What is the communion of saints? The Pope explains"From conflict to communion": Pope Francis' ecumenical visionIn the Audience This morning, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on apostolic zeal. He began with a quote from the book of Isaiah: "By the labors of his soul (my Servant) shall see the light, the just shall be satisfied with knowledge. My Servant will justify many, because he bore their crimes. I will give him a multitude as a portion, and he shall have as a spoil a multitude. Because he exposed his life to death and was numbered among sinners, he took the sin of many and interceded for sinners" (Is 53:11-12).
In previous catecheses, the Holy Father spoke about St. Paul and the martyrsIn this case, he focused on monasticism, pointing out that these brothers "renounce themselves and the world to imitate Jesus in the way of poverty, chastity and obedience".
How can the Gospel be proclaimed from a monastery?
The Pope pointed out that the question may arise as to how we can participate in proclaiming the Gospel from the monasteries, and that we may even think that it would be better for these friars to use their energies in the active mission. "And yet they are the beating heart of proclamation. Their prayer is oxygen for all the members of the Body of Christ. It is the invisible force that sustains the mission. It is no coincidence that the patroness of the missions is a nun."
Saint Therese of Jesus, Patroness of the Missions
The Pope then spoke briefly about St. Therese of the Child Jesus and how she realized that what makes the members of the Church act is love, which contains all vocations. The Pope quoted some words of the saint and how she found her place in the Church: "My vocation is love".
St. Gregory of Narek
The Holy Father emphasized the power of intercessory prayer, which is what sustains the Church. To exemplify this, he used the figure of St. Gregory of Narek, an Armenian monk who lived around the year 1000 and spent most of his life in the monastery of Narek. From St. Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church, we have a book of prayer and poetry that greatly influenced Armenian literature and spirituality.
The Armenian people, clinging to the Cross of Christ
The Pope pointed out that the Armenian people have been "clinging to the Cross of Christ throughout history", highlighting the profound Christian tradition of the Armenian people, the first to embrace the Gospel. He also pointed out that St. Gregory of Narek teaches us "universal solidarity", since the one who intercedes bears the sufferings and sins of his brothers and sisters, as indicated in the quotation from Isaiah that opened the audience.
The Pope commented that consecrated persons "are like an antenna that picks up everything that happens in the world and prays. They are the great evangelizers (...). What animates the life of these consecrated men and women is love. Their apostolic zeal teaches us to ask for mercy for the world by praying for those who do not pray and do not know God".
Call to prayer to all Christians
The Pope encouraged participation in this Christian responsibility to cooperate with the Church's mission of proclaiming the Gospel through intercessory prayer. "Let us ask for the grace to feel in need of God and learn to pray interceding for everyone. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin take care of you," he concluded, in the summary of the catechesis in Spanish. In his greetings he also asked for continued prayers for Ukraine.
