Placing in the events of persecution

(Mt 10:16-23)

The course of history is a time when God composes the confluence of our freedom and circumstances.

In such folds there is often a vector of life, an essential aspect, a definitive destiny, that escapes us.

But to the non-mediocre eye of the person of Faith, abuses and even martyrdom are also a gift.

To learn the important lessons of life, every day the believer ventures into what he is afraid to do, overcoming fears.

The spousal and gratuitous love received places us in a condition of reciprocity, of active desire to unite life to Christ - albeit in the meagre nature of our responses.

Continuing instead to complain about failures, dangers, calamities, everyone will see in us women like the others and ordinary men - and everything will end at this level.

We won’t be on the other side. At most we will try to escape the harshness, or we will end up looking for circumstance’s allies (vv.19).

Mt intends to help his communities to clash with worldly logic and to place themselves fervently in the events of persecution.

Social harassments are not fatalities, but opportunities for mission; places of high eucharistic witness (v.18).

The persecuted do not need external crutches, nor do they have to live in the anguish of collapse.

They have the task of being signs of the God’s Kingdom, which gradually leads the distant and the usurpers themselves to a different awareness.

No one is the arbiter of reality and all are twigs subject to reverses, but in the humanizing condition of the apostles overflows an emotional independence.

This happens through the intimate, living sense of a Presence, and the reading of external events as an exceptional action of the Father who reveals himself.

In this mouldable energy magma, unique paths emerge, unprecedented opportunities for growth... even in adversity.

Attitude without alibi or granite certainties: with the sole conviction that everything will be put back on the line.

Sacred and profane times come to coincide in a fervent Covenant, which nests and bears fruit even in moments of travail and paradox.

Here the only necessary resource is the spiritual strength to go all the way... yes, in paradoxes of other side.

It is in the Lord and in the insidious or day-to-day reality the "place" for each of us. Not without lacerations.

Yet we draw spiritual energy from the knowledge of Christ, from the sense of deep bond with Him and even minute and varied reality, or fearsome - always personal (v.22b).

Our story will not be like an easy and happy ending novel.

But we will have the opportunity to witness in the present the most genuine ancient roots: at every moment God calls, manifests himself - and what seems to be failure becomes Food and source of Life.

To internalize and live the message:

What kind of reading do you do, and how do you place yourself in events of persecution? 

Are you aware that setbacks do not come for despair, but to free you from closure in stagnant cultural patterns (and not yours)?

[Friday 14th wk. in O.T.  July 10, 2026]

Values and emotional independence

(Mt 10:16-23)

The course of history is a time in which God composes the confluence of our freedom and circumstances.

In such folds there is often a vector of life, an essential aspect, a definitive destiny, that escapes us.

But to the unmediated eye of the person of Faith, even abuse and even martyrdom are a gift.

In order to learn the important lessons of life, the believer ventures into what he is afraid to do, overcoming his fears.

The spousal and gratuitous love received places one in a condition of reciprocity, of an active desire to unite one's life with Christ - albeit in the meagreness of our responses.

By continuing instead to complain about failures, dangers, calamities, everyone will see in us women like the others and ordinary men - and everything will end at this level.

We will not be on the other side.

At best we will try to escape the harshness, or we will end up seeking allies of circumstance (vv.19-20).

Mt intends to help his communities to bump up against worldly logic and place themselves in the events of persecution in a fervent manner.

Social anguish is not a fatality, but an opportunity for mission; a place of high Eucharistic witness (vv.16-18).

The persecuted do not need external crutches, nor do they have to live in the anguish of collapse.

They have the task of being signs of the Kingdom of God, which gradually brings the distant and the usurpers themselves to a different awareness.

No one is the arbiter of reality and all are twigs subject to toppling, but in the humanising condition of the apostles an emotional independence shines through.

This happens because of the intimate, living sense of a Presence, and the reading of external events as an exceptional action of the Father who reveals himself.

In this mouldable magma of energy, unique paths emerge, unprecedented opportunities for growth... even in adversity.

An attitude without alibis or granitic certainties: with the sole conviction that everything will be put back into play (not by effort: by shifting our gaze, simply).

Sacred and profane time come to coincide in a fervent pact, which nestles and broods fruit even in moments of travail and paradox.

Here, the only resource needed is the spiritual strength to go all the way... into the paradoxes on the other side.

Thus even the family or 'clan' to which one belongs must be led to a different world of convictions; not without lacerating contrasts (v.21).

The Torah itself obliged the denunciation of infidels to the religion of the fathers - even close relatives - to the point of putting them to death (Deut 13:7-12).

The Announcement could only cause extreme divisions, and on basic issues such as success, or progress in this life - the vision of a new world, of the utopia of other and other people's needs.

Everything will seem to conspire and mock our ideal (v.22).

The reference to the Name alludes to the historical event of Jesus of Nazareth, with its load not only of ideal and explicit goodness, but also of denunciatory activity against the official institution and the false leaders who had put the God of the Exodus under hijacking.

Despite the interference, being misunderstood, slandered, ridiculed, blackmailed and hated... anchored in Christ we will experience that the stages of history and life proceed towards Hope.

God's 'protection' does not preserve from gloomy hues, nor from being harmed, but ensures that nothing is lost (v.22b). It introduces one to the Happiness that makes one aware of existing in all personal reality.

In the time of momentous choices, of the emergency that seems to put everything in check - but wants to make us less artificial - such awareness can overturn our judgement of substance, of the small and the great.

Indeed, for the adventure of love there is no accounting or clamour.

It is in the Lord and in the insidious or summary reality the 'place' for each of us. Not without tears.

Yet we draw spiritual energy from the knowledge of Christ, from the sense of deep connection with Him and the reality even minute and varied, or fearful - always personal (v.22b).

'Heaven' conquers death. The destiny of oneness does not go to ruin: it is precious and dear. 

One must glimpse its Beauty, future and already present.

Nor does it matter to place oneself above and in front: rather in the background, already rich and perfect, in the intimate sense of the fullness of being.

Jesus warns us: we will not be able to count on unassailable friendships, nor on human powers lined up to defend the earthly plot.

Even he whom we thought was close will scrutinise us with suspicion: the price of truth is always in the choice against the world of lies (even sacred or ephemeral ones) all lined up against.

Our story will not be like an easy novel with a happy ending.

But we will have a chance to witness in the present the most genuine ancient roots: that in every moment God calls, manifests Himself - and what appears to be failure becomes Food and the source of Life.Obstinate only in the change of proportions, between stripping and elevation. In the contraposition of the very criteria and foundations of thinking.

Pursue and Confine, or Sincerity and Transparency

This is Mt 10:16-23, the same Gospel passage from the Feast of St Stephen the Protomartyr - where we celebrate the disarming power of the martyrdom of sons. Perfect choice.

The day after Christmas we remove the white curtains of the Tabernacle and replace them with red ones.

Paradoxical awareness: the simplicity of the Crib and the events of royalty-persecution intertwine, out of intimate fidelity to the Good News (sometimes considered a real nuisance, precisely by those who have grown accustomed to it).

The passage is abrupt, but the sense is visceral and acute, also for historical and - shall we say - theological, Christological, ecclesial reasons.

In fact, biblical friends still argue about the real perpetrators of the denunciation and murder of the leader of the non-Judaizing church: a bold-faced and impertinent, but sincere and genuine - like a 'dove'. 

Of course, martyrdom to the point of bloodshed is not required of everyone: often a slow and anonymous consummation can resemble the first Witness to the authentic Faith.

Indeed, Stephen dared to criticise customs, the monopoly of the Temple [to which the Church of the Apostles was still bound] and the fundamentalist interpretation of the Law.

The critical witnesses impugn all the powers of the earth, even the closest (v.21). We are exactly the unbalanced Word of God, dismantling the quiet barriers.

They make us crawl; but it seems madness.

If unable to evolve and eager to confine ourselves, even family power will turn against us, when we try to replace the tribal calculus of 'wolves' with the innocence that bestows and renews relationships.

The clan to which one belongs must also be led to a different world of convictions; not without lacerating contrasts.

The Torah itself obliged believers in God to denounce those unfaithful to their fathers' religion - even close relatives - to the point of putting them to death (Deut 13:7-12).

To stay in the saddle and defend the ancient world in which they are placed, the worldly powers of the synagogue and the palace will not hesitate to use exclusion, lies and intimidation: they have nothing else.

People like Stephen wanted not only the pyramid of cults, but also the 'ecclesial' situation dominated by official customs to be turned upside down.

Those who are called to be nourished must rely not on the power of influence and fear of the hierarchy, but on the credible gift of self. The only lovable and convincing reality.

The Witness who reflects Jesus cannot imagine compromising, then allying himself with people who matter and resorting to subterfuge, deception, bribes or shameful support (cf. vv.19-20).

Allies of circumstance, to escape the harshness and maintain reputation.

Mt intends to help his communities - and us today - to resist worldly logic or the war of opinions, and to stand in the events of persecution in a fervent manner.

Persecution is not a fatality, but an opportunity for transparent mission, without gimmicks; a place of high Eucharistic witness.

The persecuted must not live in the anguish of collapse, because they have the task of being signs of the Kingdom of God.

They gradually bring the distant ones and the internal usurpers themselves to a different awareness.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (xvii):

"Of great rulers the people knew they existed; then came those whom they loved and exalted, and then those whom they feared, and then those whom they mocked: when sincerity failed, insincerity set in".

The Church's attraction lies in not turning into a power like any other, attached to hegemony and riches.

Hypocritical power, harassing and exploiting the naivety of the simple, the weak - quickly made subjects and treated as doormats.

More than in pusillanimous little things [that do not compromise] or more than in strife and a new dirigisme, the Elsewhere is only in the clement and benevolent transparency of the Spirit (v.20).

For a higher Loyalty and Justice: those willing even to lose friends, be mocked and rejected. Protecting only being oneself, in naturalness and simplicity.

But allowing new energies to enter, to open the door to the ineffable Mystery.

Here sacred and profane come together in a fervent Covenant.

A covenant that nestles and broods fruit, precisely in moments of labour and paradox.

The only necessary resource is the spiritual strength to go all the way.

The Announcement could only cause extreme divisions, and on basic issues such as success, or progress in this life - in place of the vision of a new world; of the utopia of other and other people's needs.

And sooner or later perhaps everything will seem to conspire and make a mockery of our ideal.

The reference to the 'Name' (v.22) alludes to the historical event of Jesus of Nazareth, with all its load not only of ideal and explicit goodness, but also of denunciatory activity against the official institution - and the false leaders who had put the God of the Exodus under hijacking.

Despite the interferences - being misunderstood, slandered, mocked, blackmailed and hated... anchored in Christ we will personally experience that the stages of history and life proceed towards an indispensable Hope, which breaks through the blockages.

[God's so-called 'protection' does not preserve us from gloomy hues, nor from being harmed, but ensures that nothing is lost].

Certainly, Jesus warns us: we will not be able to count on unassailable friendships, nor on human powers arrayed in defence. A story of authentic Incarnation.

Even he whom we thought was close will scrutinise critical witnesses with suspicion.

The price of truth is always in the choice against the world of lies - even sacred homologising ones - all coalesced against.

Our story will not be like an easy novel with a happy ending. But we will have the opportunity to manifest that at every moment God reveals Himself, and what appears to be failure becomes Food and the source of Life.

Only this is beyond the provisional and has the power of incisive, regenerating maturity.

To internalise and live the message:

What kind of reading do you do, and how do you place yourself in the events of persecution? 

Are you aware that hindrances do not come out of desperation, but rather to free you from closure in stagnant cultural patterns (and not your own)?

On the other side of the world

Christians must therefore always be found on the 'other side' of the world, the side chosen by God: not persecutors, but persecuted; not arrogant, but meek; not sellers of smoke, but submissive to the truth; not impostors, but honest.

This fidelity to the style of Jesus - which is a style of hope - even unto death, would be called by the first Christians by a beautiful name: 'martyrdom', which means 'testimony'. There were many other possibilities, offered by the vocabulary: one could call it heroism, self-denial, self-sacrifice. Instead, the Christians of the first hour called it by a name that smells of discipleship. Martyrs do not live for themselves, they do not fight to affirm their ideas, and they accept that they must die only out of fidelity to the Gospel. Nor is martyrdom the supreme ideal of Christian life, because above it there is charity, that is, love of God and neighbour. The Apostle Paul says it very well in his hymn to charity, understood as love of God and neighbour. The Apostle Paul says it very well in the hymn to charity: "Though I give all my goods for food and deliver up my body to boast, yet have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). The idea that suicide bombers can be called 'martyrs' is repugnant to Christians: there is nothing in their end that can be approximated to the attitude of God's children.

Sometimes, reading the stories of so many martyrs of yesterday and today - who are more numerous than the martyrs of earlier times - we are amazed at the fortitude with which they faced their trials. This fortitude is a sign of the great hope that animated them: the certain hope that nothing and no one could separate them from the love of God given to us in Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 8:38-39).

May God always give us the strength to be his witnesses. May he grant us to live Christian hope above all in the hidden martyrdom of doing our daily duties well and with love. Thank you.

(Pope Francis, General Audience 28 June 2017)

It is always necessary to notice this distinctive feature of Christian martyrdom:  it is exclusively an act of love for God and for man, including persecutors. At holy Mass today, we therefore pray to the Lord that he who "died praying for those who killed him, [may] help us to imitate his goodness and to love our enemies" (cf. Opening Prayer). How many sons and daughters of the Church down the centuries have followed his example, from the first persecution in Jerusalem to the persecutions of the Roman emperors, to the multitudes of martyrs in our day! Indeed, even today we receive news from various parts of the world of missionaries, priests, Bishops, men and women religious and lay faithful who are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, deprived of freedom or prevented from exercising it because they are disciples of Christ and apostles of the Gospel; at times, they even suffer and die for being in communion with the universal Church or for their fidelity to the Pope. Recalling the experience of the Vietnamese Martyr, Paul Le-Bao-Tinh (d. 1857) in my Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi (cf. n. 37), I noted that suffering is transformed into joy through the power of hope that comes from faith. The Christian martyr, like Christ and through union with him, "accepts it in his heart, and he transforms it into an action of love. What on the outside is simply brutal violence - the Crucifixion - from within becomes an act of total self-giving love.... Violence is transformed into love, and death into life" (World Youth Day 2005, Homily, Mass on Marienfeld Esplanade, Cologne, 21 August 2005; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 24 August, p. 11). The Christian martyr brings about the victory of love over hatred and death.

Let us pray for those who suffer for being faithful to Christ and to his Church. May Mary Most Holy, Queen of Martyrs, help us to be credible Gospel witnesses, responding to our enemies with the disarming power of truth and charity.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 26 December 2007]

We are called to fortitude before men and, at the same time, to fear before God himself; and this fear must be the fear of love, filial fear. And only when this fear penetrates into our hearts can we be truly strong with the fortitude of the Apostles, martyrs, and confessors. Strong with the fortitude of pastors. The invitation to fortitude is linked in an especially deep way with the tradition of the Cardinalate, which even through the colour of the cassock recalls the blood of martyrs.

4. Christ asks us above all to have this fortitude to confess before men, his truth and his cause, without counting whether these people will be favourable or not to this cause, whether they will open their ears and hearts to this truth, or whether they will close them so as not to be able to hear. We cannot be discouraged before any programme in which the ears and the intellect are closed. We must make our confession and proclamation in deepest obedience to the Spirit of Truth. He himself will find the ways to reach the depths of consciences and of hearts. We must rather make our confession and render witness with such strength and ability that responsibility does not fall on us for the fact that our generation has denied Christ before men. We must also be "wary as serpents, innocent as doves" (Mt 10:16).

And finally we must be humble, with that humility of interior truth that permits man to live with magnanimity. Because "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). This magnanimity, evolving from humility, evolving from cooperation with the grace of God, is a particular sign of our service in the Church.

[Pope John Paul II, Consistory 30 June 1979]

In a society contaminated by the "smog of corruption", the Christian must be "clever" and have "flair": in fact, "he cannot afford to be naive" because he guards a "treasure that is the Holy Spirit". The reflection proposed by Pope Francis during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on the morning of Friday, 10 November, touched on one of the open wounds of contemporary man. And, in addressing the conscience of each person, he particularly questioned those in society who have collective responsibilities of government and administration.

The starting point of the homily was the Gospel passage of the day, in which Luke (16:1-8) moves from the "three parables of mercy" to a "totally different" subject through the parable of the dishonest steward. While the previous ones described "the story of God, the story of love, the story of mercy", here we come to "a story of corruption".

The Pontiff summarised the story of a rich man who 'had heard how his company was being administered' and noticed 'something suspicious about the administrator'. A dishonest character who, evidently, 'had a long hand' and, knowing well how to juggle, 'went on for a long time, until the rich man noticed'. And how did the administrator react? It is the same Gospel story, reported by the Pope, that plumbs his thoughts: "But now with this habit I have of easy gain, must I go back to work? To earn my bread by sweat? To get up every day at six in the morning? No, no, no'.

From this awareness, the Pontiff explained, comes the contrivance of the administrator who begins to 'rope in others who are corrupt'. And even if 'some of these were not corrupt', he nevertheless 'liked the proposal and entered into corruption'. Francis commented: 'These are powerful people! When they engage in corruption they are powerful; they even go as far as mafia-like attitudes'. And he emphasised that what is described in this parable 'is not a fable', it is not 'a story that we have to look for in ancient history books: we find it in the newspapers, every day'. In fact, he added, 'this happens even today, especially with those who have the responsibility of administering the people's goods'. After all, 'with one's goods no one is corrupt, he defends them'.

The conclusion of the Gospel passage opened the way for the Pontiff's considerations. First of all, we read 'that the master praised that dishonest steward because he had acted shrewdly'. In fact, the Pope explained, the corrupt generally 'are cunning', they know how to carry out their dishonest conduct well: "Even with courtesy, with silken gloves, but they do it well". And, above all, in the story there is Jesus' final comment: 'For the children of this world, towards their peers, with their peers, are shrewder than the children of light'. Here then is "the consequence that Jesus takes from this story, which is an everyday story. The shrewdness of these'.

It was precisely from here that Francis began to deepen his reflection, asking himself: "But if these are more cunning than Christians - but I will not say Christians, because many corrupt people also call themselves Christians - if these are more cunning than those faithful to Jesus, I ask myself: but is there a Christian cunning?".

The parable then offered the Pope the cue to consider the concrete life of the Christian, who is confronted daily with the scourge of corruption. Francis started with a question: "Is there an attitude for those who want to follow Jesus" so that "they do not end up badly, that they do not end up being eaten alive - as my mother used to say: 'Eaten raw' - by others"? What, in short, is 'Christian shrewdness', a shrewdness, that is, "that is not sinful, but serves to bring me forward in the service of the Lord and also in the help of others?" Is there such a thing as 'Christian shrewdness'?

The answer, said the Pope, comes directly from the Gospel, where we find "some words, some sayings that help us understand if there is - I will say - Christian cunning in order to go forward without falling into the ranks of corruption". Jesus, in fact, uses "contrasts" for this purpose, such as the one between "lambs" and "wolves" ("I send you out as lambs among wolves") by which it is understood that "the Christian is a lamb who has to get by with wolves". And therefore, through "another paradox", he is given advice: "Be therefore prudent as the serpents and simple as the dove".

But, Francis continued, "how does one arrive at this attitude of prudence like serpents and simplicity like doves?" Again the suggestion comes from Jesus, who "repeats many times in the Gospel: 'Be careful, be careful. Look, look at the signs of the times: when the fig tree begins to make leaves, it is because spring is near; when the almond tree blossoms, spring is near'. It is necessary, that is, to be 'attentive to what is happening', to look well, to keep 'your eyes open'.It is precisely this, the Pontiff explained, the first attitude that leads us to 'Christian shrewdness': attention to what is happening. Cultivating, that is, that 'sense of healthy distrust', which leads us, for example, to say: 'I don't trust this one, he talks too much, promises too much...'. As happens when someone proposes: 'Make the investment in my bank I will give you double the interest that others give' - 'Oh, how nice!'". And instead the shrewd person realises that 'this is too much'. The Christian, therefore, 'be careful, watch the signs of the times'.

Then there is a second suggestion: 'reflect'. One must, Francis suggested, 'not be quick to accept certain proposals, because the devil always does this with us; he comes with a feigned humility'. The same thing happened to Eve: "But look at this apple, it's beautiful, eh!" - "No, but I cannot eat it" - "But look, if you eat it you will become..."'. A story that everyone knows about the devil's 'seduction'. We must therefore 'be careful and reflect', bearing in mind that 'the devil knows by which door to enter our heart, because he knows our weaknesses. Everyone has his own. And he knocks on that door, he enters through that door'.

Finally, a third element: 'pray'. If you have these three attitudes, said the Pope, "be sure that you will arrive at this Christian shrewdness that does not allow itself to be deceived, does not allow itself to be sold a piece of glass believing it to be precious stones. And so we will be, as Jesus says: 'Careful as serpents and simple as doves'". And 'we will have the Christian nose for the things that happen'.

In conclusion, as usual, the Pontiff suggested a prayer intention linked to the meditation he had just completed: "Let us pray today to the Lord to give us this grace to be shrewd, shrewd Christians, to have this Christian shrewdness", because "if there is one thing a Christian cannot afford, it is to be naive". In fact "as Christians we have a treasure inside: the treasure that is the Holy Spirit. We must guard it'. He who "allows himself to be robbed of the Spirit" is naive. And a Christian "cannot afford to be naive".

Asking the Lord for "this grace of Christian shrewdness and Christian flair", the Pope concluded, is also "a good opportunity to pray for the corrupt". After all, Francis said, "we speak of the smog that causes pollution", but there is also "a smog of corruption in society". Therefore, "let us pray for the corrupt: poor things, may they find their way out of that prison into which they wanted to enter."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 11.11.2017]

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)  [12 July 2026]

First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (55:10–11)

The central theme of this passage is the image of rain: the Word of God is life-giving rain; it does not return until it has fulfilled its mission of forgiveness and reconciliation. This oracle concludes the Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40–55) As prophets often do, Isaiah uses an image: rain and snow are daydreams for an Eastern farmer accustomed to often arid soil. In Babylon, where he is in exile with his people in the 6th century BC, the benefits of rain are experienced. A sun-drenched land, such as Israel or Babylon, flourishes anew at the first rain. The prophet applies this effectiveness to the Word of God: ‘So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me empty.’ Isaiah emphasises this effectiveness for two reasons. 1) He announces the end of the Exile and the return to Jerusalem. For 50 years, the inhabitants of Jerusalem have been in exile in Babylon. Isaiah promises, on God’s behalf, their liberation and their departure from Babylon. To believe in a promise long awaited requires trust in the Word of God. This is why Isaiah is so firm: ‘my word… shall not return to me empty…’. Statements about the effectiveness of the Word (‘Davar’ means both ‘word’ and ‘event’) are always made during difficult times in Israel’s history, when it is necessary to cling to faith.  Examples: ‘All flesh is like grass… dry grass; the flower withers, but the word of our God stands for ever’ (Isa 40:6–8); ‘I am watching over my word to bring it to pass’ (Jer 1:12). These words were spoken to combat idolatry, for during the exile the temptation was strong amongst the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who, in the face of defeat, thought it better to turn to the gods of the victorious Babylonians, since they were effective. There is a sarcastic passage by the prophet Isaiah: poor people who use the same wood to make a fire and to carve idols; then they expect help from those lifeless idols they have made themselves (cf. Isa 44).  2) The other reason for emphasising the power of the word is that the ‘mission’ of the Word is forgiveness and reconciliation. Immediately before this text, he notes: ‘Seek the Lord whilst he may be found; call upon him whilst he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, who will have mercy on him, and to our God, who abundantly forgives. For my thoughts are not your thoughts…’ (Isaiah 55:6–8).  The ‘mission’ referred to here is therefore a mission to proclaim God’s free forgiveness and the reconciliation of humanity with Him: God will ultimately reconcile humanity to Himself. Later, Paul will say the same: ‘God our Saviour desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim 2:4). This plan of God is fulfilled through the Incarnation of the Word and the sending of the disciples as ambassadors of reconciliation: “God has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18). 

Responsorial Psalm (64/65)

Psalm 64 is a votive offering from a people written upon their return from exile to thank God for their deliverance: on the surface, it is a song of renewed creation, but it is not merely a song about nature. The liturgy presents us only with the final verses (10–14), which appear to be a contemplation of nature, but the preceding verses are fundamental, and without them the true meaning of the psalm is lost. This is a vow of thanksgiving for the return from exile, made in Babylon in the 6th century BC: if God frees us and brings us back to Israel, we shall celebrate in his temple. Deliverance is experienced as forgiveness because the exile was regarded as a punishment for the sins of the people and their leaders, and the return is a ‘return to favour’: God wipes the sinful past clean.  ‘Our sins have overwhelmed us; you forgive them’. It is clear that Israel’s election becomes a mission, and the people celebrate God’s faithfulness: “Blessed are those whom you have chosen and brought near: they shall dwell in your courts.” Just as the Levites had a special place to serve God in the temple, so Israel has a special place amongst the nations: when the other nations see Israel’s salvation, they will recognise that the God of Israel is the only Saviour. With the return to the homeland, a new life begins; it is a true re-creation. For this reason, the final bucolic section should not be separated from the central theme, which is thanksgiving. Lush nature is an image of new life and of God’s greatest gift: forgiveness

Second Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (8:18–23)

Creation is not complete; it is a work in progress and eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. This means that creation is not an event of the past: it is an ongoing project, comparable to a work of art.  Let us imagine the creation of an immense bronze sculpture. From the very first day, the artist knows that it will require patience and time: the process involves many successive stages.  There are hardships, struggles and risks to face; one must have a clear understanding of where this sometimes thankless work is leading and assess every possible difficulty. Only the artist can already visualise the finished work in his mind, but the challenge lies in how to describe the glimpsed beauty to his collaborators, and to share it with them with the same passion. God’s project is comparable to the birth of a work of art: Paul speaks specifically of ‘childbirth’. Only God, for now, can describe the finished work. And who has the mission to complete it? We do, each in our own small way, but above all the Spirit who breathes upon the world to direct it towards God. ‘We have received the firstfruits of the Spirit, but we await adoption as children, the redemption of our body’. In the biblical sense, ‘body’ refers to our whole being. Redemption of the body: our whole being, still in chains today, bound by sin, will finally be set free and free to live as children of God. We speak of the ‘firstfruits’, which biblically refer to the first handful of ears of corn or the firstborn lamb of the flock in spring. They were both the beginning and the promise of the entire harvest. A beautiful image to convey that we already possess the down payment of our ultimate salvation: “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). And it is because we already possess the firstfruits, because we are already animated by the Spirit, that we groan as we await our final transformation. Yet it is always the Spirit who continues the work in the world.  In the Fourth Eucharistic Prayer we say: “ He – your Son – has sent from you, Father, as a first gift to believers, the Holy Spirit who continues his work in the world and brings every sanctification to fulfilment”. “Every sanctification” – that is, every transformation.  For now, creation is still “subject to futility”, but in the new heavens and new earth that we await, towards which we strive, this energy will become a passion for unity: ‘According to his promise, we await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells’ (2 Pet 3:13). Then creation will be ‘set free from the bondage of corruption to enter into the freedom of the glory of the children of God’.  Paul speaks of the whole of creation and the cosmos, not just of us. He takes up a theme familiar to the Bible: the disharmony caused by Adam’s wrong choice plunges the entire garden—that is, the whole of creation—into chaos: “The ground shall be cursed because of you” (Gen 3:17).  Conversely, when righteousness dwells on the earth, not only humans but also animals will know peace. Humanity is part of the cosmos and cannot be conceived of without it. This is one of the meanings of Isaiah’s magnificent ‘parable’ of the animals: ‘The wolf shall dwell with the lamb… the lion shall feed on straw like the ox… They shall do no harm or destroy any more on all my holy mountain, for the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth as the waters cover the sea’ (Isaiah 11:6–9). As Paul says in Ephesians: it is ‘the whole universe, the things in heaven and on earth’ that will one day be brought together under one Head, Christ (Ephesians 1:9–10). It is our privilege to be able to catch a glimpse of the completed work even now. Returning to the analogy of the work of art: we who are engaged in God’s plan have an immense privilege compared to an artist’s collaborators: we can already glimpse the completed work: “The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us; and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).  Meanwhile, this great labour of bringing forth the new humanity continues amidst pain and groaning. All the more reason for believers to find the courage to proclaim, even now, the glory promised to all creation.

From the Gospel according to Matthew (13:1–23)

Jesus speaks in parables because the ‘parable’ is a literary genre of the Jewish tradition, similar to a narrative with a pedagogical purpose, designed to lead the listener to change their perspective. A parable is not an allegory: not every detail has a precise meaning; the lesson comes from the overall context.  

  The disciples ask why Jesus speaks in parables, and Jesus gives three reasons: firstly, to distinguish between the disciples and the crowd: ‘To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given.’ Secondly, to console them, because their opponents ‘look without seeing, listen without hearing or understanding’. Jesus quotes a passage from Isaiah to them: “This people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes…” (Isaiah 6:9–10). Thirdly, to recall the Old Testament theme of the two paths: “To those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have not, even what they have will be taken away.” In Matthew and Mark, this teaching in parables immediately follows the disputes with the Pharisees and with those who refuse to recognise Jesus as the Messiah, revealing their hardened hearts and their imperviousness to the Word. Indeed, the more the listeners shut themselves away in their certainties, the more impervious they become to the Word. The parables are a pedagogical means of touching those hardened hearts. However, the disposition of the heart is decisive in understanding Jesus. I shall now return to these words: ‘To those who have, more will be given’ – which is the theme of the two paths already present in the Old Testament and which always presents human existence as a crossroads. If you take the right path, every step brings you closer to your goal: ‘Give to the wise, and he will become wiser still; instruct the righteous, and he will increase his knowledge’ (Prov 9:9). If, on the other hand, you choose the wrong path, every step takes you further away. A clear choice is therefore required: either to listen, to open your ears to be taught and transformed by the Word; or to refuse to listen and become increasingly hard of hearing. In the parable of the sower, Jesus shows what the obstacles to preaching are.  Jesus is the Word of God made flesh (Jn 1:14); and he communicates only the Father’s Word: “The word that you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me” (Jn 14:24). Yet he finds it difficult to find fertile ground.  What are the difficulties involved in listening to the Word? First of all, the cares of the world which choke out the demands of the Kingdom (Mt 6:25–34). A deeper difficulty is not trusting Jesus and recognising him as the Messiah. The disciples themselves stumbled: after the discourse on the bread of life, many said, ‘This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?’ From that moment on, many of the disciples turned back, and Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ (John 6:60–68). Despite the difficulties, Jesus proclaims that the harvest—‘a hundredfold, sixtyfold or thirtyfold’—is certain, though it comes at a high price. The Kingdom of God will be established through many failures. To enter into the understanding of the Kingdom is solely a gift from God: ‘It has been granted to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven… Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear…’ Those who have received the seed in good soil are those who hear the Word and understand it with a receptive heart, capable of receiving from God the light that comes only from Him. This openness, too, is a gift. The Pharisees and the crowd were not yet ready. Jesus had Ezekiel in mind when he said, ‘Those who received the seed among the thorns are those who hear the Word, but the cares of the world and the allure of wealth choke the Word.’ Ezekiel writes: “They come to you as a people gather; they listen to your words, but do not put them into practice; their mouths are full of lusts, their hearts are set on gain. To them you are like a love song, with a sweet voice, well played” (Ezek 33:30–32).  

+ Giovanni D’Ercole

«Departed, preach, saying [that] the kingdom of heaven has come near» (v.7)

(Mt 10:7-15)

Jesus recommends to the friends who announce Him not to carry a saddlebag and money to distinguish themselves from customs and contexts - and inoculate the poison of fears.

The eloquent gesture of «Peace» of the faithful in Christ is not that to fill empty glasses, but to make God already Present discover in those to whom they turn, without foreclosures.

An understanding of woman and man in themselves, in the ‘limit’ - divine seed in them - that becomes boost to open up.

For a consideration of the human condition that does not start from the "ideals", but from reality; that does not move from disembodied "values" [and elsewhere] but from the concrete day-to-day.

Compared to other currents that sought a new way of living and living together - Pharisees, Essenes, Baptist - the believer must not be prevented.

Trusting both in hospitality and in the food of others (all ritually pure), the Lord’s friend broadens the expression of the First Covenant.

The destitution accepted comes before the obligations. It let become human. It drops the weights. It does not make "guilt" the measure of life.

The Kingdom is «Close». It communicates a sense of adequacy, not of reproach. It starts from conscience, not from error.

The small fraternities of Galilee and Syria to which Mt sends his message are minimal realities - within the reach of ordinary people.

Conversion they can propose has no definitive measure.

It gives everyone and even those who announce, permission to make mistakes and fall, no more shame than the state of destitution.

Thus the action of women and men of Faith arouses a renewed gaze, because it bears witness to closeness and freedom - not observance of obsessive, artificial, unnatural fulfilments.

In the small assemblies of the early days and in their gratuitous action God himself was present. Without pyramids or heaps of recriminations.

For a new land, animated by a new Heaven: that of the Beatitudes that recover torn relationships, and reintegrate into coexistence the very imperfect, first excluded in the name of God.

The Kingdom - germ of reality just at the beginning - thanks to the Gift’ spirit would have transformed the world, in the recovery of opposites.

Proposing the alternative of an unexpected face of the Eternal Lover, but also of the successful man, and of society.

So what is the engine of inclusion? Under the eyes of the first protagonists of evangelization, the solution germinated from spontaneous development.

Even today, boundless amiability is born simply by recognizing the great absolute privilege of being approved by the Creator Father, because we ourselves; unrepeatable.

The passion for another Kingdom before any interest will be only an inner fruit: recognition of predilections «by Name», brought of unique, not external riches.

Fidelity to a Heaven not to be conquered, but that already dwells.

[Thursday 14th wk. in O.T.  July 9, 2026]

"Depart, preach, saying [that] the kingdom of heaven has come near" (v.7)

(Mt 10:7-15)

To the friends who proclaim it, Jesus recommends that they do not carry saddlebags and money to distinguish themselves from customs and contexts (and inoculate the poison of fears). 

The eloquent gesture of 'Peace' of the faithful in Christ is not to fill empty glasses, but to make them discover God already Present in those they address, without preclusion.

An understanding of woman and man in themselves, in the "limit" - divine seed in them - that becomes a drive to open up.

For a consideration of the human condition that does not start from 'ideals' but from reality; that does not move from disembodied 'values' (and elsewhere) but from the concrete summary.

Compared to other currents that sought a new way of living and living together - Pharisees, Essenes, Baptists - the believer must not be prejudiced.

By trusting both hospitality and the food of others (all ritually pure) the friend of the Lord expands the expression of the First Covenant.

Accepted indigence comes before obligations. It lets them become human. It drops weights. He does not make 'guilt' the measure of life.

The Kingdom is "Near". It communicates a sense of adequacy, not reproach. It starts from conscience, not from error.

The small fraternities of Galilee and Syria to which Mt launches his message are tiny realities - within the reach of ordinary people.

The "conversion" they can propose does not have a definitive measure.

It gives everyone (even those who proclaim) permission to err and fall, no longer ashamed of their state of destitution.

Thus the actions of women and men of Faith arouse a renewed gaze, because they bear witness to proximity and freedom - not to obsessive, artificial, unnatural compliance.

In the small assemblies of the early days and in their free action, God himself was made present. Without pyramids or heaps of recriminations.

For a new earth, animated by a new Heaven: that of the Beatitudes that recover torn relationships, and reintegrate into coexistence precisely the imperfect, previously excluded in the name of God.

The Kingdom - a germ of reality barely in its infancy - thanks to the spirit of Gift would transform the world, in the recovery of opposites.

Proposing the alternative of an unexpected face of the Eternal Lover, but also of the successful man, and of society.

What then is the engine of inclusion? How can Peace be transmitted, when many admit afflicted and disappointed: "I have no peace"? Impossible by effort.

Under the eyes of the first protagonists of evangelisation, the solution germinated from a spontaneous development.

Even today, boundless loveliness arises simply by recognising the great absolute privilege of being approved by the Creator Father, because we ourselves; unrepeatable.

["The trial of crimes is instructed, but what does the jury think? Who are the jurors? Who is the deputy attorney general of humanity?" (Djibril Tamsir Niane)].

Only by grasping the profound correspondence between the dignity of the Call, the desire for fullness of life and identity-personal character, will we proclaim the "Gratis" received, showing trust in people.

A sign of integration will also be not going from house to house: from an initial makeshift accommodation to the flat, to the cottage and finally to the palace (which will absorb all the energy).

The missionary and the authentic Church are critical signs with respect to the culture of accumulation - a shame still unspoken and widespread in the petty gerontocracy - that certainly does not reveal a model of coexistence and appreciation of deep goods.

Passion for another Kingdom before any interest will only be an inner fruit: recognition of predilections "by Name", bearing unique, not external, riches.

Faithfulness to a Heaven not to be conquered, but which already dwells.

To internalise and live the message:

In which delivery of Jesus do you recognise yourself? How do you rely on Providence?

What is your unselfish sign that reflects a great extra gear?

"When the weaver lifts one foot, the other lowers. When the movement ceases and one of the feet stops, the fabric is no longer made. His hands throw the spool 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 also precious because it is not universal' (Rabindranath Tagore).

"Truth is not at all what I have. It is not what you have at all. It is what unites us in suffering, in joy. It is the child of our Union, in pain and pleasure born. Neither I nor You. And I and You. Our common work, permanent amazement. Its name is Wisdom' (Irénée Guilane Dioh).

"The loss of all certainty and shelter is both a kind of trial and a kind of healing" (Pema Chödrön).

"When we suffer a serious disappointment, we never know if it is the conclusion of the story we are living: it could also be the beginning of a great adventure" (Pema Chödrön).

"To grow means to go beyond what you are today. Do not imitate. Do not pretend to have achieved the goal and do not try to rush things. Seek only to grow' (Svami Prajnanapada).

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

"Truth resides in every human heart, and here one must seek it; one must be guided by the truth as one sees it. But no one has the right to force others to act according to their own view of the truth' (Gandhi).

"You must stand up to the whole world even at the cost of being alone. You must look the world in the eye, even though it may happen that the world looks at you with bloodshot eyes. Fear not. Believe in that little thing within you that resides in your heart and says: abandon friends, wife, everything; but bear witness to that for which you have lived and for which you must die" (Gandhi).

"In Benin, if you see a jar of water lying under a tree in front of a house, know that it is for you, a stranger passing through; there is no need to knock on the door to ask for a drink, you just open the jar, take the gourd, drink the water and go on your way if no one is there" (Raymond Johnson).

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

"Observing and listening are a great art. From observation and listening we learn infinitely more than from books. Books are necessary, but observation and listening sharpen your senses' (Krishnamurti).

"Fire is related to Dreaming, to maintaining our connection to ourselves and ancestors, and to the art of keeping our visions alive" (Griot of Central Africa).

"As in life, contraries coexist everywhere: in social organisation and affective life, in exchanges between individuals. To live and realise the contradiction, that is the essential" (Alassane Ndaw).

"The trial of crimes is instructed, but what does the jury think? Who are the jurors? Who is mankind's deputy attorney general?" (Djibril Tamsir Niane).

"Man must take responsibility for the ties, both visible and invisible, which together give meaning to life" (Aminata Traoré).

"Introducing the spirit of other people into our lives gives us more eyes to see and allows us to overcome our limitations" (Sobonfu Somé).

"In the forest, when the branches quarrel, the roots embrace" (African proverb).

For even in a relationship of deep love and coexistence 'there is a need to free oneself from the obligation to be equal' (Amoris Laetitia, no. 139).

"The waves each rise to their own height, almost competing incessantly with each other, but they only reach a given point; thus they lead our minds to the great calm of the sea, of which they too are a part and to which they must return with a rhythm of marvellous beauty" (Rabindranath Tagore).

For Jesus we are not a "mass", a "multitude"! We are individual "persons" with an eternal value, both as creatures and as re-deemed persons! He knows us! He knows me, and loves me and gave himself for me! (Gal 2:20) [John Paul II]

11. "Each to his own way", says the Council. So, there is no need to be discouraged when contemplating models of holiness that appear unattainable. There are testimonies that are useful to stimulate and motivate us, but not because we try to copy them, as this might even lead us away from the unique and specific way the Lord has in store for us. What is important is that each believer discerns his own path and brings out the best in himself, what is so personal God has placed in him (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), and not that he exhausts himself trying to imitate something that was not meant for him. We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many existential forms of witnessing. In fact, when the great mystic Saint John of the Cross wrote his spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid fixed rules for everyone and explained that his verses were written so that each person could benefit "in his own way". For the divine life is communicated to some in one way and to others in another.

[Gaudete et Exsultate].

To internalise and live the message:

Which gospel do you feel you have to write with your life?

Prayer-presentment, unitive. To not lose the magic of the Mystery

Gratitude: the Kingdom at hand

(Mt 9,35-10,1.6-8)

Jesus differs from the Rabbis of his time because he does not wait for the exhausted and prostrate people (v.36) to come to him: he seeks them out.

And the group of his own must participate, both in works of healing and deliverance - fraternity motivated by luminous selflessness.He enters prayer assemblies with pastoral anxiety: to teach, not to disquisition. He does not give lessons in logical analysis, but lets it be known who dwells in it.

He proclaims a Kingdom totally different from the way it was inculcated by the manipulators of consciences (full of detailed convictions) - who certainly did not exercise gratuitousness.

The ancient doctrines and their protagonists dampened any dissonance and produced the worst: intimate coercion, anonymity, loneliness, passivity.

They inculcated that it was decisive to acquire their flat certainties, not to be open to the personal Mystery, to innate character - fruitfulness out of context.

In fact, they sought to disturb the journeys of the soul, which sometimes wanders to find itself, and which prefers new glimpses to the usual way of seeing - swampy, stagnant.

They did not admit that in each believer could dwell a fundamental option that did not conform to their ideology and manner.

Everything about other people's lives had to work perfectly according to their goals. So they preached not upheaval, but stillness.

Nothing new was to happen that would challenge the social equilibrium, their authoritarian influence... and their income.

Nothing different was to be explored and found.

Yet, yesterday as today, within each woman and man resides a volcano of potential energies - which according to the dominant ideology had only to be stifled and aligned.

For all this (which still drags on) we conversely seek a God to be experienced, who is lovable, not 'artfully' constructed... nor invisible or distant from our condition.

We want the One who gives breath, and understands us.

We can see it clearly: what we are hatching is not a miserable illusion, to be extinguished in favour of external balances.

In fact, the Gospel (v.35) proclaims Grace: the face of the Father - who wants nothing for himself, but gives everything to transmit his own Life to us (not to deaden our inner energy).

The Glad Tidings proclaims a Friend Who Comes, not forcing one to "ascend" (in the abstract) or imprisoning in guilt, exhausting the already subdued creatures - making them even more desolate than before.

Here is revealed a Heaven that makes one feel adequate, does not chastise or even impress, but promotes and puts everyone at ease; a Merciful One who is not only good: exclusively good.

The prodigal Father welcomes people as the Son does in the Gospels - as they are; not by enquiring. Rather dilating.

His Word-event also not only reactivates: it reintegrates the imbalances and enhances them in the perspective of paths as a real person - without judging or dispersing or breaking anything.

For such a work of wise recomposition of being, the Master invites to Prayer (v.38) - the disciples' first form of commitment.

Access to different attunements in the Spirit teaches us to stimulate the soul's gaze, to value and understand everything and everyone.

So - after making them less ignorant - Jesus invites his own to involve themselves in missionary work; not to be scholars or moral lecturers.

That would be careless posturing, which makes the unbalanced feel even more lost.

The Mission grows from a small but boundless dimension - that of intimate perception, which becomes aware of the needs and mystery of a favourable Presence.

New configurations in spirit: fully discovered only in deep prayer (v.38).  Incarnate.

It is not meant to distract us from inner fulfilment; on the contrary, it acts as a guide, and returns the soul (scattered in the many common practices to be performed) to its own centre.

It makes us feel the yearning and understanding of the perfect condition: the Father does not intend to absorb our aptitudes, but to strengthen them. For everyone has an intimate project, a Calling by Name, their own place in the world.

It seems paradoxical, but the outgoing Church - the one that does not speculate or engage in mass proselytising to impress the mainstream - is first and foremost a matter of formation and internal consciousness.

In short, one recognises oneself and becomes not unaware of things through Prayer-presentment, unitive.

In Christ, it is not performance or devout expression, but rather understanding and first and foremost listening to the God who reveals and calls in a thousand subtle forms.

The commitment to heal the world is not won without vocation awareness, nor by letting ourselves be plagiarised and going haphazardly.

Rather, sharpening our gaze, and reinvesting the virtue and character even of our own still-shadowed sides.

Nor does it remain essential to always cross every boundary (Mt 10:5-6) with a logic of escape.

Because not infrequently - unfortunately - only those who love strength start from the too remote and out of reach.

The 'sheep' who are lost and tired of trying and trying again - the excluded, the considered lost, the marginalised - are not lacking (they are close at hand) and there is no urgency to immediately turn away. Almost as if to exempt oneself from the nearest.

The horizon expands itself, if one is convinced and does not like masks or subterfuge.

The sense of closeness to oneself, to others, and to reality is an authentic bearer of the Kingdom that is revealed: the Near.

Understanding the nature of creatures and increasingly conforming to it, all are inspired to change and complete themselves, enriching (even cultural sclerosis) without alienating forcing.

Exercising a practice of goodness even with oneself.

Some of the most quoted aphorisms from the Tao culture read: "the way of doing is being"; "he who knows others is wise, he who knows himself is enlightened"; "a long journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"; "the master observes the world, but trusts his inner vision"; "if you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place"; "when you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you".

Thus in the battle against infirmity (Mt 9:35-10:1): we win by sharpening our gaze and reinvesting the energy and character even of our own sides still in shadow.

All the gratuitousness (Mt 10:8) that will be able to spring forth from it to build up life in favour of our brothers and sisters, will spring forth not as puerile hysterical reciprocation, or engagement.

It will be spontaneous, solid and cheering Love Dialogue, because it is devoid of those imbalances that smoulder under the ashes of facade conditioning.

The sense of closeness (v.7) to oneself, to others and to reality will be an authentic - not programmatic, nor alienated - port of the Kingdom that is revealed: Beside.

To internalise and live the message:

Does Prayer in Christ shake your conscience?

What consolation do you expect from the God Who Comes?

Perhaps a compensation?

Or a gratuitousness that triggers - here and now - true Love-understanding, attentive to the calls of every subtle Voice?

Even among the saints there are contrasts

Barnabas, Silvanus and Apollos

Dear brothers and sisters, as we continue our journey among the protagonists of the Christian origins, let us turn our attention today to some of St Paul's other collaborators. We must recognise that the Apostle is an eloquent example of a man open to collaboration: in the Church, he does not want to do everything alone, but makes use of numerous and diverse colleagues. We cannot dwell on all these precious helpers, for they are many. Suffice it to recall, among others, Epaphras (cf. Col 1:7; 4:12; Phm 23), Epaphroditus (cf. Phil 2:25; 4:18), Tychicus (cf. Acts 20:4; Eph 6:21; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 4:12; Tit 3:12), Urbanus (cf. Rom 16:9), Gaius and Aristarchus (cf. Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2; Col 4:10). And women such as Phoebe (cf. Rom 16:1), Triphena and Trifòsa (cf. Rom 16:12), Pèrside, the mother of Rufus - of whom St Paul says: "She is also my mother" (cf. Rom 16:12-13) - not to forget spouses such as Prisca and Aquila (cf. Rom 16:3; 1Cor 16:19; 2Tm 4:19). Today, among this great host of St Paul's co-workers, we turn our attention to three of them, who played a particularly significant role in the evangelisation of the origins: Barnabas, Silvanus and Apollos.

Barnabas means "son of exhortation" (Acts 4:36) or "son of consolation" and is the nickname of a Jewish-Levite native of Cyprus. Settled in Jerusalem, he was one of the first to embrace Christianity after the Lord's resurrection. With great generosity he sold a field he owned, handing over the proceeds to the Apostles for the needs of the Church (cf. Acts 4:37). It was he who guaranteed Saul's conversion to the Christian community in Jerusalem, which still distrusted the former persecutor (cf. Acts 9:27). Sent to Antioch of Syria, he went to take Paul back to Tarsus, where the latter had retired, and spent a whole year with him, devoting himself to the evangelisation of that important city, in whose Church Barnabas was known as a prophet and doctor (cf. Acts 13:1). So Barnabas, at the time of the first conversions of the pagans, realised that this was the time of Saul, who had withdrawn to Tarsus, his city. There he went to look for him. Thus, at that important moment, he almost gave Paul back to the Church; he gave her, in this sense, once again the Apostle of the Gentiles. From the Antiochian Church Barnabas was sent on mission together with Paul, making what is known as the Apostle's first missionary journey. In reality, it was a missionary journey of Barnabas, since he was the one in charge, with whom Paul joined as a co-worker, touching the regions of Cyprus and central-southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, with the cities of Attalya, Perge, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (cf. Acts 13-14). Together with Paul, he then went to the so-called Council of Jerusalem where, after a thorough examination of the matter, the Apostles with the Elders decided to separate the practice of circumcision from Christian identity (cf. Acts 15:1-35). Only thus, in the end, did they officially make the Church of the Gentiles possible, a Church without circumcision: we are children of Abraham simply through faith in Christ.

The two, Paul and Barnabas, then came into conflict, at the beginning of the second missionary journey, because Barnabas was of the opinion to take John Mark as his companion, while Paul did not want to, as the young man had separated from them during the previous journey (cf. Acts 13:13; 15:36-40). So even among saints there are contrasts, discords, controversies. And this seems very consoling to me, because we see that the saints did not 'fall from heaven'. They are men like us, with even complicated problems. Holiness does not consist in never having done wrong, sinned. Holiness grows in the capacity for conversion, repentance, readiness to begin again, and above all in the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness. And so Paul, who had been rather bitter and bitter towards Mark, eventually finds himself with him. In the last Epistles of St Paul, to Philemon and in the second to Timothy, Mark himself appears as "my co-worker". It is therefore not never having done wrong, but the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness that makes us holy. And we can all learn this path to holiness. In any case Barnabas, with John Mark, left for Cyprus (cf. Acts 15:39) around the year 49. From then on, his trail is lost. Tertullian attributes the Letter to the Hebrews to him, which is not without verisimilitude because, being from the tribe of Levi, Barnabas could have had an interest in the subject of the priesthood. And the Letter to the Hebrews interprets the priesthood of Jesus to us in an extraordinary way.

Another of Paul's companions was Silas, a Greekised form of a Hebrew name (perhaps sheal, "to ask, to invoke", which is the same root as the name "Saul"), of which the Latinised form Silvanus also appears. The name Silas is attested only in the Book of Acts, while the name Silvanus appears only in the Pauline Epistles. He was a Jew from Jerusalem, one of the first to become a Christian, and was held in high esteem in that Church (cf. Acts 15:22), being considered a prophet (cf. Acts 15:32). He was commissioned to convey "to the brethren of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia" (Acts 15:23) the decisions taken at the Council of Jerusalem and to explain them. Evidently he was considered capable of mediating between Jerusalem and Antioch, between Jewish-Christians and Christians of pagan origin, and thus serving the unity of the Church in the diversity of rites and origins. When Paul separated from Barnabas, he took Silas as his new travelling companion (cf. Acts 15:40). With Paul he reached Macedonia (with the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea), where he stopped, while Paul continued on to Athens and then Corinth. Silas joined him in Corinth, where he co-operated in the preaching of the Gospel; indeed, in Paul's second Letter to that Church, he speaks of "Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, I, Silvanus and Timothy" (2 Cor 1:19). This explains why he appears as co-moderator, together with Paul and Timothy, of the two Letters to the Thessalonians. This also seems important to me. Paul does not act as a "soloist", as a pure individual, but together with these co-workers in the "we" of the Church. This 'I' of Paul is not an isolated 'I', but an 'I' in the 'we' of the Church, in the 'we' of the apostolic faith. And Silvanus is also mentioned at the end in the First Epistle of Peter, where we read: "I have written to you through Silvanus, my faithful brother" (5:12). Thus we also see the communion of the Apostles. Silvanus serves Paul, serves Peter, because the Church is one and the missionary proclamation is unique.

Paul's third companion, whom we wish to commemorate, is called Apollonius, probably short for Apollonius or Apollodorus. Although it is a pagan name, he was a fervent Jew from Alexandria in Egypt. Luke in the Book of Acts describes him as "a learned man, versed in the Scriptures... full of fervour" (18:24-25). Apollodorus' entry onto the scene of the first evangelisation took place in the city of Ephesus: there he had gone to preach and there he had the good fortune to meet the Christian spouses Priscilla and Aquila (cf. Acts 18:26), who introduced him to a more complete knowledge of the 'way of God' (cf.) From Ephesus he went on to Achaia and reached the city of Corinth: here he arrived with the support of a letter from the Christians of Ephesus, who recommended that the Corinthians welcome him (cf. Acts 18:27). In Corinth, as Luke writes, "he was very helpful to those who by grace had become believers; for he vigorously refuted the Jews, publicly demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 18:27-28), the Messiah. His success in that city had a problematic side, however, as there were some members of that Church who, fascinated by his way of speaking, opposed the others in his name (cf. 1 Cor 1:12; 3:4-6; 4:6). Paul in the First Letter to the Corinthians expresses appreciation for the work of Apollos, but reproaches the Corinthians for tearing the Body of Christ apart by dividing it into opposing factions. He draws an important lesson from the whole affair: 'Both I and Apollos,' he says, 'are but diakonoi, that is, mere ministers, through whom you have come to faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5). Everyone has a differentiated task in the Lord's field: "I planted, Apollo watered, but it is God who made it grow... For we are God's co-workers, and you are God's camp, God's building" (1 Cor 3:6-9). Returning to Ephesus, Apollos resisted Paul's invitation to return to Corinth immediately, postponing the journey to a later date that we ignore (cf. 1 Cor 16:12). We have no other news of him, although some scholars think of him as the possible author of the Letter to the Hebrews, of which, according to Tertullian, Barnabas would be the author.

All three of these men shine in the firmament of the witnesses of the Gospel by a common note as well as by characteristics peculiar to each. What they have in common, apart from their Jewish origin, is their dedication to Jesus Christ and the Gospel, together with the fact that they were all three co-workers of the Apostle Paul. In this original evangelising mission they have found the meaning of their lives, and as such stand before us as shining models of selflessness and generosity. And let us think again, in the end, of this sentence of St Paul: both Apollos and I are all ministers of Jesus, each in his own way, because it is God who makes us grow. This word also applies to everyone today, to the Pope, to Cardinals, Bishops, priests and lay people. We are all humble ministers of Jesus. Let us serve the Gospel as much as we can, according to our gifts, and let us pray to God that he will make his Gospel, his Church, grow today.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 31 January 2007].

For Christians, volunteer work is not merely an expression of good will. It is based on a personal experience of Christ. He was the first to serve humanity, he freely gave his life for the good of all. That gift was not based on our merits. From this we learn that God gives us himself. More than that: Deus Caritas est – God is love, to quote a phrase from the First Letter of Saint John (4:8) which I employed as the title of my first Encyclical Letter. The experience of God’s generous love challenges us and liberates us to adopt the same attitude towards our brothers and sisters: “You received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). We experience this especially in the Eucharist when the Son of God, in the breaking of bread, brings together the vertical dimension of his divine gift with the horizontal dimension of our service to our brothers and sisters.

Christ’s grace helps us to discover within ourselves a human desire for solidarity and a fundamental vocation to love. His grace perfects, strengthens and elevates that vocation and enables us to serve others without reward, satisfaction or any recompense. Here we see something of the grandeur of our human calling: to serve others with the same freedom and generosity which characterizes God himself. We also become visible instruments of his love in a world that still profoundly yearns for that love amid the poverty, loneliness, marginalization and ignorance that we see all around us.

Of course, Catholic volunteer work cannot respond to all these needs, but that does not discourage us. Nor should we let ourselves be seduced by ideologies that want to change the world according to a purely human vision. The little that we manage to do to relieve human needs can be seen as a good seed that will grow and bear much fruit; it is a sign of Christ’s presence and love which, like the tree in the Gospel, grows to give shelter, protection and strength to all who require it.

This is the nature of the witness which you, in all humility and conviction, offer to civil society. While it is the duty of public authority to acknowledge and to appreciate this contribution without distorting it, your role as Christians is to take an active part in the life of society, seeking to make it ever more humane, ever more marked by authentic freedom, justice and solidarity. 

Our meeting today takes place on the liturgical memorial of Saint Martin of Tours. Often portrayed sharing his mantle with a poor man, Martin became a model of charity throughout Europe and indeed the whole world. Nowadays, volunteer work as a service of charity has become a universally recognized element of our modern culture. Nonetheless, its origins can still be seen in the particularly Christian concern for safeguarding, without discrimination, the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God. If these spiritual roots are denied or obscured and the criteria of our collaboration become purely utilitarian, what is most distinctive about the service you provide risks being lost, to the detriment of society as a whole. 

Dear friends, I would like to conclude by encouraging young people to discover in volunteer work a way to grow in the self-giving love which gives life its deepest meaning. Young people readily react to the call of love. Let us help them to hear Christ who makes his call felt in their hearts and draws them closer to himself. We must not be afraid to set before them a radical and life-changing challenge, helping them to learn that our hearts are made to love and be loved. It is in self-giving that we come to live life in all its fullness. 

With these sentiments, I renew my gratitude to all of you and to all those whom you represent. I ask God to watch over your many works of service and to make them ever more spiritually fruitful, for the good of the Church and of the whole world. To you and your associates I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

[Pope Benedict, Meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", 11 November 2011]

Lent, the providential time for conversion, helps us to contemplate this stupendous mystery of love. It is a return to the roots of our faith, so that by pondering the measureless gift of grace which is Redemption, we cannot fail to realize that all has been given to us by God’s loving initiative. In order to meditate upon this aspect of the mystery of salvation, I have chosen as the theme for this year’s Lenten Message the Lord’s words: “You received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). 

Yes! We have received without pay. Is not our entire life marked by God’s kindness? The beginning of life and its marvellous development: this is a gift. And because it is gift, life can never be regarded as a possession or as private property, even if the capabilities we now have to improve the quality of life can lead us to think that man is the “master” of life. The achievements of medicine and biotechnology can sometimes lead man to think of himself as his own creator, and to succumb to the temptation of tampering with “the tree of life” (Gn 3:24).

It is also worth repeating here that not everything that is technically possible is morally acceptable. Scientific work aimed at securing a quality of life more in keeping with human dignity is admirable, but it must never be forgotten that human life is a gift, and that it remains precious even when marked by suffering and limitations. A gift to be accepted and to be loved at all times: received without pay and to be placed without pay at the service of others.

[Pope John Paul II, Message for Lent 2002]