During his Thursday morning homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis compared envy to a weed that grows slowly and doesn't allow anything else alongside it.
POPE FRANCIS
'I too, thinking and reflecting on this passage, invite myself â?? and everyone â?? to see if, in my heart, there is any jealousy, any envy, which always leads to death and doesnâ??t make me happy.â?
The Pope also mentioned that Jesus was handed over to Pontius Pilate because of envy, and said we must ask God for the grace to overcome it.
EXTRACTS FROM THE POPE'S HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio)
'How ugly envy is! it is an attitude, it is an ugly sin. And jealousy or envy grows in the heart like a weed: it grows, but it doesnâ??t allow good plants to grow. It harms everything that its shadow seems to fall upon. There is no peace! It is a tormented heart, it is an ugly heart! But the envious heart, too â?? we hear it here â?? leads to killing, to death. And Scripture says clearly: through the envy of the devil, death entered the world.â?
'I too, thinking and reflecting on this passage, invite myself â?? and everyone â?? to see if, in my heart, there is any jealousy, any envy, which always leads to death and doesnâ??t make me happy; because this sickness always leads us to regard the good others possess as if it were against us. And this is an ugly sin. It is the beginning of many, many crimes. Let us ask the Lord to give us the grace not to open the heart to jealousy, not to open the heart to envy, because these things always lead to death.â?
'According to the interpretation of Pilate â?? who was very intelligent, but a coward â?? envy was what lead to the death of Jesus: the instrument, the ultimate instrument. They handed him over out of envy. Let us also ask the Lord the grace never, because of envy, to hand over to death a brother, a sister of the parish, of the community, or even someone in our neighbourhood. Everyone has their sins, everyone has their virtues. They are specific to each individual. Look at the good, and do not kill with gossip through envy or jealousy.â?
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