Pope says true holiness is in caring for the brother
March 07, 2014 - Christianity is not a rule without a soul or a handbook of formal
observances for hypocrites who put up a good face to hide a heart devoid of love.
The strong reprimand of Pope Francis came in his homily at Mass, Friday morning, in
the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. He was commenting on
the day’s Gospel on the disciples of John the Baptist questioning Jesus about why
His disciples didn’t fast. The Pope said that the teachers of the law had transformed
the observance of the commandments into a formality, transforming religious life into
ethics that ignored the gift of love of a Father for his people. Even today, the
Pope said there are hypocritical people who appear good but are rigidly ethical without
the goodness of heart. Speaking on the first Friday of Lent, a day of fasting and
abstinence, the Holy Father recalled the words of Prophet Isaiah in reminding Christians
about how God wants them to observe the fast – by releasing those bound unjustly,
sharing the bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless and clothing
the naked. Our greatest act of holiness, the Pope pointed out, is in caring for
the flesh of our brother, the flesh of Jesus, and not being ashamed of it. This consists
in sharing our bread with the hungry, caring for the sick, the elderly and those who
cannot give us anything in return. In this regard Pope Francis drew attention to
how we give alms. “Do I drop the coin drop without touching the hand, or recoil if
by chance I have touched the hand. When I give alms, do I look into the eyes of a
brother and a sister? Do I go to visit a person who I know is sick and greet him or
her tenderly?” the Pope asked.