Pope Francis: jealousy, envy and gossip divide and destroy Christian communities
(Vatican Radio) Christians must close the doors to the jealousies, envy and gossip
that divide and destroy our communities: that’s what Pope Francis stressed in his
homily at Mass in the Santa Marta guesthouse Thursday morning. Listen to Tracey
McClure's report:
The Pope’s
remarks take on added meaning because today marks the sixth day of prayer for Christian
unity which culminates Saturday with the celebration of Vespers presided by Pope Francis
in the Rome Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
In his homily, Pope Francis
reflects on the day’s first reading which recalls the victory of the Israelites over
the Philistines - thanks to the courageous actions of the young David. But, King Saul’s
joy over the victory soon turns to sadness and jealousy when he sees the women praising
David for killing Goliath. So, "that great victory,” Pope Francis says, “begins to
undergo defeat in the heart of the King" and like Cain, the "worm of jealousy and
envy" begins to insinuate itself in its place. And again like Cain and Abel, the
king decides to kill David. "This is what jealousy does in our hearts,” observes the
Pope. “It is a destructive anxiety (it: inquietudine cattiva), which cannot tolerate
that a brother or sister has something that I have not." Saul, "instead of praising
God for this victory as did the women of Israel, prefers to withdraw into himself,
feeling sorry for himself (it. rammaricarsi)” and “stew his feelings in the broth
of bitterness."
"Jealousy leads to murder. Envy leads to murder,” the Pope
says. “It was this door, the door of envy, through which the devil entered the world.”
“Jealousy and envy open the doors,” the Pope says, to “all evil things…They also divide
the community.”
When some members of a Christian community suffer from envy
and jealousy, the Pope reminds us, the community “ends up divided: one against the
other.” And “this is a strong poison – a poison that we find on the first page of
the Bible in Cain."
Pope Francis goes on to say that in the heart of a person
affected by jealousy and envy " two things are very clear." The first thing is bitterness:
"The
envious person, the jealous person, is a bitter person who doesn’t know how to sing,
how to praise, (or) know what joy is.” This kind of person, reflects the Pope, always
looks at what someone else has that he or she does not have . “And this leads to bitterness,
a bitterness that spreads throughout the whole community.” These people, he says,
are the “sowers of bitterness.”
The second approach, the Pope remarks, that
“brings jealousy and envy, are rumors.” When someone cannot stand to see that someone
else has something he wishes for himself, Pope Francis says often, the “solution is
to put the other person down” so that “I am a bit higher up.” And the tool used
to do this, the Pope points out, is “gossip.” Behind every rumor, says the Pope, “there
is jealousy and envy. And gossip divides the community, destroys the community. Rumors
are the weapons of the devil."
"How many beautiful Christian communities,"
the Pope exclaimed, “were getting along well,” but then were divided and destroyed
because one member allowed the “worm of jealousy and envy” to enter his heart. And
with it, come “sadness, resentment and gossip." A person under the influence of envy
and jealousy, the Pope insists, “kills."
In concluding, Pope Francis called
for prayer for “our Christian communities so that this seed of jealousy will not be
sown between us, so that envy will not take root in our heart, in the heart of our
communities, and so we can move forward with praise to the Lord, praising the Lord
with joy. It is a great grace, the grace of not falling into sadness, being resentful,
jealous and envious."