The Pope has lashed out against «make-up spirituality» and criticized Christians «who say they believe in God» but then «do not care about their neighbor» and are «not interested in peace,» during the Mass he celebrated in the Gothic cathedral of Asti, the northern Italian province where he traveled on Saturday to celebrate with his family the 90th birthday of his second cousin.
«We become water Christians, who say they believe in God and want peace, but do not pray and do not care about their neighbor and are not interested in God and peace,» the Pontiff warned in his homily.
Among the relatives who were seated in the front row benches in the basilica, there was also Carla Rabezzana the Pope’s cousin who celebrated her 90th birthday this Saturday. It was a simple, family and private celebration, as no cameras or journalists were allowed to be present.
Francis explained that his trip to the place from which his parents emigrated to Argentina in 1929 was a return to «a taste of his roots».
He also warned that «evil is contagious». «The wave of evil always spreads in this way: it begins by provoking a distancing, by making us look without doing anything, by not caring, then one only thinks about what interests him and gets used to turning away,» he said.
In this way, he pointed out that «indifference» is «a risk» for faith that can wither «if it remains only in theory and is not put into practice, if there is no involvement».
The Pope finally explained that God always embraces with «open arms», a phrase he pronounced in Piedmontese dialect, which is the language spoken by his parents and grandparents. «God has made himself a servant so that everyone can feel like a son. He came there, to the paradox of the Cross, precisely to embrace all that is ours, our death, our pain, our poverty, our fragility, our miseries,» he added.
