"When a Christian community suffers - some of its members - from envy, jealousy it becomes divided: one against the other. This is a powerful poison. It is the poison that we find on the first page of the Bible with Cain".

Vatican City ( AsiaNews) - Jealousy and envy create bitterness in those who subject to them and they generate gossip". "Gossip divides the community, it destroys the community. They are the weapons of the devil". These were the words of Pope Francis today during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta , in which he asked to pray that these evils are not sown in Christian communities.

Vatican Radio reports that the Pope was reflecting on the passage of the Bible that tells of the victory of the Israelites over the Philistines thanks to the courage of the young David. The joy of victory soon turned to sadness and jealousy of King Saul, when faced with the women who praise David for killing Goliath. Thus, "the great victory begins to transform itself into a defeat in the heart of the King". As was the case with Cain, the "worm of jealousy and envy" insinuates itself. And like Cain and Abel, the king decides to kill David. "This is what jealousy does to our hearts, it is an evil restlessness, which can not tolerate that a brother or sister has something that I have not ." Saul , "instead of praising God for this victory as the women of Israel did, prefers to withdraw into himself, grow bitter" and "boil his feelings in a broth of bitterness".

"Jealousy leads to murder. Envy leads to murder. This was the very door, the door of envy, through which the devil entered the world. The Bible says: 'Evil came into this world through the devil's envy'. Jealousy and envy open the door to all sorts of evil. They also divide the community. When a Christian community suffers - some of its members - from envy, jealousy it becomes divided: one against the other. This is a powerful poison. It is the poison that we find on the first page of the Bible with Cain".

In the heart of a person affected by jealousy and envy "two very clear things" happen.  First, bitterness. "The envious person , the jealous person is a bitter person: they can not sing, they can not praise, they do not know what joy is, they are always looking at what the other person has that I have not'. And this leads to bitterness, bitterness that spreads over the whole community. These are sowers of bitterness. Secondly jealousy and envy lead to gossip. Because this person cannot stand that the other has something, the solution to the problem is to drag them down, so that I can be a littler higher up. And the tool to do this is gossip. If you look closely you will always find that behind every rumor lies jealousy and envy. Gossip divides the community, destroys the community. They are the devil's weapons".

"How many beautiful Christian communities" were doing quite well when, suddenly the worm of jealousy and envy insinuated itself into one of the members and, with this, sadness, resentment of hearts and gossip. "A person who is under the influence of envy and jealousy kills ," as the apostle John says : "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer ." And "the envious , the jealous , begins to hate his brother".

"Today, in this Mass - concluded the Pope - we pray for our Christian communities , so that the seed of jealousy is not sown among us, so that envy does not take root in our heart, in the heart of our communities, and so we can move ahead with the praise of the Lord , praising the Lord with joy. This is a great grace , the grace not to fall into sadness, resentment, jealousy and envy . "

 

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