Pope Francis: audience, “man’s journeys can become salvation and leaven working in history”

“Paul’s journey, which was one with that of the Gospel, is proof that man’s journeys, if lived in faith, can become a space of transit for God’s salvation, through the Word of faith, which is like leaven working in history, capable of transforming situations and opening ever new paths”. Pope Francis said this in his General Audience catechesis today, commenting on Saint Paul’s last “missionary stage”: Rome, reached by the Apostle to the Gentiles “after a long and troubled journey, marked by threats and dangers, but also hospitable meetings, the good perfume of the faith of Christ’s disciples, and the consoling and encouraging revelations of the Lord”. “Paul’s adventures have not stifled the Word, on the contrary, they have strengthened it”, Pope Francis remarked, ending his series of catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles today: “The fragile clay of his life did not drain the treasure of God’s power, but brought it out, showing that the direction of events does not belong to men but to the Holy Spirit, who makes the Church’s missionary action fruitful”.
M.Michela Nicolais