'How many powerful men have ended up in anonymity, in poverty and in prison'

 

Wealth, vanity and power “put our hearts in chains” but “Jesus wants our hearts to be free.” This was the message of Pope Francis delivered this morning during the mass at his Santa Marta residence, as Radio Vaticana reports. “How many proud and powerful men and women have ended up in anonymity, in poverty and in prison”. From this he encouraged us not to accumulate money, vanity, pride and power. These treasures, he remarked, “we do not need”. The Lord, said the Pope, asks us to accumulate the “treasures of heaven”.

 

Pope Francis based his homily on the advice of Jesus, taken from the Gospel reading of the day. It is “a warning to be prudent”, since earthly treasures “are not secure: they are at risk from thieves”. And if one believes he is “secure with investments”, the Pope warned: “The stock market could collapse and you will be left with nothing”. Riches can be necessary to “do good, to provide for the family. But if you accumulate them like treasure, they will steal the soul!”

 

“How many powerful men have ended up in anonymity, in poverty and in prison”

The Pontiff remarked that true riches are those that “brighten” the heart like the adoration of God and love for our neighbours. He then warned of the earthly treasures that “put our hearts in chains”.

 

Pope Bergoglio explained which treasures “Jesus thought about”: “Three principle treasures and he always came back to the same argument”.

 

 “The first treasure: gold, money, riches... ‘But you are not secure with this since, perhaps, they will steal them from you, no?’; ‘No, I am secure with investments!’; ‘Perhaps the stock market will collapse and you will be left with nothing! And then tell me, does an extra Euro make you happier or not?’ Riches, a dangerous, dangerous treasure… But riches are good, we need them to do a lot of good, to provide for our families: this is true! But if you accumulate them like treasure, they will steal your soul! Jesus, in the Gospel, goes back to this argument, discusses riches, the danger of riches, of placing hope in riches.”

 

The other treasure “is vanity: having prestige, showing off”. Francis warned: the Son of God “always condemns this”; just think “of what he tells the doctors when they fast, when they make a great show of their prayers and almsgiving”. Vanity “does not serve us, it always ends”. He then quoted the words of Saint Bernard: “Your beauty will become food for worms”.

 

And finally the third treasure the Pope explained: “Pride”, “power”. Francis drew from the First Reading, which tells of the fall of the cruel queen Athaliah:  “Her great power lasted for seven years, then she was killed. Power comes to an end!” The Pope highlighted: “How many proud and powerful men and women have ended up in anonymity, in poverty and in prison”. Thus – the Pope urged – we must not accumulate money, vanity, pride, power. Because “we do not need them”.

 

God, Francis continued, asks men to accumulate “the treasures of heaven: this is the message of Jesus: ‘But if your treasure is in riches, in vanity, in power, in pride, your heart will be chained there! Your heart will be enslaved by riches, vanity, pride”. Jesus wants our hearts to be free! This is the message of the day. “But, please, let your hearts be free”, Jesus tells us. He speaks of the freedom of the heart. And only with a free heart can we obtain the treasures of heaven: love, patience, serving others, the adoration of God. These are the true riches that may never be stolen. The other riches weigh on the heart. They weigh on the heart and put it in chains, leaving it no freedom!”

 

And a “heart enslaved is not bright: it will be dark”, he added. Earthly treasures “do not bring us happiness, but above all, they do not bring us freedom”. On the contrary, “a free heart is bright, and brightens others, it shows the path that leads to God: a bright heart, which is not in chains, which goes on and ages well, like a good wine: when good wine ages it is a fine old wine. But the heart that is not bright is like bad wine: the more time passes the worse it becomes until it is sour like vinegar. May the Lord give us the spiritual prudence – concluded Francis – to discern where the heart lies, to which treasure it is bound. And may he give us the strength to break the chains, if it is bound, so that it becomes free, bright so that we may know the true joy and freedom of living as God’s children.”

Domenico Agasso JR

Source: vaticaninsider.lastampa.it (Jun 20, 2014)