Dec 30, 2025 Written by 

Gospels: Integral Healing

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

In today's liturgy the Evangelist Matthew, who will accompany us throughout this liturgical year, presents the beginning of Christ's public mission. It consisted essentially in preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, showing that this Kingdom is close at hand and is already in our midst. Jesus began his preaching in Galilee, the region where he grew up, the "outskirts" in comparison with the heart of the Jewish Nation which was Judea, and in it, Jerusalem. But the Prophet Isaiah had foretold that this land, assigned to the tribes of Zebulun and Napthali, would have a glorious future: the people immersed in darkness would see a great light (cf. Is 8: 23-9: 2). In Jesus' time, the term "gospel" was used by Roman emperors for their proclamations. Independently of their content, they were described as "good news" or announcements of salvation, because the emperor was considered lord of the world and his every edict as a portent of good. Thus, the application of this phrase to Jesus' preaching had a strongly critical meaning, as if to say God, and not the emperor, is Lord of the world, and the true Gospel is that of Jesus Christ. 

The "Good News" which Jesus proclaims is summed up in this sentence: "The Kingdom of God - or Kingdom of Heaven - is at hand" (cf. Mt 4: 17; Mk 1: 15). What do these words mean? They do not of course refer to an earthly region marked out in space and time, but rather to an announcement that it is God who reigns, that God is Lord and that his lordship is present and actual, it is being realized. The newness of Christ's message, therefore, is that God made himself close in him and now reigns in our midst, as the miracles and healings that he works demonstrate. God reigns in the world through his Son made man and with the power of the Holy Spirit who is called "the finger of God" (Lk 11: 20). Wherever Jesus goes the Creator Spirit brings life, and men and women are healed of diseases of body and spirit. God's lordship is thus manifest in the human being's integral healing. By this, Jesus wanted to reveal the Face of the true God, the God who is close, full of mercy for every human being; the God who makes us a gift of life in abundance, his own life. The Kingdom of God is therefore life that asserts itself over death, the light of truth that dispels the darkness of ignorance and lies. 

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy that she will always obtain for the Church the same passion for God's Kingdom which enlivened the mission of Jesus Christ: a passion for God, for his lordship of love and life; a passion for man, encountered in truth with the desire to give him the most precious treasure: the love of God, his Creator and Father.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 27 January 2008]

76 Last modified on Tuesday, 30 December 2025 04:52
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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St John Chrysostom urged: “Embellish your house with modesty and humility with the practice of prayer. Make your dwelling place shine with the light of justice; adorn its walls with good works, like a lustre of pure gold, and replace walls and precious stones with faith and supernatural magnanimity, putting prayer above all other things, high up in the gables, to give the whole complex decorum. You will thus prepare a worthy dwelling place for the Lord, you will welcome him in a splendid palace. He will grant you to transform your soul into a temple of his presence” (Pope Benedict)
San Giovanni Crisostomo esorta: “Abbellisci la tua casa di modestia e umiltà con la pratica della preghiera. Rendi splendida la tua abitazione con la luce della giustizia; orna le sue pareti con le opere buone come di una patina di oro puro e al posto dei muri e delle pietre preziose colloca la fede e la soprannaturale magnanimità, ponendo sopra ogni cosa, in alto sul fastigio, la preghiera a decoro di tutto il complesso. Così prepari per il Signore una degna dimora, così lo accogli in splendida reggia. Egli ti concederà di trasformare la tua anima in tempio della sua presenza” (Papa Benedetto)
And He continues: «Think of salvation, of what God has done for us, and choose well!». But the disciples "did not understand why the heart was hardened by this passion, by this wickedness of arguing among themselves and seeing who was guilty of that forgetfulness of the bread" (Pope Francis)
E continua: «Pensate alla salvezza, a quello che anche Dio ha fatto per noi, e scegliete bene!». Ma i discepoli «non capivano perché il cuore era indurito per questa passione, per questa malvagità di discutere fra loro e vedere chi era il colpevole di quella dimenticanza del pane» (Papa Francesco)
[Faith] is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history […] (Pope Benedict, Porta Fidei n.15)
[La Fede] è compagna di vita che permette di percepire con sguardo sempre nuovo le meraviglie che Dio compie per noi. Intenta a cogliere i segni dei tempi nell’oggi della storia […] (Papa Benedetto, Porta Fidei n.15)
But what do this “fullness” of Christ’s Law and this “superior” justice that he demands consist in? Jesus explains it with a series of antitheses between the old commandments and his new way of propounding them (Pope Benedict)
Ma in che cosa consiste questa “pienezza” della Legge di Cristo, e questa “superiore” giustizia che Egli esige? Gesù lo spiega mediante una serie di antitesi tra i comandamenti antichi e il suo modo di riproporli (Papa Benedetto)
For so long as we are sheep, we conquer: though ten thousand wolves prowl around, we overcome and prevail. But if we become wolves, we are worsted, for the help of our Shepherd departs from us (St John Chrysostom)
Finché saremo agnelli, vinceremo e, anche se saremo circondati da numerosi lupi, riusciremo a superarli. Ma se diventeremo lupi, saremo sconfitti, perché saremo privi dell’aiuto del Pastore (S. Giovanni Crisostomo)
Today, as on the day of our Baptism, we hear the words of Jesus addressed to us: “Ephphatha, be opened!” Open your ears. Jesus, I want to open myself to your Word; Jesus, open myself to listening to you; Jesus, heal my heart from being closed, heal my heart from haste, heal my heart from impatience (Pope Francis)

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