Pope: Sin of taking work from people is "very serious”

"This work gives us dignity, and those in charge of people, leaders, have an obligation to do everything possible so that every man and every woman can work and thus hold their heads high, face others, with dignity". "We are called to love, to love", but we must avoid the risk that our charity is "hypocritical."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The sin of those who "through economic maneuvering, nebulous negotiations, closed factories, closed businesses and take work from men" is “very serious”, because "work gives us dignity, and those in charge of people, leaders, have an obligation to do everything possible so that every man and every woman can work and thus hold their heads high, face others, with dignity": This was the warning issued by Pope Francis at the general audience today, when, in his greetings in Italian, he addressed a special greeting to the workers of "Sky Italy" hoping "that their job situation will find a quick solution, while respecting the rights of all, especially of families. "

Earlier, in his address to 40 thousand people in St. Peter's Square, the Pope continuing the illustration of Christian hope, dedicated his catechesis to the theme "Rejoice in hope" (cfr. Rm 12.9 to 13) to emphasize that "we are called to love, to charity", but to avoid the risk that our charity is "hypocritical", that is to "show off or to feel satisfied", that our love is not "a soap opera" we must recognize that also our way of loving is marked by sin. And that charity is not a product of our heart, "is above all a grace" and therefore "we need the Lord to continually renew this gift in our hearts, through the experience of his infinite mercy."

"Hypocrisy - he observed - can penetrate everywhere, even our way of loving. This occurs when our love is one of interest, driven by personal interests; and there are many forms of interested love... when the charitable services that we carry out are done to show off or feel self-satisfied: ‘How good am I?: This is hypocrisy; or when we aim at things that have a certain 'visibility' to show off our intelligence or our ability. Behind all this there is a false idea, false, that is to say, if we love, it is because we are good; as if charity were a creation of man, a product of our heart. Charity, however, is first and foremost a grace, a gift; to love is a gift of God, and we have to ask for it. And He gives it willingly, if we ask. Charity is a grace, it is not to bring to light to what we are, but what the Lord gives us and what we freely welcome; and it cannot be expressed in the encounter with others if that first encounter is not with the meek and merciful face of Jesus. "

"Paul invites us to recognize that we are sinners, and that our way of loving is marked by sin. At the same time, however, it is the bearer of a new proclamation, a proclamation of hope: the Lord opens before us a way of liberation, a way of salvation. It is the opportunity to experience the great commandment, to become instruments of God's love. And that is when we allow ourselves to be healed and renewed by the heart of the risen Christ. The Risen Lord who lives among us, who is living with us and is able to heal our heart: He does so, if we ask. It is He who allows us, despite our littleness and poverty, to experience the compassion of the Father, and to celebrate the wonders of His love. It is understood then that all we do to live and for our brothers is nothing more than a response to what God has done and continues to do for us. Indeed, it is God himself who, taking residence in our hearts and in our lives, continues to be close and to serve all those we meet every day on our journey, starting with the least and the most needy which He was first to recognize. "

"The Apostle Paul, then, with these words does not wish to reproach us, but rather encourage us and brighten our hope. In fact, we all experience the inability to live the commandment fully or as we should. But even this is a grace, because it makes us realize that we alone are not able to truly love: we need the Lord to continually renew this gift in our hearts, through the experience of his infinite mercy. And then, yes, we will return to appreciate the little things, the simple things, the ordinary; we'll be once again able to appreciate all these little everyday things, and we will be able to love others as God loves them, wanting their good, that they are saints, friends of God; and we will be happy for the chance to get us closer to the poor and humble, as Jesus is with each of us when we are away from him, to bend at the foot of our brothers, as He, the Good Samaritan, does with each of us, with his compassion and forgiveness. "  

"This the Apostle Paul reminds us - the Pope concluded - is the secret to being – I will use his words – it is the secret to being "joyful in hope": joyful in hope. The joy of hope, because we know that in all circumstances, even the most adverse, and also through our own failures, the love of God does not fail. And then, with the heart visited and inhabited by His grace and His faithfulness, we live in joyful hope to return to our brothers, for what little we can, the great amount that we receive each day from Him. "

• Vatican
• Pope Francis
• work
• dignity
• hope
• charity
• hypocrisy