Turning to the figure of the faithful man, the Pope said this is the one who follows Jesus and is "a man of prayer, in the double sense that he prays for others and trusts in the prayer of others for him."
This type of person knows how to be faithful in the small things and in the big, he said, noting that unfortunately the world today is still full of crooks and corrupt people.
"It strikes me how corruption pervades everywhere," he said, and noted how the day's Gospel passage leads to the final choice that no one can serve two masters, "because either he will hate one and love the other, or will be devoted to one and despise the other."
Francis thanked the Vatican Gendarme Corps for their "vocation," often times being poorly paid. He recognize that "many times you must fight against temptations of those who want to buy you," and said he is proud that the Gendarme style is one of saying "'no, I have nothing to do with this."
"I thank you for these two centuries of service, and I wish for all of you that the society of Vatican City, that the Holy See, from the lowest to the highest, recognize your service."
This is a service "which guards, a service which seeks not only to do things justly, but also with charity, with tenderness and even risking your own lives," he said, and asked for God to bless them.
Shortly after celebrating Mass Pope Francis led faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square in praying the Angelus.
Reflecting on similar themes, he told pilgrims before the prayer that as Christians, we must respond to worldly cleverness with Christian astuteness, which is "a gift of the Holy Spirit."
While worldliness is manifested in attitudes of corruption, deception and abuse of power that lead down the path of sin, Christian cunning is "a serious, but full of joy, and commited lifestyle marked by honesty, correctness, respect for others and for their dignity, and by the sense of duty."
Francis stressed that it's important "to decide which direction to take," but that when we seek to follow the logic of the Gospel and of fraternity, "we become artisans of justice and open horizons of hope for humanity."
This article was updated at 12:10p.m. local time with the Pope's words during his Angelus address.
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Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.