Pope Francis honors women and meets Arnold Schwarzenegger in one day

'[K]nock on the door of God's heart; he is a father, he can save us.'

The "Governator" Arnold Schwarzenegger met Pope Francis at the conclusion of the pontiff's general audience.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - During his weekly address, Pope Francis spoke of Biblical women and how they are examples of trusting God through times of suffering and difficulty.

Women of the Bible are particularly amazing examples of trusting the Lord when you feel like giving up all hope and are prepared to fall into deep despair.

"This is my opinion, but women are more courageous than men," Pope Francis stated, resulting in a round of applause from his audience.

The Pope spoke specifically of Judith, "a woman of great beauty and wisdom," who refused to give up her faith. When Israel was troubled by foreign invaders, it was Judith who stood strong in faith and she reproached the hopeless, saying the Lord would help them.

"They were at the point of saying, 'God has sold us,'" the pontiff explained. "How many times have we come to situations that test our limits where we are not even able to trust in the Lord? It is an ugly temptation."

The people were ready to fall to despair but after Judith spoke, they decided God had five days to intervene on their behalf. They prayed for help but even in this they doubted.

"Five days are given to God to intervene," the pontiff stated. "[T]his is a sin! Five days of waiting but already expecting the end. In reality, no one among the people is capable of hoping."

In the moment of despair, Judith confronted the city's doubts with what the Pope described as "courageous language" of faith and hope.

He said Judith's faith is a reminder to all Christians "to knock on the door of God's heart; he is a father, he can save us.

"This widow risks (everything), even of making herself look like a fool in front of the others. But she is courageous, she goes forward."

As Christians, our faith dictates there are no conditions that should ever be placed on the Lord. Instead, the Pope explained we should allow "hope to conquer our fears."

He continued, saying, "To trust God means entering into his plans without assuming anything" and to believe "he knows better than us."

Judith's story shows the importance of the "courageous counsel" of humble women, the pontiff stated. It is in their words we can find "the wisdom of God" and should never dismiss their words "as ignorant."

Turning to modern women, the Pope said: "The words of grandmothers - how many times do grandmothers know the right word to say? They give words of hope because they have the experience of life, they have suffered so much, they trusted in God and the Lord gave them this gift of giving us hopeful advice."

Following the general audience, Pope Francis met with Hollywood star and previous California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger took to his Twitter to say: "I was my great honor to meet His Holiness @Pontefix. I am a huge fan - a true leader for the Church & a steward for all of God's creatures."

Neither Schwarzenegger nor Pope Francis mentioned what they spoke of but it was clear the Hollywood actor was a bit starstruck before His Holiness.

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