Pope’s Morning Homily: Look in the Mirror Before Judging Others

Look in the mirror before judging others. The Pope gave this advice during his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta today, reported Vatican Radio, as he pointed out that God’s judgment is distinguished from ours by “mercy,” not “omnipotence.” Because judgment belongs only to God, the Pope explained, “If we do not want to be judged, we should not judge others.” Drawing inspiration from today’s Gospel, the Pope said, “All of us want the Lord to look upon us with kindness” on Judgment Day and hope He “will forget the many bad things we have done in life.” Time to Look in Mirror Therefore, if “you judge others constantly,” he warned, “with the same measure you shall be judged.” The Lord, he said, therefore asks us to look in the mirror: “Look in the mirror, but not to put on makeup to hide the wrinkles. No, no, no, that’s not the advice! Look in the mirror to look at yourself as you are. ‘Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye and do not notice the log that is in your own eye?’  Or, how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is still in your eye? And how does the Lord look at us then, when we do this? One word: ‘hypocrite.’ First take the log out of your eye, and then you shall see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye’.” Don’t Judge Others, Pray for Them The Argentine Pope observed that here, “We see that the Lord gets ‘a little angry,’” for He calls us ‘hypocrites’ when we try to put ourselves in His place, like Adam and Eve did. The serpent persuaded Adam and Eve to defy God, saying, ‘If you eat this, you’ll be like Him,’ Francis recalled. “For this reason,” Pope Francis underscored, “being judgmental is very ugly. Judgment belongs only to God, to Him alone!” the Pope exclaimed.  It is for us to “love,” to “understand, to pray for others when we see things that are not good” said the Pope, inviting us to talk kindly to others so that they may learn from their mistakes:  “But never judge. Never. And this is hypocrisy, if we judge.” Only God Can Judge  The Pope warned that if we judge others, we “are putting ourselves in the place of God” with our “poor” and “never true judgment.” Our judgment, Francis explained, cannot be like God’s “because our judgment is lacking mercy, but when God judges, He judges with mercy.” “Let us think today about what the Lord says to us: Do not judge, lest you be judged; the measure… by which we judge will be the same that will be used for us; and, third, let us look in the mirror before judging. ‘But this fellow does this … that fellow does that…’ ‘But, wait a minute …’  I look in the mirror and then think. On the contrary, I’ll be a hypocrite if I put myself in the place of God and, also, my judgement is poor judgment.” Noting that human judgement lacks the mercy of the Lord’s judgment, Francis concluded, praying, “May the Lord make us understand these things.” —

Corpus Christi (Thursday in Rome) Sunday Here

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass being celebrated on the steps of Rome’s cathedral Basilica of St. John Lateran on Thursday, to mark the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord. Below, please find the full text of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks, in their official English translation.

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« Do this in remembrance of me » (1 Cor 11 :24-25).

Twice the Apostle Paul, writing to the community in Corinth, recalls this command of Jesus in his account of the institution of the Eucharist.  It is the oldest testimony we have to the words of Christ at the Last Supper.

“Do this”.  That is, take bread, give thanks and break it; take the chalice, give thanks, and share it.  Jesus gives the command to repeat this action by which he instituted the memorial of his own Pasch, and in so doing gives us his Body and his Blood.  This action reaches us today: it is the “doing” of the Eucharist which always has Jesus as its subject, but which is made real through our poor hands anointed by the Holy Spirit. 

Living in An Objective State of Mortal Sin While Being in Grace Ontologically and Subjectively

“It is possible that in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable, or fully such – a person can be living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Chruch’s help to this end” (Amoris Laetitia #305).

Pope Francis has been severely criticized for muddying the waters of clear moral criterion in the case of irregularities such as communion for the divorced-remarried. Until now it was clear from Scripture that divorce was permitted to the Jews by Moses, but that it was because of the hardness of their hearts and, as Our Lord said, “it was not so from the beginning” (Mt. 19, 8). It is also clear that pope Francis upholds all the objective moral limitations for marital union: “Christian marriage, as a reflection of the union between Christ and his Church, is fully realized in the union between a man and a woman, who give themselves to each other in a free, faithful and exclusive love, who belong to each other until death and are open to the transmission of life, and are consecrated by the sacrament, which grants them the grace to become a domestic church and a leaven of new life for society. Some form of union radically contradict this ideal, while others realize it in at least a partial and analogous way (292).

Pope to Young People: Get Back Up on Your Feet

APRIL 24, 2016 DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV

During Jubilee Mass for Young People, Francis Reminds Youth to Not Settle for Mediocrity

Remember that God is always your friend, even when you let Him down. Therefore, don’t worry if you’ve fallen, get back up and start fresh.

Pope Francis stressed this during his Jubilee Mass for young people this morning, reminding them that the Lord is faithful to His friends and believes in them.

“Even if you disappoint Him and walk away from Him, Jesus continues to want the best for you and to remain close to you; He believes in you even more than you believe in yourself.

Apostolic Zeal: “Hunger to know the Master, constant concern for souls, perseverance that nothing can shake” [The Way, 934]

Francis brings refugees from Lesbos to Vatican, tells Europe to integrate migrants

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  Pope Francis greets refugees who are traveling to Rome with him at the international airport in Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, Greece, April 16, 2016. The pope brought 12 refugees to Italy on his plane. (CNS/Paul Haring)

  Joshua J. McElwee  |  Apr. 16, 2016

• Apostolic Zeal: “Hunger to know the Master, constant concern for souls, perseverance that nothing can shake” [The Way, 934]

Blogger’s Further Remarks on “Amoris Laetitia”

I must remark on the brouhaha  around Pope Francis and Amoris Laetitia  in particular that anticipated and rises up as we type. If matrimony were merely a moral phenomenon and not the most profound and extended call to the highest form of sanctity, the mind of the pope (that I esteem to be in continuity with Gaudium et Spes #48-#52, John Paul II’s “Familiaris Consortio,” The Theology of the Body, and the mind of Benedict XVI on Person and Faith) would not be so troubling to so many people. Matrimony could be comfortably handled on the level of moral activity and left at that.