"Serving our neighbor, our brother, our sister in need", "even a piece of advice", "these are the signs that we are on the road of the good spirit, that is on the way of the Word of God became flesh" . Worldliness is "the spirit that moves us away from the Spirit of God that keeps us in the Lord."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Understanding what happens in our hearts, if we like to follow "the spirit of God, that brings me to the service of others, or the spirit of the world that revolves around myself, my closures, to my selfishness, many other things". "Serving our neighbor, our brother, our sister in need", "even a piece of advice", "these are the signs that we are following the good spirit, that is the way of the Word of God became flesh" said Pope Francis during mass this morning in Casa Santa Marta, taking a cue from the first reading, from the First Letter of St. John the Apostle, which calls for believes to "abide in God."

"Abide in God - he said - is to an extent 'the breath of Christian life, and style. "A Christian, he continued, "is someone who abides in God" who "has the Holy Spirit and is guided by Him." At the same time the Apostle warns against paying "heed to every spirit." We must therefore "test the spirits, test whether they are of God. And this is the daily rule of life that John teaches us ". But what does it mean to "test the spirits"? It is not about "ghosts", it is "test", see "what happens in my heart", what is the root "of what I'm feeling now, where it comes from? This is to test if "what I hear comes from God "or comes from the other", from the antichrist. " Worldliness, the Pope recalled, is "the spirit that takes us away from God's Spirit which instead helps us to abide in the Lord.

Pope Francis then reflected on the criterion “for a good discernment of what is happening in my soul". The Apostle John gives only one: "Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ became flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God." "The criterion is the Incarnation. I can feel so many things inside, even good things, good ideas. But if these good ideas, these feelings, do not lead to God who became flesh, do not lead me to my neighbor, my brother, is not of God. For this reason, John begins this passage of his letter by saying: 'This is the God's commandment that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another. '"

We can, he added, have "many pastoral plans", imagine new "methods to get closer to the people", but "if we do not follow the path of God who became flesh, the path of the Son of God who became man to walk with us, we are not on the path of the good spirit: it is the antichrist, it is worldliness, it is the spirit of the world ". "How many people seems spiritual: 'How spiritual that person is!'; but they do not talk about doing works of mercy. Why? Because the works of mercy are  our confession that the Son of God became flesh: visiting the sick, feeding those without food, taking care of  the abandoned... Works of mercy: why? Because each our brothers, whom we must love, is Christ's flesh. God became flesh to identify with us. And those who suffer is the Christ who suffers. "

"Do not believe every spirit, be careful, you have to test to test the spirits whether they are of God." "Serving our neighbor, our brother, our sister in need", maybe "in need, also, of good council, of a listening ear", "these are the signs that we are following the path of the good spirit , that is on the path of the Word of God become flesh ". "Let us ask the Lord, today - he concluded – for the grace to know exactly what happens in our hearts, our desires, if we are more open to the spirit of God, that brings me to the service of others, or the spirit of the world that revolves around myself, my closed views, my selfishness, so many other things ... Let us ask for the grace to know what happens in our hearts. "

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