Pope Francis says "Here then is Jesus' invitation: do not use the goods of this world only for yourself and for your selfishness..." FULL TEXT + Video from Vatican
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, September 18, 2022
____________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The parable that the Gospel of today's Liturgy presents to us (cf. Lk 16: 1-13) appears to us a little difficult to understand. Jesus tells a story of corruption: a dishonest administrator, who steals and then, discovered by his master, acts with cunning to get out of that situation. We ask ourselves: what does this cunning consist of - is it a corrupt one who uses it - and what does Jesus want to tell us?
From the story we see that this corrupt steward gets into trouble because he took advantage of his master's possessions; now he will be accountable and will lose his job. But he does not give up, does not resign himself to his fate and does not play the victim; on the contrary, he immediately acts with cunning, looks for a solution, is resourceful. Jesus takes a cue from this story to launch us a first provocation: "The children of this world - he says - are more shrewd towards their peers than the children of light" (v. 8). That is, it happens that whoever moves in the darkness, according to certain worldly criteria, knows how to get by even in the midst of troubles, he knows how to be smarter than others; instead, the disciples of Jesus, that is, we, sometimes we are asleep, or we are naive, we do not know how to take the initiative to look for ways out of difficulties (cf. Evangelii gaudium, 24). For example, I am thinking of moments of personal, social, but also ecclesial crisis: at times we allow ourselves to be overcome by discouragement, or we fall into complaints and victimhood. Instead - Jesus says - one could also be shrewd according to the Gospel, be awake and attentive to discern reality, be creative to seek good solutions, for us and for others.
But there is also another teaching that Jesus offers us. In fact, what does the cunning of the administrator consist of?
He decides to give a discount to those who are in debt, and so he makes friends with them, hoping they can help him when the master throws him out. Before he accumulated wealth for himself, now he uses them to make friends who can help him in the future. On the same path, stealing. And Jesus, then, offers us a teaching on the use of goods: "Make friends with dishonest wealth, so that when this is lacking, they may welcome you into eternal homes" (v. 9). To inherit eternal life, that is, it is not necessary to accumulate the goods of this world, but what counts is the charity that we will have lived in our fraternal relationships. Here then is Jesus' invitation: do not use the goods of this world only for yourself and for your selfishness, but use them to generate friendships, to create good relationships, to act in charity, to promote fraternity and exercise care for the weakest.
Brothers and sisters, even in today's world there are stories of corruption like that of the Gospel; dishonest conduct, unfair policies, selfishness that dominate the choices of individuals and institutions, and many other obscure situations. But we Christians are not allowed to be discouraged or, even worse, let it go, remain indifferent. On the contrary, we are called to be creative in doing good, with the prudence and shrewdness of the Gospel, using the goods of this world - not only material ones, but all the gifts we have received from the Lord - not to enrich ourselves, but to generate brotherly love and social friendship. This is very important: with our attitude we generate social friendship.
Let us pray to Mary Most Holy to help us to be like her poor in spirit and rich in mutual charity.
_____________________________
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters!
I thank God for the trip I was able to make in recent days in Kazakhstan, on the occasion of the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. I propose to talk about it in the general audience next Wednesday.
I am saddened by the recent fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I express my spiritual closeness to the families of the victims, and I urge the parties to respect the ceasefire, in view of a peace agreement. Let us not forget: peace is possible when the weapons are silent and dialogue begins! And we continue to pray for the battered Ukrainian people and for peace in every land bloodied by war.
I wish to assure my prayers for the people of the Marche affected by a violent flood. I pray for the deceased and their families, for the wounded and for those who have suffered serious damage. May the Lord give strength to those communities!
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from different countries. In particular, I greet the Religious of Mary Immaculate from various communities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe; as well as the faithful of Seville and the Secular Group of Our Lady of the Cenacle.
ANGELUS
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, September 18, 2022
____________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The parable that the Gospel of today's Liturgy presents to us (cf. Lk 16: 1-13) appears to us a little difficult to understand. Jesus tells a story of corruption: a dishonest administrator, who steals and then, discovered by his master, acts with cunning to get out of that situation. We ask ourselves: what does this cunning consist of - is it a corrupt one who uses it - and what does Jesus want to tell us?
From the story we see that this corrupt steward gets into trouble because he took advantage of his master's possessions; now he will be accountable and will lose his job. But he does not give up, does not resign himself to his fate and does not play the victim; on the contrary, he immediately acts with cunning, looks for a solution, is resourceful. Jesus takes a cue from this story to launch us a first provocation: "The children of this world - he says - are more shrewd towards their peers than the children of light" (v. 8). That is, it happens that whoever moves in the darkness, according to certain worldly criteria, knows how to get by even in the midst of troubles, he knows how to be smarter than others; instead, the disciples of Jesus, that is, we, sometimes we are asleep, or we are naive, we do not know how to take the initiative to look for ways out of difficulties (cf. Evangelii gaudium, 24). For example, I am thinking of moments of personal, social, but also ecclesial crisis: at times we allow ourselves to be overcome by discouragement, or we fall into complaints and victimhood. Instead - Jesus says - one could also be shrewd according to the Gospel, be awake and attentive to discern reality, be creative to seek good solutions, for us and for others.
But there is also another teaching that Jesus offers us. In fact, what does the cunning of the administrator consist of?
He decides to give a discount to those who are in debt, and so he makes friends with them, hoping they can help him when the master throws him out. Before he accumulated wealth for himself, now he uses them to make friends who can help him in the future. On the same path, stealing. And Jesus, then, offers us a teaching on the use of goods: "Make friends with dishonest wealth, so that when this is lacking, they may welcome you into eternal homes" (v. 9). To inherit eternal life, that is, it is not necessary to accumulate the goods of this world, but what counts is the charity that we will have lived in our fraternal relationships. Here then is Jesus' invitation: do not use the goods of this world only for yourself and for your selfishness, but use them to generate friendships, to create good relationships, to act in charity, to promote fraternity and exercise care for the weakest.
Brothers and sisters, even in today's world there are stories of corruption like that of the Gospel; dishonest conduct, unfair policies, selfishness that dominate the choices of individuals and institutions, and many other obscure situations. But we Christians are not allowed to be discouraged or, even worse, let it go, remain indifferent. On the contrary, we are called to be creative in doing good, with the prudence and shrewdness of the Gospel, using the goods of this world - not only material ones, but all the gifts we have received from the Lord - not to enrich ourselves, but to generate brotherly love and social friendship. This is very important: with our attitude we generate social friendship.
Let us pray to Mary Most Holy to help us to be like her poor in spirit and rich in mutual charity.
_____________________________
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters!
I thank God for the trip I was able to make in recent days in Kazakhstan, on the occasion of the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. I propose to talk about it in the general audience next Wednesday.
I am saddened by the recent fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I express my spiritual closeness to the families of the victims, and I urge the parties to respect the ceasefire, in view of a peace agreement. Let us not forget: peace is possible when the weapons are silent and dialogue begins! And we continue to pray for the battered Ukrainian people and for peace in every land bloodied by war.
I wish to assure my prayers for the people of the Marche affected by a violent flood. I pray for the deceased and their families, for the wounded and for those who have suffered serious damage. May the Lord give strength to those communities!
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from different countries. In particular, I greet the Religious of Mary Immaculate from various communities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe; as well as the faithful of Seville and the Secular Group of Our Lady of the Cenacle.
I greet the group from Caturano, diocese of Capua; the boys of the Confirmation of Gazzaniga (Bergamo) and those of Soliera (Modena); the members of the “Sons in Heaven” community; the Pro Loco of Lazio and the group of veterinary doctors of the province of Verona, with their families. I also greet the young people of “Economy of Francesco”, who are here today in the square: always go forward! We will see you shortly in Assisi.
A special thought goes to the poor and to the volunteers of the "House of Zacchaeus", in Mesagne: the Lord bless you and Our Lady keep you.
I wish everyone a good Sunday. Please don't forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and goodbye!
Source: Vatican.va
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