His Holiness Pope Francis celebrated morning Mass reminding Christians not to go through life simply by cultivating their personal advantage but by looking out for the interests of others, without expecting anything in return. His Holiness Pope Francis has warned that “rivalry and vainglory” have the power to destroy the very foundations of communities by sowing division and conflict. The Pope also mentioned the negative effects of gossip, which he said, stems from rivalry and is used to destroy others.
As reported by Vatican news, The Pontiff explained that Jesus’ teaching is clear: “do not do things out of self-interest”, do not choose your friendships on the basis of convenience. He said that reasoning on the basis of one’s own “advantage” is a “form of selfishness, segregation and self-interest” whilst Jesus’ message “is exactly the opposite.” “Rivalry is ugly: you can perpetrate it openly, in a direct way, or with white gloves. But it always aims to destroy the other and to ‘raise oneself up’ by diminishing the other.” Rivalry, he said, stems from self- interest.
Christians, His Holiness Pope Francis said, must follow the example of the Son of God, cultivating “gratuitousness”: doing good without expecting or wanting to be repaid, sowing unity and abandoning “rivalry or vainglory”. “Building peace with small gestures paves a path of harmony throughout the world” he said.
