In his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis warned that “spiritual arrogance” can lead to adoration of one’s ego rather than God.
On October 23, the pope declared from the window of the Apostolic Palace that there is a temptation to “occupy ourselves with how we appear rather than how we are” and to be “caught by narcissism.”
“Where there is too much ‘I,’ there is too little God,” Pope Francis observed.
He went on to say that with true humility, “we become capable of bringing what we are to God, without pretense: the wounds, sins, and sufferings that weigh on our hearts, and to invoke his mercy so that he may heal us, restore us, and lift us up.”
“He, not us, will raise us up.” “The more we fall in humility, the more God elevates us up,” he remarked.
Reflecting on Sunday’s Gospel from Chapter 18 of the Gospel of Luke, Pope Francis remarked that everyone should examine the tale of the Pharisee and the publican and ask themselves whether they, like the Pharisee, are judgemental and certain of their own goodness.
“To advance towards Him, we must descend within ourselves: to nurture the sincerity and humility of the heart, which give us an honest perspective on our frailties and interior poverty,” Pope Francis remarked.
“Let us seek the intercession of Mary Most Holy, the humble servant of the Lord, the living image of what the Lord loves to achieve, overturning the powerful from their thrones and rising the lowly,” he stated.
Following the Angelus, Pope Francis invited Catholics to pray for missionaries and show concrete solidarity on World Mission Sunday, which he described as “an important occasion to awaken in all the baptized the desire to participate in the universal mission of the Church, through witness and proclamation of the Gospel.”
The pope also called for dialogue and reconciliation in Ethiopia and sent his sympathies to all those afflicted by the devastating flooding that has hit many African countries.
“With worry, I am following the ongoing war in Ethiopia. I emphasize with deep concern that violence does not resolve conflict, but rather exacerbates its sad effects. I call on those in positions of political power to halt the suffering of the unarmed populace and to develop equitable solutions for long-term peace throughout the country “He stated.
“May our prayers, solidarity, and much-needed humanitarian relief not be in short supply for our Ethiopian brothers and sisters who have been cruelly tested,” he wrote.
Pope Francis became the first person to register for World Youth Day, which will be held in Lisbon in August 2023, after inviting young people from Portugal to join him at the window of the Apostolic Palace.
“Dear young people,” he continued, “I ask you to register for this conference in which, after a long period of isolation, we will rediscover the thrill of fraternal embrace between peoples and generations, which we much need.”