(Mt 13:44–52)

Treasure and Pearl – forms of inner life

(or the anonymous burden, toil, and deprivation, of collective rituals)

(Mt 13:44–46)

Jesus does not wish to make us merely poor, but rather Allies – not because he intends to enrich us with ‘higher goods’ in a generic sense.

The Encounter and his Action not only free us from attachment to things (as was once said, as a cornerstone of negative discernment).

His Presence completes and fulfils us in His Name, in every respect.

He wants us to emancipate ourselves swiftly and radically: through the capacity for acquisition and fulfilment, not through emptying and depersonalisation.

The choice or ‘renunciation’ He asks of us does not concern trivial matters.

He does not allow what is worthless to come to the fore. For this reason, He does not diminish us.

Ancient religion emphasised manners and collective rituals; thus, paradoxically, it focused attention precisely on what is transitory for everyone – that which certainly did not deserve to be overrated.

The Lord knows that there is a ‘more and better’ than the petty acts of mortification and the common, anonymous choices.

Indeed, he does not speak of sacrifices for the Kingdom, but of Joy, of the fullness of being.

As the Message for the 27th World Youth Day states, the whole experience of Faith is for Joy – the measure and Source of the heart: Happiness even in Conversion and in trials (nos. 5–6).

In short, the divine state comes of its own accord, offering itself freely: it is not a reward for previous, superficial merits.

Yet it brings everything into play, so that we may embark on a complete quest – not one of burdens, toil and deprivation. Nor, for that matter, of approval.

The total Word is the real prize.

A hidden treasure that must first be hidden once more (v. 44)!

We realise that we have seen only part of it; there is still much more to discover.

It is not something that can be verified immediately and completely.

Take note: it must be hidden away once more! The codes of healing do not take the form of external rituals.

This is the crux of the matter, because such Splendour does not belong to the rituals of folklore, or to the accompanying duties, which would make us prisoners.

Precisely: the impetus to break free from clichés, from protocol, from conformist herd behaviour, becomes an opportunity to discover something new.

The authentic Kingdom will not be intrusive: it does not demand adherence – on pain of exclusion. It delivers other messages, transformative from within.

We grasp it at our very core, because it corresponds to the plan for a full life that dwells within us and which we mysteriously sense to be our own.

We realise: it shifts our perspective, it makes us feel at ease. It leads us to discover other worlds, and our very core; beyond the problems that plague us.

Outside the machinery of thoughts and the ‘everyone does it’ mentality – the realm of the mind can produce different, eccentric perceptions; not so much ideas, but rather images, perhaps seemingly absurd.

But it draws on significant experiences of other energies, both cosmic and deeply personal; thus of oneself, of others, of unconventional views, and of God.

Multifaceted and converging perspectives, mysteriously allied: which do not force us to live as strangers to ourselves, yet chart a different future.

Here the inexplicable takes place.

The insecure become resolute; the loser is transformed, by grace, into a sage – even by fully embracing hardships (these are not obstacles to be eliminated).

We realise that embracing the wellspring of the Logos and living out one’s personal Vocation will not be terrifying, but regenerating.

Those who shift their thoughts, stake everything on it, and bring forth their very essence.

They will be an approachable Person, not one to be manipulated.

The multifaceted Friendship with one’s own eminent and profound Self will transcend all artificial values.

In the Spirit and in real life – even that which was previously deemed inferior – each person will discover the Magnificent that others cannot even remotely imagine could excel so intimately.

We shall also learn about Communion – the conviviality of differences – from within.

In ancient times, pearls were the most precious and splendid of things: in short, humankind is on a quest for Beauty as the meaning of life and of one’s own personality.

But who is the Beautiful person, truly fascinating and living a life that is whole, not merely superficial?

Before allowing himself to become an apostle, Matthew assumed that his priceless Diamond lay in hoarding. And he must change his mind.

Saul imagined that the boundless gem – the authenticity of man – lay in the faultlessness of the devout and practising believer. The inflexibility of one who observed all the traditions (including oral ones) of the people, and belonged to the most consistent and strict faction of the Pharisees.

Suddenly, both perceive the difference between the Love of those who truly encounter Christ and the rubbish and ugliness of childish beliefs – which always made them feel as though they were in the wrong.

These ‘creeds’, learned by rote and external to the woman and the man, in fact produced people who were subsequently unapproachable, two-faced, unreliable and disloyal; freeloaders, dangerous, cunning, violent, and always ready to cheat.

God’s free Gift urges us to seek the Precious Pearl: that which is delightful, brotherly, generous, lovable and not to be missed.

It is the life of believers transformed into people of Faith who learn the necessity of transformation, for life’s sake.

Adults endowed with a childlike spirit: who no longer feel the weight of others’ judgements bearing down upon them, based on absurd expectations, nor in the common distinction between ‘in’ and ‘out’.

This may stem simply from the discrepancy between the mythology of the extraordinary, devout ‘role models’ promoted in certain elite circles, and one’s own lived experience (which has been instilled as inadequate).

Critical witnesses therefore choose no longer to be unsettled by the temporary and circumstantial commitments normally touted – nor by any form of empty spirituality.

In this way, we will no longer be scolded by the obligations of our role, by dates, by fixed timetables or those imposed by others… who fail to recognise the hopes of the Person.

And the soul will no longer be reduced to a subservient dependent who must constantly make comparisons and impose upon itself futile, forced and insidious relationships (for fear of remaining isolated).

The preciousness of the Gospel, the precious uniqueness of Faith in Christ, and his authentic Kingdom are the true Capital that brings happiness.

The most beautiful surprise of the genuine Church: that it has nothing in common with the fiction of identifications – which pays no heed to humanisation – nor with the inculcated ostentation of so many external things.

The people of the children born to new life will find wealth simply in the very being of things, in the furrows of history; in the soul, and in trials.

From concealment, from patient silence, from sudden reality, understanding, empathy and spontaneous connections arise.

Voices that may come to visit us, to change our lives and make them unpredictable.

Exceptional encounters tell the soul: we are not merely the hardships that afflict us.

But one must know how to wait for those events.

The Net, the Beautiful, and the Rotten

(Mt 13:47–53)

    The ‘treasure’ is the Gospel, the Word of God: a real bargain (v. 44). The ‘pearl’ of humanity is Jesus (vv. 45–46).

The ‘Kingdom’ is the gift of the living assembly – a people without merit, with an unexpected outcome; the culmination of the commitment to the pursuit of the best.

The parable of the Net emphasises the Outcome of the Kingdom of God, that is, the formative and active fruit of the community, the sphere in which God ‘reigns’.

The Church envisaged by Christ is like a net that draws us up into the light, to breath, to a life lived to the full.

A conviviality of differences that brings about the rebirth of each and every one, without, however, retaining what is rotten and decayed [‘spoilt’: v.48 Greek text], that is, that which has no life, nor offers it any longer.

This is not a trivial moralistic or legalistic judgement between good and bad!

It is the distinction between that which remains full and ‘beautiful’ (in the Eastern sense) and that which – being putrid – corrupts and degrades, leaving irreparable decay.

In short: it is in fraternal realities that God has a foothold on earth.

In Communion, the Lord becomes a Nest and a Real Presence. An ally who, even in difficult moments, enables us to tap into regenerative energies.

Friendship and the eminent Self, a Haven and a vocational Instinct which, though hidden, fills the journey, transforming it into a Relationship; even in fleeting and brief moments.

There He is, Living within us, as He causes the Joy of living to well up, for He fills each person’s mind and enables the dialogue and exchange of gifts that make us leap for joy.

In this way, we ourselves are the divine intervention in people’s ordinary lives, when we respond to and collaborate with His creative and life-giving action, which brings about an abundant and complete existence.

No exclusion or condemnation: only joy, in the sense of the fullness of the vital current.

The Father returns with care to every child. His work does not reject the ‘flawed piece’ out of hand, but only that which is not necessary for a full life.

Now the world is a mixed bag, and we must not detach ourselves from our times; yet this does not mean we should not pay attention to what is eternally human.

Let us embrace the things of our world, but let us strive to go beyond the contingent – through intensity, through love: all that is beautiful.

Believers are responsible for passing on the Faith (v.52). In this way, they help others to understand the wisdom of the Kingdom, the difference between customs and the personal Call.

Those close to the Lord invite everyone to be patient, so that each person may have time to grow, and so that their choices may be ‘useful’. And beautiful (v.48).

Everything we have already absorbed through our family upbringing thus takes on a lovable, profound, intimate, engaging and creative dimension.

And at the same time, a broader purpose, yet one illuminated from within.

And here lies the Joy of discovering hidden Treasures.

To internalise and live out the message:

Has the experience of community touched you deeply and enriched your understanding of God?

This year’s World Youth Day theme comes from Saint Paul’s exhortation in his Letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4). Joy is at the heart of Christian experience. At each World Youth Day we experience immense joy, the joy of communion, the joy of being Christian, the joy of faith. This is one of the marks of these gatherings. We can see the great attraction that joy exercises. In a world of sorrow and anxiety, joy is an important witness to the beauty and reliability of the Christian faith.

The Church’s vocation is to bring joy to the world, a joy that is authentic and enduring, the joy proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born (cf. Lk 2:10). Not only did God speak, not only did he accomplish great signs throughout the history of humankind, but he drew so near to us that he became one of us and lived our life completely. In these difficult times, so many young people all around you need to hear that the Christian message is a message of joy and hope! I would like to reflect with you on this joy and on how to find it, so that you can experience it more deeply and bring it to everyone you meet.

1. Our hearts are made for joy

A yearning for joy lurks within the heart of every man and woman. Far more than immediate and fleeting feelings of satisfaction, our hearts seek a perfect, full and lasting joy capable of giving “flavour” to our existence. This is particularly true for you, because youth is a time of continuous discovery of life, of the world, of others and of ourselves. It is a time of openness to the future and of great longing for happiness, friendship, sharing and truth, a time when we are moved by high ideals and make great plans.

Each day is filled with countless simple joys which are the Lord’s gift: the joy of living, the joy of seeing nature’s beauty, the joy of a job well done, the joy of helping others, the joy of sincere and pure love. If we look carefully, we can see many other reasons to rejoice. There are the happy times in family life, shared friendship, the discovery of our talents, our successes, the compliments we receive from others, the ability to express ourselves and to know that we are understood, and the feeling of being of help to others. There is also the excitement of learning new things, seeing new and broader horizons open up through our travels and encounters, and realizing the possibilities we have for charting our future. We might also mention the experience of reading a great work of literature, of admiring a masterpiece of art, of listening to or playing music, or of watching a film. All these things can bring us real joy. 

Yet each day we also face any number of difficulties. Deep down we also worry about the future; we begin to wonder if the full and lasting joy for which we long might be an illusion and an escape from reality. Many young people ask themselves: is perfect joy really possible? The quest for joy can follow various paths, and some of these turn out to be mistaken, if not dangerous. How can we distinguish things that give real and lasting joy from immediate and illusory pleasures? How can we find true joy in life, a joy that endures and does not forsake us at moments of difficulty?

2. God is the source of true joy

Whatever brings us true joy, whether the small joys of each day or the greatest joys in life, has its source in God, even if this does not seem immediately obvious. This is because God is a communion of eternal love, he is infinite joy that does not remain closed in on itself, but expands to embrace all whom God loves and who love him. God created us in his image out of love, in order to shower his love upon us and to fill us with his presence and grace. God wants us to share in his own divine and eternal joy, and he helps us to see that the deepest meaning and value of our lives lie in being accepted, welcomed and loved by him. Whereas we sometimes find it hard to accept others, God offers us an unconditional acceptance which enables us to say: “I am loved; I have a place in the world and in history; I am personally loved by God. If God accepts me and loves me and I am sure of this, then I know clearly and with certainty that it is a good thing that I am alive”.

God’s infinite love for each of us is fully seen in Jesus Christ. The joy we are searching for is to be found in him. We see in the Gospel how the events at the beginning of Jesus’ life are marked by joy. When the Archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that she is to be the mother of the Saviour, his first word is “Rejoice!” (Lk 1:28). When Jesus is born, the angel of the Lord says to the shepherds: “Behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a Saviour has been born for you, who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:10-11). When the Magi came in search of the child, “they were overjoyed at seeing the star” (Mt 2:10). The cause of all this joy is the closeness of God who became one of us. This is what Saint Paul means when he writes to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near” (Phil4:4-5). Our first reason for joy is the closeness of the Lord, who welcomes me and loves me.

An encounter with Jesus always gives rise to immense inner joy. We can see this in many of the Gospel stories. We recall when Jesus visited Zacchaeus, a dishonest tax collector and public sinner, he said to him: “Today I must stay at your house”. Then, Saint Luke tells us, Zacchaeus “received him with joy” (Lk 19:5-6). This is the joy of meeting the Lord. It is the joy of feeling God’s love, a love that can transform our whole life and bring salvation. Zacchaeus decides to change his life and to give half of his possessions to the poor.

At the hour of Jesus’ passion, this love can be seen in all its power. At the end of his earthly life, while at supper with his friends, Jesus said: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love... I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (Jn 15:9,11). Jesus wants to lead his disciples and each one of us into the fullness of joy that he shares with the Father, so that the Father’s love for him might abide in us (cf. Jn 17:26). Christian joy consists in being open to God’s love and belonging to him.

The Gospels recount that Mary Magdalene and other women went to visit the tomb where Jesus had been laid after his death. An angel told them the astonishing news of Jesus’ resurrection. Then, the Evangelist tells us, they ran from the sepulchre, “fearful yet overjoyed” to share the good news with the disciples. Jesus met them on the way and said: “Peace!” (Mt 28:8-9). They were being offered the joy of salvation. Christ is the One who lives and who overcame evil, sin and death. He is present among us as the Risen One and he will remain with us until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). Evil does not have the last word in our lives; rather, faith in Christ the Saviour tells us that God’s love is victorious.

This deep joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit who makes us God’s sons and daughters, capable of experiencing and savouring his goodness, and calling him “Abba”, Father (cf. Rm 8:15). Joy is the sign of God’s presence and action within us.

3. Preserving Christian joy in our hearts

At this point we wonder: “How do we receive and maintain this gift of deep, spiritual joy?”

One of the Psalms tells us: “Find your delight in the Lord who will give you your heart's desire” (Ps 37:4). Jesus told us that “the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Mt 13:44). The discovery and preservation of spiritual joy is the fruit of an encounter with the Lord. Jesus asks us to follow him and to stake our whole life on him. Dear young people, do not be afraid to risk your lives by making space for Jesus Christ and his Gospel. This is the way to find inner peace and true happiness. It is the way to live fully as children of God, created in his image and likeness.

Seek joy in the Lord: for joy is the fruit of faith. It is being aware of his presence and friendship every day: “the Lord is near!” (Phil 4:5). It is putting our trust in God, and growing in his knowledge and love. Shortly we shall begin the “Year of Faith”, and this will help and encourage us. Dear friends, learn to see how God is working in your lives and discover him hidden within the events of daily life. Believe that he is always faithful to the covenant which he made with you on the day of your Baptism. Know that God will never abandon you. Turn your eyes to him often. He gave his life for you on the cross because he loves you. Contemplation of this great love brings a hope and joy to our hearts that nothing can destroy. Christians can never be sad, for they have met Christ, who gave his life for them.

To seek the Lord and find him in our lives also means accepting his word, which is joy for our hearts. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote: “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart” (Jer 15:16). Learn to read and meditate on the sacred Scriptures. There you will find an answer to your deepest questions about truth. God’s word reveals the wonders that he has accomplished throughout human history, it fills us with joy, and it leads us to praise and adoration: “Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us kneel before the Lord who made us” (Ps 95:1,6).

The liturgy is a special place where the Church expresses the joy which she receives from the Lord and transmits it to the world. Each Sunday at Mass the Christian community celebrates the central mystery of salvation, which is the death and resurrection of Christ. This is a very important moment for all the Lord’s disciples because his sacrifice of love is made present. Sunday is the day when we meet the risen Christ, listen to his word, and are nourished by his body and blood. As we hear in one of the Psalms: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (Ps 118:24). At the Easter Vigil, the Church sings the Exultet, a hymn of joy for the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death: “Sing, choirs of angels! ... Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendour ... Let this place resound with joy, echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!” Christian joy is born of this awareness of being loved by God who became man, gave his life for us and overcame evil and death. It means living a life of love for him. As Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, a young Carmelite, wrote: “Jesus, my joy is loving you” (P 45, 21 January 1897).

4. The joy of love

Dear friends, joy is intimately linked to love. They are inseparable gifts of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:23). Love gives rise to joy, and joy is a form of love. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta drew on Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) when she said: “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls; God loves a cheerful giver. Whoever gives with joy gives more”. As the Servant of God Paul VI wrote: “In God himself, all is joy because all is giving” (Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete in Domino, 9 May 1975).

In every area of your life, you should know that to love means to be steadfast, reliable and faithful to commitments. This applies most of all to friendship. Our friends expect us to be sincere, loyal and faithful because true love perseveres even in times of difficulty. The same thing can be said about your work and studies and the services you carry out. Fidelity and perseverance in doing good brings joy, even if not always immediately.

If we are to experience the joy of love, we must also be generous. We cannot be content to give the minimum. We need to be fully committed in life and to pay particular attention to those in need. The world needs men and women who are competent and generous, willing to be at the service of the common good. Make every effort to study conscientiously, to develop your talents and to put them at the service of others even now. Find ways to help make society more just and humane wherever you happen to be. May your entire life be guided by a spirit of service and not by the pursuit of power, material success and money.

Speaking of generosity, I would like to mention one particular joy. It is the joy we feel when we respond to the vocation to give our whole life to the Lord. Dear young people, do not be afraid if Christ is calling you to the religious, monastic or missionary life or to the priesthood. Be assured that he fills with joy all those who respond to his invitation to leave everything to be with him and to devote themselves with undivided heart to the service of others. In the same way, God gives great joy to men and women who give themselves totally to one another in marriage in order to build a family and to be signs of Christ’s love for the Church.

Let me remind you of a third element that will lead you to the joy of love. It is allowing fraternal love to grow in your lives and in those of your communities. There is a close bond between communion and joy. It is not by chance that Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4) is written in the plural, addressing the community as a whole, rather than its individual members. Only when we are together in the communion of fellowship do we experience this joy. In the Acts of the Apostles, the first Christian community is described in these words: “Breaking bread in their homes, they ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart” (Acts 2:46). I ask you to make every effort to help our Christian communities to be special places of sharing, attention and concern for one another.

5. The joy of conversion

Dear friends, experiencing real joy also means recognizing the temptations that lead us away from it. Our present-day culture often pressures us to seek immediate goals, achievements and pleasures. It fosters fickleness more than perseverance, hard work and fidelity to commitments. The messages it sends push a consumerist mentality and promise false happiness. Experience teaches us that possessions do not ensure happiness. How many people are surrounded by material possessions yet their lives are filled with despair, sadness and emptiness! To have lasting joy we need to live in love and truth. We need to live in God.

God wants us to be happy. That is why he gave us specific directions for the journey of life: the commandments. If we observe them, we will find the path to life and happiness. At first glance, they might seem to be a list of prohibitions and an obstacle to our freedom. But if we study them more closely, we see in the light of Christ’s message that the commandments are a set of essential and valuable rules leading to a happy life in accordance with God’s plan. How often, on the other hand, do we see that choosing to build our lives apart from God and his will brings disappointment, sadness and a sense of failure. The experience of sin, which is the refusal to follow God and an affront to his friendship, brings gloom into our hearts.

At times the path of the Christian life is not easy, and being faithful to the Lord’s love presents obstacles; occasionally we fall. Yet God in his mercy never abandons us; he always offers us the possibility of returning to him, being reconciled with him and experiencing the joy of his love which forgives and welcomes us back.

Dear young people, have frequent recourse to the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation! It is the sacrament of joy rediscovered. Ask the Holy Spirit for the light needed to acknowledge your sinfulness and to ask for God’s forgiveness. Celebrate this sacrament regularly, with serenity and trust. The Lord will always open his arms to you. He will purify you and bring you into his joy: for there is joy in heaven even for one sinner who repents (cf. Lk 15:7).

6. Joy at times of trial

In the end, though, we might still wonder in our hearts whether it is really possible to live joyfully amid all life’s trials, especially those which are most tragic and mysterious. We wonder whether following the Lord and putting our trust in him will always bring happiness.

We can find an answer in some of the experiences of young people like yourselves who have found in Christ the light that can give strength and hope even in difficult situations. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) experienced many trials during his short life, including a romantic experience that left him deeply hurt. In the midst of this situation he wrote to his sister: “You ask me if I am happy. How could I not be? As long as faith gives me strength, I am happy. A Catholic could not be other than happy... The goal for which we were created involves a path which has its thorns, but it is not a sad path. It is joy, even when it involves pain” (Letter to his sister Luciana, Turin, 14 February 1925). When Blessed John Paul II presented Blessed Pier Giorgio as a model for young people, he described him as “a young person with infectious joy, the joy that overcame many difficulties in his life” (Address to Young People, Turin, 13 April 1980).

Closer to us in time is Chiara Badano (1971-1990), who was recently beatified. She experienced how pain could be transfigured by love and mysteriously steeped in joy. At the age of eighteen, while suffering greatly from cancer, Chiara prayed to the Holy Spirit and interceded for the young people of the movement to which she belonged. As well as praying for her own cure, she asked God to enlighten all those young people by his Spirit and to give them wisdom and light. “It was really a moment of God’s presence. I was suffering physically, but my soul was singing” (Letter to Chiara Lubich, Sassello, 20 December 1989). The key to her peace and joy was her complete trust in the Lord and the acceptance of her illness as a mysterious expression of his will for her sake and that of everyone. She often said: “Jesus, if you desire it, then I desire it too”.

These are just two testimonies taken from any number of others which show that authentic Christians are never despairing or sad, not even when faced with difficult trials. They show that Christian joy is not a flight from reality, but a supernatural power that helps us to deal with the challenges of daily life. We know that the crucified and risen Christ is here with us and that he is a faithful friend always. When we share in his sufferings, we also share in his glory. With him and in him, suffering is transformed into love. And there we find joy (cf. Col 1:24).

7. Witnesses of joy

Dear friends, to conclude I would encourage you to be missionaries of joy. We cannot be happy if others are not. Joy has to be shared. Go and tell other young people about your joy at finding the precious treasure which is Jesus himself. We cannot keep the joy of faith to ourselves. If we are to keep it, we must give it away. Saint John said: “What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; we are writing this so that our joy may be complete” (1 Jn 1:3-4).

Christianity is sometimes depicted as a way of life that stifles our freedom and goes against our desires for happiness and joy. But this is far from the truth. Christians are men and women who are truly happy because they know that they are not alone. They know that God is always holding them in his hands. It is up to you, young followers of Christ, to show the world that faith brings happiness and a joy which is true, full and enduring. If the way Christians live at times appears dull and boring, you should be the first to show the joyful and happy side of faith. The Gospel is the “good news” that God loves us and that each of us is important to him. Show the world that this is true!

Be enthusiastic witnesses of the new evangelization! Go to those who are suffering and those who are searching, and give them the joy that Jesus wants to bestow. Bring it to your families, your schools and universities, and your workplaces and your friends, wherever you live. You will see how it is contagious. You will receive a hundredfold: the joy of salvation for yourselves, and the joy of seeing God’s mercy at work in the hearts of others. And when you go to meet the Lord on that last day, you will hear him say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant... Come, share your master’s joy” (Mt 25:21).

May the Blessed Virgin Mary accompany you on this journey. She welcomed the Lord within herself and proclaimed this in a song of praise and joy, the Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Lk 1:46-47). Mary responded fully to God’s love by devoting her life to him in humble and complete service. She is invoked as “Cause of our Joy” because she gave us Jesus. May she lead you to that joy which no one will ever be able to take away from you!

From the Vatican, 15 March 2012

[Pope Benedict, Message for the 27th World Youth Day 2012]

The Gospel offers the pearl of great price for which all are searching (cf. Mt 13:45-46).  

It follows that the Church cannot fail to be ever more deeply involved in the burgeoning world of communications. The global communications network is extending and growing more complex by the day, and the media are having an increasingly visible effect on culture and its transmission. Where once the media reported events, now events are often shaped to meet the requirements of the media. Thus, the relationship between reality and the media has grown more intricate, and this is a deeply ambivalent phenomenon. On the one hand, it can blur the distinction between truth and illusion; but on the other, it can open up unprecedented opportunities for making the truth more widely accessible to many more people. The task of the Church is to ensure that it is the latter which actually happens. 

[John Paul II, Message for the 35th World Day of Social Communications, 27 May 2001]

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading (cf. Mt 13:44-52) consists of the final verses of the chapter Matthew devotes to the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. The passage includes three parables that are very briefly outlined: that of the hidden treasure, that of the precious pearl, and that of the net cast into the sea. 

I will look at the first two in which the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to two different “precious” items, namely, the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great value. The reaction of the one who finds the pearl or the treasure is practically the same: the man and the merchant sell everything to buy what is now most dear to them. With these two similes, Jesus proposes to involve us in the building of the Kingdom of Heaven, presenting an essential characteristic of Christian life, of the life of the Kingdom of heaven: those who fully pledge themselves to the Kingdom are those who are willing to stake everything, who are courageous. Indeed, both the man and the merchant in the two parables sell everything they have, thus renouncing their material security. From this it can be understood that the building of the Kingdom requires not only the grace of God, but also the active willingness of humanity. Everything is done by grace, everything! We need only have the willingness to receive it, not to resist grace: grace does everything but it takes ‘my’ responsibility, ‘my’ willingness.

The gestures of that man and the merchant who go searching, depriving themselves of their goods in order to buy more precious treasures, are decisive gestures; they are radical gestures; I would say that they are only ‘one way’ gestures, not a ‘round trip’: they are ‘one way’ gestures. Moreover, they are made with joy because both of them have found a treasure. We are called upon to assume the attitude of these two Gospel figures, so that we too may become healthily restless seekers of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a matter of abandoning the heavy burden of our worldly certainties that prevent us from seeking and building up the Kingdom: the desire for possession, the thirst for profit and power, and thinking only about ourselves. 

In our times, as we are all aware, the lives of some people can end up mediocre and dull because they probably do not go in search of a true treasure: they are content with attractive but fleeting things, glittering flashes that prove illusory as they give way to darkness. Instead the light of the Kingdom is not like fireworks, it is light: fireworks last only an instant, whereas the light of the Kingdom accompanies us all our life.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the opposite of the superfluous things that the world offers; it is the opposite of a dull life: it is a treasure that renews life every day and leads it to expand towards wider horizons. Indeed, those who have found this treasure have a creative and inquisitive heart, which does not repeat but rather invents, tracing and setting out on new paths which lead us to love God, to love others, and to truly love ourselves. The sign of those who walk this path of the Kingdom is creativity, always seeking more. And creativity is what takes life and gives life, and gives, and gives, and gives... It always looks for many different ways to give life.

Jesus, who is the hidden treasure and the pearl of great value, cannot but inspire joy, all the joy of the world: the joy of discovering a meaning for one’s life, the joy of feeling committed to the adventure of holiness.

May the Blessed Virgin help us to search every day for the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven, so that the love God has given us through Jesus may be manifested in our words and gestures.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 26 July 2020]

(Mt 20:17-28)

The Roman Empire subjugated the Mediterranean basin with the strength of the Legions.

Through a large base of slaves and tributes, it concentrated titles and wealth in the hands of small circles - with abuse of power and coercion.

The new Kingdom must be the seed of an alternative society.

The pivot will be to regain a kind of synthesis of Jesus' life in order to make it one's own, as expressed in v.28.

Three titles are enunciated here that gave rise to Christology:

«Son of man» is the One who manifested man in the divine condition: fullness of humanity that reflects and reveals the very intimate life of God.

Figure of an accessible and transmissible "holiness", fully embodied -  day-to-day even.

Son of man is in fact the authentic and full development of the person according to the active Dream of the Father, which sweeps away the obsessive "yoke" of the common religion - expanding life (and the ego boundaries).

In adhering to the «Son of man» we are introduced as protagonists into salvation history.

Collaborators in the apex of Creation - that is, in the process of love. And we are detached from the pre-human of competitions [a warlike condition for supremacy’s desire].

«Servant» of Yahweh: Righteous who suffers pains of Love, to save us - an icon of the subdued and wise strength of the Father who through his sons expresses himself not as a conqueror, but as a meek lamb.

Sacrificial icon - in the ancient sense of «sacrum facere», to make Sacred - to revive a people unable to go to God through their brothers.

In Judaism, the ‘death of the righteous’ - even in the legal dimension of the Torah - was equal to a ransom, already understood as reparation-atonement for the multitude (v.28) of the guilty (cf. Is 53:11-12).

In Christ the vicarious mechanism vanishes: the Father sends the Son not as an external or propitiatory victim, necessary and predestined, but to make us reflect, first step in humanization.

Thus recovering the dimension of awareness and Communion [conviviality of differences].

Hence: the only title of "pre-eminence" remains that of «Go'el»: making oneself (each) «close relative» who takes on all debt for the ransom of others, for the restoration of personal dignity - and total self-possession.

Full brotherhood with women and men of all conditions: should be the growing programme of the Apostle.

Despite the disproportion, only this reversal of the Face is at the center of history and doesn’t lower God to the level of banal ‘domination’.

Turning and Freedom that becomes a permanent program of effective solidarity, and stimulates fervor.

Determining Principle of the new Kingdom, where ambitions are not chased.

Rather, the Master’s fate is shared, that is, «drinking the same Chalice» (vv. 22-23) and the destiny of others’ fulfillment; even paradoxical.

In Christ, the Church-Family people proceed towards Jerusalem, without merits or functions that claim a right - but with the keys of ‘life’.

This is how we concretely find ourselves «on the right and left» (vv. 21.23) of the royal Crucified One - and in mystical Union with the wounded Risen One.

By ascending together.

[St James the Apostle, July 25]

The anti-ambition or the front row in the pattern of satraps

(Mt 20:20-28)

Unofficially, Pius VII tried to lift the triregnum (neoclassical style, unusual) given to him by Napoleon, but his pages could hardly lift it up because of the weight.

Let alone carry 8 kilos and 200 grams on his head! He even tried to put it on, however, while of course someone also supported him from the side [imagine if he had fallen on his red slippers].

But it was also too tight: impossible to get your head into it!

Out of spite, Bonaparte the new emperor had it made so that no pope could ever wear it; and so it was, the ironic museum piece.

The imposition formula was: 'Receive the Tiara adorned with three crowns, and know that Thou art Father of Princes and Kings, Ruler of the world, Vicar on earth of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

While amidst symphonies and choirs some were waiting for the moment of the tiara to weep a little over the ancient splendours, at the celebration of the reopening of the Council - after the coronation - Paul VI finally laid the triregnum on the papal altar.

He took it off with satisfaction, not because it was uncomfortable (he had a good four and a half kilos on his head): later he also made other gestures of unexpected renunciation with demands to be obeyed.

After him, no pope had the courage to adorn himself.

It was an opportunity not to be missed by anyone with vast experience of curial and diplomatic circles.

With in his fist the keys of Heaven, the reins of the earth and the command of Purgatory [the three crowns], the pontiff decided to bring up several flames from underground - to overheat the strains of some careerist from the sidelines, accustomed to directing souls by standing on top of any trunk.

Pope Francis speaks explicitly of clericalism as the root of all the Church's moral evils [if we do not get the grace of principality, it would not hurt to at least aspire to the roles of those who stand beside the leaders: v.21].

Like the ambition of the sons of Zebedee, among us it is all a scramble for a place in the sun - a very serious and radical deficiency, incapable of any activity of critical prophecy.

A false concept of the kingdom: that is why the plane is often off course, which does not bode well for ambitious leaders, always strangely in the race.

(Never shrink back and let the faithful or brethren think of us as idiots who do not 'reap' and therefore do not know how to be in the world).

Officially united to the Offering of the Servant Son, in fact not everyone believes that in the weakness of the believer stands out the divine Power and authentic Esteem that builds the fabric of the present and launches the future.

So much for the dreamers of Neverland: to so many it seems more dignified to presume upon oneself.

It is better to think that the glorious Cross of Christ is a momentary parenthesis and entirely his own, the fruit of a pre-established plan or of a blind destiny, so that the humiliation of making oneself small does not touch us.

Behind the good manners, bad habits creep in - and greed, which through fixed privileges leads the churches to the loss of meaning and cohesion.

With a trail of life annuities [lifelong prerogatives and titles, with no possibility of ministerial replacement, no checks and balances].

Those who aim for visibility and trunks have no real interest in people, except for their co-opted elite.

They think calculatingly and act according to vanity: displaying their 'spiritual' rank, with an artificial sense of honour, and pre-eminence, arrogance, spin.

Let us imagine the inscrutable quality of pastoral proposals deprived of the conviction of another Waiting, enlightening. Sometimes set up for greater external shine, and self-congratulation; promoting numbers, window-dressing, and catwalks.

The Empire subjugated the Mediterranean basin with the strength of the Legions. Through a vast slave and tribute base, it concentrated titles and wealth in the hands of small circles - with abuse of power and coercion.

The new kingdom must be the seed of an alternative society.

And when the archetype of the pyramidal Church falls apart, a victim of its own internal contradictions, we must be ready to offer people a model of coexistence that no longer disintegrates [with its own boomerangs].

The pivot will be to re-appropriate a kind of synthesis of Jesus' life to make it our own, as expressed in v.28.

Three titles are enunciated here that gave rise to Christology:

"Son of Man" is the One who manifested man in the divine condition: fullness of humanity that reflects and reveals God's own intimate life.

He is the figure of an accessible and transmissible 'holiness', all incarnate - even summary.Son of Man is in fact the authentic and full development of the person according to the active Dream of the Father, which sweeps away the obsessive "Yoke" of common Religion - dilating life (and the boundaries of the ego).

In joining the "Son of Man" we are introduced as protagonists in salvation history.

Collaborators in the pinnacle of Creation - that is, in the process of love. And we are detached from the pre-human of competitions [belligerent condition of lust for supremacy].

"Yahweh's 'Servant': Righteous One who suffers the pains of Love, in order to save us - icon of the Father's resigned and wise strength, who through his sons reveals himself not as victor, but as a meek lamb.

Sacrificial icon - in the ancient sense of 'sacrum facere', to make sacred - to raise up a people unable to go to God through their brothers.

In Judaism, the death of the righteous - even in the juridical dimension of the Torah - was equal to a ransom, already understood as reparation-expiation for the multitude (v.28) of the guilty (cf. Is 53:11-12).

In Christ the vicarious mechanism vanishes: the Father sends the Son not as an external or propitiatory victim, necessary and predestined, but to make us reflect, the first step of humanisation.

Thus recovering the dimension of awareness and Communion [i.e. conviviality of differences].

Hence: the only title of "pre-eminence" remains that of "Go'el": to make oneself (each one) a "Next of kin" who takes on every debt for the redemption of others, for the restoration of personal dignity and total self-possession.

Full fraternity with woman and man of every condition should be the apostle's growing programme.

Unusual instrument of 'excellence' or 'eminence' - yet frankly sapiential, according to nature:

Even the Tao Tê Ching (LII) states: 'Enlightenment, is to see the small; strength, is to stick to softness'.

Despite the disproportion, only this turning of the Face stands at the centre of the story and does not lower God to the level of trivial domination.

Reversal and Freedom that becomes a permanent programme of active solidarity, and stimulates fervour.

Determining principle of the new Kingdom, where one does not chase ambitions.

Rather, one shares the Master's fate, that is, "drinking the same cup" (vv.22-23) and the destiny of others' fulfilment, even paradoxical.

In Christ, the people of the Church-Family proceed towards Jerusalem, without merits or functions that claim a right - but with the keys to life.

This is how one finds oneself concretely "on the right and left" (vv.21.23) of the royal Crucified One - and in mystical union with the wounded Risen One.

Ascending together.

Jesus presents himself as a servant, offering himself as a model to be imitated and followed.

In the Gospel we have just heard proclaimed there is offered a model to imitate and to follow. Against the background of the third prediction of the Passion, death and resurrection of the Son of Man, and in profound contrast to it, is placed the scene of the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, who are still pursuing dreams of glory beside Jesus. They ask him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory” (Mk 10:37). The response of Jesus is striking, and he asks an unexpected question: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” (Mk 10:38). The allusion is crystal clear: the chalice is that of the Passion, which Jesus accepts as the will of God. Serving God and others, self-giving: this is the logic which authentic faith imparts and develops in our daily lives and which is not the type of power and glory which belongs to this world.

By their request, James and John demonstrate that they do not understand the logic of the life to which Jesus witnesses, that logic which – according to the Master – must characterize the disciple in his spirit and in his actions. The erroneous logic is not the sole preserve of the two sons of Zebedee because, as the evangelist narrates, it also spreads to “the other ten” apostles who “began to be indignant at James and John” (Mk 10:41). They were indignant, because it is not easy to enter into the logic of the Gospel and to let go of power and glory. Saint John Chrysostom affirms that all of the apostles were imperfect, whether it was the two who wished to lift themselves above the other ten, or whether it was the ten who were jealous of them (“Commentary on Matthew”, 65, 4: PG 58, 619-622). Commenting on the parallel passages in the Gospel of Luke, Saint Cyril of Alexandria adds, “The disciples had fallen into human weakness and were discussing among themselves which one would be the leader and superior to the others… This happened and is recounted for our advantage… What happened to the holy Apostles can be understood by us as an incentive to humility” (“Commentary on Luke”, 12, 5, 24: PG 72, 912). This episode gives Jesus a way to address each of the disciples and “to call them to himself”, almost to pull them in, to form them into one indivisible body with him, and to indicate which is the path to real glory, that of God: “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all” (Mk 10:42-44).

Dominion and service, egoism and altruism, possession and gift, self-interest and gratuitousness: these profoundly contrasting approaches confront each other in every age and place. There is no doubt about the path chosen by Jesus: he does not merely indicate it with words to the disciples of then and of today, but he lives it in his own flesh.

[Pope Benedict, address to the Consistory 18 February 2012]

St James!
Behold me here, once again, beside your tomb
which I approach today, a pilgrim of all the pathways of the earth,
to honour your memory and implore your protection.

I come from luminous and perennial Rome
to you who became a pilgrim, following the footprints of Christ
and who brought his name and his voice
to this farthest part of the earth.

I come from Peter's side
and, as his successor, I bring to you,
to you who, with him, are a pillar of the Church,
the fraternal embrace that traverses centuries
and the song which resounds firm and apostolic in its catholicity.

With me, St James, there is an immense and youthful flood
which has surged from springs in all the countries of the world.
Here, you have it, united and still in your presence,
anxious to refresh its faith in the vibrant example of your life.

We come to this blessed threshold in eager pilgrimage.
We come immersed in this great throng
which throughout the centuries
has led people to Compostela
where you are pilgrim and host, apostle and patron.

And we come today to you because we are on a common journey.
We are walking towards the end of a millennium
which we want to close with the seal of Christ.
We are going further still, to the beginning of a new millennium
which we want to open in the name of God.

St James,
for this pilgrimage of ours we need
your zeal and courage.
For this reason, to ask them of you, we have come
as far as this "finisterrae" of your apostolic adventures.

Teach us, apostle and friend of Our Lord,
the WAY which leads to him.
Open us, preacher of the lands of Spain,
to the TRUTH your learned from the Master's lips.
Give us, witness of the Gospel,
the strength always to love the LIFE .

Place yourself, patron of pilgrims,
at the head of our Christian youthful pilgrimage.
And just as, in the past, the peoples walked towards you,
may you be a pilgrim with us when we go to meet all peoples.
With you, St James, Apostle and Pilgrim,
we want to teach the nations of Europe and the world
that Christ is - today and always -
the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.

[Pope John Paul II, prayer at the tomb of St James, Santiago 19 August 1989]

[The Jubilee Year 2021 dedicated to the Apostle James, whose remains, preserved in the Cathedral, are visited by countless pilgrims, has begun in Santiago de Compostela, in the region of Galicia, Spain. In the message sent by Francis, the invitation to a journey of conversion and solidarity with one's fellow travellers].

It opened on 31 December 2020, the Compostelan Year, a jubilee that is declared for the year in which 25 July, the memorial of St James the Martyr, falls on a Sunday. This will be the case in 2021. The theme of the event is "Come out of your land! The Apostle is waiting for you'.The announcement by the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, Monsignor Julián Barrio Barrio to all the faithful speaks of "a year of grace and forgiveness" for all those who wish to participate. "In this third Holy Year of Compostela in the third millennium of Christianity," the archbishop continues, "the courageous witness of the apostle St James is an opportunity to rediscover the vitality of faith and mission, received at Baptism.

Pope Francis' message at the opening of the Holy Door

And it is to Monsignor Julián Barrio Barrio that the message that Pope Francis sent on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Door is addressed, to express his affection and closeness "to all those who participate in this moment of grace for the whole Church, and in particular for the Church in Spain and Europe". "Following in the footsteps of the Apostle," writes Pope Francis, "we leave our selves, those securities to which we cling, but with a clear objective in mind, we are not wandering beings, always revolving around ourselves without getting anywhere. It is the voice of the Lord that calls us and, as pilgrims, we welcome it in an attitude of listening and seeking, undertaking this journey to encounter God, others and ourselves".

God's mercy accompanies our journey

The destination, the Pope emphasises, is as important as the journey towards it, which is a journey of conversion following Jesus Way, Truth and Life. Quoting the Apostolic Letter "Misericordia et misera" of 20 November 2016, the text continues with a message that reassures: "On this journey God's mercy accompanies us and even if the condition of weakness due to sin remains, it is overcome by the love that allows us to look to the future with hope and to be ready to put our lives back on the right path.

We walk lightly and in company

To set out on the journey we must first of all detach ourselves from the things that weigh us down, but then in life we do not walk alone and relying on our companions without suspicion and mistrust "helps us to recognise in our neighbour a gift that God gives us to accompany us on this journey". It is a matter of "going out of ourselves to join with others", of expecting and supporting one another, sharing labours and achievements. At the end of the journey, the Pope writes, we will find ourselves with an empty rucksack, but with "a heart full of experiences forged in contrast and in harmony with the lives of our other brothers and sisters who come from different existential and cultural contexts". And rediscovering our duty to be missionary disciples "to call everyone to that homeland towards which we are moving".

The pilgrim communicates faith with his life

Francis describes the pilgrim as one who is capable of placing himself in God's hands, aware that the promised homeland is already present in Christ who is close to him and thus "touches the heart of his brother, without artifice, without propaganda, in the outstretched hand ready to give and to take". The three gestures that pilgrims make on arriving at the Holy Door, remind us of the reason for the journey, the Pope goes on to write: the first "is to contemplate in the Portico of Glory the serene gaze of Jesus, the merciful judge", who welcomes us into his home. The second is the embrace that comes to us from the image of the Apostle James who shows us the way of faith. Participation in the Eucharistic celebration, the third gesture, invites us "to feel that we are the people of God", called "to share the joy of the Gospel".

Ferment in the city of the Apostle

It was 1122 when the Holy Year originated and has been celebrated every 6, 5, 6 and 11 years since then. This makes about 14 jubilee years every century. The opening of the door of the Cathedral of Santiago, where the relics of the Apostle James, architect of the Hispanic evangelisation, are kept, is creating a restrained ferment in the Galician city. It is precisely to this land and its coasts that the silhouette of the scallop depicted in the event's logo, a universal symbol of the Way of Compostela, refers. It also features the emblematic cross of Santiago and a fan of rays representing brotherhood between peoples of all races and cultures. Millions of people undertake the pilgrimage along the Way - Europe's first cultural route and a World Heritage Site, one of the oldest and most important routes of Christianity - every year.

In the Cathedral a renewed beauty

In 2020, pilgrimages were suspended due to the pandemic, but the lockdown period was used to carry out restoration work on the Cathedral, which now shines with a more idealised illumination and everything glows with renewed beauty. And it is under the sign of the contemplation of beauty and hope, while the pilgrimages have officially resumed but the ongoing health emergency prevents the arrival of the walkers, that the Holy Year opens.

[Adriana Masotti and Antonella Palermo -  

https://www.vaticannews.va/it/papa/news/2021-01/il-papa-per-l-anno-compostelano.html]

Evolution of the Alliance in times of crisis: usual flaws, different harmonizations

(Mt 13:18-23)

God is munificent, especially in the age of rebirth from crisis: also a time of generous sowing by the Father.

He remains Farmer of his seedlings - more adventurous and less respectable ones than traditionalist, or fashionable.

Obviously, the Word of the Master and Lord warns against anything that might prevent a new Genesis - first of all, that we often wait to mechanically return to the roles and the old system of things; to the habituated, outward-looking, dirigiste model.

We are perhaps still too tied to cravings and previous economic levels (v.22) overwhelmed by things... not accepting the emergence of opposites that we had never experienced or planned for (v.19).

We still think we can go back to “everything as before”; to the superficiality of the society of the look not rooted in conviction; of the immediately enthusiastic exteriority (vv.20-21) that does not move the eye.

Instead, the dissimilar tide Comes so that we learn to fix our eye within, elsewhere, and beyond - to focus on our own and others' 'unique figure' in the conviviality of differences.

It is likely that the knowledge or way of life that we would like to reaffirm is still tied to pleasing, old, or à la page standards - now inadequate to provide new answers to new questions.

And perhaps this has led us to tracing and imitating the disqualified “having-appearing”, instead of the precious being, and that character at the heart of our Call by Name.

It is not out of the question that we have allowed ourselves to become accustomed to decision-making nomenclatures or to the rushing through performance anxiety.

They disregard the «beautiful terrain» of uniqueness, of the unprecedented vocational gift [it would lead to better contact with the disregarded energies of our genuine inclination - nested among the inconsistencies].

Here we are, indeed, all caught up in the concerns of restoring “as before” or “as we should be”...

This, despite the fact that the present traumas are explicit signals to broaden the hitherto stifled consciousnesses (as in «brambles»: v.22).

Eloquent Appeals - even contemporary ones - to launch each side towards the Exodus, for the conquest of renewed freedom; territories of the soul, albeit hidden, in the core of essence.

All the imprint of an empty, formal spirituality that we drag along, still inhibits a good perception of today, and it enervates, takes away intimate strength.

It does not allow one to follow one's own impulse in harmony with the inner world - or one's own tendencies in listening to the unceasing call of the Gospels [which is still being disseminated by unaccredited prophets, to announce the truth and the creation of an alternative world].

Well, something or the whole of life may turn out to be dazed; and more than ever not going the right way and clear: not making us as special as the Sower would wish - precisely because of the stereotypes or the emotional vacuums that steal the Seed, or rather choke the plant; or because of the usual presumption that resumes to dominate immediately and thus prevents us from putting down «deep roots».

We will then have to lay aside the cerebral whirlwinds and unilateral volitional paraphernalia; leaving space and indulging to the new current of quality that is bringing us.

By surrendering to the proposals of the tide of 'coming grains' to guide us beyond the old contentions: to the natural, original energy of Providence, which knows more than we do.

To the Wind of the Spirit that deploys the grains beyond - where you do not expect - it does not matter what percentage is productive (v.23b) but our «beautiful» attunement (v.23a Greek text) that helps to bring us up to speed with the reality of farsighted blending.

They will tidy everything up, otherwise: beyond habitual mental systems - and every result will be more shrewd, in favour of the Peripheries.

Without too much disposition and calculation in the choice of ground [once pretentiously removed and sanitized upstream] we will realize that the Sower will have finally crumbled so many worldly pedestals; not to humiliate anyone, but to bestow surprises of astounding fruitfulness, even for the growth of every creed (all denominations).

His is everywhere and always an exceptional generous and creative Action, put in place to regenerate and empower convictions.

Not to make us redo the usual textbook actions or clichés - and resume playing with performance, or with shackled restraints of widely approved patterns.

If we want to synchronize the same movement as the Sower, we must with Him and like Him move towards the indigence of the various terrains (existential situations).

A special narrowness - even more acute in times of global emergency - that forces one to 'move', to become itinerant, to disseminate everywhere.

And not only collecting the «hundred for one» (v.23) in the usual protected 'centre'.

[Friday 16th wk. in O.T.  July 24, 2026]