While it is easy for people to love what is good and beautiful or to be generous and heroic for an ideal, Pope Francis said Christian love embraces what is not lovable, it offers forgiveness and blesses one's enemies.
This "greater love," which
New York's Mayor Eric Adams took a break between an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican and a conference on human fraternity to head to Rome's Trastevere neighborhood to help volunteers paint over graffiti.
He arrived about 15 minutes after Rome's Mayor
The world is in great need of hope and patience, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience.
Those who are patient "are weavers of goodness. They stubbornly desire peace, and even if others are hasty and would like everything straight away, patience
The greatest enemy of faith is fear, Pope Francis said at his weekly general audience.
That is why faith is the first gift "that must be welcomed and asked for daily, so that it may be renewed in us. It is seemingly a
While the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance are the marks of a righteous individual, the virtues of faith, hope and love emphasize a connection to other people fueled by belief in God and reliance on prayer, Pope Francis said.
"The Christian
Exercising the virtue of temperance is not a recipe for a boring life, Pope Francis said, but rather it is the secret to enjoying every good thing.
If one wants "to appreciate a good wine, savoring it in small sips is better than
While giving each person his or her due is fundamental for justice, the virtue of justice is not concentrated on the individual in isolation but on ensuring the common good of all, Pope Francis said.
Justice "is represented allegorically by scales, because it
Contemplating Christ's passion should inspire Christians to be more patient in the face of their own suffering and trials, Pope Francis said.
"There is no better witness to the love of Christ than meeting a patient Christian," Pope Francis said during his general
"War is always a defeat," Pope Francis said, urging people at his general audience to pray that leaders in war-torn nations would have the courage to negotiate for peace.
"We must make every effort to discuss, to negotiate to end war. Let's pray
The saints are not unreachable "exceptions of humanity" but ordinary people who worked diligently to grow in virtue, Pope Francis said.
It is wrong to think of the saints as "a kind of small circle of champions who live beyond the limits of