Message from Pastor

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has warned Christians of the perversion of falling into "spiritual worldliness." With this expression, he refers to the attitude of someone who always judges others from their own ego, and even when doing good things, ends up distorting them through a sickly self-seeking and personal prestige. Pope Francis taught us that those who have fallen into this worldliness look down on us, question others, constantly point out the mistakes of others, and become obsessed with appearances.

 

It may seem incredible to us that a pope continues to insist, two thousand years later, on the same things that Jesus already expressed with utter clarity when telling the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector that we heard this Sunday. Such are the human beings! Because the message that God only hears the prayers of the humble is as clear as the fact that our own ego blinds us at many moments in our lives and prevents us from understanding others. It would not be wise to project onto others the Pharisee’s attitudes denounced by Jesus, as if they never happened in our lives. It seems wiser to look at ourselves honestly and open our eyes to any detail in our lives that expresses, even insignificantly, that temptation of "spiritual worldliness," which we must flee like the plague.

 

Contemplating the needs of others instead of talking only about their shortcomings is the way to draw closer to God. On the other hand, allowing ourselves to be seduced by flattery weakens us and closes us in on ourselves. Being absorbed in our problems makes us deaf to reality and leads us into a spiral of regret in which we end up thinking that only we and our worries exist. Fixed and immovable positions, no matter how right we think we are, make us unable to build bridges with others. In denouncing the Pharisee’s religiosity, Jesus could not have spoken more clearly about God’s will. Let us filter Jesus’ words through our hearts so that our lives do not become estranged from him because of an absurd self-love that raises barriers of ice before people and before God himself.

 

Happy Sunday!

 

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