Worldliness will try to lure you, but do not give in.
According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father gave this advice during his daily morning Mass today at Casa Santa Marta, as he drew inspiration from today’s Gospel reading where Jesus’ disciples were arguing among themselves over who was the greatest.
When the great saints spoke of being ‘very sinful,’ Francis explained, the reason for this was because they had this worldliness inside them and they had many worldly temptations.
None of us, the Argentine Pontiff acknowledged, can say, ‘I am a holy and pure person.’
“All of us are tempted by these things. We are tempted to destroy the other person in order to climb higher. This is a worldly temptation, but one that divides and destroys the Church. It is not the spirit of Jesus.”
Don’t Be Lured
Francis lamented that while Jesus was warning His disciples about His imminent humiliation and death, they were concerned with worldly matters, such as who would become the most powerful among them.
Reflecting on this, Pope Francis recalled Jesus’ warning to His disciples: ‘If anyone wishes to be first he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.’
The Pope urged faithful to overcome the lure of worldliness and human ambition, and warned against social climbers who are tempted to destroy the other in order to reach the top.
“Along the path where Jesus shows us to journey, the guiding principle is service. The greatest is the person who serves most, who serves others most, not the person who boasts, who seeks power, money… vanity, pride. No, these people are not the greatest.”
“This occurs in every institution of the Church: parishes, colleges, other institutions, even in the dioceses … everywhere. There’s this desire for worldliness and this is all about wealth, vanity and pride.”
Service and humility, Francis stressed, as Christ demonstrated to the Apostles and expects of His faithful today, are “the true path of Christian life.”
Pope Francis concluded, praying that the Lord “show us the way, to understand that love of this world, namely worldliness, is an enemy of God.”
