Pope: Every Christian vocation is 'spousal', like marriage and priesthood
"The Church does not need aspirants to the role of priests, but men whose heart is touched by the Holy Spirit with unconditional love for the Bride of Christ". "The human body is not an instrument of pleasure, but the place of our call to love, and in authentic love there is no room for lust and for its superficiality. Men and women deserve more! ".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Every Christian vocation "is spousal, because it is the fruit of the bond of love in which we are all regenerated, the bond of love with Christ": marriage is, as "a wedding does not a marriage make! It is a journey from the "I" to the "we”. The priesthood is, as " we love the people of God with all the fatherhood, tenderness and strength of a husband and a father". The full meaning of the commandment "You shall not commit adultery", was Pope Francis’ focus today at the general audience.
Speaking to the 20 thousand people present in Saint Peter's Square, continuing the cycle of catechesis on the Commandments, Francis reflected on the Sixth Commandment "You shall not commit adultery", which highlights that "the faithful love of Christ is the light by which to live the beauty of human affectivity. In fact, our emotional dimension is a call to love, which manifests itself in fidelity, acceptance and mercy ".
"However, we must not forget - he said - that this commandment refers explicitly to fidelity in marriage, and therefore it is good to reflect more deeply on its spousal meaning".
"We should ask ourselves: this command of fidelity, who is it destined for? Only for the spouses? In reality, this command is for everyone, it is a paternal Word of God addressed to every man and woman. Let us remember that the path of human maturity is the path itself of love that goes from receiving care to the ability to offer care, from receiving life to the ability to give life. To become adult men and women means to arrive at the spousal and parental attitude, which manifests itself in the various situations of life such as the ability to take upon oneself the weight of someone else and to love them without ambiguity. It is therefore a global attitude of the person who knows how to take reality and knows how to enter into a profound relationship with others".
"Who then is the adulterer, the lustful, the unfaithful? They are immature people, who keep their own life for themselves and interprets situations based on their own well-being and satisfaction. So a wedding does not a marriage make! It is a journey from the "I" to the "we”. From thinking alone to thinking in two, living alone and living in two. It's a lovely path. When we come to decentralize ourselves, then every act is spousal: we work, we talk, we decide, we meet others with a welcoming and oblative attitude. We can expand. Every Christian vocation, in this sense, is spousal. The priesthood is because it is the call, in Christ and in the Church, to serve the community with all the affection, concrete care and wisdom that the Lord gives. The Church does not need aspirants to the role of priests, they are not needed, better that they remain at home, but men whose heart is touched by the Holy Spirit with unconditional love for the Bride of Christ. In the priesthood one loves God's people with all the paternity, tenderness and strength of a husband and a father. Thus also consecrated virginity in Christ is lived with fidelity and joy as a spousal and fruitful relationship of motherhood and fatherhood. I repeat: every Christian vocation is spousal, because it is the fruit of the bond of love in which we are all regenerated, the bond of love with Christ "," starting from His fidelity, his tenderness, his generosity we look with faith at marriage and every vocation, and we understand the full meaning of sexuality ".
"The human creature, in its inseparable unity of spirit and body, and in its masculine and feminine polarity, is a very good reality, destined to love and be loved. The human body is not an instrument of pleasure, but the place of our call to love, and in authentic love there is no room for lust and for its superficiality. Men and women deserve more! Therefore, the Commandment “You shall not commit adultery", even if in negative form, directs us to our original call, that is to the full and faithful spousal love, which Jesus Christ has revealed to us and given to us (cf. Rom 12: 1). "
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