1. What is most important in the old and new forms of 'consecrated life' is that in them one discerns the fundamental conformity to the will of Christ, the institutor of the evangelical counsels and, in this sense, the founder of religious life and of every similar state of consecration. As the Second Vatican Council says, the evangelical counsels are "founded on the words and examples of the Lord" (Lumen Gentium, 43).

There has been no shortage of those who have questioned this foundation by considering consecrated life as a purely human institution, born of the initiative of Christians who wished to live the Gospel ideal more deeply. Now it is true that Jesus did not directly found any of the religious communities that gradually developed in the Church, nor did He determine particular forms of consecrated life. But what He willed and instituted is the state of consecrated life, in its general value and in its essential elements. There is no historical evidence to explain this state by a later human initiative, nor is it easily conceivable that consecrated life - which has played such a great role in the development of holiness and the mission of the Church - did not proceed from a founding will of Christ. If we explore the Gospel accounts well, we discover that this will appears in a very clear way.

2. It appears from the Gospel that from the very beginning of his public life Jesus calls men to follow him. This call is not necessarily expressed in words: it can simply result from the attraction exercised by Jesus' personality on those he meets, as in the case of the first two disciples, according to the account in John's Gospel. Already disciples of John the Baptist, Andrew and his companion (who seems to be the evangelist himself) are fascinated and almost gripped by the one who is presented to them as 'the lamb of God'; and they immediately set out to follow Jesus, before he has even spoken a word to them. When Jesus asks, "What do you seek?", they respond with another question: "Master, where do you dwell?". Then they receive the invitation that will change their lives: "Come and see" (cf. Jn 1:38-39).

But generally the most characteristic expression of the call is the word: "Follow me" (Mt 8:22; 9:9; 19:21; Mk 2:14; 10:21; Lk 9:59; 18:22; Jn 1:43; 21:19). It manifests the initiative of Jesus. Before then, those who wished to embrace the teaching of a master chose the one whose discipleship they wished to become. Jesus, on the other hand, with that word: 'Follow me', shows that it is he who chooses those whom he wants to have as companions and disciples. Indeed, he will say to the Apostles: "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (Jn 15:16).

In this initiative of Jesus appears a sovereign will, but also an intense love. The account of the call addressed to the rich young man reveals this love. We read there that when the young man declares that he has kept the commandments of the law from an early age, Jesus, "gazing at him, loved him" (Mk 10:21). This penetrating gaze, filled with love, accompanies the invitation: "Go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven, then come and follow me" (Ibid). This divine and human love of Jesus, so ardent as to be recalled by a witness to the scene, is what is repeated in every call to total self-giving in the consecrated life. As I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation Redemptionis donum, "in it is reflected the eternal love of the Father, who 'so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life' (Jn 3:16)" (John Paul II, Redemptionis donum, no. 3).

3. Again according to the testimony of the Gospel, the call to follow Jesus involves very wide-ranging demands: the account of the invitation to the rich young man emphasises the renunciation of material goods; in other cases the renunciation of the family is more explicitly emphasised (cf. Lk 9:59-60). Generally speaking; following Jesus means renouncing everything to join him and accompany him on the paths of his mission. And the renunciation to which the Apostles consented, as Peter declares: "Behold, we have left everything and followed you" (Mt 19, 27). Precisely in his reply to Peter Jesus indicates the renunciation of human goods as a fundamental element of his following (cf. Mt 19:29). It is clear from the Old Testament that God asked his people to follow him through the observance of the commandments, but without ever making such radical demands. Jesus manifests his divine sovereignty by demanding instead an absolute dedication to him, even to the point of total detachment from earthly goods and affections.

4. Note, however, that while formulating the new demands included in the call to follow him, Jesus presents them to the free choice of those he calls. They are not precepts, but invitations or "advice". The love with which Jesus addresses the call to him, does not deprive the rich young man of the power of free decision, as shown by his refusal to follow him because of the preference given to the goods he possesses. The evangelist Mark notes that he "went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions" (Mk 10:22). Jesus does not condemn him for this. But in his turn he observes not without a certain affliction that it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, and that only God can work certain detachments, certain inner liberations, that allow one to respond to the call (cf. Mk 10:23-27).

5. On the other hand, Jesus assures that the renunciations required by the call to follow him obtain their reward, a "heavenly treasure", that is, an abundance of spiritual goods. He even promises eternal life in the century to come, and a hundredfold in this century (cf. Matthew 19:29). This hundredfold refers to a higher quality of life, to a higher happiness.

Experience teaches that the consecrated life, according to Jesus' design, is a profoundly happy life. This happiness is commensurate with fidelity to Jesus' plan. It does not preclude the fact that, again according to Mark's mention of persecution in the same episode (Mk 10:30), the "hundredfold" does not dispense from association with the cross of Christ.

6. Jesus also called women to follow him. An account in the Gospels says that a group of women accompanied Jesus, and that these women were numerous (cf. Lk 8:1-3; Mt 27:55; Mk 15:40-41). This was a great novelty in relation to Judaic customs: only the innovative will of Jesus, which included the promotion and to some extent the liberation of women, can explain the fact. No account of any woman's vocation has reached us from the Gospels; but the presence of numerous women with the Twelve with Jesus presupposes his call, his choice, whether silent or expressed.

In fact, Jesus shows that the state of consecrated life, consisting in following him, is not necessarily linked to a destination to the priestly ministry, and that this state concerns both women and men, each in his own field and with the function assigned by the divine call. In the group of women who followed Jesus, one can discern the announcement and indeed the initial nucleus of the immense number of women who will commit themselves to religious life or other forms of consecrated life, throughout the centuries of the Church, up to the present day. This applies to the "consecrated women", but also to so many of our sisters who follow in new forms the authentic example of the co-workers of Jesus: e.g. as lay "volunteers" in so many works of the apostolate, in so many ministries and offices of the Church.

7. Let us conclude this catechesis by recognising that Jesus, in calling men and women to abandon everything to follow him, inaugurated a state of life that would gradually develop in his Church, in the various forms of consecrated life, concretised in religious life, or even - for those chosen by God - in the priesthood. From Gospel times to the present day, the founding will of Christ has continued to operate, expressed in that beautiful and most holy invitation addressed to so many souls: "Follow me!"

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 12 October 1994]

The Gospel today presents to us the beginning of Jesus’ preaching ministry in Galilee. St Mark stresses that Jesus began to preach “after John [the Baptist] was arrested” (1:14). Precisely at the moment in which the prophetic voice of the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom of God, was silenced by Herod, Jesus begins to travel the roads of his land to bring to all, especially the poor, “the gospel of God” (cf. ibid.). The proclamation of Jesus is like that of John, with the essential difference that Jesus no longer points to another who must come: Jesus is Himself the fulfilment of those promises; He Himself is the “good news” to believe in, to receive and to communicate to all men and women of every time that they too may entrust their life to Him. Jesus Christ in his person is the Word living and working in history: whoever hears and follows Him may enter the Kingdom of God.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 25 January 2015].

The Gospel passage [...] (cf. Mk 1:14-20) shows us, so to speak, the “passing of the baton” from John the Baptist to Jesus. John was His precursor; he prepared the terrain for Him and he prepared the way for Him: Jesus can now begin his mission and announce the salvation by now present; He was the salvation. His preaching is summarized in these words: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (v. 15). Simply. Jesus did not mince words. It is a message that invites us to reflect on two essential themes: time and conversion.

In this text of Mark the Evangelist, time is to be understood as the duration of the history of salvation worked by God; therefore, the time “fulfilled” is that in which this salvific action reaches its pinnacle, full realization: it is the historical moment in which God sent his Son into the world and his Kingdom was rendered more “close” than ever. The time of salvation was fulfilled because Jesus arrived. However, salvation is not automatic; salvation is a gift of love and as such, it is offered to human freedom. Always, when we speak of love, we speak of freedom: love without freedom is not love; it may be interest, it may be fear, many things, but love is always free, and being free it calls for a freely given response: it calls for our conversion. Thus, it means changing mentality — this is conversion, changing mentality — and changing life: no longer following the examples of the world but those of God, who is Jesus; following Jesus; “doing” as Jesus had done, and as Jesus taught us. It is a decisive change of view and attitude. In fact, sin — above all the sin of worldliness which is like air, it permeates everything — brought about a mentality that tends toward the affirmation of oneself against others and against God. This is curious... What is your identity? And so often we hear that one’s identity is expressed in terms of “opposition”. It is difficult to express one’s identity in the worldly spirit, in positive terms and in those of salvation: it is against oneself, against others and against God. And for this purpose it does not hesitate — the mentality of sin, the worldly mentality — to use deceit and violence. Deceit and violence. We see what happens with deceit and violence: greed, desire for power and not service, war, exploitation of people... This is the mentality of deceit that definitely has its origins in the father of deceit, the great pretender, the devil. He is the father of lies, as Jesus defines him.

All this is opposed by the message of Jesus, who invites us to recognize ourselves as in need of God and his grace; to have a balanced attitude with regard to earthly goods; to be welcoming and humble toward everyone; to know and fulfil ourselves in the encounter with and service of others. For each one of us the time in which we are able to receive redemption is brief: it is the duration of our life in this world. It is brief. Perhaps it seems long... I remember that I went to administer the Sacraments, the Anointing of the Sick, to a very good elderly man, very good, and in that moment, before receiving the Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick, he said this phrase to me: “My life flew by”. This is how we, the elderly, feel, that life has passed away. It passes away. And life is a gift of God’s infinite love, but it is also the time to prove our love for him. For this reason every moment, every instant of our existence is precious time to love God and to love our neighbour, and thereby enter into eternal life.

The history of our life has two rhythms: one, measurable, made of hours, days, years; the other, composed of the seasons of our development: birth, childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age, death. Every period, every phase has its own value, and can be a privileged moment of encounter with the Lord. Faith helps us to discover the spiritual significance of these periods: each one of them contains a particular call of the Lord, to which we can give a positive or negative response. In the Gospel we see how Simon, Andrew, James and John responded: they were mature men; they had their work as fishermen, they had their family life... Yet, when Jesus passed and called to them, “immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mk 1:18).

Dear brothers and sisters, let us be attentive and not let Jesus pass by without welcoming him. Saint Augustine said “I am afraid of God when he passes by”. Afraid of what? Of not recognizing him, of not seeing him, not welcoming him.

May the Virgin Mary help us live each day, each moment as the time of salvation, when the Lord passes and calls us to follow him, each according to his or her life. And may she help us to convert from the mentality of the world, that of worldly reveries that are fireworks, to that of love and service.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 24 January 2021]

The muddy condition of the Jordan and the human dimension of Jesus

(Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:7-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:30-34)

The Jordan River was never navigable; it simply marked a border. In the mentality of time, between the land of others and the sacred realm of freedom; and here is the concrete distinction of the Incarnation.

Let us outline some considerations that recover the meaning of this historical fact - which for us can be like a ‘sun’ inside - with which the liturgy completes the path of Christmas time.

Jesus was in search, eager to sift, to learn.

It may seem incredible to us, but he recognized himself ignorant, in need of evolving - not of becoming “better” and stronger, but of ‘looking inside’ things - and move the gaze elsewhere.

In that strongly engaged but overly serious environment he understood definitively who the Subject of the spiritual journey is: the divine Life, which draws us into the experience of happiness, of authentic and solid love.

The Kingdom cannot be prepared and even set up [it would become a projection, a conditioned reflection, an outer tower, like Babel] - rather, it must be Welcomed. Because it Comes.

The results that appeal to our genius and muscles, at first they are unnerving, then they become frustrating; lastly they block the growth of the innate universe, because they turn off the novelties, obfuscate the Source of being and enthusiasm.

The religious man who does not make the leap of the Faith, stagnates in the depressing finding of the difference between expected results and concrete facts.

Paradoxically, he focuses the streets on himself, but doesn’t lays his eye ‘on’ his essence. He obeys - perhaps - but doesn’t listen.

Having lost the even relational sense of his unrepeatable Unicum - he measures all his inability to perceive, elaborate, realize, those designs that guide his dreams and resources to fullness.

He loses all his energy by making induced, contrived, off-scale resolutions, wich make him supposing and acidic - simply because those artifact targets dry him down: they do not concern him.

Meanwhile, the "perfect" and stressful discipline that imposes to himself, as if he were the Protagonist, takes away from him the joy of meeting his superior talents and fully experiencing what reality provides.

Perhaps he does not extract from his own ‘mine’ (entirely at hand) those abilities that realize the personal Mission.

He does not even notice it - all caught by absolutely derived or conforming ideas and disciplines, able only to dismantle his peaks and rarity.

Always with a look on the past, or on the common [even glamorous] thinking of the authorities, of others, of the surrounding environment - and what is believed "should be", according to established and damping ethicalisms.

Finally, the discrepancy between what to wich one has given so much [without perhaps ever understanding what God is really calling to] and what has been achieved, destroys the exceptionality.

It weakens Hope itself, triggering an inexorable sadness, or the useless individual and ecclesial routine.

Adult Jesus who lets himself be immersed in the waters of the Jordan is icon of a proposal that sublimates the conspicuously murky swamps of our condition.

Not only by seeing the possibilities, but even making them ‘cheerful’: so in all the oriental icons, which accentuate their elegant volutes.

How can our Lord stand beside an indistinct crowd of sinners and skids, seeking redemption?

Jesus noticed: in each one of them surfaced a talent. And we are at the lowest point on earth - 400 meters below sea level.

This is precisely the leap in quality that discriminates against a simple-minded religiosity [even cloaked in great things] and the growth of Faith.

The Son reveals divine life, which is manifested ceaselessly ‘friend’. Face of God that does not destroy but approaches, to bring out the stifled possibilities.

He doesn’t crush, humiliating our inclinations, and adding unbearable burdens. He’s not the King of submissive and fatigued persons.

He enters a reality also made of mud, but that prepares our developments, and desires to grow - producing paths often interrupted, but finally the unexpected Flower.

In this way we learn to love our limits and the many slimy conditions: they remind us of the Jordan.

Earth needs Light, but Light needs ‘earth’. They are expression of the New Covenant.

[Baptism of the Lord; homily. For a perhaps more fussy and characteristic biblical relief, cf. the extended comment, at the bottom of the site: www.duevie.art]

The muddy condition of the Jordan and the human dimension of Jesus

(Mt 3:13-17; Mk 1:7-11; Lk 3:21-22; Jn 1:30-34)

The river Jordan was never navigable; it simply marked a border.

In the mentality of the time, between other people's land and the sacred sphere of freedom: here a concrete boundary of the "Incarnation".

Let us try to explore this in more detail.

Popular preaching on the subject of the Baptism of the Lord was burdened with a bark of clichés [here and there perhaps insuperable] that prevented any maturation of widespread beliefs, which were still stagnant.

In this way, Jesus has hastily found himself placed behind the clouds, and today it is difficult to explain what he has in common with our life, which is often raw, conditioned by fatigue, trial and error, and research.

Although fundamental for the fruitful interiorization of a journey that moves away from generically (sometimes authentically) devotional banalities, from the ambo and in catechesis we are still forced to dribble the true meaning of the event.

Indeed, the Baptism of the Lord has created embarrassment and interpretative confusion since the first generations of believers.

Let us deal with a few considerations that recover the meaning of this historical fact - for us, it could be like a sunshine inside - with which the liturgy completes the journey of the Christmas season.

Jesus, in search of and eager to sift through the best teaching of his time, enters the school of the Baptist as a pupil.

For this reason he is baptised by John - and through this rite of entry, joined with other ordinary followers.

It may seem incredible, but the Master and Lord recognised himself as curious, imperfect, ignorant, incomplete; in need of evolution. Not to become 'better' and stronger, but to learn to look otherwise.

In that highly committed but serious, edgy, often one-sided environment, He understood the true greatness of Revelation.

In short, the Subject of the spiritual journey is divine Life, with all its bearing, which providentially pours forth and moves varied situations.

It comes to broaden horizons; not to bind us to particular ways of understanding and wanting.

We already know: it is not the ego that thinks and plans that can draw us into the experience of integral, all-embracing Happiness; of authentic, solid love.

The Kingdom is anything but: Complete. It is inclusive of what the sterilised, or fashionable, and common opinion does not 'like'.

It offers an earthly energy that is as valuable as the ideal, heavenly one.

Heaven cannot be prepared or even set up: it would become a projection, a conditioned reflex, an external tower like Babel.

Rather, one must welcome it, host it within oneself.

Then another kind of asceticism opens up, with fewer expectations of "perfection". A path that disconcerts, and that the divine impulse within us - concrete - demands of us.

We will know the Joy of Living, we will feel it flowing within; only then will we be fulfilled.

Marrying the shadow side, which will become our Perfume.

Achievements that rely on genius and muscle, first unnerving, then frustrating; then blocking the growth of the innate universe.

Artifices external to the soul extinguish personally inspired novelty, the very Source of being and enthusiasm.

Indeed, the one-sided religious man remains in malaise; he withers, because he does not take the spousal, creative leap of the adventure of Faith.

He becomes a photograph or a photocopy.

Then it stagnates in the depressing realisation of the difference between expected results and concrete facts.

Paradoxically, it centres the ways on itself - but does not rest its gaze 'in' its essence.

It obeys perhaps, but does not listen. Thus it allows itself to be vampirised by mannerisms and epidermal stylistic features.

Having lost the sense, also relational, of its unrepeatable Unicum - it measures all its inability to perceive, elaborate, realise mysterious designs that guide dreams and resources to fullness.

He loses all energy by making induced resolutions, full of artifice; out of scale.

He gives himself goals that make him opinionated, sour, formal, external - simply because those overarching goals do not concern him.

Meanwhile, the perfect, stressful discipline he imposes on himself, as if he were the Protagonist, takes away the joy of encountering superior talents.

He will always miss the thrill of living intensely what (fuller) reality offers.

Thus he does not extract from his own Mine all at hand those abilities that realise the personal Mission.

He does not even realise it - caught up in hyperbolic ideas and great disciplines that are absolutely derivative, paradoxically trivial [which can finally only dismantle its peaks and rarity]. 

He always has his eye on the past or on fashions; on the common thought, that of the situation, of the authorities, of others, of the environment he frequents, of the surroundings - which he tarnishes, or deviates.

And it places the focus only on what is normally considered 'should be' - according to established, dampening ethics, or utopias à la page, disembodied.

Inside the vortex of insuperable models, he never understands what God is really calling him to, even in disturbances.

Finally, every discrepancy between what is given and what is obtained destroys the atypicality of Hope itself, triggering an inexorable sadness, or the useless individual and ecclesial trance.

The adult Jesus who allows himself to be immersed in the waters of the Jordan is an icon of a proposal that enhances the conspicuously murky swamps of our condition.

The Lord not only grasps the possibilities, but even makes the waters cheerful [so in all oriental icons, which accentuate elegant volutes].

But the question remains. How can our Lord come alongside an indistinct crowd of sinners and stragglers seeking redemption?

In each of them Jesus saw a talent emerge.

And we are at the lowest point on earth - 400 metres below sea level.

It is precisely this leap of quality that distinguishes sophisticated idealism or simplistic religiosity - even cloaked in great things - from any quest for Faith.

The Son reveals divine Life, which bursts forth shattering expectations.

It unceasingly manifests itself as a friend. Unconscious face that does not destroy but draws near, to bring out the stifled possibilities.

Because God does not crush, he does not humiliate our hidden inclinations and resources, nor does he add unbearable burdens.

He is not a King of the submissive and weary.

He enters into a muddy reality, for it is filled with points of tension.

Thus he prepares our developments, and desires to grow - producing paths though interrupted, but finally the unexpected flower.

Now, at last, it is possible for each one to respond in a simple way to the spousal invitation: 'Do you want to unite your life to Mine?

Only that which is dehumanising does not concern our eternal side.

Any divine Gift passes through the 'flesh': the condition of the person as he is, even in the concreteness of his minimal or insecure actions.

The genuine rawness of our investigation of the true, the good and the beautiful passes - as in Jesus - through paths to be corrected over time, trial and error.

There is nothing wrong with that: only diamonds do not sprout.

Even Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that 'all our convictions begin with feelings. Not from crystalline, self-contained thoughts, but from a weaker language.

We are then introduced to a constant Exodus spirituality, which, however, is oriented towards the freedom of the Promised Land, the Home that is truly ours.

It is here - we perceive within - the outpouring of the intrinsic Centre, the personal Core, the founding Eros that calls.

Presence that detests the cage of patterns, approaching the rare, unusual (nothing grandiose) Irrepeatability that we are.

In all of this, awakening interest, and real, passionate life, which is not 'immune', nor definitive.

I mean, it happens even with God, to make a mistake.

We get back up, because that humus nourishes - and in the varied experience lurks - an opportunity, a knowledge, a skill, a greater authenticity: an added value.

The Father's call remains foreign both to the usual ideas of the verticism of objectives, and to adult mechanisms of purification - not aimed at ordinary existence (typical of philosophical or moralistic asceticism).

So the Baptism in Spirit is a Light - for us an inner increase, a sublimation of self-awareness and one's goal.

No longer a pale goal, only adjusted to roles, procedures, positions that the person does not feel are their own.

The very "rending of the heavens" no longer sealed by a (severe) distance or cultural paradigm, speaks of a now uninterrupted and growing Communication of the divine with human nature.

Exploring we can err, in both senses.

But far worse is to feel dull and unmotivated, and to act according to fixed nomenclatures and concatenations, i.e. by calculation.

In fact, in ancient religious culture, perfection and unworthiness are incomprehensible.

Conversely, in Christ we return to the moment of Creation, where "the olive tree" tells of a harmony rebuilt precisely on the limits of sin.

Gen 8:21: "I will curse no more, for the instinct of the human heart is inclined to evil from adolescence".

Here is the Dove, the new symbol of the Spirit.

A clear figure and virtue of concert, of recovery, which animates the believer - who is no longer called to titanic efforts, nor obliged to reproduce futile clamour that he does not want and does not belong to him.

Ancient kingdoms expressed and aroused the aggressive energy of beasts. 

The authentic woman and man, on the other hand, are the revolutionaries of caress, of kindness granted even to their own and others' limits.

Faithful, not of the sphere but of the polyhedron: no longer the hard and safe ones, planted on trivial self-celebratory euphorias.

In the school of the great Precursor, Jesus had noticed the proliferation of coruscating and 'spiritual' frictions that arose between (the Baptist's) pupils - who competed to set up the Kingdom.

Having assessed the vacuous coldness and the danger of homologation - the new Rabbi definitely understands that the worst disease of people is not having humanising impulses.

Impulses that are perhaps ill-tempered, certainly, but that predispose not to Exodus, but to a sort of climb in predictable stages, with perpetual pause; at room-temperature.

Here, no shady side becomes new wealth for all.

For this reason, on "the Mount" we proclaim no commanded "No" that denies our ardours - but rather, Beatitudes.

They open breath and all existence. Even of the uncertain.

In short, not yet knowing who we are and where we are going means the possibility of reinventing ourselves.

Thus we learn to love our limitations and the many limiting conditions: they remind us of the Jordan.

The earth needs Light, but the Light needs the earth. They are an expression of the New Covenant.

To internalise and live the message:

Have you ever met a wise spiritual companion who, instead of rushing you into his or her solution, teaches you to love your limits, knowing that sooner or later they will surprise and astound both you and him or her?

So far, we have heard the account of the Evangelist Luke, who presents Jesus who remained hidden in the crowd while he went to John the Baptist to be baptized. Jesus had also been baptized, and, St Luke tells us, "was praying" (3: 21). Jesus speaks with his Father. And we may be certain that he did not only speak for himself but also of us and for us; he also spoke of me, of each one of us and for each one of us. 

And then the Evangelist tells us that above the Lord in prayer, Heaven was opened. 

Jesus entered into contact with the Father, Heaven opened above him. At this moment we can think that Heaven has also opened here, above these children of ours who, through the Sacrament of Baptism, come into contact with Jesus. Heaven opens above us in the Sacrament. The more we live in contact with Jesus in the reality of our Baptism, the more Heaven will open above us. And from Heaven - let us return to the Gospel - that day a voice came which said to Jesus: "You are my beloved Son" (Lk 3: 22). 

In Baptism, the Heavenly Father also repeats these words for each one of these infants. He says: "You are my child". Baptism is adoption and admission into God's family, into communion with the Most Holy Trinity, into communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. For this very reason, Baptism should be administered in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity. These words are not merely a formula; they are reality. They mark the moment when your children are reborn as children of God. From being the children of human parents, they also become the children of God in the Son of the living God. 

However, we must now meditate on the words in the Second Reading of this liturgy where St Paul tells us: "He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Ti 3: 5). 

A washing of regeneration: Baptism is not only a word, it is not only something spiritual but also implies matter. All the realities of the earth are involved. Baptism does not only concern the soul. Human spirituality invests the totality of the person, body and soul. God's action in Jesus Christ is an action of universal efficacy. Christ took flesh and this continues in the sacraments in which matter is taken on and becomes part of the divine action. 

We can now ask precisely why water should be the sign of this totality. Water is the element of fertility. Without water there is no life. Thus, in all the great religions water is seen as the symbol of motherhood, of fruitfulness. For the Church Fathers, water became the symbol of the maternal womb of the Church. 

Tertullian, a Church writer of the second and third centuries, said something surprising. He said: "Never is Christ without water". By these words, Tertullian meant that Christ is never without the Church. In Baptism we are adopted by the Heavenly Father, but in this family that he establishes there is also a mother, Mother Church. Man cannot have God as Father, the ancient Christian writers were already saying, unless he has the Church as mother. 

We perceive in a new way that Christianity is not merely an individual, spiritual reality, a simple subjective decision that I take, but something real and concrete, we could also say something material. Adoption as children of God, of the Trinitarian God, is at the same time being accepted into the family of the Church, it is admission as brothers and sisters into the great family of Christians. And only if, as children of God, we are integrated as brothers and sisters into the reality of the Church can we say "Our Father", to our Heavenly Father. This prayer always implies the "we" of God's family. 

Now, however, let us return to the Gospel in which John the Baptist says: "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming... he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Lk 3: 16). 

We have seen water; but now the question is unavoidable: of what does the fire that St John the Baptist referred to consist? To see this reality of the fire, present in Baptism with water, we must note that John's baptism was a human gesture, an act of penance, a human impulse for God, to ask the forgiveness of sins and the chance to begin a new life. It was only a human desire, a step towards God with their own effort. 

Now this is not enough. The distance would be too great. In Jesus Christ we see that God comes to meet us. In Christian Baptism, instituted by Christ, we do not only act with the desire to be cleansed through the prayer to obtain forgiveness. 

In Baptism God himself acts, Jesus acts through the Holy Spirit. In Christian Baptism the fire of the Holy Spirit is present.

[Pope Benedict, homily 7 January 2007]

"You are my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased".

2. The ceremony, which on this typical Sunday of the liturgical cycle we are about to perform, calls to our mind certain truths of essential importance in Christian doctrine.

First of all, it recalls the episode - read in today's Gospel - of the Baptism of Jesus, who wished to include himself, as a penitent, among the followers of John the Baptist in order to receive water baptism from him. Such a rite was a sign of penitence; but Jesus wanted to subject himself to it, to show openly that he accepted the religious message of the people of Israel, expressed in a conclusive way by the last of the Prophets. From Abraham to Moses, to Elijah, to Isaiah, through all the Prophets, up to John the Baptist, along the mysterious and dramatic "history of salvation" the "word of God" had walked with the Jewish people, until it led to the arcane voice from heaven that on Jesus, baptised by John, said: "You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased" (Lk 3:22). In Jesus, the Messiah awaited by the chosen people, the definitive transition from the Old to the New Testament took place, and John the Baptist was its austere and enlightened witness.

But today's Liturgy also and above all emphasises the value of the new Baptism, instituted by Jesus. John the Baptist, announcing the coming of the Messiah, said: 'One is coming who will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and fire'. Jesus, initiating the new 'economy' of salvation, tells the Apostles: 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:18-19). This is the new and definitive Baptism, which eliminates from the soul the "original sin", inherent in human nature fallen through the rejection of love by the first two rational creatures, and restores to the soul the "sanctifying grace", that is, participation in the very life of the Holy Trinity. Every time Baptism is conferred, an amazing and marvellous event takes place; the rite is simple, but the meaning is sublime! The fire of God's creative and redeeming love burns and destroys sin and takes possession of the soul, which becomes the dwelling place of the Most High! The Evangelist St John affirms that Jesus has given us the power to become children of God, because from God we have been begotten (cf. Jn 1:12-13); and St Paul speaks repeatedly of our greatness and dignity as members of the Body of Christ (Col 2:19; Eph 3:11. 17. 19-22; 4:12).

3. Baptism is a supernatural gift, a radical transformation of human nature, the insertion of the soul into the very life of God, the concrete and personal realisation of the Redemption, and therefore consequently commits the baptised person to live in a new way, namely following Christ. It has never been easy to live as a Christian and even less so in modern society. The Church is happy to welcome these newly-baptised children; but she wants the parents, godparents and godmothers, and also the entire community, to take on the serious duties of good example, correct teaching and authentic Christian formation, so that the child in the gradual development of his or her existence may be faithful to his or her baptismal commitments.

4. St Augustine, recalling in the Confessions the episode of his Baptism, writes: 'In those days, all filled with extraordinary sweetness, I was not satisfied with considering the depth of your counsel for the salvation of the human race' (St Augustine, Confessiones, IX, ch. VI). This immense interior joy I also heartily wish for you and for your children, now and for ever, while I invoke the propitiatory intercession of Most Holy Mary, so that by her help the light and candour of Baptism, which these little ones now receive, may shine in them throughout their lives.

[Pope John Paul II, homily January 1983]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Today's liturgical feast of the Baptism of the Lord closes the Christmas season, which we observed this year with exceptional fervour and participation. Indeed, the Great Jubilee began on the Holy Night with the opening of the Holy Door in St Peter's.

This Christmas season has offered us a new occasion to recall the "fact" that occurred 20 centuries ago and definitively changed the course of history: Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

In recalling Jesus' birth, we celebrated the great mystery of Redemption, to which we pay particular attention throughout the course of the Jubilee. The Son of God became man so that man could be raised to the dignity of God's adoptive son.

2. Today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord reminds us of this intimate union with the divine life.

[Pope John Paul II, Angelus 9 January 2000]

The Gospel presents Jesus, in the waters of the River Jordan, at the centre of a wondrous divine revelation. St Luke writes: “when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased’” (Lk 3:21-22). In this way Jesus is consecrated and manifested by the Father as the Saviour Messiah and liberator.

In this event — attested by all four Gospels — is the passing from the baptism of John the Baptist, symbolized by water, to the Baptism of Jesus “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Lk 3:16). Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the principal artisan in Christian Baptism: it is he who burns and destroys original sin, restoring to the baptized the beauty of divine grace; it is he who frees us from the dominion of darkness, namely sin, and transfers us to the kingdom of light, namely love, truth and peace: this is the kingdom of light. Let us think about the dignity to which Baptism elevates us! “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and so we are” (1 Jn 3:1), the Apostle John exclaims. This splendid reality of being Children of God entails the responsibility of following Jesus, the obedient Servant, and reproduces his lineaments in our very selves: namely docility, humility, tenderness. This is not easy, especially when there is so much intolerance, arrogance, harshness around us. But with the strength we receive from the Holy Spirit it is possible!

The Holy Spirit, received for the first time on the day of our Baptism, opens our heart to the Truth, to all Truth. The Spirit impels our life on the challenging but joyful path of charity and solidarity toward our brothers and sisters. The Spirit gives us the tenderness of divine forgiveness and permeates us with the invincible power of the Father’s mercy. Let us not forget that the Holy Spirit is a living and vivifying presence in those who welcome him, he prays in us and fills us with spiritual joy. 

Today, the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, let us ponder the day of our Baptism. All of us were baptized, let us give thanks for this gift. I ask you a question: which of you knows the date of your Baptism? Surely not everyone. Therefore, I encourage you to find out the date, by asking, for example, your parents, your grandparents, your godparents, or going to the parish. It is very important to know it, because it is a date to be celebrated: it is the date of our rebirth as Children of God. For this reason, homework for this week: go and find out the date of your Baptism. Celebrating that day means and reaffirms our adherence to Jesus, with the commitment to live as Christians, members of the Church and of a new humanity, in which all are brothers and sisters.

May the Virgin Mary, first Disciple of her Son Jesus, help us to live our Baptism with joy and apostolic zeal, welcoming each day the gift of the Holy Spirit, which makes us Children of God.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 10 January 2016]

(Lk 5:12-16)

The Touch of Jesus sums up his life, teaching and mission: God is all out of the rails, both of old custom and fashion.

He is not afraid to defile Himself - not even with an individual covered with disease and cracks [«full of leprosy»: v.12].

No lepers could live in urban areas, but Lk wants to emphasise that it is the usual way of understanding religion and its infinite casuistry that scatters us.

It is these minutiae [or prevailing ideas] that enervate and make people impure - insinuating nothing but disjointed doubts about their own dignity; to finally clutch a fistful of flies.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (xxxix): «When you have finished enumerating the parts of the chariot, you still do not have the chariot».

Legalistic norms deprive context and rob the Vision. In vain, they indict our character, from which the Lord conversely wishes to extract a masterpiece.

They marginalise too many people and guilt them, make them feel dirty inside - inculcating that sense of inadequacy that negatively affects the evolution of the journey, the growth of woman and man.

Certainly, made transparent in God, we all find ourselves full of evils (v.15) and still far from the Vocation. But this must not mark our history.

Christ does not disintegrate us in torment: he ceaselessly presents horizons, instils suggestions, triggers reactions - which by moving forward, finally recover the core of being.

We are challenged, but our today and tomorrow may not result from our “yesterday” [perhaps marked by trivial judgments of condemnation].

In Christ, poverty 'is preparing' a shot, it becomes more than a Hope (vv.12-13).

So, it is not necessary to first make oneself “clean and precise” in order to then have the right to present oneself to God: his Love is symptomatic and engaging, because He does not insinuate demands, He does not wait in advance for the other's perfections.

The Source of For Free transforms and makes (it) transparent: it does not modulate generosity on the basis of conformist merits. On the contrary - it overlooks needs, which are absolutely personal.

The religious norm accentuated exclusions and punished loneliness, social marginalisation.

The leper had to live apart from others, but having understood that only the Person of the Lord could cleanse him (vv.12-13.14), he repeatedly transgressed the Law.

Lk means: do not be afraid to denounce by your own initiative that certain customs are contrary to God's plan!

As a matter of fact, there is no way to get 'close' to the Son [to have a personal relationship with Him] without each of us inventing an opportunity, a propitious time, that dribbles by and absolutely does not resemble the mentality of the usual people around - sometimes clinging on out of interest or narrowness.

The devotee in neurosis will try to curb any restlessness or personal secrets, but in the relationship with God and in order to realise life, it is decisive that we remain lovers of direct communication, of dialogue with the regenerating and superior Source; fond of the experience of love, without third parties.

Indeed, even the Son of God - in order to help his neighbour (judged) unclean and (seen) defiled - transgressed the religious prescription!

It imposed to stay away from lepers [an evil that corrodes within, the very image of sin] in order to remain indefectible.

With that gesture, Christ imposes on us the practice of risk, even though by the law of religion He Himself with His Touch becomes a polluted person to be cleansed and kept away (v.16) - deprived of rights.

But Jesus reveals the Face of the Father: He wants each one of us to be able to live with others with his eccentricities, and to be accepted, not segregated - in this way, reinterpreting and overturning again the prescriptions of the beginnings (v.14; cf. Lev 13:49).

He is saying to his own intimates [who already in the first communities showed "strange" tendencies]: you are obliged to welcome in everything even the distant and miserable, and to let them take an active part in the liturgies and in the joy of the feasts.

Behind the different baggage - which causes disorder - lies the secret of a new order, and of Happiness.

The Risen One (v.12: «Lord») continues to suggest to us, challenging public opinion:

«The certificate of healing I provide, to the people you make feel guilty. My “guides” are not to endorse, but only to note that I have absorbed the defect of the lacking ones - indeed, in Me the dark side of each one will become astonishment».

In the attitude of such an inverted spirituality - now no longer empty, nor filled with artifice and preclusion - we are driven to the enthusiastic proclamation of the concrete experience each person has with Him.

At first, it may even be lacking, just because He does not want to be considered a triumphant king of this world (v.14a).

Beautiful, however, such subversion combining divine and human traits!A subversion that offers us God's purity, and entrusts our uncertainty to Him: indeed, 'one subversion that brings together' many crowds (final v.15).

This is a lovable God!

Friend who, by making Himself Present in the very foundation and meaning of God's place on earth - his affable, not antipathetically selective Church - breaks down barriers and makes everyone feel adequate.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you challenge the public opinion of your time, and fashions, to foster sensitivity, friendliness, the practice of opportunities equality, of freedom, of convivial love?

[Weekday Liturgy, January 11]

Jesus said to the leper: "Be made clean!". According to the ancient Jewish law (cf. Lv 13-14), leprosy was not only considered a disease but also the most serious form of ritual "impurity". It was the priests' duty to diagnose it and to declare unclean the sick person who had to be isolated from the community and live outside the populated area until his eventual and well-certified recovery. Thus, leprosy constituted a kind of religious and civil death, and its healing a kind of resurrection. It is possible to see leprosy as a symbol of sin, which is the true impurity of heart that can distance us from God. It is not in fact the physical disease of leprosy that separates us from God as the ancient norms supposed but sin, spiritual and moral evil. This is why the Psalmist exclaims: "Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, / whose sin is covered", and then says, addressing God: "I acknowledged my sin to you, / my guilt I covered not. / I said, "I confess my faults to the Lord' / and you took away the guilt of my sin" (32[31]: 1, 5). The sins that we commit distance us from God and, if we do not humbly confess them, trusting in divine mercy, they will finally bring about the death of the soul. This miracle thus has a strong symbolic value. Jesus, as Isaiah had prophesied, is the Servant of the Lord who "has borne our griefs / and carried our sorrows" (Is 53: 4). In his Passion he will become as a leper, made impure by our sins, separated from God: he will do all this out of love, to obtain for us reconciliation, forgiveness and salvation. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Crucified and Risen Christ purifies us through his ministers with his infinite mercy, restores us to communion with the heavenly Father and with our brothers and makes us a gift of his love, his joy and his peace.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 15 February 2009]

Dear sons and daughters

1. Your presence awakens in my soul a special feeling, something of that emotion and affection that our Lord Jesus Christ felt, during the ministry of his public life, for the sick who flocked from all sides to hear his word of salvation and to be cured of their infirmities.

Among the many episodes of healings narrated by the four Evangelists, you will certainly remember the one described by St Luke: the sick man who, with his face to the ground, pleaded with him: 'Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me'. Jesus stretched out his hand; he touched him and said: "I will, be healed!". And all signs of the disease disappeared (cf. Lk 5:12-13).

The humble Vicar of Christ is among you today with the same intensity of affection with which the divine Master welcomed and blessed the crowds and, in a special way, those afflicted with the infirmity that afflicts you too.

2. Many comment that the external purification of the body was symbolic of an inner transformation: the rebirth of a purity, a confidence, a courage that comes from above. The Pope would like his contact with you to bring these priceless inner feelings. He exhorts you not to let yourselves be brought down by fear or lack of trust. To not give in to the temptation of isolation. To unite your trust in the progress of medicine with an attitude of constant, confident prayer.

3. In the name of that same Jesus whom I represent before you today, I also urge you to make good use of and value the suffering that you carry imprinted in your body and spirit. Always remember that pain is never in vain, never useless. On the contrary, precisely at the moment in which it wounds your existence, limiting it in its human affirmation, if it is elevated to a supernatural dimension it can sublimate and redeem this existence for a higher destiny, one that goes beyond the threshold of the personal situation to draw upon the whole of society, so in need of those who know how to suffer and offer themselves for its redemption.

If you apply these great intentions, which go beyond the purely human level, to your intentions, you will collaborate with Christ in the plan of salvation and be able to spread wonderful examples of moral strength around you, which only those who suffer with this faith in their souls can communicate to others.

4. I have great confidence in your remembrance, in your help and in your prayers, not only for the success of this apostolic journey to Brazil, but also for all the cares that I carry in my heart as pastor of the universal Church.

With these thoughts, greeting you with kindness and expressing my high appreciation for those who care for you and assist you, I entrust you to the maternal protection of the Most Blessed Virgin, to whom I know you are very devoted, and I wholeheartedly grant you the Apostolic Blessing.

[Pope John Paul II, meeting with lepers, Salvador da Bahia (Brazil), 7 July 1980]