Rome, March 30, 1959
We certainly have a great responsibility. We Christians must give witness to Christ and from the way we act people should be able to grasp the message that Christ brought on earth.
But at times the witness we give of Christ is weak—if not non-existent— or deformed in one way or another.
Various personalities and minds averse to the action of grace project an image of Jesus that is often in their own image and likeness. Therefore, those looking on deduce what they can from the data they have: for example, that deep down, religion simply bends people’s necks but not their will. And this is because those Christians, who call themselves Christ’s disciples, since it is they who live and not Christ in them, cast a shadow that veils in their own person the religion they profess. As a result, the separation tragically continues and is perpetuated between those who are far from Christ and those who, if they were to relive the love that is God, should attract the world and bring it to the Lord.
