May 4, 2026 Written by 

He leaves the world, but does not detach himself from it. Church is born

1. "But now I go to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me: Where are you going? Indeed, because I have told you these things, sadness has filled your hearts. Now I tell you the truth: it is good for you that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but when I am gone, I will send him to you" (John 16: 5-7).

Christ's words spoken on the eve of the passion and death on the cross take on their full meaning as the Church prepares for Christ's departure on the 40th day after the resurrection. This day is at hand.

2. And that joy of which Jesus speaks to his disciples on that day, in the Upper Room, before his passion, is close at hand: "your sorrow will be turned into joy" (Jn 16:20). It will be joy at the birth of the Church. The sadness over Christ's departure will be changed into precisely this joy, when the apostles experience - on the day of Pentecost - that the power of the Spirit of Truth is within them, which enables them - above all human regard and all human weakness - to bear witness to the risen Crucified One.

Together with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the time of the Church will begin in the history of mankind, in which the fullness of time, which began on earth with Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin, whose name was Mary, will continue to ripen.

3. It is a great mystery, what is contained in the words at the cenacle: "If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you, but when I am gone, I will send him to you" (Jn 16:7). These are key-words. These are words that reveal the Trinitarian economy according to which the inscrutable God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - works in time. It is the economy of the Redemption, that is, of man's salvific return to God through grace: the return "at the price" of God's coming to man in the Incarnation; the return "at the price" of the Incarnate Son's departure through death on the cross; the return of man and the world - which came out of God's hands - to the same fatherly hands, to communion with the Godhead; the return through man's sonship of the Eternal Son, through Grace; the return in the Holy Spirit.

4. "I went out from the Father and came into the world; now I leave the world again, and go to the Father" (Jn 16:28). "I leave the world," though I do not detach myself from the world. I abide in it through the Holy Spirit. I remain in it through the truth of the Gospel. Through the Eucharist and the Church. Through the Word and the Sacraments. Through the grace of Divine sonship. Through faith, hope and charity.

"I leave the world" - but I do not detach myself from the world. I do not detach myself from the man of all times. I lead him to the Father! To the Father's house. Despite all resistance and objections that come from sin in the history of the world, I lead man to the Father.

The Mother of God precedes us on this path. Let us join her in prayer by reciting the "Regina Coeli".

[Pope John Paul II, Regina Coeli 4 May 1986]

86 Last modified on Monday, 04 May 2026 05:11
don Giuseppe Nespeca

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

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Whoever is inscribed in God's name participates in God's life, and lives. Therefore to believe is to be inscribed in the name of God. Thus we are alive. Whoever has a share in God's name is not dead but rather belongs to the living God. In this sense we should be able to understand the dynamism of faith, which entails enrolling our names in the name of God and in this way entering into life [Pope Benedict]
Chi è scritto nel nome di Dio partecipa alla vita di Dio, vive. E così credere è essere iscritti nel nome di Dio. E così siamo vivi. Chi appartiene al nome di Dio non è un morto, appartiene al Dio vivente. In questo senso dovremmo capire il dinamismo della fede, che è un iscrivere il nostro nome nel nome di Dio e così un entrare nella vita [Papa Benedetto]
As sometimes happens in the Gospel, faced with the trap set for him by his enemies, Jesus, with his response, rises above the contingent controversy and goes far beyond the particular and mutually divergent positions (John Paul II)
Come talora accade nel Vangelo, di fronte al tranello mossogli dai suoi nemici, Gesù, con la sua risposta, s’innalza al di sopra della polemica contingente e va ben oltre le posizioni particolari e tra loro divergenti (Giovanni Paolo II)
This Name clearly expresses that the God of the Bible is not some kind of monad closed in on itself and satisfied with his own self-sufficiency but he is life that wants to communicate itself, openness, relationship [Pope Benedict]
Questo nome esprime dunque chiaramente che il Dio della Bibbia non è una sorta di monade chiusa in se stessa e soddisfatta della propria autosufficienza, ma è vita che vuole comunicarsi, è apertura, relazione [Papa Benedetto]
There, however, in the place that should have been taken up by the encounter between God and man, he found livestock merchants and money-changers who occupied this place of prayer with their commerce […] In the temple's purification, however, it was a matter of more than fighting abuses. A new time in history was foretold (Pope Benedict)
Ma là dove doveva esservi lo spazio dell’incontro tra Dio e l’uomo, Egli trova commercianti di bestiame e cambiavalute che occupano con i loro affari il luogo di preghiera […] Nella purificazione del tempio, però, si tratta di più che della lotta agli abusi. È preconizzata una nuova ora della storia (Papa Benedetto)
«Ask Jesus for the grace to follow him closely», so as not to leave him alone, thus overcoming the temptations of looking at ourselves to «share the cake» of personal interests [Pope Francis]
«Chiedere a Gesù la grazia di seguirlo da vicino», per non lasciarlo solo, superando così le tentazioni di guardare noi stessi per «spartirsi la torta» degli interessi personali [Papa Francesco]
First, in Nazareth, he makes him grow, raises him, educates him, but then follows him: "Your mother is there" (Pope Francis)
Prima, a Nazareth, lo fa crescere, lo alleva, lo educa, ma poi lo segue: “La tua madre è lì” (Papa Francesco)
Unity is not made with glue [...] The great prayer of Jesus is to «resemble» the Father (Pope Francis)
L’Unità non si fa con la colla […] La grande preghiera di Gesù» è quella di «assomigliare» al Padre (Papa Francesco)
Divisions among Christians, while they wound the Church, wound Christ; and divided, we cause a wound to Christ: the Church is indeed the body of which Christ is the Head (Pope Francis)

Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 1 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 2 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 3 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 4 Due Fuochi due Vie - Vol. 5 Dialogo e Solstizio I fiammiferi di Maria

duevie.art

don Giuseppe Nespeca

Tel. 333-1329741


Disclaimer

Questo blog non rappresenta una testata giornalistica in quanto viene aggiornato senza alcuna periodicità. Non può pertanto considerarsi un prodotto editoriale ai sensi della legge N°62 del 07/03/2001.
Le immagini sono tratte da internet, ma se il loro uso violasse diritti d'autore, lo si comunichi all'autore del blog che provvederà alla loro pronta rimozione.
L'autore dichiara di non essere responsabile dei commenti lasciati nei post. Eventuali commenti dei lettori, lesivi dell'immagine o dell'onorabilità di persone terze, il cui contenuto fosse ritenuto non idoneo alla pubblicazione verranno insindacabilmente rimossi.