Pope Francis: Reading Literature Can Enrich the Christian Life, Aid in Priestly Formation

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.

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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. Rev 21:5).”