Life makes sense when it is given with love to others, says Pope Francis

A life lived selfishly, corrupt or full of hate is a useless life, it withers and dies, said Pope Francis in a morning homily.

On the other hand, life has a meaning and a value "only in giving it with love, in truth, in giving it to others in daily life, in the family," he said on February 8 at the morning mass in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the four people in the Gospel reading of the day from San Marco (6: 14-29): king Herod; his brother's wife, Herodias; his daughter, Salome; and St. John the Baptist.

Jesus said "there was nothing greater than John the Baptist", but this saint knew that the one to be exalted and followed was Christ, not himself, said the pope.

The saint had said, it is the Messiah who "must increase; I have to decrease, ”which he did, to the point of being thrown into a dark and beheaded prison cell, said Pope Francis.

"Martyrdom is a service, it is a mystery, it is a very special and very great gift of life," said the pope.

Those responsible for the death of St. John the Baptist, however, were either deceived or inspired by the devil, he said.

"Behind these figures is Satan," who has filled Herodias with hatred, Salome with vanity and Herod with corruption, he said.

“Hate is capable of anything. It is an enormous force. Hate is Satan's breath, "he said. "And where there is corruption, it is very difficult to get out of it."

Herod was caught in an obstacle; he knew he had to change his way, but he couldn't, said the pope.

John had told Herod that it was illegal for him to marry his brother's wife, Herodias, who had a grudge against John and wanted him dead. Herodias ordered her daughter to ask for her head when Herod - enchanted by Salome's dance - promised her everything he wanted.

Therefore, John the Baptist was killed on the whim of a "conceited dancer" and for "the hatred of a diabolical woman and the corruption of an ambivalent king," said the pope.

If people live life only for themselves and to keep their lives safe, said the pope, then "life dies, life withers, is useless".

"He is a martyr who lets his life fade away a little at a time to make room for the Messiah," he said, and who says: "I have to decrease so that he will be heard, be seen, so that he, the Lord, will manifest ".