Pope Francis: children fed "unclean bread" of corruption are starved of dignity

Parents who feed their children on “unclean bread”, earned through bribes and corruption, are starving their children of dignity, because dishonest work robs us of our dignity. These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily at Mass on Friday morning in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.

Pope Francis focused his homily on the parable of the dishonest steward, in order to talk about the dangers “of worldliness, of mundane affairs”. Jesus “prayed to the Father that his disciples might not fall into the trap of worldliness”, which is “the enemy”.

“When we think of our enemies, we really think of the devil first, because it’s the devil that harms us. The devil enjoys the atmosphere, the lifestyle of worldliness. And this steward is an example of worldliness. Some of you might say: “But this man only did what everyone does!”. But no, not everyone! Some company administrators, some public administrators, some government administrators… perhaps there are not even very many. But it’s that attitude of the shortcut, of the most comfortable way to earn a living.”

In the parable, the master praises the dishonest steward for his cunning. “This is praise for bribes! And the habit of bribes is a mundane and extremely sinful habit. It’s a habit that does not come from God: God has commanded us to bring bread home through our own honest work! And this man, this steward, he brought bread home, but how? He fed his children unclean bread! And his children – perhaps educated in expensive colleges, perhaps raised in learned environments – were fed dirt by their father, because their father, by bringing home unclean bread, had lost his dignity! And this is a grave sin. Because we might start with a small bribe, but it’s like a drug!”

So, Pope Francis affirmed, we become dependent on the habit of bribes. But if there is a “mundane cunning”, the Pope continued, there is also a “Christian cunning, of doing things not in the spirit of worldliness”, but of honesty. That’s what Jesus says when he asks us to be cunning as serpents and simple as doves: being able to combine the two “is grace from the Holy Spirit”, a gift which we must ask for.

Pope Francis concluded with a prayer. “Perhaps it will be good for us all today to pray for the many children and young people who are fed unclean bread by their parents: they are hungry too, they are starved of dignity! Let us pray that the Lord may change the hearts of these people who are faithful to the goddess of bribes. Let them realise that dignity comes from dignified work, from honest work, from daily work, and not from these shortcuts. And let us conclude by thinking about that other man in the Gospel who had a lot of granaries, a lot of silos, so full that he didn’t know what to do with them, and the Lord said to him: “You must die tonight”. These poor people who have lost their dignity in the habit of bribes take with them not the money they have earned, but only their lack of dignity! Let us pray for them!”

The Asia News translation:

" May the Lord change the hearts of the devotees to the god of bribery" and they realize that "dignity comes from a dignified work, honest work, from every day work and not by these easier roads that in the end strip you of everything", strip you of dignity.
The parable of the dishonest steward inspired the Pope, during Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta , to pray for those who have " the habit of taking bribes", "a worldly and highly sinful habit" and for their children, who receive "dirty bread ".

Pope Francis, as reported by Vatican Radio in Italian, spoke of " the spirit of the world, of worldliness ," of " how this worldliness acts and how dangerous it is." Jesus "prayed to the Father that his disciples would not fall into worldly ways". "It is the enemy" :
"When we think of our enemies, we really think first of the devil , because that's what hurts us . A worldly atmosphere and lifestyle greatly pleases the devil: to live according to the so-called 'values' of this world. This administrator is an example of worldliness. some of you may say : ' But this man has done what everyone else does ! ' . But not everyone , no! Some administrators, company managers, public administrators, some government administrators .. . Maybe not so many. It is a little of that attitude of the shorter, more convenient path to earning a living . "
In the parable, the master praised the dishonest steward for his shrewdness . "Oh yes, this is a praise of bribery! And the habit of bribery is a worldly and highly sinful habit. It is a habit that is not of God : God has commanded us to bring the bread home with our work honest ! And this man, this administrator, brought it home, but how? He gave his children bread dirty to eat! And his children, perhaps educated in expensive colleges, perhaps reared in cultured circles, received from their father dirt as a meal, because their father, in bringing dirty bread home, had lost his dignity! And this is a grave sin! Because we begin with perhaps a small bribe, but it's like drugs".
So the habit becomes an addiction to bribes. But if there is a "worldly cunning" there is also a " Christian cunning, to do things a little wiser... not with the spirit of the world" , but honestly . This is what Jesus means when he invites us to be wise as serpents and simple as doves: Putting together these two dimensions "is a grace of the Holy Spirit " , a gift that we must ask . Finally, he concludes with a prayer :

"Maybe today it will do all of us good to pray for the many children and young people who receive dirty bread from their parents: these too are hungry, they are hungry for dignity! Pray that the Lord may change the hearts of these devotees of the god of bribery and recognize the dignity that comes from worthy work, honest work, from every day work and not from these easier roads that eventually strip us of everything. Then I would end up like that other man of the Gospel who had so many barns and silos filled with so much and he did not know what to do : ' Tonight you will die,' said the Lord . These poor people who have lost their dignity in the practice of bribes carry with them not only the weight of the money they earned, but their lack of dignity! Pray for them !".

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.