Theme of Pope’s general audience: ‘Let us not grow weary’
November 10, 2021
On November 10, Pope Francis concluded his Wednesday general audience series on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.
Previous addresses in the series were entitled “Introduction to the Letter to the Galatians“ (June 23), “Paul, the true apostle“ (June 30), “There is just one Gospel“ (August 4), “The Mosaic Law“ (August 11), “The propaedeutic value of the Law“ (August 18), “The dangers of the Law“ (August 25), “Foolish Galatians“ (September 1), “We are children of God“ (September 8), “Life of faith“ (September 29), “Christ has set us free“ (October 6), “Christian freedom, universal leaven of liberation” (October 13), “Freedom is realized in love“ (October 20), “The fruit of the Spirit“ (October 27), and “Walking according to the Spirit“ (November 3).
“We have seen Paul speak in a variety of ways as apostle, theologian and pastor, opening up the inexhaustible riches of Jesus Christ,” the Pope said, in the words of the official Vatican summary of his remarks. Paul’s personal encounter with the risen Lord led him to proclaim boldly the freedom from sin and death won by Christ’s victory on the Cross, and the new life bestowed on us by the Holy Spirit at our baptism.”
The summary continued:
Paul’s insistence that charity is the fulfilment of the law should lead us enthusiastically to pursue the way of Christian love and to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Nor should we ever grow weary or discouraged by our failures or apparent lack of progress.
Saint Augustine evokes the image of Christ asleep in the boat amid the storm to remind us that whenever we feel weary and the tempests of life threaten to overwhelm us, we need but awaken Christ in our hearts, trusting in his faithful presence and the life-giving power of his Spirit.
With Saint Paul, may we constantly rejoice in the newness, joy and freedom of the new life proclaimed by the Gospel.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
