Pope Francis said Jesus’ dignity shone through, and his silence enabled him to triumph over his critics, as it would again on Good Friday.
The truth is humble and silent and is not noisy and “the dignity of the Christian is anchored in the power of God”, the Pope said.
Likewise in families, when rows break out, whether over politics, sport or money, silence and prayer should be the way through. Likewise, silence and prayer should be used to deal with all those in search of scandal, division and destruction.
At the end he prayed: "May the Lord give us the grace to discern when we should speak and when we should stay silent. This applies to every part of life: to work, at home, in society…. Thus we will be closer imitators of Jesus."
Yesterday, in the Angelus at St Peter's Square, he also preached on some of Jesus's strongest words in the gospel, when he describes his enemies who were fixated on legalism and ritual as "hypocrites".
Pope Francis said the message of Sunday's gospel was reinforced by the voice of the Apostle James, who said true religion is "visiting the orphans and widows in suffering and not being contaminated by this world".
Pope Francis said: "Visiting orphans and widows means practising charity towards others, starting from the neediest, the most fragile, the most marginal. They are the people of whom God takes special care, and asks us to do the same.
"Do not let yourself be contaminated by this world does not mean isolating oneself and closing oneself to reality. No. Here too it should not be an external but interior attitude, of substance: it means to be vigilant because our way of thinking and acting is not polluted by the worldly mentality, that is, by vanity, greed, pride. In reality, a man or woman who lives in vanity, avarice, pride and at the same time believes and makes himself seen as religious and even condemns others, is a hypocrite."
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