Faith and Healing, or exclusion

(Mk 5:21-43)

In Rome, at the time of Mk, the situation of confusion generated by the civil war seemed likely to become lethal for the survival of the persecuted young communities, which some mocked (v.40).

The twelve years of life and bleeding of the two women recall: in Semitic culture, the loss of blood indicated impurity [the beginning of death] and consequent social exclusion.

Blood and death were here and there factors of marginalisation even in the small fraternities, which in that period marked by a still Judaizing thought and customs prevented any participation, even in common appointments.

Under the obsessive diseducation of spiritual leaders, particularly on the sense of sin and unworthiness - in addition, the religious terror of demons - everything seemed to sow panic.

Fears absorbed most of the emotional resources. This made people's situation worse (v.26).

How to overcome the heap of obstacles, which seemed to have no way out? One had to do the exact opposite of what the religious authorities were inculcating!

Incidentally, the women, completely subjugated, did not in conscience agree with the leaders at all.

They even found in the type of male crowd attached to Christ an impediment to personal contact with the Lord....

So they knew they would have to invent something. And they were trying it on the sly.

The 'woman' moves by catching the Master 'from behind' (v.27) - indeed, by stealth! But hers is by no means a sacrilege.

Jesus notices the touch of the least, not just the usual misogynistic throng around.

So, the followers who already imagined they had seized him, fearful of his sensitivity to the least and the non-persons - they treat him as an imbecile and unwise (v.31).

The disciples [leaders and males] always stand by the Son of God, but they do not agree with Him at all. They just want to sequester Him for them.

Dear Rabbi, how dare you have a different reaction from what we tell you? And how does it occur to you to pay attention to those who should only be opposed and condemned - for the indecent initiative they have set themselves? Do you want to ruin us? There's us, that's enough; to others, death and hell; anticipated if possible.

For Jesus, on the other hand, the quality of life and of our expectations in this world is important: it is not enough to think about the afterlife [of the kind: Here sketches, and in the end you will deserve...].

Heaven alone does not count.

Therefore, the transgression of the (considered) defiled - who even follow their conscience [at that time a disgrace] - is grasped by the Lord as an expression of living Faith (v.34)!

"Daughter": Christ welcomes the woman into his Church, and in her he values all those whom the habitués keep at a safe distance.

Nor does He demand that she go to the Temple to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the Law to the priests!

He only says: "Your Faith has saved you. Go in Peace".

That is: go forth to the joy of a full life, without the judgement of inadequacy [and the usual deceitful tares] on your back.

Indeed, even the leader of ancient devotion cannot but beget "sons" [i.e., a whole spiritual people] already dead at the start (v.35).

But from the moment he turns to the authentic Master, he begins to make the transition from elementary piety to Faith (v.36).

In such an intimate spousal relationship, without the fear of punishment, the premature end regenerates life, youth, happiness.

The lesson is not only for the traditional synagogue, but also for the leaders of the nascent Church: the proud Peter, James and John (v.37).

Precisely because they are authoritarian, hasty and stubborn - all the other believers in the community are well advised to keep their distance from an environment that cries out in despair, because it still imagines physical death as an impassable fence (v.38).

And here arises a new religious transgression: the book of Leviticus forbade touching a corpse (v.41).

With such an incredible gesture, Christ reiterates: he who observes the law that does not humanise produces death himself and goes to his death.

The only non-negotiable value is the concrete good of the real person. God does not look at merits [supposedly, from invented observances] but needs.

And personal Faith is the divine Gold that realises the inner vision.

Indestructible quality of Relationship: such Action-compassion transcends death that spoils everything.

Exactly, attracting and fulfilling what the act itself believes (vv.23.28.34.36.39).

"Young girl, I say to you: get up!" (v.41).

St Jerome comments: "Maiden, arise for me: not by your merit, but by my grace. Arise therefore for me: the fact that you were healed did not depend on your virtues' [Homilies on the Gospel of Mark, 3].

In the Gospels the verbs Live, Save and Die are ambivalent and describe both physical health and life and spiritual salvation, of the heart (v.34). 

The narration of today's Word helps us to overcome the mechanistic view of life: in the Mystery of the founding Eros that animates and renews the wave of life, there is the way to beat problems.

In Christ, our total redemption is a divine response to a trust that is also a little primitive - perhaps incipient - but passionate, that leads to regeneration.

In the Hebrew Bible, the term 'immortality' does not exist.

Israel's slowness in believing in life without end is illuminating: it makes one realise that before believing in the future world, one must value and love existence in this world.

And to have passion for it in the same way as the Father.

Contact with the Son, his words, and the nods themselves, convey a power of healing and rebirth that renews both flesh and spirit; both light and shadow.

Not even death stands as a final and conclusive barrier.

Even today, the divine cure, its memory and consoling power are brought to life in the signs of the Church.

But let us not limit ourselves to being spectators crowding around, without true contact with the Risen One.

Let us open our ears and realise that we are not called to follow in the footsteps of bulky, extraneous presences of others.

Let us speak to Him personally, and ask in everything that He intervene in our infirmities, or momentary lapses.

And there arises the silence of a space that is ours, unrepeatable, fragrant, secret; that blossoms from a genuine Syntony.

Then He will transform us, communicate Himself to us (v.43), make us like Him and able to withstand challenges.

Finally able to untie knots of death and help the suspensions of others.

To internalise and live the message:

What is the call of Jesus' actions for you, your family and community?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This Sunday, the Evangelist Mark presents to us the account of two miraculous cures which Jesus worked for two women: the daughter of one of the elders of the synagogue whose name was Jairus, and a woman who was suffering from a haemorrhage (cf. Mk 5:21-43). These two episodes can be interpreted at two levels; the purely physical — Jesus bends over human suffering and heals the body; and the spiritual level: Jesus came to heal human hearts, to give salvation, and asks for faith in him.

In the first episode, in fact, on hearing that Jairus’ little daughter was dead, Jesus tells the ruler of the Synagogue. “Do not fear, only believe” (v. 36). He takes the child’s father with him to the room where the child is lying and exclaims: “Little girl, I say to you, arise” (v. 41). And she rose and walked.

St Jerome commented on these words, underlining Jesus’ saving power: “Little girl, stand up for my sake, not for your own merit but for my grace. Therefore get up for me: being healed does not depend on your own virtues (Homily on the Gospel according to Mark, 3).

The second episode, that of the woman with the haemorrhage, highlights once again that Jesus came to save the human being in his totality. Indeed, the miracle takes place in two phases: first comes the physical healing, but this is closely linked with the deeper healing, the healing which God’s grace gives to those who open themselves to him with faith. Jesus says to the woman: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mk 5:34).

These two stories of healing invite us to go beyond a purely horizontal and materialistic vision of life. We ask God to heal so many problems, our practical needs, and this is right, but what we must ask him for insistently is an ever firmer faith, so that the Lord may renew our life, as well as firm trust in his love, in his Providence that never abandons us.

Jesus who is attentive to human suffering also makes us think of all those who help the sick to carry their cross, particularly doctors, health-care workers and all the people who guarantee religious assistance in clinics and hospitals. They are “reserves of love”, who bring serenity and hope to the suffering.

In the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est I remarked: in this invaluable service professional competence is essential... training is a primary, fundamental requirement, but it is not sufficient on its own. We are dealing with human beings... who need humanity. They need heartfelt concern. “Consequently, in addition to their necessary professional training, these charity workers need a ‘formation of the heart’: they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others” (n. 31).

Let us ask the Virgin Mary to accompany our journey of faith and our commitment of real love, especially for the needy, as we invoke her motherly intercession for our brothers and sisters experiencing suffering in body or in spirit.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 1 July 2012]

1. When one speaks of the dignity and mission of woman according to the doctrine and spirit of the Church, one must have one's eyes on the Gospel, in the light of which the Christian sees, examines, and judges everything.

In the previous catechesis we projected the light of Revelation on the identity and destiny of woman, presenting the Virgin Mary as a signpost, according to the indications of the Gospel. But in that same divine source we find other signs of Christ's will concerning woman. He speaks of her with respect and kindness, showing in his attitude his willingness to welcome the woman and demand her commitment to the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the world.

2. We can recall first of all the numerous cases of healing of women (cf. John Paul II, Mulieris dignitatem, 13). And those others in which Jesus reveals his heart as Saviour, full of tenderness in his encounters with those who suffer, whether men or women. "Do not weep!" he says to the widow of Nain (Lk 7:13). And then he gives her back her son raised from the dead. This episode gives a glimpse of what Jesus' intimate feeling must have been towards his mother, Mary, in the dramatic perspective of her participation in his own Passion and Death. Even to the dead daughter of Jairus Jesus speaks tenderly: "Little girl, I say to you, get up!". And, having resurrected her, he orders "to feed her" (Mk 5:41, 43). Again, he manifests his sympathy for the bent woman, whom he heals: and in this case, with the allusion to Satan, he also alludes to the spiritual salvation he brings to that woman (cf. Lk 13:10-17).

3. In other pages of the Gospel we find Jesus' admiration for the faith of some women expressed. For example, in the case of the woman suffering from haemorrhaging: "Your faith has saved you" (Mk 5:34), he says to her. It is a praise that is all the more valuable because the woman had been the object of segregation imposed by the ancient law. Jesus also frees the woman from this social oppression. In turn, the Canaanite woman receives recognition from Jesus: "Woman, truly great is your faith" (Mt 15:28). It is a praise that has a very special meaning, when one considers that it was addressed to a stranger to the world of Israel. We can still recall Jesus' admiration for the widow who offers her offering in the temple treasury (cf. Lk 21:1-4); and his appreciation for the service he receives from Mary of Bethany (cf. Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9; Jn 12:1-8), whose gesture - he announces - will be made known to the whole world.

4. Even in his parables Jesus does not hesitate to bring similes and examples from the female world, unlike the midrash of the rabbis, where only male figures appear. Jesus refers to both women and men. Wanting to make a comparison, one could perhaps say that the advantage is on the side of women. This means, at the very least, that Jesus avoids even the appearance of an attribution of inferiority to women.

And again: Jesus opens the access of his kingdom to women as well as to men. By opening it to women, he wants to open it to children. When he says: "Let the children come to me" (Mk 10:14), he is reacting to the disciples' surveillance that wanted to prevent women from presenting their children to the Master. One might say that he gives reason to the women and their love for children!

In his ministry, Jesus is accompanied by many women, who follow him and serve him and the community of disciples (cf. Lk 8:1-3). This is a new fact, compared to the Jewish tradition. Jesus, who drew these women to follow him, also in this way manifests the overcoming of the prejudices widespread in his environment, as in much of the ancient world, on the inferiority of women. His fight against injustice and arrogance also includes this exclusion of discrimination between women and men in his Church (cf. John Paul II, Mulieris dignitatem, 13).

5. We cannot fail to add that the Gospel shows Jesus' benevolence even towards certain female sinners, whom he asks to repent, but without raging against them for their errors, all the more so since these involve human co-responsibility. Some episodes are very significant: the woman who goes to the house of the Pharisee Simon (cf. Lk 7:36-50) is not only forgiven for her sins, but also praised for her love; the Samaritan woman is transformed into a messenger of the new faith (cf. Jn 4:7-37); the adulterous woman receives, with forgiveness, a simple exhortation not to sin again (cf. Jn 8:3-11); (John Paul II, Mulieris dignitatem, 14). Undoubtedly, there is no acquiescence in Jesus in the face of evil, of sin, whoever it is committed by: but how much understanding of human frailty and what kindness towards those who already suffer from their own spiritual misery, and more or less consciously seek their Saviour in him!

6. Finally, the Gospel testifies that Jesus expressly calls women to co-operate in his saving work. He not only admits them to follow him in order to render service to him and the community of disciples, but asks them for other forms of personal commitment. Thus, he asks Martha for a commitment to faith (cf. Jn 11:26-27): and she, responding to the Master's invitation, makes her profession of faith before the resurrection of Lazarus. After the Resurrection, she entrusts the pious women who had gone to the tomb and Mary of Magdala with the task of passing on her message to the Apostles (cf. Mt 28:8-10; Jn 20:17-18): "The women were thus the first messengers of the Resurrection of Christ to the Apostles themselves" (Cathechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae, 641). These are quite eloquent signs of his willingness to also engage women in service to the Kingdom.

7. This behaviour of Jesus has its theological explanation in his intention to unify humanity. He, as St Paul says, wanted to reconcile all men, through his sacrifice, "into one body" and make all "one new man" (Eph 2:15, 16), so that now "there is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28). And here is the conclusion of our catechesis: if Jesus Christ has reunited man and woman in the equality of the condition of children of God, He commits both to His mission, not suppressing diversity at all, but eliminating all unjust inequality, and all reconciling in the unity of the Church.

8. The history of the first Christian communities testifies to the great contribution that women brought to evangelisation: beginning with "Phoebe, our sister, - as St Paul describes her - deaconess of the Church of Cenchre: . . . she too,' he says, 'has protected many, and myself also' (Rom 16:1-2). It is dear to me to pay homage here to the memory of her and the many other co-workers of the Apostles in Cencre, in Rome and in all Christian communities. With them we also remember and extol all the other women - religious and lay - who over the centuries have borne witness to the Gospel and transmitted the faith, exerting a great influence on the flourishing of a Christian atmosphere in the family and society.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 6 July 1994]

This Sunday’s Gospel passage (cf. Mk 5:21-43) presents two miracles performed by Jesus, almost describing them as a type of triumphal march toward life. Initially the Evangelist speaks about a certain Jairus, one of the rulers of the Synagogue, who approaches Jesus and beseeches Him to go to his home because his 12-year-old daughter is dying. Jesus agrees and goes with him; but, along the way, word arrives that the girl is dead. We can imagine that father’s reaction. But Jesus says to him: “Do not fear, only believe” (36). When they arrive at Jairus’ house, Jesus sends out the people who were weeping — there were also women mourners who were wailing loudly — and He enters the room with just the parents and the three disciples, and speaking to the dead girl He says: “Little girl, I say to you, arise” (v. 41). And immediately the girl gets up, as if waking from a deep sleep (cf. v. 42).

Within the narrative of this miracle, Mark adds another: the healing of a woman who suffers from a haemorrhage and is healed as soon as she touches Jesus’ garment (cf. v. 27). Here what is striking is the fact that this woman’s faith attracts — to me the word “robs” comes to mind — the divine saving power that is in Christ, who, feeling that “power had gone forth from him”, tried to understand who it was. And when the woman, with much shame, comes forward and confesses the whole truth, He tells her: “Daughter, your faith has made you well” (v. 34).

It is a matter of two interlocking narratives, with a single core: faith; and they show Jesus as the wellspring of life, as the One who restores life to those who trust fully in him. The two protagonists, that is, the little girl’s father and the sick woman, are not disciples of Jesus yet they are satisfied through their faith. They have faith in that man. From this we understand that all are permitted on the Lord’s path: no one should feel as an intruder, an interloper or one who has no right. To have access to His heart, to Jesus’ heart, there is only one requirement: to feel in need of healing and to entrust yourself to Him. I ask you: do each of you feel that you need to be healed? Of something, of some sin, of some problem? And, if you feel this, do you have faith in Jesus? These are the two requirements in order to be healed, in order to have access to his heart: to feel in need of healing and to entrust yourself to Him. Jesus goes to discover these people among the crowd and removes them from anonymity, frees them from the fear of living and of taking risks. He does so with a look and a word which sets them back on the path after much suffering and humiliation. We too are called to learn and to imitate these freeing words and this gaze which restores the will to live to those who lack it.

In this Gospel passage the themes of faith and of new life, which Jesus came to offer to all, are intertwined. When he enters the house where the dead girl lies, he sends outside those who are weeping and making tumult (cf. v. 40), and he says: “The child is not dead but sleeping” (v. 39). Jesus is Lord, and before him physical death is like a dream: there is no reason to despair. Another death is the one to fear: that of the heart hardened by evil! Yes, we should be afraid of that one! When we feel we have a hardened heart, a heart that is hardened, allow me to say, a mummified heart, we should be afraid of this. This is the death of the heart. But sin too, the mummified heart too, is never the last word with Jesus, because he has brought us the infinite mercy of the Father. And even if we have hit rock bottom, his tender and strong voice reaches us: “I say to you, arise!”. It is beautiful to hear that word of Jesus addressed to each one of us: “I say to you, arise! Go. Stand up. Take courage, arise!”. Jesus restores life to the little girl and restores life to the healed woman: life and faith to both.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary to accompany our journey of faith and of concrete love, especially toward those who are in need. Let us invoke her maternal intercession for our brothers and sisters who are suffering in body and in spirit.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 1 July 2018]

(Mt 16:13-19)

Over half of his public life, Jesus has not yet given formulas, but He raises a demanding question - which claims to ask us much more than the usual expressions with a legal structure.

The crowd may have approached Him to eminent characters such as the Baptist [the one who proved to be alien to courtiers] or Elijah [for his activity of denouncing idols] or Jeremiah [the opponent of the blessings’ sale].

But He didn’t come - like ancient prophets - to improve the situation or to regret and mend devotions, nor to purify the Temple, but to replace it!

The images of tradition depict Christ in many ways (for atheists a philanthropist), the most widespread of which is still that of an ancient Lord, guarantor of conventional behavior.

Instead - to make us reflect - He takes the disciples to a construction site environment [north of Palestine, Caesarea Philippi was under construction], far from the interested nomenclature of the "holy" City.

Common mentality evaluated the life’ success - and the truth of a religion - on the basis of glory, domination, enrichment, and security in general.

The question that Jesus rises his disciples leaks a novelty that supplants the whole system: the Call is addressed to every single person.

It’s a border proposal, like the symbolic geographical place of the capital of the reign of Philip, one of the three heir sons of Herod the Great: in Palestine, the farthest point from the center of conformist religiosity.

The Face of the «Son of man» is recognizable only by placing maximum distance from political and veterans schemes - otherwise we too would not be able to perceive His personal ‘light’.

In the community of Mt, an increasingly large participation of pagans was being experienced, who previously felt excluded and gradually integrated.

For our mentality, the house keys are used to close and tighten the door, to prevent the attackers from entering.

In the Semitic one, they were rather an icon of the door’s opening.

In Perugino’s famous masterpiece on the north wall of the Sistine Chapel, Jesus gives the head of the Church two keys: the golden one of Paradise and the silver of Purgatory.

But the meaning of the passage is not the Afterlife - on the contrary, it’s not even institutional. In Hebrew the term ‘key’ is derived from the verb ‘to open’!

The greatest missionary task of community leaders is to keep the Kingdom of Heaven wide open, that is, to ensure a welcoming Church!

Peter mustn’t trace the type of arrogant monarch, image of authority; emperor’ substitute.

Simon must take first responsibility for the acceptance of those who are outside.

It seems strange for any ancient proposal, where God was supposed to be afraid of becoming impure in contact with the world.

The Father is the One who dares the most.

This is the reason why Jesus strictly imposes a total messianic silence (v.20) on the lips and the ancient brain of the Apostles.

Peter and the disciples wanted to return to the usual idea of «the» Messiah [cf. Greek text] expected by everyone.

An all too normal canvas, incapable of regenerating us.

[St Peter and Paul, June 29, 2024]

Who I Am to you, and the Keys to the open community

(Mt 16:13-23)

At more than halfway through his public life Jesus has not yet given formulas, but he asks a challenging question - one that purports to ask much more than the usual law-structured expressions.

Globally, the crowd may have likened him to such eminent figures as the Baptist [the one who proved to be a stranger to courtesies] or Elijah [for his denunciation of idols] or Jeremiah [the opponent of the buying and selling of blessings].

But He did not come - like the ancient prophets - to improve the situation or mend devotions, nor to purify the Temple, but to replace it!

The images of tradition depict Christ in many ways (for atheists, a philanthropist), the most common of which is still that of an ancient Lord, guarantor of conventional behaviour.

Instead - to give us pause for thought - he takes the disciples to a construction site [in northern Palestine, Caesarea Philippi was under construction], far from the interested nomenclature of the 'holy' City.

The common mentality evaluated the success of life - and the truth of a religion - on the basis of success, domination, enrichment, security in general.

The question that Jesus poses to his disciples reveals a novelty that supersedes the whole system: the Call is addressed to each and every person.

It is a boundary proposal, as is the symbolic geographical location of the capital of the kingdom of Philip, one of the three heir sons of Herod the Great: in Palestine, the furthest point from the centre of conformist religiosity.

The Face of the 'Son of Man' is recognisable only by placing the greatest distance from political and veteran schemes - otherwise we too would not be able to perceive his personal 'light'.

In the congregation of Mt, we were precisely experiencing an increasing participation of pagans, who previously felt excluded and gradually became integrated.

To our mentality, the keys of the house are used to close and lock the door, so as not to let the ill-intentioned in.

In the Semitic one, they were rather an icon of the opening of the door.

In Perugino's famous masterpiece on the north wall of the Sistine Chapel, Jesus gives the head of the Church two keys: the golden one to Paradise and the silver one to Purgatory.

But the meaning of the passage is not the Afterlife - indeed, it is not even institutional. In Hebrew the term 'key' is derived from the verb 'to open'!

The greatest missionary task of community leaders is to keep the Kingdom of Heaven wide open, that is, to ensure a welcoming Church!

Peter must not follow the type of the arrogant monarch, the image of authority; a substitute for the emperor.

Simon must make himself primarily responsible for the acceptance of those outside.

This seems strange for any ancient proposal, where God was supposed to fear making Himself impure in contact with the world.

The Father is the One who dares most.

This is why Jesus severely imposes a total messianic silence (v.20) on the lips and ancient brain of the Apostles.

Peter and the disciples wanted to return to the usual idea of 'the' Messiah [cf. Greek text] expected by all.

An all-too-common plot, incapable of regenerating us.

But who do you say that I am? Peter's Faith

Distancing oneself from what is hoped for

Jesus leads his own away from the territory of power ideology and the sacred centre of the official religious institution - Judea.

The Lord wants his intimates to distance themselves from limitations and appreciation.

The relative success of the Master in Galilee had indeed revived the apostles' hopes of (one-sided) glory.

The territory of Caesarea Philippi, in the extreme north of Palestine, was enchanting; famous for fertility and lush pastures. An area famous for the beauty of its surroundings and the fertility of flocks and herds.

Even the disciples were fascinated by the landscape and the affluent life of the region's inhabitants; not to mention the magnificence of the buildings.

The call of context alludes to the affluence that pagan religion generally proposes; excessive prosperity that enchanted the Twelve.

Christ asks the apostles - in practice - what the people expected of Him. So he wants them to realise the nefarious effects of their own preaching.

'Announcement' that willingly confused material and spiritual blessings.

While the gods show they know how to shower their devotees with goods - and a lavish court life that (indeed) beguiled all - what does Christ offer?

The Master realises that the disciples were still strongly conditioned by the propaganda of the political and religious government [vv.6.11] that ensured well-being [vv.5-12; cf. Mt 15:32-38].

And Jesus still instructs them, so that at least his envoys can overcome the blindness and crisis produced by his Cross (v.21), the commitment required in the perspective of self-giving.He is not merely a continuer of the Baptist's clear-headed attitude, never inclined to compromise with the courts and opulence; nor is he one of the many restorers of the law of Moses, with the zeal of Elijah.

Nor did he want to limit himself to purifying religion of spurious elements, but even to replace the Temple [Mt 21:12-17.18-19.42; 23:2.37-39; 24:30] - the place of encounter between the Father and his children.

On this issue, not only the distance with paganism, but also the contrasts between Jews who had converted to the Lord and those who were observant according to tradition, were particularly vivid at that time.

Indeed, the sacred books of late Judaism spoke of great figures who had left their mark on the history of Israel, and were to reappear to usher in the messianic times.

Even within the persecuted communities of Galilee and Syria, Mt notes a lack of understanding, and all the difficulty of embracing the new proposal - which did not guarantee success and recognition, nor immediate goals.

(From the earliest generations it was realised that the Faith does not easily accord with early human impulses.)

Thus the Master contradicts Peter himself [vv.20.23] whose opinion remained tied to the conformist and popular idea of "the" [vv.16.20: "that"] expected Messiah.

In short, the leader of the apostles - so weak in Faith - can stop showing Christ which way to go "behind" him [v.23] by diverting him!

Simon has to start being a student again; stop plotting recognised and opportunistic ways for everyone, hijacking God in the name of God.

The Lord is the One who dares most.

A special note on the subject of the Name:

While for our culture it is often a label, among Eastern peoples the name is one with the person, designating them in a special way.

As is evident e.g. in the "second" commandment, the power of the Name carries great weight: it is a knowing of the (divine) Subject in the essence and meaning of action; almost a taking possession of its power.

Even in our prayerful, spiritual and mystical tradition, the proper name (e.g. Jesus) has often been considered almost an acoustic icon of the person, inclusive of his virtues; evocative of his presence and power.

In ancient cultures, pronouncing the name meant being able to grasp the seed, the pregnant and global core of the figure of reference.

Not infrequently, in our mentality too, it meant expressing an omen, a mandate, a wish, a blessing, a vocation, a destiny, a task, a call, a mission [nomen (est) omen].

But here we measure the difference between sacral mentality and faith. In religions, the proper name that the master or founder bestows on the disciple is a sort of signpost: he who lacks the acumen or fortune, strength and courage to realise it, would diminish in dignity.

Instead, Christ with his callings calls us to a path, certainly - but one deeply commensurate with the essence.

He stimulates the exodus - not according to models - because he first brings the person back into himself. So that we all come into play in the depths and to the extreme that corresponds.

First step: meeting each other in the round; in the different, even surprising, unexpressed or unknown sides - generally, unimaginable characters according to rules and nomenclature.

Even our eccentric, ambiguous, shadowy or even rejected ways of being in the first person: the best sides of ourselves will be revealed along the Way.

Only in this plural track do we find the way to an adventure full of meaning; not mechanical, nor repetitive - but resembling life: always new and authentic.

Not from facade or calculating externality: there is an Author's signature that precedes, in the building up of ourselves and the world.

Passing among the various building sites in the city of Philip, Jesus instead compared Simon to the inert and piled-up (even confusing) materials he found in front of him.

That condition captured the root of apostolic expectations!

The disciples did not yet give space to the Mystery within themselves, to the idea of a secret salvation, which erupts with its own, innate energy; which surpasses ordinary dreams.

Cephas in fact derives from the Aramaic Kefas: building stone; something hard: practically, a stubborn like many; nothing special, indeed. Jesus gives Simon a negative nickname!

In fact, the Greek word 'petros' [v.18] is not a proper name: it indicates a stone (picked up from the ground) that can be useful for a construction - if of course it allows itself to be shaped. And which not only supports, but is supported; which not only aggregates, but is aggregated.

Attention: the Greek term "petra" [v.18] is not the feminine of "petros": it indicates "rock", and refers to the Person of Christ as the only security (together with Faith in Him).

An appellation that unpredictably changes a whole life. For only the inner Friend draws from our [even bad] baggage the unpredictable that springs forth.

Each one is chiselled by the Lord according to the name Peter, in the sense of a particular piece, an individual and special element.

Placed singularly but in a large mosaic: that of salvation history, where each one is at the same time himself and in a continuous phase of regeneration.

The only feeling of belonging of the many building stones (all living): the conviviality of differences, the communion of disparate fraternal members in the ministerial Church.

None forever, but everywhere (unceasingly) pulsating nuclei of a summary institution all gathered from the ground... Freed free.

Catholicity means universality - a multiplicity that becomes unity; a unity that nevertheless remains multiplicity. From Paul's words on the Church's universality we have already seen that the ability of nations to get the better of themselves in order to look towards the one God, is part of this unity. In the second century, the founder of Catholic theology, St Irenaeus of Lyons, described very beautifully this bond between catholicity and unity and I quote him. He says: "The Church spread across the world diligently safeguards this doctrine and this faith, forming as it were one family: the same faith, with one mind and one heart, the same preaching, teaching and tradition as if she had but one mouth. Languages abound according to the region but the power of our tradition is one and the same. The Churches in Germany do not differ in faith or tradition, neither do those in Spain, Gaul, Egypt, Libya, the Orient, the centre of the earth; just as the sun, God's creature, is one alone and identical throughout the world, so the light of true preaching shines everywhere and illuminates all who desire to attain knowledge of the truth" (Adv. Haer. I 10, 2). The unity of men and women in their multiplicity has become possible because God, this one God of heaven and earth, has shown himself to us; because the essential truth about our lives, our "where from?" and "where to?" became visible when he revealed himself to us and enabled us to see his face, himself, in Jesus Christ. This truth about the essence of our being, living and dying, a truth that God made visible, unites us and makes us brothers and sisters. Catholicity and unity go hand in hand. And unity has a content: the faith that the Apostles passed on to us in Christ's name.

[Pope Benedict, 29 June 2005]

1. "Who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16: 15).

Jesus asks the disciples this question about his identity while he is with them in upper Galilee. It often happened that they would ask Jesus questions; now it is he who questions them. His is a precise question that awaits an answer. Simon Peter speaks for them all:  "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16: 16).

The answer is extraordinarily clear. The Church's faith is perfectly reflected in it. We are reflected in it too. The Bishop of Rome, his unworthy successor by divine will, is particularly reflected in Peter's words. Around him and with him you are reflected in these words, dear Metropolitan Archbishops, who have come here from many parts of the world to receive the pallium on the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul.

I offer my cordial greetings to each of you, a greeting which I gladly extend to those who have accompanied you to Rome and to your communities who are spiritually united with us on this solemn occasion.

2. "You are the Christ!". Jesus replies to Peter's confession:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16: 17).

Blessed are you, Peter! Blessed because you could not have humanly recognized this truth, which is central to the Church's faith, except by God's action. "No one", Jesus said, "knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Mt 11: 27).

We are reflecting on this extraordinarily rich Gospel passage:  the incarnate Word had revealed the Father to his disciples; now is the moment when the Father himself reveals his only Only-begotten Son to them. Peter receives inner enlightenment and courageously proclaims:  "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!".

These words on Peter's lips come from the depths of God's mystery. They reveal the intimate truth, the very life of God. And Peter, under the action of the divine Spirit, becomes a witness and confessor of this superhuman truth. His profession of faith thus forms the firm basis of the Church's faith:  "On this rock I will build my Church" (Mt 16: 18). The Church of Christ is built on Peter's faith and fidelity.

The first Christian community was very conscious of this. As the Acts of the Apostles recount, when Peter was in prison it gathered to raise an earnest prayer to God for him (cf. Acts 12: 5). It was heard, because Peter's presence was still necessary for the community as it took its first steps:  the Lord sent his angel to free him from the hands of his persecutors (cf. ibid., 12: 7-11). It was written in God's plan that Peter, after long strengthening his brothers in faith, would undergo martyrdom here in Rome together with Paul, the Apostle of the nations, who had also escaped death several times.

3. "The Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the word fully, that all the Gentiles might hear it" (2 Tm 4: 17). These are the words of Paul to his faithful disciple Timothy:  we heard them in the second reading. They testify to what the Lord accomplished in him after he chose him as a minister of the Gospel and "grasped" him on the road to Damascus (cf. Phil 3: 12).

The Lord had come to him in a blaze of light, saying:  "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? " (Acts 9: 4), while a mysterious force threw him to the ground. "Who are you, Lord?", Saul had asked him. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!" (Acts 9: 5). This was Christ's answer. Saul had been persecuting Jesus' followers, and Jesus told him that it was he himself who was being persecuted in them. He, Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One who Christians said had risen. If Saul now experienced his powerful presence, it was clear that God really had raised him from the dead. He, in fact, was the Messiah awaited by Israel; he was the Christ living and present in the Church and in the world!

Could Saul have understood with his reason alone all that such an event entailed? Certainly not! It was, in fact, part of God's mysterious plan. It would be the Father who would give Paul the grace of knowing the mystery of the redemption accomplished in Christ. It would be God who would enable him to understand the marvellous reality of the Church, which lives for Christ, with Christ and in Christ. And he, who had come to share in this truth, would continuously and tirelessly proclaim it to the very ends of the earth.

From Damascus, Paul would begin his apostolic journey which would lead him to spread the Gospel in so many parts of the then known world. His missionary zeal would thus help to fulfil the command Christ gave to the Apostles:  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ..." (Mt 28:  19).

4. Dear Brothers in the Episcopate who have come to receive the pallium, your presence eloquently highlights the Church's universal dimension which sprang from the Lord's command:  "Go ... and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28: 19).

You come, in fact, from 15 countries on four continents and were called by the Lord to be Pastors of Metropolitan Churches. The conferral of the pallium clearly stresses the special bond of communion which joins you to the See of Peter and expresses the Church's universal nature.
Whenever you wear these pallia, remember, dear Brothers, that as Pastors we are called to safeguard the purity of the Gospel and the unity of Christ's Church, founded on the "rock" of Peter's faith. The Lord calls us to this; this is our inescapable mission as far-sighted guides of the flock which the Lord has entrusted to us.

5. The full unity of the Church! I feel Christ's command echoing within me. It is a particularly urgent command at the beginning of this new millennium. Let us pray and work for this, without ever growing weary of hoping.

With these sentiments, I affectionately embrace and greet the Delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has come to celebrate with us the liturgical feast of Peter and Paul. Thank you, Venerable Brothers, for your presence and for your heartfelt participation in this solemn liturgical celebration. May God grant us to achieve as soon as possible the full unity of all believers in Christ.

May we obtain this gift through the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are remembered by the Church of Rome on this day that commemorates their martyrdom and therefore their birth to life in God. For the sake of the Gospel they accepted suffering and death, and became sharers in the Lord's Resurrection. Their faith, confirmed by martyrdom, is the same faith as that of Mary, the Mother of believers, of the Apostles and of the saints of every age.

Today the Church again proclaims their faith. It is our faith, the Church's unchanging faith in Jesus, the only Saviour of the world; in Christ, the Son of the living God, who died and rose for us and for all humanity.

[Pope John Paul II, 29 June 2000]

Saints Peter and Paul, whom we celebrate today, are sometimes depicted in icons as they support the edifice of the Church. This reminds us of the words in today’s Gospel in which Jesus says to Peter: “you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18). It is the first time that Jesus utters the word ‘Church’ but more than the noun, I would like to invite you today to think about the adjective, which is possessive, ‘my’: my Church. Jesus does not speak of the Church as an external reality, but he expresses the great love he has for her: my Church. He is devoted to the Church, to us. Saint Paul writes: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25), that is, the Apostle explains, Jesus loves the Church as his bride. For the Lord we are not a group of believers or a religious organization. We are his bride. He looks upon his Church with tenderness. He loves her with absolute fidelity despite our mistakes and our betrayals. As he said that day to Peter, he says to all of us today: “my Church, you are my Church”.

And we too can repeat it: my Church. We do not say this with a sense of exclusive belonging but rather with an inclusive love. Not to distinguish ourselves from others but to appreciate the beauty of being with others because Jesus wants us to be united and open. Indeed the Church is not ‘mine’ because she responds to my ego, to my desires, but rather, because I pour my affection into her. She is mine because I care for her, because, like the Apostles in the icon, I too support her. How? With fraternal love. With our fraternal love we can say: my Church.

In another icon, Saints Peter and Paul are depicted as they are locked in an embrace. They were very different from each other: a fisherman and a Pharisee with rather different life experiences, characters, ways of doing things and sensitivities. Contrasting opinions and frank debates between them were not lacking (cf. Gal 2:11). But what united them was infinitely greater: Jesus was the Lord of both, together they would say “my Lord” to the One who says “my Church”. Brothers in the faith, they invite us to rediscover the joy of being brothers and sisters in the Church. On this feast day that unites two Apostles who were so different from each other, it would be beautiful for each of us to also say: “Thank you, Lord, for that person who is different from me: he or she is a gift for my Church”. We are different but this enriches us; it is brotherhood. It is good for us to appreciate the qualities of others, to recognize the gifts of others without malice or envy. Envy! Envy causes bitterness inside; it is vinegar to the heart. The envious have a bitter gaze. Many times when one meets an envious person, one feels like asking: what did he have for breakfast today, a caffelatte or vinegar? Because envy is sour. It makes life sour. Instead, how beautiful it is to know that we belong to each other because we share the same faith, the same love, the same hope, the same Lord. We belong to each other: and this is splendid, to say: our Church! Fraternity.

At the end of the Gospel Jesus says to Peter: “Tend my sheep” (Jn 21:17). He speaks of us and says “my sheep” with the same tenderness with which he says my Church. Jesus loves us with such love, such tenderness! He feels we are his own. This is the affection that edifies the Church. Through the intercession of the Apostles, today let us invoke the grace to love our Church. Let us ask for eyes that are able to see our brothers and sisters in her, a heart that knows how to welcome others with the tender love that Jesus has for us. And let us ask for the strength to pray for those who do not think as we do — this one thinks differently; I pray for him — pray and love, which is the opposite of gossiping, perhaps behind one’s back. Never speak ill of someone, pray and love. May Our Lady who brought harmony among the Apostles and prayed with them, (cf. Acts 1:14) keep us as brothers and sisters in the Church.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 29 June 2019]