Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites"; "Woe to you, blind guides". Three times in this text, out of a total of seven, Jesus condemns the attitudes of the leaders of Israel.

Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites"; "Woe to you, blind guides". Three times in this text, out of a total of seven, Jesus condemns the attitudes of the leaders of Israel. The expression "Woe to you" indicates a judgment of condemnation on those who teach one thing and live another, someone who appears with one face and acts with another. Counter-testimony is a way of impeding the conquest of the kingdom of God, it is something that destroys oneself and others. The hypocrite seeks to change people not for God, but for himself, for personal satisfaction, using them in things hostile to salvation. Hypocrisy is blindness, it is a "blackout" in faith, truth and love; it is a kind of corrosive that reaches the core of the personality, making the person indifferent to the essential. The hypocrite's eyes see only the accidental: the gold and not the Temple, the offering and not the Altar. The hypocrite, in truth, seeks the "wealth" of the world: gold, fame, name, status, applause, among other things. The end, for this type of people, if they do not convert, is total separation from God.

All this applies not only to the hypocritical Pharisees, but to the entire Christian community. Every baptized person is called to a true encounter with Jesus Christ, which leads to an absolutely new life. For a disciple of Jesus, the essential thing is a life according to truth, love and true faith, not just any kind of faith or even creed, but faith in the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, faith as ADHESION OF THE WHOLE PERSON TO GOD AND HIS WORK.

It is interesting to note, especially in view of the many who claim to believe, that faith is not the formation of individualistic, radical groups, the formation of "fiduciary ghettos", it is not about using the name of Jesus according to ideological interpretations. Those who act in this way create an environment not of life, but of death, not of faith, but of fanaticism. The fanatic does not believe in God, but in himself; he is a manipulator of the truth; he opens the way for terrorism, condemns all those who do not think the way he does, and sends everyone to hell. The creation of sects is already a beginning of fanaticism and, therefore, of imbalance in the expression of faith.

The challenge for Christ's disciples is to make Christ's mission on earth increasingly evident, disregarding everything that is not in line with God's will or with the transformation of the human person. The disciple of Christ is seen where love is planted and truth shines, where there is a balance of faith, where everyone is respected, where the interest in saving is not shown with the mask of fanatical judgment, but with the ability to give one's own life, where no one is sent to hell, on the contrary, death is embraced to save others. The disciple must be Christ present in history, an OASIS of salvation in the desert of life in this world. The opposite would be to travel the entire world, crossing seas and lands, winning over people who, instead of being guided to God, for various personal reasons, are diverted from the path and become worthy of condemnation. How sad this type of leader, this self-evangelizer, who, instead of being a light, is an unbalanced plague and destroyer of dreams and the true future of those who approach him. They are not disciples of Jesus, but his enemies; they have not allied themselves with Christ, but with the Devil through sin. A disciple of Jesus Christ is anyone who has no other interest than doing the will of God; someone who is part of the Body of Christ, aware of his mission as a servant of the Truth, loving his neighbor without fear of death, and fighting for his salvation as a treasure of the Most High.

A big and affectionate hug.

Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites"; "Woe to you, blind guides". Three times in this text, out of a total of seven, Jesus condemns the attitudes of the leaders of Israel. The expression "Woe to you" indicates a judgment of condemnation on those who teach one thing and live another, someone who appears with one face and acts with another. Counter-testimony is a way of impeding the conquest of the kingdom of God, it is something that destroys oneself and others. The hypocrite seeks to change people not for God, but for himself, for personal satisfaction, using them in things hostile to salvation. Hypocrisy is blindness, it is a "blackout" in faith, truth and love; it is a kind of corrosive that reaches the core of the personality, making the person indifferent to the essential. The hypocrite's eyes see only the accidental: the gold and not the Temple, the offering and not the Altar. The hypocrite, in truth, seeks the "wealth" of the world: gold, fame, name, status, applause, among other things. The end, for this type of people, if they do not convert, is total separation from God.

All this applies not only to the hypocritical Pharisees, but to the entire Christian community. Every baptized person is called to a true encounter with Jesus Christ, which leads to an absolutely new life. For a disciple of Jesus, the essential thing is a life according to truth, love and true faith, not just any kind of faith or even creed, but faith in the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, faith as ADHESION OF THE WHOLE PERSON TO GOD AND HIS WORK.

It is interesting to note, especially in view of the many who claim to believe, that faith is not the formation of individualistic, radical groups, the formation of "fiduciary ghettos", it is not about using the name of Jesus according to ideological interpretations. Those who act in this way create an environment not of life, but of death, not of faith, but of fanaticism. The fanatic does not believe in God, but in himself; he is a manipulator of the truth; he opens the way for terrorism, condemns all those who do not think the way he does, and sends everyone to hell. The creation of sects is already a beginning of fanaticism and, therefore, of imbalance in the expression of faith.

The challenge for Christ's disciples is to make Christ's mission on earth increasingly evident, disregarding everything that is not in line with God's will or with the transformation of the human person. The disciple of Christ is seen where love is planted and truth shines, where there is a balance of faith, where everyone is respected, where the interest in saving is not shown with the mask of fanatical judgment, but with the ability to give one's own life, where no one is sent to hell, on the contrary, death is embraced to save others. The disciple must be Christ present in history, an OASIS of salvation in the desert of life in this world. The opposite would be to travel the entire world, crossing seas and lands, winning over people who, instead of being guided to God, for various personal reasons, are diverted from the path and become worthy of condemnation. How sad this type of leader, this self-evangelizer, who, instead of being a light, is an unbalanced plague and destroyer of dreams and the true future of those who approach him. They are not disciples of Jesus, but his enemies; they have not allied themselves with Christ, but with the Devil through sin. A disciple of Jesus Christ is anyone who has no other interest than doing the will of God; someone who is part of the Body of Christ, aware of his mission as a servant of the Truth, loving his neighbor without fear of death, and fighting for his salvation as a treasure of the Most High.

A big and affectionate hug.