"The web that the corrupt weave is powerful; they even arrive at behaving like the mafia ". But there are "cunning Christians", who have a "healthy mistrust," based on reflection and prayer, to have "the grace of being wise".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Faced with the indignation of the corrupt, "a Christian cannot afford to be naive", but there are " cunning Christians ", made of "healthy mistrust", reflection and prayer said Pope Francis at Mass this morning. He was commenting commenting Luke’s Gospel on the administrator who squandered his master’s possessions and recalling Jesus’ invitation to be “as prudent as snakes and as simple as the dove”.
“We talk about smog that causes pollution, but there is also a smog of corruption in society”, said the Pope. Christians, therefore, must be “cunning” and use their “intuition”, because they cannot risk losing out of naivety that “treasure” which they hold inside: “the Holy Spirit”. The Pontiff then outlined to all Christians three attitudes in particular: the first is a “healthy distrust” towards those who “promise too much” and “speak too much”, towards all those who tell you, “Invest in my bank I will give you a double interest”. Then it is fundamental to stop and think, especially in front of the seductions of the devil who launches his attacks focusing on the weaknesses of each one of us. Finally, there is prayer, to ask the Lord for the “grace of shrewdness” and not to fall into the “corrupt network of corruption”.
The Pope then highlighted how those “systems”, are like that of the administrator of today’s Gospel, who, though found guilty of dissipating his master’s possessions, instead of looking for an honest job, he continues to steal. And he does so with the complicity of other “colleagues”. A “true corrupt roped-party”. “And they are powerful, eh! When they set up their corrupt roped-party, they are powerful; they even have some mafia-like attitudes. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise, “It’s not a fairy tale to look for in ancient books, it’s a story that” we find every day in the newspapers: every day”. It happens even today, especially with those who have the responsibility to administer the people’s property, not their own property, because this man was the administrator of someone else’s property, not of his own. “With their own goods, nobody is corrupt, they defend them” the Pope says.
And while the “children of this world” continue to carry out their cunning “with silk gloves”, with “courtesy”, and undisturbed, what must the “children of the light” do? How should they behave? But if these are more cunning than Christians - but I will not say Christians, because many corrupt people call themselves Christians - if these people are more cunning than those faithful to Jesus, then I wonder: but is there a Christian shrewdness? Is there an attitude for those who want to follow Jesus, so that they don’t end up being hurt, that they don’t end up eaten alive - as my mother would say - “eaten raw” - by others? What is Christian shrewdness? Is it a kind of shrewdness that is not sinful, but that serves to take me forward in the service of the Lord and in the help of others? “Christian shrewdness is called intuition”. And it is a grace to be asked to God, “If there is one thing that the Christian cannot afford is to be naive. As Christians, we have a treasure inside: the treasure that is Holy Spirit. We must safeguard It. And someone naive let themselves be robbed of the Spirit. A Christian cannot afford to be naive”. Pope Francis concluded that we should ask God for this “grace of Christian shrewdness” and “for Christian intuition”. We ask to be “cunning Christians”. And in the same prayer we shall “pray for the corrupt” “Poor them, may they find the exit from that prison into which they wanted to enter”.