Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord [29 March 2026]

May God bless us and may the Virgin Mary protect us! We enter Holy Week, of which Palm Sunday already gives us a foretaste of the joy and sorrow, the mystery of love and hatred that leads to death: the whole Passion, death and resurrection of Christ. To relive is not merely to remember, but also to open our hearts ever more to this mystery of salvation.

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (50:4–7)

Isaiah was certainly not thinking of Jesus Christ when he wrote this text, probably in the 6th century BC, during the exile in Babylon. Let me explain: since his people were in exile, in very harsh conditions, and could easily have succumbed to discouragement, Isaiah reminds them that they are always God’s servants. And that God is counting on them, his servants (that is, his people), to bring his plan of salvation for humanity to fulfilment. The people of Israel are therefore this Servant of God, nourished every morning by the Word, yet also persecuted precisely because of their faith and capable, despite everything, of withstanding all trials. In this text, Isaiah clearly describes the extraordinary relationship that unites the Servant (Israel) with his God. Its main characteristic is listening to the Word of God, ‘the open ear’, as Isaiah puts it. ‘Listening’ is a word that has a very particular meaning in the Bible: it means to trust. We usually contrast these two fundamental attitudes between which our lives constantly oscillate: trust in God, a serene surrender to his will because we know from experience that his will is always good; or mistrust, suspicion of God’s intentions, and rebellion in the face of trials—a rebellion that can lead us to believe that God has abandoned us or, worse still, that He might take some satisfaction in our sufferings.

The prophets repeat: “Listen, Israel” or: “Will you listen to the Word of God today?” And on their lips, the exhortation “listen” always means: trust in God, whatever happens. And Saint Paul explains why: We know that all things work together for good for those who love God (Rom 8:28).

From every evil, from every difficulty, from every trial, God brings forth good; to every hatred he opposes an even stronger love; in every persecution, he grants the strength of forgiveness; and from every death, he brings forth life, the resurrection. It is a story of mutual trust. God trusts his Servant and entrusts him with a mission; in turn, the Servant accepts the mission with trust. And it is precisely this trust that gives him the strength needed to remain steadfast even in the opposition he will inevitably encounter. Here the mission is that of a witness: “So that I may sustain with my words those who are weary,” says the Servant. In entrusting him with this mission, the Lord also grants the necessary strength and the appropriate language: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of a disciple.” And even more: he himself nourishes this trust, which is the source of all boldness in the service of others: “The Lord God makes my ear attentive”, which means that listening (in the biblical sense, that is, trust) is itself a gift from God. Everything is a gift: the mission, the strength, and even the trust that makes one unshakeable. This is precisely the hallmark of the believer: to recognise everything as a gift from God. He who lives in this permanent gift of God’s strength can face anything: “I did not resist, I did not turn back.” Faithfulness to the mission received inevitably entails persecution. True prophets, those who truly speak in the name of God, are rarely appreciated during their lifetime. In concrete terms, Isaiah says to his contemporaries: hold fast. The Lord has not abandoned you; on the contrary, you are on a mission for him. Do not be surprised, then, if you are mistreated. Why? Because the Servant who truly listens to the Word of God—that is, who puts it into practice—soon becomes a thorn in the side. His very conversion calls others to conversion. Some heed this call… others reject it and, convinced of their own righteousness, persecute the Servant. And every morning the Servant must return to the source, to the One who enables him to face everything. Isaiah uses a somewhat strange expression: “I set my face like flint” to express resolve and courage. Isaiah was speaking to his people, persecuted and humiliated during the exile in Babylon; but, naturally, when one re-reads the Passion of Christ, this text stands out in all its clarity: Christ corresponds perfectly to this portrait of the Servant of God. Listening to the Word, unshakeable trust and thus the certainty of victory even in the midst of persecution: all this characterised Jesus precisely at the moment when the acclamations of the crowd on Palm Sunday marked and hastened his condemnation.

*Responsorial Psalm (21/22)

Psalm 21 (22) begins with the famous cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. This phrase has often been taken out of context and interpreted as a cry of despair, whereas in reality the psalm must be read in its entirety. Indeed, after describing suffering and anguish, it ends with a great song of thanksgiving: “You have answered me! I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters’. The one who at first feels forsaken ultimately recognises that God has saved him and has not left him alone. Some images in the psalm seem to describe the crucifixion: ‘They have pierced my hands and my feet’, ‘they divide my garments’, ‘a band of evildoers surrounds me’. This is why the New Testament applies this psalm to the Passion of Jesus. However, the text originated in a specific historical context: the return of the people of Israel from the Babylonian exile. The exile had been like a death sentence for the people, who had risked disappearing; the return to their own land is therefore likened to the liberation of a condemned man who had narrowly escaped death. The image of the crucifixion serves to express the humiliation, violence and sense of abandonment experienced by the people, but the focus of the psalm is not suffering but rather the salvation received. The cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” is therefore not a cry of despair or doubt, but the prayer of one who suffers and continues to turn to God with trust. Even in the midst of trial, Israel does not cease to pray and to remember the covenant and the blessings received from the Lord. For this reason, the psalm can be likened to a votive offering: in times of danger, God’s help is invoked, and once saved, thanks are given publicly. The psalm recalls the tragedy endured, but above all proclaims gratitude towards God who has delivered his people. The final verses thus become a great hymn of praise: the poor shall be satisfied, those who seek the Lord shall praise him, and all nations shall acknowledge his lordship. God’s salvation will also be proclaimed to future generations. For this reason, in Christian tradition, this psalm has been recognised as a prophecy of Christ’s Passion: on the cross, Jesus echoes the first verse of the psalm, but just as for Israel, so too for him the final word is not suffering, but salvation and life.

*Second Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Philippians (2:6–11)

During the exile in Babylon, in the 6th century BC, the prophet Isaiah had bestowed upon the people of Israel the title of Servant of God. Their mission, amidst the trials of exile, was to remain faithful to the faith of their fathers and to bear witness to it among the pagans, even at the cost of humiliation and persecution. Only God could give them the strength to fulfil this mission. When the early Christians were confronted with the scandal of the cross, they sought to understand Jesus’ destiny and found the explanation in the words of St Paul: Jesus ‘emptied himself, taking the form of a servant’. He too faced opposition, humiliation and persecution, drawing his strength from the Father and living in total trust in Him. Although he was of divine nature, Jesus did not seek glory and honours. As Paul says, “though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited”. Precisely because he is God, he claims nothing for himself, but lives in gratuitous love and becomes man to show mankind the way to salvation. His exaltation is not a deserved reward, but a free gift from God. God’s logic is not that of merit or calculation, but that of grace, which is always a free gift. According to Paul, God’s plan is a plan of love: to bring humanity into his life, into his joy and into his communion. This gift is not earned, but received with gratitude. When man demands or claims, he closes himself off from grace, as happened symbolically with the sin in the Garden of Eden. Jesus, on the other hand, lives in the opposite attitude: the total acceptance of the Father’s will, what Paul calls obedience. For this reason, God exalted him and gave him the Name that is above every name: the name of Lord, a title which in the Old Testament belonged only to God. Before him “every knee shall bow”, to quote the words of the prophet Isaiah (Is 45:23). Jesus lived his entire life in humility and trust, even in the face of human violence and death. His obedience – which literally means “to place one’s ear before the word” – expresses a total and trusting listening to the Father’s will. For this reason, Paul’s hymn concludes with the Church’s profession of faith: “Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. In Christ, the glory of God is fully manifested, that is, the revelation of his infinite love. Seeing Jesus love to the very end and give his life, one can recognise, like the centurion beneath the cross, that he is truly the Son of God.

*The Passion of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (26:14–27:66)

Every year, on Palm Sunday, the liturgy reads the account of the Passion from one of the three Synoptic Gospels; this year it is that of Matthew. The four accounts of the Passion are similar in broad outline, but each evangelist highlights certain particular aspects. Matthew, in particular, recounts certain episodes and details that the others do not mention. First of all, Matthew is the only one to specify the exact sum for which Judas betrays Jesus: thirty pieces of silver, which according to the Law was the price of a slave. This detail shows the contempt with which men treated the Lord. Later, Judas himself, overcome with remorse, returns the money to the chief priests, saying that he has handed over an innocent man to his death. They, however, do not wish to take responsibility for it. Judas throws the coins into the temple and hangs himself; the priests use that money to purchase the potter’s field, intended for the burial of foreigners, later called the ‘Field of Blood’, thus fulfilling a prophetic word. During the trial before Pilate, Matthew recounts a unique episode: the intervention of Pilate’s wife, who sends word to her husband not to have anything to do with ‘that righteous man’, for she has suffered greatly in a dream because of him. Pilate himself appears unsettled and, seeing that the crowd is growing ever more agitated, performs the symbolic gesture of washing his hands, declaring himself innocent of that man’s blood. The crowd replies: ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children.’ Pilate then releases Barabbas and hands Jesus over to be crucified. At the moment of Jesus’ death, Matthew also recounts that the veil of the temple is torn, but adds extraordinary details: the earth trembles, the rocks split, the tombs open, and many righteous people rise and appear in the holy city after Jesus’ resurrection. Finally, Matthew highlights the authorities’ concern to guard the tomb, fearing that the disciples might steal the body and claim that Jesus has risen; this very message is what they will spread after Easter. The account highlights a great paradox: the blindness of the religious authorities, who persecute Jesus, whilst some pagans, almost unwittingly, bestow upon him the highest titles. Pilate’s wife calls him ‘righteous’, Pilate has ‘King of the Jews’ written on the cross, and even the title ‘Son of God’, initially used to mock him, ultimately becomes a true profession of faith when the Roman centurion exclaims: ‘Truly this man was the Son of God’. This confession already foreshadows the opening of salvation to the pagans and shows that Christ’s death is not a defeat, but a victory. Matthew highlights the contrast between the weakness of the condemned man and his true greatness: it is precisely in his apparent powerlessness that Jesus manifests the greatness of God, who is infinite love. And in this light, we come to understand ever more deeply the significance of Christ’s Passion, which we shall relive visually this week and in particular during the Holy Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, and above all in the outpouring of Easter joy at Christ’s Resurrection.

+Giovanni D’Ercole

(Jn 11:45-56)

Christ is all that the Jewish feasts had promised and proclaimed.

They deciphered authoritatively, but unconsciously [vv.47-52 take pleasure in double entendre words].

In fact, the high priest spoke in the name of God: he interpreted the situation in a divinely inspired way.

In Christ the people was setting out to fulfill the promise made to Abraham: the era of the dispersion of women and men was ending.

The Cross would have fulfilled the vocation of the Temple: recomposition of the people and unity of the human being from the arid and distant land, in sharing and gratuitousness.

But what could were being the starting point (energetic) also for Jesus, not to withdraw into the limits of his own environment down to the details, and activate a path of rebirth?

The community of Bethany [«house of the poor»] is an image of the first realities of Faith, destitute and composed only of brothers and sisters.

Person-friendly. Where people “looked” at each other, and those bonds that prevented them from going beyond the already known could be dissolved.

Nest of healthy relationships, which was also able to make sense of wounds.

«House of the poor» is the only place where Jesus was at ease, that is, the only reality in which we can still recognize Him alive and present ‘in the midst’ - available, equidistant. Source of life for the modest and needy.

In the passage from the Gospel, the comparison with the vulgar cunning of the authorities and the out-of-scale dimension of the places and festivals is strident.

As if there no sap flowed between the Holiness of God and the real life of the discharged people.

Although the Master did good - as in all regimes, there was no shortage of delators (v.46).

On the other hand, a large part of the inhabitants of Jerusalem found their material sustenance in the induced of the Temple activities.

Top ones in the class could never have been persuaded to follow a stranger who intended to supplant the official institution and privileged positions, with an unadorned utopia.

The throne of the princes of the fraternal House was conversely without ‘cushions’, and the community co-ordinator a woman: Martha [«lady»]. Leader in reverse, servant.

In such guise, Bethany gave hints of new life, because of its very composition, and intimate spirit.

Hearth free of standards and roles of primacy.

Reality devoid of struggles, defences, positions, vested interests: all tensions to 'fix' things which still mark us downwards, towards sloppiness.

Under Domitian these small alternative realities - caring for the small and distant - had to live like Jesus: clandestine.

They paid for unity, with the cross. But they renewed the life of the empire.

[Saturday 5th wk. in Lent, March 28, 2026]

"I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd" (Jn 10: 16).

John repeated the same thing after the Sanhedrin had decided to kill Jesus, when Caiaphas said that it would be better for the people that one man die for them rather than the entire nation perish. John recognized these words of Caiaphas as prophetic, adding:  "Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad" (11: 52).

The relationship between the Cross and unity is revealed:  the Cross is the price of unity. Above all, however, it is the universal horizon of Jesus' action that emerges.

If, in his prophecy about the shepherd, Ezekiel was aiming to restore unity among the dispersed tribes of Israel (cf. Ez 34: 22-24), here it is a question not only of the unification of a dispersed Israel but of the unification of all the children of God, of humanity - of the Church of Jews and of pagans.

Jesus' mission concerns all humanity. Therefore, the Church is given responsibility for all humanity, so that it may recognize God, the God who for all of us was made man in Jesus Christ, suffered, died and was raised.

The Church must never be satisfied with the ranks of those whom she has reached at a certain point or say that others are fine as they are:  Muslims, Hindus and so forth. The Church can never retreat comfortably to within the limits of her own environment. She is charged with universal solicitude; she must be concerned with and for one and all.

[Pope Benedict, homily 7 May 2006]

1. We profess our faith in the central truth of the messianic mission of Jesus Christ: he is the redeemer of the world through his death on the cross. We profess it in the words of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, according to which Jesus 'was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, died and was buried'. In professing this faith, we also commemorate Christ's death as a historical event, which, like his life, is known to us from reliable and authoritative historical sources. Based on these same sources we can and will also know and understand the historical circumstances of that death, which we believe was "the price" of man's redemption for all time.

2. And first of all: how did the death of Jesus of Nazareth come about? How do we explain the fact that he was put to death by the representatives of his nation, who handed him over to the Roman 'procurator', whose name, transmitted from the Gospels, also appears in the Symbols of Faith? For now, let us try to gather the circumstances, which 'humanly' explain the death of Jesus. The evangelist Mark, describing Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate, notes that he had been 'delivered up for envy' and that Pilate was aware of this fact: 'He knew . . . that the high priests had delivered him up for envy' (Mk 15:10). Let us ask ourselves: why this envy? We can find its roots in resentment not only for what Jesus taught, but for the way he did it. If, according to Mark, he taught "as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Mk 1:22), this circumstance must have shown him in the eyes of the latter as a "threat" to their own prestige.

3. In fact, we know that already the beginning of Jesus' teaching in his hometown leads to conflict. The thirty-year-old Nazarene, in fact, when speaking in the synagogue, points to himself as the one on whom the announcement of the Messiah, pronounced by Isaiah, is fulfilled. This provokes astonishment and later indignation in the hearers, so that they want to throw him down from the mountain 'on which their city was situated' . . . "but he passed by among them and went away" (Lk 4:29-30).

4. This incident is only the beginning: it is the first sign of subsequent hostilities. Let us recall the main ones. When Jesus makes it clear that he has the power to forgive sins, the scribes see this as blasphemy, because only God has such power (cf. Mk 2:6). When he performs the miracles on the Sabbath, asserting that "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Mt 12:8), the reaction is similar to the previous one. And it is already then that the intention to kill Jesus transpires (cf. Mk 3:6): "They sought . . . to kill him: because he not only violated the Sabbath, but called God his Father, making himself equal with God" (Jn 5:18). What else could the words "Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was I Am" mean? (Jn 8:58). The listeners knew what that designation meant: "I Am". So again Jesus runs the risk of stoning. This time, however, he ". . . he hid himself and went out of the temple" (Jn 8:59).

5. The event that ultimately precipitated the situation and led to the decision to let Jesus die was the resurrection of Lazarus in Bethany. The Gospel of John lets us know that at the next meeting of the Sanhedrin it was noted: 'This man performs many signs. If we let him do this, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and destroy our holy place and our nation". Faced with these predictions and fears Caiaphas, the high priest, pronounced this sentence: 'Better that one man should die for the people and not the whole nation perish' (Jn 11:47-50). The evangelist adds: 'This, however, he did not say for himself, but being high priest he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather together the children of God who were scattered'. And he concludes: "From that day therefore they decided to kill him" (John 11: 51-53).

John lets us know in this way a twofold aspect of Caiaphas' stance. From a human point of view, which more accurately could be said to be opportunistic, it was an attempt to justify the decision to eliminate a man deemed politically dangerous, without worrying about his innocence. From a higher point of view, made his own and noted by the evangelist, Caiaphas' words, regardless of his intentions, had an authentically prophetic content, concerning the mystery of Christ's death according to God's saving plan.

6. Here we consider the human unfolding of events. At that meeting of the Sanhedrin, the decision was made to kill Jesus of Nazareth. They took advantage of his presence in Jerusalem during the Passover festivities.Judas, one of the twelve, betrayed Jesus for thirty silver coins, pointing to the place where he could be arrested. Once taken, Jesus was brought before the sanhedrin. To the high priest's essential question: "I beseech thee by the living God, that he may tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God", Jesus gave the great answer: "Thou hast said it" (Matt 26:63-64; cf. Mk 14:62; Lk 22:70). In this declaration the Sanhedrin saw blatant blasphemy, and ruled that Jesus was "guilty of death!" (Mk 14:64).

7. However, the sanhedrin could not carry out the sentence without the consent of the Roman procurator. And Pilate is personally convinced that Jesus is innocent, and he makes this clear several times. After uncertainly resisting the pressure of the Sanhedrin, he finally relents for fear of risking Caesar's disapproval, all the more so since the crowd, stirred up by the proponents of Jesus' elimination, now also demands his crucifixion. "Crucifige eum!" And so Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion.

8. Historically responsible for this death are the men indicated in the Gospels, at least in part, by name. Jesus himself declares this when he says to Pilate during the trial: "He who delivered me into your hands has a greater guilt" (John 19:11). And in another passage; "The Son of Man goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born!" (Mk 14:21; Mt 26:24; Lk 22:22). Jesus alludes to the various people who, in different ways, will be the architects of his death: to Judas, to the representatives of the Sanhedrin, to Pilate, to others . . . Even Simon Peter, in his speech after Pentecost, disputes the killing of Jesus to the leaders of the Sanhedrin: "You nailed him to the cross by the hands of ungodly men and killed him" (Acts 2:23).

9. However, one cannot extend this imputation beyond the circle of the truly responsible persons. We read in a document of the Second Vatican Council: 'If Jewish authorities with their followers worked for the death of Christ, nevertheless what was committed during his passion cannot be imputed either indiscriminately to all the Jews then living, or (even less) to the Jews of our time' (Nostra Aetate, 4).

When it comes to assessing the responsibility of consciences, we cannot forget Christ's words on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). We find an echo of those words in another speech by Peter after Pentecost: "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders" (Acts 3:17). What a sense of reserve before the mystery of the human conscience, even in the case of the greatest crime committed in history, the killing of Christ!

10. Following the example of Jesus and Peter, even though it is difficult to deny the responsibility of those men who deliberately caused Christ's death, we too will look at things in the light of God's eternal plan, which required his beloved Son to offer himself as a victim for the sins of all men. In this higher perspective we realise that we are all, by reason of our sins, responsible for Christ's death on the cross: all, insofar as through sin we have contributed to Christ dying for us as a victim of atonement. Jesus' words can also be understood in this sense: "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise" (Matthew 17: 22).

11. The cross of Christ is thus for all a realistic reminder of the fact expressed by the Apostle John in the words: "The blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we are without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1: 7-8). The cross of Christ does not cease to be for each of us this merciful and at the same time severe call to acknowledge and confess our guilt. It is a call to live in truth.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 28 September 1988]

In his homily, the Holy Father offered a brief reflection on the liturgical readings of the day and, in particular, on the passage from the Gospel of John (11:45-56) where we read the words of the high priest Caiaphas to the chief priests and Pharisees gathered in the sanhedrin and the comment of the evangelist: "Jesus had to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather together the children of God who were scattered. Jesus died for his people and he died for everyone. But this - noted the Pope - is not to be understood in the sense of globality: it means that Jesus died for each man individually. Every Christian must therefore say: 'Christ died for me'.

This is the highest expression of Jesus' love for every man. And from the awareness of this love,' Pope Francis emphasised, 'a thank you should arise. A thank you so profound and passionate that it could even turn into tears of joy on the face of every believer.

[Pope Francis, St Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 24/03/2013]

(Jn 10:31-42)

The intent of the fourth Gospel is not the particular one to convert Jews, rather to strengthen the Faith in the Person of the Consecrated of the Lord who proclaimed himself «Son».

The Appeal is to the churches of Asia Minor. And in Jn the term «Jews» indicates not the people, but the spiritual guides.

Before them, a "blasphemous" Jesus claims mutual immanence with the Father, and dares to expand (for us) the boundaries of the Mystery that envelops and fills him.

But the divine condition which manifests itself in human fullness is rejected by religious leaders. This in the name of adhering to the Eternal, imagined as distant and ancient.

Psalm 82 reads: «I said: You are gods, you are all sons of the Most High».

The poetic reference of the hymn is to the Israel’s chiefs and judges, but Jesus [who loved to call himself «Son of man»] extends it to those ‘sent by the Father’, to those who welcome his Word - outside the élite.

If divinity can be attributed to God's “agents” not just leaders, more can be attributed to the very Word of God - and sons who proclaim it, all worthy of eminent confidence.

According to Jesus, the Eternal is not revealed by cerebral reasoning and arguments, nor by doctrines, oral and written codes, or disciplines, but by the indestructible quality of the «beautiful» works (vv.32-33) which are «from the Father» (v.32).

The Greek term indicates the sense of fullness and wonder - truth, goodness, charm, amazement - that emanates from the only ‘action’ required in any prominent or minute «work»: love that revives the needy.

And Scripture recognizes in each of us this sacred spark, which gives all events and emotions the step of Vertigo: dizziness that overcomes the surrounding things [or the “how they should be” done].

Of course, to support us we need a Face, a relationship, and a close kinship story to identify what moves us, to scrutinize within what appears or is aroused.

The Unity of natures - He in us and we with the Father - corresponds to us in the Face of Christ.

No pile of stones (v.31) will be able to bury the divine longing and the testimony of those who come «from» Him.

Even if someone killed the “sons”, their «many and splendid works» (v.32) would speak.

Some - interested - try to immobilize the Word that acts in us: the Logos participant of Communion, source of Light and Life.

The detractors still rely on the hostile atmosphere of crude and vain mannered [ancient or fashionable] religiosity...

Well, intimate sons will find a welcome elsewhere, in foreign territory «beyond the Jordan» (v.40).

Everything that happens, even the persecutions and attempts at murder due to misunderstanding or envy [spiritual too] can be looked at from another perspective: of inclusive Faith that reconnect us to the Roots.

They are events, external happenings that activate overall energies: they become cosmic outside and acutely divine in us.

More than dangers and nuisances, they trace a destiny of Exodus - like a river that carries, but which in Christ makes us escape from the hands of a deadly stasis (v. 39), and admirably re-tunes on the forces that guide us to the suburbs - where we must go.

It is divine Presence, out of the ordinary Action. Infallible Guide of the inner world - which places us back on mission and in search of the most sacred freedom.

[Friday 5th wk. in Lent, March 27, 2026]

(Jn 10:31-42)

"We stone thee not for a splendid work, but for blasphemy, and because thou art man, thou makest thyself God" (v.33).

The theological background of the passage is the Feast of Dedication, during which, among other things, the passage from Ez 34 was read, which presents the Eternal as "the" authentic and true Shepherd.

The intent of the Fourth Gospel is not particularly to convert Jews, but rather to strengthen Faith in the Person of the Lord's Anointed One who proclaimed Himself "Son".

The reference is to the Johannine churches of Asia Minor. And in Jn the term "Jews" indicates not the people, but the spiritual leaders.

In their presence a "blasphemous" Jesus claims mutual immanence with the Father, and dares to expand to us the boundaries of the Mystery that envelops and fills him.

It seemed a sacrilege - especially for those involved in the official institution.

The divine condition manifested in human fullness is rejected by the religious leaders. This is in the name of adherence to the Eternal, imagined distant and ancient.

[In the cases "within" the first assemblies - of veterans who had already gained positions of prominence - he sees them wavering].

Having to watch over the orthodoxy of doctrine is always a pretext to diminish any beginner, or shaky person - and his or her franchise, which would exclude a structure of 'mediation', first and foremost its summits.

Nothing exceptional, but frightening to those installed.

Psalm 82 reads: 'I said: You are gods, you are all sons of the Most High'.

The hymn's poetic reference is to the leaders and judges of Israel, but Jesus, who liked to call himself "Son of Man", extends it - outside the elite - to the Father's envoys, to those who welcome his Word.

If in some way divinity can be ascribed to God's agents (not just leaders) all the more so can it be ascribed to the Word of God itself - and to the children who bear it, all worthy of eminent confidence.

The counterpoint between 'works' of condemnation and of life alone is a figure of the transition from common religiosity to the life of personal faith.

It emphasises the character of those who represent the Father and deliver the divine, exclusively good and liberating Work.

The authorities reject the Son in the name of the Most High, and loyalty to the traditional idea. Thought anchored in the irreducible image of the victorious King, from which a certain type of competitive society, ruthless even in the spiritual life - already on the way to extinction - springs.

According to Jesus, the Eternal is not revealed by cerebral reasoning and arguments, nor by doctrines, oral and written codes, or disciplines, but by the indestructible quality of the 'good' works (vv.32-33) that are 'from the Father' (v.32).

The Greek term stands for the sense of fullness and wonder - truth, goodness, fascination, amazement - that emanates from the one 'action' required in any major or minor 'work': the love that resurrects the needy.

And Scripture recognises in each of us this sacred spark, which gives all happenings and emotions the step of Vertigo: dizziness that overcomes the surrounding things [or the "how they should be" done].

Certainly, to support us, we need a Face, a relationship and close kinship to identify what moves us, to peer into what appears or is aroused.

The Unity of natures - He in us and we with the Father - corresponds to us in the Face of Christ.

This reciprocity is made manifest in listening, welcoming, not rushing to condemn - rather, making the 'loss' full (and unbelievable). And strengthens the weak.

The symbiosis with God in our activities, with our way of proposing or reacting, throughout our lives, unfolds in each child his Resemblance, even in difficult circumstances.

It will not be the language of the 'letter', but the living and loyal sense of truth-disalienation, which reveals the loving mystery of the intimate life of the Almighty.

No heap of stones (v.31) will be able to bury the divine yearning and testimony of those who come "from" Him.

Even if someone were to kill the children, their 'many and splendid works' would speak (v.32).

Some - interested - try to immobilise the Word that acts in us: the Logos participating in Communion, the source of Light and Life.

The detractors still rely on the hostile atmosphere of crude religiosity, of the vain sacred centre, of the eternal city... Well, the intimate children will find a welcome elsewhere, in foreign territory "beyond the Jordan" (v.40).

Everything that happens, even persecutions and assassination attempts due to misunderstanding or [even spiritual] envy, everything can be looked at from another perspective.

These are events, external happenings that activate overall energies: they become cosmic outside and acutely divine within us.

More than dangers and annoyances, they trace an Exodus destiny - like a river that carries, but in Christ escapes us from the hands of a deadly stasis (v.39), and admirably resonates with the forces that lead to the peripheries - where we must go.

It is as divine Presence and Action out of the ordinary, the infallible Guide of the inner world - which sets one back on mission and in search of the most sacred freedom.

We need another point of view, one that orients in a much richer way, and in relation to the tide that comes in - to grasp the hidden teaching.

The soul does not err, and what circumstances bring can always be made functional.

Such a view of inclusive Faith brings us closer to the Source of being, and of the particular essence; it brings us closer to the Roots that live within and in the nature of things.

Often the self is absorbed by the outer world or memories; even by false teachings.

But the Source of being in the cosmic powers and the inner self act beyond - they take us elsewhere from the usual proposals, reactions and interventions [of others and under conditions].

However well known, wonderful and glittering, the stories of the past must remain in the past.

Both desires and discomforts will guide us far.

We are not usurpers of celestial glory, but incessant restorers of the value of dignity, promotion, Friendship: the most dazzling and humanising of divine Works.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (LIX): "He who possesses the mother of the kingdom can endure long. This is called sinking the roots and strengthening the trunk, Way of long life and eternal youth'.

Master Ho-Shang Kung comments on this passage: 'The kingdom and the person are similar, the mother is the Way'.

To internalise and live the message:

Why does Jesus speak with detachment of 'your law' precisely when addressing the most renowned spiritual teachers?

What Image of God dwells in you? Is it radical, beautiful of love, of Exodus and newness, or of travails?

The Gospel [...] proposes a twofold commandment of faith: to believe in God and to believe in Jesus. In fact, the Lord said to his disciples: “Believe in God, believe also in me” (Jn 14:1). They are not two separate acts but one single act of faith, full adherence to salvation wrought by God the Father through his Only-begotten Son.

The New Testament puts an end to the Father's invisibility. God has shown his face, as Jesus’ answer to the Apostle Philip confirms: “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9). With his Incarnation, death and Resurrection, the Son of God has freed us from the slavery of sin to give us the freedom of the children of God and he has shown us the face of God, which is love: God can be seen, he is visible in Christ.

St Teresa of Avila wrote: “the last thing we should do is to withdraw from our greatest good and blessing, which is the most sacred humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. The Interior Castle, 6, ch. 7). Therefore, only by believing in Christ, by remaining united to him, may the disciples, among whom we too are, continue their permanent action in history: “Truly, truly, I say to you,” says the Lord, “he who believes in me will also do the works that I do” (Jn 14:12).

Faith in Jesus entails following him daily, in the simple actions that make up our day. “It is part of the mystery of God that he acts so gently, that he only gradually builds up his history within the great history of mankind; that he becomes man and so can be overlooked by his contemporaries and by the decisive forces within history; that he suffers and dies and that, having risen again, he chooses to come to mankind only through the faith of the disciples to whom he reveals himself; that he continues to knock gently at the doors of our hearts and slowly opens our eyes if we open our doors to him” (Jesus of Nazareth II, 2011, p. 276).

St Augustine says that “it was necessary for Jesus to say: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6) because once the way was known, the end remained to be known” (cf. In Evangelium Iohannis Tractatus, 69, 2: CCL 36, 500), and the end is the Father. For Christians, for each one of us, hence, the way to the Father is to allow ourselves to be guided by Jesus, by his word of truth, and to receive the gift of his life. Let us make St Bonaventure’s invitation our own: “Open, therefore, your eyes, lend your spiritual ear, open your lips and dispose your heart, so that you will be able to see, hear, praise, love, venerate, glorify, honour your God in all creatures” (Itinerarium mentis in Deum, i, 15).

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 22 May 2011]

Dear Young People!

1. I have vivid memories of the wonderful moments we shared in Rome during the Jubilee of the Year 2000, when you came on pilgrimage to the Tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. In long silent lines you passed through the Holy Door and prepared to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation; then the Evening Vigil and Morning Mass at Tor Vergata were moments of intense spirituality and a deep experience of the Church; with renewed faith, you went home to undertake the mission I entrusted to you: to become, at the dawn of the new millennium, fearless witnesses to the Gospel.

By now World Youth Day has become an important part of your life and of the life of the Church. I invite you therefore to get ready for the seventeenth celebration of this great international event, to be held in Toronto, Canada, in the summer of next year. It will be another chance to meet Christ, to bear witness to his presence in today’s society, and to become builders of the "civilization of love and truth".

2. "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world" (Mt 5:13-14): this is the theme I have chosen for the next World Youth Day. The images of salt and light used by Jesus are rich in meaning and complement each other. In ancient times, salt and light were seen as essential elements of life.

"You are the salt of the earth...". One of the main functions of salt is to season food, to give it taste and flavour. This image reminds us that, through Baptism, our whole being has been profoundly changed, because it has been "seasoned" with the new life which comes from Christ (cf. Rom 6:4). The salt which keeps our Christian identity intact even in a very secularized world is the grace of Baptism. Through Baptism we are re-born. We begin to live in Christ and become capable of responding to his call to "offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1). Writing to the Christians of Rome, Saint Paul urges them to show clearly that their way of living and thinking was different from that of their contemporaries: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect" (Rom 12:2).

For a long time, salt was also used to preserve food. As the salt of the earth, you are called to preserve the faith which you have received and to pass it on intact to others. Your generation is being challenged in a special way to keep safe the deposit of faith (cf. 2 Th 2:15; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:14).

Discover your Christian roots, learn about the Church’s history, deepen your knowledge of the spiritual heritage which has been passed on to you, follow in the footsteps of the witnesses and teachers who have gone before you! Only by staying faithful to God’s commandments, to the Covenant which Christ sealed with his blood poured out on the Cross, will you be the apostles and witnesses of the new millennium.

It is the nature of human beings, and especially youth, to seek the Absolute, the meaning and fullness of life. Dear young people, do not be content with anything less than the highest ideals! Do not let yourselves be dispirited by those who are disillusioned with life and have grown deaf to the deepest and most authentic desires of their heart. You are right to be disappointed with hollow entertainment and passing fads, and with aiming at too little in life. If you have an ardent desire for the Lord you will steer clear of the mediocrity and conformism so widespread in our society.

3. "You are the light of the world...". For those who first heard Jesus, as for us, the symbol of light evokes the desire for truth and the thirst for the fullness of knowledge which are imprinted deep within every human being.

When the light fades or vanishes altogether, we no longer see things as they really are. In the heart of the night we can feel frightened and insecure, and we impatiently await the coming of the light of dawn. Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning (cf. Is 21:11-12) who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ!

The light which Jesus speaks of in the Gospel is the light of faith, God’s free gift, which enlightens the heart and clarifies the mind. "It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). That is why the words of Jesus explaining his identity and his mission are so important: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).

Our personal encounter with Christ bathes life in new light, sets us on the right path, and sends us out to be his witnesses. This new way of looking at the world and at people, which comes to us from him, leads us more deeply into the mystery of faith, which is not just a collection of theoretical assertions to be accepted and approved by the mind, but an experience to be had, a truth to be lived, the salt and light of all reality (cf. Veritatis Splendor, 88).

In this secularized age, when many of our contemporaries think and act as if God did not exist or are attracted to irrational forms of religion, it is you, dear young people, who must show that faith is a personal decision which involves your whole life. Let the Gospel be the measure and guide of life’s decisions and plans! Then you will be missionaries in all that you do and say, and wherever you work and live you will be signs of God’s love, credible witnesses to the loving presence of Jesus Christ. Never forget: "No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bushel" (Mt 5:15)!

Just as salt gives flavour to food and light illumines the darkness, so too holiness gives full meaning to life and makes it reflect God’s glory. How many saints, especially young saints, can we count in the Church’s history! In their love for God their heroic virtues shone before the world, and so they became models of life which the Church has held up for imitation by all. Let us remember only a few of them: Agnes of Rome, Andrew of Phú Yên, Pedro Calungsod, Josephine Bakhita, Thérèse of Lisieux, Pier Giorgio Frassati, Marcel Callo, Francisco Castelló Aleu or again Kateri Tekakwitha, the young Iroquois called "the Lily of the Mohawks". Through the intercession of this great host of witnesses, may God make you too, dear young people, the saints of the third millennium!

4. Dear friends, it is time to get ready for the Seventeenth World Youth Day. I invite you to read and study the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, which I wrote at the beginning of the year to accompany all Christians on this new stage of the life of the Church and humanity: "A new century, a new millennium are opening in the light of Christ. But not everyone can see this light. Ours is the wonderful and demanding task of becoming its ‘reflection’" (No. 54).

Yes, now is the time for mission! In your Dioceses and parishes, in your movements, associations and communities, Christ is calling you. The Church welcomes you and wishes to be your home and your school of communion and prayer. Study the Word of God and let it enlighten your minds and hearts. Draw strength from the sacramental grace of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Visit the Lord in that "heart to heart" contact that is Eucharistic Adoration. Day after day, you will receive new energy to help you to bring comfort to the suffering and peace to the world. Many people are wounded by life: they are excluded from economic progress, and are without a home, a family, a job; there are people who are lost in a world of false illusions, or have abandoned all hope. By contemplating the light radiant on the face of the Risen Christ, you will learn to live as "children of the light and children of the day" (1 Th 5:5), and in this way you will show that "the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true" (Eph 5:9).

5. Dear young friends, Toronto is waiting for all of you who can make it! In the heart of a multi-cultural and multi-faith city, we shall speak of Christ as the one Saviour and proclaim the universal salvation of which the Church is the sacrament. In response to the pressing invitation of the Lord who ardently desires "that all may be one" (Jn 17:11), we shall pray for full communion among Christians in truth and charity.

Come, and make the great avenues of Toronto resound with the joyful tidings that Christ loves every person and brings to fulfilment every trace of goodness, beauty and truth found in the city of man. Come, and tell the world of the happiness you have found in meeting Jesus Christ, of your desire to know him better, of how you are committed to proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth!

The young people of Canada, together with their Bishops and the civil authorities, are already preparing to welcome you with great warmth and hospitality. For this I thank them all from my heart. May this first World Youth Day of the new millennium bring to everyone a message of faith, hope and love!

My blessing goes with you. And to Mary Mother of the Church I entrust each one of you, your vocation and your mission.

From Castel Gandolfo, 25 July 2001.

[Pope John Paul II, Message for the 17th WYD, Toronto]