In his Catechesis devoted to the eighth commandment, Pope Francis told pilgrims in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday that Christians are called to be “truthful not only in our words but in our entire way of acting towards others.” Speaking at his weekly General Audience, the Pope said that, “our ultimate model in this regard is Jesus himself. He is the truth in person who, at his trial before Pilate, revealed that he came into this world to testify to the truth.”
Where there is a lie there is no love
When a person is not communicating authentically, underlined the Pontiff, it is a serious matter because it inhibits relationships and therefore inhibits love. “Where there is a lie, he continued, there is no love. "
Beware of Gossip
Gossiping, Pope Francis pointed out, kills. It kills, he explained, “because the tongue kills, like a knife.” Be careful, the Pope added, the gossip “is a terrorist because he or she throws a bomb and leaves.” “Christians are not exceptional men and women, said the Pope, “we are, however, children of our heavenly Father, who is good and does not disappoint us, and places in our hearts the love for our brothers and sisters.”
God is truth
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour” he stressed, means living as children of God, acting in accordance with his will and trusting in him. “It bids us live this new life to the full, and thus to bear true witness to God’s saving love, made incarnate in the humanity of Christ our Lord. "I trust God”, concluded Pope Francis, “ this is the great truth."
Be prophets of hope
Pope Francis is urging the men and women religious of Spain to look to the future with “humble audacity” and to be “prophets of hope”.The Holy Father’s remarks came in a message sent on Tuesday to participants in the 25th General Assembly of the Spanish Conference of Religious, known as CONFER.“The Lord gives us hope with his constant messages of love and surprises, which at times can leave us disoriented, but they help us to escape from our closed mentalities and spiritualities.”
Men and women of hope
Pope Francis said no effort should be spared to better the mission of consecrated men and women in Spain.The Church, he continued, needs them to be prophets, “men and women of hope”.He said religious life is “full of opportunities, enthusiasm, and passion”, despite some uncertainties and concerns.These, he noted, include “fewer vocations, ageing members, economic problems, challenges posed by internationality and globalization, and the pitfalls of relativism, marginalization, and social irrelevance.”
Walk with young people
Pope Francis also invited Spain’s religious to face the challenge of evangelizing young people and to help them listen to the Lord’s invitation for their lives.“Bold men and women religious are needed, who open up new paths and present the question of vocation as a fundamental Christian option.”The Pope said consecrated life means “walking in holiness”. They are called to work tirelessly to live the works of mercy, he said.
“It is not a question of being heroes or of presenting ourselves as a model for others, but of being with those who suffer and of accompanying them, of seeking alternative paths, conscious of our poverty while trusting in the Lord and in His limitless love.”Finally, Pope Francis invited the religious men and women of Spain to “live with the Church and in the Church”, stepping outside their comfort zones to illuminate those who suffer and despair with the light of the Gospel.“Times have changed, and our responses have to change with them.”
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