Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)  [18 January 2026]

May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us. Today begins the week of prayer for Christian unity (18-25 January) and Ordinary Time resumes.

First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (49:3-6)

This passage belongs to a group of four texts from the prophet Isaiah, called the "Songs of the Servant". They date back to the dramatic period of the Babylonian Exile (6th century BC) and are addressed to a discouraged people who wonder if God has forgotten them. The prophet, however, announces a decisive word: Israel is still God's servant. The Covenant is not broken; God has not only not abandoned his people, but entrusts them with an even greater mission. In this song, the Servant is not a particular individual, but the people of Israel as a whole, as the text clearly states: 'You are my servant, Israel'. Its vocation is equally clear: to manifest the glory of God. This glory is not abstract, but concrete: it is God's work of salvation, identified here with the return from exile. The liberation of the people will be the visible proof that God is the saviour. Thus, those who have been saved become witnesses of salvation before the world. In the ancient mindset, the defeat and deportation of a people could seem like the failure of their God; liberation, on the other hand, will manifest to the pagan peoples the superiority of the God of Israel. Being a "servant" therefore means, on the one hand, the certainty of God's support and, on the other, a mission: to continue to believe in salvation and to bear witness to it, so that other peoples may also recognise God as saviour. This explains the final announcement: 'I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth'. God's plan concerns not only Israel but all humanity. Here, the messianic expectation evolves profoundly: the Messiah is no longer an individual king but a collective subject, the people of Israel, who do not exercise political power but carry out a mission of service. One difficulty remains: if the Servant is Israel, how can he "gather Israel"? Isaiah is actually addressing the "Remnant," the small group of faithful who did not lose their faith during the exile. This Remnant has the task of bringing the people back to God, that is, of converting them. But this is only the first stage: the rise of Israel becomes the initial sign of the plan of universal salvation. Finally, the prophet insists on the divine origin of this message: it is not the fruit of human invention, but the word of the Lord. In the midst of discouragement, a confession of humble and profound trust resounds: the Servant's strength is not in himself, but in God.

decisive role of the faithful Remnant. +The foundation of everything: strength comes from God alone, not from man.

*Responsorial Psalm (39/40) 

The statement in Psalm 39/40 – "sacrifice  and offering  you do not desire" is surprising, because the psalms were sung in the temple itself, while sacrifices were being offered. In reality, the meaning is clear: what matters to God is not the ritual itself, but the attitude of the heart that it expresses. This is why the psalmist can say: "You have opened my ears"... then I said: "Here I am, I am coming". The whole Bible recounts a long educational journey in understanding sacrifice, which goes hand in hand with the revelation of the true face of God. To sacrifice means "to make sacred", to enter into communion with God; but the way of doing so changes as we understand who God really is. Israel did not invent sacrifice: it was a common practice among the peoples of the Near East. However, from the beginning, biblical faith introduces a decisive difference: human sacrifices are absolutely forbidden. God is the God of life, and cannot ask for death in order to draw closer to Him. Even the story of Abraham and Isaac shows that 'sacrificing' does not mean killing, but offering. Over the centuries, a true conversion of sacrifice took place, concerning first and foremost its meaning. If God is thought of as a being to be appeased or bought, sacrifice becomes a magical gesture. If, on the other hand, God is recognised as the one who loves first and gives freely, then sacrifice becomes a response of love and gratitude, a sign of the Covenant and not a commodity to be exchanged. Biblical pedagogy thus leads from the logic of 'giving in order to receive' to the logic of grace: everything is a gift, and man is called to respond with the 'sacrifice of the lips', that is, with thanksgiving. The substance of sacrifice also changes: the prophets teach that the true sacrifice pleasing to God is to give life, not to give death. As Hosea says (6:6): 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'. The ultimate ideal is the service of our brothers and sisters, expressed in the Songs of the Servant of Isaiah: a life given so that others may live. Psalm 39/40 summarises this journey: God opens man's ear to enter into a dialogue of love; in the New Covenant, sacrifice becomes totally spiritual: 'Behold, I come'.

*Second Reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1:1-3)

This text celebrates the dignity of those of us who are baptised. It is chosen for this Sunday, which marks the return to ordinary time in the liturgy: ordinary does not mean trivial, but simply in the order of the year. Every Sunday we celebrate extraordinary events: here St Paul reminds us of the greatness of our title as Christians. According to Paul, we are those who invoke the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, recognising him as God. To say 'Lord' means that Jesus is the centre of our life, of history and of the world. This is why Paul calls us 'holy people': being holy does not mean being perfect, but belonging to God. Baptism consecrates us to Him, and the community deserves to be honoured in the Eucharistic celebration. If Jesus is not truly our Lord, we must question our faith. Paul emphasises the name of Christ several times in his letter, showing that our relationship with Him is the foundation of Christian life. All Christians are 'called': Paul himself did not choose to be an apostle, but was called by God on the road to Damascus. The word Church (ecclesia) means 'called', and every local community is called to reflect God's universal love. The mission is universal, but accessible: God does not ask us for extraordinary gestures, only willingness to do His will, as today's Psalm reminds us: 'Behold, I am coming'. The Eucharistic liturgy echoes Paul's words: in the gesture of peace and in the greeting 'The Lord be with you', we are immersed in the grace and peace of Christ. This text is particularly suitable for the week of prayer for Christian unity: it reminds us of what unites Christians throughout the world, called to be seeds of a new humanity, which one day will be reunited in grace and peace around Jesus Christ. The historical context of this letter: Corinth was a city of great wealth and poverty, a crossroads between the Adriatic and the Aegean, with a mixed population and marked social contrasts. The Christian community founded by Paul reflected these differences. The letter to the Corinthians that we read today is probably the first to have come down to us, written around 55-56 AD, in response to specific questions from the community.

From the Gospel according to John (1:29-34)

John the Baptist solemnly proclaims: "I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." At that time, the title "Son of God" was synonymous with Messiah: to recognise this in Jesus meant to announce the Messiah awaited by Israel. Every king of Jerusalem received the anointing and the title of Son of God as a sign that the Spirit was guiding him; but unlike previous kings, Jesus is the one on whom the Spirit 'sleeps' permanently, indicating that his entire mission will be led by the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist also describes Jesus as 'the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world'. The figure of the lamb evokes three images: the Paschal Lamb, a sign of liberation; Isaiah's Suffering Servant, innocent and bearing the sins of others; the lamb offered by God, as in Abraham's trial with Isaac. Jesus is therefore the Messiah, the liberator of humanity, but he does not immediately eliminate sin: he offers us the possibility of freeing ourselves from it by living guided by the Spirit, with love, generosity and forgiveness. Salvation is not for one man alone, but for all believers, the 'Body of Christ'. The new humanity begins in Jesus, through his obedience and his full communion with God, offering a model of new life.

*Origen, in his commentary on the Gospel of John, writes: 'Thus John calls Jesus the Lamb of God: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." With these words, John declares that Christ, the one who was before him, is the one who takes away the sins of the world.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

Incarnation, or the spiritual module without humanity

(Mk 2:23-28)

On the way of conversion, conflicts of conscience are not parentheses or accidents of the path, but crucial nodes.

The genuineness of believing then generates implicative force and new expressive abilities.

According to ordinary religious evaluations, the legislation was worth more than hunger...

To be honest, the observance of the Sabbath had become a central law not because of theological subtleties, but because in the period of the Exile the weekly rest had allowed to gather, share hopes, encourage each other, maintain the identity of the people.

But legalism ended up stifling the spirit of the day of worship, once a sign of a freedom at the service of faith and man, both of which cannot be enslaved.

Thus where Jesus arrives, every empty spiritual module of humanity crumbles, and the Incarnation takes hold: the place where God and man seriously ‘rest’ [other than the saturday!].

In the parallel passage of Mt (12:1-8), Jesus' response is more articulated and complete:

On Jewish Sabbath, priests had many more sacred and preparation engagements, slaughter and reordering of the Sanctuary, than the other days of the week, and the Torah obliged them... it happens to us too.

Again in Mt, the Lord quotes a famous phrase from the prophet Hosea - a man of raw experience, but who well defines the peak of intimacy with God: an authentic rite is to realize the hopes of our neighbour and to have the heart in the needs of others.

Christ emphasizes the poverty of every legalistic and hypocritical attachment in the mode of conceiving relations with the Father.

The sign of the Covenant with God, and Encounter (authentic sanctification) is adherence that continues in the plot of the days and in his active Person - not a ridiculous idolatry of observances or cultic parentheses.

Facts and rites celebrate love; and the sincere fulfilment does not follow the pedantic "as we should be", but expresses a Liberation of the person.

The biblical episode that Jesus quotes could perhaps appear not entirely pertinent to the theoretical question: his disciples did not seem to be kings or even priests.

Instead, in the new time that’s urgent, yes: ‘sovereigns’ of one’s life by Gift and Call, as well as ‘mediators’ [of divine blessings on humanity] - and also Prophets.

The lovable God establishes with us a dialogue and a friendship that invites, gives impetus, transmits taste for doing.

It’s the result of a messianic conscience as «Son of man» (v.28): transmissible to us, his brothers and friends - very united to him by Faith.

For this reason [after the call of the disciples and the first healings, then the vocation of Levi and the controversy about fasting] the Lord presents himself to the Pharisees in the royal stunt double of David, who is about to conquer the ‘kingdom’ even with a small handful of followers.

In the time of the global crisis that affects the future (and still tries to calculate it by directing it a priori, according to selective interests) the challenge is more open than ever.

To internalize and live the message:

How did you perceive that you were reliving Christ in the fluency of the norms?

[Tuesday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 20, 2026]

Incarnation for the sake of self and the world, or the spiritual form empty of humanity

(Mk 2:23-28)

On the path to conversion, conflicts of conscience are not parentheses or accidents of the way, but crucial nodes.

The genuineness of belief then generates implicative force and new expressive capacities.

The alternative is between Intimacy and the practice of Faith, or religion that condemns blameless people (Mt 12:7):

According to ordinary religious assessments, regulation was worth more than hunger....

Yes, there is much to dialogue, simply, but little to discuss: God's experience in life overturns the ideas developed by experts.

To be fair, Sabbath observance had become a central law, not because of theological niceties, but because in the period of the Exile, weekly rest had made it possible to come together, to share hopes, to encourage one another, to maintain identity as a people.

But legalism ended up stifling the spirit of the day of worship, once a sign of a freedom at the service of faith and man, both of which could not be enslaved.

So where Jesus arrives, every spiritual module empty of humanity crumbles, and the Incarnation takes hold: the place where God and man 'rest' in earnest (other than the Sabbath!).

The litmus test of the bursting of the new kingdom is the igniting of contrasts with leaders, managers, court intellectuals and executives!

They built their prestige on a patchwork of false teachings, which had nothing to do with the objective of the divine Law.

[Dog doesn't eat dog, so the brawlers of the provisions had never commented on David's transgressive behaviour.

It happens that the masters of steam and the unsavoury fundamentalists of the old or the 'new' do not go against each other...].

In the parallel passage of Mt (12:1-8) Jesus' response is more articulate and complete:

On the Sabbath day, the priests had many more sacred and preparatory duties, slaughtering and tidying up the Sanctuary, than on the other days of the week, and the Torah obliged them... it happens to us too.

Again in Matthew, the Lord quotes a famous phrase from the prophet Hosea - a man of raw experience, but one that well defines the pinnacle of intimacy with God: Authentic rite is to notice the needs of one's neighbour and to have one's heart in the needs of others.

The archaic 'sacrifice' [sacrum facere, to make sacred] reflected an idea of cut-off, separation and distance between the perfect world of 'heaven' and the profane life of people.

But after the coming of the "Son of Man" (v.28), the new consecrated will not live secluded, above the lines, far from summary existence.

Rather, they will be the first to welcome and lift up those in need.

Christ emphasises the poverty of any legalistic and hypocritical attachment in the way of conceiving relations with the Father.

A sign of the Covenant with God, and an encounter (authentic sanctification) is the adherence that continues in the pattern of days and in His active Person - not a ridiculous idolatry of observances or cultic parentheses.

Facts and rituals celebrate love; and outspoken fulfilment does not trace the pedantic 'how we should be', but expresses a Liberation of the person.

The biblical episode that Jesus cites might perhaps have seemed not entirely relevant to the theoretical question: his disciples did not seem to be kings or even priests.

Instead, in the new time that is impending, yes: 'sovereigns' of their own lives by Gift and Calling, as well as 'mediators' [of divine blessings on humanity] - and prophets too.

Authentic ones will no longer play the double game of the old theatrics, susceptible practitioners of the sacred - nor will they condemn the innocent and needy (Mt 12:7).

Here in Mk 2:27 Jesus relativises the commandment: 'The Sabbath was [instituted, has its meaning] for man, and not man for the Sabbath'.

The lovable God establishes a dialogue and friendship with us that invites, gives impetus, gives gusto.

The Tao Tê Ching (xiii) writes:

"To him who makes merit of himself for the sake of the world, the world can be entrusted. To him who takes care of himself for the sake of the world, the world can be entrusted'.

To the bondage of customs, Christ opposes a looseness that makes the encounter between God and his people more agile, more spontaneous, richer and more personal.

It is the outcome of a messianic consciousness that is precisely that of the "Son of Man" (v.28): greater than the Temple (cf. Mt 12:6) because incarnate.

In this way, transmissible to us, His brothers and friends - united to Him and intimate by faith.

After the call of Levi, the meal with sinners and the controversy over fasting, the Master presents Himself to the Pharisees in the regal guise of David setting out to conquer the alternative "Kingdom", even with a small handful of followers.

A trail of light - even for us - in the face of the current pastoral meltdown.

In the time of the global crisis that seems to mortgage the future (we still try to calculate it by directing it a priori, according to selective interests), the challenge is more open than ever. 

Opposition on Justice

"It is precisely because of this personal experience of his relationship with Jesus Christ that Paul now places at the centre of his Gospel an irreducible opposition between two alternative paths towards justice: one built on the works of the Law, the other founded on the grace of faith in Christ. The alternative between righteousness by the works of the Law and righteousness by faith in Christ thus becomes one of the dominant motifs running through his Epistles: "We, who by birth are Jews and not sinful pagans, yet knowing that man is not justified by the works of the Law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ, have also believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; for by the works of the Law no one will ever be justified" (Gal 2:15-16). And to the Christians of Rome he reiterates that 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom 3:23-24). He adds, "For we hold that man is justified by faith, regardless of the works of the Law" (Ibid 28). Luther at this point translated: 'justified by faith alone'. I will return to this point at the end of the catechesis. First we must clarify what this "Law" is from which we are liberated and what those "works of the Law" are that do not justify. Already in the community of Corinth there was an opinion that would later return systematically in history; the opinion was that it was the moral law and that Christian freedom therefore consisted in liberation from ethics. Thus the word 'πάντα μοι έξεστιν' (everything is permissible for me) circulated in Corinth. It is obvious that this interpretation is wrong: Christian freedom is not libertinism, the liberation of which St Paul speaks is not liberation from doing good.

But what then is the Law from which we are liberated and which does not save? For St Paul, as for all his contemporaries, the word Law meant the Torah in its entirety, that is, the five books of Moses. The Torah implied, in the Pharisaic interpretation, the one studied and made his own by Paul, a complex of behaviours ranging from the ethical core to the ritual and cultic observances that substantially determined the identity of the righteous man. Particularly circumcision, observances about pure food and generally ritual purity, rules about Sabbath observance, etc. Behaviours that also frequently appear in the debates between Jesus and his contemporaries. All these observances expressing a social, cultural and religious identity had become singularly important by the time of the Hellenistic culture, beginning in the 3rd century BC. This culture, which had become the universal culture of the time, and was an apparently rational, polytheistic, apparently tolerant culture, constituted a strong pressure towards cultural uniformity and thus threatened the identity of Israel, which was politically forced into this common identity of the Hellenistic culture, resulting in the loss of its own identity, and thus also the loss of the precious inheritance of the faith of the Fathers, of faith in the one God and the promises of God.

Against this cultural pressure, which threatened not only Israelite identity, but also faith in the one God and His promises, it was necessary to create a wall of distinction, a shield of defence to protect the precious inheritance of faith; this wall consisted precisely of Jewish observances and prescriptions. Paul, who had learnt of these observances precisely in their defensive function of God's gift, of the inheritance of faith in one God, saw this identity threatened by the freedom of Christians: he persecuted them for this reason. At the moment of his encounter with the Risen One he realised that with Christ's resurrection the situation had changed radically. With Christ, the God of Israel, the one true God, became the God of all peoples. The wall - so he says in the Letter to the Ephesians - between Israel and the pagans was no longer necessary: it is Christ who protects us against polytheism and all its deviations; it is Christ who unites us with and in the one God; it is Christ who guarantees our true identity in the diversity of cultures. The wall is no longer necessary; our common identity in the diversity of cultures is Christ, and it is he who makes us righteous. To be just is simply to be with Christ and in Christ. And that is enough. Other observances are no longer necessary. That is why Luther's expression 'sola fide' is true, if faith is not opposed to charity, to love. Faith is to look to Christ, to entrust oneself to Christ, to attach oneself to Christ, to conform oneself to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ is love; therefore to believe is to be conformed to Christ and to enter into His love. That is why St Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians, in which he especially developed his doctrine on justification, speaks of faith working through charity (cf. Gal 5:14).

Paul knows that in the twofold love of God and neighbour the whole Law is present and fulfilled. Thus in communion with Christ, in the faith that creates charity, the whole Law is fulfilled. We become righteous by entering into communion with Christ who is love".

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 19 November 2008].

To internalise and live the message:

Have you felt oppression or exclusion in the name of the Law?

Do you feel it was for offending God or for daring to disturb something or question someone and their cultural paradigm?

How did you perceive you were reliving Christ in the looseness of norms?

What conflicts are a source of discussion and ecclesial controversy that you feel create detachment and suffering around you?

At the centre of the liturgy of the Word […] there is a saying of the Prophet Hosea to which Jesus refers in the Gospel: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings" (Hos 6: 6). It is a key word, one of those that bring us into the heart of Sacred Scripture. The context in which Jesus makes it his own is the calling of Matthew, a "publican" by profession, in other words a tax collector for the Roman imperial authority: for this reason the Jews considered him a public sinner. Having called Matthew precisely when he was sitting at his tax counter - this scene is vividly depicted in a very famous painting by Caravaggio -, Jesus took his disciples to Matthew's home and sat at the table together with other publicans. To the scandalized Pharisees he answered: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.... For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9: 12-13). Here, the Evangelist Matthew, ever attentive to the link between the Old and New Testaments, puts Hosea's prophecy on Jesus' lips: "Go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'".

These words of the Prophet are so important that the Lord cited them again in another context, with regard to the observance of the Sabbath (cf. Mt 12: 1-8). In this case too he assumed responsibility for the interpretation of the precept, showing himself to be "Lord" of even the legal institutions. Addressing the Pharisees he added: "If you had known what this means, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice', you would not have condemned the guiltless" (Mt 12: 7). Thus in Hosea's oracle Jesus, the Word made man, fully "found himself", as it were; he wholeheartedly made these words his own and put them into practice with his behaviour, even at the cost of upsetting his People's leaders. God's words have come down to us, through the Gospels, as a synthesis of the entire Christian message: true religion consists in love of God and neighbour. This is what gives value to worship and to the practice of the precepts.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 8 June 2008]

I want mercy and not sacrifice...". (Mt 9:13).

The one who speaks these words is Jesus Christ: He who offered the most perfect sacrifice of Himself to God. This sacrifice was simultaneously the supreme revelation of the Father, who is God "rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4). During Lent, the Church meditates on her knees on this mystery: the mystery of sacrifice and mercy, and seeks to build her inner life and service from it. One must enter very deeply into this mystery of Christ's sacrifice in order to fulfil each day, with the strength that comes from it, the mission of mercy, that is, of love, which in Christ is always greater than any evil.

It is necessary to enter very deeply into the mystery of Christ's sacrifice in order to make all service to those who are in need of our mercy flow from it every day: the service of the Church and of all people of good will.

[Pope John Paul II, Angelus 29 March 1981]

There are "two roads". And it is Jesus himself, with his "gestures of closeness", who gives us the right indication as to which one to take. On the one hand, in fact, there is the road of the "hypocrites", who close their doors because of their attachment to the "letter of the law". On the other, however, there is "the road of charity", which passes "from love to the true justice that is within the law". Pope Francis said this at the Mass celebrated on Friday morning, 31 October, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.

In practice, the Pontiff said, "these people were so attached to the law that they had forgotten justice; so attached to the law that they had forgotten love". But 'not only to the law; they were attached to the words, to the letters of the law'.

Precisely this way 'of living, attached to the law, distanced them from love and justice: they cared for the law, they neglected justice; they cared for the law, they neglected love'. Yet "they were the models". But "Jesus finds only one word for these people: hypocrites!". One cannot, in fact, go "into all the world looking for proselytes" and then close "the door". For the Lord was dealing with "men of closure, men so attached to the law, to the letter of the law: not to the law", because "the law is love", but "to the letter of the law". They were men "who always closed the doors of hope, of love, of salvation, men who only knew how to close".

Only "in the flesh of Christ", in fact, does the law "have full fulfilment". Because "the flesh of Christ knows how to suffer, he gave his life for us". While "the letter is cold."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 01/11/2014]

New Wineskins and vocational Freedom

(Mk 2:18-22)

Fasting is a regenerative principle that has a unique healing power, both detoxifying and essential.

It activates the energies of ‘humanity’ and at the same time of ‘diversity’.

This silent practice addresses the deep layers, the internal dimension, which becomes the guide and we risk ignoring.

Fasting was a sign of profound religiosity, therefore the disciples of Jesus - who did not fast, on the contrary their life had a festive character - were more or less assimilated to sinners.

Although there were no formal prescriptions, in observant circles it was pious practices that had become customary [linked to precisely marked days].

In Semitic beliefs, fasting was in particular expressive of the embarrassment and affliction of the devout man in the expectation of the Messianic times, which were delaying.

This is why Jesus associates fasting with mourning. It no longer has meaning in life as the unhindered wedding feast that He inaugurates.

Fasting remains as a sign of waiting for fulfillment, but now sadness no longer has any decisive relevance.

In the time of the Church that makes the Risen present, the renunciation of gorging is not a form of penance but of Hope (v.20).

And it serves to keep the hearts of Bridegroom’s friends clear of vanities, with a form of identification with the poor.

In other communities, the Judaizers tried to reduce the pure Faith - foundation and enthusiastic participation - to whatever beliefs and practices [that didn’t make everyone feel free and adequate].

In fact, a large part of the Jews converted to Christ were inclined to nostalgia that resulted in impediment.

In the communities of Roman-Pagan extraction to whom Mark addressed, there was a strong desire to free the Risen One from fetters [disciplinary fixations, timetables, calendar].

The believers perceived Him to be 'alive' - accomplices of the new humanising character they experienced day by day.

Under the confusion and violence of the ongoing civil war, the evangelist wanted to orient his assemblies in the late 60s not to cling to false securities.

Even today the Lord's proposal stands out - because it doesn’t claim to prepare the Kingdom, but rather welcomes and listens to it.

It will be Christ-in-us alone to nourish us towards an uninterrupted and growing way, in the commitment to start afresh in the task of ‘finding ourselves’ and emancipating the world - in a climate of austerity, balanced.

The Call of the Gospels remains respectful, concrete and strongly prophetic at the same time, because it arouses attention to people, to reality, and our joy - much more than to unsolicited standards of improvement, or other patches (v.21).

By not overwhelming or imposing artificial loads on believers, the life of Faith brings freedom into play [and thus makes it known to us] so that we become aware and assume it in order to be able to invest as Grace, charge, resource of novelty.

The renouncing and mortifying mechanisms, of individualistic perfection, are alien from the start - unless they are designed for the sharing of goods.

Jesus doesn’t come to make a small group of followers seated on the chair of austerity, but to communicate that the relationship with God is a celebration.

Fasting pleasing to the Father lies in the lucid experience of one's own unrepeatable eccentricity and Call, in freeing oneself from the selfishness that holds back, in bringing relief to one's neighbor.

For this reason the Church has almost completely abolished the precept of external fasting, while it intends to commit more to forms of limitation in favor of the uncertain, humble and needy.

[Monday 2nd wk. in O.T.   January 19, 2026]

(Mk 2:18-22)

Fasting has travelled through all religious and mystical traditions, because it is intended to bring women and men closer to their own profound essence - to listening to themselves, to the codes of the sacred, to the inner cosmos, to their vocation, to the sacred pages - in the expectation of transformation.

One entrusts oneself to a different wisdom - less noisy - that can activate processes of metamorphosis, precisely by making a void from the intrusions of homologated thought, from external habits or conformisms that tend to overwhelm the personality.

By detaching, the torments will vanish, replaced by other interests and lucid dreams; aroused by the new breakthrough to our eternal side, and by that reliance on the core of being that is still creating us.

Psycho-physical and supernatural unity is a prodigious organism, which can clear away the fog and enhance its capacities with various forms of suspension and cleansing, even mental cleansing - which will take us where we need to go.

But in the specifics of the children of God, all this is aimed at sharpening the gaze in the sense of knowledge, discovery, surprise of unsuspected singular and missionary capacities and qualities. Those that flow from the discovery of the eminent Self, from one's own founding Relationship - to become uniqueness of exceptional relationship with others, in the Exodus that corresponds to us.

Fasting is a principle of regeneration that has a unique healing power, both detoxifying and essential. It activates the energies of one's humanity and at the same time one's diversity.

This silent practice addresses the deep layers, the inner dimension, which become the guide (and we risk ignoring).

But here, understanding dissimilarities remains indispensable. For us, it is a gesture of openness!

Other kinds of diets or athleticism are not infrequently deviant: their very nonmeaning brings sadness and even depression.

Fasting remains a sign of waiting for the fulfilment, but now the sadness is meaningless.

In the time of the Church that makes the Risen One present, the renunciation of gorging is not a form of penitence but of hope (v.20).

And it serves to keep the heart of the Bridegroom's friends clear of vanities, with a form of identification with the poor.

But Jesus does not come to make himself a group of followers sitting on the chair of austerity, but to communicate that the relationship with God is a feast!

In short, fasting pleasing to the Father lies in the lucid experience of one's own unique eccentricity and calling, in freeing oneself from the selfishness of grabbing for oneself, and bringing relief to one's neighbour.

It creates life, not diminishes it.

Fasting was a sign of deep religiosity, so Jesus' disciples - who did not fast, indeed their existence had a festive character - were likened more or less to sinners.

Although there were no formal prescriptions, these were pious practices that became customary in observant circles [here seriousness was everything] linked to precisely marked days.

In Semitic beliefs, fasting was in particular expressive of the devout man's embarrassment and affliction in the quivering expectation of the messianic times, which were delayed.

This is why Jesus associates fasting with mourning - which no longer has any meaning in life as the wedding feast without qualms that He inaugurates.

Where precisely there is no need for additions, no need for checks or imprints, marks or distinguishing characteristics.

Nor is the New Covenant a modernisation of moral practices or pious prescriptions that provide an external religious pass.

Everything is in relation to the real presence of the Bridegroom, who does not punish life.

Of course, he who proceeds on the path of emancipation and is not satisfied with a partial Jesus the Bridegroom, already knows in himself what awaits him...

Then (v.20) in the strident confrontation with the religious leaders - clinging to prestige - there is sadness and humiliation to no end. So much for fasting from food.

However, those who have decided to continue on their path of vocational freedom know that they must relive the same events of blatant conflict that pitted the Master against the mentality and authorities of his time; and finally, in such a real encounter with Him, experience the total gift of life (v.20).

It will only be the Christ-in-us, even if it is centred and not definitive, that will nourish soul and body in an uninterrupted and growing way.

This with the commitment to start again in the mission of finding ourselves and giving breath to the world.

In an atmosphere of quiet austerity; without artificial brakes.

In the communities of Roman-pagan extraction addressed by Mark, there was a strong desire to free the Risen One from fetters [disciplinary fixations, timetables, calendar].

The believers perceived Him to be alive - accomplice to the new humanising character they experienced day by day.

Under the confusion and violence of the ongoing civil war, the evangelist wanted to orient his assemblies in the late 1960s not to cling to false securities. 

The Tao Tê Ching (v) writes:

"The space between Heaven and Earth, how it resembles a bellows!".

Master Wang Pi comments:

"If the bellows had its own will in blowing, it could not implement the intent of the one who makes it blow".

And Master Ho-shang Kung adds: 'Many endeavours harm the spirit'.

In short, Christ treasures natural wisdom and does not reduce us to the measure of contrived, whatever religion: he does not confine believers to 'negotiations' through petty procedures of athleticism and individual perfection.

He does not insist on heroic mortifications, extraordinary renunciations, punctilious observance of sterile - one-sided - laws, unless they are conceived in order to find each other, to humanise, to share goods.

The Call of the Gospels remains at once balanced, concrete and strongly prophetic.

A call that arouses attention to people, to reality, to our joy - much more than to unsolicited aseptic polishing rules, or other patches (v.21).

By neither overpowering nor imposing artificial burdens on believers, the life of Faith brings self-determination into play.

Thus it makes it known to us - so that we become aware of it and take it on in order to be able to invest it as Grace, charge (not diminish): a resource of newness.

The ascetic mechanisms of individualist refinement are alien from the outset: the goal is to create family, not to carve out a circle of hard and pure men all external and proud of themselves, who distance themselves from weaker brothers and sisters.

Then, self-satisfied, they become disloyal, usurpers, schemers: a history of flaws, equivocal plots and pastoral delays, behind an impeccable façade of cerebral doctrines, disciplines (in their own way) and resounding commemorations over the body of the 'poor departed'.

This is why the Church has almost completely abolished the precept of outward fasting, while it intends to make a greater commitment to forms of restraint in favour of the sick, marginalised, humble and needy.

The choice wants to remain clear: freedom is priceless.

And there is no love if someone - even God - cuts off or overpowers the other, imposing artificial yokes, too much the same as always; unbearable, extravagant, unhealthy.

So the old containers are no longer to be matched with the new ferment. The practice of patching damages both custom and the Newness of the Father.

Certainly, old wine and cassocks have a fascinating attraction for the senses and the vintage epidermal imagination....

That is why they continue to appeal [Lk 5:39: "The old man is excellent!"]. Not a few want to combine it with the Lord (Mk 2:22; Mt 9:17; Lk 5:37-38).

The Master was not for himself an opponent of the spirit of old, but he fought against its unshakable shells. Even then, they were empty shells, which actually prevented the manifestation of an unseen Face of the Eternal Living One, and of a more genuine idea of a successful man - the germ of an alternative, fraternal society.

Realities well separated from the intimist or self-referential ones typical of official or do-it-yourself cults. All innovations that had to manifest themselves.

The taste and aftertaste of old wine cloaked devotional rites and seasoned customs with artfulness, levity and evocative charm, but they stayed there and did not scratch life.

They remembered, but they did not memorialise - that is, they did not re-actualise for the little people.

In the practice of the many cults, in its feats of catechesis without pastoral nerve, even today in the provinces we notice [for decades] a mechanical pre-conciliar regurgitation, which stops at the great icons.

Wonders and memories of Salvation History... that's it.

It seemed easier to local leaders to go back to customs and abbreviated catechisms than to face the educational risk that the Magisterium itself would impose.

The immediate result was judged palatable and profitable, for the [underneath] fundamentalist or glamorous sector, and astute - willingly supplanting the unknown effervescence of new wine.

In fact, on the part of those who know 'how to be in the world', one still has to endure a whole superficiality of retreats and habitual accommodations, which redeem no one and bring no joy, because they do not enter into personal human affairs.

Then settling for the fish menu on Fridays. Genuine superfluity.

But those who stop at the past of mortifications and papier-mâché can never understand the Reformation that the Spirit proposes to edify every soul in authentic fulfilment, which makes us better hold one another.

Thus, in the coexistence and conviviality of differences, the old containers must no longer be coupled with the new ferment.

The practice of patching can, on the one hand, damage customs, because they have their own refined and pronounced taste (relevant in itself) - on the other hand, it distracts and attenuates the life of change, in the Exodus that does not extinguish us.

In short, the Lord does not envisage for us a practice of mending and enclosing boundaries: rather, he wants to break cages. 

To internalise and live the message:

Do you fast? From what? And for what purpose? Does it break cages? Is it or is it not in order to know each other, find each other, and listen, heal, share, embrace, hold each other better?

What inner conflicts do you experience around religious practices that you believe still bring suffering to people and are not a spousal expression or cause for emancipation for women and men?

What image of God and believing humanity is subject to preconceptions and prohibitions? How do you demonstrate the primacy of Jesus in every area of life?

while Jesus was at table in the house of Levi, the publican, the Pharisees and John the Baptist's disciples asked why Jesus' disciples were not fasting as they were. Jesus answered that wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them and that they will fast when the bridegroom is taken away from them (cf. Mk 2: 18, 20). With these words, Christ reveals his identity of Messiah, Israel's bridegroom, who came for the betrothal with his people. Those who recognize and welcome him are celebrating. However, he will have to be rejected and killed precisely by his own; at that moment, during his Passion and death, the hour of mourning and fasting will come.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 26 February 2006]