Teresa Girolami
Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".
In the Gospel of this first Sunday of Advent, the underlying theme is that of being ready for the unpredictable Coming of the Lord, watching and waiting.
Francis of Assisi lived his entire life, beginning with his conversion, in a continuous act of vigilance for the arrival of the Beloved.
In the fraternity, he always sought to encourage his brothers in this direction.
In the Perugian Legend, we read:
"If the servant of God provides wisely for his body with good grace and as far as possible, and brother body shows himself to be lazy, negligent and sleepy in prayer, in vigils and in other good works of the spirit, then he must chastise him like a rebellious and indolent beast, which wants to eat, yes, but refuses to work and carry the load" (FF 1652).
His sons, who looked to the life that the Poverello led with great rigour, followed him.
"They afflicted their bodies not only with fasting, but with many vigils, suffering cold and nakedness and working with their hands.
Very often, in order not to remain idle, they went to help the poor people in the fields, sometimes receiving bread from them for the love of God. With these and other virtues, they sanctified themselves and the place of the Porziuncola. Other brothers who came later behaved in the same way for a long time, albeit with less austerity" (FF 1553).
At that time, the type of asceticism and spirituality practised was expressed in a rigorous way of life, but Francis always seasoned it with the salt of wisdom regarding his community.
Clare herself, a woman enclosed in the secret of God, lived in San Damiano "as a pilgrim and stranger in this world" (Reg. c. VIII,1), in a vigil abandoned to her Spouse, whom she awaited with diligent living.
Hers was an opening to a Presence that intoxicates the poor and humble heart with joy, in a prayer that is love 'in the secret of the Father'.
Chiara's life was lived in joyful penance and expectation, following the Gospel, in extreme poverty and Christian fraternity.
Like Francis, she became a trusted and prudent servant, placed at the head by the Lord to give food at the proper time (cf. Mt 24:45).
«Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming» (Mt 24:42)
First advent Sunday A (Mt 24:37-44)
The Gospel of the day insists: «be on your guard» and «stay awake, praying».
The Poor Man of Assisi, like the women of St Damian's, lived their existential parable in constant vigil and prayer, careful not to fall into lukewarmness.
In the Franciscan Sources there are episodes that eloquently underline these Gospel coordinates.
In Francis' Letters we find exhortations to the friars never to neglect prayer, the breath of the soul:
"Let us raise our praise and prayers to Him day and night, saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, for we must pray always without ceasing" (FF 188).
But there is a striking episode involving the Poverello:
"The Saint once came with his companion to a church far from the town.
Wishing to pray alone, he told his companion [...] Left alone, he addressed long and very devout prayers to God, and at the end he looked around to see where he could lay his head down to sleep.
But immediately troubled in spirit, he began to feel oppressed by fear and tedium and to tremble all over. He clearly felt that the devil was directing his attacks against him [...] He immediately got up and went outside, made the sign of the cross, and exclaimed:
'By Almighty God, I command you, demons, to pour out upon my body all that is in your power.
I will gladly endure it, for I have no worse enemy than my own body: thus you will do justice to my adversary and inflict punishment on him in my stead."
Those who had gathered to terrify his soul, encountering a spirit more ready than ever, even if in weak flesh, immediately fled in confusion and shame" (FF 707).
And St. Clare, in San Damiano, together with the sisters whom the Lord had given her, lived always attentive and vigilant in prayer:
"She used to wake the young girls for Matins, gently rousing them with gestures, and inviting them to praise God.
Often, while they were still asleep, she would light the lamps; often she herself would ring the bell.
There was no place in her monastery for lukewarmness, no place for sloth where laziness was shaken by a pungent impulse to pray and serve the Lord" (FF 3200).
Therefore: «be awake, praying» (Lk 21:36)
Saturday 34th week in Ordinary Time (Lk 21:34-36)
«You too will experience what is reserved». Franciscan Advent
Christ the King: Throne of the Cross and Jesus mocked, Herald
All Saints, like burning coals. And the ultimate Day
Pharisee, Publican: presumption and contempt, humility and Justification
Healing on the Way: the new Light that shines in the outsider
Christ compares himself to the sower and explains that the seed is the word (cf. Mk 4: 14); those who hear it, accept it and bear fruit (cf. Mk 4: 20) take part in the Kingdom of God, that is, they live under his lordship. They remain in the world, but are no longer of the world. They bear within them a seed of eternity a principle of transformation [Pope Benedict]
Cristo si paragona al seminatore e spiega che il seme è la Parola (cfr Mc 4,14): coloro che l’ascoltano, l’accolgono e portano frutto (cfr Mc 4,20) fanno parte del Regno di Dio, cioè vivono sotto la sua signoria; rimangono nel mondo, ma non sono più del mondo; portano in sé un germe di eternità, un principio di trasformazione [Papa Benedetto]
In one of his most celebrated sermons, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux “recreates”, as it were, the scene where God and humanity wait for Mary to say “yes”. Turning to her he begs: “[…] Arise, run, open up! Arise with faith, run with your devotion, open up with your consent!” [Pope Benedict]
San Bernardo di Chiaravalle, in uno dei suoi Sermoni più celebri, quasi «rappresenta» l’attesa da parte di Dio e dell’umanità del «sì» di Maria, rivolgendosi a lei con una supplica: «[…] Alzati, corri, apri! Alzati con la fede, affrettati con la tua offerta, apri con la tua adesione!» [Papa Benedetto]
«The "blasphemy" [in question] does not really consist in offending the Holy Spirit with words; it consists, instead, in the refusal to accept the salvation that God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, and which works by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross [It] does not allow man to get out of his self-imprisonment and to open himself to the divine sources of purification» (John Paul II, General Audience July 25, 1990)
«La “bestemmia” [di cui si tratta] non consiste propriamente nell’offendere con le parole lo Spirito Santo; consiste, invece, nel rifiuto di accettare la salvezza che Dio offre all’uomo mediante lo Spirito Santo, e che opera in virtù del sacrificio della croce [Esso] non permette all’uomo di uscire dalla sua autoprigionia e di aprirsi alle fonti divine della purificazione» (Giovanni Paolo II, Udienza Generale 25 luglio 1990)
Seen from the capital Jerusalem, that land is geographically peripheral and religiously impure because it was full of pagans, having mixed with those who did not belong to Israel. Great things were not expected from Galilee for the history of salvation. Instead, right from there — precisely from there — radiated that “light” on which we meditated in recent Sundays: the light of Christ. It radiated right from the periphery (Pope Francis)
Vista dalla capitale Gerusalemme, quella terra è geograficamente periferica e religiosamente impura perché era piena di pagani, per la mescolanza con quanti non appartenevano a Israele. Dalla Galilea non si attendevano certo grandi cose per la storia della salvezza. Invece proprio da lì - proprio da lì - si diffonde quella “luce” sulla quale abbiamo meditato nelle scorse domeniche: la luce di Cristo. Si diffonde proprio dalla periferia (Papa Francesco)
Christ and his intimates tried to strengthen the sense of sharing, returning to the profound spirit of what once the clan, the family, the community were - expressions of God's love that manifests itself...
Cristo e i suoi intimi tentavano di rafforzare il senso di condivisione, tornando allo spirito profondo di ciò che un tempo erano appunto il clan, la famiglia, la comunità - espressioni dell’amore di Dio che si manifesta…
The Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles as a community of faith, hope and charity. Through the Apostles, we come to Jesus himself (Pope Benedict)
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