Pope Francis reflects on almsgiving, vigilance

August 08, 2016

Commenting on the day’s Gospel reading at Mass (Lk. 12:32-48), Pope Francis devoted his August 7 Angelus address to almsgiving and vigilance.

Christ invites his disciples “to give value to almsgiving as a work of mercy, not to place our confidence in fleeting things,” the Pope told the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square. “To use things, without attachment and egotism, but rather according to the logic of God, the logic of attention to others, the logic of love.”

“Jesus portrays life as a vigil of active waiting, which precedes the luminous day of eternity,” the Pope continued. “Jesus today reminds us that awaiting eternal blessedness does not free us from the commitment to make the world more just and more inhabitable. In fact, precisely our hope of possessing the Kingdom in eternity drives us to work to improve the condition of our earthly life, especially that of our weakest brothers.”

He concluded, “May the Virgin Mary help us to be people and communities that are not limited to the present, or worse, nostalgic for the past, but rather, projected toward the future of God, toward the encounter with him, our life and our hope.”

 

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Further information:

• Angelus Domini 2016.08.07 (YouTube Vatican)
• Le parole del Papa alla recita dell’Angelus (Holy See Press Office)
• Angelus Address: On Keeping Watch and Awaiting the Lord (Zenit)