GENERAL AUDIENCE
St. Peter's Square
Wednesday, October 10th 2018
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's catechesis is dedicated to the Fifth Word: do not kill. The fifth commandment: do not kill. We are already in the second part of the Decalogue, the one concerning relations with others; and this commandment, with its concise and categorical formulation, stands like a wall in defense of the basic value in human relationships. And what is the basic value in human relationships? The value of life. [1] For this, do not kill.
One could say that all the evil done in the world is summarized in this: contempt for life. Life is assaulted by wars, by organizations that exploit man - we read in the newspapers or we see many things on the news - from speculations about creation and the culture of waste, and from all the systems that subject human existence to calculations of opportunities, while a scandalous number of people lives in a state unworthy of man. This is despising life, that is, in some way, killing.
A contradictory approach also allows the suppression of human life in the womb in the name of safeguarding other rights. But how can an act that suppresses innocent and helpless life in its blossoming be therapeutic, civil, or simply human? I ask you: is it right to "take out" a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to rent a hitman to solve a problem? One can not, it is not right to "take out" a human being, albeit small, to solve a problem. It's like renting a hitman to solve a problem.
Where does all this come from? Violence and the rejection of life where do they come from? From fear. Indeed, welcoming the other is a challenge to individualism. We think, for example, when it is discovered that a nascent life is a bearer of disability, even a serious one. Parents, in these dramatic cases, need real closeness, true solidarity, to face reality overcoming comprehensible fears. Instead they often receive hasty advice to stop the pregnancy, ie it is a way of saying: "stop pregnancy" means "take out one", directly.
A sick child is like every needy of the earth, like an old man who needs assistance, like so many poor people who struggle to get along: he, the one who presents himself as a problem, is actually a gift from God that can get me out of egocentrism and make me grow in love. Vulnerable life shows us the way out, the way to save ourselves from an existence turned in on itself and discover the joy of love. And here I would like to stop to thank, to thank many volunteers, to thank the strong Italian voluntary service which is the strongest I have known. Thank you.
And what leads man to reject life? They are the idols of this world: money - better to get rid of this, because it will cost -, power, success. These are incorrect parameters to evaluate life. What is the only authentic measure of life? It is love, the love with which God loves her! The love with which God loves life: this is the measure. The love with which God loves every human life.
In fact, what is the positive meaning of the Word "Do not kill"? That God is "a lover of life", as we have just heard from the Bible reading.
The secret of life is revealed to us by how the Son of God who has become man has treated it to the point of assuming, on the cross, rejection, weakness, poverty and pain (cf. Jn 13: 1). In every sick child, in every weak elder, in every desperate migrant, in every fragile and threatened life, Christ is looking for us (cf. Mt 25: 34-46), he is looking for our heart, to reveal to us the joy of love.
It is worthwhile to accept every life because every man is worth the blood of Christ himself (cf. 1 Pet 1: 18-19). One can not despise what God so loved!
We must tell the men and women of the world: do not despise your life! The life of others, but also their own, because the command is also valid: "Do not kill". To many young people it must be said: do not despise your existence! Stop rejecting God's work! You are a work of God! Do not underestimate yourself, do not despise yourself with addictions that will ruin you and lead you to death!
No one measures life according to the deceptions of this world, but each one accepts himself and others in the name of the Father who created us. He is "a lover of life": this is beautiful, "God is a lover of life". And we are all so dear to him that he has sent his Son for us. "God in fact," says the Gospel, "so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).
Greetings:
Je salue cordialement les pèlerins francophones, venus de France, de Suisse et de l’Île Maurice, en particulier les diocésains de Vannes et de Saint-Brieuc. Chers amis, ne méprisez jamais votre existence, vous êtes une œuvre de Dieu ! Témoignez autour de vous de la valeur infinie de toute vie humaine ! Que Dieu vous bénisse !
I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Canada, Curaçao and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!
Von Herzen grüße ich die Pilger deutscher Sprache, insbesondere die zahlreichen Jugendlichen, die Schulgruppen des Gauß-Gymnasiums Gelsenkirchen, des Collegium Gaesdonck und der Liebfrauenschule Ratingen sowie die Teilnehmer an der Informationswoche der Päpstlichen Schweizer Garde. Der Herr segne euch und begleite euch auf eurem Weg.
Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española, en modo particular a los grupos provenientes de España y América Latina. Los animo a que siguiendo el ejemplo de Jesús, que vino a dar su vida por nosotros, sepamos acoger y proteger la propia vida y la de los demás en el nombre de Dios Padre. Muchas gracias.
Amados peregrinos de língua portuguesa, dirijo uma cordial saudação a todos, particularmente aos fiéis da paróquia Nossa Senhora da Paz, do Rio de Janeiro. Este mês de Outubro encoraja-nos a perseverar na reza diária do terço, possivelmente em família, para que se reflita também na Igreja doméstica o modelo de Maria. O segredo da sua serenidade e confiança estava nesta certeza: «A Deus, nada é impossível». Desça, pois, sobre vós e vossas famílias a Bênção do Senhor.
أرحب بمودة بالحاضرين الناطقين باللغة العربية، وخاصة بالقادمين من مصر ومن لبنان ومن الشرق الأوسط. لا تقتل هي وصية إلهية تؤكد قدسية الحياة الإنسانية كهبة من الله، لا يحق لأحد، تحت أي ظرف من الظروف، أن يعتدي عليها، أو يتلاعب بها أو يحتقرها. فالقتل هو خطيئة ضد الله، سيد الحياة، ضد أنفسنا وضد القريب. ليبارككم الرب جميعا ويحرسكم من الشرير!
Witam polskich pielgrzymów. Zanim przyjechałem na plac, miałem możność pozdrowić uczestników pielgrzymki Archidiecezji Krakowskiej, którzy przybyli do Rzymu z okazji 40-lecia wyniesienia Jana Pawła II na Stolicę Piotrową. Teraz chcę pozdrowić wszystkich Was, tu obecnych i waszych rodaków. Razem z wami dziękuję Chrystusowi, Panu czasów, że zechciał powołać z waszej ziemi tego wielkiego Papieża i powierzył mu zadanie wprowadzenia Kościoła w nowe tysiąclecie. Jego nauczanie, przykład świętości i wstawiennictwo niech nas prowadzi i strzeże w codziennej, czasem trudnej wędrówce po drogach Pana! Z serca wam błogosławię!
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I extend a cordial welcome to Italian-speaking pilgrims.
I am pleased to welcome the Friars Minor Conventual; the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.
I greet the school children; the parishes, especially that of Minori, together with a delegation from Patti, with Archbishop Orazio Soricelli; and that of Ostra Vetere; the National Olive Growers Consortium; the delegation of the Municipality of Cervia; the Chamber of Commerce of Viterbo; the Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Coordination; the AVIS Association of Catanzaro and the Bellegra Italian Red Cross.
A particular thought I address to the young, the elderly, the sick and the newlyweds.
The month of October is dedicated to the missions and prayer of the Holy Rosary. Dear friends, praying the Rosary, invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on your every need and on the Church, so that she may be ever more holy and missionary, united in walking the paths of the world and in bringing Christ to every man.
[1] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Istr. Donum vitae, 5: AAS 80 (1988), 76-77: "Human life is sacred because, from its beginning, it involves the creative action of God and remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, his only purpose. . Only God is the Lord of life from its beginning to its end: no one, under any circumstances, can claim to himself the right to directly destroy an innocent human being ".
I extend a cordial welcome to Italian-speaking pilgrims.
I am pleased to welcome the Friars Minor Conventual; the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.
I greet the school children; the parishes, especially that of Minori, together with a delegation from Patti, with Archbishop Orazio Soricelli; and that of Ostra Vetere; the National Olive Growers Consortium; the delegation of the Municipality of Cervia; the Chamber of Commerce of Viterbo; the Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Coordination; the AVIS Association of Catanzaro and the Bellegra Italian Red Cross.
A particular thought I address to the young, the elderly, the sick and the newlyweds.
The month of October is dedicated to the missions and prayer of the Holy Rosary. Dear friends, praying the Rosary, invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on your every need and on the Church, so that she may be ever more holy and missionary, united in walking the paths of the world and in bringing Christ to every man.
[1] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Istr. Donum vitae, 5: AAS 80 (1988), 76-77: "Human life is sacred because, from its beginning, it involves the creative action of God and remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, his only purpose. . Only God is the Lord of life from its beginning to its end: no one, under any circumstances, can claim to himself the right to directly destroy an innocent human being ".
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