Pope Francis has criticised “worldly pastors” who say and do great things, but who do not listen.
Preaching on June 25 regarding Jesus’ authoritative teaching, the Pope said there are three things to look for to distinguish true preachers of the Gospel from false prophets.
These are: How do they speak, what do they do and, do they listen?
Pseudo pastors, said the Pope, “they talk, they do, but another attitude is lacking: that is the basis, which is the very foundation of speaking, of doing. They lack the ability to listen.”
“The combination of speaking-doing is not enough . . .“ and can often be deceptive, Francis said.
What Jesus expects of us instead, he said, is to “listen and do – to put into practice”.
Pope Francis said pseudo pastors and worldly Christians all lack “the rock” – which is “the rock of the love of God, the rock of the Word of God”.
And without this rock, he warned, “they can’t preach, they cannot build: they pretend [and] in the end everything collapses”.
“ . . . They do not have an open heart to hear the Word of God; they are afraid of the silence of the Word of God.”
But there are plenty of examples in the Church of “great” priests and faithful who do listen and act.
An example of our days, the Pope said, is Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who “did not speak, and was able to listen in silence” and “has done so much!”
Neither she “nor her work collapsed”, the Pope added.
“The great know how to listen and they do from listening because their trust and their strength is [based] on the rock of Jesus Christ.”
Sources
- Vatican Radio
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