Pope: urges Christians to reject envy and conflicts
and work for unity
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis
said humility, gentleness and magnanimity are the three key attitudes to build
unity within the Church and urged Christians to reject envy, jealousy and
conflicts. He was speaking at his Mass celebrated on Friday in the chapel of
the Santa Marta residence.
Taking his inspiration from
the greeting at Mass “peace be with you,” the Pope focused his homily on what
is required to nurture peace and unity and avoid war and conflicts. He said our
Lord’s greeting “creates a bond” of peace and unites us to create a unity of
spirit and warned that if there’s no peace and if we aren’t able to greet each
other in the widest sense of the word, there will never be unity. The Pope
explained that this concept applies for unity in the world, unity in the town,
in the district and in the family.
The evil spirit sows wars,
Christians must avoid conflicts
“The evil spirit always sows
wars. Jealousy, envy, conflicts, gossip…. are things that destroy peace and
therefore there cannot be unity. And how should a Christian behave to promote
unity, to find this unity? Paul tells us clearly: ‘live in a manner
worthy, with all humility, gentleness and magnanimity.’ These three
attitudes: humility - we cannot sow peace without humility. Where there
is arrogance, there is always war and the desire to defeat the other and
believing one is superior. Without humility there is no peace and without peace
there is no unity.”
Rediscover gentleness and
practice mutual support
Pope Francis lamented how
nowadays we have lost the ability to speak gently and instead tend to shout at
each other or speak badly about other people. He urged Christians to
rediscover gentleness, saying by so doing, we are able to put up with each
other, give mutual support, “be patient and put up with the faults of others or
the things we don’t like.”
Help build unity with the
bond of peace
“First: humility, second:
gentleness with this mutual support, and third: magnanimity: a big heart, a
wide-open heart that can accommodate everybody and that does not condemn, that
does not become smaller because of trifling things: ‘who said that,’ ‘I heard
that,’ ‘who…’ no, a large heart, there is room for everybody. And this creates
the bond of peace; this is the worthy manner in which to behave to create the
bond of peace which is the creator of unity. The Holy Spirit is the creator of
unity but this encourages and prepares the creation of unity.”
These three attitudes, said
the Pope, are the right way to respond to that call to the mystery of the
Church and of Christ.
“The mystery of the Church is
the mystery of the Body of Christ: ‘one faith, one Baptism, one God and Father
of all, who is over all’ and who works ‘through all and in all:’ this is the
unity that Jesus asked the Father to grant us and we must help create this
unity with the bond of peace. And the bond of peace grows with humility,
with gentleness and mutual support and with magnanimity.”
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