At today's General Audience, Pope Francis continued his weekly catechesis on hope, looking now toward the relationship between hope and memory.
He recalled the words of the morning's Gospel, in which Jesus asked the first disciples, “what do you seek?” For the disciples, it was this encounter that “ignited a flame in their hearts.”
The pope explained that their story also reminds Christians how to discover their vocation. It is the first “spark which, even in the midst of trials, leads to an ever-deeper relationship with the Lord.”
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
I wish to reflect again on the relationship between hope and memory. In the Gospel passage we have heard, Saint John shares with us the precious memory of when Jesus called the first disciples and asked them: “What do you seek?”
It is a question that he asks each of us in our own time. Jesus recognizes that a young heart, and a healthy one at that, is a searching heart, full of a desire for life and happiness.
For the first disciples, this encounter was only the beginning of their relationship with Jesus and the living out of their vocation; it ignited a flame in their hearts, which transformed them into missionaries who always treasured the memory of that first encounter with Christ. Their story reminds us how we discover our vocation.
Whether we are called to marriage, consecrated life or priesthood, our vocation finds its origin in our first encounter with Jesus. It is that first spark which, even in the midst of trials, leads to an ever-deeper relationship with the Lord and which brings us hope and joy.
Let us treasure this flame of love that burns in our hearts, by recalling our first encounter with Christ. May we be joyful disciples, who dream with God of a better world, and who share the reason for our hope with all whom we meet.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from Malta, Guinea, the Philippines and Canada. Upon all of you and your families, I invoke the grace of the Lord Jesus, that you may be a sign of Christian hope in the midst of your communities. May God bless you all!
