Vatican City, Mar 14, 2017 / 15:01 pm
Pope Francis urged Catholics in Tuesday's homily not only to avoid evil, but to pursue good in concrete actions, likening the Lenten conversion to a journey.
"Avoiding evil and learning to do good: this is the rule of conversion. Because being converted doesn't come from a fairy who converts us with a magic wand: No! It's a journey. It's a journey of avoiding and of learning," said the Pope during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
Beginning his homily with the first step of the journey, the Pope said that we must recognize "Each one of us, every day, does something ugly." He emphasized the importance of recognizing our own sins and he referenced to a quote from the book of Proverbs: "For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again."
This sin, he said, "poisons the soul," but he encouraged the faithful not to worry, for God responds with the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "though your sins should be like scarlet, they will become white as snow."