"Do not worship earthly goods, but use them as means to live and help the others who are in need". This is the invitation made by the Pope in the last part of the catechesis at today’s general audience attended by about 5 thousand people , focussed on the Lenten rituals of prayer, fasting and alms. "We know unfortunately said the Pontiff how deeply the charm of material riches pervades modern life". Hence the need for Christians to behave against the general trend and "accommodate the needs of their neighbours, in imitation of Jesus, who made Himself poor to enrich us with His poverty". Then, quoting his recent Message for Lent, all focussed on the meaning of alms, to "learn to make a gift of our life", making us willing "not so much to give something of what we own, but ourselves". If practised "with a deep spirit of faith", therefore, according to the Pope, alms "becomes a means to understand and accomplish better our own Christian calling. When concluded the Holy Father Christians freely offer themselves, they prove that it is not material riches that dictate the laws of life, but it is love".
