Pope: the proud extinguish fraternity because they rob God of his place

Dedicated to the last of the deadly sins the catechesis of today's general audience back in St Peter's Square. On the path of Lent the invitation to "free yourself from everything that masks your life in order to return with all your heart to God who loves us with eternal love". "Let us continue to pray for those who suffer the horror of war".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The root of pride lies in radical sin: the claim to be like God, which also ruins human relationships. This was the focus of Pope Francis Wednesday audience catechesis, dedicated to the last of the deadly sins, which returned this morning outdoors to St. Peter's Square.

As in several events in recent weeks, the pontiff did not deliver his speech personally, entrusting its reading to a collaborator, Msgr. Pierluigi Giroli, after personally explaining to those present that he is still struggling with speaking fatigue.

“The proud man – he reminded himself – is one who thinks he is much more than he actually is; someone who trembles to be recognized as greater than others, he always wants to see his merits recognized and despises others considering them inferior".

For the monks of antiquity and for Dante himself it was the most serious of vices, the one that distances us from God the most. The same sin of Adam and Eve recounted in Genesis "is to all intents and purposes a sin of pride", precisely in its desire “become like God”. At the same time - he added - "writers on spirituality are more careful to describe the repercussions of pride in everyday life, to illustrate how it ruins human relationships, to highlight how this evil poisons that feeling of brotherhood which should instead bring men together".

“In his arrogance – the Pope further observed in his catechesis – the proud man forgets that Jesus in the Gospels assigned us very few moral precepts, but on one of them he proved to be intransigent: never judge. You realize you are dealing with a proud person when, giving him a small constructive criticism, or a completely harmless observation, he reacts in an exaggerated way, as if someone had harmed his majesty: he goes into a rage, shouts , interrupts relationships with others in a resentful way.”

Faced with a person suffering from pride - the pontiff further said - "you just need to have patience, because one day his building will collapse". But Jesus showed us that this sin can also be hidden very well in our hearts, as happened to Peter who flaunted his faithfulness only to find himself scared like everyone else. "Thus the second Peter, the one who no longer lifts his chin but who cries salty tears - commented Francis - will be healed by Jesus and will finally be fit to support the weight of the Church".

Salvation from pride therefore passes through humility. “In the Magnificat, Mary sings of the God who with her power scatters the proud in the sick thoughts of their hearts. It is useless to steal something from God, as the proud hope to do, because ultimately He wants to give us everything. Therefore - the Pope concluded in his reflection - let us take advantage of this Lent to fight against our pride."

And Francis also dedicated the words he personally spoke in his greetings to Italian pilgrims to the journey of Lent and the urgency of continuing to pray for peace. “Continue courageously in the commitment to free yourselves from everything that masks your life – he said – to return with all your heart to God who loves us with eternal love. Once again, brothers and sisters, I renew my invitation to pray for the populations suffering the horror of war in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, as well as in other parts of the world. Let us pray for peace, let us ask the Lord for the gift of peace."