CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- In his Jubilee general audience for the month of June, Pope Francis focused his speech on the works of mercy and how to put them into action. He also gave thanks for his recent visit to Armenia, and spoke of his coming trips to Georgia and Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\u201cMercy without works is dead,\u201d the Pope said June 30, quoting St. James. What brings mercy to life, he said, is \u201cit\u2019s constant dynamism for going to meet the needy and the necessities of the many spiritually and materially disadvantaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
He encouraged pilgrims to make \u201ca serious examination of conscience,\u201d telling them \u201cnot to ever forget that mercy is not an abstract word, but a style of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to speak of mercy, but it\u2019s another to live mercy,\u201d he said, noting that a person can either be merciful or unmerciful, but either way \u201cit\u2019s a lifestyle I choose.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pope spoke to the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter\u2019s Square for his eighth Jubilee general audience. Typically held on Saturdays once a month for the duration of the Holy Year of Mercy, the Jubilee audience for June was moved to Thursday, since the Pope will take a break from all public meetings and audiences for the month of July.<\/p>\n
In his address, Francis noted how not a day goes by that we don\u2019t encounter the many needs of society\u2019s poorest and \u201cmost tested.\u201d<\/p>\n
At times \u201cwe pass in front of dramatic situations of poverty and it seems as if they don\u2019t touch us,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything continues as if there was nothing, in an indifference which eventually renders us hypocrites and, without realizing it, leads to a form of spiritual lethargy that numbs the spirit and renders life sterile.\u201d<\/p>\n
People who pass through life without ever becoming aware of the needs of others are people who don\u2019t really live, nor do they know what it means to serve others, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember well: whoever doesn\u2019t live to serve, doesn\u2019t need to live!\u201d the Pope said, explaining that with Jesus, there are no \u201cescape routes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed to the Gospel passage from Matthew 25 read aloud at the beginning of the audience in which Jesus tells his disciples that when the sheep and the goats are separated at the end of time, the Lord will tell the sheep to come, because they fed him, gave him something to drink and clothed him when he was hungry, thirsty and naked.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cYou cannot beat around the bush in front of a person who is hungry: we need to feed them. Jesus tells us this!\u201d Pope Francis said, adding that the works of mercy are not merely theoretical subjects, \u201cbut concrete testimonies.\u201d<\/p>\n
He encouraged pilgrims to \u201cgive space to the imagination of charity\u201d in finding new ways to meet the needs of the spiritually and materially poor in an increasingly globalized world.<\/p>\n
Christians, he said, must remain vigilant when faced with the poverty produced by \u201cthe culture of well-being.\u201d Doing so, he said, will not only keep their gaze from weakening, but will also allow them to keep their focus on what\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n
Looking at the essential, Francis said, means see Jesus \u201cin the hungry, in the prisoner, in the sick, in the naked, and those who don\u2019t have work and have to provide for a family\u2026in those who are only sad, who are mistaken and need advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the works Jesus asks of us: to look at Jesus in them, in these people, because Jesus looks at me, at all of us, like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Francis then turned his focus to his recent trip to Armenia, \u201cthe first Christian nation,\u201d where he traveled June 24-26 for an official visit.<\/p>\n
Armenians, he said, are \u201ca people who, in the course of their long history, have witnesses to the Christian faith with martyrdom,\u201d and expressed his gratitude for having been welcomed \u201cas a pilgrim of fraternity and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pope noted how he will also visit the Caucasus nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan Sept. 30 \u2013 Oct. 2, and said he accepted the invitation to do so for two reasons.<\/p>\n
The first, he said, is to \u201cvalue the ancient Christian roots present in these lands \u2013 always a spirit of dialogue and with other religions and cultures,\u201d while the second is to \u201cencourage hope and pathways of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory teaches us that the path of peace requires great tenacity and continued steps, beginning with the small ones and gradually making them grow, going toward one another. Because of this my wish is that each person give their contribution for reconciliation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Francis closed his address by extending his \u201cembrace\u201d to the bishops, priests, religious and faithful of Armenia, and praying that the Virgin Mary would \u201chelp them to remain solid in the faith, open to encounter and generous in the works of mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Jun 30, 2016 \/ 05:10 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- In his Jubilee general audience for the month of June, Pope Francis focused his speech on the works of mercy and how to put them into action. He also gave thanks for his recent visit to Armenia, a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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