Vatican: In the Angelus Pope Francis warns of double life, of Pharisee ritualism

Before praying the Angelus this Sunday and in his reflection on today’s Gospel in which Jesus speaks about purity, Pope Francis warned of the danger of double life, of the attitudes of Pharisee ritualism that “hurt the soul and close the heart”.

When referring to the distinction between pure and impure, which the Pharisees made almost as an “obsession” in the time of Christ, Pope Francis specified that it is of no use to wash your hands several times “if bad feelings then harbor in your heart.” such as greed, envy and pride, or evil intentions such as deception, theft, betrayal and slander.”

“Jesus calls attention to beware of ritualism, which does not lead to growth in goodness; On the contrary, sometimes this ritualism can lead to neglecting, or even justifying, in oneself and in others, choices and attitudes contrary to charity, which hurt the soul and close the heart.”

The Holy Father warned that “you cannot, for example, leave Holy Mass and, once in the atrium of the church, stop with evil and merciless gossip about everything and everyone. That gossip that ruins the heart, that ruins the soul. It can’t be done! If you go to Mass and then do these things, it is a bad thing!”

“Or being pious in prayer, but then at home treating members of one’s own family with coldness and detachment, or neglecting elderly parents, who need help and company.”

“This is a double life and it is not possible. And this is what the Pharisees did: external purity without good attitudes, merciful attitudes towards others,” Pope Francis stressed.

If one lives like this, one remains “impervious to the purifying action of his grace, remaining in thoughts, messages and behaviors without love. We are made for something else. “We are made for the purity of life, for tenderness, for love.”

Full text of Pope Francis’ Angelus of September 1, 2024

Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Sunday!

Today, in the Gospel of the liturgy (cf. Mc 7,1-8,14-15,21-23), Jesus speaks about the pure and the impure: a topic very dear to his contemporaries, which was related above all to the observance of rites. and rules of behavior, to avoid any contact with things or people considered impure and, if this occurred, to erase the “stain” (cf. Lev 11-15). It was almost an obsession of some religious people of that time: purity, impurity.

Some obsessed scribes and Pharisees, strict observers of such norms, accuse Jesus of allowing his disciples to eat food without washing their hands (cf. Mk 7:2), and he takes advantage of the occasion to invite them to reflect on the meaning of the “purity”.

Purity – says Jesus – is not linked to external rites, but above all to interior attitudes. To be pure, therefore, it is of no use to wash your hands several times, if then bad feelings such as greed, envy and arrogance, or bad intentions such as deception, theft, betrayal and slander are harbored in the heart. (cf. Mc 7,21-22).

Jesus draws attention to beware of ritualism, which does not lead to growth in goodness; On the contrary, sometimes this ritualism can lead to neglecting, or even justifying, in oneself and others, choices and attitudes contrary to charity, which hurt the soul and close the heart.

And this, brothers and sisters, is also important for us: you cannot, for example, leave Holy Mass and, once in the church atrium, stop with evil and merciless gossip about everything and everyone. That gossip that ruins the heart, that ruins the soul. It can’t be done! If you go to Mass and then do these things, it is a bad thing!

Or being pious in prayer, but then at home treating members of one’s own family with coldness and detachment, or neglecting elderly parents, who need help and company (cf. Mc 7:10-13).

This is a double life and it is not possible. And this is what the Pharisees did: external purity without good attitudes, merciful attitudes towards others. Or again, one cannot be outwardly very fair to everyone, perhaps even do a little volunteering and some philanthropic gestures, but then inside cultivate hatred towards others, despise the poor and the last, or behave in a dishonest manner. in own work.

In this way, the relationship with God is reduced to external gestures, and inside one remains impermeable to the purifying action of his grace, remaining in thoughts, messages and behaviors without love.

We are made for something else. We are made for the purity of life, for tenderness, for love.

Let us ask ourselves, then: do I live my faith in a coherent way, that is, do I try to do what I do in the church with the same spirit outside of it? With my feelings, words and works. Do I make concrete in my closeness and respect to my brothers what I say in prayer? Let’s think about this.

And may Mary, most pure Mother, help us to make our lives, in love felt and practiced, a worship pleasing to God. (cf. Rom 12:1).

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters!

Yesterday in Šaštín, in Slovakia, Ján Havlík, a seminarian of the Congregation of the Mission, founded by Saint Vincent de Paul, was beatified. This young man was murdered in 1965, during the regime’s persecution against the Church in what was then Czechoslovakia.

May your perseverance in the testimony of faith in Christ be an encouragement to those who still suffer similar trials today. A round of applause for the new Blessed!

With pain I learned that on Saturday, August 24, in the commune of Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, hundreds of people, including women and children, died and many others were injured in a terrorist attack.

By condemning these execrable attacks on human life, I express my closeness to the entire nation and my deepest condolences to the families of the victims. May the Virgin Mary help the beloved people of Burkina Faso to regain peace and security.

I also pray for the victims of the accident at the Nossa Senhora da Conceição sanctuary, in the city of Recife, Brazil. May the Risen Lord console the wounded and their families.

And I am always close to the martyred Ukrainian people, hard hit by the attacks on their energy infrastructure. In addition to causing deaths and injuries, they have left more than a million people without electricity or water.

Let us remember that the voice of the innocent always finds an echo in God, who does not remain indifferent to their suffering.

Once again I direct my thoughts with concern to the conflict in Palestine and Israel, which threatens to spread to other Palestinian cities. I call for negotiations not to stop and for an immediate ceasefire, for the release of the hostages, for help for the population of Gaza, where many diseases are also spreading, including polio.

May there be peace in the Holy Land, may there be peace in Jerusalem. May the Holy City be a meeting place where Christians, Jews and Muslims feel respected and welcomed, and that no one questions the status quo in the respective Holy Places.

Today is the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, sponsored by everyone, institutions, associations, families and all people, a concrete effort for our common home.

The cry of the wounded Earth is becoming ever more alarming and demands decisive and urgent action.

Tomorrow I will begin an apostolic journey to some countries in Asia and Oceania. Please pray for the fruit of this journey.

Greetings to all of you, Romans and pilgrims. In particular, I greet the young people of Lucca, accompanied by their archbishop Monsignor Paolo Giulietti and some priests; I greet the good young people of Inmaculada and the young people of Campocroce di Mirano.

I wish you all a good Sunday. Please don’t forget to pray for me. Good lunch and goodbye.