Jesus and the mania for ruling

Lk 6:39-42 (39-45)

"How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace without all being equal!" (Pope Francis FT no.100).

To live fraternally and wisely, it is not enough to be together in twos, threes, tens or more: we could be like so many blind people who do not know how to dwell with themselves.

In such a case, relationship life becomes outward and can become empty - just full of judgement: taxing, obstinate and pedestrian.

Then resentment arises within, at being forced into a manic space that does not correspond to us.

The inevitable malaise begins to decline if and when the very person who co-ordinates the group or the company lives its being close with extreme modesty, with a sense of its own boundaries.

The Way of the Spirit is in fact a vocational initiative-response to the need for authentic guidance.

Authentic pastors only help when they question themselves before others, when they do not remain entangled in an exercise of vacuous indoctrination and moralism that exacerbates souls and irritates.

Thus, the inner Friend who infallibly leads souls is indeed meant to be reflected in the 'teachers' - but to the extent that they introduce us to encounter ourselves and the wisdom of Scripture (more willingly than to indulge in our own megalomaniac pursuits).

Commenting on the Tao xxix, Master Ho-shang Kung points out (of those who want to be rulers of the world):

"He wants to rule creatures by action. In my opinion he will not succeed, for the Way of Heaven and the hearts of men are clear.

The Way of Heaven [Perfection of Harmony] detests confusion [concerning one's own nature, spontaneously expressed] and impurity [artifice], the human heart detests too many lusts.

The ancient chosen people found themselves hard of heart, lost and without a horizon, because they were misguided by fiscal and earthy religious leaders.

Their obtrusive and contrived blindness was the concrete downfall of the destiny and quality of life of the entire nation.

Jesus appeals to the apostles so that his assemblies of the naive, humble and bewildered would not come to the same end - because of a lack of righteousness on the part of community leaders.

The latter - if inebriated with self-satisfaction - sometimes instead of humanising, promoting and cheering up the existence of the common people, willingly suffocate it with minutiae and deviate towards nothingness.

The Lord absolutely does not want the animators of his fraternities to allow themselves the luxury of making themselves superior to others and masters of the truth. Gospel truth is not something one has, but something one does.

The Master is not one who gives lessons: he accompanies his students and lives with them; he does not limit himself to manners.

He does not teach various subjects, etiquette, mannerisms, good manners: rather, he transmits the living and global Person of Christ - even that without etiquette - not depersonalising the disciple.

In short, the Risen One is not just an example to be imitated, a model that makes one take on commitments and minutiae, a founder of an institute, of a targeted ideology, or of religion (grammar, doctrine, style and discipline).

In Jesus we are called to identify ourselves - not 'by ear', nor by copying. Faith itself is a multifaceted relationship.

It impels us to reinterpret Christ in a new way; each of us in correlation with the history of life, new situations, events, cultural emergencies, sensitivities, the genius of the time.

It is the direct and personal experience of the Father as advocated by the Son. Conquest that upsets puerile, worldly or customary measures.

Scarcity and appropriation that allows us to recklessly grasp ourselves already redeemed, to pass from darkness to light without conditions or hammering.

That of the Lord is Light, fruit of the unprecedented and strong Action of the Spirit.

Intuition of the signs and Virtue that overcomes the disorientation of every misguided, if captive of opinions, petty things, solitary selfishness and otherwise.

Unexpected energy that nevertheless comes into play even through the swampy situations it feels to react to; and becomes regenerating power, unexpected life (of the saved already here and now).

Christ also calls for an inventive attitude in presenting oneself to one's brother - without preconceived, asphyxiating, morbid or cerebral schemes and codicils; without perhaps, just to welcome. 

An openness that is almost impossible if community ministers remain distracted or are already calibrated - thus unnecessarily rigid towards others.

They would then remain punctilious, more impatient than the pagan God they still have in their bodies and heads.

All of us, freely restored, have indeed been called by Name: in a special way - and to guide our brothers and sisters on fundamental options. As expert guides of the soul and intensity of relationship.

Not commanders and rulers without the possibility of reciprocation: but bread, support, nourishment, a shining sign of the Lord, a prod in favour of the lives of others.Church leaders must be very special points of reference and hinges of whimsical, regenerating communion - from which the persistence and tolerance of a superior power of reciprocity shines through.

The eye of the believer in Christ remains limpid and luminous because he finds ingenious Friends who introduce him to confront and reflect himself not with external and induced models (by opinions or intentions), but with the Word.

Conditioned by the bombardment of the 'external society' or by trivial vested interests, the same spiritual guide can on the contrary lose creative discernment.

Thus the old man reattaches himself, bound by short-lived hopes; so many petty and negligible trifles - finally he becomes "blind" again.

The kingdom of darkness unfortunately includes not only myopic, farsighted or astigmatic people, but above all those who see 'far' (as they say) but not the people before their eyes.

More quick-witted and organised than others, they take matters into their own hands.

For a long time, things in their company seem pleasant, but as they have no deep roots, they ultimately ruin the fate of the unwell.

They organise events or festivals, instead of upgrading from within, and sing the authentic song of a full, happy life for all.

Beyond the faults of sight, beware also of the 'measure': we are not called upon to become good-natured and impeccable gentlemen, nor are we called upon to become slightly more circumspect and 'concrete' renunciates.

All these are already old failures, which do not look the present in the face and do not open up the future.

We have received as a Gift the Mission to build the world in the Risen One, who unleashes power and divine sparkle: radically new heavens and a radically new earth, even in our searches.

Let alone dwell on the "straws".

In short, by grace, guidance, propulsive orientation and action, the genuine Action of vital Providence moves us away from the lordship of ancient superstructures ["beams" in the eye].

With such personal baggage, one can also become a companion to a humanity that is no longer alienated, but enabled to breathe beyond the usual fervoursome... that incite trifles.

Despite our shortcomings, guided and blessed by the great Master and his Word in the Spirit, it will be our desire for the fullness of life, broad and complete, that will not make us lose sight of our sacred Oneness in the world.

Beams and Straw, Mole and Fruit

The encyclical Fratelli Tutti invites us to a prospective gaze, which provokes decision and action: a new eye, filled with Hope.

It "speaks to us of a reality that is rooted in the depths of the human being, regardless of the concrete circumstances and historical conditioning in which he lives. It speaks to us of a thirst, of an aspiration, of a yearning for fullness, for a fulfilled life, of a measuring oneself against what is great, against what fills the heart and lifts the spirit towards great things, such as truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. [...] Hope is bold, it knows how to look beyond personal comfort, the small securities and compensations that narrow the horizon, to open up to great ideals that make life more beautiful and dignified" (n.55; from a greeting to young people in Havana, September 2015).

In the assemblies of the first centuries, the baptised were said to be enlightened, people able to orient themselves, choose and become autonomous.

The Lord did not allow his own to boast of their role as guides in the lives of others, which they could easily undermine (v.39).

He therefore did not empower anyone to teach (cf. Greek text of the Gospels, passim) in or outside the community.

Apostles of all times are only to proclaim and remain disciples, i.e. pupils of the Spirit - not to be dictators and experts.

The way of God is Christ himself. It cannot be communicated by teachers: it is not something to be filled with empty heads and useless events, to be filled with plateful externals.

The context of today's passage abolishes judgement, in the ideal of a personal existence transformed into wealth and gift - which ridicules every tendency towards domination.

No one is master of the fate and personality of those who do not direct themselves, otherwise - even with the best of intentions - they all go astray (v.39).

Jesus himself did not command or direct, but educated and helped. The rabbis charged: He offered everything, living with His own (for a reciprocal identification, but with a wide net).

A transparent and creative attitude: this was the true and only rule of conduct for the apostles of all times - often unable to grasp their own great blindness (because they were still one-sided).

Then, of a plant it is not the size and appearance that counts, but the fruit (vv.43-45). All the more reason to re-emphasise that church leaders are not superior to others, nor are they repositories of absolute truths.

In fact, Jesus is incomparable: Master sui generis (v.40).

He does not have a classroom furnished with a desk and pews. And he still teaches along the way: there he introduces us to meet ourselves, our brothers and sisters, and the surrounding reality (in a process, on a journey).

He does not give quiet, compilatory or moralistic lectures: he amazes.

He does not reinterpret the quagmire of knowledge, customs and archaic dispositions - authentic beams (vv.41-42) poked into the free eye of the soul, which distort its gaze.

He proposes his Person and his Life. As well as his reproaches - but precisely those and not others (discounted) volatile as straws (vv.41-42).

For the Lord, good character is not a matter of character (submissive, as it has been understood for centuries): it is only in openness to the mission, which gradually expands everyone's life, and prospects.

In this way, Jesus did not give saccharine or pill-box lessons, nor did he propose models to follow; however, some have claimed to do so in his name. The result today is a fine mess.

The Lord's authentic teaching makes room, upsets the cathedrats, overturns normal expectations.

So it is precisely his 'experts' who risk acting as stragglers and blind guides. Unfortunately, they risk ruining the lives of others.

We see in these times how dangerous it is to lose the light of the Gospel.

After a first choice, it is precisely those who consider themselves elected who degrade the ecclesial atmosphere.

The sense of supremacy and haughtiness, as well as the "dollar and bullion" entourage, bring with them every vice.

This is while false teachers consider themselves friends of God and recipients of obvious recognition.

From the way they posture, they still seem to feel clearly superior not only to the people, but to the Master himself (v.40).

In order not to question themselves, they project their own unexpressed imbalances and condemn others - all those who do not want to silence the great questions of meaning - as 'enemies'.

They try by any means, even illicit ones, to impose their own convictions: ideas and ways of living that they first contest and do not even believe. A right that not even Jesus ever claimed.

Let us imagine the slavish "little monsters" (as Pope Francis says) who derive from these vain ones, evidently dreaming of inheriting their popularity, their wellbeing; comforts, servitude, trinkets, gold and palaces.

Even today, the Risen One brands them for what they are: "hypocrites" (v.42). In the Greek language it means thespians, people who act - of fine manners and bad habits.

Comedians deeply offended at having to fit in with others - and even feeling that 'they' are sent to call everyone to the wedding (Mt 22:8-9).

The constant demanding of the pretentious, fictional exclusivists has serious spiritual and pastoral implications.

Presumption, arrogance, and a sense of superiority shut out the perception of the inclinations and resources of believers and families - the engine of life's enthusiasm and the principle of incisiveness, exuberance, and pastoral turnover.

Jesus warns his own (who in words gladly call him 'Lord': v.46) against the boastfulness of acting as captains of the troop.

With the danger that while God puts forth gifts, his leaders will crush them one by one.

There is only one Master who guides and knows where to go; and only one person - perhaps inexperienced and thought to be blind, but who sees better than the super-achievers and the big names (super-Apostles with all the tail).

The calculating man calibrated by religion [doctrine-discipline customs] can easily sit still in his seats, with the fine screens behind which he imagines he is protecting himself, feeding himself and making judgments.

But from his recycled bad treasure he will pull out - just around the corner - the 'ugly and corrupt' for others too (vv.43-45; Greek text).

Instead, the man of Faith still feels a new Beauty within, who wants to express himself and remain first-hand - so he will never be an actor of others' parts, nor a director or protagonist of every turn.

Neither is he someone who - without self-respect or the Calling by Name - is content to submit his soul to fashionable or plagiarising agency actors, to whom he can snatch handouts or a 'mediocre draw'.

Worse than the ditches (v.39) into which one falls together.

Parallel to Mt:

Beams and straws: eliminating preconceptions

For a transparent coexistence

(Mt 7:1-5)

The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) lists catechesis on salient issues of life in the communities of Galilee and Syria - composed of Jews converted to Christ.

There was no shortage of episodes of contempt (even mutual) turned on especially by veterans accustomed to put newcomers on the threshold of the churches - for their model of life far from the recognised norm, or even for trifles.

But we are not judges, we are family men. And of course, in the final analysis it is precisely malice that sharpens the eye for the slightest faults of others: generally, external straws and shortcomings.This is while the same cunningness glosses over our own enormities - the very heavy plank that separates us not only from God and everyone, but even from ourselves, approaching the selfish and arrogant self.

"Theatrics" (v.5) are those who think big of themselves and always have the mania to look around in order to convince themselves that they can excel - without taking an attitude of regard towards the enigma of life, where instead burdens can turn into progress.

Looking objectively at ourselves and our personal growth - often triggered precisely by deviations from stereotypes or nomenclature - can make us benevolent. It can convince us of respect and even due deference to the more that surrounds us and calls to us.

Indeed, the legalism of plastered details leads to the neglect of the essential, in mutual love (cf. vv.3-5).

We know how hard it is to question ourselves, or to educate the very religious perfectionists to successive detachments from their accidental convictions, which have become as sclerotic as totems out of habit.

In short, by the 1870s, the awareness of the different family and serene relationship with God - and the new way of living his Law - was questioning believers and affecting their relationships with their brothers and sisters in the community.

After introducing both the new criteria of Greater Justice and the recovery of the principles of Creation, the evangelist suggests some essential hints for the internal quality of life of the fraternities.

The cultural background of the senior church members was fiercely legalistic. This background was not conducive to the freedom of mutual evaluations: living together needed to be more transparent.

Devout preconceptions seemed an insuperable boulder for the personalising life and mutual sharing according to the new logic of the Beatitudes [Mt 5:1-12: Self-portrait of Christ as an "open book" (with a spear)].

The cultural baggage linked to fulfilments, sense of duty and hierarchy, addictive lifestyle and old beliefs (which were struggling to be laid to rest) multiplied harsh judgements between generations and between varied cultural approaches.

To encourage communion, Mt wants to present a free and quiet Jesus - not a superman, nor an idol or model: on the contrary, a genuine Person; a Master not one-sided.

Indeed, he knew how to recover and wanted to enhance all individual sensitivities, to allow the expression of friendship and enrichment in every human reality.

Only his strong root in the relationship with the Father was to be a sacred example for each one, and an inviolable paragon for all, always.

This for a rich and global transparency, to be proposed to the disciples as well.

In this way, there was to be no adherence to particular beliefs, nor the repetition of the usual disciplines of perfection.

Nor were pious mass observances to be preferred, sometimes the first impediment to dialogue and the Exodus - in its various opulences.

Then life itself would providentially guide each one towards a specific testimony, which could itself create another opening (relevant to one's own character and vocation of soul).

In Palestine, the Lord had not shown Himself obsessive and one-sided, nor reduced to normal, verisimilar patterns - based on cultural codes, evaluative prudences, or moral and religious paradigms.

Trust in the Father and in the life to come gave the Master Jesus the certainty of being able to be totally open to situations and to each person - in whatever reality they found themselves disentangled.

A convivial openness to differences, so as not to block the gaps and the outcome of the Newness in the Spirit of the Beatitudes.

The unconditionality of Love always applies first and foremost to the disciple, the members of the same community, and the neighbour.

This is because we have been called to make our and everyone's existence exponential, not to dull it with preconceived notions and relative convictions.

We were created to love the exceptional truth of woman and man, not to extinguish uniqueness and make judgments about nonentities.

Let us accept Providence, ourselves and the other as we are: aware that there is a precious secret, a destiny of newness and a Mystery that surpasses us... behind every event, in each of our own intimate faces (sustained by the Father), or in the eccentric brother.

The ways of following that resonate deep in the heart are as varied as the people, the events, the rhythms commensurate with the soul, the ages.

They embrace the same Proposal - without losing the enduring Mystery or any connection in such multifacetedness.

Only here... Real World, Person, Nature and Eternity are allied.

"When the weaver raises one foot, the other lowers. When the movement ceases and one of the feet stops, the weaving stops. His hands throw the bobbin that passes from one to the other; but no hand can hope to hold it. Like the weaver's gestures, it is the union of opposites that weaves our lives' (Peul African Oral Tradition).

"We are absolutely lost if we lack this particular Individuality, the only thing we can truly call our own and whose loss is also a loss for the whole world. It is most precious, precisely because it is not universal' (Tagore).

"We must learn to abandon our defences and our need to control, and trust totally in the guidance of the spirit" (Sobonfu Somé).

"True morality consists not in following the beaten path, but in finding the true path for ourselves and following it without fear" (Gandhi).

Beams and straws: a paradoxical situation, where sometimes there is an excess of 'belief' - yet Faith is missing.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity. This is a favourable time to renew our journey of faith, both as individuals and as a community, with the help of the word of God and the sacraments. This journey is one marked by prayer and sharing, silence and fasting, in anticipation of the joy of Easter.

This year I would like to propose a few thoughts in the light of a brief biblical passage drawn from the Letter to the Hebrews:“ Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works”. These words are part of a passage in which the sacred author exhorts us to trust in Jesus Christ as the High Priest who has won us forgiveness and opened up a pathway to God. Embracing Christ bears fruit in a life structured by the three theological virtues: it means approaching the Lord “sincere in heart and filled with faith” (v. 22), keeping firm “in the hope we profess” (v. 23) and ever mindful of living a life of “love and good works” (v. 24) together with our brothers and sisters. The author states that to sustain this life shaped by the Gospel it is important to participate in the liturgy and community prayer, mindful of the eschatological goal of full communion in God (v. 25). Here I would like to reflect on verse 24, which offers a succinct, valuable and ever timely teaching on the three aspects of Christian life: concern for others, reciprocity and personal holiness.

1. “Let us be concerned for each other”: responsibility towards our brothers and sisters.

This first aspect is an invitation to be “concerned”: the Greek verb used here is katanoein, which means to scrutinize, to be attentive, to observe carefully and take stock of something. We come across this word in the Gospel when Jesus invites the disciples to “think of” the ravens that, without striving, are at the centre of the solicitous and caring Divine Providence (cf. Lk 12:24), and to “observe” the plank in our own eye before looking at the splinter in that of our brother (cf. Lk 6:41). In another verse of the Letter to the Hebrews, we find the encouragement to “turn your minds to Jesus” (3:1), the Apostle and High Priest of our faith. So the verb which introduces our exhortation tells us to look at others, first of all at Jesus, to be concerned for one another, and not to remain isolated and indifferent to the fate of our brothers and sisters. All too often, however, our attitude is just the opposite: an indifference and disinterest born of selfishness and masked as a respect for “privacy”. Today too, the Lord’s voice summons all of us to be concerned for one another. Even today God asks us to be “guardians” of our brothers and sisters (Gen 4:9), to establish relationships based on mutual consideration and attentiveness to the well-being, the integral well-being of others. The great commandment of love for one another demands that we acknowledge our responsibility towards those who, like ourselves, are creatures and children of God. Being brothers and sisters in humanity and, in many cases, also in the faith, should help us to recognize in others a true alter ego, infinitely loved by the Lord. If we cultivate this way of seeing others as our brothers and sisters, solidarity, justice, mercy and compassion will naturally well up in our hearts. The Servant of God Pope Paul VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations” (Populorum Progressio, 66).

Concern for others entails desiring what is good for them from every point of view: physical, moral and spiritual. Contemporary culture seems to have lost the sense of good and evil, yet there is a real need to reaffirm that good does exist and will prevail, because God is “generous and acts generously” (Ps 119:68). The good is whatever gives, protects and promotes life, brotherhood and communion. Responsibility towards others thus means desiring and working for the good of others, in the hope that they too will become receptive to goodness and its demands. Concern for others means being aware of their needs. Sacred Scripture warns us of the danger that our hearts can become hardened by a sort of “spiritual anesthesia” which numbs us to the suffering of others. The Evangelist Luke relates two of Jesus’ parables by way of example. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite “pass by”, indifferent to the presence of the man stripped and beaten by the robbers (cf. Lk 10:30-32). In that of Dives and Lazarus, the rich man is heedless of the poverty of Lazarus, who is starving to death at his very door (cf. Lk 16:19). Both parables show examples of the opposite of “being concerned”, of looking upon others with love and compassion. What hinders this humane and loving gaze towards our brothers and sisters? Often it is the possession of material riches and a sense of sufficiency, but it can also be the tendency to put our own interests and problems above all else. We should never be incapable of “showing mercy” towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor. Humbleness of heart and the personal experience of suffering can awaken within us a sense of compassion and empathy. “The upright understands the cause of the weak, the wicked has not the wit to understand it” (Prov 29:7). We can then understand the beatitude of “those who mourn” (Mt 5:5), those who in effect are capable of looking beyond themselves and feeling compassion for the suffering of others. Reaching out to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for salvation and blessedness.

“Being concerned for each other” also entails being concerned for their spiritual well-being. Here I would like to mention an aspect of the Christian life, which I believe has been quite forgotten: fraternal correction in view of eternal salvation. Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny. The Scriptures tell us: “Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more” (Prov 9:8ff). Christ himself commands us to admonish a brother who is committing a sin (cf. Mt 18:15). The verb used to express fraternal correction - elenchein – is the same used to indicate the prophetic mission of Christians to speak out against a generation indulging in evil (cf. Eph 5:11). The Church’s tradition has included “admonishing sinners” among the spiritual works of mercy. It is important to recover this dimension of Christian charity. We must not remain silent before evil. I am thinking of all those Christians who, out of human regard or purely personal convenience, adapt to the prevailing mentality, rather than warning their brothers and sisters against ways of thinking and acting that are contrary to the truth and that do not follow the path of goodness. Christian admonishment, for its part, is never motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination. It is always moved by love and mercy, and springs from genuine concern for the good of the other. As the Apostle Paul says: “If one of you is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should set that person right in a spirit of gentleness; and watch yourselves that you are not put to the test in the same way” (Gal 6:1). In a world pervaded by individualism, it is essential to rediscover the importance of fraternal correction, so that together we may journey towards holiness. Scripture tells us that even “the upright falls seven times” (Prov 24:16); all of us are weak and imperfect (cf. 1 Jn 1:8). It is a great service, then, to help others and allow them to help us, so that we can be open to the whole truth about ourselves, improve our lives and walk more uprightly in the Lord’s ways. There will always be a need for a gaze which loves and admonishes, which knows and understands, which discerns and forgives (cf. Lk 22:61), as God has done and continues to do with each of us.

2. “Being concerned for each other”: the gift of reciprocity.

This “custody” of others is in contrast to a mentality that, by reducing life exclusively to its earthly dimension, fails to see it in an eschatological perspective and accepts any moral choice in the name of personal freedom. A society like ours can become blind to physical sufferings and to the spiritual and moral demands of life. This must not be the case in the Christian community! The Apostle Paul encourages us to seek “the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we can support one another” (Rom 14:19) for our neighbour’s good, “so that we support one another” (15:2), seeking not personal gain but rather “the advantage of everybody else, so that they may be saved” (1 Cor 10:33). This mutual correction and encouragement in a spirit of humility and charity must be part of the life of the Christian community.

The Lord’s disciples, united with him through the Eucharist, live in a fellowship that binds them one to another as members of a single body. This means that the other is part of me, and that his or her life, his or her salvation, concern my own life and salvation. Here we touch upon a profound aspect of communion: our existence is related to that of others, for better or for worse. Both our sins and our acts of love have a social dimension. This reciprocity is seen in the Church, the mystical body of Christ: the community constantly does penance and asks for the forgiveness of the sins of its members, but also unfailingly rejoices in the examples of virtue and charity present in her midst. As Saint Paul says: “Each part should be equally concerned for all the others” (1 Cor 12:25), for we all form one body. Acts of charity towards our brothers and sisters – as expressed by almsgiving, a practice which, together with prayer and fasting, is typical of Lent – is rooted in this common belonging. Christians can also express their membership in the one body which is the Church through concrete concern for the poorest of the poor. Concern for one another likewise means acknowledging the good that the Lord is doing in others and giving thanks for the wonders of grace that Almighty God in his goodness continuously accomplishes in his children. When Christians perceive the Holy Spirit at work in others, they cannot but rejoice and give glory to the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:16).

3. “To stir a response in love and good works”: walking together in holiness.

These words of the Letter to the Hebrews (10:24) urge us to reflect on the universal call to holiness, the continuing journey of the spiritual life as we aspire to the greater spiritual gifts and to an ever more sublime and fruitful charity (cf. 1 Cor 12:31-13:13). Being concerned for one another should spur us to an increasingly effective love which, “like the light of dawn, its brightness growing to the fullness of day” (Prov 4:18), makes us live each day as an anticipation of the eternal day awaiting us in God. The time granted us in this life is precious for discerning and performing good works in the love of God. In this way the Church herself continuously grows towards the full maturity of Christ (cf. Eph 4:13). Our exhortation to encourage one another to attain the fullness of love and good works is situated in this dynamic prospect of growth.

Sadly, there is always the temptation to become lukewarm, to quench the Spirit, to refuse to invest the talents we have received, for our own good and for the good of others (cf. Mt 25:25ff.). All of us have received spiritual or material riches meant to be used for the fulfilment of God’s plan, for the good of the Church and for our personal salvation (cf. Lk 12:21b; 1 Tim 6:18). The spiritual masters remind us that in the life of faith those who do not advance inevitably regress. Dear brothers and sisters, let us accept the invitation, today as timely as ever, to aim for the “high standard of ordinary Christian living” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 31). The wisdom of the Church in recognizing and proclaiming certain outstanding Christians as Blessed and as Saints is also meant to inspire others to imitate their virtues. Saint Paul exhorts us to “anticipate one another in showing honour” (Rom 12:10).

In a world which demands of Christians a renewed witness of love and fidelity to the Lord, may all of us feel the urgent need to anticipate one another in charity, service and good works (cf. Heb 6:10). This appeal is particularly pressing in this holy season of preparation for Easter. As I offer my prayerful good wishes for a blessed and fruitful Lenten period, I entrust all of you to the intercession of Mary Ever Virgin and cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 3 November 2011

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

[Pope Benedict, Message for Lent 2012]

"O inconceivable and unfathomable Mercy of God,
Who can worthily adore you and sing your praises?
O greatest attribute of God Almighty,
You are the sweet hope of sinners"
(Diary, 951).

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Today I repeat these simple and straightforward words of Saint Faustina, in order to join her and all of you in adoring the inconceivable and unfathomable mystery of God’s mercy. Like Saint Faustina, we wish to proclaim that apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind. We desire to repeat with faith: Jesus, I trust in you!

This proclamation, this confession of trust in the all-powerful love of God, is especially needed in our own time, when mankind is experiencing bewilderment in the face of many manifestations of evil. The invocation of God’s mercy needs to rise up from the depth of hearts filled with suffering, apprehension and uncertainty, and at the same time yearning for an infallible source of hope. That is why we have come here today, to this Shrine of Łagiewniki, in order to glimpse once more in Christ the face of the Father: "the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation" (2 Cor 1:3). With the eyes of our soul, we long to look into the eyes of the merciful Jesus, in order to find deep within his gaze the reflection of his inner life, as well as the light of grace which we have already received so often, and which God holds out to us anew each day and on the last day.

[Pope John Paul II, Kraków-Łagiewniki, 17 August 2002]

Here, said the Pope, they "come to a heap of prescriptions and for them this is salvation: they have lost the key to intelligence which, in this case, is the gratuitousness of salvation". In reality, "the law is a response to God's gratuitous love: it is He who has taken the initiative to save us, and because you have loved me so much, I try to go your way, the way you have shown me", in a word "I fulfil the law". But 'it is a response' because 'the law, always, is a response and when one forgets the gratuitousness of salvation one falls, one loses the key to the intelligence of salvation history'.

And, again, the Pontiff relaunched, those people "have lost the key to intelligence because they have lost the sense of God's closeness: for them God is the one who made the law" but "this is not the God of revelation". In reality "the God of revelation is God who began to walk with us from Abraham to Jesus Christ: God who walks with his people". Therefore, "when we lose this close relationship with the Lord, we fall into this obtuse mentality that believes in the self-sufficiency of salvation through the fulfilment of the law".

Here, then, is "the closeness of God", remarked Francis, referring to "such a beautiful passage, almost at the end of Deuteronomy, in chapter 31; when Moses finishes writing the law, he hands it over to the Levites, those who guarded the ark, and tells them 'take this book of the law and put it beside the ark, close to God, because I know your rebellion - he is speaking to the people - and the hardness of your neck'".

"Instead close to the Lord," the Pope pointed out, "the law is a revelation of the Lord but it becomes detached, the law becomes autonomous and becomes dictatorial, when God's closeness is missing.

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 19 October 2017]

Get ahead and Forgive forward

(Lk 6:27-38)

The adventure of extreme Faith is for a wounding Beauty and an abnormal, prominent Happiness. But only those who know to wait will find their way.

Not opposing the wicked allows one to experience the Beatitudes (Lk 6:20-26) - antidote to one-sided relationships; however, tolerating becomes impossible if we do not allow an innate Energy to develop.

The Greek text of Lk doesn’t speak of "merits" or even of "gratitude", but rather of «Gratuitousness» (vv. 31.33-34)! Of course, it’s not easy to understand the meaning of the Gift, of the Free.

Yet here the flowering will be without forcing, because in the infinitely repeated repaying there is no wisdom that reads inside; in the overthrow, yes.

The new experience of God is that of a genuine creative Love, which ceaselessly throws away, introduces new powers, and incredibly turns everything upside down.

It will not be the effort that will make us stay where the perfect Vocation wants us to dwell, but a correspondence - even in the swings.

Outside and within us there is another territory, where the affinity of waiting meets God's plan.

The spiral of returning the offense can occupy all of our space. Thus it dulls the ability to match the new ringing of the Call.

It takes away our perception, all the listening to the News of God which is in its infancy.

Generating all our confusions, the Salvation pales. History which vice versa is creating an unprecedented one: it’s cut at the root.

To grasp the very rhythm of God (which wisely creates), souls must wait the step of things, which mature in linear terms until they overturn or multiply - in an exclusive and unprecedented way.

The events themselves regenerate spontaneously, outside and even within us; useless to force. The growth and destination continues also thanks to the spring of mockery and external constraints.

Then, firmness in acceptance becomes the source of a new child - of an unexpected Genesis that is just intertwining its first roots with that swampy soil.

The suspension experienced in the Mystery opens our destiny of foolishness already decreed to trust in a new, unrepeatable Act of Being.

It opens up the unexpected Sense, in a climate of inventiveness that flies over the action-reaction instinct. This is so that the chain of normality doesn’t take over the prodigy.

Non-violence is therefore not a norm of mere delicacy, but rather a higher Arrow, which indicates a non-mechanical direction of Research, which advances from discovery to discovery.

Allowing everyone to pass on, creates the right detachment so that when we are ready, the time will come to realize: our mortification was a crossroads. It opened destiny to a less short hope, expanding life.

If others are not as we have dreamed of, it’s fortunate: the doors slammed in the face and their goad put us in contact with profound virtues, and with the resources that we have not yet given space to.

Betrayals, harassment, spite, revenge, outrage, mortification suffered... which would like to make us restless and dishearten... are preparing our development, and many other joys.

The "win-or-lose" alternative is false: we have to get out of it.

[Thursday 23rd wk. in O.T.  September 12, 2024]

The 'win-or-lose' alternative is false: you have to get out of it. Do you want to get ahead of me? Have a seat

(Lk 6:27-38)

Not opposing the wicked allows one to experience the Beatitudes (Lk 6:20-26) - the antidote to one-sided relationships; but this is impossible if we do not allow an innate Energy to develop.

The Tao says: "If you want to be given everything, give up everything". In the infinitely repeated reciprocation, there is no wisdom reading in; in the reversal, yes.

The Greek text of Lk does not speak of "merits" (cf. translation CEI 1974) nor of "gratitude" (translation CEI 2008), but of "Gratitude" (vv.31.33-34)!

Of course, it is not easy to understand the meaning of the Gift, of Gratuity: but the Master does not want us only to become more capable of thankfulness and well-behaved.

Jesus in us is not simply concerned with changing the situation and softening it: he wants to replace the whole system of spurious things and artificial, mannered relationships.

Otherwise nothing would be changed, nothing would be radically reversed; quite the contrary: in the goodness of circumstance the superstructures that alienate us would be strengthened.

The new experience of God is that of a genuine creative Love, which ceaselessly tosses up, introduces new powers, and incredibly turns everything upside down.

There is a greater Justice: living in the new position that the tide of life and Providence chisel out for each of us.

It is not effort that will make us stand where the (truly perfect) Vocation wants us to dwell, but a slow match - even in the swings.

Outside and inside of us there is another territory, where the affinity of the Waiting meets God's Design: this after a time of Silence that intensely lives the today by grasping its depth, intuiting it as the unpredictable root of tomorrow.

There is a different Reign, where condescension meets new drives, cosmic and acutely personal; Profile of the Living.

Thus, here we are without precipitation: after a pause energy, virtue becoming root and sap of the most exclusive future.

The spiral of returning offence can occupy all our space and time. Thus it dampens the ability to correspond to the new jingle of the Calling.

It takes away our perception, our whole listening to the Newness of God that is in the dawning.

The First Testament recognised the principle of justice 'one is worth one' in the right of vengeance.

Thus curbing the volume of retaliation and the power of the strong [their possible blind violence as a result of trifles] over the weak within the limit of equality.

But this is not enough not to pervert relations and allow the Father to propose a special realisation to us, which imposes 'Suspensions' from the homologising spiral.

By generating confusions of our own, it pales the very history of salvation that is, on the contrary, creating an unprecedented: it cuts it off at the root.

This is why the Lord orders the subversion of the habits of ancient religiosity, of its own impetus; of the divisions involved [acceptable or not, friends or enemies, near or far, pure and impure, sacred and profane, etc.].

The divine Kingdom starts from the Seed, not from outward gestures or forms; nor does it use conformist sweeteners, which leave roles untouched.

In order to grasp the very rhythm of God (who wisely creates) souls must take the pace of things, which mature in linear terms until they overthrow or multiply - not in a 'printed' way, but in a personal way.

The events themselves regenerate spontaneously, outside and even within us; no need to force it.

Growth and destination also remain thanks to the spring of external mockeries and constraints.

In the Tao Tê Ching we read: 'If you want to obtain something, you must first allow it to be given to others'. Flowering will be without compulsion.

So, steadfastness in the tribulation, acceptance and forbearance of profiteers, the superficial and the vain becomes the offspring of a new child, of an unthought-of Genesis that is just weaving its first roots with that very marshy soil.

From ingots nothing is born, from the obstinate the usual things are born, from the hasty the exact opposite; from dung new flowers are born, which we did not even plant.

The suspension experienced in Mystery opens our fate of already decreed foolishness to trust in a new, unrepeatable Act of Being.

It opens up the Meaning that you do not expect, in a climate of inventiveness that glosses over the action-reaction instinct - so that the chain of normality does not take over the prodigy of vocational Identity, of our character and realisation.

Non-violence is not, therefore, a norm of mere exquisiteness of mind, but a superior Arrow, pointing a direction of non-mechanical Research, which advances from discovery to discovery.

The truly exemplary life is always of a different kind, out of the ordinary.Letting everyone, even the opportunists [and holiness actors] get ahead, does not immediately put us in the saddle or in the shop window, but neither will it ultimately make us pay too much in person.

It creates the right detachment so that when we are ready, the time will come when we will realise that our mortification was a crossroads: it opened up our destiny to a less short-lived, life-expanding hope.

The Tao says: "New beginnings are often disguised as painful losses [but] what is yielding overcomes what is hard. The slow overcomes the fast'.

If the others are not as we dreamed, it is fortunate: the doors slammed in our faces and their sting put us in touch with our deepest virtues, and with the resources we have not yet given space to.

Betrayals, abuses, spite, revenge, outrages, mortifications... that would like to make us uneasy and dishearten us... are preparing our development, and much other joys.

The adventure of extreme Faith is for a Beauty that wounds and an abnormal, prominent Happiness. But only those who know how to wait find their Way.

Forgiveness ahead: not marking boundaries

Exemplary encounter and Life at the unknown summit

(Lk 6:36-38)

Is it possible to put the Gospel under exemplary "Measure" - e.g. of (retributive) Law or of First Testament and Tradition?

No, it would not build Family. And the culmination of this kind of experience would be an ethnic or elitist prerogative.

Configuration and proposal that would give birth everywhere to a grey, slavish, fragile world; incapable of dialogue and unknown discoveries.

After feeling separated from a humanising and divine quality of life, only the awareness of reconciliation can transform environments and people.

Such is the living Jesus in community.

He immerses his intimates in a new experience of fluid understanding, devoid of pride - despite being 'devout'.

Without, in fact, assuming prissy or photocopied attitudes.

It is then that humility effortlessly floods us, bringing Charity to the summit: in the heavenly setting of the Gratis that shifts the gaze.

By suppressing, artifices inexorably close off the joy of living.

They harness it in manners, in the endless accentuation of effort - against oneself, and against the world of others.

Conventions, standard duties and reactions, never contain the benevolent, incisive energies of growth.

We see it in the lives of the saints: listening deeply, letting it be... and Forgiveness, they increase love a hundredfold.

It becomes the source of incredible gestures in favour of one's neighbour; in the accentuated realisation, in the care, in the free hospitality, in the total and unstinting gift.

There is always a need for the contribution of new energies and situations - even intimate ones - and their surprises.

Not discarding the naivety of others means having learnt to welcome our own frailties and oppositions.

The world begins to change when we accept ourselves, in the experience of appreciation of the God-With-We.

This is how we learn to perceive Beauty, instead of dryness and detachment: that which makes life more intense and at the same time smooth.

Even the knowledge of God is not a confiscated commodity or an acquired science, already inwardly and outwardly foreclosed.

It moves from one action and another, unceasingly; it is realised in an ever-living Encounter, which neither blocks nor dissolves the personality of each one.

The criterion of acceptance (albeit of varied goods for the soul), the principle of remission, coexistence, communion (even of multiple, even material resources) have been the main catalysts for growth.

Right from the earliest churches, the vector of mercy, even in summary, in petty things, was the source and meaning of all the formulas, of all the signs of the nascent liturgy itself.

The existential and spiritual centre to which to converge.

Here was the conciliation of friction between customs and less closed conceptions, between bell towers and internal tribes, traditionalists and avant-gardists; and so on.

In the Spirit of Providence, every composition is not simply a work of magnanimity proper to those who seek always to look ahead.

It is the beginning of the future world; the beginning of an unforeseeable and unspeakable adventure, even a scapegoat.

And we in such a kingdom are suddenly reborn. Reborn; as if sprung from the new humanity, the condition of authentic children.

Generated again by the Father, who grants everything and everyone: because we have come into frank contact, in the Person of Christ.

In short, Christian Forgiveness is not the common 'positive look'. Nor does it have anything to do with so-called 'positive thinking'.

Tolerance of children is not a simplistic 'going beyond' in an artificial sense. As in pretending nothing has happened and turning a blind eye [in a blunt, sometimes intimately contemptuous manner].

The spirit of understanding to which we are called does not derive from good-natured paternalism, which only saves manners.

It is God's newness that creates an environment of Grace - with enormous possibilities, bursting forth from diverse energies.Novelty that breaks through to shatter primates, stagnant balances.

It does so through an impossible opening of credit - with a lordship of qualities and perspectives.

Scenarios that regenerate and reactivate individuals, families, fraternities; the whole world.

All so that we are freely placed in the position and reciprocity that enables us to reveal the hidden - astounding - meaning of being and vocation.

The very reason why we were born.

Per-gifting is a surplus restitution of all lost dignity. Indeed, far beyond.

It does not just put us back on our feet; it does not just restore. It enhances and strengthens the dull.

It transforms the mediocre or those who approach despite having a different sensibility, a heavy baggage, and the voiceless... into outriders and brilliant inventors.

Because what was unthought of yesterday will be clarifying and driving tomorrow.

In the wake of different visions or expectations, confusions will make sense.

The thinning of the fog will not be achieved by normal, enlisted hearts, always indulgent towards themselves but stern when someone touches their interests and habitual automatisms.

The work of healing, of recovering the scattered being - the therapy of the real problems - will arise rather through the work of the despised and intruders.

Scorned, despised, eccentric, shaky - out of every turn and predictability.

Leavened dough. Not self-referential.

These are the authentic virtuosos. Principle of Catholicity, understood as a wide field.

The Pearls of the New Pastoral: those who help not to mark too many ideal boundaries.

"There is a happy formula of St. Vincent de Lérins who, comparing the growing human being and the Tradition that is transmitted from one generation to the next, affirms that one cannot preserve the "deposit of faith" without making it progress: "consolidating with the years, developing with time, deepening with age" (Commonitorium primum, 23.9) - "ut annis consolidetur, dilatetur tempore, sublimetur aetate".This is the style of our walk: realities, if they do not walk, are like waters. Theological realities are like water: if water does not flow and is stale, it is the first to go rotten. A stale Church begins to be putrefied [...].

And here I would like to point out that even on the concept of "the people of God" there can be rigid and antagonistic hermeneutics, remaining trapped in the idea of an exclusivity, of a privilege, as happened with the interpretation of the concept of "election" that the prophets corrected, indicating how it should be correctly understood. It is not a privilege - to be God's people - but a gift that someone receives ... for himself? No: for all, the gift is to give it: this is the vocation [...].

Why do I tell you these things? Because in the synodal journey, listening must take into account the sensus fidei, but it must not neglect all those 'presentiments' embodied where we would not expect it: there may be a 'sniff without citizenship', but it is no less effective.

The Holy Spirit in his freedom knows no boundaries, nor does he allow himself to be limited by affiliations. If the parish is the home of everyone in the neighbourhood, not an exclusive club, I recommend: leave doors and windows open, do not limit yourself to considering only those who attend or think like you - that will be 3, 4 or 5%, no more. Allow everyone to come in... Allow yourself to go out and let yourself be questioned, let their questions be your questions, allow yourself to walk together: the Spirit will lead you, trust the Spirit. Do not be afraid to enter into dialogue and let yourselves be moved by dialogue: it is the dialogue of salvation'.

[Pope Francis, Address to the Diocese of Rome 18 September 2021].

Says the Tao Tê Ching (LIX):

"When no one knows his culmination, he can possess the kingdom".

Life of pure Faith in the Spirit.

It is the paradoxical and unprecedented 'mechanism' that makes one assess the crossroads of history, unravelling the knots of the real questions.

It not only overcomes, but rather supplants difficult moments - bringing us back to the true path.

And it orients reality to the concrete good; multifaceted, not one-sided.

It makes reality itself soar in the wonder of the Spirit, which is unleashed in a more important way than usual - towards itself.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you see in your community that someone claims to commandeer the fact of Faith, turning it into a measured, predictable duty?

In your opinion, what description of God's work does it convey?

Conversely, what unimaginable and out-of-scale effect has your first or minimal involvement in the life of Faith-love produced?

Forgiveness and Faith: Living Encounter

Free eccentric, forward: Sacrament of humanity as such

(Lk 17:1-6)

The knowledge of God is not a confiscated commodity or an acquired and already foreclosed science: it moves from one action to another, unceasingly; it is realised in an ever-living encounter, which does not block or dissolve us.

Typical, the experience of the "little ones" [mikròi v.2]. From the earliest communities of faith, they have been those who lacked security and energy; unstable and without support.

Since time immemorial, "Little Ones" have been the incipients; the new ones, who have heard of Christian brotherhood, but are sometimes forced to stand in line, aside, or give up the journey.

But the criterion of welcome, tolerance, communion even of material goods, has been the first and main catalyst for the growth of the assemblies.

Even the origin and meaning of all the formulas and signs of the liturgy.

The existential and ideal centre to which to converge. For a proactive and in itself transformative Faith.

In the Spirit of the Master, even for us the conciliation of friction is not simply a work of magnanimity.

It is the beginning of the future world. The beginning of an unforeseeable and unspeakable adventure. And we with it suddenly reborn: coming into frank contact in Christ. He who does not extinguish us at all.

Hence the Christian forgiveness of children, which is not... 'looking positive', and 'turning a blind eye': rather, Newness of God that creates an environment of Grace, propulsive, with enormous possibilities.

Force that breaks through and paradoxically lets the dark poles meet, instead of shaking them off. Genuinely eliminating useless comparisons, words and ballasts, which block the transparent Exodus.

Dynamics that guide one to the indispensable and unavoidable: waves to shift one's gaze. Teaching one to notice one's own hysterics, to know oneself, to face anxiety, its reason; to handle situations and moments of crisis.

Mouldable virtue that places one in intimate listening to the personal essence.

Hence, solid, broad empathy that introduces new energies; it brings one's own deep states, even standard life, together... arousing other knowledge, different perspectives, unexpected relationships.

Thus without too much struggle it renews us, and curbs the loss of veracity [typical, that in favour of circumstantial manners]. It accentuates capacities and horizons of Peace - crumbling primates, swampy balances.

The discovery of new sides of the being that we are, conveys a sense of better wholeness, then spontaneously curbs external influences, dissolves prejudices, does not make one act on an emotional, impulsive basis.

Rather, it puts us in a position to reveal the hidden and astounding meaning of being. It unfolds the crucial horizon.

Activating 'Forgiveness' is gratuitously a surrender of one's character range, of all lost dignity, and far beyond.

By laying down sentences, the art of tolerance expands the [also intimate] gaze. It enhances and strengthens the dull sides; those we ourselves had detested.

In this eccentric way it transforms those considered distant or mediocre [mikroi] into outriders and brilliant inventors. For what was unthought of yesterday will be clarifying and driving tomorrow.

Confusions will make sense - precisely because of the thinking of the minds in crisis, and because of the action of the despised, intruders, outside of all spin and predictability.

Life of pure Faith in the Spirit: i.e., the imagination of the 'weak'... in power.

Because it is the paradoxical mechanism that makes the crossroads of history assess, activates passions, creates sharing, solves real problems.

And so it supplants difficult moments forwards (bringing us back to the true path) by orienting reality to the concrete good.

By making it fly towards itself.

The 'win-or-lose' alternative is false: we must get out of it. It is in such 'emptiness' and Silence that God makes His way.

Mystery of Presence, overflowing. New Covenant.

Increasing faith: a dull, intimidated life, or the door of hope

Perhaps we, too, have been inculcated with the idea that faith must be asked for, so God will increase it for us. Instead, we have a say, but not in the sense of a plea to Heaven.

Faith is a gift, but in the sense of a relational, face-to-face proposal and initiative; that asks for welcoming perception. Therefore, it does not grow by falling from a packet - as if by precipice, or by infusion from above. Even forcing it, and convincing the Father.

Nor is it a simple assent linked to good-naturedness. It is not a baggage of notions that some have and prove right; others less so, or not at all.

In falling in love one can be more or less involved!

Faith is not believing that God exists, but adhering to a springing suggestion that (without imposition) guides us to disregard reputation.

The person of Faith cares not for expense or risk, even for the lives of others. He holds particular customs in abeyance; he does not put circle affections first. Forgives without limit.

Often we agree only in part and accept a little bit - perhaps until love goes all the way, or calls us into question.

Thus the head, the quirks, the concatenation of values, and the small world to which we are attached.

Increasing Faith? The Gift is not a gift, but an Appeal.

Therefore, Jesus does not even respond to such a ridiculous request - nevertheless, it makes one think about the results of possible adherence.

All it would take is the slightest involvement and there would be extraordinary results in the world (v.6); in community, in families and in personal life.

We would achieve the impossible and important. Real problems would be solved. Even the simplest actions would be transformed.

Then there are great events planted in every man's heart, which we perhaps consider unrealisable: e.g. universal brotherhood, victory over hunger, a dignified and beautiful life for all, a world and a Church without volatile, corrupt and vain characters.

Because we consider them impossible situations, we don't even begin to build them - we immediately drop our arms.

But maturation is the result of secret sides, not of impermeable mental armour.

As a Nobel Prize winner said: 'The innocent did not know that their project was impossible, so they realised it'.

And it is not that after a life spent in service - at the orders of the Principal - in the afterlife we will finally command, on the basis of the rank we have earned [although this too may have been passed on to us].

One of the wonders that Faith in Christ accomplishes in us - here and now - is to make us aware of the beauty and joy of having the freedom to come down from the pedestals we have already identified, in order to favour the full life (of all).

And at the 'end of the month' - at the 'reckoning' or the 'pay' - we will not finally become bosses - at least in heaven!

Because God is Communion, conviviality of differences; and He does not accept the servant-master scheme, even as a reward.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you see in your community that someone claims to commandeer the datum of Faith, turning it into a measured, predictable duty? In your opinion, what description of God's work does it convey? Conversely, what unimaginable and out-of-scale effect has your first or minimal involvement in the life of Faith-love produced?

Moses then asked God to reveal himself, to allow him to see his face. However, God did not show his face, but rather revealed his being, full of goodness, with these words: “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6). This is the Face of God. This self-definition of God expresses his merciful love: a love that triumphs over sin, covers it, eliminates it. We can always be sure of this goodness which does not abandon us. There can be no clearer revelation. We have a God who refuses to destroy sinners and wants to show his love in an even more profound and surprising way to sinners themselves, in order to always offer them the possibility of conversion and forgiveness.

The Gospel completes this revelation, we heard in the First Reading, because it indicates the point to which God has shown his mercy. John the Evangelist refers to these words of Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). In the world there is evil, there is selfishness, there is wickedness, and God could come to judge this world, to destroy evil, to punish those who work in darkness. Instead, he shows his love for the world and for men and women, despite their sin, and sends what is most precious to him: his Only-Begotten Son. Not only does God send him, but he gives him as a gift to the world. Jesus is the Son of God who was born for us, who lived for us, who healed the sick, forgave sins and welcomed everyone. Responding to the love that comes from the Father, the Son gave his own life for us: on the cross God’s merciful love reaches its highest expression. And it is on the cross that the Son of God obtains for us participation in eternal life that is communicated to us with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[Pope Benedict, St Marino homily 19 June 2011]

2. These divisions are seen in the relationships between individuals and groups, and also at the level of larger groups: nations against nations and blocs of opposing countries in a headlong quest for domination. At the root of this alienation it is not hard to discern conflicts which, instead of being resolved through dialogue, grow more acute in confrontation and opposition.

Careful observers, studying the elements that cause division, discover reasons of the most widely differing kinds: from the growing disproportion between groups, social classes and-countries, to ideological rivalries that are far from dead; from the opposition between economic interests to political polarization; from tribal differences to discrimination for social and religious reasons. Moreover, certain facts that are obvious to all constitute as it were the pitiful face of the division of which they are the fruit and demonstrate its seriousness in an inescapably concrete way. Among the many other painful social phenomena of our times one can noted.

• The trampling upon the basic rights of the human person, the first of these being the right to life and to a worthy quality of life, which is all the more scandalous in that it coexists with a rhetoric never before known on these same rights.
• Hidden attacks and pressures against the freedom of individuals and groups, not excluding the freedom which is most offended against and threatened: the freedom to have, profess and practice one's own faith.
• The various forms of discrimination: racial, cultural, religious, etc.
• Violence and terrorism.
• The use of torture and unjust and unlawful methods of repression.
• The stockpiling of conventional or atomic weapons, the arms race with the spending on military purposes of sums which could be used to alleviate the undeserved misery of peoples that are socially and economically depressed.
• An unfair distribution of the world's resources and of the assets of civilization, which reaches its highest point in a type of social organization whereby the distance between the human conditions of the rich and the poor becomes ever greater.(2) The overwhelming power of this division makes the world in which we live a world shattered(3) to its very foundations.

Moreover, the church-without identifying herself with the world or being of the world-is in the world and is engaged in dialogue with the world.(4) It is therefore not surprising if one notices in the structure of the church herself repercussions and signs of the division affecting human society. Over and above the divisions between the Christian communions that have afflicted her for centuries, the church today is experiencing within herself sporadic divisions among her own members, divisions caused by differing views or options in the doctrinal and pastoral field.(5) These divisions too can at times seem incurable.

However disturbing these divisions may seem at first sight, it is only by a careful examination that one can detect their root: It is to be found in a wound in man's inmost self. In the light of faith we call it sin: beginning with original sin, which all of us bear from birth as an inheritance from our first parents, to the sin which each one of us commits when we abuse our own freedom.

3. Nevertheless, that same inquiring gaze, if it is discerning enough, detects in the very midst of division an unmistakable desire among people of good will and true Christians to mend the divisions, to heal the wounds and to re-establish at all levels an essential unity. This desire arouses in many people a real longing for reconciliation even in cases where there is no actual use of this word.

Some consider reconciliation as an impossible dream which ideally might become the lever for a true transformation of society. For others it is to be gained by arduous efforts and therefore a goal to be reached through serious reflection and action. Whatever the case, the longing for sincere and consistent reconciliation is without a shadow of doubt a fundamental driving force in our society, reflecting an irrepressible desire for peace. And it is as strongly so as the factors of division, even though this is a paradox.

But reconciliation cannot be less profound than the division itself. The longing for reconciliation and reconciliation itself will be complete and effective only tot he extent that they reach-in order to heal it-that original wound which is the root of all other wounds: namely sin.

26. Now if the church is the pillar and bulwark of the truth' (1 Tim 3:15) and is placed in the world as mother and teacher, how could she neglect the task of teaching the truth which constitutes a path of life?

From the pastors of the church one expects, first of all, catechesis on reconciliation. This must be founded on the teaching of the Bible, especially the New Testament, on the need to rebuild the covenant with God in Christ the redeemer and reconciler. And in the light of this new communion and friendship, and as an extension of it, it must be founded on the teaching concerning the need to be reconciled with one's brethren, even if this means interrupting the offering of the sacrifice. Jesus strongly insists on this theme of fraternal reconciliation: for example, when he invites us to turn the other cheek to the one who strikes us, and to give our cloak too to the one who has taken our coat, or when he instills the law of forgiveness: forgiveness which each one receives in the measure that he or she foresee forgiveness to be offered even to enemies, forgiveness to be granted seventy times seven times, which means in practice without any limit. On these conditions, which are realizable only in a genuinely evangelical climate, it is possible to have a true reconciliation between individuals, families, communities, nations and peoples.

[Pope John Paul II, exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, nn,2-3.26]

In the Gospel of today’s Liturgy, Jesus gives some basic life guidance to the disciples. The Lord refers to the most difficult situations, those that constitute the bench test for us, those that confront us with those who are enemies and hostile to us, those who are always trying to do us harm. In such cases, the disciple of Jesus is called not to give in to instinct and hatred, but to go further, much further. To go beyond instinct, to go beyond hatred. Jesus says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Lk 6:27). And even more concretely: “To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also” (v. 29). When we hear this, it seems that the Lord is asking for the impossible. And then, why love your enemies? If one does not react to bullies, then every abuse of power is given free rein, and this is not fair. But is it really so? Does the Lord really ask for the impossible and indeed even unjust things of us? Is it so?

Let us consider first and foremost that sense of injustice that we feel in “turning the other cheek”. And let us think of Jesus. During the passion, in his unjust trial before the high priest, at one point he receives a slap from one of the guards. And how does He react? He does not insult him, no: he says to the guard, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” (Jn 18:23). He asks for an account of the wrong done to him. Turning the other cheek does not mean suffering in silence, giving in to injustice. With his question, Jesus denounces what is unjust. But he does so without anger, without violence, indeed with kindness . He does not wish to spark off an argument, but rather to defuse resentment , this is important: to extinguish hatred and injustice together, seeking to restore the guilty brother. This is not easy, but Jesus did it and he tells us to do likewise. This is turning the other cheek: Jesus’ meekness is a stronger response than the slap he received. Turning the other cheek is not the withdrawal of the loser, but the action of one who has a greater inner strength. Turning the other cheek means defeating evil with  goodness which opens up a breach in the heart of the enemy, unmasking the absurdity of his hatred. And this attitude, this turning the other cheek, is dictated not by calculation or by hatred, but by love. Dear brothers and sisters, it is the freely given, undeserved love we receive from Jesus that generates in the heart a way of doing things that is similar to his, that rejects all vengeance. We are accustomed to revenge: “You did this to me, I will do that to you”, or to bearing a grudge in our heart, resentment that harms, that destroys the person.

Let’s get to another objection:  is it possible for a person to come to love his or her enemies? If it depended only on us, it would be impossible. But let us recall that, when the Lord asks for something, he wishes to give it. The Lord never asks for something he has not already given us first. When he tells me to love my enemies, he wants to give me the capacity to do so. Without that ability, we would not be able, but he tells you to “love your enemy” and gives you the capacity to love. Saint Augustine prayed in this way — listen to this beautiful prayer: Lord, “give what You command, and command what You will” (Confessions , X, 29.40), because you have already given it to me. What should we ask of him? What is God happy to give us? The strength to love, which is not a thing, but rather the Holy Spirit. The strength to love is the Holy Spirit, and with the Spirit of Jesus, we can respond to evil with good, we can love those who do us harm. This is what Christians do. How sad it is when persons and peoples who are proud to be Christians see others as enemies and think about waging war against each other! It is very sad.

And we, do we try to live following Jesus’ invitations? Let us think about someone who has wronged us. Each one of you, think of a person. It is common for us to be hurt by someone; think of that person. Perhaps there is some resentment within. So, let us set the image of Jesus alongside this resentment: meek during his trial, after the slap. And then let us ask the Holy Spirit to act in our heart. Finally, let us pray for that person: praying for those who have done us harm (cf. Lk 6:28). When someone has wronged us, we immediately go and tell others and we feel we are victims. Let us stop, and pray to the Lord for that person, that he might help him or her, and so this feeling of resentment will be dispelled. Praying for those who have wronged us is the first step to transforming evil into good. Prayer. May the Virgin Mary help us be workers of peace towards everyone, especially those who are hostile to us and whom we do not like.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 20 February 2022]

Faith and religion. Turnover in the Church

(Lk 6:20-26)

Jesus judges the configuration of the world in which his Church, in the Spirit, finds herself living: rich and destitute [in many ways], prominent and invisible figures.

Situation that does not reflect conditions of fullness life; rather - even today - it makes bitter blood to many.

A false and not definitive reality, exasperating, wich the Lord absolutely denounces not to like among his intimates: that of praised dominators (despite the selfish abuse of goods and positions) and insignificant subjected.

Devoid of high-sounding titles, the young Rabbi turns from bottom to top (v.20) to those who have freely chosen his proposal of fraternal existence and sharing of property [in Mt «poor "for" the Spirit (of love)»].

He is pleased [«Blessed»] with the choice of his apostles, which makes us enjoy the experience of harmony with the Master. A different Vision, and the reciprocity, that is, the same quality of God’s life.

Already here on earth the critical prophets testify to the possibility of a different perception of things, as well as the Dream of a society based on coexistence - in the exchange of benefits.

A bud of hospitable world - which Lk wants to encourage - where there is no above and below or front and behind: only humanizing upheavals (such as the reversal of roles) that strengthen the fabric concorde.

Also in his House there must be rotation and reversal of prominent figures and tasks. The change is the sign of the Kingdom that comes; able to sharpen sensitivity to Communion.

In the documents of ancient literature little is spoken of the poor, voiceless and hungry. The focus was on the rich, the heroes, the rulers and generals. The overthrow of fate was unimaginable.

On the contrary, the new powerful of the Kingdom of God are those who feel the Son present, pulsating in their hearts, Risen in them.

They do not keep for themselves, but transform goods, goals, titles and ministries into Life and Relationship.

What is decisive and conclusive is the construction of this unusual type of Church [Kingdom].

Germ that deviates from the unilaterality of relationships. With enrichment and alternation, where everyone feels adequate, no longer pointed out.

In the adventure of Faith-Love there is always mutual recognition. 

Offices are constantly alternating.

Indeed, excessively centered relationships of subjection annihilate the living Gifts of God; they produce deep, paralyzing wounds.

They reduce Creator and creature to silence: a paradoxical self-condemnation.

But Christ clearly distinguishes what makes Blessed - complete, not one-sided - and what does not belong to and does not resemble the full work of the Father.

He does it not simply by admonishing, but by uniting us and expanding our Core; by lubricating the intimate, best essences - of all people.

In proclaiming the Beatitudes, the Risen Jesus wants to communicate [especially in his Churches, which seem to him to have need it so much] a less schematic and partial energy, more permeable and confluent; an inclusive rhythm.

And to everyone gives permission to live.

[Wednesday 23rd wk. in O.T.  September 11, 2024]