Pope Francis at Mass gives "2 medicines" against Criticizing "First of all, prayer...pray for him...ask the Lord to solve that problem....secondly, there is another medicine... you bite your tongue." Full Text Homily

Pope Francis' Full Text Homily during the Eucharistic celebration

We have heard in the Gospel how Jesus explains to people the Christian wisdom, with parables. For example, a blind man can not drive another blind man; then, the disciple is not greater than the Master; then, there is not a good tree that produces a bad fruit. And so, with these parables, he teaches people.

I would like to focus on one, which I have not repeated. Now I say it [law]: "Why do you look at the straw that is in your brother's eye and you do not notice the beam in your eye? How can you tell your brother, "Brother, let me take off the straw that is in your eye," while you yourself do not see the beam in your eye? Hypocritical. First remove the beam from your eye and then you will see well, to remove the speck from your brother's eye ». And with this, the Lord wants to teach us not to go criticizing others, not to look at the defects of others: look first yours, your faults. "But, Father, I do not have any!" - Ah, congratulations! I assure you that if you do not realize you have it here, you will find it in Purgatory! Better to see them here.

We all have flaws, everyone. But we are used to it, partly by inertia, partly by the force of gravity of selfishness, by looking at the defects of others: we are specialists, everyone, in this. Immediately we find the faults of others. And we'll talk about it. Because to talk about others seems sweet, we like it. No, in this parish perhaps it does not happen [laugh], but from other parts it is very common. It always happens like this: "Ah, how are you?" - "Well, well, with this time, all right ..." - "But you saw that ...?". And immediately [we fall into this].

I do not know if you've heard these things, but it's a bad thing. And it is not a new thing: from the time of Jesus this was done. It is something that, with the original sin we have, leads us to condemn others, to condemn. And immediately we are specialists in finding the bad things of others, without seeing our own. And Jesus says: "You condemn this for a little thing, and you have so many bigger things, but you do not see them". And this is true: our malice is not so much, because we are used to not seeing our limits, not to see our faults, but we are specialists in seeing the faults of others.

And Jesus tells us a very ugly word, very ugly: "If you go this way, you are hypocrites". It is bad to say hypocritical: Jesus told the Pharisees, the lawyers, who said one thing and did another. Hypocritical. Hypocrite means one who has a double thought, a double judgment: one says it openly, and another secretly, with whom he condemns others. It is having a double way of thinking, a double way of being seen. They show themselves as good, perfect people, and below they condemn. This is why Jesus escapes from this hypocrisy and advises us: "It is more beautiful that you look at your faults and let others live in peace. Do not put yourself in another's life: look at yours ".

And this is something that does not end there: the chatter does not end in the chatter; the chatter goes further, sows discord, sows enmity, sows evil. Listen to this, I do not exaggerate: with the language wars begin. You, by talking about others, start a war. A step towards war, a destruction. Because it is the same to destroy the other with the language as with an atomic bomb, it is the same. You destroy. And the language has the power to destroy like an atomic bomb. It is very powerful. And I do not say so, says the Apostle James in his Letter. Take the Bible and look at this. It is very powerful! It is capable of destroying. And with the insults, with the misbehaving of others begin so many wars: domestic wars - you begin to shout - wars in the neighborhood, in the workplace, in the school, in the parish ... This is why Jesus says: "Before talking about others, take a mirror and look at yourself; look at your faults and be ashamed of having them. And so you will become silent on the faults of others ". "No, Father, it is that so many times there are bad people, who have so many faults ...". But, all right, be brave, be brave, and say it in your face: "You are bad, you are bad, because you are doing this and this". Tell it in the face, not behind it, not from behind. Tell him in the face. "But he does not want to listen to me". Then tell those who can remedy this, who can correct, but do not say in the chatter, because the chatter does not solve anything, indeed. It makes things worse and leads you to war.

[Shortly] we will begin Lent: it would be so nice that each of us, in this Lent, reflect on this. How do I behave with people? How is my heart in front of people? I'm a hypocrite, I smile and then I criticize and destroy with my tongue? And if we at the end of Lent would have been able to correct this a little, and not always criticize others from behind, I assure you that the Resurrection of Jesus will be seen more beautiful, greater among us. "Eh, Father, it is very difficult, because I come to criticize others" - some of us can say, because it is a habit that the devil puts in us. It's true, it's not easy. But there are two medicines that help a lot. First of all, prayer. If you come to "peel" another, criticize another, pray for him, pray for her, and ask the Lord to solve that problem, and to you, to close your mouth. First remedy: prayer. Without prayer we can not do anything. And secondly, there is another medicine, which is also practical like prayer: when you feel the desire to talk about someone, you bite your tongue. Strong! Because this will swell the language and you will not be able to speak. [laugh] It's a practical medicine, it's very practical.

Think seriously about this that Jesus says: "Why do you look at the faults of others and do not look at yours, who are bigger?". Think well. Do you think that this ugly habit is the beginning of so many disunions, of so many domestic wars, wars in the neighborhood, wars in the workplace, of so many enmities. Think about it. And pray to the Lord, pray that he may give us the grace not to speak ill of others. And every day keep your dentures ready to make the second medicine!

The Lord bless you!

Short final greeting

Thank you so much for your welcome!

Wednesday begins Lent, I wish you a good Lent. Prayer, prayer for the Church, for each other, even for me, yes, I need it, thank you! Praying and forward, always looking at the Lord who gives us the strength to go forward. Now I invite you to pray together with Our Lady and then the blessing.

[recital of the Ave Maria and blessing]

Good evening!

FULL TEXT Source: Vatican.va - Unofficial Translation