Rome Newsroom, 04 August, 2024 / 12:40 pm (ACI Africa).
In a new letter released Sunday, Pope Francis touts the benefits of reading literature for priests and all those seeking to enrich their lives as Christian believers.
Though he said his letter was originally intended for men receiving priestly formation, he said all Christians — not just those involved in ministry — would benefit from incorporating poetry and literature into their personal times of study or leisure.
“Time spent reading may well open up new interior spaces that help us to avoid becoming trapped by a few obsessive thoughts that can stand in the way of our personal growth,” he writes in his letter, which is dated July 17 and comes at the height of the summer when many people are taking time off to rest and recreate.
The 87-year-old pontiff believes reading literature enables individual people to learn the art of reflective personal discernment, empathy with others, as well as entering a dialogue with the culture of our times, in a more profound way than modern audio-visual media.
“We are enriched by what we receive from the author and this allows us in turn to grow inwardly, so that each new work we read will renew and expand our worldview,” he writes.
