Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".
But can he participate in the ritual? Sitting and with his eye on the ledgers, only then rich - indeed, 'lord'
(Mt 9:9-13)
"Jesus does not exclude anyone from his friendship. The good proclamation of the Gospel consists precisely in this: in the offer of God's grace to the sinner! In the figure of Matthew, therefore, the Gospels propose to us a real paradox: the one who is apparently furthest from holiness can even become a model of welcoming God's mercy and allowing us to glimpse its wonderful effects in his own existence" [Pope Benedict, General Audience 30 August 2006].
Friction arose in some assemblies of believers, because some church members still considered it profane to have contact with or accept foreigners, who had not yet adapted to the identity mentality of customs.
Even the Judeo-Christians from Galilee and Syria whom Matthew addressed needed to learn to break the isolation of ancient purity norms. They did not have to keep themselves apart.
The friction of opinions became particularly acute in the [typical third-generation] debate over the kind of permissible participation in meetings and the Breaking of Bread.
Conflict pitted against each other the group of converts from paganism (increasingly conspicuous) and the Judaizing group.
The latter did not like habitual contact with those far from their mentality, but rather distinction.
Both in the assemblies and in the quality of everyday fraternal life, unpleasant situations and doubts of conscience arose [about whether or not to welcome pagans who had converted to Jesus the Messiah, let alone share the table with the (supposedly) defiled].
Several church brethren were accustomed to still sacredly consider it profane to have any contiguity with anyone, or even to accept the judged defiled.
The devout conception of moral subdivisions led to the belief that it was necessary to keep the new at a distance, for not having adapted to the not-yet-demythologised mentality of Semitic traditions.
Thus the evangelist wants to describe how Jesus himself faced the same conflict: without any ritual or sacred attention, except to man.
Why? According to the Master's teachings, the relationship with the distant and different, and our own hardships or hidden abysses have something to tell us.
Mt intended to help the Judeo-Christian faithful to understand a discriminating opening: the leap from common religiosity - made up of absurd beliefs, separations and squeamish attitudes - to the Faith in progress.
A discriminating opening is the hope in life itself that comes, and calls for the surrender of artificial positions; hence the possibility of social and ritual insertion.
Such is the teaching, the story, the Person of Christ.
He guides us to existential entrustment, to global trust; to believing the story of the public sinner, who is each one, to be our own.
To proceed along such a Way, one starts precisely from the unexpressed energies of one's own primordial states, recognised, assumed, made personally fruitful; dilated in one's brothers, without distinction.
In fact, the Gospel passage emphasises that in its time the apostles (v.10) had by no means been called by the Lord to the same and rigorous practice of segregation, typical of the ethno-purist beliefs, which was nevertheless in force around them.
Therefore, the believers of the 70s and 80s did not have to keep themselves apart: rather, they needed to learn how to break the isolation of the norms of social and cultic conformity.
The Father is Friendly Presence.
The glad tidings of Matthew are this: the life of Communion is not gratification, nor is it recognition.
The Eucharist is not a reward for merit, nor is it a discriminator in favour of sacred marginalisation - or adult casuistry.
God does not complicate our existence, burdening it with too many obligations and duties that weigh down our days and our whole lives; rather, He sweeps them away.
For this reason, the figure of the new Rabbi touched the hearts of the people, without boundaries.
Prohibition must be replaced by friendship. Intransigence supplanted by indulgence; harshness by condescension.
In such an adventure we are not called to forms of disassociation: we start with ourselves.
Thus one arrives without hysteria at micro-relationships and [without ideological charges] at the current - even devout - mentality.
No more false goals, superficial objectives, obsessions and useless reasoning, nor mechanical habits, ancient or modern; others' [never reworked in themselves].
With such an experience of inner excavation and identification, women and men of Faith must share life with anyone - even notorious transgressors like the son of Alphaeus; seeing themselves in them.
And by laying down the artifices: without first claiming any licence.
The faithful in Christ are called to share the breaking of bread with pagans and sinners.In this way, without first demanding a discipline of the arcane, and practices that celebrate distances, such as the ablutions that preceded the meal.
Matathiah in fact means 'man of God', 'given by God'; precisely 'Gift of God' (Matath-Yah) ['Gift' despite the anger of official authorities].
The observant sects of Judaism treated publicans as unclean beings, to be kept at a distance.
The seed of alternative society of believers in Christ accepted them and grasped their resources, the good for the community.
The anxiety of contamination stemmed from a false, preconceived and exclusivist idea of what not only in Palestine but even in the Diaspora was identified by total squinting with 'Yahweh's Will' - a factor of separation in the midst of other peoples.
Illusion that had not stimulated an attitude of sympathy towards the diverse reality, nor of friendliness towards the neighbour outside the 'circle'.
According to the direct warning of Jesus himself - even to one of the apostles - the only impurity that God does not tolerate is that of not giving space to those who ask for it because they have none.
Sometimes we are in fact like 'comari'; souls imprisoned in a world closed within fences that transfix our gaze [even on grand accounts and club records: tiny certainties]. And a devout life of small-mindedness.
The Lord wants full communion with the transgressors, not because of an ideological banality: it is the invitation to recognise, confess, agree, live together.
Thus allowing the soul forced into anguish to breathe.
Not to subject his intimates to some form of humiliating paternalism: knowing oneself to be incomplete and allowing oneself to be transformed from poor - or rich - into a lord, is a resource.
"And it came to pass that while he was reclining at table in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners who had come were reclining at table with Jesus and his disciples" (v.10 Greek text).
"They were reclining": according to the manner of celebrating solemn banquets, by free men - now all free.
How marvellous, such a monstrance!
A living Body of Christ that smells of Sharing: authentic Worship!
It is this all empathic and royal awareness that smoothes out, makes credible, the content of the Announcement (vv.12-13). Although it shocks the susceptibility of the official teachers.
From now on, the division between believers and non-believers will be far more humanising than between 'born again' and not, or pure and impure.
It is a different karat - the principle of a life of the saved, which unfolds and overflows beyond the club ropes.
Among the disciples, it is likely that there were quite a few members of the Palestinian resistance, who opposed the Roman occupiers.
By contrast, here Jesus calls a collaborator, and one who allowed himself to be led by advantage.
As if to say: the New Community of sons and brothers does not cultivate privileges, separation, oppression, hatred.
The Master always kept himself above the political shocks, ideological distinctions and corrupt disputes of his time.
In his Church there is a strong sign of discontinuity with religions: prohibition must be replaced by friendship.
The apostles themselves were not called to the same strict practice of segregation and division typical of ethno-purist beliefs, which prevailed around them [and was believed to reflect God's established order on earth].
Even today, the Lord does not invite the best or the worst to follow, but the opposites. A principle that also applies to the intimate life.
The recovery of opposing sides also of our personality, disposes us "to conversion" (Lk 5:32): not to rearrange the world of the Temple, but to make us change our point of view, mentality, principles, way of being.
Christ also calls, welcomes and redeems the publican in us, that is, the more rubricistic - or worn-out - side of our personality.
Even our unbearable or rightly hated character: the rigid one and the - equally our - rubricist one.
By reintegrating precisely the opposites, it will even make them flourish: they will become inclusive, indispensable, allied and intimately winning aspects of the future testimony, empowered with genuine love.
Being considered strong, capable of leading, observant, excellent, pristine, magnificent, performing, extraordinary, glorious... damages people.
It puts a mask on us, makes us one-sided; it takes away understanding. It floats the character we are sitting in, above reality.
For one's growth and blossoming, more important than always winning is to learn to accept, to yield to the point of capitulation; to make oneself considered wanting, inadequate.
Says the Tao Tê Ching [XLV]: 'Great uprightness is like sinuousness, great skill is like ineptitude, great eloquence is like stammering'.
The contrived norm (unfortunately, sometimes even unwise leadership) makes us live according to success and external glory, obtained through compartmentalisation.Jesus inaugurates a new kind of relationships, and 'covenants' of fruitful divergence - even within ourselves.
And He makes everything the Word alone 'Follow Me' (v.9) [not others].
The Master's Wisdom and the multifaceted art of Nature [exemplified in the crystalline wisdom of the Tao] lead all to be human.
It is not 'perfection' or narcissism that make us love Exodus.
To internalise and live the message:
What is your spiritual and human strength? How did you generate it?
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the centre of the liturgy of the Word for this Sunday there is a saying of the Prophet Hosea to which Jesus refers in the Gospel: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings" (Hos 6: 6). It is a key word, one of those that bring us into the heart of Sacred Scripture. The context in which Jesus makes it his own is the calling of Matthew, a "publican" by profession, in other words a tax collector for the Roman imperial authority: for this reason the Jews considered him a public sinner. Having called Matthew precisely when he was sitting at his tax counter - this scene is vividly depicted in a very famous painting by Caravaggio -, Jesus took his disciples to Matthew's home and sat at the table together with other publicans. To the scandalized Pharisees he answered: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.... For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mt 9: 12-13). Here, the Evangelist Matthew, ever attentive to the link between the Old and New Testaments, puts Hosea's prophecy on Jesus' lips: "Go and learn what this means, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice'".
These words of the Prophet are so important that the Lord cited them again in another context, with regard to the observance of the Sabbath (cf. Mt 12: 1-8). In this case too he assumed responsibility for the interpretation of the precept, showing himself to be "Lord" of even the legal institutions. Addressing the Pharisees he added: "If you had known what this means, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice', you would not have condemned the guiltless" (Mt 12: 7). Thus in Hosea's oracle Jesus, the Word made man, fully "found himself", as it were; he wholeheartedly made these words his own and put them into practice with his behaviour, even at the cost of upsetting his People's leaders. God's words have come down to us, through the Gospels, as a synthesis of the entire Christian message: true religion consists in love of God and neighbour. This is what gives value to worship and to the practice of the precepts.
Addressing the Virgin Mary, let us now ask for her intercession in order to live in the joy of the Christian experience always. Mother of Mercy, Our Lady, awaken within us sentiments of filial abandonment to God who is infinite mercy; help us to make our own the prayer that St Augustine expresses in a well known passage of his Confessions: "Lord, have pity on me.... I hide not my wounds; you are the physician, I the sick; you merciful, I miserable.... and all my hope is no where but in your exceeding great mercy" (X, 28, 39; 29, 40).
[Pope Benedict, Angelus 8 June 2008]
Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ's power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows "what is in man". He alone knows it.
So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life.
[Pope John Paul II, homily at the beginning of his pontificate 22 October 1978].
Prayer for vocations
Jesus, Son of God, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Thou callest all the baptised "to put out into the deep", treading the path of holiness.
Stir in the hearts of young people the desire to be in today's world
witnesses of the power of your love.
Fill them with your Spirit of fortitude and prudence to lead them into the depths of the human mystery so that they may be able to discover the full truth of themselves and their vocation.
Our Saviour, sent by the Father to reveal his merciful love, give your Church the gift of young people who are ready
to be among their brothers and sisters the manifestation of your presence that renews and saves.
[John Paul II]
With his mercy Jesus also chooses apostles 'from the worst', from among sinners and the corrupt. But it is up to them to preserve "the memory of this mercy", remembering "from where one has been chosen", without getting head over heels or thinking of making a career as officials, pastoral planners and businessmen. It is the concrete testimony of Matthew's conversion that Pope Francis re-proposed while celebrating Mass at Santa Marta on Friday 21 September, on the feast day of the apostle and evangelist.
"In the Collect Prayer we prayed to the Lord and said that in his plan of mercy he chose Matthew, the publican, to constitute him an apostle," the Pontiff immediately recalled, who indicated as the key to reading "three words: plan of mercy, choose-choose, constitute".
"As he was leaving," Francis explained, referring precisely to the Gospel passage from Matthew (9:9-13), "Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me. And he got up and followed him. He was a publican, that is, a corrupt man, because for money he betrayed his country. A traitor to his people: the worst".
In reality, the Pope pointed out, some might object that 'Jesus has no common sense in choosing people': 'why did he choose out of so many others' this person 'from the worst, from nothing, from the most despised place'? Moreover, the Pontiff explained, in the same way the Lord "chose the Samaritan woman to go and announce that he was the messiah: a woman rejected by the people because she was not really a saint; and he chose many other sinners and made them apostles". And then, he added, 'in the life of the Church, so many Christians, so many saints who were chosen from the lowest'.
Francis recalled that 'this consciousness that we Christians should have - from where I was chosen, from where I was chosen to be a Christian - must remain throughout life, remain there and have the memory of our sins, the memory that the Lord had mercy on my sins and chose me to be a Christian, to be an apostle'.
So 'the Lord chooses'. The Collect prayer is clear: 'Lord, you chose the publican Matthew and made him an apostle': that is, he insisted, 'from the worst to the highest place'. In response to this call, the Pope noted, 'what did Matthew do? Did he dress up? Did he start saying 'I am the prince of the apostles, with you', with the apostles? Am I in charge here? No! He worked all his life for the Gospel, how patiently he wrote the Gospel in Aramaic'. Matthew, the Pontiff explained, 'always had in mind where he was chosen from: from the lowest'.
The fact is, the Pope reiterated, that "when the apostle forgets his origins and begins to make a career, he distances himself from the Lord and becomes an official; who does a lot of good, perhaps, but is not an apostle". And so "he will be incapable of transmitting Jesus; he will be a fixer of pastoral plans, of many things; but in the end, a businessman, a businessman of the kingdom of God, because he has forgotten from where he was chosen".
For this reason, Francis said, it is important to have 'the memory, always, of our origins, of the place where the Lord has looked at me; that fascination of the Lord's gaze that called me to be a Christian, to be an apostle. This memory must accompany the life of the apostle and of every Christian".
"In fact, we are always used to looking at the sins of others: look at this, look at that, look at that other," the Pope continued. Instead, "Jesus told us: 'please do not look at the mote in other people's eyes; look at what you have in your heart'". But, the Pontiff insisted, "it is more fun to speak ill of others: it is a beautiful thing, it seems". So much so that "to speak ill of others" seems a bit "like honey candy, which is very good: you take one, it's good; you take two, it's good; three... you take half a kilo and your stomach hurts and you're sick".
Instead, Francis suggested, 'speak ill of yourself, accuse yourself, remembering your sins, remembering where the Lord has chosen you from. You were chosen, you were chosen. He took you by the hand and brought you here. When the Lord chose you, he did not do things by halves: he chose you for something great, always'.
'Being a Christian,' he said, 'is a great, beautiful thing. We are the ones who stray and want to stay in the middle, because that is very difficult; and to negotiate with the Lord' saying: 'Lord, no, only up to here'. But "the Lord is patient, the Lord can tolerate things: he is patient, he waits for us. But we lack generosity: he does not. He always takes you from the lowest to the highest. So he did with Matthew and he did with all of us and will continue to do".Referring to the apostle, the Pontiff explained how he had "felt something strong, so strong, to the point of leaving the love of his life on the table: money". Matthew "left the corruption of his heart to follow Jesus. Jesus' gaze, strong: "Follow me!". And he left", despite being "so attached" to money. "And surely - there was no telephone at that time - he must have sent someone to say to his friends, to those of the clique, of the group of publicans: 'come and have lunch with me, for I will make feast for the master'".
So, as the Gospel passage tells us, 'they were all at table, these: the worst of the worst in the society of that time. And Jesus with them. Jesus did not go to lunch with the righteous, with those who felt righteous, with the doctors of the law, at that time. Once, twice he also went with the latter, but at that moment he went with them, with that syndicate of publicans'.
And, Francis continued, 'the doctors of the law were scandalised. They called the disciples and said, 'how is it that your master does this, with these people? He becomes impure!": eating with an impure person infects you, you are no longer pure". Hearing this, it is Jesus himself who "says this third word: 'Go and learn what it means: 'mercy I want and not sacrifices'". For "God's mercy seeks all, forgives all. Only, he asks you to say: 'Yes, help me'. Only that".
"When the apostles went among sinners, think of Paul, in the community of Corinth, some were scandalised," the Pope explained. They said, "But why do you go to those people who are pagan people, they are sinful people, why do you go there?" Jesus' answer is clear: "Because it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick: 'Mercy I want and not sacrifices'".
"Matthew chose! He always chooses Jesus," the Pontiff relaunched. The Lord chooses "through people, through situations or directly". Matthew is "constituted apostle: he who constitutes in the Church and gives the mission is Jesus. The Apostle Matthew and many others recalled their origins: sinners, corrupt. Why? Because of mercy. For the design of mercy".
Francis recognised that 'understanding the Lord's mercy is a mystery; but the greatest, most beautiful mystery is the heart of God. If you want to get right to the heart of God, take the path of mercy and allow yourself to be treated with mercy'. This is exactly the story of "Matthew, chosen from the money-changer's desk where taxes were paid. Chosen from below. Established in the highest place. Why? For mercy'. In this perspective, the Pope concluded, "we learn what 'mercy I want, and not sacrifice' means".
[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 22/09/2018]
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles [29 June 2025]
May God bless us and the Virgin protect us. A special remembrance on this Sunday for Pope Leo XIV and his difficult ministry in this time of grave human and spiritual crisis in the world.
*First reading from the Acts of the Apostles (12:1–11)
Jesus was probably executed in April 30. At first, his disciples were very few and did not cause any trouble, but the situation became complicated when they began to perform healings and miracles. Peter was imprisoned twice by the religious authorities: the first time with John, which ended with an appearance before the court and threats; the second time with other apostles whom Luke does not name, who were miraculously freed by an angel (Acts 5:17-20). The religious authorities then had Stephen killed and unleashed a real persecution that drove the most threatened Christians, called 'Hellenists', to leave Jerusalem for Samaria and the Mediterranean coast. James, Peter, John and the rest of the Twelve remained in Jerusalem. In today's episode, the political powers imprison Peter under Herod Agrippa, who reigned from 41 to 44 AD. The nephew of Herod the Great, who reigned at the time of Jesus' birth, Herod Agrippa was careful not to displease either the Roman authorities or the Jews, so much so that it was said that he was Roman in Caesarea and Jewish in Jerusalem. However, in trying to please both sides, he could only be an enemy of the Christians, and it was in this context that, in order to ingratiate himself with the Jews, he had James (son of Zebedee) executed and Peter imprisoned. Peter miraculously escaped again, but what interests Luke much more than Peter's personal fate is the mission of evangelisation: if angels come to free the apostles, it is because the world needs them and God will not allow any power to hinder the proclamation of the Gospel. A historical note: The Jews, reduced to slavery and threatened with outright genocide, were miraculously freed several times and over the centuries proclaimed to the world that this liberation was always the work of God. Unfortunately, in a mysterious reversal, it can happen that those who are charged with proclaiming and accomplishing God's work of liberation end up becoming accomplices to a new form of domination, as happened to Jesus, victim of the perversion of the religious power of his time. Luke, in his account of Jesus' death and resurrection, highlighted this paradox: it was in the context of the Jewish Passover, the memorial of the liberating God, that the Son of God was put to death by the defenders of God. However, the love and forgiveness of the 'meek and humble' God had the last word: Jesus rose from the dead. And now, in turn, the young Church finds itself facing persecution by religious and political powers, just like Jesus, and once again, this takes place in the context of the Jewish Passover, in Jerusalem. Peter was arrested during the week of Easter, which begins with the Passover meal and continues with the week of Unleavened Bread. The words the angel says to Peter resemble the orders given to the people on the night of the exodus from Egypt (Ex 12:11): "Get up quickly! Put on your belt and your sandals." Luke makes it clear that God is continuing his work of liberation, and the entire account of this miracle is written in the style and with the vocabulary of Christ's passion and resurrection. The scenarios are similar: it is night, there is a prison, there are soldiers, Peter is asleep unlike Jesus, but for both of them the light of God acting rises in the night. In the darkness of trial, Christ's promise to Peter does not fail, because the forces of death and evil will not prevail. The Church, in the throes of history, often repeats Peter's profession of faith: "Now I know that the Lord has sent an angel and rescued me from Herod's hand" (v. 11).
*Responsorial Psalm (33/34, 2-9)
"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." We sing this psalm after hearing the story of Peter's liberation, knowing that the whole young Church was praying for him. "This poor man cries, and the Lord hears him": faith is crying out to God and knowing that he hears us, as he heard the cry of the community, and Peter was freed. However, Jesus did not escape death on the cross, and Peter, once again a prisoner in Rome, would also be killed. It is often said that everything will be resolved through prayer, but this is not the case, because even those who pray and make novenas and pilgrimages do not always obtain the grace they ask for. So does God sometimes not listen, or when we are not answered as we would like, is it because we have prayed badly or not enough? The answer lies in three points: 1. Yes, God always hears our cry; 2. He responds by giving us his Spirit; 3. He raises up brothers and sisters beside us. 1. God always hears our cry. In the episode of the burning bush (Ex 3), we read: 'God said to Moses, "Yes, I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry under the blows of their overseers. Yes, I know their sufferings." The true believer knows that the Lord is close to us in suffering because he is "on our side," as we read here in Psalm 33/34: I sought the Lord, and he answered me... he delivered me... he hears... he saves... his angel encamps around those who fear him, and he is a refuge. 2. God answers us by giving us his Spirit, as we understand when we listen to what Jesus says in Luke's Gospel: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. God does not magically make all our worries disappear, but he fills us with his Spirit, and prayer opens us to the action of the Spirit who gives us the strength to change the situation and overcome the trial. We are no longer alone: we read in the responsorial psalm that 'This poor man cries, and the Lord hears him; he saves him from all his troubles... I sought the Lord, he answered me and delivered me from all my fears' (vv. 6-7). Believing that the Lord hears us dispels fear and makes anguish vanish. 3. God raises up brothers and sisters beside us. When, in the episode of the burning bush, God says that he has seen the misery of the people in Egypt and heard their cry, he inspires Moses to free the people: "Now, since the cry of the Israelites has come to me... go, I am sending you to Pharaoh. Bring my people out of Egypt" (Ex 3:9-10). How many times in the experience of suffering has God raised up the prophets and leaders that the people needed to take their destiny into their own hands. Ultimately, the responsorial psalm expresses the historical experience of Israel, where faith appears as a twofold cry: man cries out his anguish like Job, and God always listens and frees him. Man then prays in thanksgiving like Israel, who, despite a thousand vicissitudes, never lost hope, singing: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be in my mouth. My glory and my praise is the Lord; let the poor hear and be glad" (vv. 2-3).
*Second reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (4:6-8, 17-18)
It is thought that the two letters to Timothy were perhaps written a few years later by a disciple of Paul, but everyone agrees that the text we read today is his; indeed, it represents his testament and his last farewell to Timothy. Imprisoned in Rome, Paul is aware that he will be executed and that the moment of his great departure has come, certain that he must appear before God. He therefore looks back on his past, from when Christ seized him like a sword on the road to Damascus, and takes stock of his life using four flashbacks that clearly outline the itinerary of his mission. 1. The first image is linked to worship: "I am already being poured out as a drink offering" (v. 6), alluding to an ancient cult practice called libation, which consisted of pouring a liquid (wine, oil, water, milk or honey) as a sacred offering, symbolising the total gift of life to the deity. Paul uses this image to say that his existence is a total sacrifice to Christ. 2. The second image is linked to navigation: "the time has come for me to leave this life" (v. 6). Paul knows that his journey is almost over after storms and problems of all kinds. He chose the Greek word 'analusis' (dissolution, liberation), used in nautical and military contexts to indicate the loosening of the ropes that hold a ship anchored so that it can set sail for the open sea, and in military contexts to indicate the dismantling of tents in a camp when soldiers leave for a new mission. Paul means that his life is about to be freed from earthly ties to set sail for his homeland, the house of the Father. 3. The third image is linked to the struggle, not violent but internal and spiritual, to evangelise: 'I have fought the good fight' (v. 7). His life is marked by struggles, persecutions, bitter confrontations and betrayals, yet, as he writes later, he has always been delivered "from the lion's mouth" (v. 17). 4. The fourth image is connected to sport: "I have finished the race" (v. 7). The race run in ancient stadiums is a symbol of the Christian who never abandons the missionary path and, at the end, if he keeps the faith, receives the "crown" that the Lord reserves for the true disciples of Christ. This race is not a competition between athletes because each one advances at his own pace towards Christ and "his manifestation". And so, like Jesus and Stephen, at the moment of his execution, Paul forgives those who abandoned him, certain of the Lord's power to deliver him from all evil. And the real danger from which God preserved him is that of renouncing his mission until death. However, this is not a reason for boasting, because he knows that God saved him, and for this reason he sings the song of glory as he is born into true life: 'To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.'
*From the Gospel according to Matthew (16:13-19)
This episode marks a turning point in the life of Jesus and Peter because as soon as Simon proclaims who Jesus is, he receives from him the mission for the Church. Christ builds his Church on a man whose only virtue is that of having proclaimed what the Father revealed to him: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). This means that the only true pillar of the Church is his faith in Christ, who immediately responds: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church" (v. 18). This famous "Petrine" text is built on three symbols: The first is the "rock" that is linked to the Aramaic name Kefa: "You are Peter". In Greek: "Σὺ εἶ Πέτρος (Petros)" means "you are Peter" or "Rock". Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, giving him a new mission and identity. In the Semitic context, changing a name indicates a change in a person's destiny and reality. Simon thus becomes the rock on which Christ lays the foundation of the Church, which remains his and of which he is forever the irreplaceable "cornerstone." In ancient times, stone was a symbol of stability and security, so building on stone means building on a firm and immovable foundation, and on Peter the Lord begins to give visible form to his community. He promises that his Church, founded on this rock—faith and Peter's mission (see v. 6)—will resist the forces of evil, and Peter thus becomes the first visible shepherd of the community, even though the true foundation and eternal Shepherd is Christ (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). The second symbol is the keys: 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven'. The keys, a sign of authority and responsibility over a house, are an effective image of the power that Christ transmits to Peter. Entrusting the keys is equivalent to conferring the power to open and close, to allow or deny access. Peter is not the founder and ruler of a kingdom, but the immediate leader who exercises delegated power by guiding the community of believers, teaching and making binding decisions in matters of faith and morals. The third symbol is expressed in the twofold action of binding and loosing: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (v. 19). The expressions "to bind" and "to loose" were common in rabbinic language and indicated the power to declare something lawful or unlawful, to permit or prohibit certain actions. Applied to Peter, they emphasise his authority to make doctrinal and disciplinary decisions in full fidelity to the word of God (Jn 20:23), an authority he shares in the Church with the other apostles (Mt 18:18), even though Peter retains a unique and pre-eminent role. Finally, Jesus says, 'I will build my Church': it is therefore he who builds and guides the Church that remains forever his, so that we can walk safely because 'the powers of hell will not prevail against it' (v. 18).
+ Giovanni D'Ercole
Victory of the Risen Lord, without hysteria
(Jn 20:24-29)
The Gospel passage has a liturgical flavour, but the question we glimpse in the watermark is crude. We too want «to see Him».
How to believe without having seen?
It is the most common question starting from the third generation of believers, who not only hadn’t known the Apostles, but many of them not even subsequent pupils.
In particular: how do we go from «seeing»… to «believing» in a defeated, even subjected to torture?
There is an authentic Church, but held together by fear (v.19).
Not only because the arrest warrant always hangs over the real witnesses.
Also out of fear of confrontation with the world, or inability to dialogue.
Thomas is not afraid to stand outside the barred doors.
He does not withdraw into himself; he does not dread the encounter, the confrontation with life that pulsates and comes.
In this sense he is «said to be the twin» [δίδυμο] of each one - and of Jesus.
Our context resembles that of the Johannine realities of Asia Minor, lost in the immensity of the Roman Empire; small churches sometimes seduced by its attractions.
Ephesus in particular had hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. Commercial emporium, banking center and major cosmopolitan city [whose centerpiece was of course the great Temple of Artemis - wonder of the ancient world] was the fourth city of the empire.
Distractions were many.
And already from the first generations of faithful the routine began to take over: the fervor of the beginnings was dying out; participation became sporadic.
Under Domitian, believers suffered social marginalization, discrimination.
Even today, one of the decisive elements of the ability to manifest the Risen One Present remains the direct encounter with sisters and brothers, within a living fraternity.
People who welcome surprises and encourage the ability to think and debate; who are themselves and make others breathe.
Women and men who spend their material resources and wisdom, according to particular history and sensitivity.
Where each one as he is and where is - real in the round, not dissociated from himself - becomes food for others with the crumbs he has.
Here then is the «recognize»: it’s a question not of obedience to an abstract world, but of personal Likeness.
It’s a matter of attuning the “physiognomy” and our small «actions» with the Source of Love consumed to the end [our «finger» and its «Hands»; our «hand» and his «pierced Side»].
Even with our limitation, 'by entering into the wounds'. And by attraction, Faith will spring forth spontaneously (v.28).
Thus (vv.29-31 and 21:25) Jn invites each one to write his own personal Gospel.
When our works are at least a little the same as Christ's, everyone will ‘see’ Him.
So is there any evidence that Jesus lives?
Of course. He concretely manifests Himself in an assembly of non-conformist people, who are themselves; endowed with the capacity for autonomous thinking skills.
«Twins» of Him and of Thomas.
People Free to live in the world; outside locked doors - to listening, descending, serving.
And doing it with conviction: personally, without forcing or hysteria.
We too want to «see» Him.
[St. Thomas the Apostle, July 3rd]
Thomas: without hysteria
(Jn 20:19-31)
The Manifestation, the Spirit, the remission
(Jn 20:19-23)
The Johannine Pentecost does not suffer any temporal delay (v.22), yet the Lucan account also emphasises the link with Easter, of which it is but a further specification.
Pentecost is not a matter of a date, but rather an event that happens without ceasing, in the assembled assembly; where a joy-filled Peace is made present, which founds the Mission.
Jesus did not assure easy life. But the "closed doors" indicate that the Risen One has not returned to his former existence: he has been introduced into the divine condition, into a total form of life.
The complete configuration of his being is not in the order of flesh and bones; it eludes our senses.
'Resurrection of the flesh' is not the same as the improvement of the previous condition. From a man [as from a seed] there has blossomed a form of life that subsists in God himself.
The disciples rejoice at seeing the wounds (v.20). The reaction is not surprising: it is the perception-vertigo of Presence, springing up and pouring out from inner senses.
The Risen One who reveals Himself is the same Jesus who delivered the gift of life, in the Spirit.
The Father's World bears his Name - that is, his whole history, all real.
The heavenly World no longer remains that of religions. It is not exclusive, nor is it fanciful or abstract; nor is it sterilised.
The Manifestation is placed on "the one of the Sabbaths" (v.19) to say that the disciples can meet and see the Risen One every time they come together on the Lord's Day.
Thanks to the Gift of the Spirit (v.22) his disciples are sent on Mission, to continue and expand the work of the Master - insisting in particular on the work of remission of sins (v.23).
At the time, there was a widespread conception that men acted badly and allowed themselves to be defiled by idols, because they were driven by an unclean instinct that began to manifest itself at an early age.
One was under the illusion that one could overcome or at least keep such an evil spirit at bay with the study of the Torah - but it was easy to see the failures: the indications of the Law, though right, did not give the strength to follow that path.
After so many failures even of kings and the entire priestly class, it was expected that God Himself would come, precisely to deliver us from impurities, through the outpouring of a good impulse.
Throughout the ancient world [also in classical culture: especially Ovid] people wondered about the meaning of this creaturely block.
Inwardly, humanity was caught and torn between intuition and desire for goodness, and inability to realise it (cf. Rom 7:15-19).
No religion or philosophy had ever guessed that it is in the discomfort and imperfection that the most precious mouldable energies, our uniqueness, and the non-conformist solution to problems lie.
Through the mouth of the Prophets, God had promised the gift of a new heart - of flesh and not of stone (Ez 36:25-27).
An outpouring of the Spirit that would renew the world, enliven the desert and make it fruitful.
On Easter Day, the prophecies were fulfilled.
The "breath" of Christ recalls the moment of Creation (Gen 2:7; cf. Ez 37:7-14).
We are at the origin of a new humanity of generating mothers and fathers - now able to bring forth only life, eliminating death from the face of the earth.
Jesus creates the new man, no longer a victim of the invincible forces that lead him to evil, despite his profound aspirations.
He transmits an enterprising, clear, alternative, self-confident energy that spontaneously drives to goodness.
Where this Spirit reaches, sin is annihilated.
It was the first experience of the Church: the unmistakable action of divine power, which became present and operative in people who were fearful and disregarded.
Throughout the book of Acts of the Apostles, the protagonist is precisely the impetuous Wind of the Spirit.
Up to this point, the concept of forgiveness of sins was missing in John. But the meaning of the expression in v.23 is not strictly sacramental.
Neutralising and defeating defaults concerns everyone who gets involved in the work of improving life in the world.
In short, we are called to create the conditions so that by tilling the soil of hearts, everyone is opened to divine action.
Conversely, the inability to do good drags on: in this way, sin is not 'remitted'.
The Shalôm received by the disciples is to be announced by them and transmitted to the world.
It is a Peace that is not the fruit of worldly, cunning compromises: the only powerful means to be used is forgiveness.
Not so much for tranquillity and 'permanence', but to introduce unknown powers, to accentuate life, to bring to the surface aspects we have not given space to; to transmit a sense of adequacy and freedom.
In each and all times, the Church is called upon to make the complete and personal Gratis of the Lord effective.As a Gift in the Spirit: without ever "holding back" (v.23) the problems, nor making them paradoxical protagonists of life [even of assembly].
Such the priestly, royal and prophetic dimension of the fraternal Community. Such is its Newness.
Victory of the Risen One, Church of free people
Without hysteria
(Jn 20:24-31)
The passage has a liturgical flavour, but the question that we discern in the watermark is stark. We too want to "see".
How can we believe without having seen?
And even how could the identification of the sufferer with the bliss experienced, and the divinity itself, go without saying?
This is the most common question from the third generation of believers, who had not only not got to know the Apostles, but many of them not even their pupils.
The evangelist assures us: compared to the first witnesses of the Resurrection, our condition is not disadvantaged at all, on the contrary: more open and less subject to conditioning or special circumstances.
We must go deeper than immediate experience.
Even the direct disciples struggled, trying to move to another vocabulary and grammar of revelation; and from 'seeing', to 'believing'.
There are unfortunately common traits, e.g. the search for Magdalene in the places of death. Or here the carefully barred doors, where one does not enter without forcing the closures - but above all significant deviations.
In particular, we reiterate the burning question. How do we go from 'seeing'... to 'believing' in a defeated, even subjected to torture?
We do not believe, just because there are truthful witnesses.
We are certain that life supersedes death, because we have 'seen' first-hand; because we have gone through a personal recognition.
For He does not make Himself a leader, but repeatedly "in the midst" (vv.19.26).
In the collection of the Manifestations of the Risen One [so-called "Book of the Resurrection"] Jn designates the conditions of Easter Faith.
He sets out the witnessing experiences of the first churches (morning and evening, and eight days later) as well as of the disciples who accept the missionary mandate.
Then as now, perceiving the realities hidden to the simple gaze, internalising the readiness to make an exodus to the peripheries, depends on the depth of the Faith.
Nor does the readiness to stake one's life on building a kingdom of upside-down values compared to common, ancient, imperial religious values.
At the time the Thomas episode is written, the dimension of the eighth day [Dies Domini] already had a prevailing configuration, compared to the Sabbath of the early, radically Judaizing Messianics.
"Shalôm" is, however, still understood in the ancient sense: it is not a wish, but the present fulfilment of the divine Promises.
Messianic "Peace" would have evoked the undoing of fears, liberation from death; reconciliation with one's life, the world, and God.
"Shalôm" - here - comes to surprise us: it comes from the gift of self carried to the end; beyond, the capacity.
Wounds are part of the character of the Risen One.
Any image that does not make explicit the signs of the excessive gratuitousness of the new kingdom inaugurated by Christ [even the gilded bronze sculpture in the Sala Nervi] is misleading.
Joy comes from the perception of the Presence 'beyond' biological life.
Our happiness is diminished and lost if we lose the Witness of life - through whom every slightest gesture or state of mind (even fear) becomes unveiling, meaning, intensity of relationship.
By going out into the world, the Sent Ones embrace the same mission as Jesus: that all may be saved.
And the gift of the working Spirit is precisely like the beginning of a new creation.
In fact, the Johannine Pentecost springs from the unprecedented and genuine perspective of salvation: loving, serene, not "whole", nor forced.
On closer inspection, according to the book of Acts, Peter's preaching provokes a ruckus of conversions. In Jn everything is conversely discreet: no roar or fire and storm; nothing appears from outside, nor does it remain external.
These are apostles empowered to open locked doors, and to arrange the conditions of gratuitousness.
This with passive rather than active virtues; e.g. 'forgiveness', where there is none.
In this way, all gratuitousness to lift people out of any trouble, so that good triumphs over evil and life over death.
All in the concrete, therefore through a process that demands time; like walking a Way.
Intensity of a very 'different' nature, to which our contemplation alone is suitable - in comparison with the more propaganda and less collected literature of Acts 2, where the reflections of disbelief and doubt disappear.
As if the identity of the crucified Jesus and the Risen One were of no concern whatsoever!
And in the Fourth Gospel the concept of "forgiveness of sins" was missing so far.
But precisely it is necessary to pass from ocular "vision" to Faith.The new way of life of the Son is known in the life of the Church, but it is best and fully accessible only to those who, although a little inside and a little outside, do not remain closed.
Thomas is chosen by Jn as the junction point between generations of believers.
Like each of us, he is not an indifferent sceptic: he is not afraid of the world, rather he wants to verify, to scrutinise well.
In him, Jesus launches his appreciation towards future believers, who will recognise his divine status on the basis of their own experience - as profound as it is intensely lived.
There is perhaps an elite part of the authentic Church, yet held together by fear (v.19).
Not only because the warrant of arrest always hangs over the true witnesses. Also because of fear of confrontation with the world, or incapacity for dialogue.
Even today: fear of culture, science, Bible studies, emancipation, philosophical, ecumenical, interreligious confrontation; and so on.
Thomas is not afraid to stand outside barred doors.
He does not retreat and does not fear the encounter, the relationship with life that pulsates and comes.
In this sense he is 'said to be the twin' [δίδυμο] of each one - and of Jesus.
Our context resembles that of the small Johannine realities of Asia Minor, lost in the immensity of the Roman empire; sometimes seduced by its attractions.
Ephesus in particular had hundreds of thousands of inhabitants.
A commercial emporium, banking centre and major cosmopolitan city [the centrepiece of which was of course the great Temple of Artemis - wonder of the ancient world] it was the fourth city of the empire.
The distractions were many.
Already in the first generations of believers routine began to set in: the fervour of the beginnings was fading; participation became sporadic.
Under Domitian, believers also suffered marginalisation and discrimination.
Some believers were then disappointed by the closed and monologue attitude of community leaders. Others by ambiguous internal grey areas and the mixture of compromises (especially of the leaders) that discouraged the most sensitive.
Even today, one of the discriminating elements of the ability to manifest the Risen One Present remains the direct encounter with the brothers, within a living solidarity.
Coexistence not held hostage by confined circles, which only integrate members on the nomination of those already in office.
People who welcome surprises and stimulate the capacity for thought and debate.
Women and men who are themselves, and make others breathe.
Not indoctrinated and plagiarised gullible people - or spineless sophisticates.
Sisters and brothers who spend their material resources and wisdom, according to particular history and sensibilities.
Where each one as he is and where he is - real in the round, not dissociated from himself - makes himself food for others with the crumbs he has.
Here then is 'recognition': it is a question not of obedience to an abstract world, but of personal likeness.
It is a matter of attuning our physiognomy and our little 'actions' to the Source of Love consumed to the full [our 'finger' and His 'Hands'; our 'hand' and His 'pierced side'].
Even with our limitation, 'entering into the wounds'. By attraction, Faith will spring forth spontaneously (v.28).
Thus (vv.29-31 and 21,25) Jn invites each one to write his own Gospel.
When our works are at least a little the same as Christ's, everyone will 'see' him.
Is there, then, evidence that Jesus lives?
Certainly, He manifests Himself concretely in an assembly of non-conformist people; who are themselves.
Souls endowed with the capacity for autonomous thought. 'Twins' of Himself and of Thomas.
Free creatures to be in the world; outside locked doors - to listen, to descend, to serve.
And to do so with conviction: personally, without forcing or hysteria.
We, too, want to "see Him".
Proverbial scene of the doubting Thomas that occurred eight days after Easter is very well known. At first he did not believe that Jesus had appeared in his absence and said: "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe" (Jn 20: 25).
Basically, from these words emerges the conviction that Jesus can now be recognized by his wounds rather than by his face. Thomas holds that the signs that confirm Jesus' identity are now above all his wounds, in which he reveals to us how much he loved us. In this the Apostle is not mistaken.
As we know, Jesus reappeared among his disciples eight days later and this time Thomas was present. Jesus summons him: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing" (Jn 20: 27).
Thomas reacts with the most splendid profession of faith in the whole of the New Testament: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20: 28). St Augustine comments on this: Thomas "saw and touched the man, and acknowledged the God whom he neither saw nor touched; but by the means of what he saw and touched, he now put far away from him every doubt, and believed the other" (In ev. Jo. 121, 5).
The Evangelist continues with Jesus' last words to Thomas: "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (Jn 20: 29). This sentence can also be put into the present: "Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe".
In any case, here Jesus spells out a fundamental principle for Christians who will come after Thomas, hence, for all of us.
It is interesting to note that another Thomas, the great Medieval theologian of Aquinas, juxtaposed this formula of blessedness with the apparently opposite one recorded by Luke: "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see!" (Lk 10: 23). However, Aquinas comments: "Those who believe without seeing are more meritorious than those who, seeing, believe" (In Johann. XX lectio VI 2566).
In fact, the Letter to the Hebrews, recalling the whole series of the ancient biblical Patriarchs who believed in God without seeing the fulfilment of his promises, defines faith as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb 11: 1).
The Apostle Thomas' case is important to us for at least three reasons: first, because it comforts us in our insecurity; second, because it shows us that every doubt can lead to an outcome brighter than any uncertainty; and, lastly, because the words that Jesus addressed to him remind us of the true meaning of mature faith and encourage us to persevere, despite the difficulty, along our journey of adhesion to him.
[Pope Benedict, General Audience 27 September 2006]
The Upper Room in Jerusalem too was a kind of “school of faith” for the Apostles. However, in a sense, what happened to Thomas goes beyond what occurred near Caesarea Philippi. In the Upper Room we see a more radical dialectic of faith and unbelief, and, at the same time, an even deeper confession of the truth about Christ. It was certainly not easy to believe that the One who had been placed in the tomb three days earlier was alive again.
The divine Master had often announced that he would rise from the dead, and in many ways he had shown that he was the Lord of life. Yet the experience of his death was so overwhelming that people needed to meet him directly in order to believe in his resurrection: the Apostles in the Upper Room, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the holy women beside the tomb. . . Thomas too needed it. But when his unbelief was directly confronted by the presence of Christ, the doubting Apostle spoke the words which express the deepest core of faith: If this is the case, if you are truly living despite having been killed, this means that you are “my Lord and my God”.
In what happened to Thomas, the “school of faith” is enriched with a new element. Divine revelation, Jesus’s question and man’s response end in the disciple’s personal encounter with the living Christ, with the Risen One. This encounter is the beginning of a new relationship between each one of us and Christ, a relationship in which each of us comes to the vital realization that Christ is Lord and God; not only the Lord and God of the world and of humanity, but the Lord and God of my own individual human life.
[Pope John Paul II, vigil at Tor Vergata, 19 August 2000]
We have to get out of ourselves and go onto the streets of mankind to discover that the wounds of Jesus are still visible today on the bodies of all those brothers and sisters who are hungry, thirsty, naked, humiliated, enslaved, in prison and in hospital. And precisely by touching these wounds, by caressing them, it is possible to 'adore the living God in our midst'.
The anniversary of the feast of St Thomas the Apostle offered Pope Francis the opportunity to return to a concept that is particularly close to his heart: putting his hands into the flesh of Jesus. The gesture of Thomas putting his finger into the wounds of the risen Jesus was in fact the central theme of the homily given during the Mass celebrated this morning, Wednesday 3 July, in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae. Concelebrating with the Pope, among others, was Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, who accompanied a group of employees of the dicastery.
After the readings (Ephesians 2:19-22; Psalm 116; John 20:24-29), the Holy Father first of all dwelt on the different attitudes taken by the disciples "when Jesus, after the resurrection, showed up": some were happy and cheerful, others doubtful.
Unbelieving was also Thomas to whom the Lord showed himself only eight days after that first apparition. "The Lord," said the Pope in explaining this delay, "knows when and why he does things. To each one he gives the time he thinks most opportune". To Thomas he gave eight days; and he wanted the wounds to still appear on his own body, even though it was "clean, beautiful, full of light", precisely because the apostle, the Pope recalled, had said that if he did not put his finger in the Lord's wounds he would not believe. "He was a stubborn man! But the Lord,' the Pontiff commented, 'wanted precisely a stubborn man to make us understand a greater thing. Thomas saw the Lord, he was invited to put his finger in the plague of nails, to put his hand in his side. But then he did not say, 'It is true, the Lord is risen'. No. He went further, he said: 'My Lord and my God'. He was the first of the disciples to make the confession of Christ's divinity after the resurrection. And he worshipped him'.
From this confession, the bishop of Rome explained, we understand what God's intention was: exploiting unbelief led Thomas not so much to affirm the resurrection of Jesus, but rather his divinity. "And Thomas," said the Pope, "worships the Son of God. But to adore, to find God, the Son of God had to put his finger in the wounds, put his hand at his side. This is the path'. There is no other.
Of course 'in the history of the Church,' the Pontiff continued in his explanation, 'there have been some mistakes on the path to God. Some have believed that the living God, the God of Christians" could be found by going "higher in meditation". But this is "dangerous; how many get lost on that path and do not arrive?" the Pope said. "They arrive, yes, perhaps, at the knowledge of God, but not of Jesus Christ, Son of God, second Person of the Trinity," he pointed out. They do not arrive at that. It is the path of the Gnostics: they are good, they work, but that is not the right path, it is very complicated" and does not lead to a good end.
Others, continued the Holy Father, "have thought that to reach God we must be good, mortified, austere and have chosen the path of penance, only penance, fasting. Even these have not arrived at the living God, at Jesus Christ the living God". These, he added, "are the Pelagians, who believe that by their own effort they can arrive. But Jesus tells us this: 'On the way we saw Thomas. But how can I find Jesus' wounds today? I cannot see them as Thomas saw them. You find the sores of Jesus by doing works of mercy, by giving to the body, the body and also the soul, but I emphasise to the body of your brother who is soiled, because he is hungry, because he is thirsty, because he is naked, because he is humiliated, because he is a slave, because he is in prison, because he is in hospital. Those are the wounds of Jesus today. And Jesus asks us to make an act of faith in him through these wounds'.
It is not enough, the Pope added, to establish "a foundation to help everyone", nor to do "many good things to help them". All this is important, but it would only be the behaviour of philanthropists. Instead, Pope Francis said, "we must touch the wounds of Jesus, we must caress the wounds of Jesus. We must tend the wounds of Jesus with tenderness. We must literally kiss the wounds of Jesus". St Francis' life, he recalled, changed when he embraced the leper because he "touched the living God and lived in adoration". "What Jesus asks us to do with our works of mercy," the Pontiff concluded, "is what Thomas had asked: to enter into the wounds.
[Pope Francis at s. Marta, in L'Osservatore Romano of 04.07.2013]
The discovery of the Kingdom of God can happen suddenly like the farmer who, ploughing, finds an unexpected treasure; or after a long search, like the pearl merchant who eventually finds the most precious pearl, so long dreamt of (Pope Francis)
La scoperta del Regno di Dio può avvenire improvvisamente come per il contadino che arando, trova il tesoro insperato; oppure dopo lunga ricerca, come per il mercante di perle, che finalmente trova la perla preziosissima da tempo sognata (Papa Francesco)
Christ is not resigned to the tombs that we have built for ourselves (Pope Francis)
Cristo non si rassegna ai sepolcri che ci siamo costruiti (Papa Francesco)
We must not fear the humility of taking little steps, but trust in the leaven that penetrates the dough and slowly causes it to rise (cf. Mt 13:33) [Pope Benedict]
Occorre non temere l’umiltà dei piccoli passi e confidare nel lievito che penetra nella pasta e lentamente la fa crescere (cfr Mt 13,33) [Papa Benedetto]
The disciples, already know how to pray by reciting the formulas of the Jewish tradition, but they too wish to experience the same “quality” of Jesus’ prayer (Pope Francis)
I discepoli, sanno già pregare, recitando le formule della tradizione ebraica, ma desiderano poter vivere anche loro la stessa “qualità” della preghiera di Gesù (Papa Francesco)
Saint John Chrysostom affirms that all of the apostles were imperfect, whether it was the two who wished to lift themselves above the other ten, or whether it was the ten who were jealous of them (“Commentary on Matthew”, 65, 4: PG 58, 619-622) [Pope Benedict]
San Giovanni Crisostomo afferma che tutti gli apostoli erano ancora imperfetti, sia i due che vogliono innalzarsi sopra i dieci, sia gli altri che hanno invidia di loro (cfr Commento a Matteo, 65, 4: PG 58, 622) [Papa Benedetto]
St John Chrysostom explained: “And this he [Jesus] says to draw them unto him, and to provoke them and to signify that if they would covert he would heal them” (cf. Homily on the Gospel of Matthew, 45, 1-2). Basically, God's true “Parable” is Jesus himself, his Person who, in the sign of humanity, hides and at the same time reveals his divinity. In this manner God does not force us to believe in him but attracts us to him with the truth and goodness of his incarnate Son [Pope Benedict]
Spiega San Giovanni Crisostomo: “Gesù ha pronunciato queste parole con l’intento di attirare a sé i suoi ascoltatori e di sollecitarli assicurando che, se si rivolgeranno a Lui, Egli li guarirà” (Comm. al Vang. di Matt., 45,1-2). In fondo, la vera “Parabola” di Dio è Gesù stesso, la sua Persona che, nel segno dell’umanità, nasconde e al tempo stesso rivela la divinità. In questo modo Dio non ci costringe a credere in Lui, ma ci attira a Sé con la verità e la bontà del suo Figlio incarnato [Papa Benedetto]
This belonging to each other and to him is not some ideal, imaginary, symbolic relationship, but – I would almost want to say – a biological, life-transmitting state of belonging to Jesus Christ (Pope Benedict)
Questo appartenere l’uno all’altro e a Lui non è una qualsiasi relazione ideale, immaginaria, simbolica, ma – vorrei quasi dire – un appartenere a Gesù Cristo in senso biologico, pienamente vitale (Papa Benedetto)
She is finally called by her name: “Mary!” (v. 16). How nice it is to think that the first apparition of the Risen One — according to the Gospels — took place in such a personal way! [Pope Francis]
Viene chiamata per nome: «Maria!» (v. 16). Com’è bello pensare che la prima apparizione del Risorto – secondo i Vangeli – sia avvenuta in un modo così personale! [Papa Francesco]
don Giuseppe Nespeca
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