Overwork Mission Family, by unbalanced

(Mk 3:20-21)

Today’s short Gospel can be interpreted according to different reading plans: let’s start with a vocational approach.

The family core of society should also be a springboard to the adventure of Faith that urges other bonds.

The kinsmen can be dismayed by our desire to give ourselves entirely to God in sisters and brothers in a wider sense.

And sometimes the affections and natural constraints can prevent the fulfilment of the Mission to which we are called.

Sometimes, even important commitments in the Church’s action remain half or completely frustrated - due to a “fondness” and impediments that we are unable to ‘cut’.

Now we come to the historical level:

Jesus also had serious problems in his “house”, but the Gospel passage refers to the nascent Church in Peter’s dwelling in Capernaum, very close to the Synagogue.

Over time, the two almost adjacent realities found themselves fiercely facing each other.

Yet in the Abode of Peter at one point the number of those from Judaism, as well as pagans, who converted to the Lord's proposal exploded.

The People themselves and the religious culture that generated Christ [his «Family»] had difficulty questioning themselves. And the first reaction was rejection.

That new portion of the Jewish lineage that recognized Jesus Messiah seemed to want to do more and more of its own.

Social aspect:

Indeed, the hearth and its own clan had become alarmed, because adult Jesus did not follow a submissive behavior.

So the relatives decided to bring him back by force (cf. vv.31-35) considering him an unbalanced who wore out their internal and with authorities on the territory relations.

But the beliefs now crystallized in the Synagogue - as well as the theological and ‘cordial’ heritage of all its compromise reality - no longer seemed viable. Why?

The imperial system implanted in Galilee had weakened the sense of sharing and fraternity. Closures strengthened by the religiosity of the time.

The increasing observance of purity standards was a factor of serious social and cultural marginalization.

Entire sections of the population were excluded from the relationship with God: precisely those most in need of hope, and of a lovable ‘face’.

Instead of promoting acceptance and participation, the devoted rules even favoured separations and exclusions.

Political, economic and social structure, and sacred ideology, conspired in favor of weakening the central values of the spirit of communion.

In today’s Gospel passage we note precisely how the narrow limits of the family went to conflict with the proposal of the new Rabbi, to recover the clenchement of solidarity..

In short, it was in the House of Peter that every small family gained breath, opening up itself not only to the nation, but to the wider human Family.

Integral Assembly, even with women and sickly ill persons, or of uncertain and distant.

An absolutely new reality; no longer gathered only for worship but unable of ‘living together’.

[Saturday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 24, 2026]

Overwork Mission Family, unbalanced

(Mk 3:20-21)

"And he came into the house; and again the crowd gathered together, so that they could not even eat bread. And when they had heard, his [those around him] went out to get him, because they said, He is beside himself".

Today's short Gospel can be interpreted on different levels: let us begin with a vocational approach.

The family is the nucleus of society of all times, but Christ and the believer know that it should not constitute a cage.

Rather, it should be a springboard towards the adventure of Faith, which solicits other bonds.

Life in the Spirit activates us for the building of the Hundredfold, in the great ecclesial and human family.

The kinsmen may be dismayed by our desire to give ourselves entirely to God in the brothers.

Faced with exhausting activity they become apprehensive, because we are always going against the grain... so close relatives worry about our health, or the honour of home.

Sometimes, affections and natural ties can impede the fulfilment of the Mission to which we are called.

Of course, when those who do not understand are precisely those from whom one expects the most help, the suffering becomes great.

Sometimes, even important commitments in the work of the Church remain half-hearted or completely frustrated - due to affections and impediments that we are unable to cut off.

Let us come to the historical level.

Jesus had good problems at home too, but the Gospel passage refers to the nascent Church in Peter's dwelling in Capernaum.

A more instinctive and less 'qualified' reality, but very close to the traditional house of prayer [synagogue] of the place, located on the same small road perpendicular to the lake, just a little higher up.

In the course of time, the two almost adjacent realities faced each other bitterly in theology - even to the point of competing architecturally, as archaeologists well know.

The more 'noble' and ancient of the two accused the other of being an uprooted - hence unacceptable, eccentric to the sacred identity customs of the chosen people.

Yet in Peter's dwelling at a certain point the number of those from Judaism explodes, as well as pagans who convert to the Lord's proposal.

Thus the first community of believers in the Lord begins to be perhaps more substantial than the assembly in the Synagogue, just a few steps away.

The very people and religious culture that generated Christ [his "Family"] struggled to question themselves. And the first reaction is one of rejection.

That portion of the Jewish lineage that recognised Jesus as the Messiah seemed to want to go its own way.

Social aspect:

Indeed, the hearth and clan proper were alarmed, because the adult Jesus did not behave submissively.

He compromised the name of his household, spent energy on others - to the point of exhaustion... absurdly in favour of outsiders, perhaps 'enemies' of the Jewish nation.

So the relatives decided to bring him back by force (vv.31-35) considering him an unbalanced person who was wearing out the internal relations and the relations of the entire dynasty with the authorities in the land.

But we know that by extending the bond of 'blood' to those who would listen, Jesus did not allow external evaluations to remove him from his task.

Let us see what the situation was.

In ancient Israel, the sense of community and the clan formed the basis of coexistence. The goal of the Law was: "There shall be no needy among you" (Deut 15:4).

And like the great prophets, Christ and his intimates attempted to strengthen the sense of sharing, returning to the deep spirit of what were once articulations of coexistence.

Precisely: clan, hearth, community - expressions of God's love manifesting itself.

The 'big family' ensured protection for particular families and the less well-off.

It was a guarantee of land ownership; hence it gave a sense of freedom - and was a vehicle for the possibility of adhering to one's own tradition.

Besides cultural defence, it was in community life that the people of that era expressed the spirit of concrete solidarity.

For Christ, too, defending the clan, its spiritual baggage, its fraternal action ... was to defend the Covenant itself.

But the House of Peter [the nascent Church] was beginning to overtake all the ancient reality.

The convictions now crystallised in the Synagogue, as well as the theological and benevolent bearing of all its compromise truth - no longer seemed viable. Why?

The imperial system implanted in Galilee had debilitated the sense of broad and minute communion, indeed of clan and hearth.

Herod the Great - who died in Jericho in 4 BC. - and his son Herod Antipas (37BC-39AD) had brought families to such a crisis level that they had to fend for themselves and shut themselves away from the most pressing needs. 

The taxes to be paid to the government and the temple were increasingly exorbitant, which accentuated indebtedness.

Here and there the Hellenistic mentality crept in with traits of individualism previously unknown to the Semitic mentality.

The imposed duty of receiving soldiers and giving them hospitality in homes where they did what they wanted even on women, and the frequent threats of violent repression, forced people to deal with problems of survival.

All this led to closure, to retreating to one's immediate needs.

There was less and less practice of hospitality, the sharing of goods, the canteen, and the asylum of the marginalised. Expressions of fraternity and care in which the early Christians were already champions.

In this way, closures were reinforced by the religiosity of the time.

The ever-increasing observance of purity rules was a factor of serious social and cultural marginalisation.

Entire sections of the population were being excluded from their relationship with God: precisely those most in need of hope and a face.

Instead of fostering acceptance and sharing, devout norms even favoured separations and exclusions [in particular: all women, children, foreigners, the sick or the handicapped...].

Political, economic and social structure, and sacred ideology, conspired to weaken the core values of the spirit, and the practice of sharing.

In today's Gospel passage, we see precisely how the narrow limits of the nuclear family came into conflict with the new Rabbi's proposal: to recover the unitive afflatus, both in a broad and detailed sense.

In short, it was in the House of Peter that the small family acquired breath, opening up not only to the Nation, but to the wider Family of the Human Community.

An integral assembly, even of women and the shaky, or uncertain and distant.

An absolutely new reality, no longer gathered for worship but unable to coexist.

When Jesus, during his time on earth, went from village to village preaching the Good News of truth and love, he caught the attention of those who listened to him. Unlike the Scribes, who were rejected because of their hypocrisy, we are told that the Lord amazed because "he taught them as one having authority" (Mk 1:22). Indeed, every human community needs, and therefore seeks, strong and inspiring leaders to guide others along a path of hope [...].

No one can be exempt from this process. Although no culture can use the damage done in the past as an excuse to avoid facing the difficulties of meeting the contemporary social needs of its people, it is also true that only through a willingness to accept historical truth is it possible to gain a healthy understanding of contemporary reality and adhere to the vision of a harmonious future [...].

Commitment to truth opens the way to lasting reconciliation through a healing process that involves asking for and granting forgiveness, two indispensable elements of peace. In this way, our memory is purified, our heart made serene and our future filled with a hope well founded on the peace that flows from truth.

[Pope Benedict, Letter for the 20th anniversary of John Paul II's visit to Australia, 22 September 2006]

1. Spiritual life needs enlightenment and guidance. This is why Jesus, in founding the Church and sending the Apostles into the world, entrusted them with the task of teaching all the nations, as we read in the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 28:19-20), but also to "preach the Gospel to the whole creation", as the canonical text of Mark's Gospel says (Mk 16:15). St Paul also speaks of the apostolate as "enlightening everyone" (Eph 3:9).

But this work of the evangelising and teaching Church belongs to the ministry of the Apostles and their successors and, in a different capacity, to all the members of the Church, to continue forever the work of Christ the "one Master" (Mt 23:8), who brought to humanity the fullness of God's revelation. There remains the need for an interior Master, who makes the teaching of Jesus penetrate the spirit and heart of mankind. It is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus himself calls the "Spirit of truth", and whom he promises as the One who will guide into all truth (cf. Jn 14:17; 16:13). If Jesus said of Himself: "I am the truth" (Jn 14:6), it is this truth of Christ that the Holy Spirit makes known and spreads: "He will not speak of Himself, but will tell all that He has heard . . . he will take of mine and proclaim it to you" (Jn 16:13-14). The Spirit is Light of the soul: "Lumen cordium", as we invoke it in the Pentecost Sequence.

2. The Holy Spirit was Light and inner Master for the Apostles who had to know Christ in depth in order to fulfil their task as his evangelisers. He was and is so for the Church, and, in the Church, for believers of all generations, and especially for theologians and teachers of the Spirit, for catechists and leaders of Christian communities. It has been and is also for all those who, within and outside the visible confines of the Church, wish to follow God's ways with a sincere heart, and through no fault of their own find no one to help them decipher the riddles of the soul and discover the revealed truth. May the Lord grant all our brothers and sisters - millions and indeed billions of men - the grace of recollection and docility to the Holy Spirit in moments that can be decisive in their lives.

For us Christians, the intimate teaching of the Holy Spirit is a joyful certainty, based on Christ's word about the coming of the 'other Paraclete', whom - he said - 'the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have spoken to you" (John 14:26). "He will guide you into all truth" (Jn 16:13).

3. As is clear from this text, Jesus does not entrust his word only to the memory of his hearers: this memory will be aided by the Holy Spirit, who will continually revive in the apostles the memory of events and the sense of the mysteries of the Gospel.

In fact, the Holy Spirit guided the Apostles in the transmission of the word and life of Jesus, inspiring both their oral preaching and writings, as well as the writing of the Gospels, as we have seen in the catechesis on the Holy Spirit and Revelation.

But it is still He who gives the readers of Scripture the help to understand the divine meaning included in the text of which He Himself is the inspirer and main author: He alone can make known "the depths of God" (1 Cor 2:10), as they are contained in the sacred text; He who was sent to instruct the disciples on the teachings of their Master (cf. Jn 16:13).

4. Of this intimate teaching of the Holy Spirit the Apostles themselves, the first transmitters of the word of Christ, speak to us. St. John writes: "Now you have the anointing received from the Holy One (Christ) and you are all taught. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it and because no lie comes from the truth" (1 John 2: 20-21). According to the Church Fathers and the majority of modern exegetes, this "anointing" (chrisma) designates the Holy Spirit. Indeed, St John states that those who live according to the Spirit have no need of other teachers: "As for you," he writes, "the anointing you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but just as His anointing teaches you all things, and is true and does not lie, so stand firm in Him, as He teaches you" (1 John 2: 27).

The Apostle Paul also speaks of an understanding according to the Spirit, which is not the result of human wisdom, but of divine illumination: "The natural man (psychicòs) does not understand the things of the Spirit of God; they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because he can judge of them only by the Spirit. The spiritual man (pneumaticòs), on the other hand, judges everything, without being able to be judged by anyone" (1 Cor 2:14-15). 

Therefore Christians, having received the Holy Spirit, Christ's anointing, possess within themselves a source of knowledge of the truth, and the Holy Spirit is the sovereign Master who enlightens and guides them.

5. If they are docile and faithful to his divine teaching, the Holy Spirit preserves them from error, making them victorious in the constant conflict between the "spirit of truth" and the "spirit of error" (cf. 1 Jn 4:6). The spirit of error, which does not recognise Christ (cf. 1 Jn 4:3), is spread by the "false prophets", ever present in the world, even in the midst of the Christian people, with an action that is now uncovered and even clamorous, now insidious and creeping. Like Satan, they too sometimes disguise themselves as "angels of light" (cf. 2 Cor 11:14) and present themselves with apparent charisms of prophetic and apocalyptic inspiration. This was already the case in apostolic times. That is why St John warns: "Do not put faith in every inspiration, but test the inspirations, to see if they really come from God, for many false prophets have appeared in the world" (1 John 4:1). The Holy Spirit, as the Second Vatican Council recalled (cf. Lumen gentium, 12), protects the Christian from error by making him discern what is genuine from what is spurious. On the part of the Christian, it will always take good criteria of discernment regarding the things he hears or reads in matters of religion, Holy Scripture, manifestations of the supernatural, etc. Such criteria are conformity to the Gospel, because the Holy Spirit cannot but "take from Christ"; harmony with the teaching of the Church, founded and sent by Christ to preach its truth; the uprightness of the life of the speaker or writer; the fruits of holiness resulting from what is presented or proposed.

6. The Holy Spirit teaches the Christian the truth as the principle of life. It shows the concrete application of Jesus' words in one's life. It makes one discover the relevance of the Gospel and its value for all human situations. It adapts the understanding of the truth to every circumstance, so that this truth does not remain merely abstract and speculative, and frees the Christian from the dangers of duplicity and hypocrisy.

This is why the Holy Spirit enlightens each one personally, to guide him in his behaviour, showing him the way to follow, opening up at least some glimmer of the Father's plan for his life. This is the great grace of light that St Paul asked for the Colossians: "spiritual intelligence", capable of making them understand the divine will. Indeed, he assured them: "We do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you have a full knowledge of his (God's) will with all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, that you may conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work . . ." (Col 1:9-10). This grace of light is necessary for all of us, to know God's will for us well and to be able to live our personal vocation fully.

There is never a shortage of problems, which sometimes seem insoluble. But the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of difficulties and enlightens. He can reveal the divine solution, as at the Annunciation for the problem of reconciling motherhood with the desire to preserve virginity. Even when it is not a unique mystery such as that of Mary's intervention in the Incarnation of the Word, it can be said that the Holy Spirit possesses an infinite inventiveness, proper to the divine mind, which knows how to unravel the knots of even the most complex and impenetrable human affairs.

7. All this is granted and worked in the soul by the Holy Spirit through his gifts, thanks to which it is possible to practise good discernment not according to the criteria of human wisdom, which is foolishness before God, but of divine wisdom, which may seem foolishness in the eyes of men (cf. 1 Cor 1:18, 25). In reality, only the Spirit "searches all things, even the depths of God" (1 Cor 2:10-11). And if there is opposition between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of God, Paul reminds Christians: "We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit of God to know all things that God has given us" (1 Cor 2:12). Unlike the "natural man", the "spiritual man" (pneumaticòs) is sincerely open to the Holy Spirit, docile and faithful to his inspirations (cf. 1 Cor 2:14-16). Therefore he habitually has the capacity for right judgement under the guidance of divine wisdom.

8. A sign of real contact with the Holy Spirit in discernment is and always will be adherence to revealed truth as proposed by the Magisterium of the Church. The interior Master does not inspire dissension, disobedience, or even unjustified resistance to the pastors and teachers established by Him in the Church (cf. Acts 20:29). It is the authority of the Church, as the Council says in the constitution Lumen gentium, "not to quench the Spirit, but to examine everything and hold fast to what is good (cf. 1 Thess 5:12, 19-21)" (Lumen gentium, 12). This is the line of ecclesial and pastoral wisdom that also comes from the Holy Spirit.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 24 April 1991]

"Times change and we Christians must constantly change". Pope Francis repeated this invitation to change several times during the Mass celebrated on Friday morning, 23 October, in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta. An invitation to act "without fear" and "with freedom", keeping away from tranquilising conformisms and remaining "firm in faith in Jesus" and "in the truth of the Gospel", but moving "continually according to the signs of the times".

The starting point for the reflection was offered to the Pontiff by the readings of this last part of the liturgical year, which propose in particular the letter to the Romans. "We emphasised," he recalled in this regard, "how Paul preaches with such strength, the freedom that we have in Christ". It is, the Pope explained, "a gift, the gift of freedom, of that freedom that saved us from sin, that made us free, children of God like Jesus; that freedom that leads us to call God Father". So Francis added that 'to have this freedom we must open ourselves to the power of the Spirit and understand well what is happening within us and outside us'. And if in the "past days, last week", we had dwelt "on how to distinguish what happens within us: what comes from the good Spirit or what does not come from him", that is, on discerning what "happens within us", in the liturgy of the day the passage from Luke's Gospel (12, 54-59) exhorts us to "look outside", making us "reflect on how we evaluate the things that happen outside of us".

Here then is the need to question ourselves on "how we judge: are we capable of judging?". For the Pope 'we have the capacity' and Paul himself 'tells us that we will judge the world: we Christians will judge the world'. The Apostle Peter also says something similar when he 'calls us a chosen race, a holy priesthood, a nation chosen precisely for holiness'.

In short, the Pontiff clarified, we Christians 'have this freedom to judge what happens outside of us'. But, he warned, 'to judge we must know well what happens outside of us'. And so, Francis asked, "how can we do this, which the Church calls 'knowing the signs of the times'?"

In this regard, the Pope noted that "times change. It is proper Christian wisdom to know these changes, to know the different times and to know the signs of the times. What means one thing and what another'. Of course, the Pope is aware that this 'is not easy. Because we hear so many comments: "I heard that what happened there is this or what happens there is the other; I read this, I was told this...". But, he quickly added, 'I am free, I have to make my own judgement and understand what it all means'. Whereas 'this is a job we don't usually do: we conform, we reassure ourselves with "I've been told; I've heard; people say; I've read...". And so we are quiet". When instead we should ask ourselves: 'What is the truth? What is the message that the Lord wants to give me with that sign of the times?".

As usual, the Pope also offered practical suggestions "to understand the signs of the times". First of all, he said, "silence is necessary: be silent and watch, observe. And then reflect within ourselves. An example: why are there so many wars now? Why has something happened? And to pray'. So 'silence, reflection and prayer. Only in this way can we understand the signs of the times, what Jesus wants to tell us".

And in this sense there are no alibis. Although in fact each of us may be tempted to say: 'But, I didn't study that much.... I didn't go to university or even to secondary school...', Jesus' words leave no room for doubt. For he does not say: 'Look how university students do, look how doctors do, look how intellectuals do...'. On the contrary, he says: "Look at the peasants, the simple: they, in their simplicity, know when the rain comes, how the grass grows; they know how to distinguish the wheat from the weeds". Consequently, 'that simplicity - if it is accompanied by silence, reflection and prayer - will make us understand the signs of the times'. Because, he reiterated, 'times change and we Christians must change continuously. We must change steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, steadfast in the truth of the Gospel, but our attitude must continually move according to the signs of the times'.

At the end of his reflection, the Pontiff returned to his initial thoughts. "We are free," he said, "because of the gift of freedom that Jesus Christ has given us. But our work is to examine what is happening within us, to discern our feelings, our thoughts; and to analyse what is happening outside of us, to discern the signs of the times". How? "With silence, with reflection and with prayer," he repeated at the conclusion of his homily.

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 24/10/2015]

He calls to Himself and ‘makes’ the Twelve: big emergency, by small Name

(Mk 3:13-19)

In Christ, the physician of suffering humanity, the things of the soul seem different, and so do relationships.

All this leads his group to a different view of itself, history, world, multitudes (vv.7-9) and problems.

The axis is to be with Him (v.14) that is to form Church in Him. In fact, it is fundamental first to mature, wherever we live.

He who cultivates many cravings projects them; he procures others his own murky influences. This is why reflection is necessary; that critical, which really digs.

It conveys the sense of our getting on the field, and a righteous disposition.

Being with Jesus annihilates infidelities that do not propose simplicity of life and values of the spirit, that distance, building other temples and shrines.

The charge of universality contained in the rooting to values transmitted by dialogue with Him, questions us; in relationships as well as in self-knowledge.

We understand that... stimuli, flections, virtuous principles, gaps, hidden sides, achieved goals and bad-moments are complementary energy aspects.

It seems a paradox, but openness to the multitudes’ needs remains a exquisitely non-external problem.

It’s from themselves and from the already varied community that one looks at the world, knowing how to recover its opposite sides.

It is the Way of the Interior that penetrates the way of the outside.

It is the intimate road that can fight the power of evil that stifles the longings for life and annihilates personalities.

We must first heal what is essential and neighbour.

Of course, who do not accept risk cannot be missionary; the person who isn’t inserted among the poor people do not know their world.

But those who are not ‘made’ free [v.14: «(He) made (the) Twelve»] cannot free (v.15).

Who is not trained can’t educate; he can’t ‘remake history from the beginning’.

The only way to peer far and without borders is to ‘stick to the reason of things’.

Principle that is known in Christ Logos and only if we are not misled by the superficiality of reductions.

Understanding in God the nature of creatures, and conforming us to it, everyone is inspired to transmute and complete, without alienating forcings. 

By exercising a practice of ‘goodness even with themselves too’.

To understand this and approach the sense of their missional Uniqueness, the Son himself must ascend on «’the’ Mount» (v.13), assimilating himself to the Father’s Vision.

None of the apostles was in themselves worthy of the Call.

Most of them have typical names of Judaism, even of the patriarchs time - which indicates a cultural and spiritual extraction rooted more in common religion than in personal Faith; not easy to manage.

Yet made them his ‘intimates, by Name’ - chain that united Heaven with the fate of their healing mission, now without fences.

Announcement of new Light received in Gift: where precisely does not a single shape or a single color appears.

For a contagion that is neither alarmist nor unilateral, but thriving, multifaceted, sometimes "hidden" - and restless, disquieting.

[Friday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 23, 2026]

He calls to Himself and makes the Twelve: great emergency, by little Name

(Mk 3:13-19)

In Christ, the doctor of suffering humanity, things of the soul seem different, and so do relationships.

All this leads his group to a different view of themselves, history, the world, the multitudes (vv.7-9) and problems.

We have already noted that in the Community of Jesus, any winking at pious retreat is banished, despite the fatigue, the bewilderment and the anxieties.

Thus the theme of both the well-configured Person and the Community remains primary: there is no disregard for particular sensitivities or needs, nor for the ecclesial element - the conviviality of differences.

Here Jesus is placed at the centre of the ideals of the journey in the Spirit.

He is the fulcrum, motive and driving force of a humanity that everywhere calls for answers, neither doctrinal or moralistic, nor reduced or abstract, to the yearning for complete life that it feels pulsing within.

All this in the soul of every person as in the genius of any civilisation.

The axis is to be with Him (v.14), that is, to form the Church in Him.

It is essential to mature first, wherever we live. [There are not very noble motives for wanting to reach everywhere, to run everywhere to make proselytes, and to do so at once].

He who cultivates many lusts, projects them; he procures his own murky influences. We see this also in clamorous contemporary events, manipulating great realities - previously unsuspected.

This is why reflection is necessary; the critical one, which really digs in.

It conveys the sense of our coming into the field, and a right disposition.

Being with Jesus annihilates unfaithfulness that does not propose simplicity of life and values of the spirit, alienating, building other temples and shrines.

The charge of universality contained in the rootedness to values conveyed by dialogue with Him, questions us; in relationships as well as in self-knowledge.

We realise that... stimuli, inflections, virtuous principles, gaps, hidden sides, achievements and "no" moments are complementary energetic aspects.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (LXIII): 'Consider great the small, and much the little'.

Master Ho-shang Kung comments: 'If you want the great, turn to the small. If you want the much, turn to the little. It is the way of spontaneity'.

It sounds like a paradox, but openness to the needs of the multitudes is an exquisitely non-external issue.

It is from oneself and from the already diverse community that one looks at the world, knowing how to recover its opposite sides.

It is the Way of the Interior that interpenetrates the Way of the Exterior.

It is the inner way that can combat the power of evil that stifles the yearnings of life and annihilates personalities.

One must first heal that which is essential and near.

Certainly, he who does not accept the risk cannot be a missionary; he who is not placed among the poor, does not know their world.

But he who is not made free [v.14: "made Twelve"] cannot liberate (v.15). He who is not formed cannot educate; he cannot remake history from the beginning.

The only way then to peer far and wide is to stick to the reason of things.

Principle that is known in Christ Logos, and only if not misled by the superficiality of reductions.

Understanding in God the nature of creatures and conforming to it in an increasing way, all are inspired to transmute and complete themselves, enriching even cultural sclerosis, without alienating forcings.

Exercising a practice of goodness even with oneself.

The Tao Tê Ching (xvi) emphasises:

"To return the mandate is eternity [...] He who knows eternity embraces everything". A passage that invites one to turn to the Scaturigine even after the luxuriance.

And Master Ho-shang Kung comments:

"All creatures wither and fall, but each one, returning to its root, lives even more".

Only from the Source of the multifaceted being gushes forth a life to be saved; exuberant, well-rounded, without neurosis.

So let us ask ourselves: are we a sign of dedication and an outstretched person?

Certainly, but without being a cult, and only after encountering our limit states.

And in doing so, immersing ourselves in a good habit with the Lord, which also imparts wise tolerance to us - from within.

Not to distinguish the moment of Vocation from the moment of ministerial sending. But for the reason that the way to Heaven is intertwined with the way of the Person - or we will be busybodies.

To understand this and come closer to the sense of their missional uniqueness, the Son Himself must ascend "the Mount" (v.13), assimilating Himself into the Father's vision.

None of the apostles were per se worthy of the Calling.

Most of them had names typical of Judaism, even from the time of the patriarchs - indicating a cultural and spiritual background rooted more in common religion than personal faith; not easy to handle.

Yet all of them made intimate, by Name - a chain that united Heaven with the destiny of their healing mission, with no more fences. 

Peter was eager to come forward, although he often backtracked - backtracked - to the point of becoming a 'satan' for Jesus [(Mt 16:23; Mk 8:33): in the culture of the ancient East, an official of the great ruler, sent to act as a controller and delator - practically an accuser].

James of Zebedee and John were brothers, ardent fundamentalists, and in a wrathful manner wanted the Master for themselves alone, as well as the first places.

Philip [conditioned perhaps by a Hellenistic background, as his name indicates] at first sight did not seem a very practical fellow, nor quick to grasp the things of God.

Andrew, on the other hand, seemed to do well: an inclusive person.

According to well-known traditional identifications, Bartholomew was perhaps open but perplexed, because the Messiah did not correspond to him much.

Thomas always a little in and a little out.

Matthew - a collaborator, greedy accomplice of the oppressive system, and willingly extorting money from his people [the people ruthlessly condemned him].

Simon - the zealot, the Canaanite - a hothead.

Judas Iscariot a tormented, self-destructive for trusting old spiritual leaders - imbued with nationalist ideology, self-interest, opportunism, power.

Two others (James the younger son of Alphaeus, and Judas Thaddeus) perhaps mere disciples of no great prominence or capacity for initiative.

But the Kingdom is "local and universal" [Fratelli Tutti, nn.142-153], Near and by Name - as the Gospel passage from Mk.

This is the manifold, biting, incomparable, close and precisely personal power that overcomes any possibility of ideal sabotage (due to adverse circumstances).

Power drawn from prayer directed to the Father in Christ - in his Listening (v.13a) - as well as from works of love (v.10).

Power in an equally singular, sensitive, shared symbiosis.

Not for the excellent alone - or even in the time of global emergency there will be no healing work, but only external, accusatory and aimed at propaganda, proselytism.

Here: Announcement and Mission of new Light received in Gift; where precisely not a single form or colour appears.

And the Axis is "being" with Him.

For a contagion that is neither alarmist nor one-sided, monochromatic, but flourishing, multifaceted, sometimes "hidden" - and restless.

To internalise and live the message:

In your experience, what chain has united heaven and earth?

The (accusatory) list and effort of transgressions to be neurotically corrected?

Or a personal Calling, inclusive of your many faces in the soul - a Vocation supported by a Church that became an echo and a free Source of all-round understanding?

The Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles as a community of faith, hope and charity. Through the Apostles, we come to Jesus himself. The Church begins to establish herself when some fishermen of Galilee meet Jesus, allowing themselves to be won over by his gaze, his voice, his warm and strong invitation:  "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mk 1: 17; Mt 4: 19).

At the start of the third millennium, my beloved Predecessor John Paul II invited the Church to contemplate the Face of Christ (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 16 ff.). Continuing in the same direction, I would like to show, in the Catechesis that I begin today, how it is precisely the light of that Face that is reflected on the face of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 1), notwithstanding the limits and shadows of our fragile and sinful humanity.

After Mary, a pure reflection of the light of Christ, it is from the Apostles, through their word and witness, that we receive the truth of Christ. Their mission is not isolated, however, but is situated within a mystery of communion that involves the entire People of God and is carried out in stages from the Old to the New Covenant.

In this regard, it must be said that the message of Jesus is completely misunderstood if it is separated from the context of the faith and hope of the Chosen People:  like John the Baptist, his direct Precursor, Jesus above all addresses Israel (cf. Mt 15: 24) in order to "gather" it together in the eschatological time that arrived with him. And like that of John, the preaching of Jesus is at the same time a call of grace and a sign of contradiction and of justice for the entire People of God.

And so, from the first moment of his salvific activity, Jesus of Nazareth strives to gather together the People of God. Even if his preaching is always an appeal for personal conversion, in reality he continually aims to build the People of God whom he came to bring together, purify and save.

As a result, therefore, an individualistic interpretation of Christ's proclamation of the Kingdom, specific to liberal theology, is unilateral and without foundation, as a great liberal theologian Adolf von Harnack summed it up in the year 1900 in his lessons on The essence of Christianity:  "The Kingdom of God, insofar as it comes in single individuals, is able to enter their soul and is welcomed by them. The Kingdom of God is the dominion of God, certainly, but it is the dominion of the holy God in individual hearts" (cf. Third Lesson, 100 ff.).

In reality, this individualism of liberal theology is a typically modern accentuation:  in the perspective of biblical tradition and on the horizon of Judaism, where the work of Jesus is situated in all its novelty, it is clear that the entire mission of the Son-made-flesh has a communitarian finality. He truly came to unite dispersed humanity; he truly came to unite the People of God.

An evident sign of the intention of the Nazarene to gather together the community of the Covenant, to demonstrate in it the fulfilment of the promises made to the Fathers who always speak of convocation, unification, unity, is the institution of the Twelve. We heard about this institution of the Twelve in the Gospel reading. I shall read the central passage again:  "And he went up into the hills and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. The names of the twelve Apostles are these..." (Mk 3: 13-16; cf. Mt 10: 1-4; Lk 6: 12-16).

On the site of the revelation, "the mount", taking initiative that demonstrates absolute awareness and determination, Jesus establishes the Twelve so that, together with him, they are witnesses and heralds of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

There are no doubts about the historicity of this call, not only because of the antiquity and multiplicity of witnesses, but also for the simple reason that there is also the name of Judas, the Apostle who betrayed him, notwithstanding the difficulties that this presence could have caused the new community.

The number 12, which evidently refers to the 12 tribes of Israel, already reveals the meaning of the prophetic-symbolic action implicit in the new initiative to re-establish the holy people. As the system of the 12 tribes had long since faded out, the hope of Israel awaited their restoration as a sign of the eschatological time (as referred to at the end of the Book of Ezekiel:  37: 15-19; 39: 23-29; 40-48).

In choosing the Twelve, introducing them into a communion of life with himself and involving them in his mission of proclaiming the Kingdom in words and works (cf. Mk 6: 7-13; Mt 10: 5-8; Lk 9: 1-6; 6: 13), Jesus wants to say that the definitive time has arrived in which to constitute the new People of God, the people of the 12 tribes, which now becomes a universal people, his Church.
Appeal for Israel

With their very own existence, the Twelve - called from different backgrounds - become an appeal for all of Israel to convert and allow herself to be gathered into the new covenant, complete and perfect fulfilment of the ancient one. The fact that he entrusted to his Apostles, during the Last Supper and before his Passion, the duty to celebrate his Pasch, demonstrates how Jesus wished to transfer to the entire community, in the person of its heads, the mandate to be a sign and instrument in history of the eschatological gathering begun by him. In a certain sense we can say that the Last Supper itself is the act of foundation of the Church, because he gives himself and thus creates a new community, a community united in communion with himself.

In this light, one understands how the Risen One confers upon them, with the effusion of the Spirit, the power to forgive sins (cf. Jn 20: 23). Thus, the Twelve Apostles are the most evident sign of Jesus' will regarding the existence and mission of his Church, the guarantee that between Christ and the Church there is no opposition:  despite the sins of the people who make up the Church, they are inseparable.

Therefore, a slogan that was popular some years back:  "Jesus yes, Church no", is totally inconceivable with the intention of Christ. This individualistically chosen Jesus is an imaginary Jesus.

We cannot have Jesus without the reality he created and in which he communicates himself. Between the Son of God-made-flesh and his Church there is a profound, unbreakable and mysterious continuity by which Christ is present today in his people. He is always contemporary with us, he is always contemporary with the Church, built on the foundation of the Apostles and alive in the succession of the Apostles. And his very presence in the community, in which he himself is always with us, is the reason for our joy. Yes, Christ is with us, the Kingdom of God is coming.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 15 March 2006]