Pope Francis' condition looked significantly improved in his second General Audience of August.
He continued his catechesis on St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians, in which the apostle reminds the Jewish community that their covenant with God did not come from the Ten Commandments, but was formed with Abraham.
POPE FRANCIS
The apostle explains to the Galatians that God's Covenant and the Law are not joined inseparably. The Covenant with God and the Law of Moses. No. The first element he relies on is that the Covenant God established with Abraham was based on faith in the fulfillment of the promise and not on the observance of the Law, which was not there yet.
The Pope says it is important to understand Christianity as a relationship in which God takes the initiative. It is important to take care of this relationship, and the following the Law is one way of improving it. Yet keeping the commandments does not guarantee a true relationship with God.
Saint Paul struggled with this problem in his time, and tried to prevent the Galatians from reducing their relationship with God to the fulfillment of moral precepts in his letter.
POPE FRANCIS
Some may say to me, but Father, one thing: does this mean that if I pray the Creed then I don't have to keep the Commandments? No. The Commandments are relevant in that they are “teachers” which lead us to encounter Jesus. But leaving aside this encounter with Jesus and placing more importance on the Commandments, that was the problem of these fundamentalist missionaries who got mixed in with the Galatians to confuse them.
As of now the Vatican has not asked those attending the Pope's Audience for proof of vaccination. A reduced number of pilgrims are being admitted to ensure physical distancing, while temperature checks and mask-wearing policies remain in effect.
At the end of the Audience Pope Francis unexpectedly took a phone call. He stepped outside of the Audience Hall for a few moments before returning to greet pilgrims.
Javier Romero
TR: JM
