Oct 15, 2024 Written by 

Personal, direct encounter. Catechumen's itinerary

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

In this Sunday's Gospel (Mk 10: 46-52), we read that while the Lord passed through the streets of Jericho a blind man called Bartimaeus cried out loudly to him, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!". This prayer moved the heart of Jesus, who stopped, had him called over and healed him. 

The decisive moment was the direct, personal encounter between the Lord and that suffering man. They found each other face to face:  God with his desire to heal and the man with his desire to be healed; two freedoms, two converging desires. "What do you want me to do for you?" the Lord asks him. "Master, let me receive my sight", the blind man answers. "Go your way, your faith has saved you". 

With these words, the miracle was worked: God's joy and the man's joy. And Bartimaeus, who had come into the light, as the Gospel narrates, "followed him on the way"; that is, he became a disciple of the Lord and went up to Jerusalem with the Master to take part with him in the great mystery of salvation. This account, in the essentiality of its passages, recalls the catechumen's journey towards the Sacrament of Baptism, which in the ancient Church was also known as "Illumination". 

Faith is a journey of illumination: it starts with the humility of recognizing oneself as needy of salvation and arrives at the personal encounter with Christ, who calls one to follow him on the way of love. On this model the Church has formulated the itinerary of Christian initiation to prepare for Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrism) and the Eucharist. 

In places evangelized of old, where the Baptism of children is widespread, young people and adults are offered catechetical and spiritual experiences that enable them to follow the path of a mature and conscious rediscovery of faith in order to then take on a consistent commitment to witness to it. 

How important is the work that Pastors and catechists do in this field! The rediscovery of the value of one's own Baptism is at the root of every Christian's missionary commitment, because as we see in the Gospel, those who allow themselves to be fascinated by Christ cannot fail to witness to the joy of following in his footsteps. 

In this month of October, especially dedicated to missions, we understand ever more that it is precisely in virtue of Baptism that we possess a co-natural missionary vocation. 

Let us invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary so that missionaries of the Gospel may multiply.

May every baptized person, closely united to the Lord, feel that he is called to proclaim God's love to everyone with the witness of his own life.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus October 29, 2006]

39 Last modified on Tuesday, 15 October 2024 04:31
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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Jesus makes memory and remembers the whole history of the people, of his people. And he recalls the rejection of his people to the love of the Father (Pope Francis)
Gesù fa memoria e ricorda tutta la storia del popolo, del suo popolo. E ricorda il rifiuto del suo popolo all’amore del Padre (Papa Francesco)
Today, as yesterday, the Church needs you and turns to you. The Church tells you with our voice: don’t let such a fruitful alliance break! Do not refuse to put your talents at the service of divine truth! Do not close your spirit to the breath of the Holy Spirit! (Pope Paul VI)
Oggi come ieri la Chiesa ha bisogno di voi e si rivolge a voi. Essa vi dice con la nostra voce: non lasciate che si rompa un’alleanza tanto feconda! Non rifiutate di mettere il vostro talento al servizio della verità divina! Non chiudete il vostro spirito al soffio dello Spirito Santo! (Papa Paolo VI)
Sometimes we try to correct or convert a sinner by scolding him, by pointing out his mistakes and wrongful behaviour. Jesus’ attitude toward Zacchaeus shows us another way: that of showing those who err their value, the value that God continues to see in spite of everything (Pope Francis)
A volte noi cerchiamo di correggere o convertire un peccatore rimproverandolo, rinfacciandogli i suoi sbagli e il suo comportamento ingiusto. L’atteggiamento di Gesù con Zaccheo ci indica un’altra strada: quella di mostrare a chi sbaglia il suo valore, quel valore che continua a vedere malgrado tutto (Papa Francesco)
Deus dilexit mundum! God observes the depths of the human heart, which, even under the surface of sin and disorder, still possesses a wonderful richness of love; Jesus with his gaze draws it out, makes it overflow from the oppressed soul. To Jesus, therefore, nothing escapes of what is in men, of their total reality, in which good and evil are (Pope Paul VI)
Deus dilexit mundum! Iddio osserva le profondità del cuore umano, che, anche sotto la superficie del peccato e del disordine, possiede ancora una ricchezza meravigliosa di amore; Gesù col suo sguardo la trae fuori, la fa straripare dall’anima oppressa. A Gesù, dunque, nulla sfugge di quanto è negli uomini, della loro totale realtà, in cui sono il bene e il male (Papa Paolo VI)
People dragged by chaotic thrusts can also be wrong, but the man of Faith perceives external turmoil as opportunities
Un popolo trascinato da spinte caotiche può anche sbagliare, ma l’uomo di Fede percepisce gli scompigli esterni quali opportunità
O Lord, let my faith be full, without reservations, and let penetrate into my thought, in my way of judging divine things and human things (Pope Paul VI)
O Signore, fa’ che la mia fede sia piena, senza riserve, e che essa penetri nel mio pensiero, nel mio modo di giudicare le cose divine e le cose umane (Papa Paolo VI)
«Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; but he who loses will keep it alive» (Lk 17:33)
«Chi cercherà di conservare la sua vita, la perderà; ma chi perderà, la manterrà vivente» (Lc 17,33)
«And therefore, it is rightly stated that he [st Francis of Assisi] is symbolized in the figure of the angel who rises from the east and bears within him the seal of the living God» (FS 1022)
«E perciò, si afferma, a buon diritto, che egli [s. Francesco d’Assisi] viene simboleggiato nella figura dell’angelo che sale dall’oriente e porta in sé il sigillo del Dio vivo» (FF 1022)

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