(Lk 21:5-19)

Values and emotional independence

Placing in the events of persecution

(Lk 21:12-19)

The course of history is a time when God composes the confluence of our freedom and circumstances.

In such folds there is often a vector of life, an essential aspect, a definitive destiny, that escapes us.

But to the non-mediocre eye of the person of Faith, abuses and even martyrdom are also a gift.

To learn the important lessons of life, every day the believer ventures into what he is afraid to do, overcoming fears.

The spousal and gratuitous love received places us in a condition of reciprocity, of active desire to unite life to Christ - albeit in the meagre nature of our responses.

Continuing instead to complain about failures, dangers, calamities, everyone will see in us women like the others and ordinary men - and everything will end at this level.

We won’t be on the other side. At most we will try to escape the harshness, or we will end up looking for circumstance’s allies (vv.14-15).

Mt intends to help his communities to clash with worldly logic and to place themselves fervently in the events of persecution.

Social harassments are not fatalities, but opportunities for mission; places of high eucharistic witness (v.13).

The persecuted do not need external crutches, nor do they have to live in the anguish of collapse.

They have the task of being signs of the God’s Kingdom, which gradually leads the distant and the usurpers themselves to a different awareness.

No one is the arbiter of reality and all are twigs subject to reverses, but in the humanizing condition of the apostles overflows an emotional independence.

This happens through the intimate, living sense of a Presence, and the reading of external events as an exceptional action of the Father who ‘reveals himself’.

In this mouldable energy magma, unique paths emerge, unprecedented opportunities for growth... even in adversity.

Attitude without alibi or granite certainties: with the sole conviction that everything will be put back on the line.

Sacred and profane times come to coincide in a fervent Covenant, which nests and bears fruit even in moments of travail and nonsense.

Here the only necessary resource is the spiritual strength to go all the way... yes, in paradoxes of other side.

It’s in the Lord and in the insidious or day-to-day reality the "place" for each of us. Not without lacerations.

Yet we draw spiritual energy from the knowledge of Christ, from the sense of deep bond with Him and even minute and varied reality, or fearsome - always personal (v.18).

Our story will not be like an easy and happy ending novel.

But we’ll have the opportunity to witness in the present the most genuine ancient roots: at every moment God calls, manifests himself - and what seems to be failure becomes Food and source of Life.

To internalize and live the message:

What kind of reading do you do, and how do you place yourself in events of persecution? 

Are you aware that setbacks do not ‘come’ for despair, but to free you from closure in stagnant cultural patterns (and not yours)?

[33rd Sunday in O.T. (year C), November 16, 2025]

(Lk 21:5-19)

Stone upon stone, dark hues?

Instances of the world, idea of 'perfection', sense of Christ

(Lk 21:5-11)

In his Apocalyptic Discourse Lk wants us to meditate on the meaning of history and 'what remains'... but how many adverse conditions and oppositions!

So he aims to sustain the hope [not fictitious and yet frustrated] of the poor and persecuted people of his communities.

Certainly, Faith turns to the God who guides history. He is Lord of it; however, today remains obscure and uncertain; thus we remain as if hunted down by demands that do not correspond to us - but overtake us.

Even some believers are beginning to doubt: is God really in control of events and the cosmos? It is the same question we ask ourselves today: in the midst of so much misfortune, where will we end up?

How to bite the bullet and be fulfilled in the midst of emergency? How do we live through conflict and bewilderment, without allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed by events? How do we emerge from so much darkness, which we do not like?

In times of change, global insecurity and political unrest, parasitic cavities continue to crop up, accentuating disorientation, feelings of inadequacy; perhaps guilt.

Here are the cunning quarters who (even in the ecclesial undergrowth) want to take advantage of the turmoil and confusion, deceiving weak and bewildered souls - even the young.

In order not to be beguiled, confused and plagued, a better awareness must take over, a refinement of perception, in order to discern the meaning of the 'kingdoms' that come and go.

The sovereignty of God advocates a maturing of the 'harvest' with the light and warmth of the Spirit, a deeper discernment of the genius and events of the century.

Not excluding ugliness: it too has the power to activate us, to seek new harmonies.

The authentic Church has a new vision, which precisely advocates these earthquakes and calamities, the upheavals of the ancient world - the world that, today as always, is teetering and coming to an end.

On the other hand, upheavals do not disintegrate creation: they prepare a radically new one.

One must endure within and apply oneself - perhaps taking more care of the character of time, of the unusual friends of the soul, and disregarding the inherited [or imposed] idea of 'perfection'.

So many worlds built by the mind and hands of man imagined perpetual, even the End of Everything.

Instead they continue to crumble, dragging away ancient expressions, beliefs, customs, hegemonies, visions of things...

Every era brings with it the crumbling of human constructions and empires - fragile and insubstantial, despite appearances to the contrary (and the sense of permanence with which we interpret them).

So even the Temple of bricks and stucco - the centre of the people's life and identity - is doomed to agony, to crumbling, to the most miserable ruin, to be razed to the ground... despite its imposing magnificence.

It bewilders us, certainly. But if one-sided, it no longer makes present, but rather dissolves the Mystery - concentration of novelty and love.

When, for example, one closes cultural frontiers [and the search for depth] for fear of 'problems', and becomes intransigent, the devout present becomes a pure reality of the world, which sooner or later will be dismantled.

The functions of the earth have no law other than to perish: they are undermined at the base, destined to evaporate. In an instant they go from control to disintegration and from dominance to insignificance.

Radiant beauty and the 'depth' of the eternal and holy city - with its jealous privileges, and minute or generalist (and terrifying) doctrines - turn into an overthrow and overthrow: into a profile of death.

A reversal is enough.

Futile to imagine it lasting and keeping it up at all costs.

Conversely, the New Kingdom is intimate and subdued: that is why it is not splintered by external events.

Some upheavals are not so much to be resisted as to be with them.

The goal is to be 're-born' - as children, still regenerated, journeying through another founding Eros [to be abandoned, otherwise it cannot fulfil its lofty function].

It establishes itself in hearts and transforms them; it cements them, without clamour: with great power, subversive, triggering new forms - but with secret virtue.

It has a different, welcoming pace, and a different time.

So we do not lose any part of ourselves; on the contrary, we make all sides of personality and relationships grow.

It is the plural Faith that welcomes opposites, to solidify the stones.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you live the upheavals?

Do you surrender your freedom and chase after charlatans who fix and worsen everyone's existence - or do you oppose them in Christ, igniting Hope and your most blazing secret powers (even opposites)?The Bush

Outstanding Faith, Burning Conversion

(Ex 3:2-4)

Conversion in the biblical sense is not turning back, but entering within oneself so as not to alienate oneself, and rediscovering one's root in order to be able to intervene, releasing the blaze of one's essential Relationship.

Conversion does not have to do with the disinterested tacticism of those who close themselves off from the world, avoiding getting involved until events have a negative impact on their own interests.

But how to take the measure of reality, how to understand it? How to understand oneself? And from where to draw guidance, wisdom and strength to propose wise solutions and effective action?

Moses is an outsider because he is hasty. His impulsive actions forced him to flee into the desert. There he makes more messes, again because of his hot temper. So he decides to calm down and settle down.

But the solution is not to meddle on behalf of others, forcibly choosing a quiet life. That fire of his that burns his chest and mind is not extinguished; even dormant, he always carries it with him.

Only God understands that it is precisely his dark side and his irascible charge - like no other energy - that can make him the protagonist of an absurd design, in favour of the people, and make him tread impervious situations and territories.

A risky task, which will force him to bring out his determination, his drives, his conviction; every resource, even those that are not very virtuous. A mission uniquely his, impossible for other, more balanced and tranquil souls.

How to explain the passion for freedom of the humiliated?

We find it within us, like a flame that burns and gives no respite. It rises spontaneously, despite prudent attempts to stifle it.

For his crazy redemptive designs, God needs someone exactly like us, just as we are. With our immense unexpressed resources, hidden even behind individual blood spots.

Qualities that arise spontaneously and have their own path to conversion, but that sooner or later have to come into play as they are.

They express ourselves deeply, and the call of the Father.

Various conditioning can create misperceptions of our personal uniqueness; likewise, of its development and destination.

The great risk is to spend our lives dissipating our character identity in search of induced illusions and conditioned reflections: of what we are not and do not even want.

Not only distractions, but also too much reasoning can lead us astray from the home that is truly ours.

Continuing to insist on that which damages the soul's development and its full flowering, makes it indecisive or cunning and stubborn - especially if suggestible, fearful, or even receptive and helpless.

Our founding Eros comes into play when it realises that reality or its (defined) cultural paradigm can lead us astray.

The Vocation then manifests itself to the personal 'vision' in a kind of energetic, reserved and unique Image, which makes us think in dreams, acts as a guide, and drags us no one knows why or where.

Believers who experience this inner Fire that is not extinguished are not ushered into a world that only wants to endure, all already chiselled out and knowing its destination.

The Father's Flame does not express itself through artifices to be recited: it wants to recover and bring home all resources, our essence and its jewels - to be exalted instead of hidden.

Jewels all to be extracted from the world of careless and locked-up certainties. Jewels - not infrequently concealed behind sides and propensities that (to the eye worn out by clichés) appear obscure.

Often it is precisely our side unknown to the schemes that is the 'spark' that presses in and acts as therapy to the sick soul; it takes it by the hand, and with due energy becomes a guide to relevant self-discovery - and great service to others.

The burning bush in the flesh - divine revelation - is kindled so that we realise the Dream of our own dreams. Not so that the soul becomes more and more equal and bound, or fundamentalist.

And only our torch-bearing Nucleus-that-doesn't-consume-itself continually in action, can prevent those who are born revolutionaries of the spirit from then [but also quickly] surviving as armchair.

It happens in the banality of ideologies as in the conformity of religions, but it cannot happen in the sphere of the life of Faith.

In this way, the dance is not conducted by controlling extraneousness: aims, intentions, ideas, projects, or codes... but by passionate and pulsive powers, which every day question us about the tide that comes to us.

Providence acts as director, wooing and mysteriously directing unrepeatable strategies, which plough through history attracting and dragging, unblocking mechanisms and empowering energies - even causing us to change, reshape, or accentuate characters.

One must abandon oneself to such personal lines. Not out of need, duty, calculation, nor just to understand something more, but to enjoy the spiritual Light; the rays of Love, near and far, creative of the inner and of genius forces [around].

The Flame returns to spur us on to rekindle the personal balm of instinctiveness, the possibilities of fulfilment of our nature.

The absurd desire that explodes within wants to expand the possibilities of the Lymph - both of the tree and of the roots themselves - to make us into well-rounded persons.

Thus we will no longer seek to resemble our 'models':

The principle of such transmutation bursting upon the placid and conventional scenario has re-proposed why we are in the world.

It is our life-saving task... or the very barrenness of 'types' to conform to.

Here, then, is our dead and nostalgic side, or the dark evil of living - and the exhaustion of a wisdom that has no more than Wisdom.

Having extinguished the radiance and beauty of the Torch, its energetic virtue on our flesh fades, dampening the enthusiasm of the soul - extinguishing action (as in a position of starvation).

The passionate state is the force of practical thought and intellect.

Intimate involvement makes our identity-character soar, and has significant repercussions on others.

It is the custodian of independence. And it integrates us, overcoming the sense of imperfection - or existential emptiness.

The intelligent Primordial Energy recognises our essence; and it brings the soul from external events back to the Core: from vicissitudes, from things, from wounds, to our innermost and richest being.

It knows that from the stimulus of that source centre - intimate link of origin, primordial - will burst forth astounding events, unknown propensities, magic of unforeseen happenings.

A new Creation.

From this House of new life and different hymns, a whole world of relationships is released... new engagements, brilliant intuitions; practical aptitudes, weaving the magic of the bride-matched soul.

It is such a Source that takes over again, when it realises that we are not fulfilled, or that we feel betrayed by it - that is to say, to overcome fears, a sense of desolation, bitter abandonments. Like a power that calls us back to ourselves, to our unexpressed talents, to the energy of the gaze that captures the sense of a story, of the genius of our territory or time. And it crosses them, making us lean out.

It becomes the daily compass of life and transformation. But it bears the interference of external judgements poorly, which do not dwell in the depths but contribute to the atmosphere that circulates around it.

It feels like a force that happens, an energy that cannot be directed or explained by a universe of ready-made meanings, planned emotions and symbols, or manipulated into submission.

Ready to rise again as, when and why we do not expect; only to regenerate and make exponential the unusual, autonomous seed of the soul. As it is: ascetic effort would yield poor results.

The hidden Source expresses itself in events imbued with the future, drenched in an atmosphere of Presence.

Events imbued with a whole side of our personality, and not just some offshoot of its social sense [a nomenclature].

Roots manifest themselves in actions that contain as yet unexpressed but strongly potential, affectively vital knowledge. They solve problems by acting in their own way.

Precisely what we do not yet know about ourselves (attitudes, desires) can be the secret, the spring of our blossoming. A discovery that springs up innately, not a taught and recognised path.

The true measure is deeper.

One gets lost in trivialities, if one does not discover the personal seed - and assumes one already knows the direction: what to love, how to say and do according to instructions.

The world of acquired knowledge is conversely often the enemy of the hidden process, which keeps wanting to carry out its theme, and repudiating what it does not want to absorb, because it would counter it.

And that is the whole game: not to fade, but to sense attitudes and let them be, even contradictory.

And dance without placing them, identifying them, lining them up according to custom or ideal - thus intoxicating them.

The peculiar characteristic has the flavour of the Eternal.

It incessantly gives birth to a renewed gaze, which is formed spontaneously, along the way.

Preparing for the New, which does not bear expectations.

So the unforeseen spark of the heart [that never matches] cannot be humiliated, threatened, shattered, removed, or alienated.

It is our consistent Inclination, which releases a clear radiance of Oneness.

Values and emotional independence

Placing oneself in the events of persecution

(Lk 21:12-19)

The course of history is a time in which God composes the confluence of our freedom and circumstances.In such folds there is often a vector of life, an essential aspect, an ultimate fate, that escapes us.

But to the unmediated eye of the person of Faith, even abuse and even martyrdom are a gift.

In order to learn the important lessons of life, the believer ventures into what he is afraid to do, overcoming his fears.

The spousal and gratuitous love received places one in a condition of reciprocity, of an active desire to unite one's life with Christ - albeit in the meagreness of our responses.

By continuing instead to complain about failures, dangers, calamities, everyone will see in us women like the others and ordinary men - and everything will end at this level.

We will not be on the other side.

At best we will try to escape the harshness, or we will end up seeking allies of circumstance (vv.14-15).

Lk intends to help his communities to bump up against worldly logic and place themselves in the events of persecution in a fervent manner.

Social anguish is not a fatality, but an opportunity for mission; a place of high Eucharistic witness (v.13).

The persecuted do not need external crutches, nor do they have to live in the anguish of collapse.

They have the task of being signs of the Kingdom of God, which gradually brings the distant and the usurpers themselves to a different awareness.

No one is the arbiter of reality and all are twigs subject to toppling, but in the humanising condition of the apostles an emotional independence shines through.

This happens because of the intimate, living sense of a Presence, and the reading of external events as an exceptional action of the Father who reveals himself.

In this mouldable magma of energy, unique paths emerge, unprecedented opportunities for growth... even in adversity.

An attitude without alibis or granitic certainties: with the sole conviction that everything will be put back into play [not through effort: through shifting one's gaze, simply].

Sacred and profane time come to coincide in a fervent covenant, which nestles and broods fruit even in moments of travail and paradox.

Here, the only resource needed is the spiritual strength to go all the way... in the other side's counter-senses.

Thus even the family or 'clan' to which one belongs must be led to a different world of convictions; not without lacerating contrasts (v.16).

The Torah itself obliged the denunciation of those unfaithful to the religion of the fathers - even close relatives - to the point of putting them to death (Deut 13:7-12) [in fact, just to designate the gravity of that kind of transgression].

The Announcement could only cause extreme divisions, and on basic issues such as success, or progress in this life - the vision of a new world, of the utopia of other and other people's needs.

Everything will seem to conspire and mock our ideal (v.17).

The reference to the Name alludes to the historical story of Jesus of Nazareth, with its load not only of ideal and explicit goodness, but also of denunciatory activity against the official institution and the false leaders who had put the God of the Exodus under hijacking.

Despite the interference, being misunderstood, slandered, ridiculed, blackmailed and hated... anchored in Christ we will experience that the stages of history and life proceed towards Hope.

God's 'protection' does not preserve from gloomy hues, nor from being harmed, but ensures that nothing is lost, not even a hair (v.18).

Even this spontaneous example that Jesus draws from nature - an echo of the conciliatory life dreamt for us by the Father - introduces us to the Happiness that makes one aware of existing in all personal reality.

Indeed, the expression shows the value of genuine, silent, unremarkable things, which nevertheless inhabit us - they are not 'shadows'. And we perceive them without effort or cerebral commitment.

In the time of momentous choices, of the emergency that seems to put everything in check - but wants to make us less artificial - this awareness can overturn our judgement of substance, of the small and the great.

Indeed, for the adventure of love there is no accounting or clamour.

It is in the Lord and in the insidious or summary reality the 'place' for each of us. Not without tears.

Yet we derive spiritual energy from knowing Christ, from the sense of deep connection with Him and the reality, even minute and varied, or fearful - always personal (v.18).

And (indeed) the hereafter is not imprecise.

One does not have to misrepresent oneself in order to have consent... least of all for the 'heaven' that conquers death.

The destiny of oneness does not go to ruin: it is precious and dear, as it is in nature.

One must glimpse its Beauty, future and already present.

Nor will it matter to place oneself above and in front: rather in the background, already rich and perfect, in the intimate sense of the fullness of being.

Thus we will not have to trample on each other (Lk 12:1)... even to meet Jesus.

"We are absolutely lost if we lack this particular individuality, the only thing we can truly call our own - and whose loss is also a loss for the whole world. It is most precious also because it is not universal'.

(Rabindranath Tagore)

Jesus warns us: we will not be able to count on unassailable friendships, nor on human powers lined up to defend the earthly plot.

Even he whom we thought close will scrutinise us with suspicion: the price of truth is always in the choice against the world of lies [even sacred, dated or ephemeral lies] all arrayed against.

Our story will not be like an easy novel with a happy ending.

But we will have a chance to witness in the present the most genuine ancient roots: that in every moment God calls, manifests Himself - and what appears to be failure becomes Food and the source of Life.

Obstinate only in the change of proportions, between stripping and elevation. In the opposition of the very criteria and foundations of thinking.

To internalise and live the message:

What kind of reading do you do, and how do you place yourself in the events of persecution? 

Are you aware that hindrances do not come out of desperation, but rather to free you from closure in stagnant cultural patterns (and not your own)?

On the other side of the world

Christians must therefore always be found on the 'other side' of the world, the side chosen by God: not persecutors, but persecuted; not arrogant, but meek; not sellers of smoke, but submissive to the truth; not impostors, but honest.

This fidelity to the style of Jesus - which is a style of hope - even unto death, would be called by the early Christians by a beautiful name: 'martyrdom', which means 'testimony'. There were many other possibilities, offered by the vocabulary: one could call it heroism, self-denial, self-sacrifice. Instead, the Christians of the first hour called it by a name that smells of discipleship. Martyrs do not live for themselves, they do not fight to affirm their ideas, and they accept that they must die only out of fidelity to the Gospel. Nor is martyrdom the supreme ideal of Christian life, because above it there is charity, that is, love of God and neighbour. The Apostle Paul says it very well in his hymn to charity, understood as love of God and neighbour. The Apostle Paul says it very well in the hymn to charity: "Though I give all my goods for food and deliver up my body to boast, yet have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). The idea that suicide bombers can be called 'martyrs' is repugnant to Christians: there is nothing in their end that can be approximated to the attitude of God's children.

Sometimes, reading the stories of so many martyrs of yesterday and today - who are more numerous than the martyrs of earlier times - we are amazed at the fortitude with which they faced their trials. This fortitude is a sign of the great hope that animated them: the certain hope that nothing and no one could separate them from the love of God given to us in Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 8:38-39).

May God always give us the strength to be his witnesses. May he grant us to live Christian hope above all in the hidden martyrdom of doing our daily duties well and with love. Thank you.

[Pope Francis, General Audience 28 June 2017].

The Meaning and the End, not the End

It is a time of joy for the feast of Easter, which awakens expectations and hopes of liberation. Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem, everywhere covered with perfectly profiled marble and overflowing with gold.

"These things you observe, there will come days when no stone will be left upon stone, which will not be destroyed":

For a Jew it meant the end of the world. It was unthinkable that a place of such extent, luxury and magnificence could be undermined by some utopian theory.

Jesus meant: if you do not change your mindset and continue to think in terms of power and aggression, you will destroy yourselves and ruin forever the house of God, the sign of his presence and the centre of your identity.

This is what happened - by Vespasian's troops led by his favourite son and successor, Titus: tabula rasa (year 70).

Luke invites us to stop chasing other people's opinions - and instead reflect on the only interesting thing: how to put an end to the ancient world and begin a society guided by the Father's plan, for our integral good.

First of all, we must not allow ourselves to be deceived by the barkers who obsessively repeat: "This is the moment not to be missed, mind you! You will be great if you follow me and my group...".

So many moralisers, so many bitter disappointments. Even belief reduced to ideology and packaged codices: we see this every day.

Disappointed hopes also on the contrary, because of the desire to scapricciarsi... and even if advocated by science and technology: they turn out to be dehumanising.

Lk wants to help his communities not to remain on the margins of God's story.

Of course, persecution is to be reckoned with: a perfectly predictable outcome for those who go against the grain, and one that should not surprise us, nor throw us into despondency.Anyone who wishes even out of venal interest to perpetuate the ancient world that has led him to float above others, will certainly not spontaneously step aside. He is only annoyed by the plans of the Sons.

No terror! Amidst contortions and earthquakes, the antiquated set-up is reeling. But a new world is being born: that of the Pentecost earthquake.

It is a Gospel, that is, a proclamation of joy: the competitive world has had its coup de grace. The dawn of a splendid new day is dawning.

The passage between two ages is taking place - just as it is for us today: let us not lower our eyes, let us not be afraid; rather let us look up (v.28)!

The message calls into question three powers: religious, political and family.

The repetitive world of rituals and closed sacral interest is replaced by Faith [adherence to a spousal proposal, of love] that transcends the tactics and ideology of power.

And its homeland is a borderless realm.

The family world of religious societies tends to defend the narrow interest of the members, the home and the clan. Jesus creates an open universe.

His family is not confined to the fences of old blood; it opens the heart to limitless thought, to encounter without prejudice.

Because the essential thing is not to prevail and win, but to bear non-aggressive witness that the mentality of self-interest is a loser (in the sense that it does not build life), and that the ancient idea of man-God is impressive, but wormy, inauthentic, and will not stand the test of facts.

So there is no need to prepare defences, i.e. to act as any pagan would do: to seek the support of those who count, to sell out, to become omertous, to join power groups and the normal style of lying. All in order to defend oneself with artifice or assert oneself with guile.

Faith is at stake here. Not because an extra prayer or a greater fulfilment of devotions comes into play. And not because of calculation, effort or strategy, but because of the fact that the rising (opposite) Vision of reality corresponds to us spontaneously.

Falling in love is at stake: the disciple of Christ assimilates the Vision, recognises it as his own - because the true lover ends up seeing things as the beloved Person.

So, yesterday as today, the innocent still do not know that the Project they spontaneously collaborate with is unrealisable... that is why they carry it out.

It is the world of the children.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you read the enigmatic realities of the world? Is it "the" End or does "the" End emerge?

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

In today's Gospel passage, St Luke reproposes the Biblical view of history for our reflection and refers to Jesus' words that invite the disciples not to fear, but to face difficulties, misunderstandings and even persecutions with trust, persevering through faith in him. The Lord says: "When you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for this must first take place, but the end will not be at once" (Lk 21: 9). Keeping this admonition in mind, from the beginning the Church lives in prayerful waiting for her Lord, scrutinizing the signs of the times and putting the faithful on guard against recurring messiahs, who from time to time announce the world's end as imminent. In reality, history must run its course, which brings with it also human dramas and natural calamities. In it a design of salvation is developed that Christ has already brought to fulfilment in his Incarnation, death and Resurrection. The Church continues to proclaim this mystery and to announce and accomplish it with her preaching, celebration of the sacraments and witness of charity. 

Dear brothers and sisters, let us welcome Christ's invitation to face daily events by trusting in his providential love. Let us not fear the future, even when it can appear with bleak colours, because the God of Jesus Christ, who entered history to open it to its transcendent fulfilment, is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last (cf. Rv 1: 8). He guarantees that in every little but genuine act of love there is the entire sense of the universe, and that the one who does not hesitate to lose his own life for him finds it again in fullness (cf. Mt 16: 25).

With remarkable effectiveness, consecrated persons, who have placed their lives completely at the service of the Kingdom of God, invite us to keep this perspective alive. Among these I would like to particularly recall those called to contemplation in cloistered monasteries. The Church dedicates a special day to them this Wednesday, 21 November, Memorial of the Presentation in the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We owe much to these people who live on what Providence provides them through the generosity of the faithful. "As a spiritual oasis, a monastery reminds today's world of the most important, and indeed, in the end, the only decisive thing: that there is an ultimate reason why life is worth living: God and his unfathomable love" (Pope Benedict XVI, Heiligenkreuz, Austria, 9 September 2007). Faith, which is active in charity, is the true antidote against a nihilistic mentality that is spreading its influence in the world even more in our time. 

May Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word, accompany us on our earthly pilgrimage. We ask her to sustain the witness of all Christians, so that it is always based on a solid and persevering faith.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 18 November 2007]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. After meditating on the eschatological goal of our existence, that is, eternal life, we now reflect on the journey that leads to it. To do this, we develop the perspective presented in the Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente: “The whole of the Christian life is like a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, whose unconditional love for every human creature, and in particular for the ‘prodigal son’ (cf. Lk 15:11-32), we discover anew each day. This pilgrimage takes place in the heart of each person, extends to the believing community and then reaches to the whole of humanity” (n. 49).

In fact, what Christians will one day live to the full is already in some way anticipated today. Indeed, the Passover of the Lord inaugurates the life of the world to come.

2. The Old Testament prepares for the announcement of this truth through the complex theme of the Exodus. The journey of the chosen people to the promised land (cf. Ex 6:6) is like a magnificent icon of the Christian’s journey towards the Father's house. Obviously there is a fundamental difference: while in the ancient Exodus liberation was oriented to the possession of land, a temporary gift like all human realities, the new “Exodus” consists in the journey towards the Father’s house, with the definitive prospect of eternity that transcends human and cosmic history. The promised land of the Old Testament was lost de facto with the fall of the two kingdoms and the Babylonian Exile, after which the idea of returning developed like a new Exodus. However, this journey did not end in another geographical or political settlement, but opened itself to an “eschatological” vision that was henceforth a prelude to full revelation in Christ.  The universalistic images, which in the Book of Isaiah describe the journey of peoples and history towards a new Jerusalem, the centre of the world (cf. Is 56-66), in fact point in this direction.

3. The New Testament announces the fulfilment of this great expectation, holding up Christ as the Saviour of the world: “When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). In the light of this announcement, this life is already under the sign of salvation. It is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, which culminates in the Passover but will have its full realization in the “parousia”, the final coming of Christ.

According to the Apostle Paul, this journey of salvation which links the past to the present, directing it to the future, is the fruit of God's plan, totally focused on the mystery of Christ. This is the “mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:9-10; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1042f.).

In this divine plan, the present is the time of the “already and not yet”. It is the time of salvation already accomplished and the journey towards its full actualization: “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13).

4. Growth towards this perfection in Christ, and  therefore growth towards the experience of the Trinitarian mystery, implies that the Passover will be fulfilled and fully celebrated only in the eschatological kingdom of God (cf. Lk 22:16). But the events of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection already constitute the definitive revelation of God. The offer of redemption which this event implies is inscribed in the history of our human freedom, called to respond to the call of salvation.

Christian life is a participation in the paschal mystery, like the Way of the Cross and the Resurrection. It is a Way of the Cross, because our life is continually subject to the purification that leads to overcoming the old world marked by sin. It is a way of resurrection, because, in raising Christ, the Father conquered sin, so that for the believer the “justice of the Cross” becomes the “justice of God”, that is, the triumph of his truth and his love over the wickedness of the world.

5. In short, Christian life is growing towards the mystery of the eternal Passover. It therefore requires that we keep our gaze on the goal, the ultimate realities, but at the same time, that we strive for the “penultimate” realities: between these and the eschatological goal there is no opposition, but on the contrary  a mutually fruitful relationship. Although the primacy of the Eternal is always asserted, this does not prevent us from living historical realities righteously in the light of God (cf. CCC, n. 1048f.).

It is a matter of purifying every human activity and every earthly task, so that the Mystery of the Lord’s Passover will increasingly shine through them. As the Council in fact reminded us, human activity which is always marked by the sign of sin is purified and raised to perfection by the paschal mystery, so that “when we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise — human dignity, brotherly communion, and freedom — according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom” (Gaudium et spes, n. 39).

This eternal light illumines the life and the entire history of humanity on earth.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 11 August 1999]

Veneration of martyrdom

1. The memory of the martyrs has brought us here today to Otranto. We have come here out of veneration for martyrdom, upon which, from the beginning, the kingdom of God, proclaimed and initiated in human history by Jesus Christ, is built.

The truth about martyrdom has an eloquence in the Gospel that is full of penetrating depth and at the same time transparent simplicity. Christ does not promise his disciples earthly success or material prosperity; he does not present any 'utopia' before their eyes, as has happened more than once and as always happens in the history of human ideologies. He simply tells his disciples: 'they will persecute you'. They will hand you over to the various authorities, they will put you in prison, they will summon you before various courts. All this 'because of my name' (Lk 21:12).

The essence of martyrdom has been linked to this name from the beginning and throughout the centuries! We call those Christians martyrs who, throughout history, have suffered, often terrifying, cruelties 'in odium fidei'. Those who were ultimately put to death 'in odium fidei'. Therefore, those who, by accepting suffering and death in this world, have given special witness to Christ.

Putting before his disciples the image of the sufferings that await them because of his name, the Master says: "This will give you an opportunity to bear witness" (Lk 21:13).

2. Five hundred years ago here in Otranto, 800 disciples of Christ bore such witness, accepting death for the name of Christ. The words that the Lord Jesus spoke about martyrdom refer to them: "You will be hated by all for my name's sake" (Lk 21:17). Yes, they were hated. They drank the cup of this hatred to the dregs for the sake of Christ, in imitation of their Master, who went directly from the Passover supper to Gethsemane and prayed there: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me” (Lk 22:42). However, the cup of human hatred, cruelty and the cross was not taken away. Christ, obedient to the Father, drank it to the dregs: “Not my will, but yours be done” (Lk 22:42).

The testimony of Gethsemane and the cross is a definitive seal, imprinted on everything Jesus did and taught. By accepting death, he gave his life for the salvation of the world. The martyrs of Otranto, by accepting death, gave their lives for Christ. In this way, they bore special witness to Christ.

The witness of the martyrs also introduces them in a special way into his Paschal mystery. "By your perseverance," says Jesus, "you will save your souls" (Lk 21:19). Just as he himself conquered new life by accepting death, so the martyrs, by accepting death, conquer the life that Christ began in his resurrection.

3. "That" life: the new and full life refutes, in a certain sense, the experience of death. Above all, it refutes the certainty of those who, by inflicting death, believed they had taken the lives of the martyrs, deprived them of life and torn them definitively from the land of the living.

"In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to die; / their end was considered a misfortune, / their departure from us a ruin."

So proclaimed the author of the Book of Wisdom (Wis 3:2-3) long before Christ spoke his words on martyrdom.

"... but they are at peace" (Wis 3:3). But they are at peace!

In the act of martyrdom, therefore, there takes place a radical, so to speak, contrast between the criteria and the very foundations of thinking. The human death of the martyrs, death linked to suffering and torment - like the death of Christ on the cross - yields, in a certain sense, to another higher reality. The author of the Book of Wisdom writes: "The souls of the righteous... are in the hands of God / no torment shall touch them" (Wisdom 3:1).

This other, higher reality does not negate the fact of torment and death, just as it did not negate the fact of Christ's passion and death. It, the invisible "hand" of God, only transforms this human fact. It transforms it even in its earthly context, through the power of faith that is revealed in the souls of martyrs in the face of torment and suffering: "Even though they suffer punishment in the eyes of men, their hope is full of immortality" (Wisdom 3:4).

The power of this faith and the power of hope that comes from God are more powerful than punishment and death itself. The martyrs bear witness to Christ precisely because of this power of faith and hope. In fact, similar to Him in passion and death, they simultaneously proclaim the power of His resurrection. It suffices to recall here how the first martyr of Christ, the deacon Stephen, died; he died crying out: "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56).

Thus, thanks to the strength of faith and the power of hope, the proportions change in a certain sense: the proportions of life and death, defeat and victory, dispossession and elevation. The author of the Book of Wisdom later writes: "In exchange for a brief punishment, they will receive great benefits, because God has tested them and found them worthy of himself" (Wisdom 3:5).

4. Here we touch on a particularly important point in the fact of martyrdom. Martyrdom is a great trial, in a certain sense it is the definitive and radical trial. It is the greatest trial of man, the trial of man's dignity in the presence of God himself. It is difficult to say more about this than what the Book of Wisdom itself states: "God tested them and found them worthy of himself" (Wis 3:5). There is no greater measure of human dignity than that found in God himself: in the eyes of God. Martyrdom is therefore "the" test of man that takes place in the eyes of God, a test in which man, aided by the power of God, is victorious.

Throughout history, numerous confessors and disciples of Christ have undergone this test. The martyrs of Otranto underwent this test five hundred years ago. The martyrs of our century have undergone and continue to undergo this test, martyrs who are often unknown or little known, even though they are not far from us.

And so, in today's circumstances, I cannot help but turn my gaze across the sea to the not-so-distant heroic Church in Albania, shaken by harsh and prolonged persecution but enriched by the witness of its martyrs: bishops, priests, religious men and women, and ordinary faithful.

In addition to them, my thoughts also go to our other Christian brothers and sisters and to all believers in God who suffer a similar fate of deprivation in that nation.

Being spiritually close to all those who suffer violence because of their faith is a special duty of all Christians, according to the tradition inherited from the early centuries. I would say more: this is also a matter of solidarity owed to people and communities whose fundamental rights are violated or even totally trampled upon. We must pray that the Lord will sustain our brothers and sisters with his grace in such difficult trials. And we also want to pray for those who persecute them, repeating Christ's invocation on the cross, addressed to the Father: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Very often, attempts are made to label martyrs as "guilty of political crimes". Christ himself was condemned to death apparently for this reason: because he claimed to be king (cf. Lk 23:2). Let us not forget, therefore, the martyrs of our own time. Let us not behave as if they did not exist. Let us thank God that they have victoriously overcome the trial. Let us implore the power of the Holy Spirit for those who are persecuted and still have to face such a trial. May the words of the Master be fulfilled in them: "I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict" (Lk 21:15).

Let us remain in communion with the martyrs. They dig the deepest bed of the divine river in history.

They build the most solid foundations of that divine city that rises towards eternity.

The author of the book of Wisdom proclaims: "(God) tested them like gold in the crucible and accepted them as a burnt offering" (Wisdom 3:6).

5. In the Church on earth, the memory and veneration of the holy martyrs remains, as here in Otranto, and in so many other places in Italy, Europe and the world. In the kingdom of God, together with Christ, they receive a special strength and power in the mystery of the communion of saints and in the whole divine economy of truth and love.

“They will rule the nations, they will have power over the peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever.

Those who trust in him will understand the truth; those who are faithful to him will live with him in love, for grace and mercy are reserved for his chosen ones” (Wis 3:8-9).

The martyrs, before the majesty of divine justice, could cry out as we read in Revelation: “How long, O holy and true Sovereign, will you not do justice and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” (Rev 6:10). However, in the eternal light of the Most Holy Trinity, united in supreme truth and perfect love, they become spokespeople of grace and mercy for their brothers and sisters on earth. Indeed, they become so even for their own persecutors. Above all, they become so for the Church, which according to God's merciful plans must be the "divine city" raised up among the peoples, must be: "in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very close union with God and of the unity of the whole human race" (Lumen Gentium, 1).

It is therefore this very Church, gathered today in Otranto at the great tomb of the martyrs, that wishes, in the spirit of its mission, to raise its prayer to God through them. In this prayer, we place first the problems that we today, from this great tomb of the martyrs of Otranto, after 500 years, see in a new way and with new clarity, in the perspective of the cross of Christ and the mission of the Church.

6. The Second Vatican Council, which affirmed that "the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very close union with God and of the unity of the whole human race" (Lumen Gentium, 1), also expressed its attitude consistent with this profession towards those events which, in the past, have set Muslims and Christians against each other as enemies: “If, in the course of the centuries, many disputes and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Muslims, this sacred Council urges all to forget the past and to practise sincere mutual understanding and to promote together moral welfare, peace and liberty” (Nostra Aetate, 3).

For us, these words are of decisive importance. I have already had occasion to speak in this same spirit on more than one occasion: in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, during my visit to that country last year, and also in Nairobi, Accra, Ouagadougou and Abidjan during my recent trip to Africa.

Today, at the glorious tombs of the martyrs of Otranto, I invoke the intercession of those whose “souls are in God’s hands”, and, together with the whole Church, I raise a fervent prayer that the words of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council may become ever more a reality.

At this moment, a deferential and cordial thought goes to the Church in Byzantium, which had historical links with the local Church of Otranto.

From this ancient land of Puglia, stretching out like a bridgehead towards the East, we look with attention and sympathy to the regions of the East, and particularly to the places where the three great monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, had their historical origins. We remember what the Council says about 'that people to whom the Testaments and the promises were given and from whom Christ was born according to the flesh (cf. Rom 9:4-5); a people, by virtue of their election, beloved because of their fathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (cf. Rom 11:28-29)'. And later, on the same page of the Second Vatican Council, we read: "But the plan of salvation also embraces those who acknowledge the Creator, and among these, in particular, the Muslims, who profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and who, like us, worship the one, merciful God, who will judge mankind on the last day" (Lumen Gentium, 16).

At the same time, we cannot close our eyes to the particularly delicate situations that have arisen there and still persist. Severe conflicts have broken out; the Middle East region is rife with tensions and disputes, with the ever-present risk of new wars breaking out. It is painful to note that the clashes have often followed the lines of division between different religious groups, so that it has been possible for some, unfortunately, to fuel them artificially by playing on religious sentiment.

The terms of the Middle Eastern drama are well known: the Jewish people, after tragic experiences linked to the extermination of so many sons and daughters, driven by a desire for security, gave birth to the State of Israel; at the same time, the painful situation of the Palestinian people was created, a large part of whom were excluded from their land. These are facts that are plain for all to see. Other countries, such as Lebanon, are suffering from a crisis that threatens to become chronic. Finally, in recent days, a bitter conflict has been raging in a neighbouring region, between Iraq and Iran.

Gathered here today, at the tombs of the martyrs of Otranto, we meditate on the words of the liturgy that proclaim their glory and power in the kingdom of God: "They will rule the nations, they will have power over the peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever." Therefore, in union with these martyrs, we present to the one God, the living God, the Father of all men, the problems of peace in the Middle East and also the problem, so dear to us, of rapprochement and true dialogue with those whom we are united - despite our differences - by faith in one God, the faith inherited from Abraham. May the spirit of unity, mutual respect and understanding prove more powerful than that which divides and opposes.

Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia have for millennia nourished the roots of traditions sacred to each of the three religious groups; there, for centuries, Christian, Jewish and Islamic communities have coexisted on the same territories; in those regions, the Catholic Church boasts communities distinguished by their ancient history, vitality, variety of rites and spiritual characteristics.

Towering high above this world, like an ideal centre, a precious treasure chest that guards the treasures of the most venerable memories, and is itself the first of these treasures, is the holy city, Jerusalem, today the subject of a dispute that seems to have no solution, tomorrow - if we so desire! - tomorrow a crossroads of reconciliation and peace.

Yes, we pray that Jerusalem, instead of being, as it is today, an object of contention and division, may become the meeting point towards which the eyes of Christians, Jews and Muslims will continue to turn, as towards their common home; around which they will feel themselves to be brothers, none superior, none indebted to others; towards which pilgrims, followers of Christ, or faithful to the Mosaic law, or members of the Islamic community will return to direct their steps.

7. And now our thoughts turn once again to the liturgy of the martyrs. We look with the eyes of the author of Revelation and see in the great cemetery of Otranto and, at the same time, in the perspective of eternal Jerusalem... we see: 'under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had given... Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers was complete" (Rev 6:9, 11).

[Pope John Paul II, homily, Otranto, 5 October 1980]

Today’s Gospel passage contains the first part of Jesus’ discourse on the end times, [according to] the writing of Saint Luke (21:5-19). Jesus made this proclamation while standing before the Temple of Jerusalem, and was prompted by the peoples’ words of admiration for the beauty of the sanctuary and its decorations (cf. v. 5). Then Jesus said: “the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (v. 6). We can imagine the effect these words had on Jesus’ disciples. However, he did not want to insult the temple, but rather make it understood — to them as well as to us today — that human structures, even the most sacred, are fleeting, and we should not place our security in them. How many supposedly definitive certainties have we had in our lives, which later were revealed to be ephemeral! On the other hand, how many problems have appeared to be a dead end, and then were overcome!

Jesus knows that there are always those who speculate about the human need for safety. For this reason, he says: “Take heed that you are not led astray” (v. 8), and guard against the many false Messiahs who will appear (v. 9). Even today there are these! And, he adds, do not be frightened and bewildered by wars, revolutions, and disasters, since even these are part of the world’s reality (cf. vv. 10-11). The history of the Church is rich with examples of people who withstood tribulations and terrible suffering with serenity, because they were aware that they were firmly in God’s hands. He is a faithful Father, an attentive Father, who does not abandon his children. God never abandons us! We must have this certainty in our heart: God never abandons us!

Remaining firm in the Lord, in this certainty that he does not abandon us, walking in hope, working to build a better world, despite the difficulties and sad circumstances which mark our personal and collective existence, is what really counts; it is how the Christian community is called to encounter the “day of the Lord”. It is precisely within this context that we want to place the undertaking that we have lived with faith during these months of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which concludes today in the Dioceses of the world with the closing of the Holy Doors in the cathedral Churches. The Holy Year impelled us, on the one hand, to fix our gaze toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God and, on the other, to build a future on this earth, working to evangelize the present, so we can make it a time of salvation for everyone. 

In the Gospel Jesus encourages us to keep firmly in mind and in heart the certainty that God guides our history, and that he knows the final end of things and events. Under the the Lord’s merciful gaze, history unravels in flowing uncertainty, and weaves between good and evil. However, all that happens is contained within him. Let us pray to the Virgin Mary that she may help us, through the happy and sad events of this world, to firmly maintain hope in eternity and in the Kingdom of God. Let us pray to the Virgin Mary, that she may help us deeply understand this truth: that God never abandons his children!

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 13 November 2016]

The scandal of waiting

(Lk 18:1-8)

In the 80s the communities of Asia Minor suffered persecution because the emperor of Rome [the star Domitian] wanted to be venerated as god.

The official religious institution - servile and flattering - adapts itself. Christians not - aware of their own dignity and project of an alternative world.

Lk intends to encourage faithful and communities victims of abuse by highlighting how to reach the most effective disposition, capable of undermining the blackmail of social estrangement underway.

The ‘silence of God’ over abuses and domination of bullies posed questions and raised reserves of faith.

But in the parable, the irresponsible judge is not the Father! The unjust is icon that dramatizes the condition in which the disciples (without Master) come to be found in a world of cunning people.

Here is the «widow»: the community of the new ‘Anawim, poor of Yahweh [in the Gospels «ptōchôis»] ie defenseless, exposed to abuse - who have the Lord as their only hope.

They don’t remain on the surface of situations. They perceive the signs of the new Kingdom - of an alternative humanity - and crave them.

Lk says: the only means of finding oneself and not losing one’s founding energy is Prayer. It is not a folding in on oneself (vv.3.7).

The prayer of the sons is rather a forward action. A sort of leap that becomes magnetic and finally takes possession with force of his deep desire.

An embezzlement. As St. Bernard said: «How much I miss, I usurp from the side of Christ».

In short, Christian prayer has the same step of the Faith, and its multifaceted sides.

So it doesn’t plant us on the spot: it becomes a Source that induces rash gestures.

Why? At certain times things change. In the "world", only by calculation - but that said, even the most banal interests move something (vv.4-5).

There are aspects of our Dialogue with God characterized by traits of assent. But the “colourful” part of prayer comes when one enters the spousal climate - of listening, intuition; also of struggle and personal quarrel.

They result in a sort of reading of one’s own story’s weight, of the time’s genius and the grips for an actualization, which brings us out of mediocrity: take it or leave.

In short, prayer is a concrete gesture. It puts us in touch with a ‘vision’ that gives indications. Vocation at all costs.

A sort of primordial energy that comes back to heal and direct situations.

Not only is it the great tool for not losing head, and a means not to discourage.

Rather, a pungent and annoying action, with an attractive effect - as a ‘magnet’.

The dynamic, not very reassuring nest of prayer, brings us back to the Core of essence, to the eminent Self; to the realm of the Call by Name.

It becomes Reading and Intuition that meets the deep states.

It’s in shift of gaze and Vision that we actualize the future.

In this way, prayer itself guides us to the realization of our individual and ministerial-ecclesial being.

In fact, it creates: suddenly places (v.8) the appropriate conditions, the acute moments of the turning - because it lives Elsewhere, and in the base of the soul.

It sees God in the furrows of history, therefore it activates the energies of becoming: it drags reality, attracts it.

It enshrines and actualizes what is ‘coming’; it questions and stirs up the institution that tends to wither.

With his Rudder, even among too many mists, it plows through the waves of ageing toxins, flies over the harassment; moves the world and our whole life.

[Saturday 32nd wk. in O.T.  November 15, 2025]

The scandal of waiting and the kidnapping of the prelates

(Lk 18:1-8)

In the 80s, communities in Asia Minor suffered persecution because the emperor of Rome [the divine Domitian] demanded to be worshipped.

The official religious institution - servile and flattering - complies with the diktats of the Caesar on duty. 

Christians do not - aware of their own dignity and alternative world project, linked to a new face of God: no longer legislator and judge, but Creator and Redeemer of our intelligence, development and freedom.

The assemblies of the early believers are thus faced with hardships, discrimination and weariness that may be beyond their strength, but not their conscience.

Lk encourages believers and communities that are victims of abuse, with a narrative catechesis that emphasises how to arrive at the most effective disposition, capable of undermining the blackmail of social estrangement.

In fact, a kind of marginalisation (devious rather than violent) imposed by the religious and political authorities, by all the cliques in power.

If our gaze is obscured by conventions, the 'silence of God' in the face of abuses and the domination of bullies raises questions and raises reservations of faith.

[Today also for the kind of Church nostalgic for Constantine, or vice versa à la page; of later cynicism or disembodied superimpositions, and of many mists - not catacombs].

Certainly prayer does not force the Father to obey us, but our insistence is a sign of a living relationship, not a formal one.

This is the case even when it may happen that we become exhausted and (while remaining on the surface) do not consider the Creator entirely innocent in the face of evil and degradation.

But such an approach would cause us to miss the course of the King who reveals himself within... hiding in the furrows of events, and surfacing in hearts.

In the parable, the irresponsible judge is not the Father!

The unjust 'jurist' - a man of power - is an icon that dramatises the condition in which the disciples find themselves, deprived of the Master.

The authentic witnesses find themselves in a world of cunning, impregnated with ideology and the practice of having, power, appearing. Configurations that suffocate any yearning for genuine life.

Here is the "widow": the community of the new 'Anawim, Yahweh's poor [in the Gospels "ptōchôis"], that is, defenceless, exposed to abuse, deprived of worldly support - who have the Lord as their only hope.

Despite their shaky condition, the masses, though deprived of energy, do not desire conformity. They do not linger in adapting themselves to wiles - by dislodging themselves - without a Fire, a vital wave; without within a travelling companion to perceive, to welcome, to listen.

They reason and act from the hidden core of being and evolving. They do not remain at the bark of situations. They desire to be reborn.

They grasp the signs of the new emerging kingdom - of an alternative humanity - and yearn for them.

Should they lose the core, the meaning, they should return to learning to see in everything a calling, an infinity, an outside of time.

And a way of looking at themselves that is different from common sense. Us too: as if we were all lying on the foundational energy of our Dream - unique, personal, integral - that truly belongs to us.

Lk says: the only way to find ourselves and not lose the game of our character identity as children and critical witnesses is Prayer.

It is not the devout, predictable chanting that would put us to sleep (vv.3.7). Nor is it understood as religious duty: performance, formula, nerve-racking obligation; recognition of the honour due to the Master, or retreat.

It is evident from the tone of the narrative: the children's tu-per-tu is not an avalanche of pious emotions, rather an action forward.

A kind of leap that becomes magnetic and finally seizes powerfully on his deep desire.

An undue appropriation, but a corroborated one; not set up, or by our own merits, but through those of Christ - through the tenacious intuition he instils.

As St Bernard said: 'How much I miss the usurpation from the side of Christ'!

I recall the account of a great Roman parish priest ordained a priest by Paul VI who confided to me that he had participated in a blitz in the very Seminary I know so well. At the end of the celebration of a Eucharist (!) with distinguished guests, the students in revolt against the traditionalist prelates and professors of the Lateran - not at all intimidated by the rank of the sequestered - locked them in the sacristy, to force the various beautiful names present to yield to their demands for freedom [of readings and other]. They won the game shamelessly, unceremoniously - and some of the professors present changed their line on the spot (cf. v.8). Today those former seminarians are landmarks in the capital, all in the pastoral vanguard, people determined to follow their Calling. Real tough faces, who do not resign themselves. Impertinent, but imposing the appropriate developments, for everyone. They know: to lose sight of one's mission would mean losing the meaning of life, no longer knowing how to be with oneself, with others and with reality; finally, falling ill, because one would otherwise choose to live in a swamp, compulsorily slumbering.

Christian Prayer has the same pace as Faith, not only peacefully dialoguing - and in such nodal traits it can be described through its own multifaceted facets.

So it does not plant us on the spot: it becomes a Source that induces reckless, brazen and inappropriate actions; totally inappropriate.

Why? At certain times, things change. In the 'world', just by calculation - but having said that, even the most trivial interests move something (vv.4-5).

There are aspects of our relationship with God characterised by traits of assent.

But the colourful part of prayer comes when we enter into a spousal atmosphere - of listening, intuition; also of personal struggle and quarrelling.

Such true moments result in a kind of reading of the weight of one's own story, of the genius of the time, of the footholds for actualisation.

Vision and 'pulse' that takes us out of mediocrity. Exodus dynamics corroborated by unrepeatable sensibilities and inclinations.

In short, we are not qualunquists, nor do-gooders, but ourselves: take it or leave it.

Even if in prayer we are not triggered by a pious disposition but by anger, that wrath will be embodied in our hands.

That same 'wrath' will become energy to build the prophetic present - and to critically anticipate the future - without, however, 'raging' [v.1 Greek text].

In short, prayer is a concrete gesture: it puts us in contact with a Vision that gives direction.

Living Prayer brings us closer to the world, through the inner gaze: in the perception of an innate Image that is our clear mirror and Vocation at all costs.

Here, a kind of primordial energy arises; to heal and direct situations.

Not only is it the great tool not to lose one's head, and a means not to discourage.

Rather than fall back, here is a prickly and annoying action, which recovers the whole being dispersed in a thousand questing events, with an attractive, positively uplifting effect - a magnet.

The dynamic, not very reassuring nest of prayer takes us back to the Core of the essence, to the eminent Self; into the realm of the Calling by Name.

It becomes Reading and Intuition encountering the profound states.

It is in such a shift of gaze and Vision that we actualise the future.

In this way, prayer itself guides us to the realisation of our individual and ministerial-ecclesial [or para-ecclesial] being.

For it creates: it suddenly [v.8 Greek text] places the fitting conditions, the acute moments of the turning point - because it lives Elsewhere, and in the base of the soul.

It discerns God in history, therefore it activates the energies of becoming: it drags reality, it attracts it.

He sanctions and actualises what is coming; he questions and stirs the institution that tends to wither.

With his helm, even in the midst of too much fog, he ploughs through the storms of ageing toxins, he flies over anguish, he unravels the world and our whole life.

"The gift is so great that no eye has ever seen it, for it is not colour; no ear has ever heard it, for it is not sound; nor has it ever entered the heart of man (cf. 1 Cor 2:9), for it is there that the heart of man must enter. We shall receive it with all the greater ability, the firmer our faith, the firmer our hope, the more ardent our desire. We therefore always pray in this same faith, hope and charity, with unceasing desire. But at certain times and in certain circumstances, we also address God with words, so that, through these signs, we may stimulate ourselves and at the same time realise how far we have progressed in our holy aspirations, spurring us on with greater ardour to intensify them. For the more vivid the desire, the richer the effect. And therefore, what else do the words of the Apostle mean: "Pray unceasingly" (1 Thess 5:17) if not this: Desire, without tiring, from him who alone can grant it, that blessed life, which would be worth nothing if it were not eternal?".

S. Augustine, "Letter to Proba"

Continuous Prayer: a condition of grace and strength, which does not fail.

Failing without failing: unceasing struggle with ourselves and with God

(Mt 7:7-12)

Sometimes we put the Father in the dock, because he seems to let things go as our freedom directs them.

But his design is not to make the world work to the perfection of transistors (of yesteryear) or integrated circuits (in their respective 'packages') or 'chips' [various 'bits']...

God wants us to acquire a New Creation mindset. His Action moulds us to the Son, transforming projects, ideas, desires, words, standard behaviour.

At first, prayer may perhaps seem tinged with mere requests. The more one proceeds in the experience of prayer in the Spirit of Christ, the less one asks.

The demands diminish, until they almost cease.

Desires for accumulation, or revenge and triumph, give way to listening and perception.

The penetrating eye becomes aware of what is at hand and of the unusual - in the increasingly conscious welcoming, which becomes real contemplation and union.

We do not know how long, but the 'result' comes suddenly: not only certain, but disproportionate.

But as if extracted from a process of continuous incandescence, where there are no logical networks, no easy shortcuts.

We receive the ultimate and complete Gift. And we can host it with dignity. A new Creation in the Spirit, a different Face.

An unexpected Face - not simply the fantasised or well-arranged one (as passed on by the family or expected on the side).

God allows events to take their own course, seemingly distant from us; therefore prayer can take on dramatic overtones and provoke irritation - as if it were an open dispute between us and Him.

But He chooses not to be the guarantor of our outer dreams. He does not allow Himself to be introduced into petty limits.

He wants to involve us in more than just our goals, which often conform too much to what is right under our noses.

It invents expanded horizons, but in this labour it must be clear that we must not fail ourselves. That is, to the character of our essence and vocation.

All this, precisely by failing ourselves - that is, by surrendering the rigid point of view and dialoguing with our deepest layers.

This process shifts the conditional emphasis.

It is not that God delights in being relentlessly prayed to and bent over by the poor.

It is we who need time to meet our own souls and allow ourselves to be introduced to another kind of agenda that is not conformist and predictable.

Reading happenings according to totally 'inadequate', eccentric or excessive views, less contracted within the usual armour (and so on) can open the mind.

The expansion of the gaze increases intuition, modifies feelings, transforms, activates. It grasps other designs, opens up different horizons - with intermediate results that are already prodigious, certainly unpredictable.

When someone believes he has understood the world, he already conditions further, more intense desires that would like to invade our space.

This artificial 'nature' of spurious set-ups, external or other, blocks the itinerary towards the nature of character, the true personal call and mission.

Prayer must be insistent, because it is like a view laid upon oneself; not as we thought: authentically. 

The inner eye serves to make a kind of clear, individual space within, which opens to our and others' Presence, all to be looked at (in the way that counts).

It will be the wisest, strongest and most reliable travelling companion... carrying our identity-character and not pulling the essential self of the person elsewhere.

The conscious emptying out of the piled-up junk (by ourselves or others) must be filled over time by an intensity of Relation.

Here is the interpersonal dialogue-listening with the Source of being.

In it is nested our particular Seed: there the difference of face that belongs to us is seated and in bloom.

It will be the radical depth of the relationship with our Root - perhaps lost in too many regular, even elevated or functioning expectations - that will confer another, more convincing Way.

And it will uncover the unique tendency and destination that belongs to us, for Happiness we did not think of.

Goals, resolutions, disciplines, memories of the past, dreams of the future, searches for reference points, habitual evaluations of possibilities, piles of merit... are sometimes ballasts.

They distract from the soil of the soul, where our grain would like to take root to become what is in the heart.

And from the kernel make one understand the proposal of Mission received - not conquered, nor possessed - so that it grants another prodigious character (not: visibility).

Often the mental and affective system recognises itself in an album of thoughts, definitions, gestures, forms, problems, titles, tasks, characters, roles and things already dead.

Such a morphology of interdiction loses the authentic present, where, on the contrary, the divine Dream that completes - realising us in specificity - takes root.

So, here is the therapy of the absolute present in Listening - of non-planning; starting with each one.

This in the conscious gap of that part of us that seeks security, approval, and panders to trivialities.Through unceasing dialogue with the Father in prayer, we make space for the roots of Being, which (in the meantime) is already filling us with views and opportunities for a different fate.

By reactivating the exploratory charge stifled in the gears, we create the right gap and start again in the Exodus.

To settle, to stop, to settle in one spot, would turn even qualitative conquests into a land of new slavery.

It would oblige us to recite and retrace milestones that have already been conquered - which conversely we are by vocation called upon to cross.

Exodus... within a springing, cosmic and identifying Relationship, singularly foundational.

Through prolonged Listening in prayer, we children acquire knowledge of the soul and the Mystery.

We dwell long in the House of our very special essence.

Thus we plant it - or root it even deeper - in order to understand it and recover it completely, clear and full.

Now freed from the destiny mapped out in a narrow environment, already marked but devoid of dreams.

When we are ready, Oneness will come into the field with a new solution, even an extravagant one.

It will give birth to what we really are, at our best - within that chaos that solves real problems. And from wave to wave it will leap to Goal.

Away with the definitions and aspirations of nomenclature, in a kind of coming undone of ourselves - in a state of 'discharge' but full of potential energy - we will give space to the new Germ that knows best.

Already here and now our distinctive and unmistakable Plant wants to touch the divine condition.

Continuous prayer (incessant listening and perception) excavates and disposes of the volume of trivial redundant thoughts in this space.

Opportunities open up in this interstice and 'emptiness'. Inner cleansing is created so that the Gift - not second-hand - arrives.

Do we desire a decisive conversion? Do we desire the call to the totality of humanising existence, without limitations and in our uniqueness?

[Then divine action can reach anyone? Does it touch any face? And how does one not break it?].

Why not now the new beginning? Prayer and the 'new fullness' of the Spirit become for us - growing children - the milk of the soul.

This Sunday's Liturgy offers us a fundamental teaching: the need to pray always, without tiring. At times we grow weary of praying, we have the impression that prayer is not so useful for life, that it is not very effective. We are therefore tempted to throw ourselves into activity, to use all the human means for attaining our goals and we do not turn to God. Jesus himself says that it is necessary to pray always, and does so in a specific parable (cf. Lk 18: 1-8). 

This parable speaks to us of a judge who does not fear God and is no respecter of persons: a judge without a positive outlook, who only seeks his own interests. He neither fears God's judgement nor respects his neighbour. The other figure is a widow, a person in a situation of weakness. In the Bible, the widow and the orphan are the neediest categories, because they are defenceless and without means. The widow goes to the judge and asks him for justice. Her possibilities of being heard are almost none, because the judge despises her and she can bring no pressure to bear on him. She cannot even appeal to religious principles because the judge does not fear God. Therefore this widow seems without any recourse. But she insists, she asks tirelessly, importuning him, and in the end she succeeds in obtaining a result from the judge. At this point Jesus makes a reflection, using the argument a fortiori: if a dishonest judge ends by letting himself be convinced by a widow's plea, how much more will God, who is good, answer those who pray to him. God in fact is generosity in person, he is merciful and is therefore always disposed to listen to prayers. Therefore we must never despair but always persist in prayer. 

The conclusion of the Gospel passage speaks of faith: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Lk 18: 8). It is a question that intends to elicit an increase of faith on our part. Indeed it is clear that prayer must be an expression of faith, otherwise it is not true prayer. If one does not believe in God's goodness, one cannot pray in a truly appropriate manner.
Faith is essential as the basis of a prayerful attitude.

[Pope Benedict, homily for the canonisation of the blessed, 17 October 2010]

To all people of good will who feel a living and active part of the parish community, I say: do not tire of seeking all the opportunities that the Lord offers you to expand contacts and carry out that work of promotion based on truth, justice and respect for the person of others, which constitutes, for those who feel distant from the faith, the necessary preamble to the knowledge of Christ, which you are fortunate enough to profess with your life and with the practice of the sacraments of faith.

9. Be living praise of God in the eyes of those who seek the Lord, but have not yet found him. Repeat with the psalmist: "Praise, my soul, the Lord your Creator". Dear brothers and sisters! Learn to praise God; give glory to him on behalf of all creatures. Learn to do so in the spirit of the "poor widow" of today's liturgy, that the sacrifice of glory may find its evangelical "resonance" in the heart of Christ. Learn - again and again - to participate in the Eucharist so that your Christian life may mature and be enriched through "poverty in spirit".

[Pope John Paul II, homily 6 November 1988]