Pentecost Sunday (Year C)  [8 June 2025]

May God bless us and the Virgin protect us! On the feast of Pentecost, like Mary and the apostles, let us prepare our hearts to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who transforms us into fire and light of love. Today, the first reading and the responsorial psalm are common to years A, B, and C, while the second reading and the Gospel are different each year.

*First reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2:1-11)

Jerusalem is not only the city where Jesus instituted the Eucharist, died and rose again, but it is also the city where the Spirit was poured out upon humanity. It was the year of Jesus' death, but the people in the city had probably never heard of his death, let alone his resurrection, so the feast of Pentecost was like any other for them. The Jewish Pentecost was very important because it was the feast of the giving of the Law, one of the three feasts of the year for which people went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and the list of all the nationalities present on that occasion proves its great interest. For the disciples of Jesus, who had seen, heard and touched him after his resurrection, nothing was the same as before, even if they did not expect what was about to happen. Luke helps us to understand what is happening by choosing his words carefully and evoking at least these three texts from the Old Testament: the gift of the Law at Sinai, a prophecy of Joel, and the episode of the Tower of Babel. First of all, Sinai. The tongues of fire and the sound like a mighty wind recall what happened at Sinai when God gave the tablets of the Law to Moses (Exodus 19:16-19).  Following this line, Luke helps us understand that Pentecost was not simply a traditional pilgrimage, but a new Sinai, where God gave his Law to teach the people how to live in the Covenant. At Pentecost, He gave His own Spirit, and from then on, His Law, the only true path to freedom and happiness, was no longer written on stone tablets but in the hearts of men, as Ezekiel had prophesied (Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-27). The prophet Joel: Luke certainly wanted to evoke a word of Joel: 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, says God' (Joel 3:1), that is, on all humanity. For Luke, those devout Jews from all nations under heaven, as he calls them, are a symbol of the whole of humanity, for whom Joel's prophecy is finally fulfilled, and this means that the long-awaited 'Day of the Lord' has come. The Tower of Babel is an event that can be summarised in two acts: Act 1: Men, who speak the same language and the same words, decide to build an immense tower between the earth and the sky. Act 2: God stops them and scatters them across the earth, confusing their languages, and from that moment on they no longer understand each other. What is the meaning of this story? God certainly does not want to stifle man's potential, and if He intervenes, He does so to spare humanity the false path of single-minded thinking and a human project that excludes God. It is as if He were saying: you are seeking unity, which is a good thing, but you are going about it the wrong way, because unity in love does not come through standardisation, but through diversity. And this is the message of Pentecost: at Babel, humanity learns diversity; at Pentecost, it learns unity in diversity, 'conviviality' (as Don Tonino Bello writes), because all nations hear the proclamation, each in its own language, of the one message: 'Magnalia Dei, the great works of God' (Acts 2:11).

*Responsorial Psalm (103 (104), 1.24, 29-30, 31.34)

This psalm has 36 verses of praise and wonder at the works of God, a beautiful poem. It is proposed for the feast of Pentecost because Luke, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, recounts that on the morning of Pentecost, the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to proclaim in all languages the 'great works of God' of creation. All civilisations have poems about the beauty of nature. In particular, a poem written by the famous pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) was found in Egypt in the tomb of a pharaoh, a hymn to the Sun God. Amenhotep IV lived around 1350 BC, at a time when the Jews were probably in Egypt and may have known this poem. There are similarities in style and vocabulary between the pharaoh's poem and Psalm 103/104, but what is interesting is to note the differences marked by God's revelation to the people of the Covenant. First difference: God alone is God, an essential difference for the faith of Israel: God is the only God, there are no others, and the sun is not a god. The account of creation in the book of Genesis puts the sun and moon in their place: they are not gods, but luminaries, themselves simple creatures. Several verses show God as the only Lord of creation using royal language: God presents himself as a magnificent, majestic and victorious king. Second peculiarity: Creation is all good, and here there is an echo of Genesis, which repeats tirelessly: 'And God saw that it was good'. This psalm evokes all the elements of creation with the same wonder: 'I rejoice in the Lord', and the psalmist adds (in a verse not read this Sunday): 'I will sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have my breath'. However, evil is not ignored: the end of the psalm mentions it and invokes its disappearance, since it was already understood in the Old Testament that evil does not come from God, because all creation is good and one day God will remove all evil from the earth: the victorious King will eliminate everything that hinders human happiness. Third peculiarity: Creation is continuous, not an act of the past, as if God had thrown the earth and man into space once and for all, but a perennial relationship between the Creator and his creatures. When we say in the Creed: "I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth," we are not only affirming our faith in an initial act, but we are recognising that we are in a necessary relationship with him, and this psalm reiterates this by speaking of God's constant action: "All wait for you... You hide your face, they are dismayed... You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth." Another peculiarity: Man is the culmination of creation. According to the Jewish faith, man is at the summit of creation, the king of creation, and for this reason he is filled with the breath of God. And this is precisely what we celebrate at Pentecost: the Spirit of God who is in us vibrates and resonates with man and with all creation, and the psalmist sings: 'Let God rejoice in his works! I rejoice in the Lord." In conclusion, creation makes sense in the light of the Covenant: In Israel, every reflection on creation is placed in the perspective of the Covenant, since Israel first experienced liberation by God and only afterwards meditated on creation in the light of this fundamental experience. There are visible traces of this in the psalm: First of all, the name of God used is always the famous tetragrammaton YHWH, which we translate as Lord, the name of the God of the Covenant, revealed to Moses. Furthermore, in the expression, 'Lord, my God, how great you are', the possessive is a reference to the Covenant, since God's plan in the Covenant was precisely this: 'You shall be my people, and I will be your God'. This promise is fulfilled in the gift of the Spirit to all flesh, as the prophet Joel proclaims, and every person is invited to receive the gift of the Spirit to become a true child of God.

*Second Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (8:8–17)

 The main difficulty in this text lies in the word 'flesh', which in St Paul's vocabulary does not have the same meaning as in our vocabulary, where the two components of the human being, body and soul, are often contrasted, with the risk of misinterpreting what Paul means when he speaks of flesh and Spirit. What he calls 'flesh' is not what we call body, and what he calls 'Spirit' does not correspond to what we call soul; indeed, he specifies several times that it is the Spirit of God, 'the Spirit of Christ'. He does not contrast two words, 'flesh' and 'Spirit', but two expressions: 'living according to the flesh' and 'living according to the Spirit', that is, choosing between two ways of living, or rather deciding whom to follow and what course of action to take. Here we return to the theme of the two paths that every Jew, like St Paul, knows well: choosing between two paths, between two possible attitudes in the face of difficulties or trials: trust in God or distrust; the certainty of never feeling abandoned by God or the doubt and suspicion that God does not really seek our good; fidelity to his commandments because we trust him, or disobedience because we consider ourselves capable of autonomous decisions. The history of Israel in the Bible (think of Massah and Meribah in the Book of Exodus) presents numerous examples of mistrust in the face of life's trials, especially in the desert, where the people faced many trials, including hunger and thirst. When the people suspected that God had abandoned them, they put God and Moses on trial. Even Adam, faced with the limits placed on his desires, suspected and disobeyed the Lord. The temptation of Adam and Eve in Eden is repeated in our lives every day: it is the constant problem of trust and distrust, the so-called 'original' sin in the sense that it is at the root of all human disasters. Opposed to suspicion and rebellion against God is Christ's attitude of trust and submission because he knows that God's will is only good. Especially in the face of the challenges of pain in all its forms and death, there are two opposing attitudes that Paul calls 'living according to the flesh' or 'living according to the Spirit'. For him, living according to the flesh means behaving like slaves who do not trust and obey out of obligation or fear of punishment. "Living according to the Spirit," on the other hand, means "behaving like children," that is, weaving relationships of trust and tenderness which, following Christ's example, lead to life. Living under the influence of the flesh (i.e., in an attitude of distrust and disobedience towards God) leads to death, while living through the Spirit is to put to death the works of sin. In other words, the attitude of a slave is destructive, while the attitude of a child is the way to peace and happiness. The Spirit of God, who dwells in us through baptism, enables us to call God 'Abba-Father', and on the day when all humanity recognises God as Father, the divine plan will be fulfilled, and we will all enter into his glory together. A few verses later, Paul notes that creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. Finally, today's text reminds us that since we are children of God, we are also heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, on condition that we suffer with him in order to be with him in glory. This text can be read in two ways: the slave imagines a God who sets conditions on inheritance; instead, the son considers God as Father even and above all in suffering. Suffering is inevitable, as it was for Christ, but lived with him and like him, it becomes a path to resurrection, and then 'on condition that we suffer with him' means: on condition that we are with him, that we remain united to him at all times, even in inevitable suffering.

*From the Gospel according to John (14:15-16, 23b-26)

 This well-known Gospel passage takes on new meaning today thanks to the other biblical texts proposed for the feast of Pentecost. For example, we are tempted to think of the Holy Spirit in terms of inspiration, ideas, discernment, intelligence, but for the feast of the gift of the Spirit, today's Gospel speaks only of love. Jesus says here that the Spirit of God is something else entirely: it is Love, Love personified. This means that on the morning of Pentecost in Jerusalem, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, it was love itself, which is God, that filled them. In the same way, we too, baptised and confirmed, know that our capacity to love is inhabited by the love of God himself. The responsorial psalm 103/104 reminds us of this when it proclaims: You send forth your Spirit, and we, created in the image of God, are called to resemble him more and more, constantly moulded by him in his image. The Spirit is the potter who works his clay, and every vessel becomes more and more refined in the hands of the craftsman. We are the clay in God's hands, so our likeness to Him is refined more and more as we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit of Love. In the second reading, St. Paul speaks of our relationship with God, summarising it in one sentence: we are no longer slaves, but children of God, while in the Gospel, Jesus links our relationship with God to our relationship with our brothers and sisters: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn 14:15), and we know well what his commandment is: 'that you love one another as I have loved you' (Jn 13:34).  If Jesus is referring to the gesture of washing feet, that is, to a decisive attitude of service, we can translate "if you love me, you will keep my commandments" as "if you love me, you will serve one another". God's love and love for our brothers and sisters are inseparable, so inseparable that it is by the quality of our service to our neighbour that the quality of our love for God is judged and therefore "if you do not serve your brothers and sisters, do not claim to love me!"  A little further on, Jesus takes up a similar expression and develops it: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (Jn 14:23). This does not mean that the Father in heaven does not love us if we do not serve our brothers and sisters, because there are no conditions or blackmail in him. On the contrary, the characteristic of mercy is precisely to bend down even more towards the poor, as we are all poor, at least in terms of love and service to others. Love is learned by practising it, but what the Lord is telling us here is something we know well: the ability to love is an art, and every art is learned by practising it. The Father's love is boundless, infinite, but our capacity to receive it is limited and grows as we practise it. We can therefore translate this as follows: 'If anyone loves me, he will put himself at the service of others and little by little, his heart will expand; the love of God will fill him more and more, and he will be able to serve others even better... and so on to infinity," that is, in unlimited progress. Let us conclude by returning to the term "Paraclete," which can be translated as comforter and defender. Yes, we need a defender, but not before God, and St. Paul makes this clear in the second reading: The Spirit you have received does not make you slaves, people who are still afraid, but rather the Spirit who makes you children (cf. Rom 8:15).  We are therefore no longer afraid of God and we do not need a lawyer before Him. But then why does Jesus say that he will pray to the Father, and he will give us another defender, to remain with us forever? Yes, we need an advocate, who defends us from ourselves, from our reluctance to serve others, from our lack of trust in God's power, who constantly defends the cause of others against our selfishness because, in doing so, he actually defends us, since true happiness consists in allowing ourselves to be moulded every day by God in his image, overcoming all selfish resistance.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

(Jn 21:15-19)

Jesus names Simon by the attribute «of John» because He still considers Peter to be spiritually pupil of the Baptist (!).

Despite his oscillations, the Lord puts him back on his feet.

Even with us, the Son never tires of re-proposing a loving and inviting Face of God, capable of astonishing.

For let us remember that the chief apostle had been called to freedom and had chosen the condition of lackey [cf. Jn 21:9 with the «ember fire» in Jn 18:18].

Thus, at the end of a game of reproposals, in the dialogue it is Jesus himself who “settles” for a love of friendship [cf. Greek text] by modifying the double question «do you love me?» with the third: «do you care for me?».

Human love waits for a minimum of satisfaction; it cannot shape itself into pure loss. It waits for little something, at least a nod of approval and gratitude.

No recognition? Then it is the strongest who yields.

'To wait' is the infinitive of the verb to love, because it allows one to be 'born' again.

Human feeling is in a hurry: it regulates its conduct on the basis of the success or perfections of the beloved.

Divine Love recovers, helps one to become another person - it does not break the understanding.

His Calling is not tied to merit or performance.

Even through works, saying «I love you» is [unfortunately not infrequently] a fatuous statement.

Or a sincere expression, but often animated by enthusiasm without deep roots, which on a subsequent test of facts transforms the oath of allegiance into a fragile and uncertain sentiment.

It is the awareness of one's own unpresentability gratuitously redeemed and transformed into the ground of absurd confidence that transforms self-presumption into apostolate!

That is why Jesus asks Peter to start with the little ones of the flock (v.15).

And «to ‘shepherd’» (vv.15-17) means «to feed»: to nurture, to care for, to protect, to foster; to initiate, to risk personally, to defend and to put one's face on - not “to command”.

«To graze the sheep» is to make oneself present, in a continuous flow of references. This is the climate that convinces, educates, nourishes and sustains, allowing to grow and flourish.

«To ‘shepherd’» is not (precisely) to dominate, but food the ideal. And to begin with the tiny flock (v.15).

Well, in order to ensure the "happy" outcome, the true believer, the friend of the Lord, the son of God, does not ally himself with people who matter - then we will see...

Nor must he “fish” proselytes, but rather expand and cheer life.

The fulness of the "result" is the Joy of every single real woman and man - as they are - not “as should be" according to opinion.

In fact, Jesus does not ask Peter: are you a good administrator? are you a good organizer? are you a skilful animator? Are you well-equipped, intelligent, cunning, smart, well-connected, introduced and versed enough to stand up to your opponents?

[A reflection for the scoutmaster  reads: «Remember, scout leader: if you slow down, they stop; if you yield, they back off; if you sit down, they lie down. If you walk ahead, they will overtake you; if you give your hand, they will give their skin»].

So God's 'enemy' is not uncertainty, but the pursuit of the “average life”. Quagmire where one does not throw oneself.

[Friday 7th wk. in Easter, June 6, 2025]

Mystery of Love and Eros

Jn 21:15-19 (1-19)

The same sign of the superabundant peach in Lk 5:1-11 does not concern the story of the Church after Easter, but is even placed in the day when Jesus invites the first disciples to follow him to become "fishers" of men.

The prodigy of the Vocation expands the believer's journey in Christ and affects every experience we can have of the Risen One in our ordinary work - and which Mission is entrusted to us in order to experience Him Alive.

The Church is not composed of phenomena, but of a stubborn and eager leader [Peter]. Some are in and out [Thomas], others remain tied to the past [Nathanael], and there is no shortage of fanatics [the sons of Zebedee]; hence the anonymous, that is, all of us.

Peter realises that before giving orders, he must do and expose himself: if so, the others, although insubordinate, will decide spontaneously (v.3), expanding their lives.

But without the torch of the Word, no results. Following Peter is not enough and does not save anyone.

Here is Jesus: on the shore of the ultimate condition he calls us and leads the way, he leads the way of activity, and he is finally Light - the Dawn.

The net must be cast from the "right side" (v.6), i.e. the good side!

In order to pull people up from the depths of polluted waters and billows of death to a possibility of respite or self-esteem and full life, one must begin and aim for the best in each one, bring out the good that is always there.

Reminder for us. Every culture possesses many qualities: let us build on them, instead of approaching women and men, ethnic groups or situations, by pointing out limitations and problems.

So the Peter - each community leader - must have no preconceived notions, but take off the cassock of group leader and gird himself in the apron of a servant [v.7: the Greek verb is that of the washing of feet].

For work that gives results according to God (love) one must wear the same garment as Christ - the only badge: the garment of one who does not give orders, but receives them.

This is the trait of the authentic Church - nothing great: it does not arrive on an ocean liner, but on a "little boat" [v.8 Greek text].

And it remains low-key: like a little leaven, to embrace all.

Despite the difficulties in believing, the disciples are constituted as heralds of the news of God favourable to humanity that intends to journey towards itself - without the baggage of overwhelming accumulations of manner.

For communion with God and one's brothers and sisters, in the journey of life and the sense of rebirth that lurks therein [e.g. after pain, travails, experiences of rejection, thoughts of failure and death...]. Jesus had brought out the transmutative capacities already in dowry to each one.

His proposal had supplanted the oppressive yoke of the external perfections preached by religion, replaced precisely with our simple family virtues, grasped from within. Not: to fight, but to welcome. Not: to obey, but to resemble. And so on.

The church was not to become an ethical communion of saints, but of sinners and unbelievers. The story of the unbelieving apostles comforts us: we are already empowered, and with aptitude for fullness. But in its reversal.

It is the resurrection that sends us among men, precisely to be regenerated; just like us. So the apostle status is not subject to the usual doctrinal, moralistic, customary, and religious rigmarole; it no longer lags behind.

Although self-belief remains fragile, we continually experience resurrection from our rubble - raising or at best regenerating the entire organism of the spirit, and the inner universe.

All this shapes a different consciousness of inadequacy: that in Faith - only positive, because it understands the brothers. He recognises them in the depths of himself, and in this way he knows how to justify the resistance to the Announcement.

For it is in the recovery of opposing sides and the synergy of contradictions that we have become - in our own - experts in difficulty. More able to grasp the discomforts; even the feeling of feeling emptied, which sooner or later will give way to the upheaval; unprecedented happy.

Then we have learnt about listening to emotions: the sense of being overwhelmed - even in ideas. And the need to grasp and lose ourselves in sorrows, absurd or unbearable. Dignified sides; faces of ourselves.

In short, for the purpose of vocational fulfilment, everyone is already 'perfect'.

In its bearer of dissimilar energies, it just has to learn to meet the reliefs of itself that it has not yet made way for.

As if within us we have a multiplicity of aspects, often all to be discovered, behind some shell that resists - which complete us and infallibly guide us to personal and social blossoming.

Thus in the exodus we move from death-resurrection experience to true witness - in the spontaneous frankness of being enabled as evangelisers.

Which surprises us. But now the Message becomes our own.It becomes a call for peace, but an explosive one - unbelievable, and one can see this more from its limits (now nothing to fear) than from its ability, or its external style, its ability to set up sententious cathedrals and showcases.

After Christ, there is no longer any need to 'improve' according to a common meaning - nor any expectation, or purpose, that looks to and drinks from the fountain of what has already been said by others [in the past, or for fashion], which then places us back in the same predictable situation as always.

For the shaky apostles, consensus, ancient or glamorous religion, identification, were self-denial at heart.

Conversely, the Calling by Name became the development of what each person was deep inside and had not given himself, manipulating himself.

Road of self-realisation, also in our contribution to our brothers. Also not intimately dissociated.

The only convincing weapon, genuineness - burning within to make us shrines, unconscious and incomplete but living.

Contemplative and in action. Only way to meet souls.

We are collaborators of the apron, to dialogue with those in need of recovery, in whatever condition of whirlwind or periphery they find themselves.

Therefore, 'to shepherd' (vv.15-17) means to precede and nourish, not to command.

Those who lead must be a sign of a God who does not get fed up or repent.

Loving and inviting face of the One who is able to amaze and set Simon on his feet. The chief apostle, who had been called to freedom and had chosen the condition of lackey [cf. Jn 21:9; with the "fire of embers" in Jn 18:18].

At the end of a game of re-proposals, in the dialogue with Simon himself - "of John" because he is still spiritually a pupil of the Baptist (!) - it is Jesus who "settles" for a love of friendship [cf. Greek text] by modifying the double question "do you love me?" with the third: "do you love me?".

Human love waits for a minimum of satisfaction, it fails to shape itself into pure loss - it waits for something, at least a nod of approval and gratitude.

No recognition? Then it is the Strongest who yields.

'To wait' is the infinitive of the verb 'to love', because it allows one to be born again.

Human feeling is in a hurry: it regulates its conduct on the basis of the success or perfections of the beloved.

Divine Love makes up for it; it helps to become another 'person', in the round - it does not break the understanding.

His Calling is not tied to merit or performance: even through works, saying 'I love you' is (unfortunately not infrequently) a fatuous declaration.

Or a sincere expression, but often animated by enthusiasm without a deep root, which on a subsequent test of facts transforms the oath of fidelity into a fragile and uncertain sentiment.

It is the awareness of one's own unpresentability gratuitously redeemed and transformed into the ground of absurd confidence, which transforms self-conceit into apostolate!

This is why Jesus asks Peter to begin by starting with the little ones of the flock (v.15).

And 'to pasture' (vv.15.17) or 'to shepherd' (v.16) means 'to feed': to nurture, to care for, to protect, to favour; to initiate, to risk personally, to defend and to put one's face on - not 'to command'.

To graze is to make oneself present, in a continuous of references. It is this climate that convinces, educates, feeds and sustains, allowing it to grow and flourish.

"To 'shepherd' is [precisely] not to rule, but to feed the ideal. And to begin with the little flock (v.15).

In short, in order to secure the 'happy' outcome, the true believer, the friend of the Lord, the child of God, does not ally himself with people who matter, then we shall see.

Nor must it 'fish' for proselytes, but rather dilate and cheer life.

The fullness of the 'result' is the Happiness of each and every real person - as it is - not as it 'should be' according to established opinion.

In fact, Jesus does not ask Peter: are you a good steward? Are you a good organiser? Are you a skilful animator? Are you equipped, intelligent, cunning and introduced enough to stand up to your adversaries?

So God's 'enemy' is not uncertainty or sin - obsession that breeds the unbalanced - but the pursuit of the 'average life'. They quagmire where one does not throw oneself.

[A reflection for the Scoutmaster reads: "Remember, Scoutmaster: if you slow down, they stop; if you yield, they back off; if you sit down, they lie down. If you walk ahead, they will overtake you; if you give your hand, they will give their skin'].

To internalise and live the message:

Are you an envoy or a mere admirer?

What is your personal Source?

What is the Source of your relationships?

And the root of all faithfulness and generosity that draws you, and shows you?

Total love and not

The school of faith is not a triumphal march, but a path strewn with suffering and love, trials and faithfulness to be renewed every day. Peter, who had promised absolute faithfulness, knows the bitterness and humiliation of denial: the swaggerer learns humility to his cost. Peter too must learn to be weak and in need of forgiveness. When his mask finally falls off and he realises the truth of his weak heart as a believing sinner, he bursts into a liberating cry of repentance. After this weeping he is now ready for his mission.

On a spring morning, this mission will be entrusted to him by the risen Jesus. The encounter takes place on the shores of Lake Tiberias. It is the evangelist John who relates to us the dialogue that takes place between Jesus and Peter on that occasion. There is a very significant play on verbs. In Greek, the verb "filéo" expresses the love of friendship, tender but not all-embracing, while the verb "agapáo" means love without reserve, total and unconditional. Jesus asks Peter the first time: "Simon... do you love me (agapâs-me)" with this total and unconditional love (cf. Jn 21:15)? Before the experience of betrayal, the Apostle would certainly have said: 'I love you (agapô-se) unconditionally'. Now that he has known the bitter sadness of infidelity, the drama of his own weakness, he says with humility: 'Lord, I love you (filô-se)', that is, 'I love you with my poor human love'. Christ insists: "Simon, do you love me with this total love that I want?". And Peter repeats the response of his humble human love: "Kyrie, filô-se", "Lord, I love you as I know how to love". At the third time Jesus only says to Simon: "Fileîs-me?", "do you love me?". Simon understands that Jesus needs only his poor love, the only love he is capable of, and yet he is saddened that the Lord had to say this to him. He therefore replies: 'Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you (filô-se)'. One might say that Jesus adapted himself to Peter, rather than Peter to Jesus! It is precisely this divine adaptation that gives hope to the disciple, who has known the suffering of infidelity. Hence the confidence that makes him capable of following until the end: "This he said to indicate by which death he would glorify God. And having said this he added: 'Follow me'" (Jn 21:19).

From that day on, Peter "followed" the Master with the precise awareness of his own frailty; but this awareness did not discourage him. For he knew that he could count on the presence of the Risen One beside him. From the naive enthusiasm of initial adherence, passing through the painful experience of denial and the weeping of conversion, Peter came to trust in the Jesus who adapted himself to his poor capacity for love. And so he also shows us the way, despite all our weakness. We know that Jesus adapts himself to this weakness of ours. We follow him, with our poor capacity for love, and we know that Jesus is good and accepts us.

(Pope Benedict, General Audience 24 May 2006)

The school of faith is not a triumphal march but a journey marked daily by suffering and love, trials and faithfulness. Peter, who promised absolute fidelity, knew the bitterness and humiliation of denial:  the arrogant man learns the costly lesson of humility. Peter, too, must learn that he is weak and in need of forgiveness.

Once his attitude changes and he understands the truth of his weak heart of a believing sinner, he weeps in a fit of liberating repentance. After this weeping he is finally ready for his mission.

On a spring morning, this mission will be entrusted to him by the Risen Christ. The encounter takes place on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias. John the Evangelist recounts the conversation between Jesus and Peter in that circumstance. There is a very significant play on words.

In Greek, the word "fileo" means the love of friendship, tender but not all-encompassing; instead, the word "agapao" means love without reserve, total and unconditional. Jesus asks Peter the first time:  "Simon... do you love me (agapas-me)" with this total and unconditional love (Jn 21: 15)?

Prior to the experience of betrayal, the Apostle certainly would have said:  "I love you (agapo-se) unconditionally". Now that he has known the bitter sadness of infidelity, the drama of his own weakness, he says with humility:  "Lord; you know that I love you (filo-se)", that is, "I love you with my poor human love". Christ insists:  "Simon, do you love me with this total love that I want?". And Peter repeats the response of his humble human love:  "Kyrie, filo-se", "Lord, I love you as I am able to love you". The third time Jesus only says to Simon:  "Fileis-me?", "Do you love me?".

Simon understands that his poor love is enough for Jesus, it is the only one of which he is capable, nonetheless he is grieved that the Lord spoke to him in this way. He thus replies:  "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you (filo-se)".

This is to say that Jesus has put himself on the level of Peter, rather than Peter on Jesus' level! It is exactly this divine conformity that gives hope to the Disciple, who experienced the pain of infidelity.

From here is born the trust that makes him able to follow [Christ] to the end:  "This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God. And after this he said to him, "Follow me'" (Jn 21: 19).

From that day, Peter "followed" the Master with the precise awareness of his own fragility; but this understanding did not discourage him. Indeed, he knew that he could count on the presence of the Risen One beside him.

From the naïve enthusiasm of initial acceptance, passing though the sorrowful experience of denial and the weeping of conversion, Peter succeeded in entrusting himself to that Jesus who adapted himself to his poor capacity of love. And in this way he shows us the way, notwithstanding all of our weakness. We know that Jesus adapts himself to this weakness of ours.

We follow him with our poor capacity to love and we know that Jesus is good and he accepts us.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 24 May 2006]

1. The promise made by Jesus to Simon Peter, to make him the cornerstone of his Church, is reflected in the mandate that Christ entrusts to him after the resurrection: "Feed my lambs", "Shepherd my sheep" (John 21: 15-17). There is an objective relationship between the conferring of the mission attested by John's account, and the promise reported by Matthew (cf. Matthew 16: 18-19). In Matthew's text there was an announcement. In John's there is the fulfilment of the proclamation. The words: "Shepherd my sheep" manifest Jesus' intention to ensure the future of the Church he founded, under the leadership of a universal shepherd, namely Peter, to whom he said that, by his grace, he would be "stone" and who would have the "keys of the kingdom of heaven", with the power "to bind and loose". Jesus, after the resurrection, gives concrete form to the proclamation and promise of Caesarea Philippi, establishing Peter's authority as the pastoral ministry of the Church, on a universal scale.

2. Let us say at once that this pastoral mission includes the task of "confirming the brethren" in the faith, which we discussed in the previous catechesis. "Confirming the brethren" and "shepherding the sheep" jointly constitute Peter's mission: one might say the proprium of his universal ministry. As the First Vatican Council states, the constant tradition of the Church has rightly held that the apostolic primacy of Peter 'includes also the supreme power of magisterium' (cf.) Both the primacy and the power of magisterium are conferred directly by Jesus on Peter as a singular person, although both prerogatives are ordered to the Church, without however deriving from the Church, but only from Christ. The primacy is given to Peter (cf. Mt 16, 18) as - the expression is Augustine's - "totius Ecclesiae figuram gerenti" (Epist., 53, 1.2), i.e. insofar as he personally represents the whole Church; and the task and power of magisterium is conferred on him as confirmed faith so that it may be confirming for all the "brethren" (cf. Lk 22, 31 f). But everything is in the Church and for the Church, of which Peter is the foundation, claviger and pastor in its visible structure, in the name and by mandate of Christ.

3. Jesus had foretold this mission to Peter not only in Caesarea Philippi, but also in the first miraculous catch of fish, when, to Simon who recognised himself as a sinner, he had said: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men" (Lk 5:10). On this occasion, Jesus had reserved this proclamation for Peter personally, distinguishing him from his companions and associates, including the "sons of Zebedee", James and John (cf. Lk 5:10). Also in the second miraculous fishing, after the resurrection, the person of Peter emerges in the midst of the other Apostles, according to John's description of the event (John 21, 2 ff), almost as if to hand down the memory of it in the framework of a prophetic symbolism of the fruitfulness of the mission entrusted by Christ to those fishermen.

4. When Jesus is about to confer the mission on Peter, he addresses him with an official appellation: "Simon, son of John" (Jn 21:15), but then takes on a familiar and friendly tone: "Do you love me more than these men?". This question expresses an interest in the person of Simon Peter and is related to his election for a personal mission. Jesus formulates it three times, not without an implicit reference to the threefold denial. And Peter gives an answer that is not based on trust in his own personal strengths and abilities, on his own merits. He now knows that he must place all his trust in Christ alone: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you" (Jn 21:17). Evidently the task of a shepherd requires a special love for Christ. But it is he, it is God who gives everything, even the ability to respond to the vocation, to fulfil one's mission. Yes, it must be said that "everything is grace", especially at that level!

5. And having received the desired response, Jesus confers on Simon Peter the pastoral mission: "Shepherd my lambs"; "Shepherd my sheep". It is like an extension of the mission of Jesus, who said of himself: 'I am the good shepherd' (Jn 10:11). Jesus, who shared with Simon his quality of 'stone', also communicates to him his mission as 'shepherd'. It is a communication that implies an intimate communion, which also transpires from Jesus' formulation: 'Shepherd my lambs . . . my sheep'; as he had already said: 'On this rock I will build my Church' (Mt 16:18). The Church is Christ's property, not Peter's. Lambs and sheep belong to Christ, and to no-one else. They belong to him as the "good Shepherd", who "lays down his life for his sheep" (Jn 10:11). Peter must take on the pastoral ministry to men redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Pet 1:19). On the relationship between Christ and men, who have become His property through redemption, is founded the character of service that marks the power attached to the mission conferred on Peter: service to Him who alone is "shepherd and guardian of our souls" (1 Pet 2:25), and at the same time to all those whom Christ the Good Shepherd has redeemed at the price of the sacrifice of the cross. Moreover, the content of this service is clear: just as the shepherd leads the sheep to the places where they can find food and safety, so the shepherd of souls must offer them the food of God's word and his holy will (cf. Jn 4:34), ensuring the unity of the flock and defending it from any hostile incursion.

6. Of course, mission entails power, but for Peter - and for his successors - it is a power ordered to service, a specific service, a ministerium. Peter receives it in the community of the Twelve. He is one of the community of the Apostles. But there is no doubt that Jesus, both through the proclamation (cf. Mt 16:18-19), and through the conferring of the mission after his resurrection, relates in a special way to Peter what he conveys to all the Apostles, as mission and as power. Only to him does Jesus say: 'Shepherd', repeating it three times. It follows that, in the context of the common task of the Twelve, a mission and a power are delineated for Peter, which belong to him alone.

7. Jesus addresses Peter as a single person in the midst of the Twelve, not merely as a representative of these Twelve: "Do you love me more than these?" (Jn 21:15). This subject - the you of Peter - is asked for the declaration of love and is conferred this singular mission and authority. Peter is thus distinct among the other Apostles. Even the threefold repetition of the question about Peter's love, probably in connection with his threefold denial of Christ, accentuates the fact of the conferral on him of a particular ministerium, as a decision of Christ Himself, independently of any quality or merit of the Apostle, and indeed despite his momentary infidelity.

8. The communion in the messianic mission, established by Jesus with Peter through that mandate: "Shepherd my lambs . . .", cannot but entail a participation of the Apostle-Shepherd in the sacrificial state of Christ the Good Shepherd "who lays down his life for his sheep". This is the key to the interpretation of many events in the history of the pontificate of Peter's successors. Over the whole arc of this story hovers that prediction of Jesus: "When you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird your garment and take you where you will not" (Jn 21:18). It was the prediction of the confirmation that Peter would give to his pastoral ministry with his death by martyrdom. As John says, by such a death Peter would "glorify God" (Jn 21:19). The pastoral service, entrusted to Peter in the Church, would have its consummation in the participation in the sacrifice of the cross, offered by Christ for the redemption of the world. The cross, which had redeemed Peter, would thus become for him the privileged means to fully exercise his task as "Servant of the servants of God".

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 9 December 1992]

"How does Jesus look at me today?" The question suggested by Francis directly reaches and challenges every Christian with the same force as the "three looks that the Lord had for Peter". Looks that tell of "the enthusiasm of vocation, repentance and mission", the Pope explained in the Mass celebrated on Friday 22 May, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.

The passage that recounts the dialogue between Jesus and Peter, the Pontiff noted, "is almost at the end" of John's Gospel" (21:15-19) "We always remember," he continued, "the story of that night of fishing," when "the disciples caught no fish, nothing. And for this "they were a little angry". So "when they approached the shore" and were asked by a man if they had "something to eat", "they angrily" replied, "No!". For truly 'they had caught nothing'. But this man told him to cast the net on the other side: the disciples did so "and the net was filled with fish".

It is "John, the closest friend, who recognises the Lord". For his part, "Peter, the enthusiastic one, threw himself into the sea to get to the Lord first". This is indeed 'a miraculous catch', Francis noted, but 'when they arrived - this is where today's Gospel passage begins - they found that Jesus had prepared breakfast: there was fish on the grill'. So they ate together. Then 'after eating, the dialogue between Jesus and Peter began'.

"Today in prayer," the Pope confided, "the gaze of Jesus on Peter came to my heart". And in the Gospel, he added, 'I found three different looks of Jesus on Peter'.

"The first glimpse," Francis noted, is encountered "at the beginning of John's Gospel, when Andrew goes to his brother Peter and says to him, 'We have found the Messiah'". And "he takes him to Jesus", who "fixes his gaze on him and says: "You are Simon, son of Jonah. You will be called Peter'". It is "the first gaze, the gaze of the mission that, later on in Caesarea Philippi, explains the mission: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church': this will be your mission".

"In the meantime," the Pontiff said, "Peter had become an enthusiast of Jesus: he was following Jesus. We remember that passage in the sixth chapter of John's gospel, when Jesus speaks of eating his body, and many disciples at that moment said: 'But this is hard, this word is hard'". So much so that "they began to draw back". Then "Jesus looks at the disciples and says: 'Do you also want to leave'?". And "it is Peter's enthusiasm that replies: 'No! But where shall we go? You alone have words of eternal life!"". So, Francis explained, "there is the first glimpse: the vocation and a first announcement of the mission". And "what is Peter's soul like in that first look? Enthusiastic'. It is "the first time to go with the Lord".

Then, the Pope added, "I thought about the second look". We find it "late on the night of Holy Thursday, when Peter wants to follow Jesus and approaches where he is, in the priest's house, in prison, but is recognised: 'No, I don't know this one!'". He denies him "three times". Then "he hears the cockcrow and remembers: he has denied the Lord. He has lost everything. He has lost his love". Just "at that moment Jesus is taken into another room, across the courtyard, and fixes his gaze on Peter". Luke's gospel says that "Peter wept bitterly". So "that enthusiasm to follow Jesus has become weeping, because he has sinned, he has denied Jesus". But "that gaze changes Peter's heart, more than before". So "the first change is the change of name and also of vocation". Instead "this second gaze is a gaze that changes the heart and is a change of conversion to love".

"We do not know what the look was like in that encounter, alone, after the resurrection," Francis said. "We know that Jesus met Peter, the Gospel says, but we do not know what they said". And so the one recounted in today's liturgy "is a third look: the confirmation of the mission; but also the look in which Jesus asks for confirmation of Peter's love". In fact "three times - three times! - Peter had denied"; and now the Lord "three times asks for the manifestation of his love". And "when Peter, each time, says yes, that he loves him, he gives the mission: 'Shepherd my lambs, pasture my sheep'". Moreover, to the third question - "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" - Peter "was grieved, almost weeping". He is sorry because "for the third time" the Lord "asked him 'Do you love me?'". And he answers him: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you". And in return Jesus says: "Shepherd my sheep". Here is "the third gaze: the gaze of the mission".Francis then reproposed the essence of the Lord's "three gazes" on Peter: "The first, the gaze of choice, with the enthusiasm of following Jesus; the second, the gaze of repentance at the moment of that very grave sin of having denied Jesus; the third gaze is the gaze of mission: 'Shepherd my lambs, pasture my sheep'". But "it does not end there. Jesus goes further: you do all this out of love and then what? Will you be crowned king? No'. Indeed, the Lord states clearly: "I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will clothe you and take you where you do not want". As if to say: 'You too, like me, will be in that courtyard in which I have fixed my gaze on you: near the cross'.

Precisely on this the Pope proposed an examination of conscience. "We too can think: what is Jesus' gaze on me today? How does Jesus look at me? With a call? With a forgiveness? With a mission?". We can be sure that 'on the road he has taken, we are all under the gaze of Jesus: he always looks at us with love, asks us for something, forgives us something and gives us a mission'.

Before continuing the celebration - "now Jesus comes to the altar," he recalled - Francis invited us to pray: "Lord, you are here, among us. Fix your gaze on me and tell me what I must do; how I must mourn my mistakes, my sins; what courage with which I must go forward on the path that you first made". And 'during this Eucharistic sacrifice', it is appropriate 'that we have this dialogue with Jesus'. Then, he concluded, "it will do us good to think throughout the day of Jesus' gaze on me".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 23/05/2015]

Priestly, different resilience

(Jn 17:20-26)

To protect his intimates from fears of reprisals, Jesus took care to make it clear to what level of realization and consideration he was leading the disciples.

The priority Unity he cares about is that which is introduced by transmitting the divine reciprocity between Father and Son.

It emerges precisely as we allow the ferment that constitutes us sisters and brothers, his Body, to act in us.

If the Church contemplates and displays the Glory of Christ, it is because it has been able to place itself where it ‘belongs’, even to the point of giving life and substance: 'judging' reality too, but from the criterion of the Cross (cf. v.24).

Thus, the experience of Unity in God - the most irrefutable sign of His Presence - was truly profound in the Johannine communities.

Without preclusion, in the assemblies of Asia Minor, the fascination of those aspects of Oneness that were valued by the customary world as imbalances and flaws was revealed.

The first communities were an environment that helped to enhance hidden sides: opportunities for personal enrichment and vocations.

Thus, at the end of the Priestly Prayer, a salient concern emerges in Jesus: the 'Eucharistic' one par excellence.

The Jewish expectation of the Messiah becomes an expectation of Unity [not psychological and trivial, but a Gift from above].

On the subject of Glory, the apostles must not be confused.

Vehicle of Glory is love and the inescapable feasting together - just like in the Eucharist: the same divine Gold coming forth and being offered again.

In prayerful form, the Lord makes a memorial of all those who throughout history will believe in Him, by the word and testimony of the disciples.

Unlike ancient religions, He wants the life of Faith to be characterised not by the “truth” one has, but by the “truth” one makes. And He does not impose a tabula rasa of dreamy eccentricities.

We do not bear witness to the Immense on earth in the coherent capacities of understanding and will according to procedure.

To formulate definitions, it is enough to bring intellectual energies to bear.

To defend, promote and rejoice in life, one must be animated by the Spirit of God himself, in His work of primary Unity.

The earthly love that reflects it is no longer capacity, but possibility.

In its specific weight, the divine Core has nothing immediately satisfying and triumphant about it; on the contrary, much that is helpful and liberating.

In short, the friendship that reveals that which is celestial and primal [not transient and causal] is not in knowing, concatenating, reproducing; in affirming, or renouncing; not even in the succeeding... in parrying blows and advancing.

Nor is a form of Justice that gives each his own sufficient. It recovers opposites.

Father «just» (v.25) refers to the distinction between the world and the small assemblies of mutual adherence in the early days, the only places where life could be perceived.

Only in the reciprocity reflection in the sourcing One was the divine Glory intensely experienced; primordial.

And also for future pilgrims in Him, Christ asks God for Communion - conviviality of differences: not in a one-sided form, but from which to make sense.

Here is the Priestly Prayer of Jesus - which genuinely passes through the centuries; contemporary without wrinkle any.

[Thursday 7th wk. in Easter, June 5, 2025]

Priestly, diverse resilience

(Jn 17:20-26)

Jn seeks to clarify our universal aspiration, and to penetrate the way the Lord makes himself present in the disciples after Easter, so that the world above may approach and inundate, burst into ours.

Heaven influences, exhorts and radically transforms practical existence. 

On earth we can have a direct and all-too-real experience of God, in the summit of discipleship and following, even if it is not immediate.

At the end of the Priestly Prayer, a salient concern emerges in Jesus: the 'Eucharistic' one par excellence.

The Jewish expectation of the Messiah becomes an expectation of Unity [not psychological and trivial, but a Gift from above].

On the subject of Glory, the apostles must not be confused.

The vehicle of Glory is love and the inescapable feasting together - just like in the Eucharist: the same divine Gold that comes to the surface and is offered again.

In prayerful form, the Lord makes memorial of all those who throughout history will believe in Him, through the word and testimony of the disciples, who become the centre of attraction and union.

Unlike ancient religions, He wants the life of Faith to be characterised not by the 'truth' one has, but by the 'truth' one makes.

The weight of the divine manifestation must no longer be traced in formulae and correct dogmas: disputes fester.

God's demonstration before humanity cannot be in an external code that makes everyone dependent, wiping the slate clean of dreamy eccentricities.

We do not bear witness to the Immense on earth in the coherent capacities of understanding and willing according to procedure.

To formulate definitions it is enough to bring intellectual energies to bear. 

To defend, promote and rejoice in life, one must be animated by the same Spirit of God, in His work of primary Unity.

The earthly love that reflects it is no longer capacity, but possibility.

In this way, the divine Nucleus in its specific weight has nothing immediately satisfying and triumphant about it; on the contrary, much that is serviceable and liberating.

If the Church contemplates and displays the Glory of Christ, it is because it has been able to place itself in its proper place, to the point of giving life and substance: 'judging' reality too, but from the criterion of the Cross (cf. v.24).

In short, the friendship that unveils what is heavenly and primal [not transient and causal] does not lie in knowing, concatenating, reproducing; in affirming, or renouncing; not even in parrying blows and advancing.

Nor is a form of 'justice' that gives each his own sufficient - for from division to division it would shatter concord: summum jus summa iniuria; jus summum saepe summa est malitia.

This would crumble any firm polyhedral understanding - and if carried through to the end, would lead to the worst injustices.

Even for future pilgrims in Him, Christ asks God for Communion - conviviality of differences: not in the unilateral form, but from which to take meaning.

The priority Unity he cares about is that which is introduced by transmitting the divine reciprocity between Father and Son.

It emerges precisely as we allow the ferment that constitutes us brothers, His Body, to act in us.

For the world to believe that Jesus is the Envoy, friends must be in the Son and in the Father - as the Son is in the Father and the Father in the Son. 

From such a relationship, cemented with intimate immanence, all our unions take their true meaning; weight, transparency, passage, and development.

Fraternities that realise Redemption in history, thanks to a tolerant synergy.

Each person can be in the other, only in the sharing of 'crafted' love.

This is the manifestation [glory] of the divine: a mutual indwelling, which makes us One Body - otherwise one is not credible. Just as the incarnation of God in Christ would not be credible.

Faith is the transmission of authentic glory: Faith and Glory commensurate such concatenation of participation.

And Father "just" (v.25) refers to the distinction between the world and the small assemblies of mutual adherence in the early days, the only places where life could be perceived.

Only in the reciprocity reflected in the One arisen can one live intensely.

The experience of Oneness in God - the most irrefutable sign of His Presence - was indeed profound in the Johannine communities.

Those authentic assemblies were an environment that helped to bring out the hidden sides.

In such churches without preclusion, the fascination of those sides of the Oneness that the customary world valued as imbalances and defects, instead of opportunities for special enrichment: human, cultural, spiritual - and personal callings - was revealed.

The note that makes the assembly of the sons recognisable is precisely the becoming One in the Source of being - not the remaining uniform.

Glory of the beginnings.A different Glory, one that recovers opposites and does not pursue duplicity (perhaps using God's name as a screen and turncoat).

To protect his own from fears of organised and even sacred reprisals [a litmus test of the goodness of values and choices] Jesus took care to make it clear to what level of realisation and consideration he was leading the disciples.

The Trinity is a unique gushing Source; motive, energy, and motor - a true strength, which gives stimulus, form, colour, to the most diverse situations and even to rejection.

It is to be expected that dislikes, attempts at derision and worse will arise towards those who extend the horizon.

Superficial and vain installed do not deserve any credibility. But they are not willing to be unmasked. And they certainly do not renounce counterfeit positions, on which instead they willingly insist.

It also applies to artfully constructed fences over centuries of strife, even between Christian denominations.

Comparing their history of absurd conflicts, this Gospel seems to say: none of them has really experienced the Father.

None of them has seen and understood the face of the other, except for the setting up of a contrived do-nothing identity, built on the most trivial opposition.

As Pope Francis has suggested, this is all to cover up venal interests and fatuous superstitions; nothing else.

On the other hand, men today as they did then - seeing a non-confrontational, servant and poor Church - would contemplate the Crucified One.

They would experience divine glory.

Here is the priestly prayer of Jesus - genuinely transcending the centuries; contemporary without a wrinkle.

To internalise and live the message:

What do you think of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue? Does it enrich or demoralise you?

Do you think it is the opaque and triumphant Church that makes us contemplate the Crucified One, or the transparent and poor one?

Unity in the Church was the focus of Pope Francis' reflection during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Thursday 21 May. Rereading the passage from the Gospel of John (17:20-26) proposed by the liturgy of the day, the Pontiff first of all underlined how "it consoles everyone to hear this word: 'Father, I pray not only for these but also for those who will believe in me through their word'". This is what Jesus said in taking leave of the apostles. At that moment Jesus prayed to the Father for the disciples and "he also prays for us".

Francis pointed out that 'Jesus prayed for us at that time and continues to do so'. We read in the Gospel: 'Father, I pray for these but for many others who will come'. A not insignificant detail to which, perhaps, not enough attention is paid. Yet, the Pope reiterated, "Jesus prayed for me" and this "is indeed a source of trust". We could imagine 'Jesus before the Father, in heaven', praying for us. And "what does the Father see? The wounds', that is, the price that Jesus 'paid for us'.

With this image, the Pontiff entered into the heart of his reflection. Indeed, he wondered, 'what does Jesus ask of the Father in this prayer?' Does he say, "I pray for them that life may be good, that they may have money, that they may all be happy, that they may lack nothing?...". No, Jesus "prays that all may be one: 'As you are in me and I in you'". At that moment he prays "for our unity. For the unity of his people, for the unity of his Church'.

Jesus, Francis explained, knows well that "the spirit of the world, which is precisely the spirit of the father of division, is a spirit of division, of war, of envy, of jealousies", and that this is present "even in families, even in religious families, even in dioceses, even in the whole Church: it is the great temptation". Therefore "the great prayer of Jesus" is to "resemble" the Father: that is, "as you Father are in me and I in you", in the "unity that he has with the Father".

Someone might then ask: "But, Father, with this prayer of Jesus, if we want to be faithful, can we not chatter against one another?" Or: "Can't we label this one ..., this one is like this, this one is ...?". And "that other one, who has been branded a revolutionary...?". The Pope's answer was clear: 'No'. Because, he added, "we must be one, one thing, as Jesus and the Father are one". And this is precisely 'the challenge for all of us Christians: not to leave room for division among us, not to let the spirit of division, the father of lies, enter into us'. We must, the Pope insisted, 'always seek unity'. Everyone of course 'is as he is', but he must try to live in unity: 'Has Jesus forgiven you? Forgive us all'.

The Lord prays that we will succeed in this. The Pontiff explained: 'The Church is in great need, so much, of this prayer of unity, not only that of Jesus; we too must join in this prayer'. After all, from the very beginning the Church has manifested this need: 'If we start reading the book of the Acts of the Apostles from the beginning,' Francis said, 'we will see that there the quarrels begin, even the swindles. One wants to cheat the other, think Ananias and Sapphira...". Already in those early years, divisions, self-interest, selfishness were encountered. Making unity was and is a real "struggle".

However, we must realise that 'alone we cannot' achieve unity: this in fact 'is a grace'. Therefore, the Pontiff reiterated, 'Jesus prays, he prayed at that time, he prayed for the Church, he prayed for me, for the Church, for me to go on this path'.

Unity is so important that, the Pope noted, "in the passage we read" this word is repeated "four times in six verses". A unity that "is not made with glue". There is in fact no such thing as "the Church made with glue": the Church is made one by the Spirit. This is why "we must make room for the Spirit, so that he may transform us as the Father is in the Son, into one".

To achieve this, Francis added, there is a piece of advice given by Jesus himself: "Remain in me. This too is a grace. In his prayer Jesus asks: "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am" so that "they may contemplate my glory".

From this meditation came a piece of advice: to reread verses 20-26 of chapter 17 of John's Gospel and think: "Jesus prays, prays for me, has prayed and prays for me still. He prays with his wounds, before the Father". And he does so 'so that we may all be one, as he is with the Father, for the sake of unity'. This "should urge us not to make judgements", not to do "things that go against unity", and to follow Jesus' advice "to remain in him in this life so that we may remain with him in eternity".These teachings, the Pope concluded, are found in Jesus' discourse during the Last Supper. In the Mass "we relive" that supper and Jesus repeats those words to us. During the Eucharist, therefore, "let us make room for Jesus' words to enter our hearts and all of us to be witnesses of unity in the Church and of joy in the hope of the contemplation of Jesus' glory".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 22/05/2015]