杏MAP导航

By Giada Aquilino

Let us ask Jesus, 鈥渨ith His mercy and His forgiveness,鈥� always to protect our Church which 鈥渓ike a mother, is holy,鈥� but is also 鈥渇ull of sinful children, like us.鈥� This was the prayer of 杏MAP导航 Francis at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. The Holy Father was reflecting on the day鈥檚 readings, focusing on the words of Jesus: 鈥渉er many sins have been forgiven; for she has shown great love.鈥�

Jesus sees small acts of love

The 杏MAP导航 described three types of people in the day鈥檚 readings: Jesus and his disciples; Paul and the woman whose sins were forgiven; and the doctors of the law.

The woman in the Gospel is described as having 鈥渟o much love towards Jesus,鈥� while not hiding the fact that she is a sinner. Saint Paul, the 杏MAP导航 said, is similar in recognizing, and handing on to us, that 鈥淐hrist died for our sins.鈥� Both were seeking God 鈥渨ith love,鈥� but their love was a kind of 鈥渉alf-love.鈥� The 杏MAP导航 explained that when Paul was persecuting the Church, he thought that love was a law and his heart was closed to the revelation of Jesus Christ. He persecuted Christians out of zeal for the law; and this, the 杏MAP导航 said, was a love that was immature.

The woman, too, was seeking love, the 鈥渓ittle love.鈥� The Pharisees commented on the fact that she was a sinner, but Jesus explains: 鈥淭his woman was forgiven much because she loved much.鈥� The 杏MAP导航 puts a question in the mouth of the Pharisees:

鈥淏ut how can she love? These people [sinners] do not know how to love.鈥� [But] they seek love. And Jesus, speaking about these people, says 鈥� he once said 鈥� that they are before us, in the Kingdom of Heaven. 鈥淏ut what a scandal!鈥� 鈥� the Pharisees [say] 鈥� 鈥淏ut these people!鈥� Jesus looks upon the small gesture of love, the small gesture of good will, and takes it, and carries it forward. This is the mercy of Jesus: He always forgives, He always receives.

The scandal of the hypocrites

With regard to the 鈥渄octors of the law,鈥� 杏MAP导航 Francis says that 鈥渢hey have an attitude that only the hypocrites use often: they are scandalized.鈥� And they say:

鈥淏ut look, what a scandal! You can鈥檛 live like that! We have lost our values. Now everyone has the right to enter into the church, even the divorced, everyone. But where are we?鈥� The scandal of the hypocrites. This is the dialogue between the great love that forgives all, [the love of] Jesus; [and] the love 鈥渂y halves鈥� of Paul and of this woman, and also our [love], which is an incomplete love because none of us is a canonized saint. Let鈥檚 be honest. It is hypocrisy: the hypocrisy of the 鈥渏ust,鈥� of the 鈥減ure,鈥� of those who believe they are saved by their own proper external merits.

The Church historically persecuted by hypocrites

Jesus recognizes how such people show exteriorly that 鈥渁ll is well鈥� 鈥� He speaks of 鈥渨hitened sepulchers鈥� 鈥� but within there is rot and decay. The 杏MAP导航 continued:

And the Church, when it journeys through history, is persecuted by hypocrites: hypocrites within and without. The devil has nothing to do with repentant sinners, because they look upon God and say, 鈥淟ord, I am a sinner, help me!鈥� And the devil is impotent; but he is strong with hypocrites. He is strong, and he uses them to destroy, to destroy the people, to destroy society, to destroy the Church. The workhorse of the devil is hypocrisy, because he is a liar. He makes himself out to be a powerful prince, beautiful, and from behind he is an assassin.