patient, merciful and understanding, and knows how to
place us in God's hands”.