VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Charity should be given freely and lived humbly with the poor, never letting it become hypocrisy, a slick business or a way to soothe a troubled conscience, Pope Francis said.
“Not only does charity that doesn’t ‘reach the wallet’ end up being fake charity, so does charity that doesn’t involve the heart, soul and our whole being,” he said May 27 during an audience at the Vatican with delegates attending the general assembly of Caritas Internationalis.
The Vatican-based confederation of more than 160 Catholic national charities was holding its 21st general assembly in Rome, electing new officials, reviewing polices and focusing on the theme “One Human Family, One Common Home.”
The pope thanked delegates for working to help those “left on the margins” and for building up in the world God’s kingdom where justice, love and peace reign.
He said charity, integral development and ecclesial communion were three key elements in Caritas’ mission.
“Charity is not a sterile service or a simple donation to hand over to put our conscience at ease,” he said. “Charity is God our Father’s embrace of every person, particularly of the least and those who suffer.”
The Church is not a humanitarian organization, the pope said. It is something so much bigger: “in Christ, it is the sign and instrument of God’s love for humanity and for creation.”
The pope urged the Caritas representatives to live out this charity freely, humbly and with a spirit of poverty.
“One cannot live charity without having a personal relationship with the poor — to live with the poor and for the poor” so as to learn from them how charity is sharing,” he said.
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