{"id":6660,"date":"2014-06-18T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-18T16:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/the-church-is-a-family-formed-by-god-pope-says-13458\/"},"modified":"2014-06-18T16:48:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-18T16:48:00","slug":"the-church-is-a-family-formed-by-god-pope-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/06\/the-church-is-a-family-formed-by-god-pope-says\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church is a family formed by God, Pope says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2014 \/ 10:48 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis stressed the familial nature of the Church at his Wednesday General Audience, emphasizing God\u2019s desire to form a people through fatherly love.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cTo speak of the Church is to speak of our mother, of our family,\u201d he said to those gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square June 18.<\/p>\n

\tHe said the Church is not a private association or an NGO, and neither is the Church restricted to bishops, priests, and the Vatican.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe are all the Church,\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\tGod plans \u201cto form a people blessed by his love and able to bring his blessing to all populations on Earth. Being Church means having a sense of being in the hands of God, who is our father and loves us, who awaits us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope looked to Abraham as an example of the \u201cprehistory\u201d of the Church.<\/p>\n

\tGod \u201cdid not call upon Abraham alone as an isolated individual, but instead from the very beginning he involved all of his family, his relatives and all those who served in his house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe first important fact is this: starting with Abraham, God formed a people in order to bring his blessing to all families on earth. And Jesus was born within this population,\u201d the Pope noted.<\/p>\n

\tIt was not Abraham who gathered these people around him: rather, \u201cit was God himself who took the initiative and addressed his word to man, creating a bond and a new relationship with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn this way God constitutes a people of all those who listen to his word and who set out on their path, trusting in him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis stressed the importance of trusting in God.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIf you place your trust in God, listen to him and set out on his path, this means being a Church. God\u2019s love precedes everything\u2026 he precedes us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAt the same time, the Pope acknowledged that those called by God, like Abraham and his family, are not \u201calways convinced and faithful.\u201d Rather, they resist God, withdraw into themselves and their interests, and are tempted to bargain with God and try to solve problems on their own terms.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere are the betrayals and sins that mark the path of the people throughout the history of salvation, which is the history of God\u2019s fidelity to his people, and the infidelity of the people of God. However, God never tires, he is patient and over time he continues to educate and form his people, like a father with his son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGod has this same attitude towards the Church, the Pope said. When we recognize ourselves as sinners, \u201cGod fills us with his mercy and his love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLet us then ask the grace to remain faithful in following the Lord Jesus and in listening to his word, ready to set out every day, like Abraham, towards the land of God and man, our true homeland, and thus to become a blessing and sign of God\u2019s love for all his children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis is what enables us to grow as the people of God, as a Church; it is not our cleverness, our merits, but rather the daily experience of how much the Lord loves and cares for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis then noted that June 20 is the World Day for Refugees, which remembers those forced to leave their homelands.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMillions of refugee families from many countries, of every religious faith, live through dramatic and painful events from which it is difficult for them to recover and heal. Let us be close to them, sharing their fears and uncertainty for the future, and alleviating their suffering in a concrete way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe prayed that God will support those who \u201cwork generously\u201d to welcome refugees and \u201cgive them reasons for hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe recalled that Jesus went to Egypt \u201cas a refugee\u201d when he fled for his life with St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope asked the faithful to work to support refugees and to say a Hail Mary for them, noting that Mary \u201cknows the suffering of refugees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jun 18, 2014 \/ 10:48 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis stressed the familial nature of the Church at his Wednesday General Audience, emphasizing God’s desire to form a people through fatherly love.<\/p>\n

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