Francis: ‘Whoever judges and scorns others is corrupt and a hypocrite’

[cmorisset]

Arrogance not only distances us from God but compromises each of our actions and makes our prayer useless, Pope Francis warned in his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square Wednesday.

Reflecting on the Gospel parable comparing the ways that a Pharisee and a tax collector pray at the Jewish Temple, the pontiff said that humility is “the necessary condition to be raised up by God, to experience the mercy that fills to the brim our emptiness.”

“Whoever believes themselves just and judges others and scorns them is corrupt and a hypocrite,” the pope exhorted. “Arrogance compromises every good action, empties prayer, distances from God and others.”
“If the prayer of the arrogant doesn’t reach the heart of God, the humility of the miserable opens it wide,” he said.

The pontiff was reflecting Wednesday on a parable found in Luke’s Gospel, in which Jesus describes two men who pray in very different ways. The Pharisee thanks God that he is “not like the rest of humanity.” The tax collector instead beats his breast, asking: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

“It’s not enough to ask ourselves how much we pray,” Francis told the crowds in the square for the audience. “We must also ask ourselves how we pray, or better, how is out heart? It is important to examine it to value its thoughts, its sentiments and to eradicate arrogance and hypocrisy.”

“Can you pray with arrogance?” the pontiff asked aloud. “No.”
“Can you pray with hypocrisy?” he continued. “No.”

“We must pray putting ourselves before God just as we are,” said Francis. “Not like the Pharisee who prayed with arrogance and hypocrisy.”
The pope called the tax collector’s prayer “very short” but “very beautiful.”

“His prayer is essential,” said Francis. “He acts with humility, only sure of being a sinner in need of compassion.”

More at lastampa.it/2016/06/01/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/pope-francis-humbleness-honesty-lead-to-gods-mercy-blnqdTjTZFgsdZcPM6YosM/pagina.html

 

[Michael_Mayo]

Thank you for this link.

 

[johnnyc176]

Arrogance not only distances us from God but compromises each of our actions and makes our prayer useless, Pope Francis warned in his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square Wednesday.

Speaks to those who do not acknowledge sin. This is especially true of those liberals who dissent from the teachings of Jesus and place more importance on their political ideology. Their pride keeps them from acknowledging the need for mercy in the first place…sin. No sin…no need for mercy. But that is why Jesus included in the spiritual works of mercy these…

instruct the ignorant
counsel the doubtful
admonish sinners

For those who still doubt…the Pope is Catholic.

 

[RPRPsych]

Speaks to those who do not acknowledge sin. This is especially true of those liberals who dissent from the teachings of Jesus and place more importance on their political ideology. Their pride keeps them from acknowledging the need for mercy in the first place…sin. No sin…no need for mercy. But that is why Jesus included in the spiritual works of mercy these…

instruct the ignorant
counsel the doubtful
admonish sinners

For those who still doubt…the Pope is Catholic.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Speaks to those who do not acknowledge sin. This is especially true of those liberals who dissent from the teachings of Jesus and place more importance on their political ideology. Their pride keeps them from acknowledging the need for mercy in the first place

I find it interesting that a response to the Pope’s very insightful remarks about judging and scorning someone else is front and center judging and scorning someone else.

Doesn’t Matthew say something about seeing specks in another’s eyes and not the log in one’s own?

I don’t mean to be uncharitable here; I just wonder why it’s so easy for all of us to blame the ‘other’ for not being good enough, holy enough, devout enough, not concerned about the right things, etc, etc.

From your friendly neighborhood liberal who REALLY doesn’t like to judge, but…

 

[Edmundus1581]

I find it interesting that a response to the Pope’s very insightful remarks about judging and scorning someone else is front and center judging and scorning someone else.

Doesn’t Matthew say something about seeing specks in another’s eyes and not the log in one’s own?

I don’t mean to be uncharitable here; I just wonder why it’s so easy for all of us to blame the ‘other’ for not being good enough, holy enough, devout enough, not concerned about the right things, etc, etc.

From your friendly neighborhood liberal who REALLY doesn’t like to judge, but…

Indeed!

How did the Holy Father’s exhortation to not judge others become a comment about “liberals”.



(From one who is also labeled a “liberal” in some Catholic circles).

Apart from that, I thought it was a good and stern reminder about the dangers of judging others.

*“If the prayer of the arrogant doesn’t reach the heart of God, the humility of the miserable opens it wide,”

“Can you pray with arrogance?” the pontiff asked aloud. “No.”

“Can you pray with hypocrisy?” he continued. “No.” *

 

[MaryT777]

So why are we now judging a post of Johnny C’s.

…

Just sayin;

Mary.

 

[LittleFlower378]

Speaks to those who do not acknowledge sin. This is especially true of those liberals who dissent from the teachings of Jesus and place more importance on their political ideology. Their pride keeps them from acknowledging the need for mercy in the first place…sin. No sin…no need for mercy. But that is why Jesus included in the spiritual works of mercy these…

instruct the ignorant
counsel the doubtful
admonish sinners

For those who still doubt…the Pope is Catholic.

Good point linking judging to liberal/leftist thought.

 

[MaryT777]

I think Johnny C was simply trying to say that when we lose a sense of sin we lose our sense of the need for a savior to forgive those sins. Liberal probably meaning those that feel abortion and gay marriage are acceptable which would be contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Bible. ( The poster is of course Catholic)

Now it seems people are judging a post and a poster who did not seem to me to have ill intent.

JMO

Mary.

 

[1neophyte]

I think Johnny C was simply trying to say that when we lose a sense of sin we lose our sense of the need for a savior to forgive those sins. Liberal probably meaning those that feel abortion and gay marriage are acceptable which would be contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Bible. ( The poster is of course Catholic)

Now it seems people are judging a post and a poster who did not seem to me to have ill intent.

JMO

Mary.

Stop being so judgemental. Compline was simply pointing out that Pope Francis’ exhortation is meant for all, not just those who fancy themselves “just” because of their conservative leanings.

 

[MaryT777]

Stop being so judgemental. Compline was simply pointing out that Pope Francis’ exhortation is meant for all, not just those who fancy themselves “just” because of their conservative leanings.

I agree with you completely regarding what Pope Francis meant. That applies to liberals and conservatives but I stand by my thought Johnny C did not mean ill intent by the post.

Peace,

Mary.

 

[peter26]

“Whoever believes themselves just and judges others and scorns them is corrupt and a hypocrite,” the pope exhorted

And yet it is okay to judge people who do so? What a hypocritical statement.

 

[MaryT777]

And yet it is okay to judge people who do so? What a hypocritical statement.

Matthew 7:1 FF NAB

1

• a “Stop judging,* that you may not be judged.
  2
  For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
  3
  Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
  4
  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye?
  5
  You hypocrite,* remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

The Pope has no ill intent with this statement except to remind us we are all sinners so who are we to judge another.

It is certainly not to be offensive and is straight from the Bible, the infallible Word of God.

Peace,

Mary.

 

[Edmundus1581]

And yet it is okay to judge people who do so? What a hypocritical statement.

Would you call Jesus a hypocrite?

Jesus himself judged others, sometimes very harshly, while also warning against “judging”.

We take “judging” (in its many forms) upon ourselves at great risk!

I’m sure Pope Francis knows the gospels, and knew what he was saying.

 

[Edmundus1581]

Stop being so judgemental. Compline was simply pointing out that Pope Francis’ exhortation is meant for all, not just those who fancy themselves “just” because of their conservative leanings.

Still, those with conservative leanings may find something helpful in it (Francis’ exhotation).

 

[MaryT777]

Still, those with conservative leanings may find something helpful in it (Francis’ exhotation).

We all, whether we have conservative or liberal leanings ,could learn something helpful from these words and reminder straight from the Bible.

Good point,

Mary.

 

[Edmundus1581]

We all, whether we have conservative or liberal leanings ,could learn something helpful from these words and reminder straight from the Bible.
Mary.

Yes.

 

[irenaeus1]

What we are missing here is context… Stop judging means to stop hypocritically judging; stop misjudging; stop pre-judging. It does NOT, however, mean to stop any and all judging. Obviously, Jesus passed judgment on people and their actions all the time. So did John the Baptist. So did Paul. So did Jude. Making an upright judgment is actually our duty as Christians.

 

[1neophyte]

What we are missing here is context… Stop judging means to stop hypocritically judging; stop misjudging; stop pre-judging. It does NOT, however, mean to stop any and all judging. Obviously, Jesus passed judgment on people and their actions all the time. So did John the Baptist. So did Paul. So did Jude. Making an upright judgment is actually our duty as Christians.

Pope Francis also used the word arrogant. How often do you REALLY see or hear Christians making upright judgements though? Free of arrogance or hypocrisy. Where are the Pauls and Judes of today? I haven’t found them anywhere, and I’m looking all the time. The judgements that are made today are not corporal work of mercy type admonitions, they’re simply arbitrary lines drawn between ideologies with people proclaiming that anyone on the other side of the line is wrong. That is not upright Christian judgement. We should first be most judgemental and critical of ourselves, if we hope to have any credibility when admonishing other sinners.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

What we are missing here is context… Stop judging means to stop hypocritically judging; stop misjudging; stop pre-judging. It does NOT, however, mean to stop any and all judging. Obviously, Jesus passed judgment on people and their actions all the time. So did John the Baptist. So did Paul. So did Jude. Making an upright judgment is actually our duty as Christians.

Well, that’s an easy out.

Perhaps we should stop looking at others and condemning them (not easy for this liberal to do when it comes to certain political rhetoric and behavior), and rather judge ourselves in how we follow the Gospel.

Humility before God, and not arrogance. I find that I have enough on my plate in trying to be a good and faithful servant. I shouldn’t worry about other people and how they live their lives in Christ. That’s their prayer, not mine.