Everything that is not real falls under the category of illusion. And when we are in a state of illusion, we are not living life. To be real - towards God, towards others and towards ourselves - is Christ's invitation for us in today's Gospel, when he criticizes the Pharisees on several counts, generally to be summed up as being hypocrites and blind guides. He invites us to see the essence of everything we are and in everything we do. He challenges us not to embrace superficiality, unlike some Pharisees who see things based on appearances and live life in a mediocre way. Their life is like an onion, in which peeling off every layer of its skin leaves it empty, for it has no core. We are not called to live such a life without a core, but a life that is real, a life that is fully Christian, rooted in its very core: the Triune God, who is love, who is real.