Do Christians 'really believe' in the 'power of the Holy Spirit' within them? And do they have the courage to "sow the seed", to get involved, or do they take refuge in a "pastoral of conservation" that does not let "the Kingdom of God grow"? These are the questions posed by Pope Francis during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Tuesday 31 October, in which he outlined a horizon of "hope", for each individual man and for the Church as a community: that of the full realisation of the Kingdom of God, which has two pillars: the disruptive "force" of the Spirit and the "courage" to let this force be unleashed.

The cue came to the Pontiff from the reading of the Gospel passage (Luke 13:18-21) in which "it seems that Jesus struggles a bit: 'But how can I explain the Kingdom of God? To what can I compare it?"" and uses "two simple examples from everyday life": those of the mustard seed and the yeast. They are, Francis explained, both small, they seem harmless, "but when they enter into that movement, they have within them a power that comes out of themselves and grows, it goes beyond, even beyond what can be imagined". Precisely 'this is the mystery of the Kingdom'.

The reality, in fact, is that 'the wheat has power within, the leaven has power within', and also 'the power of the Kingdom of God comes from within; the power comes from within, the growing comes from within'. It is not, the Pope added with a comparison that refers to current events, "a growth as for example occurs in the case of a football team when the number of fans increases and makes the team bigger", but "it comes from within". A concept that, he added, is taken up by Paul in the Letter to the Romans (8:18-25) in a passage "that is full of tension", because "this growth of the Kingdom of God from within, from within, is a growth in tension".

So the apostle explains: "How many tensions are there in our lives and where they lead us", and says that "the sufferings of this life are not comparable to the glory that awaits us". But even the 'waiting' itself, said the Pontiff rereading the epistle, is not a 'quiet' waiting: Paul speaks 'of ardent expectation. There is an ardent expectation in these tensions'. Moreover, this expectation is not only of man, but "also of creation" which is "stretched out towards the revelation of the sons of God". In fact, "creation too, like us, has been subjected to transience" and proceeds in the "hope that it will be freed from the bondage of corruption". Therefore, "it is the whole creation that from the existential transience it perceives, goes right to glory, to freedom from slavery; it leads us to freedom. And this creation - and we with it, with creation - groans and suffers the pains of childbirth to this day'.

The conclusion of this reasoning led the Pope to relaunch the concept of 'hope': man and the whole creation possess 'the firstfruits of the Spirit', that is, 'the internal force that carries us forward and gives us hope' of the 'fullness of the Kingdom of God'. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote "that phrase that teaches us so much: 'For in hope we have been saved'".

It, the Pontiff continued, is a 'path', it is 'that which leads us to fullness, the hope of coming out of this prison, out of this limitation, out of this slavery, out of this corruption and arriving at glory'. And it is, he added, "a gift of the Spirit" that "is within us and leads to this: to a great thing, to a liberation, to a great glory. And that is why Jesus says: 'Inside the mustard seed, that tiny grain, there is a power that unleashes unimaginable growth'".

Here then is the reality foreshadowed by the parable: "Within us and in creation - because we are going together towards glory - there is a force that unleashes: there is the Holy Spirit. That gives us hope'. And, Francis added, 'To live in hope is to let these forces of the Spirit go forth and help us grow towards this fullness that awaits us in glory'.

Next, the Pontiff's reflection looked at another aspect, for in the parable it is added that 'the mustard seed is taken and thrown. A man took it and threw it into the garden' and that even the leaven is not left unturned: 'a woman takes and mixes'. That is, 'if the grain is not taken and thrown, if the leaven is not taken by the woman and mixed, they remain there and that inner strength they have remains there'. In the same way, Francis explained, 'if we want to keep the grain for ourselves, it will be one grain. If we do not mix with life, with the flour of life, the yeast, only the yeast will remain'. It is therefore necessary to 'throw, to mix, that courage of hope'. Which "grows, because the Kingdom of God grows from within, not by proselytism". It grows "with the power of the Holy Spirit".In this regard, the Pope recalled that 'the Church has always had both the courage to take and to throw, to take and to mix', and also 'the fear of doing so'. And he noted: "Many times we see that we prefer a pastoral of conservation" rather than "letting the Kingdom grow". When this happens 'we remain what we are, little ones, there', perhaps 'we stay safe', but 'the Kingdom does not grow'. Whereas "for the Kingdom to grow it takes courage: to cast the grain, to stir the yeast".

Someone might object: 'If I throw the grain, I lose it'. But this, the Pope explained, is the reality of always: 'There is always some loss, in sowing the Kingdom of God. If I mix the yeast I get my hands dirty: thank God! Woe to those who preach the Kingdom of God with the illusion of not getting their hands dirty. These are museum-keepers: they prefer beautiful things" to "the act of throwing so that force may break out, of stirring so that force may grow".

All this is encapsulated in the words of Jesus and Paul proposed by the liturgy: the "tension that goes from the slavery of sin" to the "fullness of glory". And the hope that 'does not disappoint' even if it is 'as small as wheat and as leaven'. Someone, the Pontiff recalled, 'said that it is the most humble virtue, it is the servant. But there is the Spirit, and where there is hope there is the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who brings forth the Kingdom of God'. And he concluded by suggesting to those present to think back to 'the mustard seed and the yeast, the tossing and the stirring' and to ask themselves: 'How is it, my hope? Is it an illusion? A 'maybe'? Or do I believe, that there is the Holy Spirit in there? Do I speak with the Holy Spirit?"

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 31 October 2017]

XXIX Sunday Ordinary Time (B) - 20 October 2024

1. "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many". The Son of Man of whom the gospel speaks is a clear reflection of the figure of "my righteous servant" announced by Isaiah in the first reading: he is Jesus, the humiliated and mockingly crowned with thorns Christ, who before Pilate proclaims himself king not of this world, he is the Saviour of humanity. But the only way to meet him and know him is to bend our intelligence to the incomprehensible because he is a God who surprises and amazes us, forcing us to enter into his logic that is totally different from ours: he makes himself a servant and humbles himself to the point of the impossible, he suffers the unjust passion and death on the cross, but rises again and humbles himself again to the point of becoming broken bread to nourish hope and love, the true nourishment of life that does not die. If you want to try to come closer to Christ, kneel before the mystery of the Eucharist and repeat with St Francis: "Who are you, God, and who am I"? If you want to follow him to the point of allowing yourself to be transformed by him, you must know that you risk misunderstanding, isolation and even persecution. Probably the episode that we read today in the gospel and Christ's response to the disciples found an echo in the community for which Mark writes the gospel: a community already under persecution and aware that the work of liberation from all that prevents one from encountering the true face of the God of Jesus Christ was not finished, but would require the contribution of many martyrs, which would last for centuries and millennia. What should make us reflect is that the absolute novelty of God becoming man and taking upon himself the sins of all mankind, becoming 'the guilty one' in our place, has not entered our hearts, and therefore our way of life is not converted.

2. A question arises: why did God want to go through the drama of death to save us?  Let us start from the last words of the Gospel text: "The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many". The word 'ransom' over the centuries has completely changed its meaning compared to Jesus' time, so that in interpreting its meaning with modern logic we risk going off the rails. In fact, if someone speaks of ransom today we immediately think of a hostage and therefore of the need to negotiate with the kidnappers and the ransom is the sum to be paid to free the kidnapped person. At the time of Christ, the word 'ransom' meant something else, it meant liberation, and the Greek word translated as 'ransom' comes from a verb meaning to loosen, to free. It would therefore be a contradiction to the Greek text of Mark's gospel if we thought that Jesus had to pay something on our behalf to appease the wrath of a God provoked by our sins. Jesus' disciples, who knew the Old Testament, knew well that the whole Bible speaks of a God who wants to free his people and later the whole of humanity from all forms of slavery. The God of the Bible is a God who liberates, and this constitutes the first article of Israel's creed. Furthermore, all the prophets fought against the practice of human sacrifice, calling it an abomination.  So when Jesus states that he must give his life as a ransom for many, it does not occur to anyone that God could demand the death of his only Son to appease anyone's anger. On the contrary, they were well aware that God has no resentment or hatred towards mankind and especially does not demand sacrifices, especially human sacrifices. Israel was waiting for deliverance, at first certainly from the occupation of the Romans, and this misunderstanding remained in their minds for a long time: in this key we can for example understand the behaviour of Judah.  The Jewish people were believers who, supported by the preaching of the prophets, awaited the liberation of mankind from all forms of evil, whether physical, moral or spiritual. The disciples, knowing the scriptures and in the school of Jesus, understand that he must consecrate his life for this liberation of humanity and know that true liberation comes through conversion of heart that makes one capable of giving life even unto death. And, precisely to sustain them in this faith, the Lord for the third time announces his passion, death and resurrection even though this effort of his does not seem to calm their restlessness and fear. The evangelist makes us understand this when, recounting that Jesus goes towards Jerusalem at the head of the group of twelve, they follow him without haste, seized by a dark foreboding because they know what awaits them. And when James and John, after Jesus announces his passion and death for the third time, seem to exorcise their fear by asking whether, after having faced the trial with him to the end, they too will be able to share in his glory, Jesus reiterates that the path of suffering and death is not avoidable even for them.

3. Instead, he insists that he did not come to be served but to serve. He does not present himself as a triumphant king, but as the "just servant" of God who will justify many by taking on their iniquities, recalling the prophecy of Isaiah who in the first reading speaks of the "just servant of God", a title insistently present in the four cantos of the "Servant of the Lord" of the so-called Deutero-Isaiah. If the early Christians immediately interpreted that the righteous servant is Jesus, the prophet was probably pointing to the small group of Jewish people in exile who were faithful to God despite many difficulties. But how to internalise this phrase: "It pleased the Lord to prostrate him with sorrows?" It would be nonsense to believe that God takes pleasure in making men suffer, and it also clashes with the oft-repeated statement that God is love. In no text of the Bible is it said that God took pleasure in prostrating his people with suffering. The verb 'it pleased', which is always used to say that God accepted the sacrifices and gave his absolution to all the people, emphasises that the righteous suffering servant imitates God in taking on suffering as a work of reparation and transforming it into a source of salvation. The expression: "prostrate him with sorrows" therefore recalls the image of the broken heart spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel and Psalm 50/51: a heart of stone that through suffering becomes a heart of flesh, especially when it is provoked by the afflictions inflicted by men. In every form of painful trial one reacts either by hardening the heart (with hatred and the desire for revenge) or with forgiveness and love, and in this way the suffering of the righteous servant becomes a path of light as Isaiah notes: 'after his torment he will see the light'.  From every evil God can draw a good, and it is in this mystery of hatred and forgiveness that the power of his love shines through. It follows that the righteous suffering servant contributes to the salvation of all, and of the injustice suffered he makes a path of light. The Lord accepts the intention of the heart and forgives all, even the executioners; that is, he accepts the attitude of the heart that offers him suffering and forgiveness as a sacrifice of atonement, and in his mercy he himself makes reparation and forgiveness. As Isaiah notes, crushed by the hatred of men, the righteous man responds with silence and forgiveness that becomes a saving force for those he persecutes and can convert their hearts. However, the most important message Isaiah summarises in this way: 'the will of the Lord will be done through him'. Through the sacrifice of the righteous, God saves humanity by freeing it from every chain of evil, hatred, violence and jealousy that devours the heart. For if the righteous servant makes his life a sacrifice of reparation, through this very giving of himself God will accomplish his will and reconciled sinners can begin a new life. "My righteous servant shall justify many, he shall bear their iniquities. The salvation of the persecutors is in the hands of the victims, and only the forgiveness given by the victims can melt the hardness of the persecutor's heart. Jesus prophesied: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself"(Jn 12:32) and the prophet Zechariah: "I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and consolation: they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced"(12:10; and "in that day there shall be for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem a gushing spring to wash away sin and impurity"(13:1).  Consoling and challenging is the message of God's word: humanity is saved when nonviolence, forgiveness, service, humility are the only means employed to change human hearts, and challenging is the programme that Jesus proposes to his disciples: "the rulers of the nations rule over them and their leaders oppress them. But let it not be so among you. All of you, my disciples, if you are the leaven and the seed of the new humanity, follow my example by sacrificing your lives as I do for the good of all.

+ Giovanni D’Ercole

He Called to Himself: emergency by Name, before than around

(Lk 6:12-19)

Lk reflects the double direction of worship in primitive communities: Prayer as a significant openness to the Father and internal celebration among disciples (vv.13-17) - and the public Proclamation with works, to the people.

The community is close: God is in our history. The idea of a distant Kingdom produces separations, pastorally inconsistent pyramids, and dispersive cultivation of interests.

In short, it’s crucial to mature first, wherever we live.

Whoever cultivates many cravings projects them; he causes his own murky influences. For this reason Prayer and reflection are necessary, which - from Listening - transmit to us the sense of our being in the world and a right disposition.

It seems a paradox, but concern for the needs of the multitudes is a problem exquisitely rooted in the depths.

It is from oneself and from the community that we look with empathy at the world itself, knowing how to recover its opposite sides.

It is the Way of the Interior that penetrates and activates the way of the outside.

Thus we immerse ourselves in the Source of Being: to shift our hasty gaze. He who is not free cannot free.

The only wise way to scrutinize far is to stick to the reason for things, a principle that we actively know, if not misled by superficiality and reductions.

Understanding the nature of creatures and conforming to them in a growing way, everyone is inspired to transmute and complete, enriching even the cultural sclerosis without alienating forcing.

All this, activating a practice of goodness even with oneself.

Not to distinguish the moment of the Vocation from that of the ministerial Sending: the way of Heaven is intertwined with the path of the Person.

It’s in short to approach the sense of the missional uniqueness of each Apostle that Jesus spends an entire night in Prayer (v.12).

Most of the early followers have names typical of Judaism, even of the time of the Patriarchs - which indicates a mental and spiritual extraction rooted more in ancient religion than in the new Faith: reality not easy to manage.

But also for them the Lord releases his full strength of Life, despite the fact that in themselves they were ordinary individuals, full of limits.

However, the Kingdom is «local and universal» [Brethren All, nn.142-153], Near and by Name - as the Gospel passage from Lk.

This is the multiple force, biting, incomparable, close and personal, which wins any possibility of ideal sabotage [because of adverse circumstances].

Power drawn both from direct prayer to the Father in Christ - in his night Listening (v.12) - and from the works of love (vv.17-19).

Powers in personal, sensitive, shared symbiosis.

Mission not only for excellents, nor unilateral, but for a restless contagion.

Announcement of new Light received in Gift: where precisely not a single form or colour appears.

And the Axis is for us: hiding sometimes with Him.

«This is what tradition was subsequently to formulate in the well-known saying: "Contemplata aliis tradere" (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 188, art. 6)» [Pope Benedict].

To internalize and live the message:

In your experience, which chain united Heaven and earth?

[St  Simon and Jude, October 28, 2024]

The double address of worship, but the Axis is to be with Him

(Lk 6:12-19)

"He went out to the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer to God" (v.12).

"And the whole crowd sought to touch Him, for a Power went out from Him and healed all" (v.19).

Lk reflects the double direction of worship in the primitive communities.

First, the Prayer as a significant opening to the Father and internal celebration among disciples (vv.13-17). Then the public proclamation (with works) to the people.

The community is close: God is in our history.

The idea of a distant Kingdom produces separations, (pastorally) inconsistent pyramidal hierarchies. Sometimes, dispersive cultivation of internal interests passed off as great sensitivity and altruism.

In short, to walk seriously alongside oneself and others, it is essential to first mature, wherever we live.

This applies to taking different initiatives; even possibly to rebelling against the stagnant landscape that likes to return to old-fashioned securities.

In this way, there may be less than noble motives for wanting to get everywhere at once, to run everywhere to make proselytes, and to do so out of opposition, without a "dream of friendship" [cf. encyclical Fratelli Tutti, passim].

For he who cultivates many lusts, projects them; he procures his own murky influences.

That is why prayer and reflection are necessary - indispensable also to Jesus (v.12) - which give us the sense of our being in the world, the Father's vision, and a right disposition.

Deep meditations and spontaneous prayers annihilate infidelities that do not offer genuine life, authentic motives, or values of the spirit.

Prayers undermine and demolish the dehumanisations, the emotions that alienate us and alienate us from our brothers, the pitfalls that tend to build other temples and shrines.

The same charge of universality and 'sense of urgency' are contained in the rootedness to values conveyed by dialogue with God. And his Mystery (for us), in relationships, in intimate self-knowledge.

Indeed... stimuli, virtuous principles, gaps and hidden sides are complementary energetic aspects.

It seems a paradox, but the interest in the needs of the multitudes is an issue exquisitely rooted in the intimate, not at all external.

It is from oneself and from the community that one looks at the world with empathy, knowing how to recover its opposites.

It is the Way of the Interior that interpenetrates and activates the Way of the Exterior.

This is how we willingly pray: to immerse ourselves in the vibrant Source of being, and to shift our hasty gaze.

By contrast and hindrance, the habitual partiality that "gets in the way" does not grasp the value of the social and cultural polyhedron.

On the other hand, unfortunately, it is only by loving strength that one prefers to start from the too distant.

One must first heal what is intimate and close. He who is not free cannot emancipate anyone.

Thus, the only way to peer into the distance is to stick to the reason of things - the principle that one actively knows, if not misled by superficialities and reductions [individualistic or monovalent, one-sided and club-like].

By understanding the nature of creatures and increasingly conforming to it, all are inspired to transmute and complete themselves.

A non-alienating process that also enriches possible cultural sclerosis, without hysterical or external forcing.

All this, practising goodness even with oneself.

The Tao (XLVII) says: "Without going out the door, you know the world; without looking out the window, you glimpse the Way to Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. That is why the saint does not go around and yet knows, does not see and yet discerns, does not act and yet completes".

It is only from the Source of being - the common home - that an undissociated, all-saved life springs forth, one that effectively endures and can expand. 

Are we a sign of dedication and striving people? We do not do this for 'merit' or to gain sympathy.

Without being a cult, after a good training - which also imparts to us a wise tolerance, from the world within.

No extrinsic purpose, which would lose its soul and bring no change.

Not to distinguish the moment of Vocation from the moment of ministerial sending.

The way to Heaven is intertwined with the way of the Person and with the way of Nature ["like a sister, with whom we share existence, and like a beautiful mother who welcomes us into her arms": Laudato Si', no.1] or we will be busybodies.

None of the Apostles - ordinary people - were worthy of the Call (vv.13-15).

To understand this, and approach the meaning of their missional uniqueness, Jesus must spend an entire night in prayer (v.12).

Most of the first followers have names typical of Judaism, even of the time of the Patriarchs - indicating a mental and spiritual background rooted more in the ancient religion than in the new Faith; baggage not easy to handle.But even for the undecided, the Lord unleashes his power of full Life, precisely because he is an absolutely ordinary person full of limitations; not infrequently perplexed, even open opponents.

Peter was eager to come forward, though often backtracking - backtracking - to the point of becoming for Jesus a 'satan' [(Mt 16:23; Mk 8:33): in the culture of the ancient East, an official of the great ruler, sent to act as a controller and delator - practically an accuser].

James of Zebedee and John were brothers, ardent fundamentalists, and in a wrathful manner wanted the Master for themselves alone, as well as the first places.

Philip [conditioned perhaps by a Hellenistic extraction, as his name indicates] at first sight did not seem a very practical fellow, nor quick to grasp the things of God.

Andrew, on the other hand, seemed to do well: an inclusive person.

According to well-known traditional identifications, Bartholomew was perhaps open but perplexed, because the Messiah did not correspond to him much.

Thomas always a little in and a little out.

Matthew - a collaborator, greedy accomplice of the oppressive system, and willingly extorting money from his people [the people ruthlessly condemned him].

Simon - the zealot, the Canaanite - a hothead.

Judas Iscariot a tormented, self-destructive for trusting old spiritual leaders - imbued with nationalist ideology, self-interest, opportunism and power.

Two others (James the younger son of Alphaeus, and Judas Thaddeus) mere disciples perhaps of no great prominence or capacity for initiative.

But the Kingdom is "local and universal" [Fratelli Tutti, nn.142-153], Near and by Name - as the Gospel passage from Lk.

This is the manifold, grasping, incomparable, close and precisely personal power that overcomes any possibility of ideal sabotage (due to adverse circumstances).

Power drawn both from prayer directed to the Father in Christ - in his nightly Listening (v.12) - as well as from works of love (vv.17-19).

Power in personal, sensitive, shared symbiosis.

Not for the excellent alone... or even in the time of global emergency there will be no healing work (v.19) but only external, accusatory and aimed at propaganda, proselytism.

Announcement and Mission of new Light received in Gift: where precisely not a single form or colour appears.

And the Axis is "being" with Him.

"This is what tradition has then formulated with the well-known expression: 'Contemplata aliis tradere' (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 188, art. 6)". [Pope Benedict].

For a contagion that is neither alarmist nor one-sided, monochromatic, but flourishing, multifaceted, sometimes 'hidden', and restless.

To internalise and live the message:

In your experience, what chain has united heaven and earth?

The (accusatory) list and effort of transgressions to be neurotically corrected?

Or a personal Calling, inclusive of your many faces in the soul - a Vocation supported by a Church that became an echo and a free Source of all-round understanding?

The Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles as a community of faith, hope and charity. Through the Apostles, we come to Jesus himself. The Church begins to establish herself when some fishermen of Galilee meet Jesus, allowing themselves to be won over by his gaze, his voice, his warm and strong invitation:  "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mk 1: 17; Mt 4: 19). 

At the start of the third millennium, my beloved Predecessor John Paul II invited the Church to contemplate the Face of Christ (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 16 ff.). Continuing in the same direction, I would like to show, in the Catechesis that I begin today, how it is precisely the light of that Face that is reflected on the face of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 1), notwithstanding the limits and shadows of our fragile and sinful humanity.

After Mary, a pure reflection of the light of Christ, it is from the Apostles, through their word and witness, that we receive the truth of Christ. Their mission is not isolated, however, but is situated within a mystery of communion that involves the entire People of God and is carried out in stages from the Old to the New Covenant. 

In this regard, it must be said that the message of Jesus is completely misunderstood if it is separated from the context of the faith and hope of the Chosen People:  like John the Baptist, his direct Precursor, Jesus above all addresses Israel (cf. Mt 15: 24) in order to "gather" it together in the eschatological time that arrived with him. And like that of John, the preaching of Jesus is at the same time a call of grace and a sign of contradiction and of justice for the entire People of God. 

And so, from the first moment of his salvific activity, Jesus of Nazareth strives to gather together the People of God. Even if his preaching is always an appeal for personal conversion, in reality he continually aims to build the People of God whom he came to bring together, purify and save. 

As a result, therefore, an individualistic interpretation of Christ's proclamation of the Kingdom, specific to liberal theology, is unilateral and without foundation, as a great liberal theologian Adolf von Harnack summed it up in the year 1900 in his lessons on The essence of Christianity:  "The Kingdom of God, insofar as it comes in single individuals, is able to enter their soul and is welcomed by them. The Kingdom of God is the dominion of God, certainly, but it is the dominion of the holy God in individual hearts" (cf. Third Lesson, 100 ff.). 

In reality, this individualism of liberal theology is a typically modern accentuation:  in the perspective of biblical tradition and on the horizon of Judaism, where the work of Jesus is situated in all its novelty, it is clear that the entire mission of the Son-made-flesh has a communitarian finality. He truly came to unite dispersed humanity; he truly came to unite the People of God.

An evident sign of the intention of the Nazarene to gather together the community of the Covenant, to demonstrate in it the fulfilment of the promises made to the Fathers who always speak of convocation, unification, unity, is the institution of the Twelve. We heard about this institution of the Twelve in the Gospel reading. I shall read the central passage again:  "And he went up into the hills and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. The names of the twelve Apostles are these..." (Mk 3: 13-16; cf. Mt 10: 1-4; Lk 6: 12-16). 

On the site of the revelation, "the mount", taking initiative that demonstrates absolute awareness and determination, Jesus establishes the Twelve so that, together with him, they are witnesses and heralds of the coming of the Kingdom of God. 

There are no doubts about the historicity of this call, not only because of the antiquity and multiplicity of witnesses, but also for the simple reason that there is also the name of Judas, the Apostle who betrayed him, notwithstanding the difficulties that this presence could have caused the new community. 

The number 12, which evidently refers to the 12 tribes of Israel, already reveals the meaning of the prophetic-symbolic action implicit in the new initiative to re-establish the holy people. As the system of the 12 tribes had long since faded out, the hope of Israel awaited their restoration as a sign of the eschatological time (as referred to at the end of the Book of Ezekiel:  37: 15-19; 39: 23-29; 40-48). 

In choosing the Twelve, introducing them into a communion of life with himself and involving them in his mission of proclaiming the Kingdom in words and works (cf. Mk 6: 7-13; Mt 10: 5-8; Lk 9: 1-6; 6: 13), Jesus wants to say that the definitive time has arrived in which to constitute the new People of God, the people of the 12 tribes, which now becomes a universal people, his Church.
Appeal for Israel 

With their very own existence, the Twelve - called from different backgrounds - become an appeal for all of Israel to convert and allow herself to be gathered into the new covenant, complete and perfect fulfilment of the ancient one. The fact that he entrusted to his Apostles, during the Last Supper and before his Passion, the duty to celebrate his Pasch, demonstrates how Jesus wished to transfer to the entire community, in the person of its heads, the mandate to be a sign and instrument in history of the eschatological gathering begun by him. In a certain sense we can say that the Last Supper itself is the act of foundation of the Church, because he gives himself and thus creates a new community, a community united in communion with himself. 

In this light, one understands how the Risen One confers upon them, with the effusion of the Spirit, the power to forgive sins (cf. Jn 20: 23). Thus, the Twelve Apostles are the most evident sign of Jesus' will regarding the existence and mission of his Church, the guarantee that between Christ and the Church there is no opposition:  despite the sins of the people who make up the Church, they are inseparable.

Therefore, a slogan that was popular some years back:  "Jesus yes, Church no", is totally inconceivable with the intention of Christ. This individualistically chosen Jesus is an imaginary Jesus.

We cannot have Jesus without the reality he created and in which he communicates himself. Between the Son of God-made-flesh and his Church there is a profound, unbreakable and mysterious continuity by which Christ is present today in his people. He is always contemporary with us, he is always contemporary with the Church, built on the foundation of the Apostles and alive in the succession of the Apostles. And his very presence in the community, in which he himself is always with us, is the reason for our joy. Yes, Christ is with us, the Kingdom of God is coming.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 15 March 2006]

1. A priestly, sacramental, prophetic community, the Church was established by Jesus Christ as a structured, hierarchical and ministerial society, in function of the pastoral governance for the formation and continuous growth of the community. The first subjects of this ministerial and pastoral function are the twelve Apostles, chosen by Jesus Christ as the visible foundations of his Church. As the Second Vatican Council says, "Jesus Christ, the eternal Shepherd, built up the holy Church and sent the Apostles as He Himself was sent by the Father (cf. Jn 20:21), and He willed that their successors, that is, the bishops, should be shepherds in His Church until the end of time" (LG 18). This passage from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Lumen Gentium - reminds us first of all of the original and unique position of the Apostles in the institutional framework of the Church. From the Gospel story we know that Jesus called disciples to follow him and from among them he chose twelve (cf. Lk 6:13).

The evangelical narration makes us know that for Jesus it was a decisive choice, made after a night of prayer (cf. Lk 6:12); a choice made with a sovereign freedom: Mark tells us that Jesus, having ascended the mountain, called to himself "those whom he wanted" (Mk 3:13). The Gospel texts record the names of the individuals called (cf. Mk 3:16-19 et par.): a sign that their importance was perceived and recognised in the early Church.

2. By creating the group of the Twelve, Jesus created the Church, as a visible structured society at the service of the Gospel and the coming of the Kingdom of God. The number twelve referred to the twelve tribes of Israel, and Jesus' use of it reveals his intention to create a new Israel, the new people of God established as the Church. Jesus' creative intention transpires from the same verb used by Mark to describe the institution: 'He made twelve . . . He made the twelve'. "Make" recalls the verb used in the Genesis account about the creation of the world and in Deutero-Isaiah (Is 43:1; 44:2) about the creation of God's people, ancient Israel. The creative will is also expressed in the new names given to Simon (Peter) and James and John (Sons of Thunder), but also to the group or college as a whole. In fact, Luke writes that Jesus "chose twelve, to whom he gave the name of apostles" (Lk 6:13). The Twelve Apostles thus became a characteristic, distinct and, in some respects, unrepeatable socio-ecclesial reality. In their group emerged the Apostle Peter, about whom Jesus manifested more explicitly his intention to found a new Israel, with the name given to Simon: "stone", on which Jesus wanted to build his Church (cf. Mt 16:18).

3. Jesus' purpose in establishing the Twelve is defined by Mark: "He made twelve of them to be with him, and also to send them out to preach, and that they might have power to cast out demons" (Mk 3:14-15). The first constitutive element of the group of the Twelve is therefore an absolute attachment to Christ: they are people called to "be with him", that is, to follow him, leaving everything behind. The second element is the missionary element, expressed on the model of the mission of Jesus himself, who preached and cast out demons. The mission of the Twelve is a participation in Christ's mission by men closely linked to him as disciples, friends, trustees.

4. In the mission of the Apostles, the evangelist Mark emphasises "the power to cast out demons". It is a power over the power of evil, which in a positive sense means the power to give men the salvation of Christ, the One who casts out the "prince of this world" (John 12, 31). Luke confirms the meaning of this power and the purpose of the institution of the Twelve by quoting the word of Jesus giving the Apostles authority in the Kingdom: "You are the ones who have persevered with me in my trials. And I lay down for you a kingdom as the Father has laid down for me" (Lk 22:28). Also in this statement, perseverance in union with Christ and the authority granted in the kingdom are intimately linked. It is a pastoral authority, as is evident from the text on the mission specifically entrusted to Peter: 'Shepherd my lambs . . . Shepherd my sheep" (John 21: 15-17). Peter personally receives supreme authority in the shepherding mission. This mission is exercised as participation in the authority of the one Shepherd and Master, Christ. The supreme authority entrusted to Peter does not cancel the authority given to the other Apostles in the kingdom. The pastoral mission is shared by the Twelve under the authority of the one universal Shepherd, mandatary and representative of the Good Shepherd, Christ.

5. The specific tasks inherent in the mission entrusted by Jesus Christ to the Twelve are the following: a) mission and power to evangelise all nations, as the three Synoptics clearly attest (cf. Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:16-18; Lk 24:45-48). Among them, Matthew highlights the relationship established by Jesus himself between his messianic power and the mandate he gave to the Apostles: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:18). The Apostles will be able and must carry out their mission by the power of Christ manifested in them. b) mission and power to baptise (Mt 28:19), as the fulfilment of Christ's mandate, with a baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity (Ibid), which will be carried out in the name of the Most Holy Trinity (Ibid). Trinity (Ibid), which, being linked to the paschal mystery of Christ, in the Acts of the Apostles is also considered as baptism in the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 2:38; 8:16). c) mission and power to celebrate the Eucharist: "Do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24-25). The commission to redo what Jesus accomplished at the Last Supper, with the consecration of the bread and wine, implies a power of the highest level; to say in the name of Christ: "This is my body", "this is my blood", is almost an identification with Christ in the sacramental act. d) mission and power to forgive sins (Jn 20:22-23). It is a participation of the Apostles in the power of the Son of Man to forgive sins on earth (cf. Mk 2:10): that power which in Jesus' public life had caused the astonishment of the crowd, of which the evangelist Matthew tells us that they "gave glory to God who had given such power to men" (Mt 9:8).

6. To fulfil this mission, the Apostles received, besides power, the special gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 20:21-22), which was manifested at Pentecost, according to Jesus' promise (cf. Acts 1:8). By virtue of this gift, from the moment of Pentecost they began to fulfil the mandate of evangelising all peoples. The Second Vatican Council tells us this in the Constitution Lumen Gentium: "The Apostles . . . preaching everywhere the Gospel, accepted by the hearers through the motion of the Holy Spirit, gather together the universal Church, which the Lord founded on the Apostles and built on blessed Peter, their head, while Jesus Christ himself is its cornerstone (cf. Rev 21:14; Mt 16:18; Eph 2:20)" (LG 19).

7. The mission of the Twelve included a fundamental role reserved for them, which would not be inherited by others: to be eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Christ (cf. Lk 24:48), to transmit his message to the primitive community, as a hinge between divine revelation and the Church, and for this very reason to initiate the Church in the name and by virtue of Christ, under the action of the Holy Spirit. For this function of theirs, the Twelve Apostles constitute a group of unique importance in the Church, which since the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Symbol is defined as apostolic (Credo una sanctam, catholicam et 'apostolicam' Ecclesiam) because of this indissoluble link to the Twelve. This explains why also in the liturgy the Church has included and reserved special solemn celebrations in honour of the Apostles.

8. However, Jesus conferred on the Apostles a mission of evangelisation of all nations, which takes a very long time, and indeed lasts "until the end of the world" (Mt 28:20). The Apostles understood that it was Christ's will that they should provide successors, who, as their heirs and legates, would carry on their mission. They therefore established "episcopes and deacons" in the various communities "and arranged that after their death other approved men should receive their succession in the ministry" (Clement of Rome, Ep. Ad Cor., 44, 2; cf. 42, 1. 4). In this way Christ established a hierarchical and ministerial structure of the Church, formed by the Apostles and their successors; a structure that did not derive from a previously established community, but was created directly by him. The Apostles were, at one and the same time, the seeds of the new Israel and the origin of the sacred hierarchy, as stated in the Council's Constitution Ad Gentes (AG 5). This structure therefore belongs to the very nature of the Church, according to the divine plan realised by Jesus. According to this same plan, it has an essential role in the entire development of the Christian community, from the day of Pentecost to the end of time, when in the heavenly Jerusalem all the elect will fully participate in the 'New Life' for eternity.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 1 July 1992]

"Prayer and witness" are the "two tasks of the bishops" who are "pillars of the Church". But if they weaken, the whole people of God suffers. That is why, Pope Francis asked during the mass celebrated on Friday morning 22 January in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, we must pray insistently for the successors of the twelve apostles.

The Pontiff's reflection on the figure and mission of the bishop started from the passage from the evangelist Mark (3:13-19) proclaimed during today's liturgy. "There is a word in this Gospel passage that attracts attention: Jesus 'constituted'". And this word "appears twice". In fact, Mark writes: "'He constituted twelve, whom he called apostles'". And then he resumes: 'He therefore constituted the twelve', and names them, one after the other'. Therefore, the Pontiff explained, 'Jesus, among so many people who followed him - the Gospel tells us - "called to himself those he wanted"'. In short, 'there is a choice: Jesus chose those whom He wanted'. And, indeed, "he constituted twelve. Whom he called apostles'. In fact, Francis continued, "there were others: there were the disciples" and "the Gospel speaks of seventy-two, on one occasion". But 'these were something else'.

The "twelve are constituted so that they might be with Him and to send them out to preach with the power to cast out demons," the Pope explained. "This is the most important group that Jesus chose, 'so that they might be with Him', closer, 'and to send them out to preach' the Gospel." And "with the power to cast out demons," Mark further added. Precisely those 'twelve are the first bishops, the first group of bishops'.

These twelve 'chosen ones,' Francis noted, 'were aware of the importance of this election, so much so that after Jesus had been taken up into heaven, Peter spoke to the others and explained to them that, given Judas' betrayal, it was necessary to do something'. And so from among those who had been with Jesus, from John's baptism until his ascension, they chose "a witness 'with us' - says Peter - of the resurrection". Here, continued the Pope, that "the place of Judas is filled, it is taken by Matthias: Matthias is chosen".

Then "the liturgy of the Church, referring to "some expressions of Paul", calls the twelve "the pillars of the Church". Yes, said the Pontiff, 'the apostles are the pillars of the Church. And the bishops are the columns of the Church. That election of Matthias was the first episcopal ordination of the Church'.

"I would like to say a few words today about bishops," Francis confided. "We bishops have this responsibility to be witnesses: witnesses that the Lord Jesus is alive, that the Lord Jesus is risen, that the Lord Jesus walks with us, that the Lord Jesus saves us, that the Lord Jesus gave his life for us, that the Lord Jesus is our hope, that the Lord Jesus always welcomes us and forgives us." Here is 'the testimony'. Consequently, he continued, 'our life must be this: a testimony, a true testimony to the resurrection of Christ'.

And when Jesus, as Mark recounts, makes "this choice" of the twelve, he has two reasons. Firstly, "so that they might be with Him". Therefore "the bishop has the obligation to be with Jesus". Yes, "it is the bishop's first obligation: to be with Jesus". And it is true "to such an extent that when the problem arose, in the early days, that orphans and widows were not well cared for, the bishops - these twelve - got together and thought about what to do". And "they introduced the figure of the deacons, saying: 'Let the deacons take care of the orphans, of the widows'". While the twelve, "says Peter", are assigned "two tasks: prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel".

Therefore, Francis reiterated, "the first task of the bishop is to be with Jesus in prayer". In fact, "the bishop's first task is not to make pastoral plans... no, no!". It is "to pray: this is the first task". While 'the second task is to be a witness, that is to preach: to preach the salvation that the Lord Jesus brought us'.

They are 'two tasks that are not easy,' the Pontiff acknowledged, 'but it is precisely these two tasks that make the columns of the Church strong'. In fact, "if these columns weaken, because the bishop does not pray or prays little, he forgets to pray; or because the bishop does not proclaim the Gospel, he occupies himself with other things, the Church also weakens; it suffers. The people of God suffer". Precisely 'because the pillars are weak'.

For this reason, Francis said, 'I would like to invite you today to pray for us bishops: because we too are sinners, we too have weaknesses, we too have the danger of Judas: he too was elected as a pillar'. Yes, he continued, 'we too run the danger of not praying, of doing something other than proclaiming the Gospel and casting out demons'. Hence, the Pope reiterated, the invitation to "pray that the bishops be what Jesus wanted and that we all bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus".

Moreover, he added, "the people of God pray for the bishops, in every mass we pray for the bishops: we pray for Peter, the head of the episcopal college, and we pray for the local bishop". But 'this may not be enough: one says the name out of habit and moves on'. It is important "to pray for the bishop with the heart, to ask the Lord: 'Lord, take care of my bishop; take care of all the bishops, and send us bishops who are true witnesses, bishops who pray and bishops who help us, with their preaching, to understand the Gospel, to be sure that You, Lord, are alive, are among us'".

Before resuming the celebration, the Pope suggested, again, to pray "therefore for our bishops: it is a task of the faithful". In fact, 'the Church without a bishop cannot go on'. Here, then, that "the prayer of all of us for our bishops is an obligation, but an obligation of love, an obligation of children towards the Father, an obligation of brothers, so that the family may remain united in the confession of Jesus Christ, living and risen".

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 23/01/2016]

(Mk 10:46-52)

The passage in Mk is the agile fruit of the interweaving of a catechesis explaining the immediately preceding passage [the Apostles' aims] and the teaching on the very first forms of baptismal liturgy reserved for the new believers, called 'photismòi-enlightened' [those who from the darkness of pagan life finally opened their eyes to the Light].

The passage illustrates what happens to a person when he meets Christ and receives his existential orientation: he abandons established but not personally reworked positions, and becomes a critical witness.

The narrative is set on the comparison between downward material gazes (such as those of pagans or arrogant followers) and open gazes, capable of lifting the human eye from the fetters of semblance, habit, and destructive outer or inner powers.

What, then, is needed to see with the perception of God, beyond appearances, and to lift oneself up from a grey life of handouts, literally on the ground? How to heal the vision of those who are disoriented?

Bartimaeus [verbatim, the 'son of the valued one'] represents us: he is not a free man, capable of activating himself - but influenced by a frantic search for prestige and recognition.

The «son of the honoured man» is not biologically blind, but one who adjusts himself haphazardly. He is unable to «look up» [the Greek key-verb in vv.51-52 is aná-blépein] because he does not cultivate ideals; he is content with what the environment around him grants, which anaesthetizes him.

If one finds oneself at this level of myopia, it is better to 'lift one's gaze' bent over one's navel for ridiculous and short-sighted things.

Bartimaeus is a man of habit, he is accompanied to the same places every day by the same people.

He is standing still, «sitting» (v.46) at the edge of a road where people are moving forward and not just surviving resignedly, as he does.

Bartimaeus types expect everything from the recognition of others; they live only by begging. They repeat words and gestures that are always identical.

Their horizon at hand does not allow them to enter the flow of the Way where people are busy building, evolving, expressing themselves, providing for their less fortunate sisters and brothers.

An existence dragged along the fringes of any interest, other than one's own lazy pouch.

They live off the movement of others; they feel gratified by the petty benevolences and opinions bartered by those who pass by, by ideas that are never sifted and made their own.

But the Word of the Nazarene triggers the indolent. And his new attitude becomes that of the 'newborn'. In this way, he engages in an industrious, creative, practical - futuristic model of life.

He rises again dynamically, getting rid of the rags on which he expected others to lay something in his favour.

The old garment ends up in the dust - cast far away as in the ancient baptismal liturgies: at any age it undertakes, outclassing small cabotage securities.

He changes his life, looks it in the face; even though he knows he is complicating it, making it challenging and countercurrent.

Personal contact with Jesus corrected his gaze, made him regain his ideal perspective.

Now he understands the primordial and regenerating - indeed, recreating - sense of the Newness of God.

The face-to-face Meeting gave him a diametrically opposite model of a successful man; not subservient to tactics.

In short, Jesus corrects the inert myopia of those who are fond of their mediocre place.

Religiousness or personal Faith: the choice is decisive.

It means lazily adapting to fashions of circumstance or the old dress of already “said” behaviours and usual friendships, just waiting for some solution-lightning that does not involve too much…

Or leave there, reinvent their lives, abandon the 'mantle' [cf. Mk 10:50] on which comments and common mites were collected.

By opening his eyes and «lifting them up», as an already divine man would do. Pocketing nothing but pearls of light, instead of handouts.

On muddy roads we may get dirty and be uncertain, but we can proceed there in the movement of Christ's priesthood, with sound perception.

In fact - as in this episode - the Gospels not infrequently insist on the (devoutly absurd) criterion that the enemy of God is not sin, but the 'average, passive life' of the «honoured man», identified and placed.

[30th Sunday in O.T. (year B), October 27, 2024]

The priesthood movement of Christ

(Mark 10:46-52)

The encyclical Brothers All invites a perspective gaze, one that does not adapt.

Pope Francis proposes visuals that provoke decision and action: new, energetic, visionary, reckless eyes, filled with "passage" and Hope.

It "speaks to us of a reality that is rooted in the depths of human beings, regardless of the concrete circumstances and historical conditioning in which they live. It speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a yearning for fullness, for a fulfilled life, a measuring oneself against that which is great, against that which fills the heart and elevates the spirit toward great things, such as truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. [...] Hope is bold, it knows how to look beyond personal comfort, the small certainties and compensations that narrow the horizon, to open itself to great ideals that make life more beautiful and dignified" (no. 55) [quoted from a Greeting to Young People in Havana, September 2015].

Distressed, Paul VI admitted:

"Yes, there are many mediocre Christians; and not only because they are weak or lacking in formation, but because they want to be mediocre and because they have their so-called good reasons of the right middle, of ne quid nimis, as if the Gospel were a school of moral indolence, or as if it authorized serving to conformism. Is this not hypocrisy? Inconsistency? Relativism according to the wind that blows?" [passim].

This sounds like a portrait of Bartimaeus' shoddy, blind life: "nothing too much," "never the excessive."

A sort of Don Abbondio-like existence, in contrast to which Manzoni delineates the icon of the man of Faith - who precisely stands out over the mediocre devotee - in the solemn and decisive figure of Cardinal Federigo.

Prelate who instead "had to fight with the gallant men of ne quid nimis, who, in everything, would have wanted him to stay within the limits, that is, within their limits."

Not the reassured qualunquism of a pious coward and situationalist, who pretends not to see, is content with his half-assed niche; he sits in the shoddy threshing floor of the minimum wage, he staggers along and does not expose himself.

The passage in Mark is the nimble fruit of the interweaving of a catechesis of explanation of the immediately preceding passage [the sights of the Apostles] and teaching on very early forms of baptismal liturgy reserved for the new believers, called 'photismòi-illuminati' [those who from the darkness of pagan life finally opened their eyes to the Light].

The passage illustrates what happens to a person when he or she encounters Christ and receives his existential orientation: he or she abandons established but not personally reworked positions and becomes a critical witness.

The narrative is set on comparing material downward gazes (such as those of pagans or arrogant followers) with open gazes capable of lifting man's eye from fetters of semblance, habit, and destructive outer or inner powers.

Comparison brings to the surface what matters in life, what has weight and is not swept away by the impediments of an empty spirituality, enraptured or attracted by epidermal cravings; harnessed to social role-frames or cultural and spiritual conformities-from customs inherited but not sifted.

In short: the Lord wants us to understand that conformity to environment and empty devotion inculcate a swampy, lifeless, unimportant understanding.

What, then, is needed to "see" with God's perception, beyond appearances, and to lift oneself up from a gray life of almsgiving, literally on the ground? And how to heal the vision of those who do not catch on?

Even the "neighbors" have more or less clear expectations of how to enter the Priesthood Movement of Christ.

The disciples themselves are suggestive of an often qualunquistic crowd around them who expect little but quiet, leisure and favor; and who press for entry "into their bounds."

The crouching at the edges Bartimaeus [textually, the 'son of the appreciated one'] represents us: he is not a free man, capable of activism.

Rather, beset by a hunger for prestige and recognition -- hunger and thirst that have been passed on by his own family and a whole ancient mentality that has remained haughty.

The "son of the honored" is not biologically blind (the Italian translation is uncertain) but one who adjusts himself haphazardly.

He fails to "look up" [the Greek key-verb in vv.51-52 is aná-blépein] because he does not cultivate ideals; he is content with what passes the outline, which anesthetizes him.

Conditioned by false teachers and approximate spiritual guides, seduced by a whole civilization of the outside world, he too is blocked by spirit of lethargy - grandiose only in velleity - which nevertheless points his existence downward.

Spiritual consequence: victims of indolent ideology may confuse the Son of God who gives all of himself and transmits vitality, with the son of David (vv.47-48) who does not give but takes away life.Jesus resembles and refers to the Father, not to a ruler albeit as prestigious as David; an able and quick-witted man, a figure of a violent style of domination in constant retaliation.

The misunderstanding has heavy consequences.

Initially, every seeker of God is in danger of mistaking the Lord for a phenomenal superman and captain who blesses and favors his friends in their expectations of tranquility, unconcern and mediocre stasis, or worldly glory and prestige.

Quite a sight flaw, for one reverses the criteria of wise and solid existence at all -- risking sticking it in a puddle of illusions; at best, dragging it skimming along the ground.

Bartimaeus is a man of habit, being escorted to the same places every day by the same people.

He stands still, "sitting" (v.46) at the edge of a road where people proceed and do not, like him, merely survive resignedly, unshaken.

[As I was writing this a high school prof of mine - a person of great faith and dynamism - sent me an Indian proverb: "if in front of you you see everything gray, move the elephant"].

Bartimaeus types expect everything from the recognition of others; they live only by begging. They just repeat the same words and gestures over and over again.

Their horizon at hand does not allow them to enter the flow of the Way where people get busy edifying, evolving, expressing themselves, providing for their less fortunate brothers and sisters.

An existence dragged to the margins of any interest other than their own neghittous pouch.

Yet they are endowed with a pronounced ancient religious sense; but for that very reason - lacking the leap of Faith - centered on themselves and the ideas that have been transmitted.

They live on the movement of others; they live on petty benevolences and opinions bartered by those who pass by, out of listlessness never reviewed and made their own.

The Word of the Nazarene [in the language of the Gospels the epithet "being of Nazareth" meant "revolutionary, hot-headed, subversive"] triggers the indolent.

Rather, his new attitude becomes that of the "newborn." In doing so, he engages in an industrious, creative, practical-futuristic pattern of life.

He resurrects dynamically, getting rid of the rags on which he expected others to lay something in his favor.

The old garment ends up in the dust - cast far away as in ancient baptismal liturgies: at whatever age it undertakes, outclassing small-minded securities.

He changes his life, looks it in the face; though he knows he complicates it, making it challenging and countercultural.

Personal contact with Jesus has corrected his gaze, made him recover his ideal outlook.

Now he understands the primal and regenerating - indeed, recreating - sense of God's Newness.

The Face-to-Face Encounter conveyed to him a diametrically opposite model of a successful man; not subservient to tacticism.

In short, Jesus corrects the inert myopia of those who are fond of their mediocre place.

"The wind that blows" infuses us with a lethal poison: the renunciatory poison of identifying-as-we-are, which rhymes with giving up and growing old.

Recovery from such blindness cannot be a... Miracle! Religiosity or Personal Faith: it is diriment choice.

It means lazily adapting to circumstantial fads or the old dress of already "said" behaviors and usual friendships, just waiting for some solution-lightning that does not involve too much...

That is, to start away from there, to reinvent one's life, to abandon the 'cloak' [cf. Mk. 10:50] on which communal comments and obols were gathered.

Opening his eyes and 'lifting them up,' as an already godly man would do. Pocketing nothing but pearls of light instead of alms.

On muddy roads we may get dirty and be uncertain, but we can proceed there in contentment: on the path that belongs to us; in the movement of Christ's priesthood. With sound perception.

For-as in this episode-the Gospels not infrequently insist on the (devoutly absurd) criterion that the enemy of God is not sin, but the 'average life' and passive of the 'honored,' now identified and placed.

To internalize and live the message:

Did the encounter with Christ remove like a veil from your eyes?

Have you seized the opportunity to be born as a new man, and lift your eyes? Or do you remain myopic and inert?

The Passover Passage

One day Jesus, approaching the city of Jericho, performed the miracle of restoring sight to a blind man begging along the road (cf. Lk 18:35-43). Today we want to grasp the significance of this sign because it touches us directly as well. The evangelist Luke says that that blind man was sitting by the roadside begging (cf. v. 35). A blind man in those days - but also until not so long ago - could only live on alms. The figure of this blind man represents so many people who, even today, find themselves marginalized because of physical or other disadvantage. He is separated from the crowd, he sits there while people pass by busy, absorbed in their own thoughts and many things...And the street, which can be a place of meeting, for him instead is a place of loneliness. So many crowds passing by...And he is alone.

It is a sad image of an outcast, especially against the backdrop of the city of Jericho, the beautiful and lush oasis in the desert. We know that it was in Jericho that the people of Israel arrived at the end of the long exodus from Egypt: that city represents the gateway to the promised land. We recall the words Moses speaks on that occasion, "If there be among you any of your brethren who are in need in one of your cities in the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand before your brother in need. Since the needy will never be lacking in the land, then I give you this command and say to you, Generously open your hand to your poor and needy brother in your land" (Deut. 15:7, 11). The contrast between this recommendation of God's Law and the situation described in the Gospel is jarring: while the blind man cries out calling out for Jesus, the people rebuke him to be silent, as if he had no right to speak. They have no compassion for him; on the contrary, they feel annoyance at his cries. How many times do we, when we see so many people in the street -- people in need, sick, who have no food -- feel annoyance. How often, when we are faced with so many refugees and displaced people, we feel annoyance. It is a temptation we all have. All of us, even me! This is why the Word of God admonishes us by reminding us that indifference and hostility make us blind and deaf, prevent us from seeing our brothers and sisters and do not allow us to recognize the Lord in them. Indifference and hostility. And sometimes this indifference and hostility also becomes aggression and insult: "but kick them all out!", "put them somewhere else!". This aggression is what people did when the blind man shouted, "but you go away, come on, don't talk, don't shout."

We note an interesting detail. The Evangelist says that someone from the crowd explained to the blind man the reason for all those people, saying, "Jesus, the Nazarene, passes by!" (v. 37). Jesus' passing is referred to with the same verb used in the book of Exodus to refer to the passing of the exterminating angel who saves the Israelites in the land of Egypt (cf. Ex 12:23). It is the "passing by" of the Passover, the beginning of liberation: when Jesus passes by, always there is liberation, always there is salvation! To the blind man, therefore, it is as if his passover is being announced. Undaunted, the blind man cries out to Jesus several times, recognizing him as the Son of David, the expected Messiah who, according to the prophet Isaiah, would open the eyes of the blind (cf. Isaiah 35:5). Unlike the crowd, this blind man sees with the eyes of faith. Because of it, his plea has powerful efficacy. Indeed, upon hearing it, "Jesus stopped and commanded that they should bring him to him" (v. 40). In doing so, Jesus takes the blind man off the side of the road and places him in the center of attention of his disciples and the crowd. Let us also think, when we have been in bad situations, even sinful situations, how it was Jesus himself who took us by the hand and took us off the side of the road and gave us salvation. Thus a twofold passage is realized. First: the people had proclaimed good news to the blind man but wanted nothing to do with him; now Jesus forces everyone to become aware that good proclamation implies putting the one who was excluded from it at the center of one's path. Second, in turn, the blind man could not see, but his faith opens the way of salvation for him, and he finds himself among those who have gone down the street to see Jesus. Brothers and sisters, The passing of the Lord is an encounter of mercy that unites all around Him so that we can recognize those in need of help and consolation. In our lives, too, Jesus passes by; and when Jesus passes by, and I notice it, it is an invitation to draw closer to Him, to be better, to be a better Christian, to follow Jesus.

Jesus turns to the blind man and asks him, "What do you want me to do for you?" (v. 41). These words of Jesus are striking: the Son of God now stands before the blind man as a humble servant. He, Jesus, God, says, "But what do you want me to do for you? How do you want me to serve you?" God makes himself the servant of sinful man. And the blind man responds to Jesus no longer by calling him "Son of David," but "Lord," the title the Church from the beginning applies to the Risen Jesus. The blind man asks to see again, and his wish is granted: "Have sight again! Your faith has saved you" (v. 42). He has shown his faith by calling on Jesus and absolutely wanting to meet him, and this has brought him salvation as a gift. Because of faith he can now see and, more importantly, feel loved by Jesus. That is why the account ends by reporting that the blind man "began to follow him glorifying God" (v. 43): he becomes a disciple. From beggar to disciple, this is also our way: we are all beggars, all of us. We are always in need of salvation. And all of us, every day, need to take this step: from beggar to disciple. And so, the blind man sets out after the Lord by becoming part of his community. The one they wanted to silence now testifies aloud to his encounter with Jesus of Nazareth, and "all the people, seeing, gave praise to God" (v. 43). A second miracle occurs: what happened to the blind man causes the people to finally see as well. The same light enlightens everyone by uniting them in the prayer of praise. Thus Jesus pours out his mercy on everyone he meets: he calls them, brings them to himself, gathers them, heals them and enlightens them, creating a new people who celebrate the wonders of his merciful love. Let us also be called by Jesus, and let us be healed by Jesus, forgiven by Jesus, and go after Jesus praising God. So be it!

[Pope Francis, General Audience June 15, 2016].