From Casa Santa Marta in his morning Mass, the Pope recommended that Christians examine their behavior before the crucifix, to determine to what extent their life is coherent.
POPE FRANCIS
“Vigilance means understanding what goes on in my heart. It means stopping for a while to examine my life. Am I Christian? Do I more or less educate my children well? Is my life Christian or worldly?' This is the purpose of the Crucifix in front of us. It is not an ornament. It's exactly that which saves us from the charms and seductions that lead us to worldliness.”
The pope said it's frequently necessary to examine one's life, so temptations can be more easily avoided. He warned of worldliness that can sneakily enter, without alerting the soul.
EXTRACTS OF POPE'S HOMILY
Only Christ crucified will save us from the demons that make us 'slide slowly into worldliness,' saving us also from the 'stupidity' that St. Paul talks about to the Galatians, and from seduction.
The demons thus start being part of the man's life. With their ideas and inspirations, they help the man to live better and entering his life and heart and start changing him from within, but quietly without making any noise. This method is different from the earlier diabolic possession which was strong, the Pope explained, adding this time it a diabolic possession, something like in a “living room”. The devil slowly changes our criteria to lead us to worldliness. It camouflages our way of acting, which we hardly notice. And so, the man, freed from the demon, becomes a bad man, a man burdened by worldliness. And that's exactly what the devil wants – worldliness.
Watchful means understanding what goes on in my heart, adding, 'It means stopping for a while to examine my life, whether I a Christian, whether educate my children, whether my life is Christian or worldly?' One understands this, as Paul points out, by looking at Christ crucified. One understands where worldliness lies and is destroyed before the Lord's cross. The Crucifix saves us from the charms and seductions that lead us to worldliness.
