How many beautiful things has God done for you? We must take time to reflect on this and remember them….
Pope Francis gave this invitation during today’s General Audience of Wednesday, June 27, 2018, as he continued his catecheses on the Commandments.
Reminding that gratitude is a characteristic trait of «the heart visited by the Holy Spirit,» Francis noted: Where does all this lead us? To perform a memory test…’
«How many beautiful things has God done for each one of us! How generous is our heavenly Father. I would now like to propose a little exercise to you, in silence: each person answer in his or her own heart. How many beautiful things has God done for me?
This, he said, is the question.
«In silence, each one of us, answers. How many beautiful things has God done for me? And this is God’s liberation. God does many beautiful things and frees us.»
He told those present to remember, «God thinks of me.» «The liberating action of God placed at the beginning of the Decalogue – that is, the commandments – is the answer to this lament,» the Pope said.
«We do not save ourselves, by ourselves, but from us there comes a cry for help: “Lord, save me; Lord, show me the way; Lord, caress me; Lord, give me a little joy”. This is a cry for help. This depends on us: asking to be freed from selfishness, from sin, from the chains of slavery.»
This cry is important, Francis said, because it is prayer, it is awareness of that which is still oppressed and not freed in us.
«God awaits that cry, because He can and He wants to break our chains; God has not called us to life to remain oppressed, but to be free and to live in gratitude, obeying with joy He Who has given us so much, infinitely more than what we can give to Him.»
Stressing that this is beautiful, Pope Francis prayed that God always be blessed for all that He has done, does and will do in us.
The Pope stressed that God’s fatherly love frees us to Arabic-speaking Christians, especially the choruses ‘La Perfetta Letizia’ from Egypt and ‘Nousroto’ from Jerusalem, present.
«God gave the Commandments to His People after having liberated them from slavery, demonstrating in this way the generosity of His paternal Love.»
«God desires to dissolve all our chains to live life and the Commandments, not with the spirit of slavery, but with the freedom of being children.»
Pope Francis concluded, saying: «May the Lord bless you all and protect you from evil!»
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Full Text: https://zenit.org/articles/general-audience-on-the-commandments-ii/
