Love of God and neighbor should be the basis of our lives, says Pope
October 27, 2014
Commenting on the day’s Gospel reading, Pope Francis said in his October 26 Angelus address that the commandments to love of God and neighbor are the “fundamental criteria on which to base” our lives.
“We can never separate religious life from the service of the brothers and sisters,” he said. “We can never divide prayer, the encounter with God in the sacraments, from listening to others, from being close to their lives, especially from their wounds.”
“In the midst of the dense forest of rules and regulations-- the legalisms of yesterday and today-- Jesus makes an opening that allows us to see two faces: the face of the Father and that of the brothers,” the Pope added. “Not precepts or rules, he gives us two faces! Actually, it is one face: that of God that is reflected in the faces of so many, because in the face of every brother and sister, especially the smallest, the fragile, the helpless and the needy, the very image of God is present.”
“Above all, he gives us his Spirit, which allows us to love God and neighbor like him, with a free and generous heart,” he concluded. “Through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, let us open ourselves to receive this gift of love, to walk always in this law, of two faces that are one face, in the law of love.”
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Further information:
- Le parole del Papa alla recita dell’Angelus (Holy See Press Office)
- On the Love for God and Neighbor (Zenit)
- Pope at Angelus: love of God and neighbour are inseparable (Vatican Radio)
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