Pope: No to Worldliness! You Cannot Have Two Masters... ZENIT in Roswell, Georgia, United States for Sunday, 18 September 2016 Like Tweet Forward

Pope: No to Worldliness! You Cannot Have Two Masters... ZENIT in Roswell, Georgia, United States for Sunday, 18 September 2016
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Pope: No to Worldliness! You Cannot Have Two Masters by Deborah Castellano Lubov

Even if we are tempted to, or it seems easier, we should not be ‘worldly.’
Pope Francis warned against this during his Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square, as he reminded the faithful that Jesus, in today’s Gospel according to St. Luke, said we cannot have two masters.
“Today, Jesus invites us to reflect on two opposing ways of life: the way of the world and that of the Gospel,” Francis said, adding: “The spirit of the world is not the spirit of Jesus.”
2 Masters
Recalling today’s parable, Francis noted that Christians can respond to the world’s ‘astuteness,’ with their own, namely through a gift of the Holy Spirit. “This refers,” the Jesuit Pontiff explained, “to depart from the spirit and values of the world, which the devil likes, in order to live according to the Gospel.”
“And worldliness, how is it manifested?” he asked. “Worldliness is manifested by attitudes of corruption, deception, abuse of power, and constitutes the most wrong road, the road of sin, because one thing brings you to another! It’s like a chain (vicious cycle), even if – it is true – that it is generally the easiest one to follow.”
While admitting the spirit of the Gospel requires a serious style of life, Francis noted that while it is serious it is still not just ‘joyful,’ but ‘full of joy!’ Living according to the spirit of the Gospel, he noted, is serious and challenging, marked by honesty, fairness, respect for others and their dignity, and a sense of duty.
Francis stressed that this is ‘Christian astuteness.’
Cannot Oscillate
“The journey of life necessarily involves a choice between two roads: between honesty and dishonesty, between fidelity and infidelity, between selfishness and altruism, between good and evil. You can not oscillate between one and the other, because they move on different and conflicting logics.”
The prophet Elijah, Francis recalled, said to the people of Israel that went on these two avenues: “How long will you straddle the issue?” (See 1 Kings 18:21).
It is important, the Pontiff underscored to decide which direction to take and then, once you have chosen the right one, “walk it with energy and determination, relying on God’s grace and the support of His Spirit.”
“Strong and categorical is the conclusion of the Gospel passage: ‘No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.’ (Lk 16:13).”
With this teaching, Jesus now urges us to make a clear choice between Him and the spirit of the world, including “the logic of corruption, abuse of power and greed and that of righteousness, meekness and sharing.”
Like Drug Dependency
Francis pointed out that that behavior and mentality of someone corrupt are like those of a person on drugs: “You think you can use it and stop when you want. It starts with little: a tip here, a bribe over there … And between this and that, slowly one loses his freedom. Even corruption produces addiction, and generates poverty, exploitation, and suffering.
“How many victims are there in the world today!” he said.
“How many victims of this widespread corruption,” the Pope said. “But when we try to follow the logic of the Gospel, integrity, clarity of intentions and behavior, of fraternity, we become artisans of justice and open horizons of hope for humanity. Through the grace and gift of ourselves to our brothers, we serve the right master, God.”
Pope Francis concluded, saying, “May the Virgin Mary help us to choose at every opportunity and at all costs, the right way, even finding the courage to go against the current, in order to follow Jesus and His Gospel.”
Appeal for Peace
Also, after reciting the midday prayer, Pope Francis recalled his upcoming trip to the Italian hill town of Assisi on Tuesday and prayed that in this world full of war, that all people take some time to pray and work toward peace.
As usual, Pope Francis wished those present a good Sunday, good lunch, and asking those present to pray for him.
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Text: https://zenit.org/articles/pope-no-to-worldliness-you-cannot-have-two-masters/
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ANGELUS ADDRESS: On Not Having Two Masters by ZENIT Staff

Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave today before and after praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
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Before the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today, Jesus invites us to reflect on two opposing ways of life: the way of the world and that of the Gospel. The spirit of the world is not the spirit of Jesus. And He does so through the parable of the unfaithful and corrupt administrator, who is praised by Jesus, despite his dishonesty (cf. Lk 16.1 to 13). We must point out immediately that this administrator is not presented as a model to follow, but as an example of slyness. This man is accused of mismanagement of the affairs of his master, and before being removed, cleverly tries to win the favor of debtors, condoning their part of the debt to make such a future. Commenting on this behavior, Jesus observes: “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” (v. 8).
In this worldly astuteness we are called to respond with Christian astuteness, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. This refers to depart from the spirit and values of the world, which the devil likes, in order to live according to the Gospel. And worldliness, how is it manifested? Worldliness is manifested by attitudes of corruption, deception, abuse of power, and constitutes the most wrong road, the road of sin, because one thing brings you to another! It’s like a chain (vicious cycle), even if – it is true – that it is generally the easiest one to follow. Instead, the spirit of the Gospel requires a serious style of life–serious but joyful, full of joy!–serious and challenging, marked by honesty, fairness, respect for others and their dignity, and a sense of duty. And this is the Christian astuteness!
The journey of life necessarily involves a choice between two roads: between honesty and dishonesty, between fidelity and infidelity, between selfishness and altruism, between good and evil. You can not oscillate between one and the other, because they move on different and conflicting logics. The prophet Elijah said to the people of Israel that went on these two avenues: “How long will you straddle the issue?” (See 1 Kings 18:21). It’s beautiful image. It is important to decide which direction to take and then, once you have chosen the right one, walk it with energy and determination, relying on God’s grace and the support of His Spirit. Strong and categorical is the conclusion of the Gospel passage: “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Lk 16:13).
With this teaching, Jesus now urges us to make a clear choice between Him and the spirit of the world, including the logic of corruption, abuse of power and greed and that of righteousness, meekness and sharing. The behavior and mentality of someone corrupt are like those of a person on drugs: you think you can use it and stop when you want. It starts with little: a tip here, a bribe over there … And between this and that, slowly one loses his freedom. Even corruption produces addiction, and generates poverty, exploitation, and suffering. And how many victims are there in the world today! How many victims of this widespread corruption. But when we try to follow the logic of the Gospel, integrity, clarity of intentions and behavior, of fraternity, we become artisans of justice and open horizons of hope for humanity. Through the grace and gift of ourselves to our brothers, we serve the right master, God.
May the Virgin Mary help us to choose at every opportunity and at all costs, the right way, even finding the courage to go against the current, in order to follow Jesus and His Gospel.[Original Text: Italian] [Translation by Deborah Castellano Lubov]
After the Angelus:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Yesterday, in Codrongianos (Sassari) was proclaimed Blessed Elisabetta Sanna, a mother of a family. Left as a widow, she devoted herself entirely to prayer and to serving the sick and poor. Her testimony is a model of evangelical charity, animated by faith.
Today, in Genoa, the National Eucharistic Congress concludes. I address a special greeting to all the faithful gathered there, and I hope that this event of grace, will revive faith of the Italian people in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which we worship Christ, the source of life and hope for all people.
On Tuesday, I will go to Assisi for the prayer meeting for peace, thirty years since that historic encounter of St. John Paul II. I invite parishes, church associations and individual believers around the world to live that day as a day of prayer for peace. Today, more than ever, we need peace, in this war that is all over the world. We pray for peace! Following the example of St. Francis, man of brotherhood and meekness, we are all called to offer to the world a strong testimony of our common commitment to peace and reconciliation among peoples. So Tuesday, everyone united in prayer: everyone take some time, as one can do, to pray for peace. All over the world together.
I greet with affection all of you, Romans and pilgrims from various countries. In particular, I greet the faithful of the diocese of Cologne and those of Marianopoli.
And I wish you all a good Sunday. And please, do not forget to pray for me. Good lunch and goodbye![Original Text: Italian] [Translation by Deborah Castellano Lubov]
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Gospel for Sunday, Sept. 18 by Deborah Castellano Lubov

LK 16:1-13
Jesus said to his disciples,
“A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’
The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
“For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
Or LK 16:10-13
Jesus said to his disciples:
“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
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