An invitation not to "auction off our Christian identity card", not to conform to the spirit of the world, which when it prevails leads to apostasy and persecution. Pope Francis identified this when commenting on the liturgy of the word on Monday morning, 16 November, during the customary celebration of Mass in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta.

The Pontiff dedicated his reflection entirely to the first reading, taken from the first book of Maccabees (1:10-15.41-43.54-57 62-64), summarising its contents "with three words: worldliness, apostasy, persecution". Rereading it, Francis noted "that the passage begins like this: 'In those days a perverse root came forth'". And he explained how "the image of the root that is under the ground, that is not seen, that seems to do no harm, but then grows and shows, makes one see, its own negative reality", is also present in the letter to the Hebrews, whose "author admonished his disciples in the same way: 'Let no poisonous root spring up or grow among you, that causes evils and infects so many'".

In this regard, the Pope described "the phenomenology of the root", which "grows, always grows", even when - as in the case of the passage under examination - it may appear to be a "reasonable root: "Let us go and make an alliance with the nations around us; why so many differences? Because since we separated from them, many evils have befallen us. Let us go to them, we are equal'". And so, he went on to describe, "some of the people took the initiative and went to the king who gave them power to introduce the institutions of the nations. Where? In the chosen people, that is, in the Church of that time'.

But, Francis immediately warned, in that action 'there is worldliness. We do what the world does, the same: we auction off our identity card; we are equal to all'. Just like the men of Israel, who "began to do this: they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to the customs of the nations, the pagan customs; they cancelled the signs of circumcision, that is, they denied the faith, and turned away from the holy covenant; they joined the nations and sold themselves to do evil". But, the Pontiff warned, precisely 'this, which seemed so reasonable, - "we are like everyone, we are normal" - became destruction'. Because, he reiterated, 'this is worldliness. This is the path of worldliness, of that poisonous, perverse root'.

In this regard, Francis confided how he was always struck by the fact 'that the Lord, at the Last Supper, prayed for the unity of his own and asked the Father to free them from every spirit of the world, from every worldliness, because worldliness destroys identity; worldliness leads to the single thought, there is no difference'.

And the first consequence of this is apostasy. The Pope demonstrated this by continuing his rereading of the passage: "Then the king prescribed throughout his kingdom that all should form one people - single thinking, worldliness - and each should abandon his own customs. All the people complied with the king's orders; even many Israelites accepted his worship: they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath". Hence "apostasy. That is, worldliness leads to single-mindedness and apostasy. Differences are not allowed". We end up becoming "all the same. And in the history of the Church we have seen, I think of one instance, that religious festivals have had their names changed - the Lord's Christmas has another name - in order to erase identity'.

Moreover, one must not forget, the reading seems to say, that apostasy is followed by persecution. "The king," the Pontiff continued, "raised up on the altar an abomination of devastation. Even in the neighbouring cities of Judah they erected altars and burned incense on the doors of houses and in the squares; they tore up the books of the law that they could find and threw them into the fire. If, with anyone, the book of the covenant was found and if anyone obeyed the law, the sentence of the king condemned him to death". This is precisely 'persecution', which 'begins from a root' even 'small, and ends in the abomination of desolation'. After all, "this is the deception of worldliness". And therefore at the Last Supper Jesus asked the Father: "I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but keep them from the world", that is, "from this mentality, from this humanism, which comes to take the place of the true man, Jesus Christ"; from this worldliness "which comes to take away our Christian identity and leads us to the single thought: "Everyone does this, why not us?".

Here then is the relevance of today's passage, which "in these times, must make us think" about what our identity is. We must ask ourselves: "Is it Christian or worldly? Or do I call myself Christian because as a child I was baptised, or was I born in a Christian country, where everyone is Christian?" According to Francis it is necessary to find an answer to these questions, because "worldliness that enters slowly" then "grows, justifies itself and infects". How? "It grows like that root" mentioned in the reading; "it justifies itself - "let's do like all people, we are not so different" - it always seeks a justification, and in the end it infects, and so many evils come from there".

At the end of his homily, the Pope pointed out how the entire "liturgy, in these last days of the liturgical year", makes us think about these things, and in particular today he tells us "in the name of the Lord: beware of poisonous roots, of perverse roots that lead you away from the Lord and make you lose your Christian identity". In short, it is an exhortation to keep away "from worldliness" and to ask in prayer, in particular, that the Church be guarded "from all forms of worldliness. May the Church always have the identity laid out by Jesus Christ; may we all have the identity" received in baptism; "and may this identity not be thrown out" just to "be like everyone else, for reasons of 'normality'". Ultimately, Francis concluded, "may the Lord give us the grace to maintain and guard our Christian identity against the spirit of worldliness that always grows, justifies itself and infects."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 16-17/11/2015]