61-year-old woman who claimed to be pregnant with a 21-year-old boy is

3. God’s passionate desire to dialogue with his children

We must never take for granted that the Lord is once again offering us a propitious time for our conversion. This new opportunity should awaken in us a sense of gratitude and shake us out of our laziness. Despite the sometimes tragic presence of evil in our lives, in the life of the Church, and in the world, this opportunity to change course expresses God’s unwavering will not to interrupt his saving dialogue with us.

In Jesus crucified, who knew no sin but for our sake became sin (cf. 2 Cor 5:21), this salvific will led the Father to burden his Son with the weight of our sins, thus turning, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, “God against himself” (Deus Caritas Est, 12). For God also loves his enemies (cf.

Mt 5:43-48).

The dialogue that God desires to establish with each of us through the paschal mystery of his Son has nothing to do with empty talk, such as that attributed to the ancient inhabitants of Athens, who “dedicated themselves to nothing except to say or hear something new” (Acts 17:21). Such talk, driven by an empty and superficial curiosity, characterizes worldliness in every age; in our day, it can also result from an improper use of the media.

4. A wealth to share, not to keep for oneself

4. A wealth to share, not to keep for oneself.

Placing the Paschal Mystery at the center of our lives means feeling compassion for the wounds of Christ crucified, present in the many innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life—from the unborn to the elderly—and in various forms of violence. They are also present in environmental disasters, the unequal distribution of the earth’s goods, human trafficking in all its forms, and the unbridled pursuit of profit, which is a form of idolatry.

Today too, it is necessary to appeal to men and women of good will to share, through almsgiving, their goods with those most in need, as a means of personally participating in building a better world. Charity makes us more human, while hoarding risks making us less human, prisoners of our own selfishness. We can and must go further and consider the structural aspects of our economic life.