Pope: the Holy Spirit heals the divisions caused by money, vanity and gossip

The Holy Spirit can help Christians overcome the three temptations that destroy community life, said Pope Francis in his morning Mass.

The pope observed on April 21 that idle money, vanity and chatter has divided believers since the early days of Christianity.

"But the Spirit always comes with his strength to save us from this worldliness of money, vanity and idle chatter," he said, "because the Spirit is not the world: it is against the world. He is capable of doing these miracles, these great things. "

Reflecting on the gospel of the day (John 3: 7-15), in which Jesus tells Nicodemus that "it must be born from above", the pope said that we are born again through the Holy Spirit rather than with our own efforts.

"Our docility opens the doors to the Holy Spirit: it is He who makes the change, the transformation, this rebirth from above," he said. “It is the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is capable of doing wonders, things we can't even think of. "

Speaking from the chapel of his Vatican residence, Casa Santa Marta, the pope turned to the first reading of the day (Acts 4: 32-37), which describes the harmony between the early Christians. This description was not a fantasy, he said, but rather a model for today's Church.

"It is true that these problems will begin immediately," he observed, "but the Lord shows us how far we can go if we are open to the Holy Spirit, if we are docile. In this community there is harmony. "

Pope Francis said that many things divided parishes, dioceses, communities of priests and religious men and women. He identified three main temptations: money, vanity and idle chatter.

"Money divides the community," he said. “For this reason, poverty is the mother of the community. Poverty is the wall that protects the community. Money divides ... Even in families: how many families have been divided by inheritance? "

He continued: “Another thing that divides a community is vanity, that desire to feel better than others. 'Thank you, Lord, who are not like the others:' the Pharisee's prayer. "

Vanity could be seen at the celebration of the sacraments, the pope said, with people struggling to wear the best clothes.

“Vanity also enters. And vanity divides. Because vanity leads you to be a peacock and where there is a peacock, there is division, always, "he said.

“A third thing that divides a community is idle chatter: it is not the first time I say it, but it is reality ... That thing the devil puts in us, like the need to talk about others. "What a good person he is ..." - "Yes, yes, but ..." Immediately the "but:" is a stone to disqualify the other. "

Yet with the Holy Spirit we are able to resist all three temptations, he said, concluding: “We ask the Lord for this docility to the Spirit so that it can transform us and transform our communities, our parishes, diocesan, religious communities: transform them, so that we can always go forward in the harmony that Jesus desires for the Christian community ".

After mass, the pope presided over the adoration and blessing of the Blessed Sacrament.

He led those who watched live streaming in an act of spiritual communion, praying: “My Jesus, I believe you are truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all and want to welcome you into my soul. Since at this moment I cannot receive you sacramentally, at least spiritually come to my heart. I embrace you because you are already there and I totally join you. Never allow me to be separated from you. "

Finally, those present sang the Easter Marian antiphon "Regina caeli".

At the beginning of the mass, Pope Francis observed that in the midst of the coronavirus blockade the cities had remained silent.

"There is so much silence right now," he said. “You can also hear silence. May this silence, which is a bit new in our habits, teach us to listen, make us grow in our ability to listen. Let us pray for this. "