At noon today (6:00am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This Sunday, we continue our reading of the gospel of Mark. In today's passage (cf Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23), Jesus addresses an important issue for all of us believers: the authenticity of our obedience to the Word of God, against any worldly contamination or legalistic formalism. The story opens with the objection that the scribes and the Pharisees present to Jesus, accusing his disciples of not following the ritual precepts according to the traditions. In this way, the questioners intended to affect Jesus' reliability and authority as Master because they said: This teacher allows his disciples to not fulfill the prescriptions of tradition, but Jesus replies loudly, saying: "Isaiah has prophesied rightly about you, hypocrites. It is written:" This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines which are precepts of men (Mk 7:6-7). This is what Jesus says. Clear and strong words! Hypocrite is, so to speak, one of the strongest adjectives that Jesus uses in the Gospel and he pronounces it by addressing the teachers of religion: doctors of the law, scribes ... Hypocrite, says Jesus.
In fact, Jesus wants to shake the scribes and the Pharisees from the mistake they have fallen into, and what is this mistake? That of denying the will of God, neglecting his commandments in order to observe human traditions. Jesus' reaction is severe because great things are at stake: the truth of the relationship between man and God, the truth of the authenticity of religious life. A hypocrite is a liar, he is not authentic.
Even today the Lord invites us to flee the danger of giving more importance to form than to substance. He calls us to recognize, again and again, what is the true focus of the experience of faith, that is, love of God and love of neighbour, purifying ourselves from the hypocrisy of legalism and ritualism.
The message of today's gospel passage is also reinforced by the voice of the Apostle James, who tells us - in a nutshell - how true religion should be lived. He says: true religion is "visiting the orphans and widows who are suffering and not being contaminated by this world (Jas 1:27).
Visiting orphans and widows means practicing charity towards others, starting with the needy, the most fragile, those who are most marginalized. They are the people of whom God takes special care, and He asks us to do the same.
Do not let yourself be contaminated by this world does not mean isolating ourselves and closing ourselves off from reality. No. Here too it should not be an external but an interior attitude of substance: it means being vigilant because our way of thinking and acting is not polluted by the worldly mentality, that is, by vanity, greed, pride. In reality, a man or woman who lives motivated by vanity, avarice, pride and at the same time believes and makes himself seen as religious and even condemns others, is a hypocrite.
Let's do an examination of conscience to see how we welcome the Word of God. On Sunday we listen to this word in the Mass. If we listen to it in a distracted or superficial way, it will not help us much. Instead, we must welcome the Word with an open mind and an open heart, as in good ground, so that it can be assimilated and bears fruit in concrete life. Jesus says that the Word of God is like wheat, it is a seed that must grow in concrete works. Thus the Word itself purifies our hearts and our actions and our relationship with God and with others are freed from hypocrisy.
The example and the intercession of the Virgin Mary helps us to always honour the Lord with our hearts, bearing witness to Him through our love for Him in concretely making choices for the good of our brothers and sisters.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday in Košice (Slovakia), Anna Kolesárová, a virgin and martyr who was killed for having resisted those who wanted to violate her dignity and chastity, was proclaimed Blessed. She is like our Italian Maria Goretti. This courageous young girl helps young Christians to remain steadfast in fidelity to the gospel, even when they are required to go against the current and pay the ultimate price. Let us applaud Blessed Anna Kolosárová!
This next point is painful: there are still winds of war and disquieting news about the risks of a possible humanitarian catastrophe in beloved Syria, in the Province of Idlib. I renew my heartfelt appeal to the international community and to all the actors involved to make use of the instruments of diplomacy, dialogue and negotiations, in compliance with international humanitarian law and to safeguard the lives of civilians.
I greet all of you, dear pilgrims from Italy and from various countries. In particular, I greet the catechists from Caerano San Marco, the boys from Montirone, the young people from Rovato and those who came from different cities in Spain after a long journey, and the participants taking part in the meeting of Vespa motorcyclists. I see the sign there, welcome!
I wish you all a good Sunday. And, please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This Sunday, we continue our reading of the gospel of Mark. In today's passage (cf Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23), Jesus addresses an important issue for all of us believers: the authenticity of our obedience to the Word of God, against any worldly contamination or legalistic formalism. The story opens with the objection that the scribes and the Pharisees present to Jesus, accusing his disciples of not following the ritual precepts according to the traditions. In this way, the questioners intended to affect Jesus' reliability and authority as Master because they said: This teacher allows his disciples to not fulfill the prescriptions of tradition, but Jesus replies loudly, saying: "Isaiah has prophesied rightly about you, hypocrites. It is written:" This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines which are precepts of men (Mk 7:6-7). This is what Jesus says. Clear and strong words! Hypocrite is, so to speak, one of the strongest adjectives that Jesus uses in the Gospel and he pronounces it by addressing the teachers of religion: doctors of the law, scribes ... Hypocrite, says Jesus.
In fact, Jesus wants to shake the scribes and the Pharisees from the mistake they have fallen into, and what is this mistake? That of denying the will of God, neglecting his commandments in order to observe human traditions. Jesus' reaction is severe because great things are at stake: the truth of the relationship between man and God, the truth of the authenticity of religious life. A hypocrite is a liar, he is not authentic.
Even today the Lord invites us to flee the danger of giving more importance to form than to substance. He calls us to recognize, again and again, what is the true focus of the experience of faith, that is, love of God and love of neighbour, purifying ourselves from the hypocrisy of legalism and ritualism.
The message of today's gospel passage is also reinforced by the voice of the Apostle James, who tells us - in a nutshell - how true religion should be lived. He says: true religion is "visiting the orphans and widows who are suffering and not being contaminated by this world (Jas 1:27).
Visiting orphans and widows means practicing charity towards others, starting with the needy, the most fragile, those who are most marginalized. They are the people of whom God takes special care, and He asks us to do the same.
Do not let yourself be contaminated by this world does not mean isolating ourselves and closing ourselves off from reality. No. Here too it should not be an external but an interior attitude of substance: it means being vigilant because our way of thinking and acting is not polluted by the worldly mentality, that is, by vanity, greed, pride. In reality, a man or woman who lives motivated by vanity, avarice, pride and at the same time believes and makes himself seen as religious and even condemns others, is a hypocrite.
Let's do an examination of conscience to see how we welcome the Word of God. On Sunday we listen to this word in the Mass. If we listen to it in a distracted or superficial way, it will not help us much. Instead, we must welcome the Word with an open mind and an open heart, as in good ground, so that it can be assimilated and bears fruit in concrete life. Jesus says that the Word of God is like wheat, it is a seed that must grow in concrete works. Thus the Word itself purifies our hearts and our actions and our relationship with God and with others are freed from hypocrisy.
The example and the intercession of the Virgin Mary helps us to always honour the Lord with our hearts, bearing witness to Him through our love for Him in concretely making choices for the good of our brothers and sisters.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday in Košice (Slovakia), Anna Kolesárová, a virgin and martyr who was killed for having resisted those who wanted to violate her dignity and chastity, was proclaimed Blessed. She is like our Italian Maria Goretti. This courageous young girl helps young Christians to remain steadfast in fidelity to the gospel, even when they are required to go against the current and pay the ultimate price. Let us applaud Blessed Anna Kolosárová!
This next point is painful: there are still winds of war and disquieting news about the risks of a possible humanitarian catastrophe in beloved Syria, in the Province of Idlib. I renew my heartfelt appeal to the international community and to all the actors involved to make use of the instruments of diplomacy, dialogue and negotiations, in compliance with international humanitarian law and to safeguard the lives of civilians.
I greet all of you, dear pilgrims from Italy and from various countries. In particular, I greet the catechists from Caerano San Marco, the boys from Montirone, the young people from Rovato and those who came from different cities in Spain after a long journey, and the participants taking part in the meeting of Vespa motorcyclists. I see the sign there, welcome!
I wish you all a good Sunday. And, please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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