Pope Francis concluded the general audience on this February 2 by drawing two lessons from today’s feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
The first is offering.
Christ presents himself as an example in his offering to the Father, showing with what generosity it is necessary to adhere to God’s will and to serve our brothers and sisters.
The second is encounter.
The second message is one of the Pope’s most heartfelt desires: that our culture would find again the richness in bringing generations together.
Today is the feast of “encounter,” of Jesus’ encounter with his people, and also especially of the encounter of the child Jesus with the Elders. I recommend that we go forward developing this attitude of encounter between children and grandparents, young people and old people: this is a reserve that we have of humanity. The old give us the strength to go on, their memory, their history; and the young carry it forward. Let us also work for this encounter of grandchildren with grandparents, of young people with old people.
