A Christian who chooses to be merciful experiences true life and has "eyes to see, ears to listen, and hands to comfort," CNS reported the pope as saying on June 30 during a Year of Mercy audience in St. Peter's Square.
By being indifferent to the plight of the poor and suffering, the pope said, Christians turn into "hypocrites" and move toward a "spiritual lethargy that numbs the mind and makes life barren."
"People who go through life, who walk in life without being aware of the needs of others, without seeing the many spiritual and material needs are people who do not live," he said. "They are people who do not serve others. And remember this well: One who does not live to serve, serves nothing in life."
Instead, he said, those who have experienced the mercy of God in their own lives do not remain insensitive to the needs of others. Far from theoretical issues, the works of mercy are a "concrete witness" that compels Christians to "roll up their sleeves in order to ease suffering."