Holy Father Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses dedicated to the Commandments. Speaking during the General Audience he reflected on the Third Commandment which reminds us to keep holy the Lord’s Day. “God’s love renders us free” His Holiness Pope Francis said to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, even when in prison, even when we are weak or limited by circumstances.
As reported by Vatican News, Reflecting on the third Commandment that is dedicated to the day of rest, the Pontiff quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy in which the Third Word “commemorates the end of slavery” and said “it is a day in which the slave must rest like the master, to celebrate the memory of Israel’s liberation from the slavery of Egypt”. But, His Holiness Pope Francis, explained there are in fact various “forms of slavery, both external and internal”. The Pontiff mentioned external constraints such as “oppression, lives seized by violence and other types of injustice” as well as “psychological bonds, complexes, personal limitations” as well as a series of existential realities from which it is apparently impossible to distance ourselves. The Pope warned those present in particular against “the slavery of the ego” which, he said, has the power to enslave one more than a prison does.
His Holiness Pope Francis concluded his remarks by reminding that “true love is true freedom: it detaches us from possession, it rebuilds relationships, it knows how to welcome and how to value one’s neighbor, it transforms every effort into a joyful gift and makes us capable of communion. The love we receive from the Lord, gives us freedom even when in prison, even when we are weak and limited”.
