«Faith is the virtue that makes the Christian. Because being Christian is not first and foremost accepting a culture, with the values that accompany it, but being Christian is welcoming and cherishing a bond: me and God; my person and the lovable face of Jesus. This bond makes us Christians.”
Pope Francis dedicates the general audience to faith, one of the three theological virtues together with hope and charity which, the Pontiff underlines, are the great gifts of God, together they give eyes that see in the dark, a heart that loves when one is not loved, a hope against everything.
Francis recalls that «the great enemy of faith is not intelligence, not reason, as, alas, someone continues to obsessively repeat, but the great enemy of faith is fear. For this reason, faith is the first gift to be welcomed in Christian life: a gift that must be welcomed and asked for daily, so that it is renewed in us.” And he underlines that «faith is not everyone’s, and even we, who are believers, often realize we only have a small supply of it. Jesus can often reproach us, as he did with his disciples, for being “men of little faith”. But it is the happiest gift, the only virtue that we are allowed to envy. Because those who have faith are inhabited by a strength that is not only human; in fact, faith triggers grace in us and opens the mind to the mystery of God”, Francis indicates as a reference for faith Moses, who remains steadfast in his trust in the Lord. Then there is the Virgin Mary who with her yes “he leaves for a road of which he knows neither the route nor the dangers” but with a heart full of faith and trust.
The Pope again cites the Gospel episode when the apostles see Jesus sleeping in the midst of the storm. “Why are you afraid? – says Jesus – Do you still have no faith?”. «Here, then, is the great enemy of faith: it is not intelligence, it is not reason, as, alas, someone continues to obsessively repeat, but the great enemy of faith is fear. For this reason, faith is the first gift to be welcomed in Christian life: a gift that must be welcomed and asked for daily, so that it is renewed in us.” Faith is the gift that comes from Baptism that Christian parents ask for their children: «With it a parent knows that, even in the midst of life’s trials, their child will not drown in fear. Well, the enemy is fear. He also knows that when he ceases to have a parent on this earth, he will continue to have a God the Father in heaven, who will never abandon him. Our love is so fragile, only God’s love conquers death. Faith, adds the Pope, is the happiest gift, the only virtue that we are allowed to envy. Because those who have faith are inhabited by a strength that is not only human; in fact, faith ‘triggers’ grace in us and opens the mind to the mystery of God.”
And he concludes with prayer “Lord, increase our faith”: «A beautiful prayer», comments the Pope – who makes the faithful repeat it a few times, making it resonate in the Paul VI Hall. At the end of the catechesis, the Pope – on Labor Day which opens the Marian month of May – invites us to pray for an end to conflicts: «Let us not forget to pray for peace. We pray for the people who are victims of war. War is always a defeat, always. Let’s think about the tormented Ukraine, which suffers so much, let’s think about the inhabitants of Palestine and Israel who are at war. Let’s think about the Rohingya, about Myanmar and ask for peace. We ask for true peace for these peoples and for the whole world. Unfortunately today the investments that generate the most income are weapons factories. Terrible, earning with death. We ask for peace, for peace to continue.”