Pope at Santa Marta Mass: Jesus
teaches true love
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| The Mass of Pope Francis at Casa Santa Marta.(Vatican Media) |
In the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis
calls us to be merciful like Jesus, and to not condemn others.
By Giada Aquilino
Let us ask Jesus, “with His mercy and His forgiveness,”
always to protect our Church which “like a mother, is holy,” but is also “full
of sinful children, like us.” This was the prayer of Pope Francis at the
morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. The Holy Father was reflecting on the
day’s readings, focusing on the words of Jesus: “her many sins have been
forgiven; for she has shown great love.”
Jesus sees small acts of love
The Pope described three types of people in the day’s
readings: Jesus and his disciples; Paul and the woman whose sins were forgiven;
and the doctors of the law.
The woman in the Gospel is described as having “so much love
towards Jesus,” while not hiding the fact that she is a sinner. Saint Paul, the
Pope said, is similar in recognizing, and handing on to us, that “Christ died
for our sins.” Both were seeking God “with love,” but their love was a kind of
“half-love.” The Pope explained that when Paul was persecuting the Church, he
thought that love was a law and his heart was closed to the revelation of Jesus
Christ. He persecuted Christians out of zeal for the law; and this, the Pope
said, was a love that was immature.
The woman, too, was seeking love, the “little love.” The
Pharisees commented on the fact that she was a sinner, but Jesus explains:
“This woman was forgiven much because she loved much.” The Pope puts a question
in the mouth of the Pharisees:
“But how can she love? These people [sinners] do not know
how to love.” [But] they seek love. And Jesus, speaking about these people,
says – he once said – that they are before us, in the Kingdom of Heaven. “But what
a scandal!” – the Pharisees [say] – “But these people!” Jesus looks upon the
small gesture of love, the small gesture of good will, and takes it, and
carries it forward. This is the mercy of Jesus: He always forgives, He always
receives.
The scandal of the hypocrites
With regard to the “doctors of the law,” Pope Francis says
that “they have an attitude that only the hypocrites use often: they are
scandalized.” And they say:
“But look, what a scandal! You can’t live like that! We
have lost our values. Now everyone has the right to enter into the church, even
the divorced, everyone. But where are we?” The scandal of the hypocrites. This
is the dialogue between the great love that forgives all, [the love of] Jesus;
[and] the love “by halves” of Paul and of this woman, and also our [love],
which is an incomplete love because none of us is a canonized saint. Let’s be
honest. It is hypocrisy: the hypocrisy of the “just,” of the “pure,” of those
who believe they are saved by their own proper external merits.
The Church historically persecuted by hypocrites
Jesus recognizes how such people show exteriorly that “all
is well” – He speaks of “whitened sepulchers” – but within there is rot and
decay. The Pope continued:
And the Church, when it journeys through history, is
persecuted by hypocrites: hypocrites within and without. The devil has nothing
to do with repentant sinners, because they look upon God and say, “Lord, I am a
sinner, help me!” And the devil is impotent; but he is strong with hypocrites.
He is strong, and he uses them to destroy, to destroy the people, to destroy
society, to destroy the Church. The workhorse of the devil is hypocrisy,
because he is a liar. He makes himself out to be a powerful prince, beautiful,
and from behind he is an assassin.
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