Pope: ‘Look of care makes correction virtue, violent words are bad fruit’

Milan, 2 Mar. (LaPresse) – ‘In this Sunday's Gospel Jesus makes us reflect on two of the five senses: sight and taste. Regarding sight, he asks us to train our eyes to observe the world well and judge our neighbour with charity. He says: ‘First remove the beam from your own eye and then you will see well to remove the mote from your brother's eye’ . Only with this gaze of care, not condemnation, can fraternal correction be a virtue. For if it is not fraternal, it is not correction. Regarding taste, Jesus reminds us that ‘every tree is known by its fruit’. And the fruits that come from man are, for example, his words, which ripen on his lips, so that ‘his mouth expresses what from the heart overflows’. The bad fruits are the violent, false, vulgar words; the good ones are the just and honest words that give flavour to our dialogues. Then we can ask ourselves: how do I look at other people, who are my brothers and sisters? And how do I feel looked at by them? Do my words taste good, or are they steeped in bitterness and vanity?’. Thus Pope Francis in the text written for the Angelus on Sunday 2 March and released by the Holy See press office.