Saints are witnesses and companions of hope, Pope says at Wednesday audience
June 21, 2017
Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences devoted to Christian hope, Pope Francis devoted his June 21 audience to the saints as witnesses and companions of hope.
“The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of the saints as ‘a great cloud of witnesses’ who support us on our pilgrim way through this present life,” the Pope said to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “In the sacraments of baptism, marriage and ordination, we pray the Litany of the Saints to implore their intercession and help in the particular vocation we have received.”
“The lives of the saints remind us that the Christian ideal is not unattainable,” Pope Francis continued. “Despite our human weakness, we can always count on God’s grace and the prayers of the saints to sustain us in faith and in hope for the transfiguration of this world and the fulfillment of Christ’s promises in the next.”
The Pope added:
May the Lord enable all of us to become saints, to be living images of Christ in our time. May he strengthen us to be his witnesses and to bring the Gospel to all our brothers and sisters, especially the suffering and those most in need of its message of undying hope.
Previous general audiences on hope:
- Isaiah 40: “Comfort, comfort my people…” (December 7)
- Isaiah 52: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings…” (December 14)
- Christ’s birth is the source of hope (December 21)
- Abraham’s hope against all hope (December 28)
- Rachel “is weeping for her children”, but... “there is hope for your descendants” (Jer. 31) (January 4)
- The false hopes of idols (January 11)
- Jonah: hope and prayer (January 18)
- Judith, the Courage of a Woman Restores Hope to a People (January 25)
- The helmet of hope (1 Thess. 5:4-11) (February 1)
- Hope, Source of Mutual Comfort and Peace (1 Thess. 5:12-22) (February 8)
- Hope Does Not Disappoint (February 15)
- For in this hope, we were saved (cf. Rom. 8:19-27) (February 22)
- Lent as a journey of hope (March 1; no audience March 8, during the Curia’s Lenten retreat)
- Rejoice in hope (cf. Rom. 12:9-13) (March 15)
- On Hope Founded in the Word (March 22)
- Hope against All Hope (March 29)
- On accounting for our hope (April 5)
- Hopes of the world and hope of the Cross (cf. John 12:24-25) (April 12)
- The Risen Christ our Hope (April 19)
- “I Am with You Always” (April 26; May 3 audience devoted to Pope’s apostolic journey to Egypt)
- The Mother of Hope (May 10)
- Mary Magdalen, Apostle of Hope (May 17)
- Emmaus, the Journey of Hope (May 24)
- The Holy Spirit makes us overflow with hope” (cf. Rm. 15:13-14) (May 31)
- God’s Paternity, Wellspring of Our Hope (June 7)
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Further information:
- 2017.06.21 General Audience (YouTube Vatican)
- Pope Francis holds General Audience: English Summary (Vatican Radio)
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