At the Wednesday general audience, Pope Francis concluded his series of teachings on the Acts of the Apostles.
Acts concludes with Paul, under house arrest, in Rome. He tries to share the Word of God, the Gospel message of salvation, as the fulfillment of “the hope of Israel.”
Paul recognizes himself as profoundly Jewish and sees in the Gospel he preaches, that is, in the proclamation of the dead and risen Christ, the fulfillment of the promises made to the chosen people.
Francis reflected on the forcefulness of the Word, and the Church entrusted with the Word.
These four descriptions that he mentioned help us to consider the role of the Gospel in our own lives:
- the Word of faith … an active leaven in history, capable of transforming situations and opening up ever new paths.
- an unstoppable Word that wants to run in order to communicate salvation to all.
- Paul does not have the freedom to move but is free to speak because the Word is not chained – it is a Word ready to be sown with full hands by the Apostle.
- [the] Church which, though persecuted, misunderstood, and chained, never tires of welcoming with a motherly heart every man and woman to proclaim to them the love of the Father who made Himself visible in Jesus.
And today we celebrate...