It is a style that is not of this world and it is not easy to live. But Pope Francis said September 13, 2018, that the Christian style is about “mercy” and “interior peace.”
His comments came during his homily at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican and were reported by Vatican News.
The Holy Father described four elements of the Christian style:
- “love your enemies,
- “do good to those who hate you,
- “bless those who curse you,
- “pray for those who mistreat you.”
“This is the Christian style, this is the manner of Christian living,” Francis explained. “But if I do not do these four things? Loving enemies, doing good to those who hate me, blessing those who curse me, and praying for those who mistreat me, am I not a Christian? Yes, you are a Christian because you have received Baptism, but you are not living like a Christian. You are living like a pagan, with the spirit of worldliness.
“Only the merciful are like God the Father. ‘Be merciful, as your Father is merciful.’ This is the path, the path that goes against the spirit of the world, that thinks differently, that does not accuse others. Because among us is the “Great Accuser,” the one who is always going about to accuse us before God, to destroy. Satan: he is the “Great Accuser.” And when I enter into this logic of accusing, of cursing, seeking to do evil to others, I enter into the logic of the “Great Accuser” who is the “Destroyer,” who does not know the word mercy, does not know, has never lived it.”
