St Luke also presented the Cry of Exultation in connection with a moment of development in the proclamation of the Gospel. Jesus sent out the “seventy-two” others (Luke 10:1) and they departed fearful of the possible failure of their mission. Luke also emphasized the rejection encountered in the cities where the Lord had preached and had worked miracles. Nonetheless the seventy-two disciples returned full of joy because their mission had met with success; they realized that human infirmities are overcome with the power of Jesus’ word. Jesus shared their pleasure: “in that same hour”, at that very moment, he rejoiced.

There are still two elements that I would like to underline. Luke the Evangelist introduces the prayer with the annotation: Jesus “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” (Lk 10:21). Jesus rejoiced from the depths of his being, in what counted most: his unique communion of knowledge and love with the Father, the fullness of the Holy Spirit. By involving us in his sonship, Jesus invites us too to open ourselves to the light of the Holy Spirit, since — as the Apostle Paul affirms — “we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words… according to the will of God” (Rom 8:26-27), and reveals the Father’s love to us. 

In Matthew’s Gospel, following the Cry of Exultation, we find one of Jesus’ most heartfelt appeals: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). Jesus asks us to go to him, for he is true Wisdom, to him who is “gentle and lowly in heart”. He offers us “his yoke”, the way of the wisdom of the Gospel which is neither a doctrine to be learned nor an ethical system but rather a Person to follow: he himself, the Only Begotten Son in perfect communion with the Father.

Dear brothers and sisters, we have experienced for a moment the wealth of this prayer of Jesus. With the gift of his Spirit we too can turn to God in prayer with the confidence of children, calling him by the name Father, “Abba”. However, we must have the heart of little ones, of the “poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3) in order to recognize that we are not self-sufficient, that we are unable to build our lives on our own but need God, that we need to encounter him, to listen to him, to speak to him. Prayer opens us to receiving the gift of God, his wisdom, which is Jesus himself, in order to do the Father’s will in our lives and thus to find rest in the hardships of our journey. Many thanks.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 7 December 2011]

1. In the previous catechesis, we went over, albeit briefly, the Old Testament testimonies that prepared us to welcome the full revelation, announced by Jesus Christ, of the truth of the mystery of the Fatherhood of God.

Indeed, Christ spoke many times of his Father, presenting his providence and merciful love in various ways.

But his teaching goes further. Let us listen again to the particularly solemn words, recorded by the evangelist Matthew (and paralleled by Luke): 'I bless you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things hidden from the wise and the clever and revealed them to the simple . . ." and later: "Everything has been given to me by my Father, no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal him" (Mt 11:25. 27; cf. Lk 10:2. 11).

So for Jesus, God is not only "the Father of Israel, the Father of men", but "my Father"! "My": for this very reason the Jews wanted to kill Jesus, because "he called God his Father" (Jn 5:18). "His" in the most literal sense: He whom only the Son knows as Father, and by whom alone he is mutually known. We are now on the same ground from which the prologue of John's Gospel will later arise.

2. My Father' is the Father of Jesus Christ, he who is the origin of his being, of his messianic mission, of his teaching. The evangelist John has abundantly reported the messianic teaching that allows us to fathom in depth the mystery of God the Father and Jesus Christ, his only Son.

Jesus says: "Whoever believes in me does not believe in me, but in him who sent me" (John 12: 44). "I did not speak from me, but the Father who sent me, he himself commanded me what I should say and proclaim" (Jn 12:49). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son of himself can do nothing except what he sees the Father do; what he does, the Son also does" (Jn 5:19). "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself" (Jn 5:26). And finally: ". . the Father, who has life, has sent me, and I live for the Father" (Jn 6:57).

The Son lives for the Father first of all because he was begotten by him. There is a very close correlation between fatherhood and sonship precisely because of generation: "You are my Son; today I have begotten you" (Heb 1:5). When at Caesarea Philippi Simon Peter confesses: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", Jesus answers him: "Blessed are you . . . for neither flesh nor blood has revealed it to you, but my Father . . ." (Mt 16:16-17), for only "the Father knows the Son" just as only the "Son knows the Father" (Mt 11:27). Only the Son makes the Father known: the visible Son makes the invisible Father seen. "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9).

3. A careful reading of the Gospels shows that Jesus lives and works in constant and fundamental reference to the Father. He often addresses him with the word full of filial love: "Abba"; even during the prayer in Gethsemane this same word returns to his lips (cf. Mk 14:36). When the disciples ask him to teach them to pray, he teaches them the "Our Father" (cf. Mt 6:9-13). After the resurrection, at the moment of leaving the earth he seems to refer once again to this prayer, when he says: "I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God" (Jn 20, 17).

Thus through the Son (cf. Heb 1:2), God revealed Himself in the fullness of the mystery of His fatherhood. Only the Son could reveal this fullness of the mystery, for only "the Son knows the Father" (Mt 11:27). "God no one has ever seen him: it is the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has revealed him" (Jn 1:18).

4. Who is the Father? In the light of the definitive witness we have received through the Son, Jesus Christ, we have the full knowledge of faith that the Fatherhood of God belongs first of all to the fundamental mystery of God's intimate life, to the Trinitarian mystery. The Father is the one who eternally begets the Word, the Son consubstantial with him. In union with the Son, the Father eternally "breathes forth" the Holy Spirit, who is the love in which the Father and the Son mutually remain united (cf. Jn 14:10).

Thus the Father is in the Trinitarian mystery the "beginning-without-beginning". "The Father by none is made, nor created, nor begotten" (Quicumque symbol). He alone is the beginning of life, which God has in Himself. This life - that is, the very divinity - the Father possesses in absolute communion with the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are consubstantial with him.

Paul, an apostle of the mystery of Christ, falls in adoration and prayer "before the Father from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth takes its name" (Eph 3:15), the beginning and model.For there is "one God the Father of all, who is above all, who acts through all and is present in all" (Eph 4:6).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 23 October 1985]

The greatness of the mystery of Jesus can only be known by humbling oneself and lowering oneself as he did, who went so far as to be "marginalised" and certainly did not present himself as a "general or a governor". Theologians themselves, if they do not do 'theology on their knees', risk saying 'many things' but understanding 'nothing'. To be humble and meek, therefore, is the suggestion proposed by Francis on Tuesday morning, 2 December, during the Mass celebrated in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.

"The liturgical texts that the Church offers us today," the Pontiff immediately pointed out, "bring us closer to the mystery of Jesus, to the mystery of his person". And in fact, he explained, the liturgical passage in Luke's Gospel (10:21-24) "says that Jesus exulted with joy in the Holy Spirit and praised the Father". After all, 'this is Jesus' inner life: his relationship with the Father, a relationship of praise, in the Spirit, the very Holy Spirit who unites that relationship'. And this is "the mystery of Jesus' interiority, what he felt".

Jesus in fact," Francis continued, "declares that whoever sees him, sees the Father. He says precisely: 'Yes, O Father, for so you have decided in your goodness'. And 'no one knows who the Son is, except the Father. And no one knows who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him'.

The Father, the Pope reiterated, 'only the Son knows him: Jesus knows the Father'. And so "when Philip went to Jesus and said: 'show us the Father'", the Lord answered him: "Philip, whoever sees me, sees the Father". In fact "the union between them is so great: he is the imago of the Father; he is the nearness of the Father's tenderness to us". And "the Father draws near to us in Jesus".

Francis then recalled that 'in that farewell discourse, after the Supper', Jesus repeats many times: 'Father, let these be one, as you and I are'. And "he promises the Holy Spirit, because it is the Holy Spirit who makes this unity, as he makes it between the Father and the Son". And "Jesus exults with joy in the Holy Spirit".

"This is a bit to approach this mystery of Jesus," the Pontiff explained. But "this mystery did not remain only among them, it was revealed to us". The Father, therefore, "has been revealed by Jesus: he makes us know the Father; he makes us know this interior life that he has". And "to whom does the Father reveal this, to whom does he give this grace?" the Pope asked himself. Jesus himself gives the answer, as Luke reports in his Gospel: "I praise you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and revealed them to the little ones".

Therefore "only those whose hearts are like little ones are capable of receiving this revelation". Only "the humble, meek heart, which feels the need to pray, to open itself to God, feels poor". In a word, 'only the one who goes ahead with the first beatitude: the poor in spirit'.

Of course, the Pope acknowledged, 'many can know science, theology as well'. But 'if they do not do this theology on their knees, that is, humbly, like the little ones, they will understand nothing'. Perhaps "they will tell us many things, but they will understand nothing". For "only this poverty is capable of receiving the revelation that the Father gives through Jesus". And "Jesus comes not as a captain, a general of an army, a powerful ruler", but "he comes as a sprout", according to the image of the first reading, taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah (11, 1-10): "On that day, a sprout will spring from the trunk of Jesse". So, "he is a sprout, he is humble, he is meek, and he came for the humble, for the meek, to bring salvation to the sick, the poor, the oppressed, as he himself says in the fourth chapter of Luke, when he is at the synagogue in Nazareth". And Jesus came precisely 'for the marginalised: he marginalises himself, he does not consider it an undeniable value to be equal to God'. In fact, the Pontiff recalled, 'he humbled himself, he annihilated himself'. He "marginalised himself, he humbled himself" in order to "give us the mystery of the Father and his own".

The Pope remarked that "one cannot receive this revelation outside of the way Jesus brings it: in humility, lowering himself". One can never forget that "the Word became flesh, became marginalised in order to bring salvation to the marginalised". And "when the great John the Baptist, in prison, did not so much understand how things were there, with Jesus, because he was a little perplexed, he sent his disciples to ask the question: "John asks the question: is it you or should we wait for someone else?"

To John's request, Jesus does not answer: 'I am the Son'. Instead, he says: "Look, see all this, and then tell John what you have seen": namely that "lepers are healed, the poor are evangelised, the marginalised are found".It is evident, according to Francis, that "the greatness of the mystery of God is known only in the mystery of Jesus, and the mystery of Jesus is precisely a mystery of lowering oneself, of annihilating oneself, of humbling oneself, and bringing salvation to the poor, to those who are annihilated by so many illnesses, sins and difficult situations".

"Outside of this framework," the Pope reiterated, "one cannot understand the mystery of Jesus, one cannot understand this anointing of the Holy Spirit that makes him rejoice, as we heard in the Gospel, in the praise of the Father, and that leads him to evangelise the poor, the marginalised".

With this in mind, during the Advent season, Francis invited us to pray to ask for the grace "from the Lord to bring us closer, closer to his mystery, and to do so on the road he wants us to take: the road of humility, the road of meekness, the road of poverty, the road of feeling ourselves to be sinners" Because it is in this way, he concluded, that "he comes to save us, to free us".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 03/12/2014]

God bless us and may the Virgin protect us!

A reflection on Advent today and tomorrow evening the short commentary on the Bible readings for the first Sunday of Advent. 

* Next Sunday, 1 December, begins the season of Advent, which is not only preparation for the holy Christmas of Jesus, but a recurring invitation every year to orient the whole of Christian existence as a watchful and prayerful waiting for Christ, who is the One who comes. The word Advent is borrowed from the Latin adventus, which indicated the solemn arrival of the king, emperor or victorious general, with special celebrations and rites. It was therefore a time of expectation and preparation to welcome lofty figures of prestige. For us Christians, it is a time of hope and spiritual renewal: we remember the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, but we know that he is constantly present in a spiritual way in our lives and we await his return in glory with hope and vigilant faith. 

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) describes the three comings of Christ in the context of Christian spirituality and theological reflection. The first coming is the historical one, when Christ became incarnate and was born in Bethlehem. Christ's advent in the flesh narrated in the gospels. His intermediate second coming is the one that takes place continuously in the hearts of believers through grace, sacraments and spiritual life. It is an invisible and personal coming, since Christ manifests himself in the soul of those who receive him. The third coming will be future and glorious at the end of time, when Christ will return to judge the world and establish his definitive kingdom. St Bernard summarises: "In the first coming, Christ came in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, he comes in the spirit and in power; in the third, he will come in glory and in majesty."  The Christian's entire existence thus becomes an Advent, and every year the Advent season reminds us of this: we experience Advent not only as preparation for the commemoration of Christmas (first coming), but also as an opportunity to welcome Christ into our lives (intermediate coming) and as an expectation of the ultimate fulfilment of our salvation (third coming).

* Celebrating Advent means knowing how to wait: waiting is an art that our impatient time has forgotten. It wants to pluck the ripe fruit as soon as it sprouts; but greedy eyes are only deluded, because such a seemingly precious fruit is still green inside, and disrespectful hands throw away without gratitude what has failed them. Whoever does not know the sour bliss of waiting, that is, the lack of something in hope, can never taste the full blessing of fulfilment.

He who does not know the necessity of wrestling with the deepest questions of life, of his own life, and in the waiting does not keep his eyes open with longing until the truth is revealed to him, he can imagine nothing of the magnificence of this moment when clarity will shine forth; and he who wants to yearn for the friendship and love of another, without waiting for his soul to open to the other until he has access to it, to him will remain eternally hidden the profound blessing of a life that takes place between two souls. In the world we must wait for the greatest, deepest, most delicate things, and this does not happen in a stormy way, but according to the divine law of germination, growth and development. Max Weber, Celebrating Advent (Editrice Queriniana, Brescia 2007, p. 37)

*The Art of Waiting. If Advent is not just about preparing for the celebration of Christ's birth or celebrating a Christmas that has become much more secular than Christian, it means that it can become a favourable opportunity to rediscover the meaning, value and depth of waiting itself in our lives. We cannot live if we do not wait for someone! In our time, dominated by speed and impatience, waiting is often perceived as an obstacle or a void to be filled. Instead, Advent teaches us that knowing how to wait means living with awareness and hope, accepting the mystery of time and opening ourselves with simple curiosity to the fulfilment of God's plans. To wait is also to trust. This is why the art of waiting implies learning: learning first of all the martyrdom of Patience, which is recognising that important things take time to mature. It takes the important exercise of Hope: to live with confidence, even when the fulfilment of the divine promises is not immediately visible, and not to let oneself be dominated by the demon of haste and discouragement. It is to discover the taste of an inner Preparation: Use the time of waiting for reflection, prayer and spiritual growth, but also to prepare oneself to discover everything new in the habitual rituals of everyday life. Everything becomes new for new eyes, like the sun which is eternal and yet absolutely new every day. Advent, then, is not just a passive waiting, but an active time, in which fundamental virtues are cultivated to fully welcome the gift of God. There is also a secularly sacred sense of Advent when one can learn to be 'artists of waiting'.  Learning to wait from everything and everyone for a breath of hope that nourishes the courage of life; sucking the pleasure of joy even from suffering and pain; waiting for love even where it seems impossible. Waiting to learn how to know how to wait because, as the wise Qoelet writes "there is a time for everything, a time for everything under heaven" (3:1).

Happy Advent time!

+Giovanni D'Ercole

Discovery of being worthy

(Mt 8:5-11)

Mt writes his Gospel to encourage community members and stimulate the mission to the Gentiles, which the Jewish Christians were not yet ready to make their own.

The incipient Faith of a converted pagan is the example that Jesus sets before that of the observant Israelites.

But to say Faith (vv.10.13) means to advocate a deeper adhesion, and [together] a less strong manifestation.

What heals is believing in the efficacy of his only Word (vv.8-9.16), an event that possesses generative and re-creative power.

In the Judaizing communities of Galilee and Syria, still in the mid-70s one wondered: does the new Law of God proclaimed on ‘the Mount’ of Beatitudes creates exclusions?

Or does it correspond to the hopes and deep sensitivity of the human heart, of every place and time (vv.10-12)?

The distant possessed a strong insight into the novelties of the Spirit, and discovered the experience of Faith from other positions - not installed, less linked to conformal concatenations; perhaps uncomfortable.

Not infrequently they were just the latest arrivals who stood out for their freshness of substantial intuition - and saw clearly.

It was enough to communicate one-one with the Lord, in a sense of sure friendship (v.6).

There is no need for who knows what additions to this secret, to be reborn. God is Immediate Action (v.7).

The personal relationship between the common man and the Father in Christ is sober and instantaneous.

Starting from his simple experience, the centurion understands the "remote" value of the Word and the magnet-effect of the true Faith [which does not claim "contacts" or material and local elements: vv.8-9].

In short, cultural and religious conformism remained a burden.

Here and there were missing both the experience of personal Christ the Saviour, and the complete discovery of full Life’s power contained in the new total and ‘creative’ proposal of «the Mount».

But there is nothing to fear: God has preceded us; the different and far away is not a stranger, but brother.

Therefore, what saves is not belonging to a tradition or new fashion of thought and worship.

Not demanding that the Lord arrives in a certain form means not imagining Him tied to an external expression.

We can achieve and grasp Him only intimately, by reason of certain Vision - uncluttered with indispensable imagined beliefs - no matter what happens.

He will be revealed time by time in the way best suited to our limits.

In short, those distant from us are totally «worthy» people, although sometimes wavering - like everyone else.

God is in their flesh and in their home hearth.

And in Christ we are educated to dilate the horizon of external vertical relations, typical of a lowered head religiosity.

The divine Face is already within the things of our environment, and in persons that Providence puts next to us - even across borders.

[Monday 1st wk. Advent, December 2, 2024]

Faith and Word: God is not bound to an external expression

(Mt 8:5-11)

"The essential thing is to listen to what comes from within. Our actions are often nothing more than imitation, hypothetical duty or misrepresentation of what a human being should be. But the only true certainty that touches our lives and our actions can only come from the springs that gush deep within ourselves. One is at home under heaven one is at home anywhere on this earth if one carries everything within oneself. I have often felt, and still feel, like a ship that has taken on board a precious cargo: the ropes are cut and now the ship goes, free to sail everywhere".

[Etty Hillesum, Diary].

Says the Tao Tê Ching (LIII): 'The great Way is very flat, but people prefer the paths'.

Commenting on the passage, masters Wang Pi and Ho-shang Kung point out: "winding paths".

The incipient faith of a pagan convert is the example Jesus sets before that of the observant Israelites.

What heals is believing in the efficacy of his Word alone (vv.8-9.16), an event that possesses generating and recreating power.

The Lord shows care, usually by touching the sick or laying his hands on them, as if to absorb what was imagined to be impurity, an alteration from normality [a 'fever' or paralysis that was thought to render the needy unworthy in the eyes of God].

In the Judaizing communities of Galilee and Syria, the question was still being asked in the mid-1970s: does the new Law of God proclaimed on 'the Mount' of the Beatitudes create exclusions?

Or does it correspond to the hopes and deep feelings of the human heart, of every place and time (vv.10-12)?

Those far away possessed a keen intuition for the novelties of the Spirit, and discovered the experience of Faith from other positions - not installed, less tied to conformist concatenations; perhaps uncomfortable.

Not infrequently, it was precisely the newcomers who stood out for their freshness of substantive insight - and they saw clearly.

It was enough to communicate face to face with the Lord, in a sense of secure friendship (v.6).

There is no need to add to this secret, to be born again. God is Immediate Action (v.7).

The personal relationship between the ordinary man and the Father in Christ is sober and instantaneous.

Starting from his simple experience, the centurion understands the 'distant' value of the Word and the 'calamitous effect' of true Faith [which does not claim 'contacts' or material and local elements: vv.8-9].

In short, the cultural heritage and ancient religious conformity remained a burden.

Both the experience of the personal Christ the Saviour and the complete discovery of the power of full Life contained in the new total and creative proposal of "the Mount" were missing here and there.

Mt wrote his Gospel to encourage community members and stimulate mission to the Gentiles, which precisely the Judeo-Christians were not yet ready to make their own.

But to say "Faith" (vv.10.13) is to advocate a deeper adherence, and [at the same time] a less strong manifestation.

Expression of personal Faith is not to repeat or sweeten a learned doctrine, nor the conviction of others.

There is no need to fear: God has gone before us; the different and distant is not a stranger, but a brother.

Therefore, what saves is not belonging to a tradition or fashion of thought and worship.

Not demanding that the Lord comes in a certain form means not imagining him bound to an external expression.

One reaches and grasps Him only intimately, by certain vision - unencumbered by indispensable imagined convictions - whatever happens.

It will reveal itself time after time in the way that best suits our limitations.

Those distant from us are totally 'worthy' creatures, albeit faltering and fallible at times.

Not autonomous, insufficient, like everyone else - for they do not realise that God is in their flesh and hearth.

Thanks to such a clear awareness in the Son, they can finally understand the supreme Love of the Father, gratuitous, unreserved; that astounds, overcomes and launches them.

The pagan is conditioned by his pyramid world, but on encountering Christ he discovers himself to be a totally adequate and fulfilled person.

Not because he has merited or granted favours to the chosen people, or fulfilled a special kind of observances (reciting imprimatur formulas).

In the Lord, he himself is taught to expand the horizon of the usual religion - made up of external vertical relationships.

Although he recognises himself as lacking [v.8 Greek text] he realises that his relationship with God does not depend on an exchange of favours.

This immediate and spontaneous personal friendship does not become subordinate to works of law, nor does it spring from fulfilled norms of purity.

Nor does it subject itself to a religious relationship with a bowed head.

The 'distant' includes love. In this way, he is already emancipated from a conspicuous, epidermal, common mentality.

In the Lord, he himself is educated to expand the horizon of the usual religion.He believes precisely that the Word of the Lord - by Way, outside of synchronised or established places and times - produces what he affirms.

And it accomplishes it even at a distance; without even resounding, peremptory signs that make a racket.

Rather, by releasing the mysterious Energy [still captive] of the "Logos" (v.7).

Unconventional Word, which does not run amok.

This, despite the fact that this Power can be found mixed with sometimes contradictory convictions:

He is already far from a magical and carnal mentality.

But he still has to take the decisive step, which will make him grow further - and it concerns us closely.

Self-esteem must be the attitude of even remote children, no matter what.

Not by vague or emotional recondite sensation, but by Presence guaranteed regardless - even already operative, though sometimes unconscious.

Internalising it will be the work - and the "more" - of mature Faith, which sees, grasps, penetrates the preparatory energies at work.

And actualises them, anticipating the future.

"I am not worthy" is, together with "Have mercy on me" or "Son of David" - one of the most unfortunate expressions of spiritual and missionary life.

Formulas that Jesus abhors, although they have become customary in some expressions of the liturgy.

The prodigal son tries with the same rambling expression ["I am no longer worthy"] to move the Father, who precisely does not allow him to finish his absurd tirade.

Rather he prevents him from considering himself "one of his servants" and getting down on his knees before Him [Lk 15:21ff].

This would really be the only danger that endangers the whole of life; not just a small stretch of existence.

By Faith in Christ, from incomplete we become not only worthy, but we are so here and now Perfect to fulfil our Vocation.

Of course, some ideologues or white-mill purists might consider us unfashionable, or even paganising.

Our great and only risk is precisely that of absorbing such oppressive views from the environment, and allowing ourselves to be conditioned.

Every contour works not infrequently with the logic of hierarchies and power relations, whereby e.g. the inferior should not consider himself on the same level as the superior.

But at this rate, one can no longer perceive the divine Conspect.

The Face of the Eternal One is within us and in our homes; not in the chain of command with conditioning influences, but in our environment and in those who stand beside us - even across borders.

Family, friends, loved ones and others are on the same level. It is also true with God: we are face to face.

Not even the 'I and Thou' scheme with the Son counts any more: because - widely incarnated - he has planted his Heaven as well as his own therapeutic [even self-healing] capacity 'in' us.

Thanks to the Master, we are no longer within an ideology of the submissive - identical to that which prevailed in the empire - nor in a well-disciplined barracks, with distinct roles and confined areas.

External propriety does not belong in the Gospels.

In short, the Father no longer asks anyone to obey 'authorities', but to 'resemble' Him.

This is achieved simply by corresponding - each one of us - to this kind of superior Presence that dwells in us and loves us.

It is the end of the empty rigmarole: we are intimate and consanguineous with our own innermost Self, the super-eminent Face.

There is absolutely no need to "avert" God (v.5) as if we were "underlings" (v.9).

Our work is to unearth and acquire a new 'eye', not to submit to organisation charts.

The reborn eye is intuitive of other virtues - it does not submit to nomenclatures incapable of immediate fruitfulness.

Enough with the senses of shortcomings!

They end up introducing us into hoods and spire dynamics (v.9) typical of any stagnant feudalism.

Swamps that annihilate the new power of love - chronicling arrangements.

Configurations congealed by too many boring concatenations and local monarchies [such as we see in the provinces].

In natural listening to oneself and events, genuine esteem and divine Gratuity guide us wave upon wave towards a new way of living and exchanging gifts.

Impassable road for habit; for the obviousness that does not move thoughts, and does not perceive.

A path inaccessible to those who act out of duty - an enigmatic, opaque, devious and very 'tortuous' path.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you understand and cultivate the certain and free Coming of Jesus in your House?

Catholic

The Church is Catholic because Christ embraces all humanity in his mission of salvation. While Jesus' mission in his earthly life was limited to the Jewish people, "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt 15:24), it was nevertheless oriented from the beginning to bring the light of the Gospel to all peoples and to bring all nations into the Kingdom of God. Confronted with the faith of the Centurion in Capernaum, Jesus exclaims: "Now I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 8:11). This universalistic perspective emerges, among other things, from the presentation Jesus made of himself not only as "Son of David", but as "son of man" (Mk 10:33), as we also heard in the Gospel passage just proclaimed. The title "Son of Man", in the language of the Jewish apocalyptic literature inspired by the vision of history in the Book of the Prophet Daniel (cf. 7:13-14), recalls the person who comes "with the clouds of heaven" (v. 13) and is an image that heralds an entirely new kingdom, a kingdom supported not by human powers, but by the true power that comes from God. Jesus uses this rich and complex expression and refers it to Himself to manifest the true character of His messianism, as a mission destined for the whole man and every man, overcoming all ethnic, national and religious particularism. And it is precisely in following Jesus, in allowing oneself to be drawn into his humanity and thus into communion with God, that one enters into this new kingdom, which the Church announces and anticipates, and which overcomes fragmentation and dispersion.

[Pope Benedict, address Consistory 24 November 2012].

Specifically, what makes the Church catholic is the fact that Christ in his saving mission embraces all humanity. While during his earthly life Jesus’ mission was limited to the Jewish people, “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 15:24), from the beginning it was meant to bring the light of the Gospel to all peoples and lead all nations into the kingdom of God. When he saw the faith of the centurion at Capernaum, Jesus cried out: “I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 8:11). This universalist perspective can be seen, among other things, from the way Jesus applied to himself not only the title “Son of David”, but also “Son of Man” (Mk10:33), as in the Gospel passage that we have just heard. The expression “Son of Man”, in the language of Jewish apocalyptic literature inspired by the vision of history found in the book of the prophet Daniel (cf. 7:13-14), calls to mind the figure who appears “with the clouds of heaven” (v. 13). This is an image that prophesies a completely new kingdom, sustained not by human powers, but by the true power that comes from God. Jesus takes up this rich and complex expression and refers it to himself in order to manifest the true character of his Messianism: a mission directed to the whole man and to every man, transcending all ethnic, national and religious particularities. And it is actually by following Jesus, by allowing oneself to be drawn into his humanity and hence into communion with God, that one enters this new kingdom proclaimed and anticipated by the Church, a kingdom that conquers fragmentation and dispersal.

[Pope Benedict, address Consistory 24 November 2012]

3. In what does faith consist? The Constitution Dei Verbum explains that by faith, "man freely commits his entire self to God, making 'the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals'" (n. 5). Thus faith is not only the intellect's adherence to the truth revealed, but also a submission of the will and a gift of self to God revealing himself. It is a stance that involves one's entire existence.

The Council also recalls that this faith requires "the grace of God to move [man] and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth'" (ibid.). In this way we can see how, on the one hand, faith enables us to welcome the truth contained in Revelation and proposed by the Magisterium of those who, as Pastors of God's People, have received a "sure charism of truth" (Dei Verbum, n. 8). On the other hand, faith also spurs us to true and deep consistency, which must be expressed in all aspects of a life modeled on that of Christ.

4. As a fruit of grace, faith exercises an influence on events. This is wonderfully seen in the exemplary case of the Blessed Virgin. Her faith-filled acceptance of the angel's message at the Annunciation is decisive for Jesus' very coming into the world. Mary is the Mother of Christ because she first believed in him.

At the wedding feast in Cana, Mary, obtains the miracle through her faith. Despite Jesus' reply, which does not seem very favourable, she keeps her trustful attitude, thus becoming a model of the bold and constant faith which overcomes obstacles.

The faith of the Caananite woman was also bold and insistent. Jesus countered this woman, who had come to seek the cure of her daughter, with the Father's plan which restricted his mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Caananite replied with the full force of her faith and obtained the miracle: "O woman! Great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire" (Mt 15:28).

5. In many other cases the Gospel witnesses to the power of faith. Jesus expresses his admiration for the centurion's faith: "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith" (Mt 8:10). And to Bartimaeus: "Go your way your faith has made you well" (Mk 10:52). He says the same thing to the woman with a haemorrhage (cf. Mk 5:34). 

His words to the father of the epileptic who wanted his son to be cured are no less striking: "All things are possible to him who believes" (Mk 9:23).

The role of faith is to co-operate with this omnipotence. Jesus asks for this co-operation to the point that upon returning to Nazareth, he works almost no miracles because the inhabitants of his village did not believe in him (cf. Mk 6:5-6). For Jesus, faith has a decisive importance for the purposes of salvation.

St Paul will develop Christ's teaching when, in conflict with those who wished to base the hope of salvation on observance of the Jewish law, he forcefully affirms that faith in Christ is the only source of salvation: "We hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law" (Rom 3:28). However, it must not be forgotten that St Paul was thinking of that authentic and full faith which "works through love" (Gal 5:6). True faith is animated by love of God, which is inseparable from love for our brothers and sisters.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 18 March 1998]

Let us allow ourselves to be met by Jesus "with our guard down, open", so that he can renew us from the depths of our souls. This is Pope Francis' invitation at the beginning of the Advent season. The Pontiff addressed it to the faithful during the Mass celebrated this morning, Monday 2 December, in the chapel of Santa Marta.

The journey we begin in these days, he began, is "a new journey of the Church, a journey of the people of God, towards Christmas. And we walk to the encounter with the Lord'. Christmas is indeed an encounter: not just 'a temporal recurrence or,' the Pontiff specified, 'a memory of something beautiful. Christmas is more. We go on this road to meet the Lord'. So in the Advent season "we walk to meet Him. To encounter him with the heart, with life; to encounter him living, as he is; to encounter him with faith".

In truth, it is "not easy to live with faith", noted the Bishop of Rome. And he recalled the episode of the centurion who, according to the account in Matthew's Gospel (8:5-11), prostrates himself before Jesus to ask him to heal his servant. "The Lord, in the word we have heard," the Pope explained, "marvelled at this centurion. He marvelled at the faith he had. He had made a journey to meet the Lord. But he had done it in faith. Therefore not only did he meet the Lord, but he felt the joy of being met by the Lord. And this is precisely the encounter we want, the encounter of faith. To meet the Lord, but to be met by him. This is very important!".

When we limit ourselves only to meeting the Lord, he pointed out, 'we are the "masters" of this encounter'. When instead "we allow ourselves to be encountered by him, it is he who enters into us" and completely renews us.

"This," the Holy Father reiterated, "is what it means when Christ comes: to remake everything anew, to remake the heart, the soul, the life, the hope, the path".

At this time of the liturgical year, therefore, we are on a journey to meet the Lord, but also and above all "to let ourselves be met by him". And we must do this with an open heart, "so that he can meet me, tell me what he wants to tell me, which is not always what I want him to tell me!" Let us not forget then that "he is the Lord and he will tell me what he has for me", for each one of us, because "the Lord," the Pontiff specified, "does not look at us all together, as a mass: no, no! He looks at us one by one, in the face, in the eyes, because love is not an abstract love but a concrete love. Person by person. The Lord, person, looks at me, person'. That is why letting the Lord meet us ultimately means 'letting the Lord love us'.

"In the prayer at the beginning of the Mass," the Pontiff recalled, "we asked for the grace to make this journey with certain attitudes that help us. Perseverance in prayer: pray more. Hard work in fraternal charity: getting a little closer to those in need. And joy in praising the Lord". So 'let us begin this journey with prayer, charity and praise, with an open heart, so that the Lord may meet us'. But, the Pope asked in conclusion, "please, may he meet us with our guard down, open!"

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 02-03/12/2013]