{"id":8800,"date":"2014-10-31T19:34:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T19:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects-69540\/"},"modified":"2014-10-31T19:34:00","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T19:34:00","slug":"its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s not the law that saves you – it’s Christ, Pope reflects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today\u2019s homily.<\/p>\n

\tAfter Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee\u2019s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: \u201cIs it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tReceiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: \u201cWho among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJesus\u2019 actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.\u00a0 They followed the laws and they neglected justice,\u201d he said. \u201cThey followed the laws and they neglected love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAnd for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,\u201d the Pope continued.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cClosed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation\u2026 Men who only knew how to close (doors).\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThroughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary.<\/p>\n

\tSt. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well.<\/p>\n

\tThe new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cJesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.\u00a0 That\u2019s because it\u2019s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.\u00a0 He draws close to us and was made man.\u00a0 His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God\u2019s flesh is the sign of true justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tChrist\u2019s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily.<\/p>\n

\tAfter Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?”<\/p>\n

\tReceiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”<\/p>\n

\tJesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n

\t“This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.”<\/p>\n

\t“And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued.<\/p>\n

\t“Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).”<\/p>\n

\tThroughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary.<\/p>\n

\tSt. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well.<\/p>\n

\tThe new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n

\t“Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.”<\/p>\n

\tChrist’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus’ love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nIt's not the law that saves you – it's Christ, Pope reflects<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily. After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Jesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said. “This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.” “And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued. “Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).” Throughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary. St. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well. The new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said. “Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.” Christ’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's not the law that saves you – it's Christ, Pope reflects\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily. After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Jesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said. “This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.” “And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued. “Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).” Throughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary. St. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well. The new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said. “Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.” Christ’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-31T19:34:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_greets_pilgrims_in_St_Peters_Square_before_the_Wednesday_general_audience_on_October_2_2013_Credit_Elise_Harris_CNA_8_CNA_10_2_13.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/\",\"name\":\"It's not the law that saves you – it's Christ, Pope reflects\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-31T19:34:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-10-31T19:34:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily. After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Jesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said. “This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.” “And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued. “Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).” Throughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary. St. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well. The new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said. “Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.” Christ’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It’s not the law that saves you – it’s Christ, Pope reflects\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It's not the law that saves you – it's Christ, Pope reflects","description":"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily. After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Jesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said. “This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.” “And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued. “Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).” Throughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary. St. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well. The new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said. “Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.” Christ’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It's not the law that saves you – it's Christ, Pope reflects","og_description":"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily. After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Jesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said. “This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.” “And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued. “Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).” Throughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary. St. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well. The new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said. “Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.” Christ’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2014-10-31T19:34:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_greets_pilgrims_in_St_Peters_Square_before_the_Wednesday_general_audience_on_October_2_2013_Credit_Elise_Harris_CNA_8_CNA_10_2_13.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/","name":"It's not the law that saves you – it's Christ, Pope reflects","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-10-31T19:34:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-10-31T19:34:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2014 \/ 01:34 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Christians who cling to the law and not to love are like the hypocrite Pharisees in the Gospel, Pope Francis said in today’s homily. After Jesus meets a sick person in a Pharisee’s home on the Sabbath day in Luke 14:1-6, he asks the Pharisees and scholars of the Jewish law present: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” Receiving only silent stares, Jesus heals the man and then tells the Pharisees: “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” Jesus’ actions show that love and justice, not an excessive attachment to the laws, are the path to holiness, Pope Francis said. “This way of life of being attached to the laws, distanced (the Pharisees) from love and from justice.  They followed the laws and they neglected justice,” he said. “They followed the laws and they neglected love.” “And for these people Jesus had only one word (to describe them): hypocrites,” the Pope continued. “Closed-minded men, men who are so attached to the laws, to the letter of the law that they were always closing the doorway to hope, love and salvation… Men who only knew how to close (doors).” Throughout the New Testament, one of the most difficult things for some of the Jews to accept is the abolition of the old law, which bound the Jews to 613 commandments, or Mitzvot. Because Christ establishes a new covenant between God and man, the old law is fulfilled and no longer necessary. St. Paul spends a great deal of time in his letters chiding new Christians for clinging to the old law as well. The new covenant of love established through the incarnation of Jesus is the true path to God and eternal life, Pope Francis said. “Jesus draws close to us: his closeness is the real proof that we are proceeding along the true path.  That’s because it’s the path which God has chosen to save us: through his closeness.  He draws close to us and was made man.  His flesh, the flesh of God is the sign; God’s flesh is the sign of true justice.” Christ’s flesh, not the old law, is the bridge from man to God, he said. Pope Francis concluded by saying that he hoped the examples of Jesus' love and closeness in the Gospel can help modern-day Christians from sliding into hypocrisy.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/10\/its-not-the-law-that-saves-you-its-christ-pope-reflects\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It’s not the law that saves you – it’s Christ, Pope reflects"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8800\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}