14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)  [6 July 2025]

May God bless us and the Virgin Mary protect us! Even though we are entering the holiday season, I will continue to provide you with comments on the Sunday Bible readings.

 

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (66:10-14)

When a prophet speaks so much of consolation, it means that things are going very badly, so he feels the need to console and keep hope alive: this text was therefore written at a difficult time. The author, Third Isaiah, is one of the distant disciples of the great Isaiah and is preaching to the exiles who returned from Babylonian exile around 535 BC. Their long-awaited return proved disappointing in every respect because after 50 years everything had changed. Jerusalem bore the scars of the catastrophe of 587 when it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; the Temple was in ruins, as was much of the city, and the exiles had not received the triumphant welcome they had hoped for.  The prophet speaks of mourning and consolation, but in the face of the prevailing discouragement, he is not content with words of comfort, but even dares to make an almost triumphal speech: "Rejoice with Jerusalem, all you who love her. Rejoice with her, all you who mourn for her" (v. 10). Where does this optimism come from? The answer is simple: from faith, or rather from the experience of Israel, which continues to hope in every age because it is certain that God is always present and, even when all seems lost, knows that nothing is impossible for God. Even in times of great discouragement during the Exodus, it was proclaimed: "Has the Lord's arm been shortened?  (Num 11:23), an image that recurs several times in the book of Isaiah. During the exile, when hope was wavering, Second Isaiah communicated on behalf of God: "Is my hand too short to deliver?" (Isaiah 50:2) And after the return, in a period of great concern, the Third Isaiah, whom we read today, takes up the same image twice, both in chapter 59:1 and in the last verse of today's reading: "The hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants" (v. 14). God, who has delivered his people so many times in the past, will never abandon them. Even on its own, the term 'hand' is an allusion to the exodus from Egypt, when God intervened with a mighty hand and outstretched arm. Verse 11 of today's text: "You will be nursed and satisfied at the breast of his consolations" recalls the terrible trial of faith that the people experienced in the desert when they were hungry and thirsty, and even then God assured them of what was necessary.  This reference to the book of Exodus offers two lessons: on the one hand, God wants us to be free and supports all our efforts to establish justice and freedom; but on the other hand, our cooperation is important and necessary. The people left Egypt thanks to God's intervention, and Israel never forgets this, but it had to walk towards the promised land, sometimes with great difficulty. Then, in verse 13, when Isaiah promises on God's behalf, "I will make peace flow like a river," this does not mean that peace will be established magically. The Lord is always faithful to his promises: we must continue to believe that he remains and works at our side in every situation. At the same time, it is essential that we act because peace, justice and happiness need our convinced and generous contribution. 

 

*Responsorial Psalm (65/66, 1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a, 16.20)

 As is often the case, the last verse sums up the meaning of the entire psalm: 'Blessed be God who has not rejected my prayer, who has not denied me his mercy' (v. 20). The vocabulary used shows that this psalm is a song of thanksgiving: "Shout, sing, give him glory... let all the earth bow down before you... I will tell of all his deeds," probably composed to accompany the sacrifices in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is not an individual who speaks, but the entire people giving thanks to God. Israel gives thanks as always for its deliverance from Egypt with very clear references: "He turned the sea into dry land... they passed through the river on foot"; or: "Come and see the works of God, terrible in his deeds towards men". Even the expression "the works of God" in the Bible always refers to the liberation from Egypt. Moreover, the similarity between this psalm and the song of Moses after the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex 15) is striking, an event that illuminates the entire history of Israel: God's work for his people has no other purpose than to free them from all forms of slavery. This is the meaning of chapter 66 of Isaiah, which we read this Sunday in the first reading: in a very dark period of Jerusalem's history, after the Babylonian exile, the message is clear: God will comfort you. We do not know if this psalm was composed at the same time, but in any case the context is the same because it was written to be sung in the Temple of Jerusalem, and the faithful who flock there on pilgrimage foreshadow the whole of humanity that will go up to Jerusalem at the end of time. And if the text of Isaiah announces the new Jerusalem where all nations will flock, the psalm responds: 'Acclaim God, all you of the earth... let all the earth bow down before you... let them sing hymns to your name'. The promised joy is the central theme of these two texts: when times are hard, we must remember that God wants nothing but our happiness and that one day his joy will fill the whole earth, as Isaiah writes, to which the psalm echoes: "Come, listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for me" (vv. 16, 20). The texts of the prophet Isaiah and the psalmist are immersed in the same atmosphere, but they are not on the same level: the prophet expresses God's revelation, while the psalm is man's prayer. When God speaks, he is concerned with the glory and happiness of Jerusalem. When the people, through the voice of the psalmist, speak, they give God the glory that belongs to him alone: "Shout for joy, all you people of the earth; sing to God, sing praises to his name; give him glory with praise" (vv. 1-3). Finally, the psalm becomes the voice of all Israel: "Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his mercy from me" (v. 20). A wonderful way of saying that love will have the last word.

 

*Second Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians (6:14-18)

"As for me, there is no other boast than the cross." Paul's insistence on the cross as his only boast suggests that there is a problem. In fact, the letter to the Galatians begins with a strong rebuke because the believers had very quickly turned from Christ to another gospel, and some were sowing confusion by wanting to overturn the gospel of Christ. Those sowing discord were Jews who had converted to Christianity (Jewish Christians) who wanted to force everyone to practise all the prescriptions of the Jewish religion, including circumcision. Paul then warns them because he fears that behind the discussion about whether or not to be circumcised there lies a real heresy, since only faith in Christ, made concrete by Baptism, saves us, and imposing circumcision would be tantamount to denying this, considering the cross of Christ insufficient. For this reason, he reminds the Galatians that their only boast is the cross of Christ. But to understand Paul, it must be clarified that for him the cross is an event and he does not focus only on the sufferings of Jesus: for him it is the central event in the history of the world. The cross—that is, Christ crucified and risen—has reconciled God and humanity, and has reconciled people among themselves. When he writes that through the cross of Christ, 'the world has been crucified to me', he means that since the event of the cross, the world has been definitively transformed and nothing will ever be the same again, as he also writes in his letter to the Colossians (Col 1:19-20). The proof that the cross is the decisive event in history is that death has been conquered: Christ is risen. For Paul, the cross and the resurrection are inseparable, since they are one and the same event. From the cross, a new creation was born, in contrast to the old world. Throughout this letter, Paul contrasts the regime of the Mosaic Law with the regime of faith; life according to the flesh and life according to the Spirit; the old slavery and the freedom we receive from Jesus Christ. By adhering to Christ through faith, we become free to live according to the Spirit. The old world is at war and humanity does not believe that God is merciful love and, as a result, by disobeying his commandments, creates rivalry and wars for power and money. The new creation, on the contrary, is the obedience of the Son, his total trust, his forgiveness of his executioners, his cheek turned to those who tear his beard, as Isaiah writes. The Passion of Christ was a culmination of hatred and injustice perpetrated in the name of God; but Christ made it a culmination of non-violence, gentleness and forgiveness. And we, in turn, grafted onto the Son, are made capable of the same obedience and the same love. This extraordinary conversion, which is the work of the Spirit of God, inspires Paul to write a particularly incisive formula: Through the cross, the world is crucified for me and I for the world, which means: The way of life according to the world is abolished; we now live according to the Spirit, and this becomes a source of pride for Christians. Proclaiming the cross of Christ is not easy, and when he says, 'I bear the marks of Jesus on my body', he is alluding to the persecutions he himself suffered for proclaiming the Gospel. A final note: this is the only Pauline writing that ends with the word 'brothers'. After arguing with the Galatians, Paul finally finds in his community the brotherhood that binds evangelisers to the evangelised, and the only source of this rediscovered love is 'in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ' (v. 18). 

 

*From the Gospel according to Luke (10:1-20)

 This page of the Gospel presents Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. After overcoming all temptations and defeating the prince of this world, he must pass on the baton to his disciples, who in turn must pass it on to their successors. The mission is too important and precious and must be shared. First, there is the invitation to pray to "the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest" (v. 2). God knows everything, but he invites us to pray so that we may allow ourselves to be enlightened by him. Prayer is never intended to inform God: that would be presumptuous on our part, but it prepares us to allow ourselves to be transformed by him. He thus sends the large group of disciples on mission, providing them with all the necessary advice to face trials and obstacles that are well known to him. When they are rejected, as Jesus experienced in Samaria, they must not be discouraged but, setting out, they will proclaim to all: "The Kingdom of God is near you" (v. 9).  And they will add: "Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet, we shake off against you" (v. 11). Here are some specific instructions for the disciples. "I am sending you out as lambs among wolves" (v. 3), which indicates that we must always remain meek as lambs, since the mission of the disciple is to bring peace: "Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house. If there is a son of peace there, your peace will rest on him'" (vv. 5-6). In other words, we must believe at all costs in the contagious power of peace, because when we sincerely wish for peace, peace truly grows. And if someone does not accept you, do not let yourselves be weighed down by failure and rejection. Every disciple will have a difficult life because, if Jesus himself had nowhere to lay his head, this will also be the case for his disciples. For this reason, they must learn to live day by day without worrying about tomorrow, content with eating and drinking what is served, just as in the desert the people of God could gather manna only for that day. To evangelise, they will take with them only the essentials: "no purse, no bag, no sandals" (v. 4) and "do not go from house to house" (v. 7). There will often be painful choices to make because of the urgency of the mission, and it will be important to resist the temptation of the vanity of success: "Do not rejoice that the demons submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (v. 20). The desire for fame has always been a trap for disciples, but true apostles are not necessarily the most famous. We might think that the seventy-two disciples passed the test well because, on their return, Jesus was able to say, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky" (v. 18).  As he began his final march to Jerusalem, Jesus felt great comfort because of this, so much so that Luke immediately tells us: "At that moment, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

Healing in personal Faith

(Mt 9:18-26)

 

In the communities of Mt, converted Jews were accused (by the ancient religion’s proponents) of being perjured of fathers’ customs, and of the great Moses’ Tradition. No longer «sons of the precept».

On the other hand, there was no lack of faithful preachers who announced to them that they were not «fall asleep» of the Law (v.24), but the only awake, living persons of its Spirit (vv.25-26). The real grown-ups.

In the Gospel passage the icons of this teaching are drawn from what believers in Christ were experiencing before their eyes. In particular: how should contain oneself when the "different" was knocking on the front door of the house and assemblies?

According to the beliefs of the ancient East, blood and death were icons of impurity and factors of social exclusion. The removal from the community [synagogue of the healthy and pure] was a religious obligation.

And those who were deemed to be affected by even physical imperfection could not approach the threshold of assemblies, of respectable families, or civil life - nor even those who had any relationship with them.

But how does God behave with those who are in needs? Does He prioritize prescribed duties, procedures, purification rites? Does it really humiliate the needy of understanding? And with a whole long line of disciplines, penances or public checks?

No, the Lord heals us by personal Faith. Thus He annihilates the power of death and the obsessive control of the elders of the Temple - legalists, in all other commitments and calculations busy.

With His shocking proposal Jesus cures the mortal disease of the whole people: both the spiritual «daughter» of the leaders [for this reason, ‘nation’ already perished at the beginning] and those considered unclean.

All still (if you want) «adolescents» of religiosity, that is, unable to a full life, or never becomed autonomous, albeit on the threshold of being able to be.

In the moment of ‘healing’ the «crowd» and the apostles - if ineffective and deviant - must disappear: only Faith applies (v.22), that is, the you-for-you with the Christ, who brings God among men and us in the heart of the Father.

For this reason it’s licit to leave out prescriptions and surprise Him on personal initiative (vv.20-21) - while according to the official teachers Jesus should look and go elsewhere (v.22).

Only by unrepeatable Faith - personal and without torments - do we become «sons» (v.22) that is, pure members of the authentic Church which unites the creature to the Creator - incessantly triggering a subsequent renewal and further different Genesises, gradually strengthened.

Thanks to Faith, friendship that has a Vision, true ‘adults’ overcome the blurred thoughts, the summary and stagnant gestures of the discounted chains. They do it in an immediate, uninterrupted, growing way.

Here our belief becomes the Way not numb, and Rebirth. Image inside that grasps new possibilities in the world and in the Person of Christ.

Fresh and intense confidence, instead of disappointment. Magnet of what is hoped for.

 

 

[Monday 14th wk. in O.T.  July 7, 2025]

Calamitous Faith

(Mt 9:18-26)

 

In the communities of Mt the converted Jews were accused by the proponents of the old religion of being perjurers of the customs of the fathers and the great Tradition of Moses. No longer 'children of the precept'.

On the other hand, there was no lack of faithful preachers proclaiming to them that they were not the "sleeping ones" of the Law (v.24), but the only awake ones, living by the Spirit of it (vv.25-26). The true adults.

In the Gospel passage, the icons of such teaching are drawn from what believers in Christ experienced before their eyes. Specifically: how do we contain ourselves when the 'different one' knocks at the door of our homes and assemblies?

According to ancient Eastern beliefs, blood and death were icons of impurity and factors of social exclusion. Expulsion from the community (synagogue of the healthy and pure) was a religious obligation.

And those who were deemed to be afflicted with defects of even physical imperfection could not approach the threshold of assemblies, respectable families or civil life - not even those who had any relationship with them.

But how does God deal with those who have problems? Does He impose duties, procedures, prescribed purification rites? Does he humiliate the very one in need of understanding? And with a whole long rigmarole of disciplines, penances or public verifications?

No, he cures through personal faith. Thus he annihilates the power of death and the obsessive control of the Temple elders - legalists, busy with other tasks and calculations.

With his earth-shattering proposal Jesus cures the deadly disease of the whole people: both the spiritual "daughter" of the leaders [for this, "nation" already perished in the beginning] and those considered unclean.

All still, if you like, "adolescents" of religiosity, that is, unable to live a full life, or never becoming autonomous, although in the process of being so.

[In biblical language, the icons of women recalling the story of the people or a community derive from the fact that in Hebrew the term Israel is feminine].

At the moment of "healing" the "crowd" and the apostles - if ineffective and deviant - must disappear: only Faith (v.22) is valid, that is, the you-for-you with the Lord, who brings God among men and us into the heart of the Father.

That is why it is permissible to omit prescriptions and to surprise him by personal initiative (vv.20-21) - whereas according to the official teachers Jesus should look and go elsewhere (v.22).

To allow oneself to be controlled and kidnapped by false, interested guides means self-condemning oneself not to have a full, full-fledged, face-to-face, authentic and effective, direct relationship - as in love.

Only by unrepeatable Faith - personal and without torment - does one become "sons" (v.22), i.e. pure members of the authentic Church, which unites the creature with the Creator - ceaselessly sparking subsequent renewal and further different Genesis, gradually enhanced.

Thanks to Faith, a relationship of friendship that has Vision, true "adults" overcome the tarnished thoughts, the summary and stagnant gestures of predictable concatenations. They do so in an immediate, uninterrupted, growing way.

Here, our believing becomes unmurdered Way and Rebirth. "Image" within, grasping new possibilities in the world and in the Person of Christ.

Fresh and intense confidence instead of disappointment. Calamity of what is hoped for [cf. Heb 11:1].

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

Do you feel judged and marginalised? How do you intertwine your life with God's? How do you rise from the shroud of a world that is habitual and stagnant, addicted, pessimistic and doomed to death? Do you fear that you are a traitor?

 

 

Source of the passage from Mt: The episode of Jairus and the Hemorrhox (Mk 5)

 

Faith is Action, Resourcefulness; Life Force

 

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 the 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 to say: proceed 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 this incredible gesture, Christ reiterates: whoever 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.

Precisely, attracting and fulfilling that which 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 Living, Saving and Dying are ambivalent and describe both health and physical life and spiritual salvation, of the heart (v.34).

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

Jesus has shown an absolute power regarding this death, seen when he gives life back to the widow of Nain's young son (cf. Lk 7: 11-17) and to the 12 year-old girl (cf. Mk 5: 35-43). Precisely concerning her he said:  "The child is not dead but sleeping" (Mk 5: 39), attracting the derision of those present. But in truth it is exactly like this: bodily death is a sleep from which God can awaken us at any moment.

This lordship over death does not impede Jesus from feeling sincere "com-passion" for the sorrow of detachment. Seeing Martha and Mary and those who had come to console them weeping, Jesus "was deeply moved in spirit and troubled", and lastly, "wept" (Jn 11: 33, 35). Christ's heart is divine-human:  in him God and man meet perfectly, without separation and without confusion. He is the image, or rather, the incarnation of God who is love, mercy, paternal and maternal tenderness, of God who is Life. Therefore, he solemnly declared to Martha:  "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die". And he adds, "Do you believe this?" (Jn 11: 25-26). It is a question that Jesus addresses to each one of us:  a question that certainly rises above us, rises above our capacity to understand, and it asks us to entrust ourselves to him as he entrusted himself to the Father. Martha's response is exemplary:  "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (Jn 11: 27). Yes, O Lord! We also believe, notwithstanding our doubts and darkness; we believe in you because you have the words of eternal life. We want to believe in you, who give us a trustworthy hope of life beyond life, of authentic and full life in your Kingdom of light and peace.

We entrust this prayer to Mary Most Holy. May her intercession strengthen our faith and hope in Jesus, especially in moments of greater trial and difficulty.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 9 March 2008]

Dear Young People of Chile

1. I have longed for this meeting which gives me the opportunity to share directly your joy, your affection, your desire for a society more in keeping with the dignity proper to man, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26). I know that these are the aspirations of young Chileans and for this I give thanks to God.

I have read your letters and listened with great attention and emotion to your testimonies, from which emerge not only the anxieties, problems and hopes of Chilean youth in the different regions, environments and social conditions.

You wanted to show what you think of our society and our world, pointing out the symptoms of weakness, infirmity and even spiritual death. Certainly: our world is in need of profound improvement, profound spiritual resurrection. Even though the Lord knows all this, he wants us, with the same faith as the synagogue leader Jairus - who tells him of the seriousness of his daughter's condition: "my little daughter is in extremis" (Mk 5:23) - to tell him what our problems are, whatever worries or saddens us. And the Lord hopes that we address the same plea to him as Jairus did when he asked for his daughter's health: "Come and lay your hands on her that she may be healed and live" (Mk 5:23). I invite you, therefore, to join in prayer for the salvation of the whole world, that all men may be reborn to a new life in Christ Jesus. There is Chile, but there is also the whole world; there are so many countries, so many peoples, so many nations that cannot die. One must pray to overcome death. One must pray to obtain new life in Christ Jesus. He is the life; He is the truth; He is the way.

2. I wish to remind you that God is counting on the young men and women of Chile to change the world. The future of your country depends on you. You yourselves are the future, which will be configured as the present by the way your lives are configured now. In the letter I addressed to the young men and women of the world on the occasion of the International Year of Youth, I told you: 'The future depends on you, the end of this Millennium and the beginning of the new one depend on you. Do not, therefore, be passive; assume your responsibilities in all the fields open to you in our world!" (Ioannes Pauli PP. II, Epistula Apostolica ad iuvenes Internationali vertente Anno Iuventuti dicato, 16, die 31 mar. 1985: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, VIII/1 [1985] 800). Now, in this stadium, a place of competition, but also of pain and suffering in times past, I would like to repeat to the young people of Chile: Take responsibility! Be willing, animated by faith in the Lord, to give reasons for your hope (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).

Your attentive gaze at the world and social realities, as well as your authentic Christian sense, which must lead you to analyse and evaluate with discernment the present conditions of your country, cannot end with the simple denunciation of existing evils. Proposals for solutions, even bold ones, that are not only compatible with your faith, but also required by it, must be born and take shape in your young minds. A healthy Christian optimism will thus subtract the ground from sterile pessimism and give you confidence in the Lord.

3. What is the reason for your trust? Your faith, the recognition and acceptance of the immense love that God continually manifests to mankind: "God the Father, who loves each one of us from all eternity, who created us out of love and so loved us sinners that he gave his only Son so that our sins might be forgiven, and that we might be reconciled with him, and experience with him a communion of love that will never end" (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Nuntius ad iuvenes, 2, die 30 Nov. 1986: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, IX/2 [1986] 1820). Yes, Jesus Christ dead, Jesus Christ risen is for us the definitive proof of God's love for all men. Jesus Christ, "is the same yesterday, today and always" (Heb 13:8), continues to show the same love for young people that the Gospel describes when he meets with a young man and a young woman.

Thus we can contemplate it in the biblical reading we heard: the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, who - St Mark points out - "was twelve years old" (Mk 5:42). It is worth pausing to contemplate the whole scene. Jesus, as on so many other occasions, was standing by the sea, surrounded by the crowd. Out of the crowd came out Jairus, who frankly exposed to the Master his sorrow, the infirmity of his daughter, and with insistence begged for her healing: "My little daughter is in extremis: come and lay your hands on her that she may be healed and live" (Mk 5:23).

"Jesus went with him" (Mk 5:24). The heart of Christ, who is moved by the human pain of this man and his young daughter, does not remain indifferent to our suffering. Christ always listens to us, but demands that we turn to him in faith.

A little later they came to tell Jairus that his daughter had died. Humanly there was no longer any remedy. "Your daughter is dead. Why do you still trouble the Master?" (Mk 5:36).

The love that Jesus feels for mankind, for us, impels him to go to the synagogue leader's house. All the Lord's gestures and words express this love. I would particularly like to dwell on the very words that came out of Jesus' mouth: 'The child is not dead, but asleep'. These deeply revealing words lead me to think of the mysterious presence of the Lord of life in a world that seems to succumb to the destructive impulse of hatred, violence and injustice; but no. This world, which is yours, is not dead, but asleep. In your hearts, dear young people, you feel the strong throb of life, of God's love. Youth is not dead when it is close to the Master. Yes, when it is close to Jesus. Listen to all his words, everything. Young people, love Jesus, seek Jesus. Meet with Jesus.

Then Christ entered the dwelling where she lay, took her hand and said to her: "Maiden, I say to you, get up!" (Mk 5:41). All the love and all the power of Christ - the power of his love - are revealed to us in this gentleness and in this authority with which Jesus gives life to this little girl and commands her to get up. We are moved by the effectiveness of Christ's word: "Immediately the little girl got up and began to walk" (Mk 5:42). In this last disposition of Jesus, before taking leave - "to give her something to eat" (Mk 5:43) - we discover to what extent Christ, true God and true man, knows and cares for all our spiritual and material needs.

From faith in Christ's love for young people comes the Christian optimism that you manifest in this meeting.

4. Only Christ can give the true answer to your difficulties! The world needs your personal response to the Master's words of life: "I say to you, arise!"

We see how Jesus goes out to meet humanity, in the most difficult and distressing situations. The miracle performed in the house of Jairus shows us his power over evil. He is the Lord of life, the victor over death.

Let us compare the case of Jairus' daughter with the situation in today's society. However, we cannot forget that, according to what faith teaches us, the primary cause of evil, of infirmity, of death itself, is sin in its various forms.

In the heart of each and every one of us lies this infirmity that affects us all: personal sin, increasingly rooted in our consciences, to the extent that we lose our sense of God! One cannot overcome evil with good if one does not have this sense of God, of his action, of his presence that invites us to always bet for grace, for life, against sin, against death. The fate of humanity is at stake: 'Man can build a world without God, but this world will end up turning against man' (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 18).

Hence the need to see the social implications of sin in order to build a world worthy of man. There are social evils that give rise to a veritable 'communion of sin' in that, together with the soul, they demean the Church and in a way the whole world (Cf. ibid., 16). The reaction of young people to this deadly communion in sin that poisons the world is right.

Beloved young people. Fight courageously against sin, against the forces of evil in all its forms, fight against sin. Fight the good fight of faith for the dignity of man, for the dignity of love, for a noble life as children of God. Overcoming sin through God's forgiveness is a healing, a resurrection. Do it with full awareness of your inalienable responsibility.

5. If you probe your innermost self, you will undoubtedly discover faults, unfulfilled desires for good, sins, but you will also realise that in your intimacy lie forces that have remained dormant, virtues that have not been sufficiently exercised, capacities for reaction that have not been exhausted.

These energies are as if hidden in the soul of a young man or woman; how many just aspirations and profound yearnings that it is necessary to reawaken, to bring to light! Energies and values that are often stifled by the behaviour and pressures that come from secularisation, and that can only be reawakened by the experience of faith, by the experience of the living Christ, of Christ crucified, of Christ dead and risen.

Young Chileans, do not be afraid to look to Him! Look to the Lord: what do you see? Is He only a wise man? No! He is more than that! Is He a prophet? Yes! He is even more than that! Is he a social reformer? More than a reformer, much more. Look to the Lord with an attentive gaze and you will discover in Him the very face of God. Jesus is the Word that God had to speak to the world. It is God himself who came to share our existence, the existence of each one of us.

At the contact of Jesus, life germinates. Away from Him there is only darkness and death. You thirst for life. Of eternal life! For eternal life? Seek it and find it in Him who not only gives life but is Life itself.

6. This, my friends, is the message of life that the Pope wants to transmit to the young people of Chile: Seek Christ! Look to Christ! Live in Christ! This is my message: may Jesus be "the cornerstone (cf. Eph 2:20) of your life and of the new civilisation that you must build in generous and shared solidarity. There can be no authentic human development in peace and justice, in truth and freedom, if Christ does not make himself present with his saving power" (Ioannis Pauli PP. II, Nuntius ad iuvenes, 3, die 30 Nov. 1986, Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, IX/2 [1986] 1821). What does it mean to build your life in Christ? It means letting yourselves be committed by his love. A love that demands coherence in one's behaviour, that demands conforming one's conduct to the doctrine and commandments of Jesus Christ and his Church; a love that fills our lives with a happiness and peace that the world cannot give (cf. Jn 14:27), despite its great need. Do not be afraid of the demands of Christ's love. Fear, on the contrary, pusillanimity, levity, comfort, selfishness; everything that wants to silence the voice of Christ who, addressing each one, repeats "I say to you, arise!" (Mk 5:41).

Look to Christ with courage, contemplating his life through the serene reading of the Gospel; seek him with confidence in the intimacy of your prayer, in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, where he offers himself for us and is truly present. Do not neglect to form your conscience in depth, seriously, on the basis of the teachings Christ has left us and which his Church preserves and interprets with the authority it has received from him.

If you seek Christ, you too will hear in the depths of your soul the Lord's requests, his constant exhortations. Jesus continues to address you, repeating: "I say to you, arise!" (Mk 5:41), especially when you are not faithful to the works you profess in words. Try, then, not to turn away from Christ, preserving in your soul the divine grace you received in Baptism, having recourse, when necessary, to the sacrament of reconciliation and forgiveness.

7. If you strive to put into practice this programme of life rooted in faith and love for Jesus Christ, you will be able to transform society, to build a more human, more fraternal, more Christian Chile. All this seems to be summed up in the blunt phrase of the Gospel: "Immediately the maiden got up and started walking" (Mk 5:42). With Christ you too will walk in safety and you will carry his presence in all the streets, in all the activities of this world, in the midst of all the injustices of this world. With Christ, you will succeed in making your society start to tread new paths, to the point of making it the new civilisation of truth and love, anchored in the values proper to the Gospel and especially in the precept of charity, the precept that is the most divine and the most human.

Christ asks us not to remain indifferent in the face of injustice, to commit ourselves responsibly to building a more Christian society, a better society. This requires that we banish hatred from our lives: that we recognise as deceptive, false, incompatible with following him, any ideology that proclaims violence and hatred as remedies for achieving justice. Love always wins, as Christ won; love has won, even though sometimes, when faced with concrete events and situations, it may seem ineffective to us. Christ too gave the impression that he could not do it. God can always do more.

In your experience of faith with the Lord, discover the face of the one who, being our master, is the only one who can demand totally, without limits. Opt for Jesus and reject the idolatries of the world, the idols that seek to seduce youth. Only God is adorable. Only He deserves your total gift.

Is it true that you want to renounce the idol of wealth, the lust for possessions, consumerism, easy money?

Is it true that you want to reject the idol of power, as dominion over others instead of the attitude of fraternal service of which Jesus gave the example? Is it true?

Is it true that you want to reject the idol of sex, of pleasure, which holds back your desire to follow Christ on the path of the cross that leads to life? The idol that can destroy love.With Christ, with his grace, you will know how to be generous so that all your brothers and sisters, and especially the most needy, may share in material goods and in an education and culture appropriate to our times, which will allow them to develop the natural talents God has granted them. In this way it will be easier to attain those goals of development and well-being that are indispensable for all to lead a life worthy and proper to the children of God.

8. Young people, rise up and participate, together with the many thousands of men and women in the Church, in the tireless mission of proclaiming the Gospel, of tenderly guiding those who suffer in this land, and of seeking ways to build a just country, a country living in peace. Faith in Christ teaches us that it is worth working for a more just society, that it is worth defending the innocent, the oppressed and the poor, that it is worth suffering to alleviate the suffering of others.

Young man, stand up! You are called to passionately seek the truth, to tirelessly cultivate goodness, a man or woman with a vocation for holiness. May the difficulties you experience not be an obstacle to your love and generosity, but a strong challenge. Do not tire of serving, do not keep silent about the truth, overcome your fears, be aware of your personal limitations. You must be strong and courageous, lucid and persevering on this long journey.

Do not let yourself be seduced by violence and the thousand reasons that seem to justify it. He is wrong who says that only by passing through it will justice and peace be achieved.

Young man, stand up, have faith in peace, an arduous task, the task of all. Do not fall into apathy in the face of what seems impossible. In you sprout the seeds of life for the Chile of tomorrow. The future of justice, the future of peace passes through your hands and springs from the depths of your heart. Be a protagonist in the construction of a new coexistence of a more just, healthy and fraternal society.

9. I conclude by invoking our Mother. Mary Most Holy, under the protection of the Virgin of Mount Carmel, Patroness of your Homeland. Traditionally, men of the sea have always resorted to this protection, asking the Mother of God for asylum and protection on their long and often difficult crossings. Place you too under her protection the "navigation" of your life, of your young life not free from difficulties, and she will lead you to the port of true Life. Amen.

[Pope John Paul II, to the young people of Santiago de Chile, 2 April 1987]

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]

And move the neighbors

(Lk 10:1-12.17-20)

 

Jesus notes that the Apostles are not free people (cf. Lk 9). Their way of being is so grounded on standard attitudes and obligatory behaviors that it translates into impermeable mental armour.

Their predictability is too limiting: it gives no breathing space to the path of those who instead want to reactivate themselves, discover, value surprises behind the secret sides of reality and personality.

That wich remains tied to ancient customs and usual protagonists does not make you dream, it is not an amazing appearance and testimony of Elsewhere; it takes away expressive richness from the Announcement and from life.

The Lord is forced to call the Samaritans [the heretics of religion] gathered elsewhere, not coming from "correct" observances, but able to walk, understand, and not be picky.

The new envoys go on the road helpless. Not being able to count on the usual tricks, they are certainly damaged, defrauded and - if they touch all the exposed nerves - torn to pieces.

But their being modest and not doctoral makes us reflect, arouses new knowledge, and awareness. Thus their spontaneous and innocent friendship.

 

In blocked situations this ‘disorder’ of new amazements will introduce renewed charm, evoke potential, widen expressive opportunities and everyone's field of action.

 

Once in a territory, it will be good not to go from house to house: from a makeshift accommodation, to the apartment, the villa, and then the palace, because the search for better comforts makes God's Novelty disappear.

The care of the sick and deviations is a cornerstone of the Mission, because it’s precisely from insecurities or eccentricities that a different ‘kingdom’ sprouts, the one that notices and takes charge - in the love of those who do not abandon.

And let no time be wasted by combing the “sitting” environment: even a voluntary removal educates to be free.

The momentum of life will awaken consciences and prevail over the negative: on the path that belongs to us, accusations will count for less and less.

 

Unlike the fruitless action of the Apostles (Lk 9 passim), the return of the new evangelizers is full of joy and results (vv. 17-20).

It’s the last and different ones who bring down from "heaven" - and replace - the enemies of humanity and of our Gladness (vv. 5-6).

In the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalom] to be announced, what had always seemed imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which complete and fulfil us also spiritually.

Now the flourishing Salvation [life as saved persons] is within reach of all (v.9), no longer a privilege.

The sides judged to be crazy, extraneous or materially inconclusive are preparing our new paths.

 

In the great Mystery of perceiving oneself as ‘being in the Gift’ - «two by two» (v.1) to live in fullness - the self understands the opposite polarities of its essence.

Only thus ‘widened’ do we become a being With and For the other. On the Way, in the form of the Cross.

 

 

[14th Sunday in O.T. (year C),  July 6, 2025]

Beyond the Twelve: 72 others unsure (but transparent) in the uncertainty of wolves

(Lk 10:1-20)

 

And I and You

"Truth is not at all what I have. It is not at all what you have. It is what unites us in suffering, in joy. It is what unites us in our union, in the pain and pleasure we give birth to. Neither I nor You. And me and You. Our common work, permanent amazement. Its name is Wisdom'.

(Irénée Guilane Dioh)

 

Jesus notes that the Apostles are not free people, that is why they do not emancipate anyone and even prevent any breakthrough (cf. Lk 9).

Their way of being is so grounded in standard attitudes and obligatory behaviour that they result in impermeable mental armour.

Their predictability is too limiting: it gives no breathing space to the path of those who instead want to reactivate themselves, discover and value surprises behind the secret sides of reality and personality.

That which remains bound to ancient customs and usual protagonists does not make one dream, it is not an apparition and amazing testimony of the Other; it takes away expressive richness from the Announcement and from life.

The Lord is compelled to call the Samaritans (the heretics of religion) gathered elsewhere, not from 'correct' observances - but capable of walking, understanding and not being picky.

At least they do not disprove the Word they proclaim with a life behind the scenes: what you see, they are.

He is practically induced to fly over the Twelve, with insecure but transparent '72s', in the uncertainty of the (many) wolves who feel destabilised.

The new envoys go on the road helpless. Unable to rely on the usual wiles, they are sure to be damaged, defrauded and - if they touch all the exposed nerves - mauled.

But their low and unassuming being makes them think, arouses new knowledge and awareness. Thus their spontaneous and innocent friendship.

Then, in blocked situations, it will be this 'disorder' of new stupefaction that will introduce renewed fascination; evoke potentialities, broaden the possible expressive inclinations, and the field of action of all.

It is the critical witnesses who transmute the world and lead people to praise (because they may have simply regained resources they did not even know they possessed or had lost sight of).

Those who never cease to surprise must beware of the fakers and profiteers who are disturbed by the smile of the newly naive - and very careful. Only here must one be difficult: let there be no more scruples!

Once in a territory, it will be good not to go from house to house: from a makeshift accommodation to the flat, to the villa, then to the palace, because the search for better comforts makes the Newness of God disappear.

Caring for the sick and deviant is a cornerstone of the Mission, because it is precisely from insecurities or eccentricities that a different kingdom sprouts, one that notices and takes charge - in the love of those who do not abandon.

And let us not waste time combing the environment sitting on the false truncated-altar ideology: even a voluntary departure educates to gratuitousness. On the contrary, it is precisely the religious leaders [old-fashioned and otherwise] and their circle devotees who remain attached to positions of social visibility, to the idol of the place, to the disease of the title (without which they do not feel like characters), that astound and reflect.

They are manipulative, and fill our heads with breeziness.

The spy of the sovereign - the 'satan' [his acolytes are many and unsuspected] enemy of humanity's progress - will no longer be relevant.

The momentum of life will awaken consciences and prevail over the negative: on the path that belongs to us, the accusations of the interested overseers will count for less and less.

Unlike the scrupulous but sad and deviant action of the Apostles [Lk 9 passim] the return of the new evangelisers aggregated by direct Calling and without intermediate rituals is full of verve and results (vv.17-20).

It is the last and different ones - not the most well-known and self-referential aggregates - who bring down from "heaven" and replace the Satan-functionaries, enemies of humanity and inclusive Joy (vv.5-6).

In the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalôm] to be proclaimed, what had always seemed imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which also fulfil and realise us spiritually.

Now the blossoming Salvation [saved life, conclusive] is within reach for all (v.9), no longer a privilege.

The sides judged sickly, deranged, suffering, invalid, crazy, or materially inconclusive are preparing our new paths.

 

In the vocational dynamic, the fixed point does not lie in a satisfactory adherence to criteria of reason, nor in some ingenious elaboration of novelty.

Neither does it lie in the heroicity or fixity of conformed, yet convinced, behaviour.

Our certainty is a surprise that comes.It awakens us, but it resides solely in a perception of the inner eye: in the slight recurring image that dwells there and mysteriously appears, drags and guides.

And cures fears.

The only certainty will be that slight vision that - corresponding and reaffirming its comings and goings - turns each one to its unexpressed personal desire, weaving an ineffable dialogue with the soul and its Way.

The Gift imposes itself upon the intimate scenario, to turn each Name to its destination.

To attract and actualise Future. Of course: not the return to the previous situation that many advocate; today, even in times of global crisis.

There is no other fixed point than our Calling.

It comes to enter into a spousal relationship with the unpredictable and unprecedented work of the personal Faith-Calamite.

Attraction that seduces the soul, frees it from insecurities by infusing it with passion, and demands to be respected.

Only in a vocational and intimately strong sense does the call of the Dream, which emerges to the heart's perception, make us tenacious.

And it revives a wandering existence amidst the storms - like that of a planet adrift - intertwining life with Christ.

It is our Peace in chaos, which also invites introspection.

"Magnet-counter" in the external artifice of being led by others' goals.

Nor is it enough to find a modern antidote to the frenzy that stings us, still making our wandering worse.

Nor is imposing a style that conflicts with the independence of the personal spirit.

A parenthesis is not enough to annihilate the tension of contemporary life.

After all, we do not lack an oasis to reflect on the world, understand ourselves, and friends or those far away.

 

"I have no peace" - we hear ourselves repeated by people who feel adrift. And this feeling is contagious; rampant today.

How do we proclaim harmony and reconciliation in the home (v.5), in a world besieged by provocations, global maladies and competitions, which if considered responsibly immediately make our wrists shake?

In a New Year's greetings address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, John Paul II summarised four epochal emergencies for the new millennium:

"Life, bread, peace and freedom: these are the great challenges of humanity today".

An outlier for our nature.

How can the man of Faith announce balance and prosperity, if weakness is not protected, if the criterion of nature today seems volatile, if nourishment is not abundant and varied for all, if fraternity is not discernible even in protected environments [at most it is mistaken for generic sympathy for advertising purposes, in a church of events - as Pope Francis says], or if belligerence can have theological motivations (in order not to accept the vital needs of others)... if one does not recognise that one can realise oneself 'in a way that corresponds to one's nature'?

This, in my opinion, is the pivotal point: the prerogative of the Vocation and the inner imagery it arouses; of our response of personal and creative spousal trust.

John Paul said: freedom is light "because it allows one to responsibly choose one's goals and the way to reach them".

Not a light that dazzles, but one that rests, and weaves patterns.

A redeemed light, which becomes relationship, the possibility of sharing; Presence that conveys meaning.

Free will pales, hand in hand with our voluntarism, and even the ability to self-determine for the good is not enough for us. We have always known this.

 

In his second Satire, Juvenal writes:

"Practices have given you this ringworm/

And to many they give it, like sheep/

Or of swine in a herd one communicates/

To all others scabies and dandruff/

And one grain is enough to spoil a bunch/

From this fashion to uglier matters/

Adagio adagio you will pass: the ladder/

Of vices you will not descend/

In short they will make you one of their own/

Those who at home gird their foreheads".

 

One must live by Communion, even with oneself, or there is no authentic life.

In the great Mystery of perceiving oneself as a "being in the Gift" - "two by two" (v.1) - to enjoy fullness, the self understands the opposite polarities of its essence.

Only thus expanded do we become a being "with" and "for" the other.

 

Not infrequently, the sacred proposal isolates us or places us in one-sided watertight compartments, which truncate dreams [not disembodied fantasies, which are corollary to them].

The beautiful ancient customs, or the patterns of abstract sociology, and local styles or customs, determine the tracks of our race: the usual totems of costume. Or the fashions of others; external mannerisms.

Jesus (precisely) notes the failure of his own, who fail to liberate people - and even pretend to prevent it [Lk 9].

So he also calls the Samaritans (v.1), that is, the badly indoctrinated, half-breeds and bastards.

In short, he broadens the horizon of the designated tribes, appealing to pagan nations, for a universal task.

The Lord knows that the 'lay' Faith is not of the circle.It does not willingly conform to models without intimate force; therefore, it does not block evolution, because it makes life out of Relationship and Character.

This, in the midst of all facets of being and history: precisely with and for others, but not outwardly - but firmly within oneself.

In this way, in the friendship of self and neighbour, we become by grace and genuinely much more trustworthy than those who are driven by articulate convictions or strong club voluntarism.

The latter are often very dangerous illusions, if they do not recognise as an absolute value the concrete good of the real man, the right to his Happiness.

Totality or integration resulting from the well-being of a completion in being, no longer reduced.

Messianic Presence [Announcement of the Shalôm] that does not devalue; it does not remain one-sided.

 

 

The Falling Spy, and the Little Brains

 

The spy of the "ruler" - the "Satan" [his acolytes are many and unsuspected], the enemy of humanity's progress - will no longer be prominent.

Dethroned from the condition of power over men, it falls into the abyss (v.18).

It means that thanks to the mission in Christ, the momentum of life will prevail over the negative.

In the path that belongs to us, the accusations of the interested overseers will count for zero.

The old kings and prophets had only sighed for the fullness of the Messiah. They felt themselves to be great, but they had not met the Eternal One in superabundance of Person.

They were still slaves to cosmic elements, sometimes subject to the irrational power of evil; often overcome by common thinking, by their own and others' misery, by the attractions of the surrounding worldly reality.

The 'little ones', on the other hand, even today remain open to the Mystery and receive a renewed being.

The wise suppose that the only life is on their side; they think themselves powerful and convincing. They do not need light, nor do they need a Friend.

It is on this plane that one of the definitive revelations about the authentic Man that manifests the divine condition is formulated.

The Son blesses the Father for the gift bestowed on the insignificant in society, and discovers the crux of the Mystery of our communication with the Most High: the spirit of knowing oneself to be in the Family, in its own right.

 

Ancient religious holiness rested on separation [Qadosh-Santo: it is an attribute of the God who dwells in distinct, remote, inaccessible places] not on essence.

The new name for (domestic) holiness reflected in the Person of Christ and in that of His brethren is no longer synonymous with 'cut off from others and set apart', but 'United'.

Despite the crutches he wears, he remains in himself 'dignified' and even 'called'; hence enabled to be promoted, without further conditions of ideological or cultic purity.

Father and Son constitute a Mystery of reciprocity and dedication into which only those who wish to receive and welcome themselves in the source - in God, to allow themselves to be enveloped by a Friendship that encompasses the whole being - penetrate.

Dialogue that expands even the smallest qualities, sublimates the unknown and obscure sides of the personality into Pearls; to expand the wave of existence, without chasing the voices of the external world [only apparently vital].

Thus Sending and Mission have as their core the unfolding of the intense quality, of the same intimate and indestructible divine reality: Love.

The only Fire that annihilates the consuming powers, in people, in nations, in history.

 

Precisely, unlike the scrupulous but sad and deviant work of the Apostles [Lk 9 passim], the return of the new evangelisers aggregated by direct Calling and without intermediate rituals is full of joy and results (vv.17-20).

Let us remember Tagore: 'If Christians were like their Master, they would have all India at their feet'.

They are the last and different - the new protagonists of the proclamation.

Not the best known and self-opinionated co-opted ones succeed in bringing down from heaven and replacing the Satan-functionaries, enemies of humanity and our democratic Joy (vv.5-6).

In the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalôm] to be proclaimed, what had always seemed imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which complement, include and fulfil us spiritually as well.

Now the Salvation [life of the saved] that flourishes is within reach of all who have a caring spirit and virtue as family members. No longer the privilege of circles that feel secure [but lose uniqueness].

Tagore again: 'Kindly, deliberately make yourself small, come into this small abode [...] As a friend, as a father, as a mother make yourself small, come into my heart. I too with my hands will make myself small before the master of the universe; with my small intelligence I will know you and make you known".

The Mystery resists the "learned" who make profession of high wisdom (v.21). 

Conversely, the Kingdom opens to those not imprisoned by conformist and interposed ideas - slaves to thoughts and conventions.

Here is the Hymn of Jubilation (vv.21-24) that introduces the Commandment of Love (vv.25ff).I remember my Augustinian professor of Patristics: he insisted that one of the nicknames earned by the early Christians was 'little brains'.

They were simple people, but full of aptitudes for fullness, and wise new awareness, which astounded the professors and philosophers of the ancient world.

 

We, too, ask ourselves: what makes us come close to what we are called to do?

Well, perhaps we already know: the sufficiency of those who profess cerebral doctrine - in reality - only leads to falling from the sky.

It annihilates humble self-perception, makes the ability to notice pale; it closes one to forgiveness, to benevolent acceptance, to listening to the soul and to others, to availability. Even to the acumen of innate knowledge, that which belongs to us and would solve real problems.

Precisely those sides that are judged crazy or materially inconclusive - even in the weave of small things - would make us face the external events that beset us... as opportunities for growth.

They are indeed preparing our new paths, and a germ of an alternative society.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

What happened in you when you accepted the modest (and full) status of son?

What new awareness of yourself and the world did you acquire?

Did you also discover outbursts of gratuitousness, as well as gratitude?

 

 

The Mission (Effusion) reaches all frontiers

 

For the Announcement, without knots at the throat

(Lk 10:13-16)

 

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

That is why in the Announcement we are not orphans, and with many knots at our throats.

The Master himself is not alone. The witness of even non-disciples is part of Christ's Way to the Father.

Way that comes. It is not the established "internal" commitment that builds a more authentic world with divine traits.

Rather, it is the Kingdom - effusive in itself - that gives rise to the path to the "far", and activates unthinkable scenarios.

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

The varied experience, the environment full of surprises of non-followers, generates blossoms, of each one - in the discovery of the limit, of one's own deep states - for communion.

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

 

The Gospel overcomes the barriers of peoples and if necessary leaves behind its cradle of extenuating cultures, locked in a plastered mentality, perhaps intolerant; annoyed at everything.

Those who in full awareness and deliberate consent reject the Word because the world will no longer be 'as it was before' suddenly find themselves without hope, without children, without the possibility of life and expansion.

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

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

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

Thus the Announcement unleashes the Spirit, it opens up unusual doors: even a window onto the inner world. Where opposites already have a right to exist. Indeed, they call to the New Covenant, which teaches us to stand with the sides we do not like.

 

In this way we will investigate and discover: the struggle of the blocks, of the fears of what we do not want to see outside and inside us, must cease.

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

Even and especially the shadows call for the Exodus, a new covenant - where we are not absolutely alone and one-sided, but more complete.

In short, the Mystery that inhabits us transcends the bonds of belief, makes us less divided. It starts 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 Him who sent me" (v.16).

"For the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him" (Jn 5:22-23).

 

 

Scientists and Little Ones

(Lk 10:21-24)

 

Unlike the fruitless action of the Apostles [Lk 9 passim], the return of the new evangelisers is full of joy and results (vv.17-20). Why?

That which remains tied to ancient customs and usual protagonists does not make one dream, it is not an apparition and astonishing testimony of the Other; it takes away expressive richness from the proclamation and from life.

The leaders looked at religiosity with a purpose of interest. Professors of theology were accustomed to assessing every comma from their own ridiculously supponent knowledge - unrelated to real events.

The new envoys go on the road helpless.

The Master rejoices in their and his own experience, which brings a non-epidermal joy and a teaching from the Spirit - about those who are well disposed to understand the depths of the Kingdom in ordinary things.

In short, after an initial moment of enthusiastic crowds, the Master delves deeper into the issues and finds everyone against him, except God and the least: the weightless, but eager to start from scratch.

Gleam of the Mystery that leavens history - without making it a possession.

At the conclusion of the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis cites the figure and experience of Charles de Foucauld, who - subverting conformism - "only by identifying himself with the least came to be a brother to all" (no.287).

At first, even Jesus was stunned by the rejection of those who were already satisfied with the official religious structure and no longer expected anything that could arouse custom and profit.

Then he understands, praises and blesses the Father's plan.

He understands that the authentic person is born from the depths, in any case from another elaboration and genesis, which upsets the established, inert and reassuring religious relationship - never profound nor decisive for human destiny.

God is Simple Relationship: it demythologises the idol of greatness.

The Eternal One is not the master of creation who manifests himself through the irrepressible powers of nature.

He is Refreshment that refreshes, because He makes us feel complete and lovable; He seeks us out, He is attentive to the language of the heart.

He is Keeper of the world, even of the unlearned - of the "infants" (v.21) spontaneously empty of boastful spirit, that is, of those who do not remain closed in their sufficient belonging.

The Father-Son relationship is communicated to God's poor: those who are endowed with a family-like attitude (v.22).

Insignificant and invisible without great gifts, but who abandon themselves to the proposals of the providential life that comes, like children in the arms of parents.

A spirit of pietas that favours those who allow themselves to be filled, and who do not proceed along the paths of thought or calculating initiative, but of innate Wisdom.

The only reality that corresponds to us and does not present the 'bill': it does not proceed on the paths of functional thinking, of calculating initiative.

It transmits freshness in the readiness to receive - to welcome and personally restore - both the Truth as Gift... and the spontaneous enthusiasm itself, capable of realising it.

A prayer of blessing that is simple and for the simple - this of Jesus (v.21) - that makes us grow in esteem, fits perfectly with our experience, and gets along well with ourselves.

But which strangely the 'learned', who do not live 'the spirit of the neighbourhood' (FT no.152) yet claim positions and always play smart, have not been so willing to pass on to us.

Because such Berakah does not presuppose the energy of 'models', nor the aggressive power of 'bigwigs'.

Precisely, in the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalom] to be announced, what had always seemed to be imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which also complete and fulfil us spiritually.

And instead of only with the 'big' and external, one must in this way live in Communion even with the 'small' in oneself, or there is no loveliness, no authentic life.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

What do you feel when you are told: 'You don't count'? Does it remain a humiliating contempt or do you consider it a great Light received, as Jesus did?