Pope Francis speaks of rest: Sunday is the day of thanksgiving for the gift of life

Before the General Audience, the pope toured St. Peter's Square in the pope mobile, accompanied by a group of children.

Later, Pope Francis was greeted in the square by a music band who played for him this joyful melody.

In his catechesis, the pope reflected on the commandment to “keep holy the Lord's Day” and spoke of the meaning of rest.

POPE FRANCIS
“The dominant concept of life today does not have its center of gravity in activity and commitment but in evasion. Earn money to have fun, satisfy yourself. The image-model is that of a successful person who can afford ample and different spaces of pleasure. Man has never rested so much as today, and yet man has never experienced so much emptiness as today.”

Pope Francis recalled that in the Bible, God's rest is related to looking joyfully at reality. And that this is the model of authentic rest.

POPE FRANCIS
“Sunday is not the day to erase the other days but to remember them, bless them and make peace with life. Sunday is the day to make peace with life by saying: life is precious; it is not easy, sometimes it is painful, but it is precious.”

In a catechesis full of optimism, the pope asked to resist the temptation to highlight the problems, and instead contemplate the good things in life.

He said that “true serenity does not consist in changing one's own history but in welcoming and appreciating it.”