Pope Francis: Jesus does not tolerate hypocrisy

Jesus enjoys exposing hypocrisy, which is the work of the devil, said Pope Francis.

Christians, in fact, must learn to avoid hypocrisy by scrutinizing and recognizing their own flaws, failures and personal sins, he said on October 15 during the morning mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

"A Christian who cannot blame himself is not a good Christian," he said.

The pope concentrated his homily on the Gospel reading of the day (Lk 11: 37-41) in which Jesus criticizes his army for being concerned only with outward appearances and superficial rituals, saying: "although you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, inside you are full of plunder and evil “.

Francis said that the reading shows how much Jesus does not tolerate hypocrisy, which, said the pope, "appears in one way but is something else" or hides what you really think.

When Jesus calls the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs" and hypocrites, these words are not insults but the truth, said the pope.

"On the outside you are perfect, actually tight, with decoration, but inside you there is something else," he said.

"Hypocritical behavior comes from the great liar, the devil", who is himself a great hypocrite, said the pope, and makes those like him on earth his "heirs".

“Hypocrisy is the devil's language; it is the language of evil that enters our hearts and is sown by the devil. You can't live with hypocritical people, but they exist, ”the pope said.

“Jesus likes to expose hypocrisy,” he said. "He knows that it will be precisely this behavior that will lead to his death because the hypocrite does not think of using legitimate means or not, he rushes forward: slander?" We use slander. " False testimony? 'We are looking for an untruthful testimony.' "

Hypocrisy, said the pope, is common "in the battle for power, for example, with (envy) envy, jealousies that make you look like a way and inside there is poison to kill because hypocrisy always kills, sooner or later, it kills. "

The only "medicine" to cure hypocritical behavior is to tell the truth before God and take responsibility for yourself, the pope said.

“We have to learn to accuse ourselves, 'I did it, I think this way, badly. I am envious. I want to destroy it, '”he said.

People need to reflect on "what's inside us" to see sin, hypocrisy and "the wickedness that's in our heart" and "say it before God" with humility, he said.

Francis asked people to learn from St. Peter, who implored: "Get away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man".

"We can learn to accuse ourselves, ourselves, ourselves," he said.