While leading the Angelus prayer this Sunday, February 12th, Pope Francis encouraged people to fulfill God’s commandments as children of God the Father and not as “servants of a ‘master god.'”
“The commandments that God has given us should not be confined to the suffocating strongboxes of formal observance; otherwise, we remain in external religiosity and a detached religiosity, servants of a ‘master god’ instead of children of God the Father,” he said.
He said this while reflecting on the passage from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
Thus, the Pope described that the Holy Scriptures say, “thou shalt not kill,” but for Jesus, this is not enough if later one hurts their brothers with their words.
Then, the Holy Father pointed out that the Bible says, “thou shalt not commit adultery,” but this is not enough if later one lives a love filled with deceit and falseness.
Furthermore, Pope Francis highlighted that “the scripture says ‘thou shalt not bear false witness,’ but making a solemn oath is not enough if later one acts with hypocrisy.”
In this sense, the Holy Father pointed out that “the message is clear: God loves us first, gratuitously, taking the first step towards us without deserving it” and added that for this reason, “we cannot celebrate his love without in turn taking the first step to reconcile with those who have hurt us.”
“In other words, Jesus makes us understand that religious rules are useful, religious rules are good, but they are just the beginning: to fulfill them, it is necessary to go beyond the letter and live its meaning,” he indicated.
In this line, the Pope encouraged people not to remain in “formal observance, which conforms to the minimum required” because “Jesus invites us to the maximum possible.”
“God does not reason with calculations and tables; He loves us like a lover: not to the minimum, but to the maximum!” he added.
Finally, the Holy Father invited people to ask themselves: “how do I live my faith? Is it a matter of calculation, formalism, or a love story with God? Do I settle for not doing evil, maintaining the ‘façade,’ or trying to grow in love for God and others?”
“May Mary, who perfectly observed the Word of God, help us fulfill our faith and our charity,” concluded Pope Francis.
