At morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta today, Pope Francis renounced those who judge others, calling them hypocrites and comparing them to Satan.
He who judges another puts himself in the role of God, the only judge, the Pope said. He went on to recall that if one hopes to one day have his offenses forgiven, then he must not judge others.
The Holy Father reflected on the liturgy of today, in which Jesus commanded his disciples to: “Stop judging, so that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.”
Francis warned faithful not to usurp the role of judging. He said it’s not any person’s responsibility and if one does try to judge his brother, he will be a “loser, because he will end up a victim of his own lack of mercy. This is what happens to a brother who judges.»
Speaking on mercy, the Pope stressed that Jesus “never accuses,” rather he does the “opposite,” he defends.
Not only did God send Jesus to defend us, but also he sent the Holy Spirit to “defend our charges.”
“Who is the accuser?” of these charges, the Pontiff asked. He answered, “In the Bible, the ‘accuser’ is called the devil, Satan,” but he noted that although the devil accuses, “Jesus will judge, yes, at the end of the world, but in the meantime [he] intercedes for and defends” us.
“He who judges a brother is wrong and will eventually be judged the same way. God is «the sole judge» and whoever is judged can always rely on the defense of Jesus, his first defender, and also the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Ultimately, those who judge, said Pope Francis, “imitate the prince of this world,» who waits in the background, ready to accuse.
The Holy Father concluded, “May the Lord give us the grace to imitate Jesus, the intercessor, advocate, lawyer,” for ourselves and others, and he warned the faithful not to imitate others who judge, for “in the end, it will destroy us.» (D.C.L.)
