• The witness of God’s merciful love which the Church, as mother, is called to give was at the center of Pope Francis’ Wednesday general audience address.
    The catechesis 10 Aug audience, which was held this week in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, is the latest in a series of addresses connected to the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
     
    The official English-language summary of the Pope’s catechesis, which was delivered in Italian:
    Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider the miracle of Jesus’ raising of the son of the widow of Nain. Jesus, moved by compassion for the grief of a mother, directly confronts the reality of death and restores life to her young son. This encounter before the town gates can inspire our own encounter with the Lord’s life-giving mercy as we pass through the Holy Door on our Jubilee pilgrimage. We approach that Door bringing with us our entire past, its joys and sorrows, trusting that Jesus will grant us a new beginning and revive our hope in his promises. The new life given to the son of the widow of Nain reminds us that we too have been raised from the dead and given new life in Christ through the grace of baptism. The Church has become our mother and we are called to be witnesses of God’s merciful love before the world. During this Jubilee Year, may we turn once more to Jesus, for he is the Door leading to salvation and new life. May the divine mercy which we have received pass from our hearts to our hands, and find expression in our practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.