There is a recurring question in Pope Francis' meditations during the masses he celebrated at Santa Marta, and it is the invitation to an examination of conscience: "How is my relationship with the Holy Spirit?". Also in his homily on Thursday 16 November, the Pontiff posed the question again with a particular declension: "Do I really believe that the Spirit makes the kingdom of God grow in me?".

In fact, the kingdom of God was the theme of the reflection that started from the passage in Luke's Gospel (17:20-25) in which the doctors of the law ask Jesus: "You preach the kingdom of God, but when will the kingdom of God come?". It is a question, the Pontiff explained, that also came from the "curiosity of many people", a "simple question that comes from a good heart, a disciple's heart". It is not by chance that it is a recurring request in the Gospel: for example, the Pope suggested, at that "very ugly, dark" moment when John the Baptist - who was in the dark in prison and "did not understand anything, distressed" - sends his disciples to say to the Lord: "But say: is it you or must we wait for someone else? Has the kingdom of God arrived or is it another?".

Doubt about 'when' often returns, as in the thief's 'impudent, haughty, wicked question': 'If it is you, come down from the cross', which expresses the 'curiosity' of 'when the kingdom of God comes'.

Jesus' answer is: "But the kingdom of God is in your midst". Thus for example, Francis recalled, "the kingdom of God was announced in the synagogue in Nazareth, that joyful announcement when Jesus reads that passage from Isaiah and ends by saying: 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your midst'". A happy and, above all, "simple" announcement. In fact, "the kingdom of God grows from within", so much so that Jesus himself explains it with the parable of the seed: "no one knows how", but God makes it grow. It is a kingdom that "grows from within, in secret or hidden like the gem or the treasure, but always in humility".

Here the Pontiff inserted the key passage of his meditation: "Who gives growth to that seed, who makes it sprout? God, the Holy Spirit who is in us'. A consideration that explains the coming of the kingdom with the Paraclete's way of working, which "is a spirit of meekness, of humility, of obedience, of simplicity". And it is the Spirit, the Pope added, "that makes the kingdom of God grow within, not pastoral plans, great things...".

It is, Francis said, a hidden action. The Spirit 'makes it grow and the time comes and the fruit appears'. An action that eludes full comprehension: 'Who was it, or was it,' the Pope asked himself, 'that sowed the seed of the kingdom of God in the heart of the good thief? Perhaps his mother when she taught him to pray? Perhaps a rabbi when he explained the law to him...'. What is certain is that although in life he forgot it, that seed, hidden, was made to grow at some point. All this happens because 'the kingdom of God is always a surprise, a surprise that comes' in that 'it is a gift given by the Lord'.

In his conversation with the doctors of the law, Jesus dwells on the characteristics of this silent action: "The kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to attract attention and no one will say: 'Here it is or there it is'". In fact, the Pontiff added, "the kingdom of God is not a show" or even "a carnival". It does not show itself 'with pride, with pride, it does not like publicity', but 'is humble, hidden and thus grows'.

A striking example comes from Mary. When people looked at her following Jesus, they hardly recognised her ('Ah, that's Mummy...'). She was 'the holiest woman', but because she was 'in secret', no one understood 'the mystery of the kingdom of God, the holiness of the kingdom of God'. And so, "when she was near her son's cross, people said, 'But poor woman with this criminal as a son, poor woman...'". No one understood, "no one knew".

The characteristic of hiddenness, the Pope explained, comes precisely from the Holy Spirit who is 'within us': it is he 'who makes the seed grow, makes it germinate until it bears fruit'. And we are all called to walk this path: 'it is a vocation, it is a grace, it is a gift, it is free, it cannot be bought, it is a grace that God gives us'.

This is why, the Pontiff concluded, it is good that "all of us baptised" who "have the Holy Spirit within us", ask ourselves: "How is my relationship with the Holy Spirit, the one who makes the kingdom of God grow in me?" We need to understand: "Do I really believe that the kingdom of God is in our midst, is it hidden, or do I like the show better?" It is necessary, he added, to pray to "the Spirit within us" to ask for the grace "to make the seed of the kingdom of God sprout in us and in the Church, with strength, so that it may become great, give shelter to so many people and bear fruits of holiness."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 17/11/2017]

Foreign glory, or religiosity giving birth to models and slaves

(LK 17:11-19)

According to the encyclical Brothers All, the custody of differences is the criterion of true fraternity, which does not annihilate the extrovert peaks.

In fact, even in a relationship of deep love and coexistence «we need to free ourselves from feeling that we all have to be alike» [Amoris Laetitia, n.139].

It will be surprising, but the meaning of the Gospel does not concern the thanks to do!

Jesus is not saddened by a lack of gratitude and good manners, but by the fact that only a stranger gives «glory to God» (v.15).

That is: he recognizes Him as his personal Lord - in a relationship, in fact, without mediation.

That personal «make-Eucharist» [...] «and fell on his face at his feet» (v.16 Greek text) has a strong, spousal meaning, of perfect reciprocity in the Way.

All within the horizon of a crucial - decisive - choice between exclusive quality life, or death.

Although marginalized by the "sacred precincts" of the Temple in the Holy City - the distant and rejected (considered bastards and enemies) immediately understand what does not disfigure the face of their humanity.

On closer inspection, in the third Gospel the models of the Faith are all "foreign": centurion, prostitute, hemorrhoid, blind; and so on.

They immediately perceive the signs of Life, signs of God!

Others more settled or attracted by normalities are content to be reintegrated into ancient and common religious practice, returning to the usual impersonal things, and to mass worship.

But those who allow themselves to be enslaved, lose track of themselves and of Christ (v.17). They become again a slave of the aligned, conventionalist mentality, not examined - and subject to ‘permanence’.

Instead, if recognized [as in the case of the Samaritan] a Presence in our favor makes us find, discover, and understand.

It proceeds unparalleled through all our moods - without remorse for duties that do not belong to us.

This Friendship makes us recover the fixed points of truly intimate human codes, strengthening - out of the line - both the system of self-recognition and the authentic and unrepeatable way of honoring God in our brothers and sisters.

In short, as we walk our very own Way with optimism and hope, we come to meet the living Christ; not to the hubbub of the [ancient or fashionable] Temple.

It no longer sends precious messages; it only notes down. It beats in the head, but does not touch us inside.

It will trap each one in a web of predictable thoughts, of enemy surveillance, induced customs; so on.

Regarding the essential divine readiness to grasp differences as wealth, we recall the teaching of the Sufi master Ibn Ata Allah, who upheld the unparalleled immediacy of the personal Colloquium - where wisdom of analysis and experience of mystical vertigo unite:

«He makes the enlightenment come upon you so that through it you may come to Him; He makes it come upon you to remove you from the hand of others; He makes it come upon you to free you from the slavery of creatures; He makes it come on you to bring you out of the prison of your existence towards the Heaven of the contemplation of Him».

New, full, and definitive Life.

People of Faith detach themselves from external religious identity: they dream, love and invent roads; they deviate and do not follow an already traced path.

[Wednesday 32nd wk. in O.T.  November 13, 2024]

Foreign Glory, or religiosity that gives birth to models and slaves

(Lk 17:11-19)

The impure had to stay out of the way: everything that was different from the dominant thought was shunned.

According to the ancient religious scheme, the places of the 'infected' were regarded as cemeteries.

Diseases were imagined as punishments for defaults.

But leprosy - a disease that corrodes within - was the very symbol of sin [yet here the observant seem to be the walking image of death].

The eventual healing was valued on a par with a miraculous resurrection.

And all (supposed) sins had to be atoned for before being readmitted to society.

Jesus replaces the nerve-wracking globality of these arcane-superstitious rigmarole with a very simple outward path.

Thus he destroys archaic, superstitious idolatrous devotion, supplanting it with a real-life proposal.

The passage is exclusive to Lk but in all the Gospels the term "village" has strongly negative connotations.

"Villages" are the places where the Lord is not welcomed. There is no place for the new there, and if it takes root it becomes an obligatory tradition.

They are territories and swamps of reduction, of stubborn confirmation, of wanting to reproduce established thoughts and impose more or less seraphic customs on anyone. We know them.

In the Church, the 'village' mentality is that of certainty at all costs.

A hypical conviction of those who consider themselves sacredly correct and empowered to marginalise, cast out, reject, keep away, disregard.

The passage has several levels of reading.

The Master walks with the Apostles and addresses them (Lk 17:1-11) but suddenly seems to find himself alone (v.12). As if the 'lepers of the village' were none other than his own [at that time no one afflicted with the disease could dwell in residential places].

The uncleanness contracted by the confirmed disciples, and also by us today, depends precisely on the spoiled, decaying and corrupt condition of the reduced and infected environment.

The latter makes regeneration impossible - because in it the followers themselves (who appear to be intimates) sometimes shut themselves away, all huddled together.

The ten lepers represent us.

The number itself indicates a totality (like fingers).

But right here, if we are at least made aware of the separation from the realisation of our face, here is the first step to a personal involvement with the Lord.

We all have signs of non-life.

Those who think they have arrived and are unharmed by pathologies put up fences to protect themselves and their world, but they remain there, clumsy.

When, on the other hand, they see that development has not yet blossomed, a sense of tolerance towards others is triggered, and the personal spring that overcomes empty, intimist, or coarse adhesions.

Even in the first assemblies of those called to be sons and brothers, there was sometimes a self-congratulatory and isolationist mentality towards the pagans who appeared at the threshold of the communities.

The new ones - x-rayed by the veterans who could not stand different specificities - cried out by appealing directly to Christ himself.

The question was triggered - all topical:

"You who stand at the head [v.13 Greek text], You who lead the church, what do you think of your own? What do you say about this village mentality?"

"The first ones who think they have the right to shun others, do they really have the right to do so?"

"Has the Father you proclaim become exactly like the sullen God of religions again?"

In fact, the 'lepers' do not ask for healing, but for compassion.

In short, the Call is 'internal'.

This means that it is precisely the phenomena of the acquired - perhaps colonialist - role or ministry that should be healed.

Conditioned by false guides, we also not infrequently approach Christ in an abstruse, wrong way: asking him for 'mercy'.

A Friend or a Father is not asked for 'Mercy'.

That is why Jesus is clear. Those who consider themselves unclean or want to be pitied must go elsewhere, turn to the official religion.

Everyone is complete, and this is seen in the choice of the stranger who alone understands and returns to Christ.

No one needs to chastise himself by submitting to conformist protocols.

But back then it was the Temple priests who checked and decided whether the already healed (!) could be readmitted to society.

In short, all of us sinners are made pure not by miracles that descend like lightning, but in the Exodus.

It is the journey that moves us out of the putrid, diseased environment - well before anyone checks, makes trivial recommendations, and dictates the pace of posthumous practices.

It is only the 'village' that makes us - and considers us - unclean... because we do not look like it!

We need only step out of ghettoising thoughts and customs to gain serenity and motivation: we will no longer feel rejected and pointed at.

We will discover ourselves and the God-with.

He made us this way for a special Mission; not modelled on prototypes to be copied as if we were idiots: but supremely lovable children.

The Father sees us as perfect, and in his time he will raise astounding pearls precisely from our supposed or intruded unworthinesses.

Inadequacies to the "village", which make up and complete the baggage of our precious personality, and unrepeatable Vocation.

As it happens, we only fulfil ourselves spiritually by crossing local 'cultural' fences.

Even not by obeying orders, but by transgressing them (vv.14ff.)!

In this way, Jesus does not contemplate inquisitors.

We must allow ourselves to be controlled solely by the Spirit, who already animates us.

This is a decisive question. In fact: the meaning of the text is not about thanksgiving!

Jesus is not saddened by a lack of thankfulness and good manners, but by the fact that only a stranger gives "glory to God" (v.15).

That is: he recognises him as his personal Lord - in a relationship, indeed, without mediation.

That personal "making-Eucharist" [...] "and fell on his face at his feet" (v.16 Greek text) has a strong, spousal meaning, of perfect reciprocity in the Way.

All in the horizon of a crucial choice - not peaceful, nor calm and good-natured, but diriment - between life of exclusive quality, or death.

Although marginalised by the 'holy precincts' of the Temple in the Holy City - precisely the distant and rejected (considered bastards and enemies) immediately understand what does not disfigure the face of their humanity.

Here Lk quotes the term alloghenès (v.18) carved in large letters in the tablets affixed to the first of the inner parapets of the Jerusalem Sanctuary [the one that under penalty of death prevented pagans from participating in the Jewish cultic sacrifice].

But on closer inspection, in the Third Gospel the models of Faith are all 'outsiders': centurion, prostitute, hemorrhoid, blind man, and so on.

They immediately perceive the signs of Life, signs of God!

Others who are more settled or attracted to normality are content to be reintegrated into old-fashioned and common religious practice, returning to the usual impersonal things, and mass worship.

And yet, those who re-adapt to the way of all, become enslaved; they lose track of themselves and of Christ (v.17).

He who becomes a slave again to the aligned, conventionalist mentality; unexamined - and subservient to 'permanence'.

According to the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, the custody of differences is the criterion of true fraternity, which does not annihilate extrovert peaks.

Indeed, even in a relationship of deep love and coexistence "there is a need to free oneself from the obligation to be equal" [Amoris Laetitia, no.139].

Pope Francis again:

"While Solidarity is the social planning principle that allows unequals to become equals, Fraternity is what allows equals to be different people" [Message to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, 24/04/2017].

In short, by optimistically and hopefully walking our very own Way, we come to meet the living Christ; not the hubbub of the Temple [ancient or fashionable].

It no longer sends precious messages; it only notes. It knocks on the head, but does not touch inside.

It traps us in a web of predictable thoughts, enemy surveillance, induced customs; so on.

Domestics devoid of affinity with events of specific weight - without the allied step of people of a particular culture and sensitivity.

Those who are healing the world.

Despite the exhibited belonging, behind sacred official scenes, relationships often loosen; they do not regenerate.

Models and prototypes, codes and patents, the obtuseness of petty primitives - figurines of narrowness - are often birthed there.

Instead, when recognised [as e.g. in the case of the Samaritan] a Presence in our favour makes us find, discover, and understand.

It proceeds unparalleled through all our states of mind - with no more remorse towards duties that do not belong to us.

Such Friendship makes us recover the fixed points of truly intimate human codes, enhancing - outside the lines - both the system of recognising ourselves and the authentic and unrepeatable way of honouring God in our brothers and sisters.

No longer the exclusive privilege of the elect and the best ... all non-decisive.

Regarding the essential divine readiness to embrace differences as richness, let us recall the teaching of the Sufi master Ibn Ata Allah, who advocated the unparalleled immediacy of the Personal Colloquy - where wisdom of analysis and experience of intoxication come together:

"He brings enlightenment upon you in order that through it you may come to Him; He brings it upon you to remove you from the hand of others; He brings it upon you to free you from the bondage of creatures; He brings it upon you to bring you out of the prison of your existence to the heaven of contemplation of Him."

New, full, definitive life.

People of Faith break away from external religious identity: they dream, love and invent paths; they deviate and do not follow a path already mapped out.

The Gospel [...] presents Jesus healing 10 lepers, of whom only one, a Samaritan and therefore a foreigner, returned to thank him (cf. Lk 17: 11-19). The Lord said to him: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well" (Lk 17: 19). This Gospel passage invites us to a twofold reflection. It first evokes two levels of healing: one, more superficial, concerns the body. The other deeper level touches the innermost depths of the person, what the Bible calls "the heart", and from there spreads to the whole of a person's life. Complete and radical healing is "salvation". By making a distinction between "health" and "salvation", even ordinary language helps us to understand that salvation is far more than health: indeed, it is new, full and definitive life. Furthermore, Jesus here, as in other circumstances, says the words: "Your faith has made you whole". It is faith that saves human beings, re-establishing them in their profound relationship with God, themselves and others; and faith is expressed in gratitude. Those who, like the healed Samaritan, know how to say "thank you", show that they do not consider everything as their due but as a gift that comes ultimately from God, even when it arrives through men and women or through nature. Faith thus entails the opening of the person to the Lord's grace; it means recognizing that everything is a gift, everything is grace. What a treasure is hidden in two small words: "thank you"!

Jesus healed 10 people sick with leprosy, a disease in those times considered a "contagious impurity" that required ritual cleansing (cf. Lv 14: 1-37). Indeed, the "leprosy" that truly disfigures the human being and society is sin; it is pride and selfishness that spawn indifference, hatred and violence in the human soul. No one, save God who is Love, can heal this leprosy of the spirit which scars the face of humanity. By opening his heart to God, the person who converts is inwardly healed from evil. 

"Repent, and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1: 15). Jesus began his public life with this invitation that continues to resonate in the Church. [...]

Let us ask Our Lady for the gift of true conversion for all Christians, so that they may proclaim and witness consistently and faithfully to the perennial message of the Gospel, which points out to humanity the path of authentic peace.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 14 October 2007]

"Mga kaibigan" (Dear friends)

"Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat" (I warmly thank you all). 

I would have liked to visit you at your homes, but it was not possible. I thank you for coming to meet me instead. Thank you for wanting to represent the others who wanted so much to come but could not. Being with you today brings great joy to my heart. I greet you with affection and I hope you know how much I have looked forward to our meeting. 

In my previous pastoral visits to Africa and Brazil, I met other men and women suffering from leprosy. These encounters left a deep impression on me, because I was able to appreciate the loving patience and courage with which they live in spite of trials and adversity. 

1. I stand here in the name of Christ Jesus to remind you of his extraordinary love for all his brothers and sisters, but particularly for each one of you. The Gospels bear witness to this truth. Think for a moment how often Jesus manifested his concern by transforming situations of need into moments of grace. In St Luke's Gospel, for example, Jesus is approached by ten lepers who ask to be healed. The Lord orders them to show themselves to the priests, and along the way they are healed. One of them returns to give thanks. In his gratitude he demonstrates a faith that is strong, joyful and full of praise for the wonder of God's gifts. Evidently Jesus has touched the deep intimacy of this man's being with his love. 

2. Again in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we are presented with a leper who asks Jesus to heal him but only if it is his will. What great gratitude the man feels when his request is heard! He sets out to spread the joyful news of the miracle to all he meets. Such great happiness comes from man's faith. His words 'if you will you can cleanse me' reflect a readiness to accept whatever Jesus wishes for him. And his faith in Jesus was not disappointed! Dear brothers and sisters, may your faith in Jesus be no less firm and constant than the faith of these people in the Gospels. 

3. I know that your affliction brings intense suffering, not only through its physical manifestations, but also through the misunderstandings that so many people in society continue to associate with Hansen's disease. You often come across very old prejudices, and these become an even greater source of suffering. For my part, I will continue to proclaim before the world the need for even greater awareness of the fact that, with appropriate help, this disease can indeed be overcome. This is why I ask everyone everywhere to support more and more the courageous efforts that are being made to eradicate leprosy and effectively treat those who still suffer from it. 

4. I pray that you will never be discouraged or aggravated. Wherever and whenever you encounter the Cross, embrace it as Jesus did, that the Father's will may be done. May your suffering be offered up for the benefit of the whole Church, so that you may say with St Paul: "Therefore I am glad in my sufferings... and I complete in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His Body, which is the Church..." (Col 1:24). 

Three days ago I beatified in your country sixteen martyrs of Nagasaki. Among them is Blessed Lazarus of Kyoto, who was a leper. How we rejoice at the help Blessed Lazarus gave to the missionaries as a translator and guide. Finally, his commitment to spreading the Gospel cost him his life; he died shedding his blood for the faith. His love for Christ involved much suffering, even torturous pain! He experienced the incomprehension, rejection and hatred of others in his service to the Church! But by the power of God's grace, Blessed Lazarus bore witness to the faith and merited the precious gift of the crown of martyrdom. 

Dear friends, I invite you to imitate the courage of Blessed Lazarus who is so close to you. Share the convictions of your faith with your brothers and sisters who suffer with you. Return the love of the doctors, nurses and volunteers who so generously care for you. Work to build a living community of faith, a community that supports, strengthens and enriches the universal Church. This is where your service to Christ is! It is here that your lives are challenged! It is here that you can manifest your faith, your hope and your love! 

May God bless you, dear brothers and sisters! Bless all those suffering from leprosy in this country! May he bless your families, your friends and all those who care for you! "Ai higit sa lahat, inihahabilin ko ang aking sarili sa inyong panalangin, sa inyong pagmamahal" (And above all, I commend me to your prayer and love).

[Pope John Paul II, Address to the Tala Leprosarium, Manila 21 February 1981]

Today, I would like to focus on the prayer of thanksgiving. And I take my cue from an episode recounted by the Evangelist Luke. While Jesus was on the way, ten lepers approached Him, begging: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (17:13). We know that those who had leprosy suffered not only physically, but also from social marginalization and religious marginalization. They were marginalized. Jesus did not back off from meeting them. Sometimes, he went beyond the limitations imposed by the law and touched the sick — which was not permitted — he embraced and healed them. In this case, there was no contact. From a distance, Jesus invited them to present themselves to the priests (v. 14), who were designated by law to certify any healings that had occurred. Jesus said nothing else. He listened to their prayer, he heard their cry for mercy, and he sent them immediately to the priests.

Those 10 lepers trusted, they did not remain there until they were cured, no: they trusted and they went immediately, and while they were on their way, all 10 of them were cured. The priests would have therefore been able to verify their healing and readmit them to normal life. But here is the most important point: only one in the group, before going to the priests, returned to thank Jesus and to praise God for the grace received. Only one, the other nine continued on their way. And Jesus points out that that man was a Samaritan, a sort of “heretic” for the Jews of that time. Jesus comments: “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (17:18). This narrative is touching.

This narrative, so to speak, divides the world in two: those who do not give thanks and those who do; those who take everything as if it is owed them, and those who welcome everything as a gift, as grace. The Catechism says: “every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving” (n. 2638). The prayer of thanksgiving always begins from here: from the recognition that grace precedes us. We were thought of before we learned how to think; we were loved before we learned how to love; we were desired before our hearts conceived a desire. If we view life like this, then “thank you” becomes the driving force of our day. And how often we even forget to say “thank you”.

For us Christians, thanksgiving was the name given to the most essential Sacrament there is: the Eucharist . In fact, the Greek word means precisely this: thanksgiving . Eucharist: thanksgiving. Christians, as all believers, bless God for the gift of life. To live is above all to have received life. All of us are born because someone wanted us to have life. And this is only the first of a long series of debts that we incur by living. Debts of gratitude. During our lives, more than one person has gazed on us with pure eyes, gratuitously. Often, these people are educators, catechists, persons who carried out their roles above and beyond what was required of them. And they stirred gratitude within us. Even friendship is a gift for which we should always be grateful.

This “thank you” that we must say continually, this thanks that Christians share with everyone, grows in the encounter with Jesus. The Gospels attest that when Jesus passed by, he often stirred joy and praise to God in those who met Him. The Gospel accounts of Christmas are filled with prayerful people whose hearts are greatly moved by the coming of the Saviour. And we too were called to participate in this immense jubilation. The episode of the ten lepers who are healed also suggests this. Naturally, they were all happy about having recovered their health, thus being allowed to end that unending forced quarantine that excluded them from the community. But among them, there was one who experienced an additional joy: in addition to being healed, he rejoices at the encounter with Jesus. He is not only freed from evil, but he now possesses the certainty of being loved. This is the crux: when you thank someone, you express the certainty that you are loved. And this is a huge step: to have the certainty that you are loved. It is the discovery of love as the force that governs the world. Dante would say: the Love that “moves the sun and other stars” (Paradise, XXIII, 145). We are no longer vagabonds wandering aimlessly here and there, no: we have a home, we dwell in Christ, and from that “dwelling” we contemplate the rest of the world which appears infinitely more beautiful to us. We are children of love, we are brothers and sisters of love. We are men and women of grace.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us seek to remain always in the joy of the encounter with Jesus. Let us cultivate joyfulness. The devil, instead, after having deluded us — with whatever temptation — always leaves us sad and alone. If we are in Christ, there is no sin and no threat that can ever prevent us from continuing our journey with joy, along with many fellow travel companions.

Above all, let us not forget to thank: if we are bearers of gratitude, the world itself will become better, even if only a little bit, but that is enough to transmit a bit of hope. The world needs hope. And with gratitude, with this attitude of thanksgiving, we transmit a bit of hope. Everything is united and everything is connected, and each one can do their part wherever they are. The path to happiness is the one that Saint Paul described at the end of one of his letters: “Pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit” (1Thess 5:17-19). Do not quench the Spirit, what a beautiful project of life! Not quenching the Spirit that we have within leads us to gratitude.

[Pope Francis, General Audience 30 December 2020]

(Lk 17:7-10)

Increase Faith? The Gift is not a material alms, but an Appeal. Therefore Jesus doesn’t even answer - nevertheless he makes us reflect on the results of the eventual adhesion.

A minimum involvement would suffice and extraordinary results would be produced in the world (v.6); in communities, in families, in personal life.

We would achieve the impossible and important. The real problems would be solved. Even the simplest actions would be transformed.

Very provocative words, those of Jesus, that neither condemn a priori nor demonize the Way contrary to his.

But he puts us on notice about how things work in the pyramidal environment (vv.7-9).

«When you have done all that you have been "ordered"...» (v.10).

The Lord alludes to the obedience of the Torah, and would like to free us from the obsessive, limiting, petty and anxiety-inducing yoke of the ancient Law. 

It produces impoverishment of souls.

It’s as if the Lord were saying:

«Try along to follow the predictable, plastered, shock-free model... Try and you will see on your skin what inconclusiveness, what lacerations and disasters it produces!».

In a perspective of Faith and human growth in Christ, the standard scheme (limiting) «subjected-Sovereign» must be abandoned.

It removes expressive richness from the Announcement and from life.

The welcoming-likeness Faith will lead us instead to grow from ‘useless’ slaves to Sons; collaborators and allies of the Father.

From narrow submissive and obedient slaves, to family members, friends and consanguineous-resembling.

Otherwise we will remain in the childish condition of big kids and roundsmen «of no account» (v.10) who do not express themselves or reinterpret, but remain subjected and do only "what they must".

The religion of merits and roles is deleterious; it produces malaise, it goes on by inertia and with a defensive attitude.

It does not reinvent the present, nor does it open the future.

It does not listen to needs, rather it pushes us to imprint relationships on the basis of selfishness, even spiritual.

Here we no longer look at what spontaneously appears - forcing our faculties to all predictable, conformist assessments.

Life therefore impoverishes, desertifying itself, because it’s intimidated.

Becoming an absurd farce that Jesus doesn’t want: a jumble of swampy attitudes, unable to reactivate us - inattentive to special actions that turn routine into adventure.

To paraphrase the encyclical Brothers All, in those conditions it would sound «like madness» also to elaborate «great goals for the development of our entire human family» (n.16).

There would be no sense of the Mystery, never perceiving it in the furrows of history: we would drag ourselves into remedies, protecting only the usual grind newspaper.

Therefore no unexpected change, no unexplained transformation, no exceptional recovery (v.6).

No unpredictability would see the ‘sacred’ in the thousand situations that Providence invents, stimulating new answers.

The mystic Ibn Ata Allah - Master of the two Sciences [wisdom of analysis and experience of mystical inebriation] - argued:

«If you want that the door of the fear is opened to you, look at what from you goes to Him. If you want that the door of the Hope is opened to you, look at what comes from Him to you».

[Tuesday 32nd wk. in O.T.  November 12, 2024]

Lk 17:7-10 (1-10)

Forgiveness and Faith: Living Encounter

Eccentric free-for-all: Sacrament of humanity as such

(Lk 17:1-6)

The knowledge of God is not a confiscated commodity or an acquired and already foreclosed science: it moves from one action to another, unceasingly; it is realised in an ever-living Encounter, which does not freeze or dissolve us.

Typical, the experience of the "little ones" [mikròi v.2]. From the earliest communities of faith, they were those who lacked security and energy; unstable and without support.

From time immemorial, "Little Ones" have been the incipients; the new ones, who have heard of Christian brotherhood, but who are sometimes forced to stand in line, aside, or give up the journey.

But the criterion of welcome, tolerance, communion even of material goods, was the first and main catalyst for the growth of the assemblies.

Moreover, the source and meaning of all the formulas and signs of the liturgy.

The existential and ideal centre in which to converge. For a proactive and in itself transformative Faith.

In the Spirit of the Master, even for us the conciliation of friction is not simply a work of magnanimity.

It is the beginning of the future world. The beginning of an unforeseeable and unspeakable adventure. And we with it suddenly reborn: coming into frank contact in Christ. He who does not extinguish us at all.

Hence the Christian forgiveness of children, which is not... "looking positive", and "turning a blind eye": rather, Newness of God that creates an environment of Grace, propulsive, with enormous possibilities.

Force that breaks through and paradoxically lets the dark poles meet, instead of shaking them off. Genuinely eliminating useless comparisons, words and ballasts, which block the transparent Exodus.

Dynamics that guide one to the indispensable and unavoidable: waves to shift one's gaze. Teaching to notice one's own hysterics, to know oneself, to face anxiety, its reason; to manage situations and moments of crisis.

Mouldable virtue that places one in intimate listening to the personal essence.

Hence, solid, wide-ranging empathy that introduces new energies; it brings together one's own deep states, even standard life arousing other knowledge, different perspectives, unexpected relationships.

Thus without too much struggle it renews us, and curbs the loss of veracity [typical, that in favour of circumstantial manners]. It accentuates the capacity and horizons of Peace - crumbling primates, swampy balances.

The discovery of new sides of the being that we are, conveys a sense of better wholeness, then spontaneously curbs external influences, dissolves prejudices, does not make one act on an emotional, impulsive basis.

Rather, it puts us in a position to reveal the hidden and astounding meaning of being. It unfolds the crucial horizon.

Activating 'Forgiveness' is gratuitously a surrender of one's character range, of all lost dignity, and far beyond.

By laying down feelings, the art of tolerance expands the [also intimate] gaze. It enhances and strengthens the dull sides; those we ourselves had detested.

In this eccentric way it transforms those considered distant or mediocre [mikroi] into outriders, and brilliant inventors. For what was unthought of yesterday will be clarifying and driving tomorrow.

Confusions will make sense - precisely because of the thinking of minds in crisis, and because of the action of the despised, intruders, outside of all spin and predictability.

Life of pure Faith in the Spirit: i.e., the imagination of the 'weak'... in power.

Because it is the paradoxical mechanism that makes the crossroads of history assess, activates passions, creates sharing, solves real problems.

And so it supplants difficult moments forwards (bringing us back to the true path) by orienting reality to the concrete good.

By making it fly towards itself.

The 'win-or-lose' alternative is false: we must get out of it. It is in such 'emptiness' and Silence that God makes His way.

Mystery of Presence, overflowing. New Covenant.

Increasing Faith: a dull, intimidated life, or the door of Hope

(Lk 17:5-10)

Perhaps we too have been inculcated with the idea that faith must be asked for, so God will increase it for us. Instead, we have a say, but not in the sense of a plea to Heaven.

Faith is a gift, but in the sense of a relational, face-to-face proposal and initiative; that asks for welcoming perception. Hence it does not grow by dropping a package - like a precipice, or by infusion from above. Even forcing it and convincing the Father.

Nor is it mere assent linked to good-naturedness. It is not a baggage of notions that some have and prove right; others less so, or not at all.

In falling in love one can be more or less involved!

Faith is not believing that God exists, but adhering to a springing suggestion that (without imposition) guides us to disregard reputation.

The person of Faith cares not for expense or risk, even for the lives of others. He holds particular mores in abeyance; he does not put circle affections first. He forgives without limit.

Often we agree only in part and accept a little bit - perhaps until love goes all the way, or calls us into question.

Thus the head, the quirks, the concatenation of values, and the small world to which we are attached.

Increasing Faith? The Gift is not a gift, but an Appeal.

That is why Jesus does not even respond to such a ridiculous request - nevertheless, it makes one wonder about the results of possible adherence.

All it would take is the slightest involvement and there would be extraordinary results in the world (v.6); in the community, in families and in personal lives.

We would achieve the impossible and important. Real problems would be solved. Even the simplest actions would be transformed.

Then there are great events planted in every man's heart, which we perhaps consider unrealisable: e.g. universal brotherhood, victory over fame, a dignified and beautiful life for all, a world and a Church without volatile, corrupt and vain characters.

Because we consider them impossible situations, we don't even begin to build them - we immediately drop our arms.

But maturation is the result of secret sides, not of impermeable mental armour.

As a Nobel Prize winner said: 'The innocent did not know that their project was impossible, so they realised it'.

And it is not that after a life spent in service - at the orders of the Principal - in the afterlife we will finally command, on the basis of the rank we have earned [although this too may have been passed on to us].

One of the wonders that Faith in Christ accomplishes in us - here and now - is to make us aware of the beauty and joy of having the freedom to come down from the pedestals we have already identified, in order to favour the full life (of all).

And at the 'end of the month' - at the 'reckoning' or the 'pay' - we will not finally become bosses - at least in heaven!

Because God is Communion, conviviality of differences; and He does not accept the servant-master scheme, even as a reward.

Very provocative words, those of Jesus, that neither condemn a priori nor demonise the Way contrary to his.

But he does warn us about how things work in a pyramid scheme (vv.7-9).

"When you have done all that you have been 'commanded'..." (v.10).

The Lord alludes to the obedience of the Torah and would like to free us from the obsessive, limiting, petty and anxiety-inducing yoke of the ancient religious Law. 

It produces artificial and fake hierarchies, social collapse, impoverishment of souls.

It is as if the Lord were saying:

"Try as you might to follow the predictable, pious, correct, plastered, jerkless model....

Try it and you will see for yourself what inconclusiveness, what lacerations and disasters it produces.

Experience it, and you will realise, and definitively!".

In a perspective of Faith and human growth in Christ, one must abandon the standard limiting "subject-subject" model imposed by Moses.

How boring! Person and Friendship do not bank!

And after the first discoveries, there is no going back to cultivating restraints - otherwise compulsory behaviour will get us into big trouble.

They will take away expressive richness from the proclamation and from life.

Perhaps we already know what it means to feel like numbers, to copy the (histrionic) emancipation of others and consequently seek external compensations; or to fill ourselves with ulterior motives, thus make-up and spoil.

"Try settling for official, conformist and normalised religiosity, instead of engaging in the search and discovery without compensation; in the Exodus and the adventure of adhering to a level-headed Love! You will see what an impediment to breakthroughs, what a degradation of relationships, what a life folded and filled with resentments all around, insulting and empty!".

Instead, the reception-faith will lead us to grow from useless slaves to Sons; co-workers and allies of the Father.

From crude submissive and slavishly obedient, to family, friends, and kinsmen-friends.

Otherwise we will remain in the puerile condition of children and servants "of no account" (v.10) who neither express themselves nor reinterpret, but remain submissive and do only "what they must".

The religion of merits and roles is deleterious; it produces malaise. It manages the real estate empire but moves forward by inertia and with a defensive attitude.

It does not reinvent the present, nor does it open up the future.

It does not listen to needs, rather it pushes us to shape relationships on the basis of selfishness, even spiritual selfishness.

Here, we no longer look at what spontaneously arises - forcing our faculties to evaluations that are all predictable, conformist.

Life therefore becomes impoverished, desertifying itself, because it is intimidated.

Becoming an absurd farce that Jesus does not want: a jumble of swampy attitudes, incapable of reactivating us - inattentive to the special actions that turn routine into adventure.Paraphrasing the encyclical Brothers All, in those conditions it would sound "like a delirium" even to elaborate "great objectives for the development of all humanity" (no.16).

We would lack a sense of the Mystery, never perceived in the furrows of history: we would drag ourselves into the remedies, protecting only the trance.

The relationship of Friendship and Gratuity would be replaced by an induced model (and in Italy we know it well, unfortunately).

A model that then does not allow one to meet oneself and others; indeed, it would even deform the relationship with God.

Salaried employees - less human and less unique - means less 'divine': everything is already known, guided and foreseen as in the plots of puppets on a stage.

No unexpected changes; no inexplicable transformations.

No exceptional recovery, no astonishing human and cultural prodigy (v.6).

No unpredictability that sees the 'sacred' in the thousands of situations that Providence invents, stimulating new responses.

The mystic Ibn Ata Allah - Master of the two sciences [wisdom of analysis and experience of mystical intoxication] - claimed:

"If you want the door of fear to be opened to you, look at what goes from you to Him. If you want the door of Hope to be opened to you, look at what comes to you from Him'.

To internalise and live the message:

What would you like to do for God? How do you live Hope?

35. This proper way of serving others also leads to humility. The one who serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in the world—the Cross—and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid. Those who are in a position to help others will realize that in doing so they themselves receive help; being able to help others is no merit or achievement of their own. This duty is a grace. The more we do for others, the more we understand and can appropriate the words of Christ: “We are useless servants” (Lk 17:10). We recognize that we are not acting on the basis of any superiority or greater personal efficiency, but because the Lord has graciously enabled us to do so. There are times when the burden of need and our own limitations might tempt us to become discouraged. But precisely then we are helped by the knowledge that, in the end, we are only instruments in the Lord's hands; and this knowledge frees us from the presumption of thinking that we alone are personally responsible for building a better world. In all humility we will do what we can, and in all humility we will entrust the rest to the Lord. It is God who governs the world, not we. We offer him our service only to the extent that we can, and for as long as he grants us the strength. To do all we can with what strength we have, however, is the task which keeps the good servant of Jesus Christ always at work: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14).

[Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas est]

1. “We are unworthy servants” (Lk 17:10).

These words of Christ surely kept echoing in the hearts of the Apostles when, obedient to his command, they set out on the highways of the world in order to proclaim the Gospel. They travelled from one city to another, from one region to the next, spending themselves in the service of the Kingdom and always taking to heart the admonition of Jesus: “When you have done all that is commanded you, say: 'We are unworthy servants; we have done only what was our duty'” (Lk 17:10).

The Apostles handed on this same realization to their disciples, including those who first crossed the Adriatic Sea and brought the Gospel to Roman Dalmatia, to the people who then dwelt along this beautiful coast and in the other, no less beautiful, lands reaching as far as Pannonia. The faith thus began to spread among your ancestors, who in turn handed it down to you. This has been a long historical process, which goes back to the time of Saint Paul and which had a forceful new beginning in the seventh century, with the arrival of the Croatian people.

Today we want to thank the Most Holy Trinity for the Baptism received by your ancestors. Christianity arrived here from the East and from Italy, from Rome, and it shaped your national tradition. Remembering this evokes a lively and deep sense of gratitude to Divine Providence for this two-fold gift: first and foremost, the gift of your call to faith, and then the gift of the fruits which that faith has borne in your culture and your way of life.

Along the Croatian coast, down the centuries, there arose wonderful architectural masterpieces, which inspired awe in countless people in every age. Everyone could enjoy this splendid heritage, standing out amid the lovely countryside. Tragically, as a result of war, many of these treasures have been destroyed or damaged. The eye of man can no longer rejoice in them. How can we not feel regret for this?

2. “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty”. Jesus’ words raise questions which cannot be avoided: have we really done what was our duty? And what must we do now? What tasks lie before us? What resources and what forces do we have at hand? The questions are complex and so the answer to them must be carefully thought through. Today we ask these questions as Christians, as followers of Christ, and with this awareness we read the page of Saint Paul’s Letter to Timothy. There the Apostle, listing some of the disciples, also mentions the name of Titus, recalling his mission in Dalmatia. Titus was thus one of the first evangelizers of these lands, singular evidence of the Apostle’s concern that the Gospel should be brought here.

In the words of the aged Paul, we hear an echo of the apostolic concern which marked his whole life. Now, at the moment when he must depart from this life (cf. 2 Tim 4:6), he writes to his disciple: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). This is both a testimony and a testament. In this context, Paul’s final words take on greater significance: “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the message fully, that all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim 4:17).

Those who today, at the end of the Second Millennium, must continue the work of evangelization can draw light and strength from these words. In this work, at once divine and human, we need to call upon the power of the Lord. On the threshold of the new Millennium, we rightly speak of the need for a new evangelization: new in method, but always the same with regard to the truths it proclaims. The new evangelization is an immense task: universal in its content and destination, it must take on new and diverse forms, adapting to the needs of different places. How can we not sense the need of God’s help to sustain our weakness and limitations?

Let us pray that the Church in your Catholic nation will be able to see clearly, with God’s help, the challenges and tasks associated with the new evangelization and rightly direct all her efforts, “tertio millennio adveniente”.

3. I thank the Metropolitan Archbishop, Ante Juric, for the words of welcome which he addressed to me at the start of this Eucharistic celebration, in your name and in the name of all the people of good will in this beloved land of Croatia.

I greet the Bishops of the ecclesiastical Province of Split-Makarska and all the other Bishops of Croatia, particularly Cardinal Franjo Kuharic. I also welcome with gratitude the Pastors of the Church in nearby Bosnia-Hercegovina: the Archbishop of Sarajevo, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, with his Auxiliary, Bishop Pero Sudar; the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan, Bishop Ratko Peric, and the Bishop of Banja Luka, Franjo Komarica. I likewise greet all the other Bishops present.

Finally, I greet the President of the Republic, the Head of Government and the civil and military authorities, who have wished to be present here with us.

4. Dear friends, Split and Solin make up the second and final stage of my Pastoral Visit to Croatia. These two places have a very special significance in the growth of Christianity in this region - from Roman times and, later, Croatian times - and they evoke a long and wonderful history of faith from the time of the Apostles until our own days.

“If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed...” (Lk 17:6), Jesus said just now in the Gospel reading. God’s grace has made that grain of faith sprout and grow to become a great tree, rich in fruits of holiness. Even at the harshest moments of your history, there have always been men and women who have kept repeating: “The Catholic faith is my vocation” (the Servant of God Ivan Merz, in Positio super vita, virtutibus et fama sanctitatis, Rome, 1998, p. 477); men and women who have made the faith their programme of life. So it was for the martyr Domnius in Roman times, so it was also for the many martyrs during the Turkish occupation, up to the Blessed martyr Alojzije Stepinac in our own time.

The decision of your forefathers to accept the Catholic faith, the faith proclaimed and professed by the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, has played a central role in the religious and civil history of your Nation. “This was an event of capital importance for the Croats, because from that moment on they accepted with alacrity the Gospel of Christ as it was disseminated and taught in Rome. The Catholic faith has permeated the national life of the Croats”: so wrote your Bishops (Pastoral Letter, 16 March 1939) in preparation for the Jubilee of the evangelization of the Croats, planned for 1941 and then postponed because of events which overwhelmed your country, Europe and the entire world.

5. This is a heritage which makes demands of you. In the Letter I wrote for the Year of Branimir, one of the stages of the celebration of the Jubilee of the Baptism of your People, I told you: “By your perseverance you have entered into a sort of pact with Christ and his Church: you must remain faithful to this pact, all the more so when the times are in contrast with it. Remain always as you were in that glorious year of 879” (15 May 1979). Today I repeat these words to you, in the new social and political climate which has emerged in your country.

The Lord has not failed to enlighten your days with hope (cf. Eph 1:17-18), and now, with the coming of freedom and democracy, it is legitimate to expect a new springtime of faith in this land of Croatia. The Church is now able to employ many means of evangelization and can approach all sectors of society. This is a promising moment which Providence is offering to this generation in order to proclaim the Gospel and bear witness to Christ Jesus, the one Saviour of the world, and thus to contribute to the building of a society worthy of man.

Concretely, the Christians of Croatia are today called to give a new face to their country, above all by committing themselves to the renewal in society of the ethical and moral values undermined by past totalitarianism and by the recent violence of war. This is a task which calls for the expenditure of much energy and a firm and persevering will. It is an urgent task, for without values there can be no true freedom or true democracy. Fundamental among these values is respect for human life, for the rights and dignity of the person, as well as for the rights and dignity of peoples.

The Christian knows that he has a very specific responsibility, together with his fellow-citizens, for the destiny of his own country and for the promotion of the common good. Faith is always a commitment to the service of others, of one’s fellow-citizens, considered as brothers and sisters. And there can be no effective witness without a deeply-lived faith, without a life anchored in the Gospel and imbued with love for God and for neighbour, following the example of Jesus Christ. For the Christian, to bear witness means to reveal to others the marvels of God’s love, working in union with one’s brothers and sisters to build that Kingdom of which the Church is “on earth, the seed and first growth” (Lumen Gentium, 5).

6. “If you had faith...”. “We are unworthy servants...”. Faith does not seek the extraordinary, but strives to be useful by serving our brothers and sisters in the light of the Kingdom. Its grandeur lies in humility: “We are unworthy servants...”. A humble faith is an authentic faith. And an authentic faith, even if it is as small “as a grain of mustard seed”, can make extraordinary things happen.

How many times has this happened in this land! May the future prove once more the truth of these words of the Lord, so that the Gospel may continue to bear abundant fruits of holiness among generations yet to come.

May the Lord of history accept the petitions which rise up today from this land of Croatia. May he hear the prayer of all those who profess the holy Name of God and ask to persevere in fidelity to the great baptismal Covenant of their forefathers.

Sustained by faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, may this people build its future on its ancient Christian roots, dating to the time of the Apostles!

Praised be Jesus and Mary!

[Pope John Paul II, homily Split 4 October 1998]