Pope Francis: With God, nothing is impossible

General Audience in Paul VI Hall - Screenshot

Source: Vatican Media

Pope Francis resumed his General Audiences on Wednesday, after the summer break, in the air-conditioned Paul VI Hall, as outside the temperature in Rome was a sweltering 35C+.

In his reflections the Pope took up the theme of the Holy Spirit in the Incarnation of the Word, beginning with the affirmation of the Creed that Jesus "by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man."

This, Pope Francis said, "is therefore an ecumenical fact of faith, because all Christians profess together the same Creed". It is reflected in traditional Catholic piety in the daily recitation of the Angelus.

It also provides the basis for the comparison between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Church, a parallel taken up by the Second Vatican Council: As the Blessed Virgin first conceived than bore Christ, so, too, the Church welcomes Christ "by receiving the Word of God in faith, and becomes herself a mother." Without first accepting the Word of God, the Church's "life and preaching" becomes "sterile."

Pope Francis concluded his catechesis by reflecting on Mary's question at the Annunciation: "How is this possible?" The Church asks the same question, he said: "How is it possible to proclaim Jesus Christ and His salvation to a world that seems to seek only well-being in this world?"

The answer, then and now, is the same, the Pope said, quoting the book of Acts: "You shall receive power from the Holy Spirit." Without the Holy Spirit, the Pope said, the Church cannot go forward, the Church cannot grow, the Church cannot preach."

"What is said about the Church in general applies to every single baptized person," the Pope continued. When we find ourselves "in situations beyond our own strength," he continued, we do well "to resume our journey with this comforting thought," by recalling the words of the Angel to Mary: "With God, nothing will be impossible". "And if we believe this," he said, "we will perform miracles. Nothing is impossible for God."

At the end of the Audience Pope Francis once again said was continuing to follow the situation in the Middle East with great concern, and reiterated his appeal to all the parties involved that the conflict does not spread, and that there may be an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, starting with Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is very serious and unsustainable. "I pray that the sincere search for peace will extinguish strife, love will overcome hatred and vengeance will be disarmed by forgiveness," he said.

The Pope also asked for prayers "for tormented Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan: may these war-torn populations soon find the peace for which they yearn."

Finally, he said: "Let us join our efforts and prayers that ethnic discrimination in regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan be eliminated, and especially discrimination against women."

Watch a recording of the Audience on Vatican Media Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAOtLoaRx-w

Read the official English translation of the text: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/08/07/240807b.html