During his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis turned to reflect on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. He said that "the great gift of the theological virtues is existence lived in the Holy Spirit. The Christian is never alone. He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment, but because, as a humble disciple, he walks in the footsteps of Jesus, the Master." Read the full text of his address below. You can watch the full broadcast on Salt + Light TV on Thursday night at 7:00 pm ET, 4:00 pm PT and then on Salt + Light Plus.Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! In recent weeks we have reflected on the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. They are the four cardinal virtues. As we have emphasized several times, these four virtues belong to a very ancient wisdom that predates even Christianity. Even before Christ, honesty was preached as a civic duty, wisdom as the rule for actions, courage as the fundamental ingredient for a life that tends towards the good, and moderation as the necessary measure not to be overwhelmed by excesses. This patrimony that is so ancient, the patrimony of humanity has not been replaced by Christianity, but focused on, enhanced, purified, and integrated in the faith. There is therefore in the heart of every man and woman the capacity to seek the good. The Holy Spirit is given so that those who receive it can clearly distinguish good from evil, have the strength to adhere to good by shunning evil, and, in so doing, achieve full self-realization. But in the journey that we are all making towards the fullness of life, which belongs to the destiny of every person – the destiny of each person is fulness, to be full of life – the Christian enjoys special assistance from the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus. It is implemented through the gift of three other, distinctly Christian virtues, which are often mentioned together in the New Testament writings. These fundamental attributes, which characterize the life of the Christian, are three virtues that we often speak of together: faith, hope, and charity. Let’s say it to gether: [together] faith, hope… I don’t hear anything! Louder! [together] Faith, hope, and charity! Good job! Christian writers soon called them “theological” virtues, insofar as they are received and lived out in relationship with God, to differentiate them from the other four, called “cardinal” insofar as they constitute the “hinge” [in Italian, cardine] of a good life. These three are received in Baptism and come from the Holy Spirit. The one and the other, both the theological and the cardinal, put together in so many systematic reflections, have thus composed a wonderful septenary, which is often contrasted with the list of the seven deadly sins. This is how the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the action of the theological virtues: “the theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being” (#1813). While the risk of the cardinal virtues is of generating men and women who are heroic in doing good, but all alone, isolated, the great gift of the theological virtues is existence lived in the Holy Spirit. The Christian is never alone. He does good not because of a titanic effort of personal commitment, but because, as a humble disciple, he walks in the footsteps of Jesus, the Master. He goes forward on the way. The Christian has the theological virtues, which are the great antidote to self-sufficiency. How often do certain morally irreproachable men and women run the risk of becoming conceited and arrogant in the eyes of those who know them! It is a danger that the Gospel rightly warns us against, when Jesus advises the disciples: “You too, when you have done all that you have been commanded, say, ‘We are useless servants. We have done what we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:10). Pride is a poison, a powerful poison: a drop of it is enough to spoil a whole life marked by goodness. A person may have performed a mountain of good deeds, may have reaped accolades and praise, but if he has done all this only for himself, to exalt himself, can he still call himself a virtuous person? No! Good is not only an end, but also a means. Goodness needs a lot of discretion, a lot of kindness. Above all, goodness needs to be stripped of that sometimes too cumbersome presence that is our ego. When our “I” is at the centre of everything, everything is ruined. If we perform every action in life only for ourselves, is this motivation really so important? The poor “I” takes hold of everything and thus pride is born. To correct all these situations, which sometimes become painful, the theological virtues are of great help. They are especially so in times of falling, because even those with good moral intentions sometimes fall. We all fall in life, because we are all sinners. Just as even those who practice virtue daily sometimes make mistakes; we all make mistakes in life: intelligence is not always clear, will is not always firm, passions are not always governed, courage does not always overcome fear. But if we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit – the Master of the interior life – He revives the theological virtues in us: then, if we have lost confidence, God reopens us to faith; with the strength of the Spirit, if we have lost confidence, God reopens us to faith; if we are discouraged, God awakens hope in us; and if our heart is hardened, God softens it with His love. Thank you.
有鑒於教宗方濟各的病情穩定,醫生14日晚上沒有發布相關通知。聖座新聞室稱之為「積極」的信號,而且強調之後會減少有關教宗病況的消息。教宗繼續接受治療。
教宗府講道神師帕索里尼神父在保祿六世大廳帶領的四旬期避靜第三場默想。他探討了人類不斷試圖掩蓋自身軟弱,卻不願直面內心深處的空虛。神父強調,內在之死並非終結,因為天主並不視之為失敗,而是將其看作邁向新生命的起點。帕索里尼神父在第四場默想中強調,天主沒有等到我們死後才賜給我們永生,卻在此時此刻就已經賜下,只要我們領受祂的聖神即可獲得。
羅馬時間,2025年3月12日晚上,聖座新聞室發表了有關教宗方濟各健康狀況的最新消息:「在整體醫療狀況複雜的情況下,教宗的臨床狀況仍然穩定。昨天進行的胸部 X 光檢查從放射學角度證實了前幾天觀察到的病情改善。」
3月12日早晨,聖座新聞室提供了有關教宗狀況的最新消息。教宗方濟各的臨床症狀保持穩定,在依然複雜的病況下略有好轉。11日,他通過視頻連線參加了在保祿六世大廳舉行的聖座部會避靜活動,專務祈禱,並且領了聖體。此外,他也繼續進行治療,白天接受高流量氧氣治療。
聖座各部會首長於3月9日四旬期第一主日下午5點開始了在保祿六世大廳進行的避靜,直到14日結束。教宗府講道神師帕索里尼神父帶領避靜,其主題是“永生的希望”。在第一天的默想中,帕索里尼神父指出:“我們常常被‘必須完美’的觀念所困擾,然而福音教導我們,真正的‘不完美’並非脆弱,而是缺乏愛。”