During his weekly General Audience, the Pope reflected on Saint Paul's proclamation of the newness of Christian life. He said that through Jesus, God has “given us a share in his divine sonship.”
Pope Francis emphasizes that this new identity “transcends all other ethnic, social and religious differences,” and urges Christians “to be convincing witnesses of the unity to which, in God’s saving plan, the entire human family is called.”
SUMMARY OF THE POPE'S CATECHESIS IN ENGLISH:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on the Letter to the Galatians, we now consider Paul’s teaching on the radical newness of our life in Jesus Christ. By his incarnation, death and resurrection, the Son of God has reconciled us with the Father, given us birth to new life and bestowed on us a share in his divine sonship.
Through faith and baptism, we have been interiorly transformed; now, having “put on Christ”, we have become a new creation. This new identity transcends all other ethnic, social and religious differences: in Christ, “there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female” (Gal 3:28).
We Christians can often take for granted this newness of life bestowed at our baptism. Conscious of our dignity as sons and daughters of the Father, may we resolve to reconcile every division, to embrace fully our oneness in Christ and our vocation to be convincing witnesses of the unity to which, in God’s saving plan, the entire human family is called (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 1).
I cordially greet the English-speaking faithful. My thoughts turn especially to young people returning to school in the coming weeks. Dear young people, may this academic year be for all of you a time of educational growth and deepening of the bonds of friendship.
Upon you and your families I invoke the wisdom and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
JM
