Speaking at the final general audience before his two-month summer break, Francis asked Catholics to perform a small exercise, asking themselves, in the silence of their hearts, "How much has God done for me? How many beautiful things has God done for me?"
Christians must exercise their memories to remember "how generous is our Heavenly Father!" he continued, criticizing Christians who focus only on following "duties," while reporting that they do not have a personal relationship with God, "our Father."
Referencing the Book of Exodus, when the Israelites were brought first through the Red Sea before reaching Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, he said "Christian formation is not based on willpower, but on the acceptance of salvation, on letting oneself be loved: first the Red Sea, then Mount Sinai."
"Putting the law before the relationship does not help the journey of faith," Francis said, asking how Catholics can teach young people to desire to be a Christian and live a Christian life if the first reference is always to "obligations, commitments, consistency, and not… liberation?"
"Christian formation is not based on willpower, but on the acceptance of salvation, on letting oneself be loved," he said.
The pope pointed to the words of God when he gave Moses the first commandment – "I am the Lord your God." These words denote the importance of relationship with God, he said, who is not a stranger, but "your God."