What a joy it was to see the Holy Father again at the window after his visit to the Gemelli Polyclinic. It deeply comforts our souls to know that he is leaving this difficult period behind.

From here I want to wholeheartedly join you and your intentions, praying with faith that this painful cancerous process has been overcome once and for all.

The Pope himself wanted to express his heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses and all the staff of the Gemelli Polyclinic , confessing with his heart in his hand that “this experience has made me feel in a special way the closeness to those who go through illness and a condition of suffering . “

Today, having “overcome this delicate stage ,” the Pope is gradually resuming his activities. His transparent witness, lived from his own vulnerability and without artifice, gives even greater value to the lesson he gave us in this Sunday’s Angelus.

Are we seeking God or are we seeking to be right?

Commenting on the Gospel of Matthew, the Pope recalled the moment when the Pharisees tried to corner Jesus by asking him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Those men had no interest in learning anything or in seeking the truth; their only intention was “to see how Jesus would fall into a trap with one of his statements . ”

But Jesus did not fall for the provocation: his response “keeps him out of the trap and exposes the hypocrisy of those who want to make him fall ,” leaving them with that immortal lesson: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s! “

It’s easy to judge the bad faith of those Pharisees from the comfort of our own space. What’s difficult is looking inward and recognizing that we, every day, fall into that same trap: we put Jesus to the test to try and get our way .

Faith is not a guarantee for our whims.

Often we approach prayer not to discover what God wants from us, but to try to turn our dialogue with Him into a manipulative negotiation. We seek divine approval for selfish decisions we’ve already made. We twist faith or reduce morality to tailor-made dilemmas to justify our comforts, telling ourselves, “If God is love, my whim can’t be wrong.”

We seek a comfortable God who caters to our desires, instead of a real God who transforms our hearts.

Faced with this attempt to create a tailor-made religion to escape reality, the Holy Father reminded us that “in Jesus we contemplate a God who does not fear history, but on the contrary, comes to live in it .” God does not want us to take refuge in pious whims; his Kingdom does not eliminate our human responsibilities, but demands something much more transparent: “to live without compromise, free from evil ambitions and unjust interests, putting the Kingdom of God and his justice first . ”

Neither hypocrisy nor human respect

To avoid the temptation to manipulate God, the Pope hit the nail on the head when defining the true profile of someone who knows how to give God what belongs to Him: “to be sincere, without fear or hypocrisy, free to do good .” For hypocrisy and fear of others’ opinions are precisely the two tools we use to disguise our whims. On the one hand, hypocrisy simulates a facade of piety while the heart remains bound to self-interest. On the other hand, insincerity acts out of fear of what others will say, out of respect for others, or out of mere formalistic compliance to avoid complications.

Even Jesus’ own adversaries had to acknowledge the integrity with which he acted when they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, that you teach the way of God faithfully, and that you are not influenced by anyone, because you do not look at people’s appearances .” Jesus always acted without being intimidated by power or swayed by appearances, with absolute consistency in the face of all forms of falsehood or duplicity.

Use freedom to do good

Herein lies the great difference between whim and true faith. We often confuse freedom with whim. Whim is not freedom: it makes us slaves to our immediate impulses and leads us to manipulate everything around us—even faith—to get our way.

True Christian freedom, on the other hand, does not consist in doing what we feel like or what suits us, but in being “free to do good” : having the courage to choose the truth, even when it requires giving up our own interests.

Today, as we rejoice once again in the Holy Father’s recovery and wholeheartedly join in his prayers, we have a magnificent opportunity to set aside any attempts at manipulation. Let us ask for the grace to present to God a transparent heart, capable of “rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s ,” surrendering to Him what truly belongs to Him: our conscience, our life, and our freedom, unconditionally directed toward always doing good.