"Where there is Jesus, there is no place for worldly society, there is no place for corruption! And this is a struggle we all face, this is the daily struggle of the Church: Jesus always, always with Jesus, always hanging on his every word, listening to his word; and never seek safety in the things of another master. Jesus told us that one cannot serve two masters: either God or riches; God or power".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The temptation of money and power is always present in the Church, the "holy bribe", when the Church is not "faithful to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of peace, joy, salvation”, said Francis during mass this morning in Casa Santa Marta, inspired by the first reading from the Book of Maccabees, which tells the joy of the people following the rededication of the Temple desecrated by the pagans and the worldly spirit.

The Pope noted that God's people celebrate, rejoice, because they rediscover “their true identity." "This is something that worldliness cannot do - he said – it cannot do! The worldly spirit at most, allows us to have a bit of fun, make a bit of a stir, but joy only comes from fidelity to the Alliance”.

 In the Gospel, Jesus drove the moneychangers from the temple, saying, "It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer. You, however, have made it a den of thieves. " As during the time of Maccabees, the worldly spirit "had taken the place of worship of the Living God." But now this happens "in another way". "The leaders of the temple, the chief priests - says the Gospel - and the scribes had changed some 'things. They had entered a process of decay and had ‘soiled’ the Temple. They had soiled the Temple! The Temple is an icon of the Church. The Church always - always! - will suffer the temptation of worldliness and the temptation of a power that is the power that Jesus Christ wants for her! Jesus does not say: 'No, do not do this. Take it out '. He says: 'You have made it a den of thieves here!'. And when the Church enters this process of degradation the end is very bad. Very ugly!".

"There is always the temptation to corruption in the Church. This is the case when Church, instead of being attached to her fidelity to the Lord Jesus, the Lord of peace, of joy, of salvation, is attached to money and power. This happens here in this Gospel. These chief priests, these scribes were attached to money, power, and had forgotten the spirit. And to justify themselves and say that they were right, they were good, they had changed the spirit of freedom of the Lord with rigidity. And Jesus, in chapter 23 of Matthew, speaks of this their rigidity. People had lost the sense of God, even the capacity for joy, the ability to praise: they did not know how to praise God, because they were attached to money and power, to a worldly form of social life, as others in the Old Testament".

 "Jesus does not drive the priests, the scribes out of the Temple; he chases away those who did business in the Temple. But the chief priests and the scribes were connected with them: there was the 'holy bribe' there! They received these, they were attached to the money and venerated this saint. The Gospel is very strong. It says: 'The chief priests and the scribes sought to destroy Jesus and so did the leaders of the people'. The same had happened in the time of Judah Maccabee. And why? For this reason: 'But they did not know what to do because all the people hung on his lips in listening'. The power of Jesus was his word, his testimony, his love. And where there is Jesus, there is no place for a worldly social life, there is no place for corruption! And this is the struggle of each of us, this is the daily struggle of the Church: Jesus always, always with Jesus, always hanging on his every word, to hear his word; and never seek safety in the things of another master. Jesus told us that one cannot serve two masters: either God or riches; God or the power. "

"It would do us all good - concluded the Pope - to pray for the Church. Think of the many martyrs who today, do not give in to this spirit of worldliness, of single line of thought, apostasy, suffering and dying. Today! Today there are more martyrs in the Church than in the early days. Let us think about this. It would do us well to think about this. And also ask for the grace never, ever to enter this process of degradation brought about by a worldliness that leads to attachment to money and power".

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