Canção Nova News with Vatican Radio

In the mass for yesterday, October 21st, in the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis spoke of green. He stressed that the love of money destroys people, families and relations with others. The invitation given by the Holy Father was to use riches that God gives us  in benefit of our neighbor, helping whomever has need.

Upon commenting on the Gospel for the Day, in which a man asked Jesus to intervene to resolve a question of inheritance with his brother, the Pontiff reflected on the problem of of human relation with money. The first consequence of love of money, according to Francis is the destruction of families.

“When a person is in love with money, he destroys himself, he destroys the family! Money serves to bring us many good things, many works to develop humanity, but when his heart is attached [to money] this destroys him.”

The Holy Father reminded that Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who lives to accumulate treasures for himself and does not enrich himself with God. And so he explained the alert that Jesus makes to us is for us to distance ourselves to whatever greed.

“Greed is an instrument of idolatry, because is it going along the road contrary to what God makes for us. St. Paul tells us that Jesus who was rich, makes himself poor to enrich us. This is the road of God: humility, lowering oneself to serve.”

Finally, His Holiness explained that the road taught by the Lord is not one of poverty for poverty itself, but of poverty as an instrument, in order that God may be God, the only Lord. And it is also he reminded that all the goods we have were given to us by God in order that we may make a more secure world and we may help our neighbor.

“May the word of God remain in our hearts: ‘Be careful and keep yourself far from all greed, because even if a person is in abundance, his life does not depend on what he or she possesses.” He said in ending his homily.

translated from Portuguese