Pope Francis: God gives the commandments to free men from sin

Jesus wants his followers to move from a formal observance of God's commands to an inner acceptance of them and, in doing so, are no longer slaves to sin and selfishness, Pope Francis said.

“It encourages the transition from formal observance of the law to substantive observance, welcoming the law into one's heart, which is the center of the intentions, decisions, words and actions of each of us. Good and bad deeds begin in the heart, ”the pope said on February 16 during his Angelus midday address.

The pope's comments focused on the Sunday Gospel reading of the fifth chapter of St. Matthew in which Jesus tells his followers: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "

By respecting the commandments and laws given to the people by Moses, Jesus wanted to teach people "the correct approach" to the law, which is to recognize it as the tool that God uses to teach his people true freedom and responsibility, the pope said. .

"We should not forget: living the law as an instrument of freedom that helps me to be freer, that helps me not to be a slave to passions and sin," he said.

Francis asked the thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square to examine the consequences of sin in the world, including the report in mid-February of an 18-month-old Syrian girl who died in a camp for displaced people from the cold.

"So many calamities, so many," the pope said, and they are the result of people who "don't know how to control their passions."

Allowing one's passions to govern one's actions, he said, does not make someone the "master" of one's life, but instead makes that person "unable to manage it with willpower and responsibility."

In the Gospel passage, he said, Jesus adopts four commandments - on killing, adultery, divorce and swearing - and "explains their full meaning" by inviting his followers to respect the spirit of the law and not just the letter of the law.

"By accepting the law of God in your heart, you understand that when you do not love your neighbor, to some extent you kill yourself and others because hatred, rivalry and division kill the brotherly charity that underlies interpersonal relationships He said.

"Accepting God's law in your heart," he added, means learning to master your desires, "because you can't have everything you want, and it's not good to give selfish and possessive feelings."

Of course, the pope said: “Jesus knows that it is not easy to keep the commandments in this all-encompassing way. That is why he offers the assistance of his love. He came into the world not only to fulfill the law, but also to give us his grace so that we can do God's will by loving him and our brothers and sisters “.