22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C) [31 August 2025]

May God bless us and may the Virgin Mary protect us. For many, the holiday season is coming to an end and we are preparing to resume our normal rhythm of life. The Word of God comes to us with appropriate advice. 

*First Reading from the Book of Sirach (3:17-18, 20, 28-29 NV 3:19-21, 30, 31) 

This text becomes clearer if we begin reading it from the end: 'The wise heart meditates on parables, and an attentive ear is what the wise man desires' (v. 29). When the Bible speaks of wisdom, it means the art of living happily. Being a 'wise man' is the ideal of everyone in Israel: such a small people, born as a 'people' only at the time of the exodus from Egypt, has the privilege, thanks to Revelation, of knowing that 'all wisdom comes from the Lord' (Sir 1:1), in the sense that only God knows the mysteries of life and the secret of happiness. It is therefore to the Lord that we must ask for wisdom because, in his sovereign freedom, he chose Israel to be the repository of his wisdom. Yeshua Ben Sira (Jesus son of Sira), the author of the book, makes wisdom itself speak as if it were a person (cf. Sir 24:8); Israel seeks wisdom every day (cf. Sir 51:14) and, according to Psalm 1, finds its happiness in it: ' Blessed is the man who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night (1:2). 'Day and night' means always. Those who seek will find, Jesus will later say: but one must seek, that is, recognise that one does not possess everything and is always in need of something. Ben Sira had opened a school of theology (beth midrash) in Jerusalem around 180 BC and, to promote it, he said: "Come to me, you who are uneducated, and dwell in my school" (Sir 51:23). A true son of Israel knows that wisdom comes from God, allows himself to be taught by Him, meditates on the maxims of wisdom, and his ideal is an ear that listens. Israel has treasured this lesson so much that it recites the "Shema' Israel, Hear, O Israel" (Deut 6:4) several times a day. An "open ear" means listening to advice, instructions, commandments; the proud, on the other hand, believe they know everything and close their ears, but they forget that if the house has its shutters closed, the sun cannot enter. We read in verse 28: "There is no remedy for the miserable condition of the proud, for the plant of evil is rooted in them." In other words, the proud are incurably sick because, being full of themselves, they close their hearts. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Lk 18) is interesting in this regard: the tax collector limited himself to being true because the humble have their feet on the ground and therefore recognise themselves as poor and rely only on God. The Pharisee, self-sufficient in everything, returned home as he had come, while the tax collector was transformed. Isaiah describes the joy of these humble people: ' The humble will rejoice more and more in the Lord, and the poor will exult because of the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 29:19), and Jesus will exclaim: "I praise you, Father... because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to the little ones" (Matthew 11:25 // Luke 10:21). God can accomplish great things with the humble, making them servants of his plan, as with Moses, his great and tireless servant, whose secret, as we read in the book of Numbers, was that he was a very humble man, more than anyone else on earth" (12:3), and Jesus, the Servant of God, says of himself: "I am gentle and humble in heart" (Mt 11:29), while Paul writes: "If I must boast, I will boast of my weakness... The Lord has told me... for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 11:30; 12:9). Ultimately, humility is more than a virtue: it is a vital minimum and a prerequisite.

*Responsorial Psalm (67/68) 

"The Lord is his name" (v. 5), this very short phrase sets the tone for the whole: "Lord" is the tetragrammaton (YHWH) revealed to Moses, which expresses God's permanent presence among his people: "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh" (I am who I am). And since He surrounds us at all times with His care, each of the verses can be read on several levels, and the richness and complexity of this psalm lies in being able to sing it in every age and feel involved. "The righteous rejoice, they exult before God and sing for joy. Sing to God, praise His name. Lord is His name" (vv. 4-5). David also dances before the Ark, but here we are talking about the joy of the people freed from Egypt: Moses' song after the crossing of the sea; Miriam, sister of Aaron (and Moses), took up the tambourine and all the women went out after her, dancing and playing the tambourine. Later, during the Exodus, there were many reasons to sing and dance. This emerges in the following verses: 'He brings out the prisoners with joy' (7). 'You have poured out abundant rain, O God, you have strengthened your weary inheritance, and your people have dwelt in it, in that which, in your goodness, you have made secure for the poor, O God' (10-11).  Here, different levels of interpretation overlap, but every allusion to liberation always refers to the exodus from Egypt, the return from Babylonian exile, and other liberations, that is, every time that individuals or entire peoples advance towards greater justice and freedom and, finally, the definitive liberation that we still await. "He brings out the prisoners with joy": for us Christians, this is a reminder of Christ's Resurrection, thinking of our own. "You have poured out abundant rain": this reference to the Exodus offers several interpretations: the manna in the desert (cf. Ex 16:4, 13-15) and most likely also the beneficial rain on which all life depends, because without "abundant rain" the promised land does not flow with "milk and honey". In the past, there have been memorable droughts (and therefore famines): the seven years of famine that led Jacob's sons and their father to go down to Egypt to Joseph; the drought in the time of Elijah (1 Kings 17-18) with the harsh confrontation between Elijah and Queen Jezebel, worshipper of Baal, the god of fertility, storms and rain; the famine under Emperor Claudius when the Christian communities of the Mediterranean basin, regions not affected, were invited to provide financial assistance to the victims, and St Paul called on the community of Corinth for their slowness in giving their contribution (cf. 2 Cor 8-9). Finally, we too have reason to give thanks for the new manna, our daily bread: Jesus Christ, the living bread that came down from heaven (Jn 6:48-51).

*Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (12:18-19, 22-24a)

Addressed to Christians of Jewish origin, the Letter to the Hebrews aims to place the New Covenant in its proper perspective in relation to the Old Covenant. With the earthly life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ, the entire past is considered by Christians as a necessary stage in the history of salvation, but now superseded, though not annulled, so that between the First and the New Covenant there is both continuity and radical novelty. In favour of continuity are elements familiar to Israel: Sinai, fire, darkness, gloom, hurricane, trumpets, Zion, Jerusalem, names written in the heavens, judge and justice, covenant with language that evokes the entire spiritual experience of the people of the Covenant and certainly familiar to listeners at that time. (cf. Ex 19:16-19; 20:18, 21; Dt 4:11). Israel feeds on these stories as titles of glory of the people of the Covenant. However, the Letter to the Hebrews seems to downplay this memorable experience because that Covenant has now been completely renewed. Moses approached God, but the people remained at a distance; in the New Covenant, the baptised are introduced into a true intimacy with God, and the author describes this new spiritual experience as entering a new world of beauty and celebration (cf. vv. 22-24). The "fear of God" in the Old Testament was fear in the face of manifestations of power, so much so that the people came to ask not to hear God's voice anymore, but later, little by little, their relationship with God was transformed and fear became filial trust. Those who knew Jesus discovered in him the true face of the Father: "The Spirit himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom 8:15-16). Jesus, therefore, fully fulfils the role of mediator of the New Covenant and allows all the baptised to approach God and become "firstborn" (in the sense of "consecrated"). Thus, the ancient promise to Moses on Sinai: "If you will listen to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession among all peoples... you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:4) is finally fulfilled in Christ, and for this reason we too "let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence" (Heb 4:16).

*From the Gospel according to Luke (14:1a, 7–14)

In Luke's Gospel, there are often scenes of meals: at the home of Simon the Pharisee (7:36); at Martha and Mary's house (10:38); again at the home of a Pharisee (11:37); at Zacchaeus' house (19); the Passover meal (22). The importance that Jesus attached to meals even led his detractors to say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard" (Lk 7:34). Three of these meals take place in the homes of Pharisees and become occasions for disagreement. During the first, at Simon's house (Lk 7:36), a woman of ill repute threw herself at Jesus' feet and, contrary to all expectations, he took her as an example. The second (Lk 11:37) was also the occasion for a serious misunderstanding, this time because Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting down at the table: the discussion degenerates and Jesus takes advantage of it to launch into a severe diatribe, so much so that the episode ends with the scribes and Pharisees beginning to rage against him, setting traps for him to catch him in the act (cf. Lk 11:53). Today, the third meal in the house of a Pharisee takes place on the Sabbath, a day of rest ('Shabbat' in Hebrew means to cease all activity) and celebration: a memorial of the creation of the world, the liberation of the people from Egypt and the anticipation of the great feast of the Day when God will renew the entire creation. The Sabbath included a solemn meal, often an occasion to invite fellow believers, even though the ritual prohibitions of the Law were so numerous that, for some, observance of the prescriptions had obscured the essential: fraternal charity. On that Sabbath, Jesus had healed a man suffering from dropsy (a scene that does not appear in our liturgical reading: cf. Lk 14:2-6), and lively discussions ensued because Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath. Here I pause and ask a question: are the relations between Jesus and the Pharisees always a clash? In truth, they are a mixture of sympathy and severity: sympathy because their religious movement, born around 135 BC out of a desire for conversion, was esteemed, and the name 'Pharisee', which means 'separated', expressed the rejection of any political compromise or laxity in religious practice, two problems that were very present at the time. At the time of Christ, their fervent faith and courage in respecting tradition were appreciated, not in a pejorative sense, but as a treasure received from their fathers and transmitted in the form of precepts concerning the smallest details of daily life. These rules, written down after 70 AD, resemble those of Jesus himself and were therefore so respectable that Jesus did not refuse to speak with them, as demonstrated by these meals and the meeting with Nicodemus (cf. Jn 3). Under Herod the Great (39-4 BC), six thousand of them, in order to remain faithful to the Law, refused to swear allegiance to Rome and Herod and were punished with heavy fines. However, their strict observance sometimes led to excessive self-confidence and contempt for others, and Jesus reacted to this because it created certain ambiguities and deviations, well symbolised in the parable of the speck and the log (Mt 7:3-5; Lk 6:41-42). In today's text, Jesus invites us not to occupy the first places, not to recall a norm of good manners and philanthropy, but, in the manner of the prophets, he seeks to open their eyes before it is too late, because excessive self-satisfaction can lead to blindness. And so, precisely because they are people of value and faithful practitioners of the Jewish religion, Jesus unmasks the risk of their contempt for others by reminding them that to enter the Kingdom, they must become like children (cf. Lk 9:46-48; Mt 18:4), welcoming and respecting them without expecting anything in return and, indeed, opening one's heart to the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind (v. 13). This is a lesson for the Pharisees of yesterday and today, bearing in mind what St James writes: never mix personal favouritism with faith in Christ (cf. Jas 2:1).

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

Power of the Word

(Lk 4:38-44)

«To the other cities, too, I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, for I was sent for this» (Lk 4:43).

Leaving the place of worship, authentic disciples put themselves at the service of life, recovering people.

They want to put them back on their feet not out of almsgiving paternalism, but with dignity and respecting their inclinations; thus they become eager to transmit joy to others.

It’s the new experience that we are called to offer also to women and men of cultural backgrounds and mentality different from ours.

Peter’s mother-in-law is probably the emblem of a community coordinator - of the House of Peter [perhaps drawn from an ancient heritage of customs] - who, thanks to the decisive Meeting, experienced healing and full rebirth, even at the service of others.

In Semitic culture, at sunset and with the rise of the first star in the sky, a new day is born: here there is a new Creation.

Marginalised humanity is regenerated - first forced only to lower itself, inert - and resumes raising its head, and doing well.

All those considered impure, unworthy and inadequate, who didn’t know who to resort to and at the mercy of public benevolence, are now touched by God. 

He doesn't stop in the face of the hopes of redemption of the weightlesses.

A touch, that of the Lord and of those in the Church (or outside) who brings it - that absorbs the supposed unworthiness and shortcomings.

A caress that makes feel welcomed and adequate, and reintegrates into social coexistence even people considered repellent.

In the course of a first approach to the Way in the Spirit it may happen that the Son of God [who resembles God] is confused with «the» Christ (v.41) expected: «that» Messiah that everyone knew; glorious avenger, who would bring victory, health, immediate opulence.

The leader who would skillfully put things right with peremptory acts of force - and subdued the peoples, suddenly guaranteeing to the elect lineage an easy golden age at the expense of others.

Not bad: it would be one to be held without doubt (v.42). In the Master, instead, insistence on the Proclamation task prevails, without which stereotyped ideas become fixed, humiliating the life.

God cares for everyone, even those who are far away and unrelated to the Home interests - He is not someone that we can be taken possession of.

Personally caring for the brothers is tiring; and constantly moving beyond the borders of one’s own partnership or environment, too.

But this reveals the wonderful presence of the Friend: situations are created, and everyone discovers unexpressed Pearls that recreate the existence of the world.

Instead, when we think and stop at the results at hand, and do not keep alive the sense of Evangelization, reality becomes swampy; the Spirit is not unleashe - we choose the limit, and everything is dragged into indolence.

One would be satisfied (flattering) with great normalized and confined gestures: lights, exaltations, reassuring formulas... but there would no longer be a new grain that could be born every day.

To internalize and live the message:

Do you feel eclipsed in the Announcement and in the itinerance, or vice versa enhanced?

What gives you strength and puts you back on your feet, or seduces, bewitches, and blocks you?

[Wednesday 22th wk. in O.T.  September 3, 2025]

(Female Creativity)

(Lk 4:38-44)

"The essential thing is to listen to what is rising from within. Our actions are often nothing more than imitation, hypothetical duty or misrepresentation of what a human being should be. But the only true certainty that touches our lives and our actions can only come from the springs that gush deep within ourselves. One is at home under heaven one is at home anywhere on this earth if one carries everything within oneself. I have often felt, and still feel, like a ship that has taken on board a precious cargo: the ropes are cut and now the ship goes, free to sail everywhere".

(Etty Hillesum, Diary)

"To the other cities also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, for I was sent for this" (Lk 4:43).

Having left the place of worship, authentic disciples put themselves at the service of life, recovering people.

They put them back on their feet not out of paternalism of charity, but with dignity and respecting their inclinations; thus they become eager to transmit joy to others.

This is the new experience that we are called to offer also to women and men of a different cultural background and mentality from our own.

Peter's mother-in-law is probably emblematic of a community co-ordinator - of the House of Peter [perhaps drawn from an ancient heritage] - who, thanks to the decisive encounter, experienced healing and full rebirth, even to the service of others.

In the Semitic culture, at sunset and with the rising of the first star in the sky, a new day is born: here is a new Creation.

The marginalised humanity - previously forced only to lower itself, inert - is regenerated and starts to raise its head again and do good.

All those considered impure, unworthy and inadequate, who knew no recourse and at the mercy of public benevolence, are now touched by God. 

He does not stop at the hopes for redemption of the weightless.

A touch, that of the Lord and of those in the Church (or outside) who bear it - that absorbs presumed unworthiness and shortcomings.

A caress that makes one feel welcome and adequate, and reintegrates into social coexistence even those considered repulsive.

In the course of an initial approach to the Way in the Spirit it may happen that one confuses the Son of God [he who resembles God] with "the" Christ (v.41) expected: "that" Messiah whom everyone knew; the glorious avenger, who would bring victory, health, immediate opulence.

The leader who would skilfully set things right with peremptory acts of force - and subdue the peoples, abruptly granting the chosen race an easy golden age at the expense of others.

Not bad: he would be one to be held back without fail (v.42). Instead, the Master's insistence on the Mission of Announcement prevails, without which stereotypical ideas become fixed, humbling life.

God cares for everyone, even those who are distant and unconnected with Household interests - he is not someone one can take possession of.

Taking care of one's brothers personally is tiring; constantly moving beyond the borders of one's own sodality or environment, too.

But this reveals the wonderful presence of the Friend: situations are created, and everyone discovers unexpressed Pearls that recreate the existence of the world.

When, on the other hand, we think and stop at the results at hand, and do not keep the sense of Evangelisation alive, reality becomes swampy; the Spirit is not unleashed - the limit is chosen, and everything is dragged into indolence.

We would be content (flattering) with great normalised and confined gestures: lights, exaltations, reassuring formulas... but there would no longer be a new grain to be born each day.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you feel eclipsed in the proclamation and itinerancy, or vice versa empowered?

What gives you strength and puts you back on your feet, or seduces, bewitches, and blocks you?

The liberated mother-in-law and her (female) journey

A final note on Matthew's brushstroke on the story of Peter's mother-in-law, a 'woman' who rediscovers her unexpressed capacities through contact with the person of the Lord.

An icon of a mental model that is still narrow, that stifles the youth of being and doing.

Ancient figure, of a tradition (of inherited religiosity) that holds back the intimate resources of the people [in Hebrew Israèl is female].

A world of restraints that make one uncomfortable, because of stifled, compressed energies - before Christ disappeared. To the point of not realising they are still inside.

I imagine precisely that such an old woman who literally 'resurrects' can be reinterpreted with spiritual fruit, for the journey of us all.

The Lord frees; he heals "inflammations". He gives greater joy of life.

He imparts an elixir of youth - especially when we feel held as dependents or slaves, without space.

Stuck and rendered dumb by the transmitted culture or situation, not only of health."Now he rose from the synagogue and entered the house of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was oppressed with a great fever, and they prayed to him for her, and bowing down over her he threatened the fever and left her. Now rising on the instant he served them" (vv.38-39).

There are revealing symptoms of discomfort: e.g. a life - even a spiritual one - that does not fit... because it denies abilities, constrains them, keeps them in a corner, does not allow them to be used.

To the point of no longer knowing what they are.

Here come symptoms that lie us down: anxious, mortifying, and feelings of constriction and dependence.

One would perhaps like to do something different, but then there are fears, tightness in the chest that close the horizon and make one tense, (even at that time) uncomfortable, stressed, blocked.

In the soul of the ancient people, talents disregarded, denied, unused had become hardships.

Now in Christ Present, the return to a fluid life, as well as care for oneself and others, becomes easy, even with minimal gestures.

Capacities that had made intimate appeal, surface, dilate even in favour of others.

Relieved, the 'mother-in-law' breathes and overcomes ageing.

Before, sadness perhaps appeared, because the desire for a new birth was stifled by the many chores to be done or other cravings (fevers) that plant us there and do not restart feelings.

We know, however, that life restarts the moment someone helps to heal the sharp actions ["hand" constricted: Mt 8:15; Mk 1:31] and widen our gaze towards what is conversely blossoming in us.

By shifting perception from what nags us (torments and hinders) to what arises more spontaneously and is finally and unexpectedly valued, the blocks of tender, fresh energy disappear.

Then the garb of the ancient role is laid aside and we no longer give up expressing ourselves.

Also - for us - without closing ourselves off in the usual environment and way of doing things, which intimately do not belong to us.

Whoever gives the other a proper space draws on the virtues of our inner, evergreen primordial states - and opens up those of all.

All for a growth that does not only correspond to a precipitous elevation, but rather to a better grounding in the being of people.

By hibernating the burden of duties or models that do not correspond to us, life is renewed.

We realise that we are as if inhabited by divine Gold that wants to surface and express itself with breadth, instead of remaining tense and controlled.

This is the healing action of Jesus, all at everyone's doorstep.

Power of the Word and healing creativity of Jesus, in the feminine 

(Lk 4:38-39)

In the communities of pagan extraction in Lk, one wondered: do the "Beatitudes" and "Alas for you" of the "plain"... create exclusions (cf. Lk 6:17, 20-26)?

Or do they correspond to the hopes and deep feelings of the human heart, of every place and time (e.g. Lk 7.9.13.28-29)?

Those far from religious Judaism possessed a keen intuition for the novelties of the Spirit, and discovered the experience of Faith from other positions [not installed, less tied to conformist concatenations; perhaps uncomfortable].

Those who possessed the freshness of substantive intuition saw clearly. They proposed healthy jolts of outspoken Trust, wedded to the Newness of God.

Unlike those from habitual or markedly ethnic religiosity (even of Israel) the newcomers sensed that it was not necessary to explicitly ask for Christ's intervention - as was the case with the ancient gods, according to customary thinking. 

It was enough to communicate face-to-face with the Lord, in a sense of secure friendship (Mt 8:2-7) - not to urge Him to perform miracles: a fundamental acquisition, in order to be able to activate a new course even today, and finally emerge from the idea of a well-chiselled, organic culture.

It is the Risen One who authentically does the opportune good... and all the rest: as in Jesus - strengthened by the intimate experience of the Father in the Spirit - all we need is Faith, that is to say, nuptial and fertile confidence in the Word, effective (Lk 4:39) and inventive.

There is no need for any additions to this secret, in order to be born again.

God is immediate Action already in his Voice that "threatens" evil (v.39): he does not like to be "prayed to and reprimanded" - as if he were any kind of sovereign, who delights in forcing his subjects into deference [with a view to a consequent paternalism of relationships].

The relationship between the common man-woman and the Father in Christ is sober and instantaneous, without any mediating means: the work of Grace is in no way conditioned by acknowledgements and formulas, or 'internal' titles, veteran rank; nor targeted bowing, prior 'bribes', or rigmarole.

Starting from his simple experience, the centurion of the parallel passage in Mt (8:5-17) understands the "distant" value of the Word and the calamitous effect of true Faith [which does not claim "contacts" or material and local elements: Mt 8:8-9].It is not like magic: the intimate sensitivity of the direct personal relationship communicates to the eye of the soul a Vision of new genesis. Not doctrine, discipline, morals, ritual appointments (Lk 4:38) and so on.

It is a strongly existential picture; engaging not for a selfish result: it is for the promotion of life, everywhere. This corresponds to the deepest yearning of our hearts.

In fact, another great novelty of the new Rabbi's proposal - which was spreading - was the acceptance of women as we would say today "deaconesses" [v.39 Greek verb] of the Church [here in the figure of the "House of Simon": v.38].

This was what had been happening since the middle of the first century (cf. Rom 16:1) and still has much to teach us. With God, one cannot get used to (multi)secular formalities emptied of life.

But religious traditions resisted the onslaught of the Faith-Love experience: even in the mid-1980s, even the communities of Lk did not feel free to gather those in need of care until the evening had come (v.40).    

According to the parallel passage in Mk 1.21.29-34 [source of the passage in Mt and Lk] it was in fact the Sabbath day (v.38) - and after leaving the synagogue. The same impediment and delay is described in the Magdalene's episode at the tomb on Easter morning.

The cultural heritage and sacred religious conformity remained a great burden for the experience of the personal Saviour Christ, and the complete discovery of the power of full Life contained in the new total and creative proposal of Happiness "on a plain place" [cf. Lk 6:17] for "a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem": the observant centre.

The Tao writes (xxviii):

"He who knows that he is male, and keeps himself female, is the strength of the world; being the strength of the world, virtue never separates itself from him, and he returns to being a child. He who knows himself to be white, and keeps himself dark, is the model of the world; being the model of the world, virtue never departs from him; and he returns to infinity. He who knows himself to be glorious, and maintains himself in ignominy, is the valley of the world; being the valley of the world, virtue always abides in him; and he returns to being crude [genuine, not artificial]. When that which is crude is cut off, then they make instruments of it; when the holy man uses it, then he makes them the first among ministers. For this the great government does no harm'.

Master Wang Pi comments thus:

"That of the male is here the category of those who precede, that of the female is the category of those who follow. He who knows that he is first in the world must put himself last: that is why the saint postpones his person and his person is premised. A gorge among the mountains does not seek out creatures, but these of themselves turn to it. The child does not avail itself of wisdom, but adapts itself to the wisdom of spontaneity'.

In the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas we read in Nos. 22-23:

"Jesus saw little ones taking milk.

And he said to his disciples:

"These little sucklings resemble those

Who are entering the Kingdom.

They asked him:

"If we are like those babies, will we enter the Kingdom?"

Jesus answered them:

"When you make two things one and make

The inner equal to the outer and the outer equal to the inner

And the superior equal to the inferior,

When you reduce the male and the female to one being

So that the male is not only male

And the female does not remain only female,

When you consider two eyes as a unit of eye

But one hand as a unit of hand

And one foot as a unit of foot,

A vital function in place of a vital function

Then you will find the entrance to the Kingdom'".

"Jesus said:

"I will choose you one from a thousand and two from ten thousand.

And these shall be found to be one individual'".

The Gospel [passage] we have just listened to begins with a very nice, beautiful episode but is also full of meaning. The Lord went to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew and found Peter's mother-in-law sick with a fever. He took her by the hand and raised her, the fever left her, and she served them.

Jesus' entire mission is symbolically portrayed in this episode. Jesus, coming from the Father, visited peoples' homes on our earth and found a humanity that was sick, sick with fever, the fever of ideologies, idolatry, forgetfulness of God. The Lord gives us his hand, lifts us up and heals us.

And he does so in all ages; he takes us by the hand with his Word, thereby dispelling the fog of ideologies and forms of idolatry. He takes us by the hand in the sacraments, he heals us from the fever of our passions and sins through absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He gives us the possibility to raise ourselves, to stand before God and before men and women. And precisely with this content of the Sunday liturgy, the Lord comes to meet us, he takes us by the hand, raises us and heals us ever anew with the gift of his words, the gift of himself.

But the second part of this episode is also important. This woman who has just been healed, the Gospel says, begins to serve them. She sets to work immediately to be available to others, and thus becomes a representative of so many good women, mothers, grandmothers, women in various professions, who are available, who get up and serve and are the soul of the family, the soul of the parish.

And here, on looking at the painting above the altar, we see that they do not only perform external services; St Anne is introducing her great daughter, Our Lady, to the Sacred Scriptures, to the hope of Israel, for which she was precisely to be the place of its fulfilment.

Moreover, women were the first messengers of the word of God in the Gospel, they were true evangelists. And it seems to me that this Gospel, with this apparently very modest episode, is offering us in this very Church of St Anne an opportunity to say a heartfelt "thank you" to all the women who care for the parish, the women who serve in all its dimensions, who help us to know the Word of God ever anew, not only with our minds but also with our hearts.

Let us return to the Gospel:  Jesus slept at Peter's house, but he rose before dawn while it was still dark and went out to find a deserted place to pray. And here the true centre of the mystery of Jesus appears.

Jesus was conversing with the Father and raised his human spirit in communion with the Person of the Son, so that the humanity of the Son, united to him, might speak in the Trinitarian dialogue with the Father; and thus, he also made true prayer possible for us. In the liturgy Jesus prays with us, we pray with Jesus, and so we enter into real contact with God, we enter into the mystery of eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity.

Jesus speaks to the Father:  this is the source and centre of all Jesus' activities; we see his preaching, his cures, his miracles and lastly the Passion, and they spring from this centre of his being with the Father.

And in this way this Gospel teaches us that the centre of our faith and our lives is indeed the primacy of God. Whenever God is not there, the human being is no longer respected either. Only if God's splendour shines on the human face, is the human image of God protected by a dignity which subsequently no one must violate.

The primacy of God. Let us see how the first three requests in the "Our Father" refer precisely to this primacy of God:  that God's Name be sanctified, that respect for the divine mystery be alive and enliven the whole of our lives; that "may God's Kingdom come" and "may [his] will be done" are two sides of the same coin; where God's will is done Heaven already exists, a little bit of Heaven also begins on earth, and where God's will is done the Kingdom of God is present.

Since the Kingdom of God is not a series of things, the Kingdom of God is the presence of God, the person's union with God. It is to this destination that Jesus wants to guide us.

The centre of his proclamation is the Kingdom of God, that is, God as the source and centre of our lives, and he tells us:  God alone is the redemption of man. And we can see in the history of the last century that in the States where God was abolished, not only was the economy destroyed, but above all the souls.

Moral destruction and the destruction of human dignity are fundamental forms of destruction, and renewal can only come from God's return, that is, from recognition of God's centrality.

A Bishop from the Congo on an ad limina visit in these days said to me:  Europeans generously give us many things for development, but there is a hesitation in helping us in pastoral ministry; it seems as though they considered pastoral ministry useless, that only technological and material development were important. But the contrary is true, he said; where the Word of God does not exist, development fails to function and has no positive results. Only if God's Word is put first, only if man is reconciled with God, can material things also go smoothly.

The continuation of the Gospel itself powerfully confirms this. The Apostles said to Jesus:  come back, everyone is looking for you. And he said no, I must go on to the next towns that I may proclaim God and cast out demons, the forces of evil; for that is why I came.

Jesus came - the Greek text says, "I came out from the Father" - not to bring us the comforts of life but to bring the fundamental condition of our dignity, to bring us the proclamation of God, the presence of God, and thus to overcome the forces of evil. He indicated this priority with great clarity:  I did not come to heal - I also do this, but as a sign -, I came to reconcile you with God. God is our Creator, God has given us life, our dignity:  and it is above all to him that we must turn.

[Pope Benedict, St Anne 5 February 2006]

2. Paul VI's apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi reminds us that the first evangeliser is Christ himself.

Let us look in the light of today's liturgical pericope at what a day (and night) of Christ's evangelising activity looks like.

We find ourselves in Capernaum.

Christ leaves the synagogue and, together with James and John, goes to the house of Simon and Andrew. There he heals Simon's mother-in-law (Peter), so that she can immediately get up and serve them.

After the setting of the sun, "all the sick and the possessed are brought to Christ. The whole city was gathered before the gate" (Mk 1:32-33). Jesus does not speak, but performs the healing: "He healed many who were afflicted with various diseases and cast out many demons". At the same time, a significant remark: "he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him" (Mk 1:34).

Perhaps all this went on until late in the evening.

Early in the morning Jesus is already in prayer.

Simon comes with his companions, to tell him: "Everyone is looking for you" (Mk 1:37).

But Jesus replies: "Let us go elsewhere to the neighbouring villages so that I may preach there also; for this is why I have come" (Mk 1:38).

We read later: "And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons" (Mk 1:39).

3. In summary, based on that day, spent in Capernaum, it can be said that the evangelisation conducted by Christ himself consists of teaching about the kingdom of God and serving the suffering.

Jesus performed signs, and all of these formed the whole of a Sign. In this Sign, the sons and daughters of the people, who had come to know the image of the Messiah, described by the prophets and especially by Isaiah, can discover without difficulty that "the kingdom of God is at hand": he is the one who "has taken upon himself our sufferings, he has borne our sorrows" (Is 53:4).

Jesus does not only preach the Gospel as they all did after him, e.g. the wonderful Paul, whose words we meditated on just now. Jesus is the Gospel!

A great chapter in his messianic service is addressed to all categories of human suffering: spiritual and physical.

7. We read in today's Gospel that early in the morning Jesus persevered in prayer and Simon Peter came to him and said: "Everyone is looking for you".

As the distant successor of this Peter in the Roman See, I wish to repeat these words to Christ in the midst of your parish community: Lord, all seek you!

In these words you find confirmation, dear brothers and sisters, that you do "everything for the sake of the Gospel, in order to become sharers in it".

So be it!

[Pope John Paul II, homily 7 February 1982]

Gospel reading continues the narrative of Jesus’ day in Capernaum, on a Saturday, the Jewish weekly holy day (cf. Mk 1:21-39). This time the Evangelist Mark highlights the relationship between Jesus’ thaumaturgical work and the awakening of faith in the people he meets. Indeed, with the healing signs that he performs on all types of sick people, the Lord wants to arouse faith as a response.

Jesus’ day in Capernaum begins with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and ends with the scene of a crowd of townspeople who gathered outside the house where he was staying, to bring all the sick people to him. Marked by physical suffering and by spiritual wretchedness, the crowd comprises, so to speak, “the living environment” in which Jesus’ mission, made up of healing and comforting words and actions, takes place. Jesus did not come to bring salvation in a laboratory; he does not preach from a laboratory, detached from people. He is in the midst of the crowd! In the midst of the people! Just think that most of Jesus’ public ministry took place on the streets, among the people; to preach the Gospel, to heal physical and spiritual wounds. This crowd of which the Gospel often speaks is a humanity marked by suffering. It is a humanity marked by suffering, toil and problems. It is to this poor humanity that Jesus’ powerful, liberating and renewing action is directed. That Saturday ends in this way, in the midst of the crowd until late in the evening. And what does Jesus do after that?

Before dawn the next day, he goes out of the town’s gates unseen and withdraws to a secluded place to pray. Jesus prays. In this way, he removes even himself and his mission from a “triumphalist” view which misunderstands the meaning of miracles and of his charismatic power. Miracles, in fact, are “signs” which encourage faith as a response; signs which are always accompanied by words that enlighten; and, taken together, the signs and words arouse faith and conversion through the divine power of Christ’s grace.

The conclusion of today’s passage (vv. 35-39) indicates that Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God finds its most rightful place on the streets. To the disciples who look for him in order to bring him back to the town — the disciples went to find him where he was praying and they wanted to bring him back to the town — what does Jesus answer? “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also” (v. 38). This was the journey of the Son of God and this will be the journey of his disciples. And it must be the journey of each Christian. The street, as the place for the Good News of the Gospel, places the mission of the Church under the sign of “going forth”, of journeying, under the sign of “movement”, and never of idleness.

May the Virgin Mary help us to be open to the voice of the Holy Spirit which propels the Church to increasingly “pitch her tent” among the people, in order to bring to everyone the healing word of Jesus, the physician of souls and bodies.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 4 February 2018].

Preach and Heal

Preaching and healing: this is the main activity of Jesus in his public life. By preaching He announces the Kingdom of God and by his healings He shows that it is near, that the Kingdom of God is in our midst. Having come to earth to announce and realise the salvation of the whole man and all men, Jesus shows a special predilection for those who are wounded in body and spirit: the poor, sinners, the possessed, the sick, the marginalised. He is the true Saviour: Jesus saves, Jesus heals. Christ's saving work does not end with his person and during his earthly life; it continues through the Church, the sacrament of God's love and tenderness for mankind. Caring for a sick person, welcoming him, serving him, is serving Christ: the sick person is the flesh of Christ. Therefore, each of us is called to bring the light of the Word of God and the strength of grace to those who suffer and to those who care for them. family members, doctors, nurses, so that the service to the sick is carried out more and more with humanity, with generous dedication, with evangelical love, with tenderness. (Angelus, 8 February 2015)

[https://www.vaticannews.va/it/vangelo-del-giorno-e-parola-del-giorno/2019/09/04.html]

Jesus in the synagogue: Deliverance from quietism

(Lk 4:31-37)

In third Gospel, first ‘signs’ of the Lord are the quiet escape from death threats [agitated by his people!] and the healing of the possessed.

In this way of narrating the Jesus story, Lk indicates the priorities that his communities lived: first of all, it was necessary to suspend the intimate struggles, inculcated by the Judaizing tradition and by his "knowing how to stay in the world".

In the stubborn and conformist village of Nazareth, the Master is unable to communicate his novelty, and is forced to change residence.

He doesn’t resign himself, on the contrary: Capernaum was at the intersection of important roads, which facilitated contacts and dissemination.

Among people of all walks of life, the Son of God wished to create a consciousness strongly critical towards the approved doctrines of religious leaders.

He didn’t mechanically mention the teachings - modest - of the authorities, but started from his life experience and from the living relationship with the Father.

Thus he created clear minds and in each one an unusual, non-reductive shudder; which aimed to make reach a higher level to souls harassed by the automatic mentality of quiet living.

The Master still faces the power that reduces people to a condition without originality, allergic to differences.

In the Gospel, the person who suddenly makes sparks has always been a quiet visitor to the assembly, who tirelessly dragged his spiritual life into small areas without color, lacking in breath and rhythm.

But the Word of the Lord has in itself a real charge: the power of the bliss of living, of creating, of loving in truth - which doesn’t hate eccentric characteristics.

Where this Appeal comes, all the demons you don't expect are exposed and jump out of the burrows.

Whoever meets Christ is overthrown; he sees his certainties thrown into the air.

Upheaval that allows the hidden or repressed facets to do their part - even if they are not "as they should be".

In short, the Gospel invites us to welcome all that is in us, as it is, not attenuated; by multiplying our energies - because inside lurks the best of our Call to the personal Mission.

In Christ, our multifaceted faces [albeit contradictory] can take to the field together, without repressing the precious territories of the soul, of the essence, of the character; of another persuasion - even distant or unrepeatablely singular.

The habitué of the assemblies is indeed troubled and questioned, but he doesn’t remain abulic; on the contrary, he makes a showy progress from the dormant and ritual existence - bent, repetitive, off and fake.

He is freed face to face from all the clichés that used to keep him good, subjugated and on a leash.

Even through a protest that breaks apathy, the divine Call forces us to a life as saved sons, of new witness that seemed impossible.

Now no longer on the sidelines, but in the midst of the people (v.35), in the wonder of a deep, personal and unexpected Happiness.

Difference between common religiosity and living Faith.

[Tuesday 22th wk. in O.T.  September 2, 2025]

Freed from automatic mentality

(Lk 4:31-37)

In the third Gospel, the first signs of the Lord are the quiet escape from the threats of death [waved by his people!] and the healing of the possessed.

In this way of narrating the story of Jesus, Lk indicates the priorities that his communities were living: first of all, there was a need to suspend the intimate struggles, inculcated by the Judaizing tradition and its 'knowing how to be in the world'.

In the stubborn and conformist village of Nazareth, the Master is unable to communicate his newness, and is forced to change residence.

He does not resign himself, on the contrary: Capernaum was at the crossroads of important roads, which facilitated contacts and dissemination.

Among people from all walks of life, the Son of God wanted to create a consciousness that was highly critical of the homologated doctrines of religious leaders.

He did not mechanically quote the - modest - teachings of the authorities, but started from his own life experience and living relationship with the Father.

He did not seek support, neither for safe living nor for the proclamation - thus he created clear minds and an unusual quiver.

In this way, he suspended in souls the usual doubts of conscience, the usual battles inoculated by the customary-doctrinal-moral cloak, and his inner lacerations.

In a transparent and totally non-artificial manner, Christ [in his] still escapes evil and struggles against the plagiarising, reductive forces of our personality.

In the mentality of automatisms devoid of personal faith, it seemed at the time that one almost had to submit to the powers of external conviction.

All this to avoid being marginalised by the 'nation' [and by groups governed by conformity].

This also applies to us.

The duty to participate in collective rituals - here the Sabbath in the synagogue - risks dampening the intimate nostalgia for "ourselves" that provides nourishment for vocational exceptionality.

Originality in the history of salvation which, on the contrary, we could become, without the ball and chain of certain rules of quiet living, to the minimum - rhythm of customary social moments and symbolic days [sometimes emptied of meaning].

(All in the scruffy, mechanical ways that we know by heart, and no longer want, because we feel they do not make us reach a higher level).

The Master in us still faces the power that reduces people to the condition of ease without originality: a grey, perpetual trance allergic to differences.

Apathy that produces swamps and early camps, where no one protests but neither is surprised.

In the Gospel, the person who suddenly sparks sparks was always a quiet assembly-goer, who wearily dragged his spiritual life in small, colourless spheres, lacking in breadth and rhythm.

But the Word of the Lord has a real charge in it: the power of the bliss of living, of creating, of loving in truth - which does not hate eccentric characteristics.

Where such a call comes, all the demons you don't expect are unmasked and leap out of their lairs [previously simulated, agreed upon, artificially homologated].

He who meets Christ is knocked off his abstemious seat, turned upside down on the spot; he sees his certainties thrown to the wind

Reversal that allows hidden or repressed facets to play their part - even if they are not 'as they should be'.

In short, the Gospel invites us to embrace all that is within us, as it is, unmitigated; multiplying our energies - for within lurks the best of our Call to personal Mission.

In Christ, our multifaceted [albeit contradictory] faces can take the field together, no longer suppressing the precious territories of soul, essence, character, of another persuasion - even a distant or unrepeatably singular one.

The habitué of the assemblies is indeed disturbed and questioned, but at least he does not remain dumbfounded as before: he makes a conspicuous progress from the slumbering and ritual existence - bent, repetitive, dull and fake.

He is freed face to face from all the propaganda and clichés that previously kept him quiet, subjugated, on the leash of the 'authorities' and the conservative environment that repelled all enthusiasm.

The dirge of sacred place and time was a litany that all in all could stand, but the critical proposal of Jesus restores consciousness and freedom from inculcated territories, instilling esteem, capacity for thought and will to do.

Now no longer on the sidelines, but in the midst of the people (v.35).

From the weariness of purely cultic habituation, and even through a protest that breaks apathy, the divine Person and his Call awaken us.

They compel us to a saved life of new witness that seemed impossible.

Unceremoniously and to make us run free of the hypocrisies concealed within, the Lord also pulls out of us all the rages, the disagreements, the soul-quenching alienations.It is no longer enough to make a number [lined up and covered up], we must now choose.

The difference between common religiosity and living Faith? The wonder of a deep, personal, unexpected Happiness.

In fact, away from habitual and mental burdens, we extinguish wars with ourselves and go hand in hand even with our faults - discovering their hidden fruitfulness.

To internalise and live the message:

Has the encounter with the living Jesus in the Church freed you from forms of alienation and restored you to yourself, or has it made you go back to asking for support, sacred confirmation, and quiet - as if you were frequenting a relaxation zone?

Sense without belonging

100. Nor am I proposing an authoritarian and abstract universalism, dictated or planned by some and presented as a supposed ideal for the purpose of homogenising, dominating and plundering. There is a model of globalisation that 'consciously aims at a one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial search for unity. [...] If globalisation claims to make everyone the same, as if they were a sphere, this globalisation destroys the uniqueness of each person and each people'. This false universalist dream ends up depriving the world of its variety of colours, its beauty and ultimately its humanity. Because 'the future is not "monochromatic", but, if we have the courage, we can look at it in the variety and diversity of the contributions that each person can make. How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace without all having to be the same!

(Pope Francis FT n.100).

"On the synodal path, listening must take into account the sensus fidei, but it must not neglect all those 'premonitions' embodied where we would not expect them: there may be a 'sense of smell without citizenship', but it is no less effective. The Holy Spirit in his freedom knows no boundaries, and does not even allow himself to be limited by affiliations. If the parish is the home of everyone in the neighbourhood, not an exclusive club, I urge you: leave the doors and windows open [...] Do not be disenchanted, prepare yourselves for surprises."

(Pope Francis, Address to the Diocese of Rome, 18/09/2021).

Jesus not only drives demons out of people, freeing them from the worst slavery, but prevents the demons themselves from revealing his identity. And he insists on this "secret" because what is at stake is the success of his very mission, on which our salvation depends. Indeed, he knows that to liberate humanity from the dominion of sin he will have to be sacrificed on the Cross as the true Paschal Lamb. The devil, for his part, seeks to dissuade him so as to divert him instead toward the human logic of a powerful and successful Messiah. The Cross of Christ will be the devil's ruin, and this is why Jesus always taught his disciples that in order to enter into his glory he must suffer much, he must be rejected, condemned and crucified (cf. Lk 24: 26), for suffering is an integral part of his mission.

Jesus suffered and died on the Cross for love. On close consideration, it was in this way that he gave meaning to our suffering, a meaning that many men and women of every age have understood and made their own, experiencing profound tranquillity even in the bitterness of harsh physical and moral trials.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 1 February 2009]