Pope in Madrid, over 1.2 million at mass in Plaza Cibeles: appeal against selfishness and indifference

In his speech, the Pontiff launched a strong appeal against “selfishness” and “indifference”, inviting us to “build a new world” through a faith lived in the concreteness of daily life.

“It is not an external manifestation or a folkloristic survival – stated the Pope – but of faith in the presence of the Risen Lord, alive among us, who becomes bread for our hunger for life”. The Pontiff underlined how the Eucharistic celebration should not be understood as “a nostalgic memory”, but as a current invitation to conversion and to “change our gaze”.

During the homily, the Pope reiterated that “no one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother”, calling the faithful to a coherence between faith and daily life. “Religiosity should not be a museum of the past – he added – but a school of faith from which to draw even today”.

The Pontiff then invited the faithful to “let themselves be led away from selfishness and indifference”, to become protagonists in the construction of the common good. “Let us open ourselves to the encounter with the Lord – he said – and let him quench the aridity of our hearts, to bring love, peace, justice and joy among the people”.

The celebration ended with an appeal to experience the Eucharist as “a source that does not close in on a private devotion, but which sends us to serve our brothers, the poor and those who have lost hope”.