Capuchin Papal Preacher, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M.Cap., addressed the Holy Father and the papal household on April 8. The following is an excerpt from CNS: VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Genuine love for others is the cornerstone of charity, but it needs to be backed up by concrete action to be a complete expression of God's love for humanity, the papal preacher said. In a Lenten meditation released by the Vatican April 8, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa explained that Christian charity should be characterized by "a love that is both sincere and active; a love from the heart and a love, so to speak, of the hands." Father Cantalamessa warned that those who perform charitable acts without a heartfelt desire to help others may be merely hiding less virtuous motivations such as "selfishness, the use of others for their own purposes, or simply a guilty conscience." He cited St. Paul's Letter to the Romans in which he calls on Christians to act with charity without hypocrisy. The call for "a love that is true, authentic and not fake" was the cornerstone of St. Paul's message, Father Cantalamessa said. "Hypocritical love," the papal preacher said, "is that which does good works without feeling, that shows off to the outside something that is not actually felt in the heart." With this in mind, however, it would be a "fatal error" to "hide within one's inner charity, using it as a sort of alibi to avoid charitable actions," he said... [Full article]. Source: CNS, "Papal preacher says true charity requires inner love, outer action." By Sarah Delaney