The Year of Faith which we launch today is linked harmoniously with the Church’s whole path over the last fifty years: from the Council, through the Magisterium of the Servant of God Paul VI, who proclaimed a Year of Faith in 1967, up to the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, with which Blessed John Paul II re-proposed to all humanity Jesus Christ as the one Saviour, yesterday, today and forever. Between these two Popes, Paul VI and John Paul II, there was a deep and complete convergence, precisely upon Christ as the centre of the cosmos and of history, and upon the apostolic eagerness to announce him to the world. Jesus is the centre of the Christian faith. The Christian believes in God whose face was revealed by Jesus Christ. He is the fulfilment of the Scriptures and their definitive interpreter. Jesus Christ is not only the object of the faith but, as it says in the Letter to the Hebrews, he is “the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith” (12:2).

Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ, consecrated by the Father in the Holy Spirit, is the true and perennial subject of evangelization. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18). This mission of Christ, this movement of his continues in space and time, over centuries and continents. It is a movement which starts with the Father and, in the power of the Spirit, goes forth to bring the good news to the poor, in both a material and a spiritual sense. The Church is the first and necessary instrument of this work of Christ because it is united to him as a body to its head. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21), says the Risen One to his disciples, and breathing upon them, adds, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v.22). Through Christ, God is the principal subject of evangelization in the world; but Christ himself wished to pass on his own mission to the Church; he did so, and continues to do so, until the end of time pouring out his Spirit upon the disciples, the same Spirit who came upon him and remained in him during all his earthly life, giving him the strength “to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” and “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19).

The Second Vatican Council did not wish to deal with the theme of faith in one specific document. It was, however, animated by a desire, as it were, to immerse itself anew in the Christian mystery so as to re-propose it fruitfully to contemporary man. The Servant of God Paul VI, two years after the end of the Council session, expressed it in this way: “Even if the Council does not deal expressly with the faith, it talks about it on every page, it recognizes its vital and supernatural character, it assumes it to be whole and strong, and it builds upon its teachings. We need only recall some of the Council’s statements in order to realize the essential importance that the Council, consistent with the doctrinal tradition of the Church, attributes to the faith, the true faith, which has Christ for its source and the Church’s Magisterium for its channel” (General Audience, 8 March 1967). Thus said Paul VI in 1967.

We now turn to the one who convoked the Second Vatican Council and inaugurated it: Blessed John XXIII. In his opening speech, he presented the principal purpose of the Council in this way: “What above all concerns the Ecumenical Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be safeguarded and taught more effectively […] Therefore, the principal purpose of this Council is not the discussion of this or that doctrinal theme… a Council is not required for that… [but] this certain and immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully respected, needs to be explored and presented in a way which responds to the needs of our time” (AAS 54 [1962], 790,791-792). So said Pope John at the inauguration of the Council.

In the light of these words, we can understand what I myself felt at the time: during the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced the common task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out in our time, without sacrificing it to the demands of the present or leaving it tied to the past: the eternal presence of God resounds in the faith, transcending time, yet it can only be welcomed by us in our own unrepeatable today. Therefore I believe that the most important thing, especially on such a significant occasion as this, is to revive in the whole Church that positive tension, that yearning to announce Christ again to contemporary man. But, so that this interior thrust towards the new evangelization neither remain just an idea nor be lost in confusion, it needs to be built on a concrete and precise basis, and this basis is the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the place where it found expression. This is why I have often insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the “letter” of the Council – that is to its texts – also to draw from them its authentic spirit, and why I have repeated that the true legacy of Vatican II is to be found in them. Reference to the documents saves us from extremes of anachronistic nostalgia and running too far ahead, and allows what is new to be welcomed in a context of continuity. The Council did not formulate anything new in matters of faith, nor did it wish to replace what was ancient. Rather, it concerned itself with seeing that the same faith might continue to be lived in the present day, that it might remain a living faith in a world of change.

If we place ourselves in harmony with the authentic approach which Blessed John XXIII wished to give to Vatican II, we will be able to realize it during this Year of Faith, following the same path of the Church as she continuously endeavours to deepen the deposit of faith entrusted to her by Christ. The Council Fathers wished to present the faith in a meaningful way; and if they opened themselves trustingly to dialogue with the modern world it is because they were certain of their faith, of the solid rock on which they stood. In the years following, however, many embraced uncritically the dominant mentality, placing in doubt the very foundations of the deposit of faith, which they sadly no longer felt able to accept as truths.

If today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new evangelization, it is not to honour an anniversary, but because there is more need of it, even more than there was fifty years ago! And the reply to be given to this need is the one desired by the Popes, by the Council Fathers and contained in its documents. Even the initiative to create a Pontifical Council for the promotion of the new evangelization, which I thank for its special effort for the Year of Faith, is to be understood in this context. Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual “desertification”. In the Council’s time it was already possible from a few tragic pages of history to know what a life or a world without God looked like, but now we see it every day around us. This void has spread. But it is in starting from the experience of this desert, from this void, that we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for us, men and women. In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living; thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed implicitly or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of life. And in the desert people of faith are needed who, with their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive. Living faith opens the heart to the grace of God which frees us from pessimism. Today, more than ever, evangelizing means witnessing to the new life, transformed by God, and thus showing the path. The first reading spoke to us of the wisdom of the wayfarer (cf. Sir 34:9-13): the journey is a metaphor for life, and the wise wayfarer is one who has learned the art of living, and can share it with his brethren – as happens to pilgrims along the Way of Saint James or similar routes which, not by chance, have again become popular in recent years. How come so many people today feel the need to make these journeys? Is it not because they find there, or at least intuit, the meaning of our existence in the world? This, then, is how we can picture the Year of Faith, a pilgrimage in the deserts of today’s world, taking with us only what is necessary: neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money, nor two tunics – as the Lord said to those he was sending out on mission (cf. Lk 9:3), but the Gospel and the faith of the Church.

[Pope Benedict, homily at the opening of the Year of Faith, 11 October 2012]

To the God who reveals himself - teaches Dei Verbum - is due "the obedience of faith" (n. 5). God revealed himself in the Old Covenant, demanding from his chosen people a fundamental adherence of faith. In the fullness of time, this faith is called to be renewed and developed, in response to the revelation of the incarnate Son of God. Jesus expressly demands it, addressing his disciples at the Last Supper: "You have faith in God; have faith also in me" (Jn 14:1).

2. Jesus had already asked the group of twelve Apostles for a profession of faith in his person. At Caesarea Philippi, after having questioned the disciples about the opinions expressed by the people concerning his identity, he asked: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15). The answer comes from Simon: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (16:16).

Immediately Jesus confirms the value of this profession of faith, emphasising that it does not proceed simply from human thought, but from heavenly inspiration: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for neither flesh nor blood has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17). These expressions of a strong Semitic colour designate the total, absolute and supreme revelation: that which refers to the person of Christ the Son of God.

The profession of faith made by Peter will remain the definitive expression of Christ's identity. Mark takes up its terms to introduce his Gospel (cf. Mk 1:1), John refers to it at the conclusion of his, affirming that he wrote it so that "that one may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God", and so that, believing, one may have life in his name (cf. Jn 20:31).

3. In what does faith consist? The Constitution Dei Verbum explains that with it "man freely surrenders himself to God in his entirety, paying Him 'full obedience of intellect and will' and voluntarily consenting to the revelation given by Him" (n.5). Faith is, therefore, not only adherence of the intellect to revealed truth, but also obedience of the will and self-giving to God who reveals Himself. It is an attitude that engages the whole of existence.

The Council goes on to recall that faith requires "the grace of God, which anticipates and succours, and the interior help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and turns it to God, opens the eyes of the mind, and gives everyone gentleness in allowing and believing the truth" (ibid.). Thus we can see how faith, on the one hand, makes one accept the truth contained in Revelation and proposed by the Magisterium of those who, as Pastors of the People of God, have received a "certain charism of truth" (Dei Verbum, 8). On the other hand, faith also urges true and profound consistency, which must be expressed in all aspects of a life modelled on that of Christ.

4. Fruit as it is of grace, faith exerts an influence on events. This is admirably seen in the exemplary case of the Blessed Virgin. At the Annunciation, her adherence of faith to the angel's message is decisive for the very coming of Jesus into the world. Mary is the Mother of Christ because she first believed in Him.

At the wedding feast of Cana, Mary for her faith obtains the miracle. Faced with a response from Jesus that seemed less than favourable, she maintained a confident attitude, thus becoming a model of the bold and persistent faith that overcomes obstacles.

Bold and persistent was also the faith of the Canaanite woman. To this woman, who had come to ask for the healing of her daughter, Jesus had opposed the Father's plan, which limited his mission to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Canaanite woman answered with all the strength of her faith and obtained the miracle: "Woman, truly great is your faith! May it be done to you as you wish" (Mt 15:28).

5. In many other instances, the Gospel testifies to the power of faith. Jesus expresses his admiration for the centurion's faith: "Truly I tell you, I have found no one in Israel with such great faith" (Mt 8:10). And to Bartimaeus he says: "Go, your faith has saved you" (Mk 10:52). He repeats the same thing to the haemorrhagic woman (cf. Mk 5:34).

The words addressed to the father of the epileptic, who desired the healing of his son, are no less impressive: "Everything is possible for those who believe" (Mk 9:23).

The role of faith is to cooperate with this omnipotence. Jesus demands such cooperation to the extent that, on returning to Nazareth, he performs almost no miracles for the reason that the inhabitants of his village did not believe in him (cf. Mk 6:5-6). For the purpose of salvation, faith is of decisive importance for Jesus.

St Paul will develop Christ's teaching when, in contrast to those who wanted to base the hope of salvation on the observance of the Jewish law, he will emphatically affirm that faith in Christ is the only source of salvation: "For we hold that man is justified by faith, regardless of the works of the law" (Rom 3:28). We must not, however, forget that St Paul was thinking of that authentic and full faith "which works through charity" (Gal 5:6). True faith is animated by love of God, which is inseparable from love of one's brothers and sisters.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 18 March 1998]

Faith is "a gift" that one does not buy or acquire on one's own merits. Inspired by the liturgy of the day, Pope Francis, in the Mass celebrated on Friday 15 January at Santa Marta, continued to speak about the characteristics of faith.

Recalling how the previous day's Gospel had presented the episode of the leper who says to Jesus: "If you want, you can heal me", the Pontiff dwelt on the figures of others who are "resolute", others who are "courageous" driven by faith. Taking up the passage from Mark (2:1-12), Francis retraced the episode of the paralytic brought by his friends before Jesus. Who, "as usual, is among people, many people". In order to bring the sick man to him, the friends dared everything, 'but they did not think of the risks' involved in 'putting the stretcher on the terrace' or even the risk 'that the owner of the house would call the police and send them to jail'. They, in fact, 'thought only of approaching Jesus. They had faith'.

This is, the Pope said, the "same faith as that lady who also, in the midst of the crowd, when Jesus went to Jairus's house, reached out to touch the flap of Jesus's robe, of Jesus's mantle, to be healed". The same faith of the 'centurion who said: "No, no, master, do not trouble yourself: only one word from you, and my servant will be healed". A faith 'strong, courageous, going forward', with an 'open heart'.

At this point, however, Francis stressed, "Jesus takes a step forward". To explain what he said, the Pontiff recalled another Gospel episode, the one in which Jesus "in Nazareth, at the beginning of his ministry, had gone to the synagogue and said that he had been sent to free the oppressed, the imprisoned, give sight to the blind... inaugurate a year of grace, that is, a year - one can understand well - of forgiveness, of drawing closer to the Lord". He was pointing, that is, to a new road, 'a road to God'. The same thing happens with the paralytic to whom he does not simply say: 'Be healed', but: 'Your sins are forgiven'.

With this novelty, the Pope pointed out, Jesus triggered the reaction of "those whose hearts were closed". They 'already accepted - up to a certain point - that Jesus was a healer'; but that he also forgave sins was 'too much' for them. They thought: 'You have no right to say that, because only God can forgive sins'.

Then Jesus retorts: "Why do you think these things? So that you may know that the Son of Man has the power - and here, Francis explained, is "the breakthrough" - to forgive sins. Arise, take and heal". Jesus begins to speak the language 'that at a certain point will discourage people', a harsh language, with which he 'speaks of eating his body as the way to salvation'. He begins, that is, to "reveal himself as God", which he will later do clearly before the high priest by saying: "I am the Son of God".

A step forward that is also proposed to the faith of Christians. Each one of us, in fact, can have faith in "Christ the Son of God, sent by the Father to save us: yes, save us from sickness, so many good things that the Lord has done and helps us to do"; but above all we must have faith that he came to "save us from our sins, save us and bring us to the Father". This, Pope Francis said, is "the most difficult point to understand". And not only for the scribes "who said: 'But, this blasphemes! Only God can forgive sins!"". Some disciples, in fact, "doubt and leave" when Jesus shows himself "with a mission greater than that of a man, to give that forgiveness, to give life, to recreate humanity". So much so that Jesus himself "must ask his small group: 'Do you also want to leave?'".

From Jesus' question, the Pontiff took the cue to invite everyone to ask themselves: "What is my faith in Jesus Christ like? Do I believe that Jesus Christ is God, is the Son of God? And does this faith change my life? May it be renewed in my heart in this year of grace, this year of forgiveness, this year of drawing near to the Lord?"

It is an invitation to discover the quality of faith, aware that it "is a gift. No one 'deserves' faith. No one can buy it". For Francis, it is necessary to ask: "Does "my" faith in Jesus Christ, lead me to humiliation? I do not say to humility: to humiliation, to repentance, to prayer that asks: 'Forgive me, Lord' and that is able to testify: 'You are God. You 'can' forgive my sins'".

Hence the concluding prayer: "May the Lord make us grow in faith" so that we may do as those who, having heard Jesus and seen his works, "marvelled and praised God". Indeed, 'praise is the proof that I believe that Jesus Christ is God in my life, that he was sent to me to "forgive me"'. And praise, the Pontiff added, "is free. It is a feeling that gives the Holy Spirit and leads you to say: 'You are the only God'".

[Pope Francis, s. Marta, in L'Osservatore Romano 16/01/2016]

The true God, nature, and authentic man

(Mk 8:27-35)

Jesus guides his intimates away from the territory of the ideology of power and the sacred centre of the official religious institution, so that they detach themselves from their own stronghold.

The territory of Caesarea Philippi was enchanting, renowned for fertility and lush pastures - an area famous for the fecundity of flocks and herds.

That sort of earthly paradise at the source of the Jordan was so humanly attractive that Alexander the Great considered it to be the home of the god Pan and the Nymphs.

Even the disciples were fascinated by the landscape and the affluent life of the inhabitants of the region; not to mention the magnificence of the palaces.

Christ asks the apostles - practically speaking - what people expected of Him. And the reminder of the context alludes to the comforts that pagan religion offered.

Moved by curiosity and eager for material fulfilment, the crowd of amazed people around the Son of God was creating a great noise, only apparent.

Now there is a turning point: the atmosphere changes, opposition increases and questions pile up; the crowd thins out and the Master finds himself increasingly alone.

While the gods were showing that they knew how to shower their worshippers with goods - and a sumptuous court life that beguiled all - what did the Lord offer?

In short, the apostles were continuing to be influenced by the propaganda of the political and religious government, which ensured prosperity.

Thus Jesus "instructed" them, so that they could overcome the blindness and crisis produced by his Cross, by the commitment required in view of the gift of self.

The Son of God is not only a continuer of the Baptist's clear-headed attitude, never inclined to compromise with the courts and opulence; nor is He one of the many restorers of the law of Moses... with the zeal of Elijah.

On this issue, in the first Christian communities there were lively distances with paganism, but there were also particular contrasts with the world of the synagogues.

Frictions of no small importance were those that arose between Jews converted to the Lord and traditionally observant Semites.

Indeed, the sacred books spoke of great figures who had left their mark on the Israel history, and were to reappear to usher in the messianic times.

There was a lack of understanding in everyone. And difficulty in being able to embrace the new proposal, which seemed to guarantee neither glory nor material goals.

Faith does not easily accord with early human impulses: it is disconcerting for the obvious views and drives.

So in the Gospel passage the Master contradicts Peter himself, whose opinion remained tied to the conformist and popular idea of «the» [v.29: «that»] expected Messiah.

The leader of the apostles must stop showing Christ which way to go «behind» (v.33) him!

Simon can go back to being a pupil; and has to stop drawing ways, by kidnapping God in the name of God!

Hence the “messianic secret” imposed on those who preach it in that equivocal way (v.30).

The Son of God doesn’t assure us worldly success, nor absence of conflict. Only guarantees freedom from all ties to power, and regenerating Love.

Lifting up the Cross, Son of man and Church in the life integrity

Bad reputation is common among Prophets

The Cross is normal among Prophets, who certainly do not have a great response from crowds, in building their own limpid "city".

It never remains at the size of easy idols. But this is the paradoxical form of «communion» that mysteriously attracts the human.

Conviviality that draws hearts together, despite the clashes for ambition or the game of opportunisms do not fade around.

Even today, the reversals chaos doesn’t seem to subside, while crises and mingling appear, even in the positive intertweaving of cultural paradigms.

What is to be done?

To «lift» (v.34 Greek text) the horizontal arm of the scafford and load it on one's shoulders meant losing one's reputation.

It’s a capital problem, inseparable from a motivated and responsible attitude.

Indeed, if a disciple aspired to glory, cherished his own honour, didn’t accept solitude... he could not make himself an authentic witness of Christ.

He would be a piece of prolonged worldliness.

Instead, the Master’s fate also involves that of the disciples.

It’s valid all times, and for us: the gift to the end doesn’t come on earth by passing through fame, success, consideration; being constantly accompanied, approved and supported.

Simon was waiting not for a problematic, edgy outcome, but for easy consensus: a release, as between friends patting each other on the back.

He dreamed of an acclaimed discipleship, hence a future of recognitions - and he was disoriented.

Not understanding the project, Peter ["took Him with"] grabs Jesus as if he were his hostage.

And «he began to exorcise Him» (v.32 Greek text) so that the Master himself would finally put his head on straight and get behind him.

Here the historical basis of this "gesture" of the boss of the apostles transpires - namely the long-standing attempt by the first Jerusalem community to compromise with the priestly and political power of the time.

Well, this isn’t «saving life» (v.35): in the biblical sense, achieving human fullness and resemblance to the divine condition.

The subsequent cheap mysticism, influenced by cerebral philosophies, on this expression has bracketed the adventure of Faith and invented a sharp contrast between bodily and spiritual life.

Trivial conviction, which has as it were vivisected unsuspecting people themselves, sometimes driven to masochism.

But here Jesus does not speak of artificial punishments to be borne, nor did he ever impose any mortification. Least of all capable of producing some “salvation of the soul” detached from reality.

«Lifting up the Cross positively»: so that different energies take over, other relationships, unpredictable situations, that make us shift our gaze and activities.

Not with a view to some just remuneration, but for the irreducible core of every believer (or non-believer) and for any matter.

Hence the need not to alienate oneself from the Gospels, for self-completion, for a living testimony, and the solution of problems - crossed from 'within'.

In short, we can announce Jesus' proposal, criteria, and Presence itself... in facts and in the integrity of life - not who knows when after death (Mk 8:38-9:1).

Different Definitiveness.

[24th Sunday in O.T. B (Mk 8:27-35)  September 15, 2024]

(Mk 8:27-9:1)

The affluent life and not

True God, nature, and authentic man

(Mk 8:27-33)

Jesus guides his intimates away from the territory of power ideology and the sacred centre of the official religious institution.

The environment of the land of Judah was all conditioned, now devoid of life-wave, already normalised in its constituent lines; it had become a sort of fortress, refractory to any surprise.

In comparison, towards the north, the land of Caesarea Philippi was less artificial, more natural and almost sublime; enchanting, famous for fertility and lush pastures - an area famous for the fecundity of flocks and herds.

That sort of earthly paradise at the source of the Jordan was so humanly attractive that Alexander the Great considered it to be the home of the god Pan and the Nymphs.

The disciples too were fascinated by the landscape and the affluent life of the region's inhabitants; not to mention the magnificence of the palaces.

But here an almost unpleasant question burst into the group.

Christ asks the apostles - basically - what the people expected of Him. And the reminder of the context alludes to the comforts that pagan religion offered.

Moved by curiosity and eager for temporal fulfilment, the crowd of astonished people around the Son of God created a great noise, only apparent.

Now there is a change: the atmosphere changes, opposition increases and questions accumulate; the crowd thins out and the Master finds himself increasingly alone.

While the gods were showing that they knew how to fill their devotees with goods - and a sumptuous court life that beguiled everyone - what was the Lord offering?

In short, the apostles continued to be influenced by the propaganda of the political and religious government, which ensured prosperity.

Jesus 'instructed' them, so that they could overcome the blindness and crisis produced by his Cross, a commitment required from the perspective of self-giving.

[The Son of God is not just a continuer of the Baptist's limpid attitude, never inclined to compromise with the courts and opulence; nor one of the many restorers of the law of Moses... with the zeal of Elijah].

On some fundamental issues, in the early Christian communities there were lively distances with paganism, but there were also particular contrasts with the world of the synagogues.

Frictions of no small importance were those that arose between Jews converted to the Lord and traditionally observant Semites.

Indeed, the sacred books of late Judaism spoke of great figures who had left their mark on the history of Israel, and were to reappear to usher in the Messianic times.

But in all there was a lack of understanding. And difficulty in being able to embrace the new proposal, which seemed to guarantee neither glory nor material goals.

Faith does not easily accord with early human impulses: it is bewildering in its obvious views and drives.

Thus in the Gospel passage, the Master contradicts Peter himself, whose opinion remained tied to the conformist and popular idea of "the" (v.29: "that") expected Messiah.

The leader of the apostles must stop showing Christ which way to go "behind" (v.33) him!

Simon can start being a pupil again; stop plotting roads, hijacking God in the name of God!

In fact, all the Twelve - still plagued by ideas deeply rooted in the ancient mentality - were waiting for a ruler ["political Messiah"], king of Israel of the house of David.

Or they were waiting for a high priest ["Messiah of Aaron"] finally faithful to the role and capable of discovering the genuine meaning of the Word.

For some he was to be a great thaumaturge, a doctor; for others a guerrilla leader, or a judge ["Master of Justice"]; a Prophet, of equal calibre to the ancients.

But the Person of Christ is not that of an ordinary forerunner - great or minor, as long as he is recognisable - an established leader.

Hence the "messianic secret" imposed on those who preach him in that equivocal manner (v.30).

The Son of God does not assure us worldly success, absence of conflict, and a comfortable life, nor does he assure us the mere purification of places of worship or the mending of the ancient practice of devotions.

Only guarantees freedom from all ties to power, and Love that regenerates.

Depth also of natural wisdom:

Says the Tao Tê Ching (xxviii): 'He who knows he is male and keeps himself female is the strength of the world'. Master Wang Pi comments: "He who knows he is first in the world must put himself last".

To internalise and live the message:

Who is Jesus and how much does he matter to you?

Lifting the Cross, Son of Man and Church in Integrity of Life

Bad reputation is normal among the Prophets

(Mk 8:34-9:1)

The Cross is normal among the Prophets, who certainly do not have a great response of hymning crowds, in building their own limpid 'city'.It never remains at the size of easy idols. But this is the paradoxical form of 'communion' that mysteriously attracts the human.

Conviviality that draws hearts together, despite the fact that clashes of ambition or the game of opportunism do not subside around it.

Even today, the chaos of reversals does not seem to subside, while crises and mingling appear, even in the positive interweaving of cultural paradigms.

What is to be done?

"Lifting" [v.34 Greek text] the horizontal arm of the gallows and carrying it on one's shoulders meant losing one's reputation.

This is a capital problem, inseparable from a motivated and responsible attitude.

Indeed, if a follower aspired to glory, cherished his own honour, did not accept solitude... he could not make himself an authentic witness to Christ.

He would be a piece of prolonged worldliness.

Instead, the Master's fate also involves that of the disciples.

It is true at all times, and for us: the gift to the end does not come on earth by passing through fame, success, consideration; being constantly accompanied, approved and supported.

Simon (vv. 32-33) was waiting not for a problematic, sharp outcome, but for easy approval: a release, as between friends patting each other on the back.

He was dreaming of an acclaimed following, hence a future of recognition - and he was bewildered.

But the spirit of giving that Jesus asks of him comes from welcoming, not conquering.

Resigned empathy, starting from one's opposite sides: it does not exist without an intimate alliance.

Of course, the world of tables around unleashes the belligerent aspect, rather than the harmonious, integrated repudiation of the instincts of affirmation: to command, to dominate, to subjugate.

But in the typical language of those who seriously love, Christ speaks clearly - so that his Mystery is also realised in us.

Not to accommodate us in social opinion, but to make every shaky and insecure person a complete being, and to make us all blessed and saviours, with Him.

Peter does not understand the figure of the "Son of Man" (v.38), the main designation used by the evangelists and a crucial theme for understanding the Lord.

He still comes to make present the inherent divine, and its generative energies.

"Son of Man" stands for the eminent goal of the Father: to humanise us and improve existence.

It is the sense of a holiness that is possible and transmissible, not erratic or already formulated, nor tied to concatenations in the regime of externality.

While common religion often convinces of inadequacy and blocks all development, God in His own is direct communication, a drive for life, for a humanising totality.

An innate quintessence that precisely coincides and merges with the supreme condition: in an accentuated capacity to evolve, to affect, to communicate fullness of being.

Not understanding Heaven's plan, Peter ["took him with"] grabs Jesus as if he were his hostage....

And "began to exorcise him" (v.32 Greek text) so that the Master himself would finally put his head on straight, and stand behind him.

Here the historical basis of such a 'gesture' by the leader of the apostles transpires - that is, the long-standing attempt by the first Jerusalem community to compromise with the priestly and political power of the time.

Thus Judeo-Christian Messianism was born. A theology of compromise with the Temple and the Traditions of the fathers, still very much alive in the second-third generation fraternities [those of Mk].

The fact is: the tension that separates us from the heights of official devotion does not stand by chance.

Unfortunately, there exists a deviant and 'enemy' Christology - represented here precisely by Peter ranting (v.33) - which imagines and transmits Christ as a powerful priest and ally of hegemonic power.

This is the reason why today even the pontiff-bishop of Rome does not miss the root of the ecclesial problem: clericalism.

In essence, a soul-destroying ecclesiology can correspond to aberrant Christology.

It presents the community of children under the caricature of a pyramidal institution compromised with those who accentuate exhibitionism, attribute titles, and distribute favours.

All this is not "saving life" (v.35): in the biblical sense, achieving human fullness and resemblance to the divine condition.

Subsequent cheap mysticism, influenced by cerebral philosophies, on this expression has bracketed the adventure of Faith and invented a sharp contrast between bodily and spiritual life.

A banal conviction, which has as it were vivisected unsuspecting people themselves, sometimes directed to masochism.

But here Jesus does not speak of artificial punishments to be meted out, nor did he ever impose any mortification. Neither is it able to produce any 'salvation of the soul' detached from reality - or standing 'in the grace of God' (motionless) intimidated by everlasting punishment.

The Christ story leads in an entirely different direction: the sacred signs do not fit the directives of the established power; they are all liberating in the concrete, not found in an inert and vague detachment.

His reminders in the Church make it clear that the essential characteristics of the disciple are: love that risks and detachment from reputation

as well as lack of attachment to some successful, more or less concealed political function or direction.

To follow the Lord is not to prepare oneself for an office [and earn money on it: v.36], but to correspond to the raw Call.

A call that invests each person following, as well as the Son of Man himself, and the people of God.

"Lift up the Cross positively": so that different energies, other relationships, unpredictable situations, which cause us to shift our gaze and activities, may arise.

Not in view of some just retribution, but for the irreducible core of every believer (or non-believer) and of any issue.

Hence the need not to alienate oneself from the Gospels, for the fulfilment of self, a living testimony, and the solution of problems - crossed from 'within'.

In short, we can announce Jesus' proposal, criteria, and Presence itself... in facts and in the integrity of life - not who knows when after death (Mk 8:38-9:1).

Other definitiveness.

To internalise and live the message:

What kind of call do you hear resonating in you?

Starting from the centre

6. How should we concretely configure this path of ascent and purification? How must love be lived, so that its human and divine promise is fully realised? A first important indication can be found in the Song of Songs, one of the books of the Old Testament well known to the mystics. According to the interpretation prevalent today, the poems contained in this book are originally love songs, perhaps intended for an Israelite wedding feast, in which they were to extol conjugal love. In this context, it is very instructive that, throughout the book, we find two different words for 'love'. First there is the word 'dodim' - a plural expressing love that is still insecure, in a situation of indeterminate search. This word is then replaced by the word " ahabà ", which in the Greek translation of the Old Testament is rendered with the similar-sounding term " agape ", which, as we have seen, became the characteristic expression for the biblical conception of love. In opposition to the indeterminate and still searching love, this word expresses the experience of love that now truly becomes a discovery of the other, overcoming the selfish character that was previously clearly dominant. Love now becomes care of the other and for the other. It no longer seeks self, immersion in the intoxication of happiness; instead, it seeks the good of the beloved: it becomes renunciation, it is ready for sacrifice, indeed it seeks it.

It is part of love's development towards higher levels, towards its intimate purifications, that it now seeks definitiveness, and this in a twofold sense: in the sense of exclusivity - 'only this one person' - and in the sense of 'forever'. Love encompasses the totality of existence in all its dimensions, including that of time. It could not be otherwise, because its promise aims at the definitive: love aims at eternity. Yes, love is "ecstasy", but ecstasy not in the sense of a moment of intoxication, but ecstasy as a journey, as a permanent exodus from the ego closed within itself towards its liberation in the gift of self, and precisely in this way towards the rediscovery of self, indeed towards the discovery of God: "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, whoever loses it will save it" (Lk 17:33), says Jesus - a statement of his that is found in the Gospels in different variants (cf. Mt 10:39; 16:25; Mk 8:35; Lk 9:24; Jn 12:25). Jesus thereby describes his personal path, which through the cross leads him to resurrection: the path of the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies and thus bears much fruit. Starting from the centre of his personal sacrifice and the love that reaches its fulfilment in it, he also describes with these words the essence of love and of human existence in general.

[Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas est].

From Son of David to Son of Man

The Church is Catholic because Christ embraces all humanity in his mission of salvation. While Jesus' mission in his earthly life was limited to the Jewish people, "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt 15:24), it was nevertheless oriented from the beginning to bring the light of the Gospel to all peoples and to bring all nations into the Kingdom of God. Confronted with the faith of the Centurion in Capernaum, Jesus exclaims: "Now I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and sit down at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 8:11). This universalistic perspective emerges, among other things, from the presentation Jesus made of himself not only as "Son of David", but as "son of man" (Mk 10:33), as we also heard in the Gospel passage just proclaimed. The title "Son of Man", in the language of the Jewish apocalyptic literature inspired by the vision of history in the Book of the Prophet Daniel (cf. 7:13-14), recalls the person who comes "with the clouds of heaven" (v. 13) and is an image that heralds an entirely new kingdom, a kingdom supported not by human powers, but by the true power that comes from God. Jesus uses this rich and complex expression and refers it to Himself to manifest the true character of His messianism, as a mission destined for the whole man and every man, overcoming all ethnic, national and religious particularism. And it is precisely in following Jesus, in allowing oneself to be drawn into his humanity and thus into communion with God, that one enters into this new kingdom, which the Church announces and anticipates, and which overcomes fragmentation and dispersion.

[Pope Benedict, address to the Consistory 24 November 2012].

On this Sunday, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the word of God calls us into question with two crucial questions that I shall sum up in these words: "Who do you say Jesus of Nazareth is?". Then: "Is your faith shown in your works, or not?". We find the first question in today's Gospel, where Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8: 29). Peter's answer is loud and clear: "You are the Christ", in other words the Messiah, the consecrated one of God, sent to save his People. Therefore Peter and the other Apostles, unlike the majority, believe not only that Jesus is a great teacher or a prophet but far more. They have faith: they believe that God is present and active in him. However, directly after this profession of faith when Jesus announces openly for the first time that he must suffer and be killed, Peter himself opposes the prospect of suffering and death. Jesus must then rebuke him sternly, to make him understand that it is not enough to believe that he is God but that, impelled by charity, it is necessary to follow him on the same path, that of the Cross (cf. Mk 8: 31-33). Jesus did not come to teach us philosophy but to show us a way, indeed the way that leads to life.

This way is love which is an expression of true faith. If someone loves his neighbour with a pure and generous heart it means that he truly knows God. If instead someone says he has faith but does not love his brethren, he is not a true believer. God does not dwell within him. St James clearly affirms this in the Second Reading of this Sunday's Mass: "Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (Js 2: 17). In this regard I would like to cite a passage from St John Chrysostom, one of the great Fathers of the Church, whom the liturgical calendar today invites us to commemorate. In commenting precisely on the verse from the Letter of James quoted above, he writes: "A person moreover may have a righteous faith in the Father and in the Son, as in the Holy Spirit, but if he does not have a righteous life, his faith will not serve him for salvation. Therefore, when you read in the Gospel: "This is eternal life, that they know you as the one true God' (Jn 17: 3), do not think that this verse suffices to save us: a most pure life and conduct are essential" (cit. in J.A. Cramer, Catenae graecorum Patrum in N.T., Vol. VIII: In Epist. Cath. et Apoc., Oxford 1844).

Dear friends, tomorrow we shall be celebrating the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and the following day, that of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Virgin Mary, who believed in the word of the Lord, did not lose her faith in God when she saw her Son rejected, abused and crucified. Rather she remained beside Jesus, suffering and praying, until the end. And she saw the radiant dawn of his Resurrection. Let us learn from her to witness to our faith with a life of humble service, ready to personally pay the price of staying faithful to the Gospel of love and truth, certain that nothing that we do will be lost.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 13 September 2009]

2. Jesus had already asked the group of the 12 Apostles to profess their faith in his person. At Caesarea Philippi, after questioning his disciples about the people's opinion of his identity, he asks: "But who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15). The reply comes from Simon Peter: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (16:16).

Jesus immediately confirms the value of this profession of faith, stressing that it stems not only from human thought idea but from heavenly inspiration: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 16:17). These statements, in strongly Semitic tones, indicate the total, absolute and supreme revelation: the one that concerns the person of Christ, Son of God.

Peter's profession of faith will remain the definitive expression of Christ's identity. Mark uses this same expression to begin his Gospel (cf. Mk 1:1) and John refers to it at the end of his, saying that he has written his Gospel so that you may believe "that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God", and that in believing you may have life in his name (cf. Jn 20:31).

3. In what does faith consist? The Constitution Dei Verbum explains that by faith, "man freely commits his entire self to God, making 'the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals'" (n. 5). Thus faith is not only the intellect's adherence to the truth revealed, but also a submission of the will and a gift of self to God revealing himself. It is a stance that involves one's entire existence.

The Council also recalls that this faith requires "the grace of God to move [man] and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and 'makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth'" (ibid.). In this way we can see how, on the one hand, faith enables us to welcome the truth contained in Revelation and proposed by the Magisterium of those who, as Pastors of God's People, have received a "sure charism of truth" (Dei Verbum, n. 8). On the other hand, faith also spurs us to true and deep consistency, which must be expressed in all aspects of a life modeled on that of Christ.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 18 March 1998]

Today’s Gospel presents us Jesus who, on his way towards Caesarea Philippi, asks the disciples: “Who do men say that I am?” (Mk 8:27). They respond with what the people are saying: some believe he is John the Baptist reborn, others Elijah or one of the great Prophets. The people appreciated Jesus, they considered him “God’s emissary”, but still were unable to recognize him as the foretold Messiah, awaited by all. Jesus looks at the Apostles and asks again: “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 29). This is the most important question, which Jesus directly addresses to those who have followed him, to verify their faith. Peter, in the name of all, exclaims candidly: “You are the Christ” (v. 29). Jesus is struck by Peter’s faith, and recognizes that it is the fruit of grace, a special grace of God the Father. Then he openly reveals to the disciples what awaits him in Jerusalem, which is that “the Son of man must suffer many things... be killed, and after three days rise again” (v. 31).

On hearing this, Peter, who had just professed his faith in Jesus as Messiah, is shocked. He takes the Master aside and rebukes him. And how does Jesus react? He in turn rebukes Peter, with very harsh words: “Get behind me, Satan!” — he calls him Satan! — “You think not as God does, but as men do” (cf. v. 33). Jesus sees in Peter, as in the other disciples — and in each one of us! — that temptation by the Evil One opposes the grace of the Father, that he wants to deter us from the will of God. Announcing that he must suffer, be put to death in order to then rise, Jesus wants his followers to understand that he is a humble Messiah, a servant. He is the Servant obedient to the word and the will of the Father, until the complete sacrifice of his own life. For this reason, turning toward the whole crowd there, He declares that one who wishes to become his disciple must accept being a servant, as He has made himself a servant, and cautions: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (v. 34).

To undertake the discipleship of Jesus means to take up your cross — we all have one — to accompany him on his path, an uncomfortable path that is not of success or of fleeting glory, but one which takes us to true freedom, to that which frees us from selfishness and sin. It is necessary to clearly reject that worldly mentality which places one’s “I” and one’s own interests at the centre of existence. That is not what Jesus wants from us! Instead Jesus invites us to lose our life for him and for the Gospel, to receive it renewed, fulfilled and authentic. We are certain, thanks to Jesus, that this path leads us to the resurrection, to the full and definitive life with God. Choosing to follow him, our Master and Lord who made himself the Servant of all, one to walk behind and to listen attentively to his Word — remember to read a passage from the Gospel every day — and in the Sacraments.

There are young people here in the Square, young men and women. I want to ask you: do you feel the desire to follow Jesus more closely? Think. Pray, and allow the Lord to speak to you.

May the Virgin Mary, who followed Jesus to Calvary, help us to always purify our faith of false images of God, in order to adhere fully to Christ and his Gospel.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 13 September 2015]

Going up and down, to go further or back

(Jn 3:13-17)

One of st Francis' first companions - fra' Egidio - said: «The way to go up is to go down». We ask ourselves: what’s the meaning of this paradox?

Today’s feast has the title of Exaltation. The Gospel speaks instead of «Elevation».

Of course, synonymous with being seen and noticed, but under a «contrary species». So, how to elevate life by staring at Jesus crucified?

Nicodemus’ passage suggests an answer.

The doctor of the Law, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin is «in the night»because he’s disinducated to the normal idea of a ‘successful’ man, according to the attributes of possession, power and glory.

However, the moment comes when even the costume is shaken by doubt, by the alternative of Christ.

The Cross no longer takes anything for granted. It’s a new Judgment, from which other possibilities emerge, precisely in the ons of unregulated vacillations.

Misadventures, upheavals, the adversities of life, the context of chaos... bring out a better relationship with actions and our destiny.

Uncertainty guide us closer to our essence - it invokes resources, pure air, relationships.

In short, scaffold situations can get creative.

Compromising «reputation» reshapes our soul, our point of view; it calls into question the idea we made of ourselves.

It opens up stunning new paths, sudden - otherwise suffocated achievements at the start.

Of course, for those who choose to be themselves, the fate of persecution, misunderstanding, mockery and slander, lack of credit and laurels, is marked - as if we were failures.

But in the Judgment of the Crucified One, this is the «right position» to become ‘sons’ who find human completeness, and give birth to corresponding fruits: often the best time in their story.

The Cross is a free Gift, for a Life as Saved persons. The Cross redeems from the attractions that extinguish our growth.

The Cross is the best opportunity for development.

In fact, realization and completion emerge from sides of ourselves [and situations] that we don’t want. Even from deep wounds, which invest a whole way of being, doing and appearing.

‘Trial’ is not the end of the world. It annihilates our powerful appearance, yet it lets out the virtue of the fragile side, first overshadowed for social catwalk needs.

Here is the Crucified One, who bleeds not only to heal, soften and remove ballasts, but to overthrow, replace horizons and supplant the entire system of addicted conformisms. And even (self-styled) alternative aspects, ways of thinking that seemed like who knows what.

Thus the embraced Cross saves us.

It seems like a sabotage to our "infallible" side, instead it’s the Antidote to the city dormant on the same paths as before - in the usual ways of being and taking the field [now without a future].

Raising the Cross goes far beyond resilience capacity.

[Exaltation of the Holy Cross,  September 14, 2024]

To go up and to go down, to go further or to go backwards

(Jn 3:13-17)

Nothing doing, despite two millennia of Christian symbols, formulas and rituals, especially in Italy we remain at the usual pole: Guelphs versus Ghibellines; even as a shaky destiny looms.

Why such a folded-up faith, incapable of freeing us from occasional stings? Why is it that - even when we are on our way to a mountain of debt - we continue to behave like those who do not stop pawing each other?

We need a good Conversion, with the inverted pyramids of 'supremacy' and glory: arrogant, aggressive, intransigent and haughty becoming humble, meek, benevolent and weak.

Never need? Have great need! All the more reason to cling to the Crucifix.

After all, one of Francis' first companions - Brother Aegidius - used to say: "The way to go up is to go down". We ask ourselves: what is the meaning of such a paradox?

Today's feast has the title of Exaltation (or Invention - derived from the Latin: finding). The Gospel, on the other hand, speaks of "Elevation".

Of course, synonymous with being seen and noticed, but under an 'opposite species'. So, how can one elevate one's life by staring at the crucified Jesus? The Nicodemus passage suggests an answer.

The doctor of the Law, Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin is "in the night" because he is uneducated to the normal idea of a successful man: if God is "somebody", the follower too... must resemble him in the attributes of possession, power and glory.

However, there comes a time when even popular or theological custom and the antiquated way of seeing things is shaken by doubt, by the alternative of Christ.

Is the person who evolves really the one who imposes himself? Is the successful man really the one who rises above others - treated as a stool - or is he not the one who has the freedom to come down and let us breathe?

Everything with spontaneity and fluidity, not effort: imposing climbs of renunciation and pain is not therapeutic and does not extract the best from us. On the contrary, it separates us from that plasticity and simplicity that produce the best things in the world.

The Cross is not a discipline of standard purifications, such as wanting to change one's life, sorting out relationships by suffocating the inconsistencies that belong to us, setting oneself up to hit targets and succeed (even spiritually) at all costs...

These are the usual clichéd improvement programmes that often do not make us natural, but full of artifice - and do not allow us to be open with ourselves, and therefore not even with others.

In Christ, the Cross opens up unbroken horizons, because it no longer takes anything for granted. It is a new Judgement, global and of merit.

Other possibilities emerge, which make us encounter the change that solves the real problems - precisely in the midst of unbridled vacillation.

When lived in Faith, the wavering mixture is a profoundly energetic, malleable and evolutionary reality.

It brings us into a situation of chaos, disorder in which, however, a better relationship with actions and our destiny emerges, even recovering all that we thought unattainable.

This happens in the indeterminacy that brings us closer to our essence - in the days when events become serious, and we call for resources, fresh air, more solid relationships.

We then need to take a leap, not retreat [to stand there and retreat (self-centred) in order to identify problems and faults, then hastily and unnaturally correct them].

It would be an absurd waste of virtues and opportunities for growth in the search for our territory.

Even on the spiritual path, in fact, we do everything to achieve complete life, total fulfilment, strong freedom. Not to be seen to be perfect.

The passage into the climate of social contempt will be inevitable.

The Crucified One does not say 'how we should be and yet are not' (in a conventional way): for we only approach our Vocation if we surprise ourselves and others - just when common, conformist opinion judges us inconsistent.

It does not mean that we are rejecting the gallows.

Convicting situations can become creative, so the gallows that belongs to us in that situation - although it compromises reputation - need not torment the soul beyond measure.

Mishaps, upheavals, contrarieties, bitter contexts... they reshape the soul and the point of view, questioning the idea (that we have already made) of ourselves.

Indeed, they open up astounding new paths - realisations otherwise stifled at the start, due to external convictions.

This is why there is something paradoxical and absurd in Jesus' proposal: to grow, reach fullness and complete oneself, one must lose; not be an opportunist, not be quick-witted, not take advantage. All insulting and puerile attitudes that do not regenerate, that bring us back to friction, to unreliable conformisms, and accentuate them.The logic of the Cross is puzzling: on the spur of the moment it seems to humiliate us. Conversely, it shields us from the poison of a vain religiosity, of fine manners and bad habits.

Empty, consolatory or merely theatrical spirituality, which produces conflictual but inert environments [they make the arms fall off: useless and haunting].

Everyone knows that one must learn to accept the inevitable contrarieties of existence. But this is not the meaning of the Cross.

God does not redeem through pain, but with Love - that which does not fold and crumple, but expands life and unexpressed capacities.

The providential Cross is not given by God, but actively taken up and accepted by the disciple. In the Gospels it signifies the acceptance of the inevitable shame involved in following Jesus - even in a comically vain, albeit papier-mache scenario.

For those who choose to be themselves in the world of 'seeming' and name-calling, the (outward) fate of persecution, misunderstanding, mockery and slander, lack of credit and laurels - as if we were failures - is sealed.

But in the Judgement of the Crucified One, this is the right position to become children who find human completeness, stand firm in their choices of specific weight - and bear corresponding fruit: often the best time in their history.

A free gift, for a Saved Life, the Cross redeems us from the lure of appreciation in society that willingly on the side of the banal and extrinsic bestows ample credits, which however extinguish our complete personal growth.

It saves us from the dangers of crumbling pedestals, on which it is not worthwhile to keep climbing in order to be noticed and unnecessarily - cunningly - pleasured. As would any manipulator who loves mightiness; even a pious one, full of attributes of vigour, but inexorably old and doomed to death - bogged down and sterile - incapable of generating new creatures and reviving himself.

The best opportunities for development, fulfilment and completion emerge from sides of ourselves and situations we do not want. Exactly; even from deep wounds, which affect a whole way of being, doing and appearing.

It is not the end of the world. Today, the global crisis has already annihilated our powerful side, yet it is bringing out the virtue of the fragile side; previously overshadowed for the sake of social catwalks.

Here is the Crucified One, who bleeds not only to heal, soften and remove ballasts, but to overthrow, replace horizons and supplant the entire system of addicted conformisms; and 'stitches' even self-styled alternatives, ways of thinking that seemed like who knows what.

All this, by Faith. Not with identified tension and design, but by baptismal attitude to the new integrity that comes: given, welcomed, recognised.

Thus the embraced Cross saves us.

It appears to be a sabotage to our 'infallible' side, instead it is the Antidote to the city slumbering on the same paths as before - in the usual ways of being and taking the field (now without a future).

Lifting up the Cross goes far beyond resilience.

[Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 14 September]