Mercy without WORKS is DEAD!

The Holy Father reflected during his address on works of mercy, drawing inspiration from today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew 25:31.

“In fact, it is good never to forget that mercy is not an abstract word, but a style of life. It is one thing to speak of mercy and another to live mercy. Paraphrasing the words of Saint James the Apostle, (cf. 2:14-17), we can say: mercy without works is dead in itself. It is in fact thus!”

What renders mercy alive, he explained, is its constant dynamism in going to meet the needs and necessities of others.  “Mercy has eyes to see, ears to listen, hands to resolve,” he said.

Warning

The Pope lamented that so often, so many are unaware of the suffering and needs of others, or remain completely indifferent.

“Sometimes we pass before dramatic situations of poverty and it seems that they do not touch us; everything continues as if there were nothing, in an indifference that in the end renders us hypocrites and, without realizing it, it results in a form of spiritual lethargy, which renders our mind insensitive and our life sterile.”

Roll up Sleeves

“One who has experienced the Father’s mercy in his own life cannot remain insensitive in face of the needs of brothers,” Francis said, noting Jesus’ teachings do not allow for escapes, but call for helping those who hunger and thirst, the naked, the stranger, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt25:35-36),

(Source: Zenit 7/1/16)