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Parables reveal the Church's growth

Catechesis by Pope John Paul II on the Church
General Audience, Wednesday 25 September 1991 - in Italian & Spanish  

"1. As we said in the preceding catechesis, it is not possible to understand the origin of the Church without considering everything which Jesus preached and did (cf. Acts 1:1). On this theme he gave his disciples and all of us a basic teaching in the parables he preached about the kingdom of God. Among these parables, those which declare and reveal to us the nature of the historical and spiritual development which is proper to the Church according to her Founder's plan have particular importance.

2. Jesus says: "The kingdom of God is like the case of a man who scatters seed on the land and then sleeps and rises night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but he doesn't know how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. When the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle, for the harvest has come" (Mk 4:26-29). The kingdom of God, then, grows here on earth in human history by virtue of an initial seed, that is, a foundation which comes from God, and a mysterious work of God himself, which the Church continues to cultivate through the centuries. In God's activity for the kingdom, the "sickle" of sacrifice is also present, for the development of the kingdom does not occur without suffering. This is the meaning of the parable recorded in Mark's Gospel.

3. We find the same idea in other parables, too, especially in those collected in Matthew's text (13:3-50).

"The kingdom of heaven," we read in this Gospel, "is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches'" (Mt 13:31-32). This is the growth of the kingdom in an extensive sense.

Another parable, however, shows the kingdom's growth in an intensive or qualitative sense, comparing it to "yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened" (Mt 13:33).

4. In the parable of the sower and the seed, the growth of the kingdom of God certainly appears as the result of the sower's work, but the seed produces a harvest in relation to the soil and climatic conditions: "a hundred or sixty or thirty-fold" (Mt 13:8). The soil signifies a person's interior receptivity. According to Jesus, then, the growth of the kingdom of God is also conditioned by man. Human free will is responsible for this growth. Therefore, Jesus urges everyone to pray, "Your kingdom come" (cf. Mt 6:10; Lk 11:2). This is one of the first petitions of the Pater noster.

5. One of the parables told by Jesus about the growth of the kingdom of God on earth reveals to us in a very realistic way the type of struggle which the kingdom entails, due to the presence and action of an "enemy," who "sowed weeds all through the wheat." Jesus says: "When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds also appeared." The slaves of the householder wanted to pull them up, but the householder does not allow them to do this: "No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning, but gather the wheat into my barn'" (Mt 13:24-30). This parable explains the co-existence and the frequent mingling of good and evil in the world, in our lives and in the very history of the Church. Jesus teaches us to see these things with Christian realism and to handle every problem with clear principles, but also with prudence and patience. This presupposes a transcendent vision of history, in which one knows that everything belongs to God and every final result is the work of his Providence. However, the final destiny--in its eschatological dimension--of the good and bad is not hidden. It is symbolized by the gathering of the wheat into the barn and the burning of the weeds.

6. Jesus himself gave an explanation of the parable of the seed at the request of his disciples (cf. Mt 13:36-43). Both the temporal and the eschatological dimensions of God's kingdom appear in his words.

He said to his own: "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you" (Mk 4:11). He instructed them in this mystery and, at the same time, by his words and actions, he conferred a kingdom on them, just as the Father has conferred one on him (cf. Lk 22:29). This conferral was taken up again after his resurrection. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that "He appeared to them during forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 1:3), up to the day when he "was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God" (Mk 16:19). These were the last instructions and arrangements given to the apostles about what they were to do after the ascension and Pentecost in order to give a concrete beginning to the kingdom of God at the Church's birth.

7. The words addressed to Peter at Caesarea Philippi are also situated within the context of his preaching about the kingdom. Jesus said to Peter: "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 16:19), immediately after having called him the rock, on which he would build his Church. This Church will be invincible in regard to the "gates of hell" (cf. Mt 16:18). This promise was expressed at the time by a verb in the future tense, "I will build," because the definitive establishment of the kingdom of God in this world was to be accomplished by the sacrifice of the cross and the victory of the resurrection. Afterward, Peter and the other apostles will be intensely aware of their call to "announce the praises of him who called them out of darkness into his wonderful light" (cf. 1 Pet 2:9). At the same time, all of them will also be aware of the truth which appears in the parable of the sower: "Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth," as St. Paul will write (1 Cor 3:7).

8. The author of the Book of Revelation expresses this same awareness of the kingdom when he refers to the hymn addressed to the Lamb: "You were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God" (Rev 5:9-10). The Apostle Peter explains that they were appointed to "offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). These are all expressions of the truths taught by Jesus. In the parables about the sower and the seed, the wheat and the weeds, and the mustard seed which is sown and then becomes a large bush, these truths speak of the kingdom of God. Through the action of the Spirit the kingdom grows in souls by the vital force coming from Jesus' death and resurrection. The kingdom continues to grow until the time foreseen by God himself.

9. "Then comes the end," St. Paul proclaims, "when he [Christ] hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power" (1 Cor 15:24). "When everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all" (1 Cor 15:28).

From beginning to end, the Church is situated within this marvelous eschatological perspective of God's kingdom, and here her history unfolds from the first day to the last."

After the Catechesis, Papa Giovanni Paolo II greeted the pilgrims in various languages

Ai fedeli di lingua francese

Chers Frères et Sœurs,

J’accueille avec joie les personnes de langue française venues à cette audience. En particulier, j’adresse un salut cordial aux Frères de Saint-Gabriel et aux pèlerins de l’Apostolat mondial de Fatima de la Région d’Alsace. Que la Vierge Marie vous aide à être missionnaires sur les routes de la terre, à l’école de son fidèle serviteur, saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort!

A tous, jeunes et adultes, je donne de grand cœur ma Bénédiction Apostolique.

Ai pellegrini di lingua inglese

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I extend a warm welcome to the new students of the Pontifical Irish College. As you make your studies for the priesthood in Rome may you grow in holiness and love for Christ’s Church so as to be able to serve his People as faithful ministers of the Gospel.

I thank the members of the Children’s Choir from Australia for their praise of God in song. And upon all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors I invoke the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ai fedeli provenienti dal Giappone

Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
Rivolgo un cordiale saluto ai due gruppi giapponesi.

A voi dilettissime figlie di S. Paolo che commemorate il 25 di professione religiosa auguro di perseverare e progredire nella via della perfezione avendo sempre davanti a voi il modello della Beata Vergine Maria.

E a voi studiosi di arte auguro che i vostri studi contribuiscano ad elevare la vita umana espressa nelle molteplici forme che ammirate. Con questo augurio vi benedico di cuore.

Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!

Ai fedeli di lingua tedesca

Liebe Schwestern und Brüder!

Indem ich am Ende dieser meiner Worte dazu einlade, für das Kommen des Reiches Gottes zu beten und auf die göttliche Vorsehung zu vertrauen, grüße ich alle deutschsprachigen Pilger und Besucher sehr herzlich. Mein besonderer Willkommensgruß gilt den Mitgliedern des Caritas-Helferkreises der Pfarrei St. Peter und Paul in Erlangen, dem Musikkreis ”Lassus“ aus München, den Seminaristen aus dem Bischöflichen Priesterseminar in Trier und der Gruppe ”Frauenselbsthilfe nach Krebs“, Neuwied.

Euch allen, Euren lieben Angehörigen in der Heimat sowie den mit uns über Fernsehen und über Radio Vatikan verbundenen Gläubigen erteile ich von Herzen meinen Apostolischen Segen.

Ai fedeli di lingua spagnola

Amadísimos hermanos y hermanas,

Saludo con afecto a todos los peregrinos de lengua española. De modo particular doy mi bienvenida al grupo de religiosos Terciarios Capuchinos, de diversos países de Europa y de América Latina; también saludo a las Religiosas Oblatas al Divino Amor, de Costa Rica, y a las Siervas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús y de los Pobres, de México. Seguid viviendo todos vuestra consagración religiosa como testigos de los valores del Reino de Dios.

Entre los grupos españoles, doy mi cordial bienvenida, de modo particular, a la Coral del Colegio de la Presentación de María, de Granada, a la Coral “Gaudeamus”, de Trigueros (Huelva), al grupo de la Cooperativa Católica de Ferreteros, de Alicante, y al grupo “Monumento a la Paz”, de Valencia. Que vuestro apostolado y el canto que ejecutáis os ayuden al crecimiento del Reino de Dios en vosotros y en la sociedad.

A todos los peregrinos de lengua española, de Latinoamérica y de España, imparto mi cordial Bendición Apostólica.

Ai fedeli di lingua portoghese

Amados Irmãos e Irmãs,

Caros peregrinos vindos à Cidade Eterna, de Alagoas, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, São Paulo e Sergipe, e todos os presentes de língua portuguesa, saúdo-vos cordialmente e, por meio de vós, faço extensiva a minha saudação e bênção aos vossos entes queridos, às paróquias e à inteira Nação Brasileira, a quem desejo uma profunda renovação espiritual e reencontro com Jesus Cristo, para que o Reino de Deus se consolide na vossa vida e na vossa terra.

Ai gruppi di lingua italiana

Nel salutare i pellegrini di lingua italiana, rivolgo anzitutto il mio pensiero al Vescovo di Orvieto-Todi, Monsignor Decio Lucio Grandoni, che guida i rappresentanti della Comunità diocesana, qui convenuti per restituire la visita che ho compiuto alla loro città nella festa del “Corpus Domini”.

Saluto quindi, con lui, tutti i fedeli della cara Diocesi, le Autorità civili, il clero, le persone che ho incontrato nella Casa di Pena e i componenti del tradizionale Corteo Storico.

Rinnovo l’espressione del mio augurio per il buon esito dei programmi pastorali, specialmente di quelli concernenti la celebrazione del Sinodo e la commemorazione centenaria della nascita del papa Martino I.

Cari fedeli, conservate le sane tradizioni della vostra terra ancorata saldamente alla fede cristiana. Alimentate sempre più le vostre anime alle sorgenti dell’Eucaristia, del Corpo e Sangue del Signore, per poter vivere in pienezza il mistero di Dio in mezzo a noi.

Saluto, inoltre, il Vescovo di Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti, Monsignor Tarcisio Pisani, che accompagna i fedeli della Parrocchia di Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Gravina di Puglia, e volentieri benedico l’effigie della Vergine, Patrona di quella Comunità.

Sono grato al Comitato del Cimitero di Guerra di Forno di Coazze e alla Comunità Montana Val Sangore, diocesi di Torino, per la solidarietà manifestata nelle iniziative della Chiesa per la pace.

Saluto poi i rappresentanti dell’Associazione Assicuratori, convenuti a Roma per un Seminario di studi sulla Rerum novarum, e il gruppo delle Suore Figlie di Maria Ausiliatrice, che frequentano un corso presso il Centro Salesiano. Un cordiale pensiero, infine, ai piccoli Cantori della Parrocchia di Santa Maria in Calisese (Cesena).

Ai giovani, agli ammalati e agli sposi novelli

Il mio saluto giunga pure ai giovani, ai malati e agli sposi novelli.

Carissimi, siate pieni di gratitudine a Cristo, che vi comunica l’amore redentivo di Dio.

Là dove sono coloro che si offrono al Signore nel cristiano impegno per un futuro migliore o nell’accettazione del dolore o nel mutuo amore per l’edificazione di una famiglia concorde e vera, ivi si trovano certamente persone che, lungi dall’essere isolate dal mondo, collaborano per costruire la Chiesa, dimora di Dio e centro di salvezza.

A tutti imparto la mia Benedizione.

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