“Mercy is not an abstract concept, it is a lifestyle”, Pope Francis said in the catechesis of his Jubilee Audience – which was moved up from Saturday 2 July to today – dedicated to the Gospel reading of Matthew 25: 31-46 on the works of mercy. “How many times – the Pontiff began –, in the first months of the Jubilee, we have heard about the works of mercy! Today the Lord invites us to examine our consciences. Indeed, it is important that we never forget that mercy is not an abstract concept, but a lifestyle”. “A person – he added off the cuff – can be merciful or can show no mercy; it is a lifestyle. I can choose to live as a merciful person or I can choose to live as a person without mercy. It is one thing to talk mercy, but quite another to live mercy”. “Paraphrasing the words of St James the Apostle, we could say: mercy without works is dead in itself. This is the truth! What makes mercy alive is its constant dynamism to meet the spiritual and material needs of others. Mercy has eyes to see, ears to listen, and hands to help people up”.