Lack of humility and prayerfulness kill Word of God: Pope

March 21, 2014 - The Word of God is killed in the heart when one lacks humility and the capacity to pray. This was the warning that Pope Francis gave in his homily at Mass, Friday morning, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.

Commenting on the day’s Gospel parable of the wicked tenants who ultimately kill the landlord’s own son, the Pope said Jesus wanted to show the Pharisees, the elders and the priests their fate without an open heart to the Word of God. These people, the Pope said, usurp the Word of God, giving it their own interpretation, suiting their interests, ideologies and theologies in their service. For this they are even ready to kill, just as they did with Jesus. Offended that Jesus had directed the parable against them, the leaders of priests and the Pharisees sought to hunt and kill him. The Pope explained that the Word of God becomes dead and imprisoned and the Holy Spirit is trapped in each one’s desires. And this is exactly what happens to us when we are not open and obedient to the Word of God, the Pope warned. However, on an optimistic note the Pope noted that the Word of God however lives on in the simple and humble, which why the Pharisees were afraid of the People of God, when they thought of doing away with Jesus. These simple and good people, the Pope pointed out, did not subject Word of God to their selfish ends. On the other hand, the leaders and Pharisees did not pray and felt secure like gods. In order not to kill the Word of God in the heart, two things are needed: humility and prayer, the Pope said.