Practising what we preach

Pope Francis, during his Angelus address on November 5, spoke about the importance of practising what we preach:

“The scribes and Pharisees were concerned about having to hide their inconsistency to save their outward reputation. This trick is very common – to manifest a beautiful exterior to hide the filth inside. But this is an awful sickness, especially for us Christians – when the exterior prevails over the interior. At times, even in the Church, we are tempted to save face, when we should be concerned about the interior so as to be consistent and credible Christians. Do we try to practise what we preach, or do we live duplicitously? Are we concerned only about showing how impeccable we are on the outside, or do we also cultivate our interior life in sincerity of heart?”

Saints support us

On November 1, Pope Francis spoke about saints:

“They are our elder brothers and our sisters, on whom we can always count: the saints support us and, when we take a wrong turn along the way, with their silent presence they never fail to correct us; they are sincere friends, whom we can trust, because they desire our well-being. In their lives we find an example, in their prayers we receive help and friendship, and with them we are bound in a bond of brotherly love.”

Hope that does not defraud

On November 2, All Souls Day, Pope Francis stopped briefly at Rome’s Catholic cemetery, where he spoke about hope:

“We are walking towards the encounter with the Lord and with all. And we must ask the Lord for this grace of hope: the hope that never defrauds; the hope that is the daily virtue that leads us forward, which helps us resolve problems and look for ways out. But always forward, forward. That fruitful hope, that theological hope of each day, of each moment: I’ll call it the theological virtue ‘of the kitchen’ because it’s at hand and always comes to our aid. The hope that doesn’t defraud: we live in this tension between memory and hope.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)