Pope Francis says "..Jesus invites us to look at others as he does - this is the secret: to look at others as he does..." FULL TEXT + Video
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, February 27, 2022
_________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's Gospel of the Liturgy Jesus invites us to reflect on our gaze and on our speech. The look and the talk.
First of all on our gaze . The risk we run, says the Lord, is to concentrate on looking at the speck in the eye of the brother without noticing the beam in ours ( cf.Lk6.41). In other words, to be very attentive to the defects of others, even to those as small as a straw, serenely neglecting our own, giving them little weight. What Jesus says is true: we always find reasons to blame others and justify ourselves. And many times we complain about things that are not right in society, in the Church, in the world, without first questioning ourselves and without first committing ourselves to change ourselves. Every fruitful, positive change must begin with ourselves. On the contrary, there will be no change. But - Jesus explains - in doing so our gaze is blind. And if we are blind we cannot claim to be guides and teachers for others: a blind man, in fact, cannot guide another blind man (cf. v. 39).
Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord invites us to cleanse our gaze. First he asks us to look within ourselves to recognize our miseries. Because if we are not able to see our defects, we will always be inclined to magnify those of others. If, on the other hand, we recognize our mistakes and our miseries, the door of mercy opens for us. And after having looked within, Jesus invites us to look at others as he does - this is the secret: to look at others as he does -, who does not see evil above all, but good. God looks at us like this: he does not see irremediable mistakes in us, but he sees children who make mistakes. He changes the point: he does not focus on mistakes, but on the children who make mistakes. God always distinguishes the person from his mistakes. He always saves the person. He always believes in the person and is always ready to forgive mistakes. We know that God always forgives. And he invites us to do the same:
After the look, today Jesus invites us to reflect on our speaking. The Lord explains that the mouth "expresses that which overflows from the heart" (v. 45). It is true, from the way one speaks you immediately realize what he has in his heart. The words we use say who we are. Sometimes, however, we pay little attention to our words and use them superficially. But words have weight: they allow us to express thoughts and feelings, to give voice to the fears we have and to the projects we intend to carry out, to bless God and others. Unfortunately, however, with the language we can also feed prejudices, raise barriers, attack and even destroy; with the tongue we can destroy our brothers: gossip hurts and slander can be sharper than a knife! Nowadays, especially in the digital world, words run fast; but too many convey anger and aggression, they feed fake news and take advantage of collective fears to propagate distorted ideas. A diplomat, who was Secretary General of the United Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize, said that "to abuse the word is to despise the human being" (D. Hammarskjöld,Traces of the journey , Magnano BI 1992, 131).
So let's ask ourselves what kind of words do we use: words that express attention, respect, understanding, closeness, compassion, or words that mainly aim to make us beautiful in front of others? And then, do we speak mildly or do we pollute the world by spreading poisons: criticizing, complaining, feeding widespread aggression?
May Our Lady, Mary, whose humility God has looked upon, the Virgin of silence whom we now pray, help us to purify our gaze and our speech.
____________________________________
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters!
In recent days we have been shocked by something tragic: the war. We have prayed several times that this path would not be taken. And we don't stop praying, on the contrary, we beg God more intensely. For this reason, I renew my invitation to all to make March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine. A day to be close to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, to feel all brothers and sisters and implore God for an end to the war.
Those who make war forget humanity. It does not start with the people, it does not look at the concrete life of the people, but puts before everything vested interests and power. He entrusts himself to the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the furthest from the will of God. And he distances himself from the common people, who want peace; and that in every conflict he is the real victim, who pays for the follies of war on his own skin. I think of the elderly, of those who seek refuge in these hours, of mothers on the run with their children… They are brothers and sisters for whom it is urgent to open humanitarian corridors and who must be welcomed.
With a broken heart for what happens in Ukraine - and let's not forget the wars in other parts of the world, such as in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia… -, I repeat: shut up their weapons! God stands with peacemakers, not with those who use violence. Because those who love peace, as the Italian Constitution states, "repudiate war as an instrument of offense against the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international disputes" (Art. 11).
Yesterday, in Granada, Spain, the priest Gaetano Giménez Martín and fifteen fellow martyrs, killed in odium fidei in the context of the religious persecution of the 1930s in Spain, were beatified. May the testimony of these heroic disciples of Christ arouse in all the desire to serve the Gospel with fidelity and courage. A round of applause for the new blessed.
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims!
I greet in particular las niñas Quinceñeras of Panamá; young university students from the diocese of Porto; the faithful of Mérida-Badajoz and Madrid, Spain; those of Paris and Poland; the groups of Reggio Calabria, Sicily and the Alta Langa Pastoral Unit; the confirmands from Urgnano and the boys from Petosino, diocese of Bergamo.
A special greeting to all who came on the occasion of Rare Disease Day, which occurs tomorrow: I encourage the various associations of patients and their families, as well as the researchers who work in this field. I am close to you! I greet the peoples present here… I also see many flags of Ukraine! (in Ukrainian) Praised be Jesus Christ!
I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please don't forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and goodbye.
ANGELUS
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, February 27, 2022
_________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
In today's Gospel of the Liturgy Jesus invites us to reflect on our gaze and on our speech. The look and the talk.
First of all on our gaze . The risk we run, says the Lord, is to concentrate on looking at the speck in the eye of the brother without noticing the beam in ours ( cf.Lk6.41). In other words, to be very attentive to the defects of others, even to those as small as a straw, serenely neglecting our own, giving them little weight. What Jesus says is true: we always find reasons to blame others and justify ourselves. And many times we complain about things that are not right in society, in the Church, in the world, without first questioning ourselves and without first committing ourselves to change ourselves. Every fruitful, positive change must begin with ourselves. On the contrary, there will be no change. But - Jesus explains - in doing so our gaze is blind. And if we are blind we cannot claim to be guides and teachers for others: a blind man, in fact, cannot guide another blind man (cf. v. 39).
Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord invites us to cleanse our gaze. First he asks us to look within ourselves to recognize our miseries. Because if we are not able to see our defects, we will always be inclined to magnify those of others. If, on the other hand, we recognize our mistakes and our miseries, the door of mercy opens for us. And after having looked within, Jesus invites us to look at others as he does - this is the secret: to look at others as he does -, who does not see evil above all, but good. God looks at us like this: he does not see irremediable mistakes in us, but he sees children who make mistakes. He changes the point: he does not focus on mistakes, but on the children who make mistakes. God always distinguishes the person from his mistakes. He always saves the person. He always believes in the person and is always ready to forgive mistakes. We know that God always forgives. And he invites us to do the same:
After the look, today Jesus invites us to reflect on our speaking. The Lord explains that the mouth "expresses that which overflows from the heart" (v. 45). It is true, from the way one speaks you immediately realize what he has in his heart. The words we use say who we are. Sometimes, however, we pay little attention to our words and use them superficially. But words have weight: they allow us to express thoughts and feelings, to give voice to the fears we have and to the projects we intend to carry out, to bless God and others. Unfortunately, however, with the language we can also feed prejudices, raise barriers, attack and even destroy; with the tongue we can destroy our brothers: gossip hurts and slander can be sharper than a knife! Nowadays, especially in the digital world, words run fast; but too many convey anger and aggression, they feed fake news and take advantage of collective fears to propagate distorted ideas. A diplomat, who was Secretary General of the United Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize, said that "to abuse the word is to despise the human being" (D. Hammarskjöld,Traces of the journey , Magnano BI 1992, 131).
So let's ask ourselves what kind of words do we use: words that express attention, respect, understanding, closeness, compassion, or words that mainly aim to make us beautiful in front of others? And then, do we speak mildly or do we pollute the world by spreading poisons: criticizing, complaining, feeding widespread aggression?
May Our Lady, Mary, whose humility God has looked upon, the Virgin of silence whom we now pray, help us to purify our gaze and our speech.
____________________________________
After the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters!
In recent days we have been shocked by something tragic: the war. We have prayed several times that this path would not be taken. And we don't stop praying, on the contrary, we beg God more intensely. For this reason, I renew my invitation to all to make March 2, Ash Wednesday, a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Ukraine. A day to be close to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, to feel all brothers and sisters and implore God for an end to the war.
Those who make war forget humanity. It does not start with the people, it does not look at the concrete life of the people, but puts before everything vested interests and power. He entrusts himself to the diabolical and perverse logic of weapons, which is the furthest from the will of God. And he distances himself from the common people, who want peace; and that in every conflict he is the real victim, who pays for the follies of war on his own skin. I think of the elderly, of those who seek refuge in these hours, of mothers on the run with their children… They are brothers and sisters for whom it is urgent to open humanitarian corridors and who must be welcomed.
With a broken heart for what happens in Ukraine - and let's not forget the wars in other parts of the world, such as in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia… -, I repeat: shut up their weapons! God stands with peacemakers, not with those who use violence. Because those who love peace, as the Italian Constitution states, "repudiate war as an instrument of offense against the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international disputes" (Art. 11).
Yesterday, in Granada, Spain, the priest Gaetano Giménez Martín and fifteen fellow martyrs, killed in odium fidei in the context of the religious persecution of the 1930s in Spain, were beatified. May the testimony of these heroic disciples of Christ arouse in all the desire to serve the Gospel with fidelity and courage. A round of applause for the new blessed.
I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims!
I greet in particular las niñas Quinceñeras of Panamá; young university students from the diocese of Porto; the faithful of Mérida-Badajoz and Madrid, Spain; those of Paris and Poland; the groups of Reggio Calabria, Sicily and the Alta Langa Pastoral Unit; the confirmands from Urgnano and the boys from Petosino, diocese of Bergamo.
A special greeting to all who came on the occasion of Rare Disease Day, which occurs tomorrow: I encourage the various associations of patients and their families, as well as the researchers who work in this field. I am close to you! I greet the peoples present here… I also see many flags of Ukraine! (in Ukrainian) Praised be Jesus Christ!
I wish everyone a happy Sunday. Please don't forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch and goodbye.
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