There are three ways of living that Christ reveals in today’s Gospel: spiritual sterility, profiteering and a life of faith. This was the central theme of Pope Francis’ homily today at Casa Santa Marta.
According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father reflected on St. Mark’s Gospel, which recalled Jesus cursing the fig tree for not giving fruit. The Pope said that the tree represented the first lifestyle: a spiritual sterility that «does not bear fruit and is incapable of doing good.»
«To live for one’s self; easy, selfish, that does not want problems,» he explained. «And Jesus curses the fig tree because it is sterile, because it did not do its part to give fruit. It represents the person who does nothing to help, who lives for himself, so that they lack nothing. Eventually, they become neurotic, all of them! Jesus condemns spiritual sterility, spiritual selfishness.»
The second lifestyle, the Pope continued , is that of exploiting others. In the Gospel, Jesus throws out the money changers for turning the house of God «into a den of thieves».
The Jesuit Pope went on to explain that the people who would go on pilgrimage to offer sacrifices at the temple were exploited by the priests instead of being taught to pray or given catechesis.
“It was a den of thieves,» he said. «Pay and come in … they were performing the rites in an empty way without piety. I don’t know… maybe we’d do well to reflect on whether we encounter similar things going on in some places. It’s using God’s things for our own profit.”
However, the third lifestyle Pope Francis noted in the Gospel is the life of faith. After Peter sees that the cursed fig tree has withered, Jesus encourages them to have faith.
«Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him,» Christ says.
The 78-year-old Pontiff said that this is the lifestyle of a person who has faith.
«Ask the Lord who will help you to do good things and with faith,» he said. «But there’s one condition: when you begin praying to ask for this thing, if you bear a grudge towards somebody, pardon that person. This is the sole condition because your Father who is in heaven also pardons us for our sins. This is the third way of living. It’s faith, a faith to help others to draw closer to God. This faith creates miracles.»
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis called on the faithful to pray in order to have this lifestyle of faith. He also urged them to pray that God «helps us to not fall again, us, each one of us, the Church…in sterility and profiteering.»
