June 4, 2013 Tuesday: Pope Francis, Daily Mass
Pope at Mass: Hypocrisy is the language of the corrupt
(Vatican Radio) Hypocrites may say all the right things, but for the wrong reasons. A Christian should not use a "socially mannered language", prone to hypocrisy, but speak the truth of the Gospel with the transparency of a child. There is no truth without love; love is the first truth.This was the lesson drawn by Pope Francis at morning Mass Tuesday in Casa Santa Marta.
From the corrupt to their language of choice: hypocrisy. Pope Francis continued his thread of thought from Monday’s homily in his reflections on the episode recounted in the Gospel of the day: The tribute due to Caesar, and the Pharisees and of the Herodians’ subtle questioning of Christ on the legitimacy of that tribute.
Pope Francis noted that the intention with which they approach Jesus is to make him "fall into a trap." Their question whether it is lawful or not to pay taxes to Caesar is made "with soft words, with beautiful words, with overly sweet words . "They try to show themselves his friends." But it is all false. Pope Francis says this is because, "they do not love the truth" but only themselves, "and so they try to deceive, to involve others in their deceit, their lies. They have a lying heart, they cannot tell the truth ":
"Hypocrisy is the very language of corruption. And when Jesus speaks to his disciples, he says: 'let your language be,' Yes, yes! No, no '. Hypocrisy is not a language of truth, because the truth is never given alone. Never! It is always given with love! There is no truth without love. Love is the first truth. If there is no love, there is no truth. They want a true enslaved to their interests. There is a love, of sorts: it is love of self, love for oneself. That narcissist idolatry that leads them to betray others, that leads them to abuse of trust. "
Pope Francis continued, what looks like a "persuasive language," instead leads to "errors, to lies." Then with a hint of irony, he noted that those who now approached Jesus and "seem so amiable in their language, are the same people who will go to fetch him on Thursday evening in the Garden of Olives, and will bring him to Pilate on Friday." Instead, Jesus asks exactly the opposite of those who follow him, a language of "yes is yes, no is no," a "language of truth and love."
"And the meekness that Jesus wants us to have, has nothing, has nothing of this adulation, this sickly sweet way of going on. Nothing! Meekness is simple, it is like that of a child. And a child is not hypocritical, because it is not corrupt. When Jesus says to us: 'Let your speech be' Yes is yes! No, is no! 'with the soul of a child', he means the exact opposite to the speech of these [hypocrites –ed]".
The Pope’s final consideration regarded "certain inner weakness", stimulated by "vanity", that means "we like people to say good things about us." The "corrupt know this well" and " are trying to weaken us with this language".
"Let us think closely today: What is our language? Do we speak in truth, with love, or do we speak with that social language to be polite, even say nice things, which we do not feel? Let our language be evangelical brothers and sisters! Then these hypocrites that start out with flattery, adulation and all of that, end up, through false witnesses, with accusing the very ones they had flattered. Let us ask the Lord today that our language be the language of the simple, the language of a child, the language of the children of God, the language of truth in love. "
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(Vatican Radio) Hypocrites may say all the right things, but for the wrong reasons. A Christian should not use a "socially mannered language", prone to hypocrisy, but speak the truth of the Gospel with the transparency of a child. There is no truth without love; love is the first truth.This was the lesson drawn by Pope Francis at morning Mass Tuesday in Casa Santa Marta.
From the corrupt to their language of choice: hypocrisy. Pope Francis continued his thread of thought from Monday’s homily in his reflections on the episode recounted in the Gospel of the day: The tribute due to Caesar, and the Pharisees and of the Herodians’ subtle questioning of Christ on the legitimacy of that tribute.
Pope Francis noted that the intention with which they approach Jesus is to make him "fall into a trap." Their question whether it is lawful or not to pay taxes to Caesar is made "with soft words, with beautiful words, with overly sweet words . "They try to show themselves his friends." But it is all false. Pope Francis says this is because, "they do not love the truth" but only themselves, "and so they try to deceive, to involve others in their deceit, their lies. They have a lying heart, they cannot tell the truth ":
"Hypocrisy is the very language of corruption. And when Jesus speaks to his disciples, he says: 'let your language be,' Yes, yes! No, no '. Hypocrisy is not a language of truth, because the truth is never given alone. Never! It is always given with love! There is no truth without love. Love is the first truth. If there is no love, there is no truth. They want a true enslaved to their interests. There is a love, of sorts: it is love of self, love for oneself. That narcissist idolatry that leads them to betray others, that leads them to abuse of trust. "
Pope Francis continued, what looks like a "persuasive language," instead leads to "errors, to lies." Then with a hint of irony, he noted that those who now approached Jesus and "seem so amiable in their language, are the same people who will go to fetch him on Thursday evening in the Garden of Olives, and will bring him to Pilate on Friday." Instead, Jesus asks exactly the opposite of those who follow him, a language of "yes is yes, no is no," a "language of truth and love."
"And the meekness that Jesus wants us to have, has nothing, has nothing of this adulation, this sickly sweet way of going on. Nothing! Meekness is simple, it is like that of a child. And a child is not hypocritical, because it is not corrupt. When Jesus says to us: 'Let your speech be' Yes is yes! No, is no! 'with the soul of a child', he means the exact opposite to the speech of these [hypocrites –ed]".
The Pope’s final consideration regarded "certain inner weakness", stimulated by "vanity", that means "we like people to say good things about us." The "corrupt know this well" and " are trying to weaken us with this language".
"Let us think closely today: What is our language? Do we speak in truth, with love, or do we speak with that social language to be polite, even say nice things, which we do not feel? Let our language be evangelical brothers and sisters! Then these hypocrites that start out with flattery, adulation and all of that, end up, through false witnesses, with accusing the very ones they had flattered. Let us ask the Lord today that our language be the language of the simple, the language of a child, the language of the children of God, the language of truth in love. "
www.news.va
