At noon today in Rome, 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 who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
This Sunday's gospel presents a dispute between Jesus and some of the Pharisees and scribes. The discussion concerns the value of the tradition of the elders (Mk 7:3) that Jesus, referring to the prophet Isaiah, defines as human precepts (Mk 7:7) and which should never be considered more important than God's commandment (Mk 7:8). The ancient prescriptions in question include not only the precepts of God revealed to Moses, but a series of dictates that specified the directives of the Mosaic law. The interpreters of the law used to apply these norms in a very scrupulous manner and would present them as authentic expressions of religiosity. Therefore, they were accusing Jesus and his disciples of breaking these directives, especially the ones referring to the purification of the outside of the body (cf Mk 7:5). Jesus' response carries the weight of a prophetic pronouncement: Neglecting the commandment of God, he says, you observe the traditions of men (Mk 7:8). These are words that fill us with admiration for our Master: we feel that in Him there is truth and that his wisdom frees us from prejudice.
But be careful! With these words, Jesus is warning us today too, that external observance of the law is not enough to be good Christians. As it was for the Pharisees, so it is also for us: there is a danger of thinking that everything is okay, or worse, that we are better than others simply because we follow the rules and customs, even though we may not love our neighbour, or that we are hard of heart, or that we are better than another, or that we are proud. The literal observance of the precepts is sterile if we do not change our hearts and if the commandments do not translate into concrete attitudes: openness to an encounter with God and with his Word in prayer, seeking justice and peace, caring for the poor, the weak and the oppressed. We all know, in our communities, in our parishes, in our neighbourhoods, of examples of people who purport to be good Catholics, and make a point of being seen in church but who do harm to the Church and create scandal by their habits of daily lives, or who harm their families, speaking badly about others and things such as those. This is what Jesus condemns, because this is counter-Christian witness.
Continuing his exhortation, Jesus focuses his attention on a more profound aspect and affirms: There is nothing outside a person which, by entering into him, can make him impure. Only things that come out of a person can render him (or her) impure (Mk 7:15). In this way, he points out the primacy of interiority, the primacy of the heart: it is not the things from outside that will make us holy or that will stop us from being saints, but our hearts which express our intentions, our choices and the desire to do everything out of love for God. External attitudes are the consequence of decisions that we have made in our hearts, but not the opposite: even if we have the right external attitudes, if our hearts don't change, we aren't real Christians. The border between good and evil exists not outside of us but within us. We can ask ourselves: where is my heart? Jesus used to say: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be too. What is my treasure? Is is Jesus and his doctrine? If so, my heart is good. Or is my treasure something else? If so, it is the heart that must be purified and converted. Without a purified heart, it is not possible for us to have truly clean hands or lips for proclaiming sincere words of love - everything is doubled, a double life - lips that speak words of mercy and of pardon. Only a sincere and purified heart can do this.
Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Holy Virgin, to grant us pure hearts, freed from every kind of hypocrisy. This is the adjective that Jesus uses with the Pharisees: hypocrites, because they say one thing and do another. A heart that is free from every hypocrisy, so that we can live according to the spirit of the law and come to its rightful end, which is love.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday, in Harissa, in Lebanon, the Syro-Catholic Bishop Flaviano Michele Melki, a martyr was beatified. IN the context of a great persecution against the Christians, he was an untiring defender of the rights of his people, encouraging everyone to remain solid in the faith. Today too, dear brothers and sisters, in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, Christians are being persecuted. There are more martyrs today than there have ever been. May the beatification of this martyred Bishop instill in them consolation, courage and hope, but may it also be a motivation for lawmakers and for governments to safeguard religious freedoms. I call on the international community to do continue its efforts to end this violence and abuse.
Unfortunately, even in these recent days, many migrants have lost their lives in terrible experiences of travel. For all these brothers and sisters, let us pray and invite others to pray. In particular, I unite my voice with that of Cardinal Schönborn - who is here today - and with the entire Church in Austria that is praying for the seventy-one victims, among which were four children, found in a truck on the highway between Budapest and Vienna. Let us confide each one of them to the mercy of God, and let us ask Him to help those responsible to work efficiently toward preventing such crimes, which offend the entire human family. Let us pray in silence for all the migrants who are suffering and for those who have lost their lives.
I greet the pilgrims who have come from Italy and from many other parts of the world, especially the scouts from Lisbon and the faithful from Zara (Croatia). I greet the faithful from Verona and from Bagnolo di NOgarole; the young people from the diocese of Vicenza, those from Rovato and those who have come from the parish of SAn Galdino in Milan; as well as the children from Salzano and from Acronate.
I wish you all a good Sunday. 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's gospel presents a dispute between Jesus and some of the Pharisees and scribes. The discussion concerns the value of the tradition of the elders (Mk 7:3) that Jesus, referring to the prophet Isaiah, defines as human precepts (Mk 7:7) and which should never be considered more important than God's commandment (Mk 7:8). The ancient prescriptions in question include not only the precepts of God revealed to Moses, but a series of dictates that specified the directives of the Mosaic law. The interpreters of the law used to apply these norms in a very scrupulous manner and would present them as authentic expressions of religiosity. Therefore, they were accusing Jesus and his disciples of breaking these directives, especially the ones referring to the purification of the outside of the body (cf Mk 7:5). Jesus' response carries the weight of a prophetic pronouncement: Neglecting the commandment of God, he says, you observe the traditions of men (Mk 7:8). These are words that fill us with admiration for our Master: we feel that in Him there is truth and that his wisdom frees us from prejudice.
But be careful! With these words, Jesus is warning us today too, that external observance of the law is not enough to be good Christians. As it was for the Pharisees, so it is also for us: there is a danger of thinking that everything is okay, or worse, that we are better than others simply because we follow the rules and customs, even though we may not love our neighbour, or that we are hard of heart, or that we are better than another, or that we are proud. The literal observance of the precepts is sterile if we do not change our hearts and if the commandments do not translate into concrete attitudes: openness to an encounter with God and with his Word in prayer, seeking justice and peace, caring for the poor, the weak and the oppressed. We all know, in our communities, in our parishes, in our neighbourhoods, of examples of people who purport to be good Catholics, and make a point of being seen in church but who do harm to the Church and create scandal by their habits of daily lives, or who harm their families, speaking badly about others and things such as those. This is what Jesus condemns, because this is counter-Christian witness.
Continuing his exhortation, Jesus focuses his attention on a more profound aspect and affirms: There is nothing outside a person which, by entering into him, can make him impure. Only things that come out of a person can render him (or her) impure (Mk 7:15). In this way, he points out the primacy of interiority, the primacy of the heart: it is not the things from outside that will make us holy or that will stop us from being saints, but our hearts which express our intentions, our choices and the desire to do everything out of love for God. External attitudes are the consequence of decisions that we have made in our hearts, but not the opposite: even if we have the right external attitudes, if our hearts don't change, we aren't real Christians. The border between good and evil exists not outside of us but within us. We can ask ourselves: where is my heart? Jesus used to say: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be too. What is my treasure? Is is Jesus and his doctrine? If so, my heart is good. Or is my treasure something else? If so, it is the heart that must be purified and converted. Without a purified heart, it is not possible for us to have truly clean hands or lips for proclaiming sincere words of love - everything is doubled, a double life - lips that speak words of mercy and of pardon. Only a sincere and purified heart can do this.
Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Holy Virgin, to grant us pure hearts, freed from every kind of hypocrisy. This is the adjective that Jesus uses with the Pharisees: hypocrites, because they say one thing and do another. A heart that is free from every hypocrisy, so that we can live according to the spirit of the law and come to its rightful end, which is love.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday, in Harissa, in Lebanon, the Syro-Catholic Bishop Flaviano Michele Melki, a martyr was beatified. IN the context of a great persecution against the Christians, he was an untiring defender of the rights of his people, encouraging everyone to remain solid in the faith. Today too, dear brothers and sisters, in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, Christians are being persecuted. There are more martyrs today than there have ever been. May the beatification of this martyred Bishop instill in them consolation, courage and hope, but may it also be a motivation for lawmakers and for governments to safeguard religious freedoms. I call on the international community to do continue its efforts to end this violence and abuse.
Unfortunately, even in these recent days, many migrants have lost their lives in terrible experiences of travel. For all these brothers and sisters, let us pray and invite others to pray. In particular, I unite my voice with that of Cardinal Schönborn - who is here today - and with the entire Church in Austria that is praying for the seventy-one victims, among which were four children, found in a truck on the highway between Budapest and Vienna. Let us confide each one of them to the mercy of God, and let us ask Him to help those responsible to work efficiently toward preventing such crimes, which offend the entire human family. Let us pray in silence for all the migrants who are suffering and for those who have lost their lives.
I greet the pilgrims who have come from Italy and from many other parts of the world, especially the scouts from Lisbon and the faithful from Zara (Croatia). I greet the faithful from Verona and from Bagnolo di NOgarole; the young people from the diocese of Vicenza, those from Rovato and those who have come from the parish of SAn Galdino in Milan; as well as the children from Salzano and from Acronate.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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