via Vatican News:

Only by listening to the simplest requests of people and by placing ourselves next to their concrete existential situations, can we be listened to when speaking of higher values”.

We are instruments, he said, of God’s love for humanity that is “hungry for bread, for freedom, for justice, for peace, and above all for His divine grace, which never fails”.

Therefore, Francis said, the Gospel invites us to be available and industrious, just like that boy who only had five loaves but offered them.

“Faced with the cry of hunger – all sorts of “hunger” – of so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, we cannot remain detached and calm spectators. The proclamation of Christ, the bread of eternal life, requires a generous commitment of solidarity for the poor, the weak, the last, and the defenseless. This action of proximity and charity is the best test of our faith, both at the personal level, and as a community” he said.