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Pope Francis: Reading literature can enrich the Christian life, aid in priestly formation
Rome Newsroom, Aug 4, 2024 / 16:40 pm (CNA).
In a new letter released Sunday, Pope Francis touts the benefits of reading literature for priests and all those seeking to enrich their lives as Christian believers.
Though he said his letter was originally intended for men receiving priestly formation, he said all Christians — not just those involved in ministry — would benefit from incorporating poetry and literature into their personal times of study or leisure.
“Time spent reading may well open up new interior spaces that help us to avoid becoming trapped by a few obsessive thoughts that can stand in the way of our personal growth,” he writes in his letter, which is dated July 17 and comes at the height of the summer when many people are taking time off to rest and recreate.
The 87-year-old pontiff believes reading literature enables individual people to learn the art of reflective personal discernment, empathy with others, as well as entering a dialogue with the culture of our times, in a more profound way than modern audiovisual media.
“We are enriched by what we receive from the author and this allows us in turn to grow inwardly, so that each new work we read will renew and expand our worldview,” he writes.
In his letter, the Holy Father praises seminaries that incorporated times dedicated to the reading of literature and poetry, countering the current “obsession with ‘screens’ and with toxic, superficial, and violent fake news.”
Reading, the pope insists, should not be approached with an arduous or rigid “sense of duty” but rather with a flexibility, openness, and “readiness to learn.”
“Everyone will find books that speak to their own lives and become authentic companions for their journey. There is nothing more counterproductive than reading something out of a sense of duty, making considerable effort simply because others have said it is essential,” he shares.
Drawing upon the example of St. Paul, who “gathered the seeds of pagan poetry,” the pope said Christians who are knowledgeable of the literary works of their times can bring others closer to God through the person of Jesus Christ.
“We must always take care never to lose sight of the ‘flesh’ of Jesus Christ: that flesh made of passions, emotions, and feelings, words that challenge and console, hands that touch and heal, looks that liberate and encourage, flesh made of hospitality, forgiveness, indignation, courage, fearlessness; in a word, love,” Pope Francis writes.
Through “listening to the voice of others” and “seeing through the eyes of others,” Pope Francis believes there is a kind of wisdom and richness instilled in readers of the literary word that seeks truth, broadens perspectives, and enhances critical and cognitive thinking.
“It opens our human words to welcome the Word that is already present in human speech, not when it sees itself as knowledge that is already full, definitive and complete,” he observes, “but when it becomes a listening and expectation of the One who comes to make all things new (cf. Rv 21:5).”
Pope Francis: What would happen if we prayed more and complained less?
ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 3, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).
“What would happen if we prayed more and complained less?” Pope Francis asked Aug. 2 on his official profile on X.
He then invited the faithful to ask the Lord for “the grace to know how to pray for one another.”
The Holy Father posted this message as part of the Year of Prayer 2024, which he proposed as a preparation for the upcoming Jubilee of Hope 2025.
The pope inaugurated the current Year of Prayer on Jan. 21, and since then he has invited the faithful to place themselves before the presence of the Lord on numerous occasions, especially through the hashtag #YearofPrayer.
Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has often reiterated the importance of avoiding complaining about others and “gossip,” which he has referred to as “a plague on people’s lives.”
On the occasion of an Angelus prayer last September, he lamented that “the first thing that is usually created around those who make mistakes is gossip, in which everyone finds out about the mistake, with all the details, except the person affected. This is not right and does not please God,” he affirmed.
“I never tire of repeating that gossip is a plague in the lives of people and communities, because it brings division, suffering, and scandal, and never helps [people] to improve and grow,” the Holy Father reiterated.
On another occasion, he warned that gossip is a “deadly poison” and something “very bad” that destroys “human communion.”
“Never speak ill of one another. If you have a problem with a sister or brother, go and tell them face to face. And if you can’t do it, swallow it, but don’t go around spreading unrest that does harm and destroys,” the Holy Father advised.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.