27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)  [5 October 2025]

May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us. Paul's recommendations to Timothy are also very useful for us. And the word of the Gospel opens our hearts to humble trust in the fulfilment of our mission.

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Habakkuk (1:2-3; 2:2-4) 

The prophet Habakkuk is not very popular today, but he certainly was at the time of the New Testament, since he is quoted several times. For example, the Virgin Mary's phrase in the Magnificat: "I rejoice in the Lord, I exult in God my saviour" was already found, centuries earlier, in the book of Habakkuk (Hab 3:18); it is also from him that St Paul drew and quoted several times a phrase that is part of our reading today: "The righteous shall live by his faith" (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11). This little book is really a booklet, only three chapters, each with about twenty verses, but what a wealth of feelings! From lamentation to violence, from invocation for help to pure exultation. His cries of anguish bring to mind Job: "How long, O Lord, shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? I will cry out to you, 'Violence!' and you will not save?" (Hab 1:2). Yet hope never abandons him: when St Peter invites his readers to be patient, he repeats an expression inspired by Habakkuk: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise..." (2 Pt 3:9). The first verses resemble the book of Job: "How long, Lord, shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? I will cry out to you, 'Violence!' and you will not save?" It is a plea in the face of rampant violence, but above all it is a cry of extreme anguish, that of God's silence. Here, as in the book of Job and in many psalms, the Bible dares to say things in which man seems to call God to account: 'How long, O Lord, shall I cry for help, and thou wilt not hear? I will cry out to you, 'Violence!' and you will not save?" The violence Habakkuk speaks of is that of Babylon, the new emerging power in the Middle East. Since the beginning of time, the same atrocities of war have been repeated, as we can clearly see even today. Yet Habakkuk does not lose his faith. In another verse, he states: 'I will stand at my watch, I will station myself on the ramparts, and I will keep watch to see what the Lord will say to me' (Hab 2:1). There are at least two things in this expression: first of all, it is the watchman's expectation, certain that dawn will come; it is the same theme as in Psalm 129/130: 'My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the dawn." The second is the awareness that his questioning is somewhat bold: the prophet has asked God for an explanation and expects to be rebuked. Instead, God's response does not bring any condemnation; he only invites him to patience and trust: the days of the enemy's victory will not last forever (cf. Hab 2:2-3). In today's text, Habakkuk does not describe the content of the vision, which will be the subject of the following chapter, but we can already guess that it concerns the liberation of the oppressed. However, one fact remains: God has not really answered the question; he has not said why he sometimes seems deaf to our prayers. He has only reaffirmed that he never abandons us. Habakkuk's message seems to be this: in trials, even the most terrible ones, the only possible path for the believer is to keep faith in God: to accept not understanding, but not to accuse God. Any other position is destructive because distrust of God brings only pain. This is probably the meaning of the final formula: 'The righteous shall live by his faith' (Hab 2:4), or, in other words, it is trust in God that keeps us alive, otherwise suspicion and rebellion wear us down. On the contrary, it is legitimate to cry out in pain: if the Bible has us read cries of anguish and even reproaches directed at God in the book of Job and in the Psalms, it is because believers have the right to cry out in suffering, in impatience in the face of the violence that crushes them. Let us return to the final sentence: 'Behold, the unrighteous man shall perish, but the righteous shall live by his faith' (Habakkuk 2:4). The proud one is Babylon, which boasts of its conquests and thinks it can build lasting prosperity on them; the righteous one, on the other hand, knows that only God gives life. The most famous example in the history of Israel is Abraham: when he left his land and his family to respond to God's call, he did not know where he would be led. When, still obeying God, he prepared to offer his only son, he did not understand, but he continued to trust the One who had given him his son. And once again, his faith gave life to him and his son (Gen 22). Scripture says of him: 'Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness' (Gen 15:6).

*Responsorial Psalm (94/95:1-2, 6-7ab, 7d-8a, 9)

We are in the temple in Jerusalem, pilgrims are crowding the steps of the temple for a great celebration: "Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us acclaim the rock of our salvation". The rock of our salvation: this expression alone is a profession of faith. Israel has chosen to rely on God and God alone, as in the early days of the Covenant. The Bible often compares the history of the people of Israel to an engagement with their God. After the initial enthusiasm and promises, doubts and infidelities arose. God, however, always remained faithful, and after every storm and every infidelity, Israel always returned to Him, like a repentant bride grateful for the ever-renewed Covenant: Let us go to Him with thanksgiving. The Hebrew word here is tôdah: it indicates a specific moment in the worship of the Covenant, the sacrifice of tôdah, which expresses gratitude, thanksgiving, praise, repentance, and the desire to love... In modern Hebrew, thanks is still said tôdah. An English term that would sum up this psalm well is gratitude: recognising God, knowing who He is, knowing who we are, and then gratitude overwhelms us.First and foremost, recognising God: our Creator but, even more so, our liberator. It seems simple to trust in this God who guides and protects us, this God who freed us from slavery in Egypt. It is simple, as long as there are no problems. But when trials come, doubts arise. Yet it is precisely in trials that our trust is tested, and this is where the question of trust arises. In the Bible, listening means trusting; listening to his voice is also the opposite of hardening one's heart. In fact, the psalm continues: 'Today, if you hear his voice! Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted me, testing me even though they had seen my works'. Massa and Meriba mean, precisely, temptation and provocation. The episode of Massa and Meriba has remained famous in the memory of Israel as a symbol of the temptation to suspect God as soon as the first difficulty arises. The people began to regret slavery because their newly won freedom seemed very uncomfortable. In Egypt they were slaves, of course, but at least they survived... in the desert, the people were thirsty and a revolt broke out. The text says that the people murmured, but the term is probably stronger than in our English today, because Moses exclaims to God: "A little more and they will stone me!" (Ex 17:4). God intervenes, and water gushes from the rock (here the image returns: God, my rock). How much better it would have been to trust! In suffering, as we saw in Habakkuk in the first reading, we can cry out, beg, call on God, but never doubt Him. Massa and Meriba remain the names of that suspicion that can always resurface in our hearts.

*Second Reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (1:6-8, 13-14)

When Paul writes his second letter to Timothy, he is in prison in Rome, shortly before his execution; he himself says that he is chained like a criminal and asks Timothy not to be ashamed of him, as others have been. He knows very well that he does not have much time left and feels very alone. This second letter to Timothy is therefore a kind of testament: Timothy will have to take his place and Paul gives him recommendations in this regard. It should be noted that, for reasons of style, vocabulary and even content, it is generally thought that the letters to Timothy were not written by Paul, but by one of his disciples after his death. It is not possible to settle this difficult question and, in order to be faithful to the teaching of these letters, we must not get lost in endless discussions. For the sake of convenience, we will therefore continue to refer to Paul and Timothy. After all, whether it is Paul and Timothy or their future disciples is of little importance to us now: what matters is the content of these letters, which contain Paul's recommendations to a young Christian leader, and therefore concern us closely. The first recommendation is perhaps the most important: "Revive the free gift of God"; this gift of God, if we read the rest of the text, is clearly the Holy Spirit. And, visibly, Timothy will really need it! Paul, chained for the Gospel, knows this all too well. Timothy received this gift of the Spirit through the laying on of hands: the words 'confirmation' and 'ordination' did not yet exist, but we know that, from the beginning of the Church, the gesture of laying on of hands signified the gift of the Spirit. 'Stir up the gift of God within you' means that God's gifts can therefore lie dormant within us. Elsewhere Paul says: "Do not quench the Spirit" (cf. 1 Thess 5:19). Here too, we can hear a message that encourages us to carry the fire of the Spirit within us, and even if it seems that we have covered it with ashes, it is still within us, burning under the ashes, since nothing can extinguish it. This Spirit is not a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and self-control. Here we find a theme dear to Paul: that of the transmission of faith. Paul passed on this precious treasure to Timothy, who in turn must pass it on, and so on: Hold fast to the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Elsewhere, in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote: 'I have passed on to you what I myself have received' (cf. 15:3-4). This brings to mind a relay race, in which the runners pass on a baton that remains the same from the beginning to the end of the race, while the deposit of faith is inevitably expressed in different terms over the centuries. Faith, in fact, is not a neatly packaged, untouchable object. The problem, however, is knowing whether the transmission is truly faithful. Many controversies over the centuries have arisen from differences among Christians about the content of the deposit of faith. But in reality, we are not the ultimate guarantors of this fidelity: it is the Holy Spirit who is the supreme guardian of the deposit of faith. In order to faithfully pass on the torch to subsequent generations, we need only to rekindle in ourselves the gift of God, the fire of the Spirit that nothing can extinguish.

*From the Gospel according to Luke (17:5-10)

 Here we find several verses that follow one another and are not similar. It almost seems as if there are two parts to this text: in the first, a dialogue between Jesus and his apostles about faith, with Jesus' somewhat terrible formula: 'If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you would say to this tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you'. In the second part, there is a kind of parable about the servant, which also ends with a very strong statement by Jesus: 'When you have done all that you were commanded, say, "We are unworthy servants. We have done what we ought to have done." Jesus is certainly not trying to discourage us; on the other hand, if these verses are so close together, without any interruption, it means that there is a connection between them. Here we have a dialogue between Christ and his apostles, that is, his envoys, which means that this phrase of Jesus concerns the activity of evangelisation. The envoys say to the one who sends them: Increase our faith! This is a prayer that is also very often ours when we become aware of our weakness, our powerlessness, and it seems to us that if we were richer in faith we would be more effective. But how can we reconcile this with Paul's words: "If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor 13:2)? In his language, Jesus replies that it is not a question of measuring our faith: that is not the problem. Rather, it is a question of relying on God's power, because it is He who acts, not our faith, however small or great it may be. Jesus deliberately emphasises the paradox: the mustard seed was considered the smallest of all seeds, and the large tree he speaks of (in Greek, sycamore) was considered impossible to uproot. Jesus' statement therefore means: You don't need to have a lot of faith: a tiny mustard seed is enough to do seemingly impossible things. It could then be translated as follows: When you act in the name of the Gospel, remember that nothing is impossible for God. Then there is the expression 'useless servants' archreioi (17:10), which we can translate as follows: you are simply servants who are not even indispensable, called to serve in a task that is beyond you. And - I would say - fortunately so, because who would feel strong enough to bear the responsibility of the Kingdom of God? These words of Jesus, therefore, are not harsh or discouraging, but on the contrary, they are meant to encourage us: if we are only subordinates, the responsibility does not fall on us, but that does not make us useless: if the servant were truly useless, no master would keep him. If God takes us as servants, it is because he wants to need us. If Jesus chose the apostles and said that 'the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few' (Mt 9:37-38), and if his words continue to resonate two thousand years later, it is because he wants our collaboration. We are what we are, and God associates us with his work of salvation. Jesus says: "When you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants. We have done what we ought to have done'" (17:10). In doing so, he suggests two attitudes: first, he invites us once again to abandon the logic of merits and rewards, but above all, he invites us to remain serene in the exercise of our mission. He is the master of the harvest, not us. Then we can better understand the connection between the two parts of this text: the message is the same: a little faith, however small, is enough for God to perform miracles. On condition, however, that we faithfully place ourselves at his service.

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

Why the Announcement, without knots in the throat

(Lk 10:13-16)

Difference between religiosity and Faith is in the Subject, of Life in the Spirit: it’s not we who dispose, set up, new heavens and earth - but the Grace that silently tills and precedes.

That’s why in the Announcement we are not orphans, with so many knots in the throat.

Master himself is not alone. The testimony of even the non disciples is part of the Way of Christ to the Father.

Road that Comes. It is not the established "internal" commitment that builds a more authentic world, with divine traits.

It’s rather the Kingdom - effusive in itself - that gives rise to the path towards the "distant", and activates unthinkable scenarios.

They come to us as a proposal for Peace: openness to a wider Plan, and interhuman justice.

The varied experience, the environment full of surprises of the non followers, generates blooms, of each one - in the discovery of the limit, of their own profound states - for communion.

No elective reserve; no right of pre-emption. Salvation according to the Father, not "in our own way".

Gospel overcomes the peoples barriers and if necessary leaves behind its cradle of mitigating cultures, closed in a cast-in mentality, perhaps intolerant; annoyed with everything.

Whoever in full warning and deliberate consent rejects the Word because the world will no longer be "like before", suddenly finds himself hopeless, without sons, with no possibility of life and expansion.

Without Presence, without the Spirituality of the Covenant - which concatenates every witness to the Son and the Father. And only God can overcome the force of obstacles; internal and external powers.

Only in the torch of divine condition [authentic Source, measure that Christ lives and amazes us] do we learn the meaning of our being, communicate, go.

The inaccessible interrogates, and becomes very close. It annihilates the exclusive ballasts, which remain in vain.

Thus the Proclamation unleashes the Spirit, it opens up unusual doors wide: even a window on the inner world.

Where opposites already have a right to exist. In addition, they call for New Covenant, which teaches to be with sides that do not like.

As such we will investigate and discover: the struggle of blockages, of fears of what we do not want to see outside and inside ourselves, must cease.

The tendencies that we thought should be denied become unpredictable source of other lights and virtues, intimate and in relationships.

Also and above all, the shadows call the Exodus, a new Alliance - where we are absolutely not alone and unilateral, but more complete.

In short, the Mystery that dwells in us goes beyond the snares of convictions, it makes us less divided. Starting from the source of being.

It becomes real, compelling transcendence-immanence; for all. New Life’ Awareness.

«He who listens to you listens to me and he who despises you despises me but he who despises me despises the One who sent me» (v.16).

«The Father in fact does not judge anyone but has given every judgment to the Son so that everyone honors the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him» (Jn 5:22-23).

[Friday 26th wk. in O.T.  October 3, 2025]

Silence and contemplation have a purpose: they serve, in the distractions of daily life, to preserve permanent union with God. This is their purpose: that union with God may always be present in our souls and may transform our entire being. 

Silence and contemplation, characteristic of St Bruno, help us find this profound, continuous union with God in the distractions of every day. Silence and contemplation: speaking is the beautiful vocation of the theologian. This is his mission: in the loquacity of our day and of other times, in the plethora of words, to make the essential words heard. Through words, it means making present the Word, the Word who comes from God, the Word who is God. 

Yet, since we are part of this world with all its words, how can we make the Word present in words other than through a process of purification of our thoughts, which in addition must be above all a process of purification of our words? 

How can we open the world, and first of all ourselves, to the Word without entering into the silence of God from which his Word proceeds? For the purification of our words, hence, also for the purification of the words of the world, we need that silence which becomes contemplation, which introduces us into God's silence and brings us to the point where the Word, the redeeming Word, is born. 

St Thomas Aquinas, with a long tradition, says that in theology God is not the object of which we speak. This is our own normal conception. 

God, in reality, is not the object but the subject of theology. The one who speaks through theology, the speaking subject, must be God himself. And our speech and thoughts must always serve to ensure that what God says, the Word of God, is listened to and finds room in the world. 

Thus, once again we find ourselves invited to this process of forfeiting our own words, this process of purification so that our words may be nothing but the instrument through which God can speak, and hence, that he may truly be the subject and not the object of theology.

[Pope Benedict, homily, 6 October 2006]

“Whoever welcomes Christ welcomes the one who sent him, the Father” (cf. Mt 10:40).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

1. Let us give expression to the joy of welcoming Christ. Let us rejoice in the fact that from apostolic times Rome, the capital of the ancient Empire, accepted Christ. Let us sing our joy that the names of the Apostles Peter and Paul are indelibly linked to this City. They came here sent by the Lord. After the Resurrection, Christ said to the Apostles: "As the Father has sent me... receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn. 20: 21-22). 

And so we believe it was the Holy Spirit who directed the steps of Peter, the fisherman of Galilee, and of Paul, the scholar from Tarsus, to this City of Rome. Through their apostolic ministry and, at the end, through their martyrdomthey confirmed the words of their Lord and Master. 

Christ said: "Anyone who does not take his Cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me" (Mt. 10: 38). And here in Rome, Peter did take up the cross on which he gave his life. Christ also said: "Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it" (Ibid. 10: 39). And so Paul – like Peter – here in Rome, lost his life for the sake of Christ. Sanguis martyrum semen Christianorum (Cf. Tertullian, Apologeticus, 50) – the Church grew strong out of the martyrs’ example. Thus the words of Christ were fulfilled in the Apostles: "Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me" (Mt. 10: 40).

7. "Anyone who welcomes an Apostle welcomes Christ" (Cf. Mt. 10: 40). The Apostles, and in particular Peter and Paul, transmitted the Gospel in the form of an awareness of New Life. This is the New Life which springs from the redeeming death of Christ: "we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no more power over him... his life now is life with God; and in that way, we too must consider ourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus" (Cf. Rom. 6: 8-11).

[Pope John Paul II, homily, 27 June 1993]

Man lives 'within himself the drama of not accepting God's salvation', because he would like 'to be saved in his own way'. And Jesus even weeps for this 'resistance' of man, always offering his mercy and forgiveness. In short, we cannot say, 'Save us, Lord, but in our own way!' Pope Francis pointed out during Mass celebrated on Friday, 3 October, in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta.
In the Gospel passage proposed by the liturgy, Luke (10:13-16) presents Jesus as "seeming a little angry." And "he speaks to these people to make them see reason," saying, "If the wonders that happened among you had happened in the pagan cities, they would have long since repented, wearing sackcloth and ashes. But you have not.' Thus, Jesus traces 'a summary of the entire history of salvation: it is the drama of not wanting to be saved; it is the drama of not accepting God's salvation.' It is as if we were saying, 'Save us, Lord, but in our own way!'
Jesus himself recalls many times "how this people rejected the prophets, stoned those who were sent to them because they were inconvenient." The thought is always the same: "We want salvation, but as we want it! Not as the Lord wants it."
We are faced, the Pope pointed out, with the "tragedy of resistance to being saved." It is "a legacy that we have all received," because "even in our hearts there is this seed of resistance to being saved as the Lord wants to save us."
The context of Luke's Gospel passage sees Jesus "speaking to his disciples who had returned from a mission." And he also says to them: "Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me. Your fathers did the same to the prophets." Once again, it is the idea of wanting to "be saved" in our own way. Certainly, "the Lord saves us in our freedom," the Pope pointed out, adding, however, that "we want to be saved not with freedom, but with our own autonomy: we make the rules."
"This," Francis pointed out, "is the drama of the history of salvation, from the very beginning." It is first and foremost "a drama of the people," because "the people rebel many times, in the desert for example." However, he added, "through trials, the people mature: they become more mature." And so "they recognise Jesus as a great prophet and also say: God has visited his people."
Instead, he continued, "it is precisely the ruling class that closes the doors to the way God wants to save us." In this sense, "we understand Jesus' strong dialogues with the ruling class of his time: they argue, they test him, they set traps for him to see if he falls," because in them there is precisely "resistance to being saved."
Faced with this attitude, Jesus says to them: "But I do not understand you! You are like those children: we played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a lament and you did not weep. But what do you want?" The answer is still: "We want to achieve salvation in our own way." So, "this closure" to God's way of working always returns.
Then, "when the Lord goes on," the Pope recalled, "even in the group close to them, doubts begin." John reports this in the sixth chapter of his Gospel, giving voice to those who say of Jesus: "But this man is a bit strange, how can he feed us with his body? But perhaps he is a bit strange." Probably some people were saying these things, Francis said, and even "his disciples began to turn back." So "Jesus looks at the twelve" and says to them, "If you also want to leave..."
There is no doubt, the Pontiff explained, that "these words are harsh: the words of the cross are always harsh." But they are also "the only door to salvation." And "the believing people accept them: they sought Jesus to be healed" and "to hear his words." In fact, they said: "This man speaks with authority. Not like our class, the Pharisees, the doctors of the law, the Sadducees, who spoke a language that no one understood." For them, all salvation lay in the fulfilment of the numerous commandments "that their intellectual and theological fever had created." But "the poor people could not find a way to salvation." Instead, they find it in Jesus.
However, in the end, the Pope said, "they did the same as their fathers: they decided to kill Jesus." The Lord rebukes this way of acting: "Your fathers killed the prophets, but you, to clear your conscience, build them a beautiful monument." So, "they decide to kill Jesus, that is, to do away with him," because, they say, "this man will cause us problems: we do not want this salvation! We want a well-disciplined, secure salvation. We do not want this one!" Consequently, "they also decide to kill Lazarus, because he is a witness to what Jesus brings: life," in that he has "risen from the dead."."With this decision, the ruling class cancels out God's omnipotence," commented the Bishop of Rome, recalling that "today in our prayer at the beginning of Mass, we praised God's omnipotence so well: 'Lord, who reveals your omnipotence, especially in mercy and forgiveness'." The "drama of resistance to salvation" leads to a lack of belief "in mercy and forgiveness" but in sacrifice. And it pushes us to want "everything well organised, everything clear".
It is "a drama," Francis recalled, that "is also within each of us." For this reason, he suggested some questions for an examination of conscience: "How do I want to be saved? In my own way? In the way of a spirituality that is good, that does me good, but that is fixed, has everything clear and there is no risk? Or in the divine way, that is, on the path of Jesus, who always surprises us, who always opens the doors to that mystery of God's omnipotence, which is mercy and forgiveness?"
Jesus, the Pontiff assured us, "when he sees this drama of resistance, even when he sees ours, he weeps." He "wept before Lazarus' tomb; he wept looking at Jerusalem" and saying: "But you who kill the prophets and stone all those who are sent to you, how many times I wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings!". And he also weeps "before this drama of not accepting his salvation, as the Father wants it".
Pope Francis therefore invited us to "think that this tragedy is in our hearts," insisting that each of us ask ourselves: "How do I think the path to my salvation is: that of Jesus or another? Am I free to accept salvation, or do I confuse freedom with autonomy and want my own salvation, the one I believe to be right? Do I believe that Jesus is the teacher who teaches us salvation, or do I go everywhere hiring gurus to teach me another way? A safer path, or do I take refuge under the roof of prescriptions and the many commandments made by men? And so I feel safe, and with this — it's a bit hard to say this — security, I buy my salvation that Jesus gives freely, with God's gratuitousness?"
All these questions, which 'will do us good to ask ourselves today', culminate in the Pope's final proposal: 'Do I resist the salvation of Jesus?'.
[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano, 4 October 2014]

Face to the Person, Father in relationship

Mt 18:1-5.10.(12-14)

The Gospel passage dictates the line of the entire ecclesial discourse of Mt (18:1-35).

The key term in vv.1-5 is «paidìon» - diminutive of «pàis» - which stands for the shop boy, the little one between 9 and 11 years of age, who also at home had to provide immediately, after every command received.

Jesus crushes the ambitions of greatness of his craving disciples, who would like to seize him and put him on a leash.

The model of the Kingdom is not the commander, but the servant; the one who does not act with a common mindset, out of a spirit of self-interest or promotion.

It is not a sin to desire to give meaning to one's life, but there is a reversal: 'greater' is the 'lesser' - he who does not covet pre-eminent places; remains humble in feeling, condition, and position.

The overt importance is a deception: the true “greats” of the church community do not belong to the world of the perfectly installed, who come forward, who know who to lean on, and thus know how to impose themselves.

From v.6 the author speaks of «mikròi»: the voiceless. They are those who have no weight.

These “little ones” are «tiny ones» who have heard of the spirit of communion that exists between sisters and brothers of Faith…

They would like to experience the benefit of this new Way without mortifying pretensions, a solicitous way to recovery...

They try to begin, but sometimes they shy away from it, fatigued by improper situations.

Jesus displaces us: the 'outcasts' are the only ones who make us shout for joy, and they are worth more than the whole flock of habituals (vv.12-14).

The Recall also applies to us: it is precisely in the isolated, lost and seemingly most insignificant people that the flowering of large spontaneous content is particularly lively..

In them lurks the Sap that regenerates the world, and the Newness of God is revealed [who also wants to guide us today in our vocational and social exodus].

In short: fixed ideas condition life and do not allow the inner organism - psychic and spiritual - to feed on transparent (unprejudiced) truths and sincere feelings, which would like to give us breath.

Freeing oneself from the usual ways of going about things, dissolving prejudices and schematic beliefs, would allow one to break the chains that hold back the faculties, opening up other views.

In fact, the solution to the complications that suffocate the soul and the experience of the fullness of being we seek is not external, but inherent in our own question.

In biblical language, the figure of the Angel (v.10) expresses God Himself in dialogue with the personal soul; His Presence in us, in situation - and here our paradoxical fruitfulness.

The Angel is our own eminent and total Self, who knows how to retrieve opposites, who grasps secrets, suggests, guides; he knows our unique versatility, and in this way knows where to go.

Thus, authentic life is shrouded in Mystery, even in the step-by-step.

Our existence is not all in the circle of visible achievements, apparent affirmations, and material, trivial things, more or less at hand.

Life if complete introduces into the Calling by Name that leads to fulfilment and blossoming, opens us to the Relationship that counts.

To internalize and live the message:

Why do you think Jesus speaks of Angels in heaven, and Joy in reference to the one sheep?

[Holy Guardian Angels, October 2]

Face to face, Father in relationship

(Mt 18:1-5.10.12-14)

The Gospel passage dictates the line of the entire ecclesial discourse of Mt (18:1-35). The key term of vv.1-5 is paidìon - diminutive of pàis - which stands for the shop boy, the little boy of about 9-11 years of age, who even at home had to take off after every order received.

Jesus crushes the ambitions of greatness of his covetous apostles, who want to seize him for themselves. Yes, they always tail him, but they do not follow him - on the contrary, they would like to seize him and put him on a leash.

The model of the Kingdom is not the commander, but the servant; the one who does not act with a current mentality, out of a spirit of self-interest or promotion.

It is not a sin to desire to give meaning to one's life, but there is a reversal: greater is the lesser - he who does not covet pre-eminent places, remains humble in feeling, condition and position.

Even in spiritual life, he who wants to get there immediately or does good (not out of gratuitousness but only) to secure future positions, scatters his Pearl. The overt importance is a deception: the true 'greats' of the church community do not belong to the world of the 'best', the perfectly installed in society - the quick-witted who come forward and know how to impose themselves.

From v.6 the author speaks of mikròi: the voiceless. They are those who carry no weight, perhaps those who cannot even get accepted into some exclusive 'spiritual' pressure group or clique.

These 'little ones' are those who sooner or later - despite prior exclusion - find their way to the community of the faithful in Christ. They have heard of the spirit of collaboration, synergy and communion that exists between sisters and brothers of Faith. They would like to experience the benefit of this new way of coexistence without humiliating, recovery-oriented demands...

They try to start, but sometimes they shy away from it. Fatigued by the rigmarole, unable to have a personal relationship with the Lord (because in front of them and on every occasion they find themselves with the usual hedge of managers to whom they should pay duties and submit), often irritated by the empty vanity of those who not infrequently turn out to be unscrupulous and very dangerous people.

Jesus does not go easy on them: the excluded are the only ones who make them shout for joy, and they are worth much more than the whole flock of those included (vv.12-14).

The reminder also applies to us: it is precisely in the isolated, lost and seemingly most insignificant people that the great spontaneous content flourishes.

In them lurks the sap that regenerates the world, and the Newness of God is revealed (who also wants to guide us today in our vocational and social exodus).

Simplicity and upheaval: Rebirth without mortification

It is not a question of finding excuses to justify laziness in the spiritual search and exodus: small, spontaneous and natural - but rich inside - one becomes, lowering oneself (Mt 18:3-4 Greek text) from one's character.

It is the art of making life dense and complex, multifaceted and vast, then simplifying, without dispersing. Often all it takes is to look differently or to look elsewhere, to find a thousand unexpected and self-regenerating outlets.

In fact, the solution to the complications that suffocate the soul and the experience of the fullness of being we seek, is not external, but inherent in our own question. It not infrequently belongs to pre-understandings rather than reality or the tide that comes, which simply wants to drag us into the territory of growth.

We are obnubilated by thoughts. But there is an innate knowledge that watches over our uniqueness and does not intoxicate the soul. There is a secret time and space that inhabits us: they resonate with the Gospels. There is no need to "catch up" with all time.

If we surrender to such a wise instinct, comforted by the Word, the Core of Being will come forth with its primordial energies - recreating the earth like the mythical Child of the World: a little Jesus - within and without us. Thus the disaster of the Coronavirus is also annihilated, and we are resurrected: each in his own way (which is not 'his' in the sense of arbitrariness).

And when, in particular cases, we are able to welcome the happenings as a Call to come out of our cages so that we perceive the elsewhere, we will find an intimate result that unravels and re-launches the personal way and the possibilities of exchanging new, non-stereotypical gifts - without even experiencing the tiredness and subtle dissatisfactions we know.

Projected totally into external problems, we overload our mind and spirit with expectations induced by the (once) in vogue cultural paradigm to which we are accustomed. Thus existence quickly becomes conformist again, stagnant in the usual means and goals, devoid of new peaks, authentic relationships and unimagined vitality.The diktat of the objective induced by the roles we imagined we had acquired exhausts us, and the instituted idea of perfection sterilises the humus - it impoverishes us, putting actual needs in brackets; thus making ways of being prevail, consolidated roles already expressed, drying up relationships (making environments murky again).

Fixed ideas condition life and do not allow the inner organism - psychic and spiritual - to feed on transparent (unprejudiced) truths and sincere feelings, which would like to give us breath.

Freeing ourselves from the usual ways of going about things, from apodictic judgments and convictions, would allow us to break the chains that hold back the luminous and rainbow faculties, as well as the ability to correspond to the unrepeatable vocation, opening up other views.

The 'emptiness' advocated by the Tao resembles only in earshot the 'emptiness' of other (decidedly more depersonalising) Eastern wisdom because the teaching of the Way does not lose the sense of uniqueness and exceptionality of the individual seed. On the contrary, it fully respects its propulsive vocation remaining oneself, not only in spite of - but because of - the obligatory abyss we have experienced.

By minimising, on the other hand, the intentions of re-editing the old maquillage - and all non-epochal conditioning (which does not call us, nor would we like to) - we clear the soul of its ballast. We bring out its exceptional specific weight and unrepeatable character, to lighten it and fill it only with what is needed to activate the new paths that await us.

The slowing down and letting go that Lao Tse advocates does not lead to the insignificant flattening of differences, but to dilating the sacred and natural times of wise action, and appreciating its value.

Stages and goals that do not correspond to us will not provide fulfilment, forcing us to amplify our relationships only to cover the problem with ourselves, or even the couple, group, movement, community and work environment.

While we wish to clothe (and not depose) with a sense of permanence the character of before - a cliché that does not correspond to us - we turn in circles, loading ourselves with outsized expectations and useless stress (which makes no room for the love with which we meet ourselves, things, sisters and brothers, the many events).

Natural Wisdom, even bitter events, and the Bible, remind us that the face... every path, name and rhythm is ours alone. So too is the synthesis: each one is called to write his or her own unrepeatable glad tidings for the benefit of the woman and man of all times (Jn 20:30-31).

Please note: Fraternity is not levelling:

"But there are many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written down one by one, I think that not even the world itself could contain the books that should be written" (Jn 21:25).

That would be Happiness in the new eminent Beauty, from discomfort.

In biblical language, the figure of the Angel (v.10) expresses God Himself in dialogue with the personal soul; His Presence in us, in situation - and here our paradoxical fruitfulness.

The Angel is our own eminent and total Self, who knows how to retrieve opposites, who grasps secrets, suggests, guides; he knows our fruitful versatility, and in this way knows where to go.

In short, authentic life is shrouded in Mystery, even in the step-by-step.

The existence that distinguishes us is not all in the circle of visible achievements, of apparent affirmations, and of material, trivial things, more or less at hand.

Complete Life introduces us into the Calling by Name that leads to fulfilment and blossoming, opens us up to the Relationship that counts.

To internalise and live the message:

Why do you think Jesus speaks of Angels in heaven, and Joy in reference to the one sheep?

Why does Jesus speak of Joy in reference to the one sheep?

Value of imperfect uniqueness

(Mt 18:12-14)

The change of course and destiny of the Kingdom. A God in search of the lost and unequal, to expand our life. Christology of the Pallium, power of caresses, joyful energy (in dissociation).

Says the Tao Tê Ching (x): "Preserve the One by dwelling in the two souls: are you able to keep them apart?"

Even in the spiritual journey, Jesus is careful not to propose a dictated or planned universalism, as if his were an ideal model, "for the purpose of homogenisation" [Fratelli Tutti n.100].

The type of Communion that the Lord proposes to us does not aim at "a one-dimensional uniformity that seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial search for unity".

Because "the future is not 'monochromatic' but if we have the courage it is possible to look at it in the variety and diversity of the contributions that each one can make. How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace without us all being equal!" [from an Address to Young People in Tokyo, November 2019].Although the piety and hope of the representatives of official religiosity was founded on a structure of human, ethnic, cultural securities and a vision of the Mystery consolidated by a great tradition, Jesus crumbles all predictability.

In the Son, God is revealed no longer as exclusive property, but as the Power of Love that forgives the marginalised and lost: saving and creating, liberating. And through the disciples, he unfolds his Face that recovers, breaks down the usual barriers, calls out to miserable multitudes.

It seems an impossible utopia to realise in concrete terms (today of the health and global crisis), but it is the sense of the handover to the Church, called to become an incessant prod of the Infinite and ferment of an alternative world, for integral human development:

"Let us dream as one humanity, as wayfarers made of the same human flesh, as children of this same earth that hosts us all, each with the richness of his faith or convictions, each with his own voice, all brothers!" [FT No.8].

Through an absurd question (rhetorically formulated) Jesus wants to awaken the conscience of the 'just': there is a counterpart of us that supposes of itself, very dangerous, because it leads to exclusion, to abandonment.

Instead, inexhaustible Love seeks. And it finds the imperfect and restless.

The swamp of stagnant energy that is generated by accentuating boundaries does not make anyone grow: it locks in the usual positions and leaves everyone to make do or lose themselves. Out of self-interested disinterest - that impoverishes everyone.

This causes the creative virtues to fall into despair.

It plunges those outside the circle of the elect - those who had nothing superior - into despair. Indeed, the evangelists portray them as utterly incapable of beaming with human joy at the progress of others.

Calculating, acting and conforming - the fundamentalist or overly sophisticated and disembodied leaders use religion as a weapon.

Instead, God is at the antipodes of the fake sterilised - or disembodied thinking - and seeking one who wanders shakily, easily becomes disoriented, loses his way. 

Sinful yet true, therefore more disposed to genuine Love. This is why the Father is searching for the insufficient.

The person who is so limpid and spontaneous - even if weak - hides his best part and vocational richness precisely behind his apparently detestable sides. Perhaps that he himself does not appreciate.

This is the principle of Redemption that astounds and makes interesting our often distracted paths, conducted by trial and error - in Faith, however, generating self-esteem, credit, fullness and joy.

The commitment of the purifier and the impetus of the reformer are 'trades' that seemingly oppose each other, but are easy... and typical of those who think that the things to be challenged and changed are always outside themselves.

For example, in mechanisms, in general rules, in the legal framework, in worldviews, in formal (or histrionic) aspects instead of the craft of the concrete particular good; and so on.

They seem to be excuses not to look inside oneself and get involved, not to meet one's deepest states in all aspects and not only in the guidelines. And to recover or cheer up individuals who are concretely lost, sad, in all dark and difficult sides.

But God is at the antipodes of sterilised mannerists or fake idealists, and in search of the insufficient: he who wanders and loses his way. Sinful yet true, therefore more disposed to genuine Love.

The transparent and spontaneous person - even if weak - hides his best part and vocational richness precisely behind the apparently detestable aspects (perhaps which he himself does not appreciate).

So let us ask for solutions to the mysterious, unpredictable interpersonal energies that come into play; from within things.

Without interfering with or opposing ideas of the past or future that we do not see. Rather by possessing its soul, its spontaneous drug.

This is the principle of Salvation that astounds and makes interesting our paths [often distracted, led by trial and error] - ultimately generating self-esteem, credit and joy.

The idea that the Most High is a notary or prince of a forum, and makes a clear distinction between righteous and transgressors, is caricature.

After all, a life of the saved is not one's own making, nor is it exclusive possession or private ownership - which turns into duplicity.

It is not the squeamish attitude, nor the cerebral attitude, that unites one to Him. The Father does not blandish suppliant friendships, nor does He have outside interests.

He rejoices with everyone, and it is need that draws Him to us. So let us not be afraid to let Him find us and bring us back (cf. Lk 15:5) to His house, which is our house.

If there is a loss, there will be a finding, and this is not a loss for anyone - except for the envious enemies of freedom (v.10).For the LORD is not pleased with marginalisation, nor does he intend to extinguish the smoking lamp.

Jesus does not come to point the finger at the bad times, but to make up for them, by leveraging intimate involvement. Invincible force of faithfulness.

This is the style of a Church with a Sacred Heart, lovable, elevated and blessed.

[What attracts one to participate and express oneself is to feel understood, restored to full dignity - not condemned].

Carlo Carretto said: 'It is by feeling loved, not criticised, that man begins his journey of transformation'.

As the encyclical Fratelli Tutti emphasises again:

Jesus - our Engine and Motive - "had an open heart, which made the dramas of others its own" (n.84).

And he adds as an example of our great Tradition:

"People can develop certain attitudes which they present as moral values: fortitude, sobriety, industriousness and other virtues. But in order to properly direct the acts [...] we must also consider to what extent they realise a dynamism of openness and union [...] Otherwise we will only have appearances'.

"St Bonaventure explained that the other virtues, without charity, strictly speaking do not fulfil the commandments as God intends them" (n.91).

In sects or one-sidedly inspired groups, human and spiritual riches are deposited in a secluded place, so they grow old and debased.

In the assemblies of the sons, on the other hand, they are shared: they grow and communicate; by multiplying, they green up, for universal benefit.

To internalise and live the message:

What attracts you to the Church? In comparisons with the top of the class, do you feel judged or adequate?

Do you feel the Love that saves, even if you remain uncertain?

I mentioned earlier that today the liturgy invites us to remember the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Each of them, as we read in the Bible, carried out a particular mission in the history of salvation. Dear brothers and sisters, let us confidently invoke their help, as well as the protection of the Guardian Angels, whose feast we will celebrate in a few days, on 2 October. The invisible presence of these blessed spirits is of great help and comfort to us: they walk at our side and protect us in all circumstances, they defend us from dangers and we can turn to them at any time. Many saints had a relationship of true friendship with the Angels, and there are numerous episodes that testify to their assistance on particular occasions. Angels are sent by God "to serve those who will inherit salvation", as the Letter to the Hebrews (1:14) reminds us, and are therefore of valuable assistance to us on our earthly pilgrimage to the heavenly homeland.

[Pope Benedict, Castel Gandolfo, greeting 29 September 2008]