Narcissism makes people put makeup on their souls, Pope tells youth

Narcissism is like looking into a deceitful mirror, Pope Francis told a group during an audience at the Vatican.

Challenging what he calls the ‘the sickness of the mirror,’ he said it sees many people drawn into a prolonged self-reflection.

This “produces sadness, because you live worried about putting makeup on your soul everyday to appear better than you are, contemplating to see if you are more beautiful than others,” he said.

Young people need to be aware of this, told the younger members of the group.

“Young people, break the mirror! Do not look in the mirror, because the mirror deceives. Look outward, look at others.”

Francis said they should concentrate on helping others and on developing a healthy ability to laugh at themselves instead, which “gives us joy and saves us from the temptation of narcissism.”.

The trouble is, we live in “a world without any roots – and that is the drama of drugs,” Francis continued.

“Young people totally uprooted, without real commitments. That is to say, without real commitments of the flesh, because with drugs you can’t even feel your own body.”

Francis also asked his younger visitors to live out God’s plan by being generous and giving with the gifts they have freely have received.

After receiving a timid “yes” when he asked them if they understood his suggestions, he said:

“Oh my goodness, look how you are! It seems that instead of encouraging you, I am giving you a sedative to fall asleep.”

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