Face to face, Father in relationship

(Mt 18:1-5.10.12-14)

The Gospel passage dictates the line of the entire ecclesial discourse of Mt (18:1-35). The key term of vv.1-5 is paidìon - diminutive of pàis - which stands for the shop boy, the little boy of about 9-11 years of age, who even at home had to take off after every order received.

Jesus crushes the ambitions of greatness of his covetous apostles, who want to seize him for themselves. Yes, they always tail him, but they do not follow him - on the contrary, they would like to seize him and put him on a leash.

The model of the Kingdom is not the commander, but the servant; the one who does not act with a current mentality, out of a spirit of self-interest or promotion.

It is not a sin to desire to give meaning to one's life, but there is a reversal: greater is the lesser - he who does not covet pre-eminent places, remains humble in feeling, condition and position.

Even in spiritual life, he who wants to get there immediately or does good (not out of gratuitousness but only) to secure future positions, scatters his Pearl. The overt importance is a deception: the true 'greats' of the church community do not belong to the world of the 'best', the perfectly installed in society - the quick-witted who come forward and know how to impose themselves.

From v.6 the author speaks of mikròi: the voiceless. They are those who carry no weight, perhaps those who cannot even get accepted into some exclusive 'spiritual' pressure group or clique.

These 'little ones' are those who sooner or later - despite prior exclusion - find their way to the community of the faithful in Christ. They have heard of the spirit of collaboration, synergy and communion that exists between sisters and brothers of Faith. They would like to experience the benefit of this new way of coexistence without humiliating, recovery-oriented demands...

They try to start, but sometimes they shy away from it. Fatigued by the rigmarole, unable to have a personal relationship with the Lord (because in front of them and on every occasion they find themselves with the usual hedge of managers to whom they should pay duties and submit), often irritated by the empty vanity of those who not infrequently turn out to be unscrupulous and very dangerous people.

Jesus does not go easy on them: the excluded are the only ones who make them shout for joy, and they are worth much more than the whole flock of those included (vv.12-14).

The reminder also applies to us: it is precisely in the isolated, lost and seemingly most insignificant people that the great spontaneous content flourishes.

In them lurks the sap that regenerates the world, and the Newness of God is revealed (who also wants to guide us today in our vocational and social exodus).

Simplicity and upheaval: Rebirth without mortification

It is not a question of finding excuses to justify laziness in the spiritual search and exodus: small, spontaneous and natural - but rich inside - one becomes, lowering oneself (Mt 18:3-4 Greek text) from one's character.

It is the art of making life dense and complex, multifaceted and vast, then simplifying, without dispersing. Often all it takes is to look differently or to look elsewhere, to find a thousand unexpected and self-regenerating outlets.

In fact, the solution to the complications that suffocate the soul and the experience of the fullness of being we seek, is not external, but inherent in our own question. It not infrequently belongs to pre-understandings rather than reality or the tide that comes, which simply wants to drag us into the territory of growth.

We are obnubilated by thoughts. But there is an innate knowledge that watches over our uniqueness and does not intoxicate the soul. There is a secret time and space that inhabits us: they resonate with the Gospels. There is no need to "catch up" with all time.

If we surrender to such a wise instinct, comforted by the Word, the Core of Being will come forth with its primordial energies - recreating the earth like the mythical Child of the World: a little Jesus - within and without us. Thus the disaster of the Coronavirus is also annihilated, and we are resurrected: each in his own way (which is not 'his' in the sense of arbitrariness).

And when, in particular cases, we are able to welcome the happenings as a Call to come out of our cages so that we perceive the elsewhere, we will find an intimate result that unravels and re-launches the personal way and the possibilities of exchanging new, non-stereotypical gifts - without even experiencing the tiredness and subtle dissatisfactions we know.

Projected totally into external problems, we overload our mind and spirit with expectations induced by the (once) in vogue cultural paradigm to which we are accustomed. Thus existence quickly becomes conformist again, stagnant in the usual means and goals, devoid of new peaks, authentic relationships and unimagined vitality.The diktat of the objective induced by the roles we imagined we had acquired exhausts us, and the instituted idea of perfection sterilises the humus - it impoverishes us, putting actual needs in brackets; thus making ways of being prevail, consolidated roles already expressed, drying up relationships (making environments murky again).

Fixed ideas condition life and do not allow the inner organism - psychic and spiritual - to feed on transparent (unprejudiced) truths and sincere feelings, which would like to give us breath.

Freeing ourselves from the usual ways of going about things, from apodictic judgments and convictions, would allow us to break the chains that hold back the luminous and rainbow faculties, as well as the ability to correspond to the unrepeatable vocation, opening up other views.

The 'emptiness' advocated by the Tao resembles only in earshot the 'emptiness' of other (decidedly more depersonalising) Eastern wisdom because the teaching of the Way does not lose the sense of uniqueness and exceptionality of the individual seed. On the contrary, it fully respects its propulsive vocation remaining oneself, not only in spite of - but because of - the obligatory abyss we have experienced.

By minimising, on the other hand, the intentions of re-editing the old maquillage - and all non-epochal conditioning (which does not call us, nor would we like to) - we clear the soul of its ballast. We bring out its exceptional specific weight and unrepeatable character, to lighten it and fill it only with what is needed to activate the new paths that await us.

The slowing down and letting go that Lao Tse advocates does not lead to the insignificant flattening of differences, but to dilating the sacred and natural times of wise action, and appreciating its value.

Stages and goals that do not correspond to us will not provide fulfilment, forcing us to amplify our relationships only to cover the problem with ourselves, or even the couple, group, movement, community and work environment.

While we wish to clothe (and not depose) with a sense of permanence the character of before - a cliché that does not correspond to us - we turn in circles, loading ourselves with outsized expectations and useless stress (which makes no room for the love with which we meet ourselves, things, sisters and brothers, the many events).

Natural Wisdom, even bitter events, and the Bible, remind us that the face... every path, name and rhythm is ours alone. So too is the synthesis: each one is called to write his or her own unrepeatable glad tidings for the benefit of the woman and man of all times (Jn 20:30-31).

Please note: Fraternity is not levelling:

"But there are many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written down one by one, I think that not even the world itself could contain the books that should be written" (Jn 21:25).

That would be Happiness in the new eminent Beauty, from discomfort.

In biblical language, the figure of the Angel (v.10) expresses God Himself in dialogue with the personal soul; His Presence in us, in situation - and here our paradoxical fruitfulness.

The Angel is our own eminent and total Self, who knows how to retrieve opposites, who grasps secrets, suggests, guides; he knows our fruitful versatility, and in this way knows where to go.

In short, authentic life is shrouded in Mystery, even in the step-by-step.

The existence that distinguishes us is not all in the circle of visible achievements, of apparent affirmations, and of material, trivial things, more or less at hand.

Complete Life introduces us into the Calling by Name that leads to fulfilment and blossoming, opens us up to the Relationship that counts.

To internalise and live the message:

Why do you think Jesus speaks of Angels in heaven, and Joy in reference to the one sheep?

Why does Jesus speak of Joy in reference to the one sheep?

Value of imperfect uniqueness

(Mt 18:12-14)

The change of course and destiny of the Kingdom. A God in search of the lost and unequal, to expand our life. Christology of the Pallium, power of caresses, joyful energy (in dissociation).

Says the Tao Tê Ching (x): "Preserve the One by dwelling in the two souls: are you able to keep them apart?"

Even in the spiritual journey, Jesus is careful not to propose a dictated or planned universalism, as if his were an ideal model, "for the purpose of homogenisation" [Fratelli Tutti n.100].

The type of Communion that the Lord proposes to us does not aim at "a one-dimensional uniformity that seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial search for unity".

Because "the future is not 'monochromatic' but if we have the courage it is possible to look at it in the variety and diversity of the contributions that each one can make. How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace without us all being equal!" [from an Address to Young People in Tokyo, November 2019].Although the piety and hope of the representatives of official religiosity was founded on a structure of human, ethnic, cultural securities and a vision of the Mystery consolidated by a great tradition, Jesus crumbles all predictability.

In the Son, God is revealed no longer as exclusive property, but as the Power of Love that forgives the marginalised and lost: saving and creating, liberating. And through the disciples, he unfolds his Face that recovers, breaks down the usual barriers, calls out to miserable multitudes.

It seems an impossible utopia to realise in concrete terms (today of the health and global crisis), but it is the sense of the handover to the Church, called to become an incessant prod of the Infinite and ferment of an alternative world, for integral human development:

"Let us dream as one humanity, as wayfarers made of the same human flesh, as children of this same earth that hosts us all, each with the richness of his faith or convictions, each with his own voice, all brothers!" [FT No.8].

Through an absurd question (rhetorically formulated) Jesus wants to awaken the conscience of the 'just': there is a counterpart of us that supposes of itself, very dangerous, because it leads to exclusion, to abandonment.

Instead, inexhaustible Love seeks. And it finds the imperfect and restless.

The swamp of stagnant energy that is generated by accentuating boundaries does not make anyone grow: it locks in the usual positions and leaves everyone to make do or lose themselves. Out of self-interested disinterest - that impoverishes everyone.

This causes the creative virtues to fall into despair.

It plunges those outside the circle of the elect - those who had nothing superior - into despair. Indeed, the evangelists portray them as utterly incapable of beaming with human joy at the progress of others.

Calculating, acting and conforming - the fundamentalist or overly sophisticated and disembodied leaders use religion as a weapon.

Instead, God is at the antipodes of the fake sterilised - or disembodied thinking - and seeking one who wanders shakily, easily becomes disoriented, loses his way. 

Sinful yet true, therefore more disposed to genuine Love. This is why the Father is searching for the insufficient.

The person who is so limpid and spontaneous - even if weak - hides his best part and vocational richness precisely behind his apparently detestable sides. Perhaps that he himself does not appreciate.

This is the principle of Redemption that astounds and makes interesting our often distracted paths, conducted by trial and error - in Faith, however, generating self-esteem, credit, fullness and joy.

The commitment of the purifier and the impetus of the reformer are 'trades' that seemingly oppose each other, but are easy... and typical of those who think that the things to be challenged and changed are always outside themselves.

For example, in mechanisms, in general rules, in the legal framework, in worldviews, in formal (or histrionic) aspects instead of the craft of the concrete particular good; and so on.

They seem to be excuses not to look inside oneself and get involved, not to meet one's deepest states in all aspects and not only in the guidelines. And to recover or cheer up individuals who are concretely lost, sad, in all dark and difficult sides.

But God is at the antipodes of sterilised mannerists or fake idealists, and in search of the insufficient: he who wanders and loses his way. Sinful yet true, therefore more disposed to genuine Love.

The transparent and spontaneous person - even if weak - hides his best part and vocational richness precisely behind the apparently detestable aspects (perhaps which he himself does not appreciate).

So let us ask for solutions to the mysterious, unpredictable interpersonal energies that come into play; from within things.

Without interfering with or opposing ideas of the past or future that we do not see. Rather by possessing its soul, its spontaneous drug.

This is the principle of Salvation that astounds and makes interesting our paths [often distracted, led by trial and error] - ultimately generating self-esteem, credit and joy.

The idea that the Most High is a notary or prince of a forum, and makes a clear distinction between righteous and transgressors, is caricature.

After all, a life of the saved is not one's own making, nor is it exclusive possession or private ownership - which turns into duplicity.

It is not the squeamish attitude, nor the cerebral attitude, that unites one to Him. The Father does not blandish suppliant friendships, nor does He have outside interests.

He rejoices with everyone, and it is need that draws Him to us. So let us not be afraid to let Him find us and bring us back (cf. Lk 15:5) to His house, which is our house.

If there is a loss, there will be a finding, and this is not a loss for anyone - except for the envious enemies of freedom (v.10).For the LORD is not pleased with marginalisation, nor does he intend to extinguish the smoking lamp.

Jesus does not come to point the finger at the bad times, but to make up for them, by leveraging intimate involvement. Invincible force of faithfulness.

This is the style of a Church with a Sacred Heart, lovable, elevated and blessed.

[What attracts one to participate and express oneself is to feel understood, restored to full dignity - not condemned].

Carlo Carretto said: 'It is by feeling loved, not criticised, that man begins his journey of transformation'.

As the encyclical Fratelli Tutti emphasises again:

Jesus - our Engine and Motive - "had an open heart, which made the dramas of others its own" (n.84).

And he adds as an example of our great Tradition:

"People can develop certain attitudes which they present as moral values: fortitude, sobriety, industriousness and other virtues. But in order to properly direct the acts [...] we must also consider to what extent they realise a dynamism of openness and union [...] Otherwise we will only have appearances'.

"St Bonaventure explained that the other virtues, without charity, strictly speaking do not fulfil the commandments as God intends them" (n.91).

In sects or one-sidedly inspired groups, human and spiritual riches are deposited in a secluded place, so they grow old and debased.

In the assemblies of the sons, on the other hand, they are shared: they grow and communicate; by multiplying, they green up, for universal benefit.

To internalise and live the message:

What attracts you to the Church? In comparisons with the top of the class, do you feel judged or adequate?

Do you feel the Love that saves, even if you remain uncertain?

I mentioned earlier that today the liturgy invites us to remember the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Each of them, as we read in the Bible, carried out a particular mission in the history of salvation. Dear brothers and sisters, let us confidently invoke their help, as well as the protection of the Guardian Angels, whose feast we will celebrate in a few days, on 2 October. The invisible presence of these blessed spirits is of great help and comfort to us: they walk at our side and protect us in all circumstances, they defend us from dangers and we can turn to them at any time. Many saints had a relationship of true friendship with the Angels, and there are numerous episodes that testify to their assistance on particular occasions. Angels are sent by God "to serve those who will inherit salvation", as the Letter to the Hebrews (1:14) reminds us, and are therefore of valuable assistance to us on our earthly pilgrimage to the heavenly homeland.

[Pope Benedict, Castel Gandolfo, greeting 29 September 2008]

5. We note that Sacred Scripture and Tradition properly call angels those pure spirits who in the fundamental test of freedom have chosen God, his glory and his kingdom. They are united with God through the consuming love that flows from the blissful, face-to-face vision of the Holy Trinity. Jesus himself says: "The angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven" (Mt 18:10). That "always seeing the face of the Father" is the highest manifestation of the worship of God. It can be said that it constitutes that "heavenly liturgy", performed on behalf of the whole universe, with which the Church's earthly liturgy is unceasingly associated, especially in its culminating moments. Suffice it to recall here the act by which the Church, every day and every hour, throughout the world, before beginning the Eucharistic prayer at the heart of Holy Mass, calls upon "the angels and archangels" to sing the glory of God thrice holy, thus uniting herself to those first worshippers of God, in worship and in loving knowledge of the ineffable mystery of his holiness.

6. Again according to revelation, the angels, who participate in the life of the Trinity in the light of glory, are also called to have their part in history in the salvation of mankind, at the moments established by the design of divine providence. "Are they not all spirits entrusted with a ministry sent to serve those who are to come into the possession of salvation?", asks the author of the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb 1:14). And this is what the Church believes and teaches, on the basis of Holy Scripture from which we learn that the task of the good angels is the protection of men and concern for their salvation. We find these expressions in various passages of Holy Scripture, for example in Psalm 90 already quoted several times: "He shall give command to his angels to guard thee in all thy ways. On their hands they will carry thee, that thou stumble not in the stone thy foot" (Psalm 90: 11-12). Jesus himself, speaking of the children and warning them not to give them scandal, refers to "their angels" (Mt 18:10); he also attributes to the angels the function of witnesses in the supreme divine judgement on the fate of those who have recognised or denied Christ: "Whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God" (Lk 12:8-9). These words are significant because if the angels take part in God's judgement, they are interested in man's life. Interest and participation that seem to receive an accentuation in the eschatological discourse, in which Jesus makes the angels intervene in the parousia, that is, in the definitive coming of Christ at the end of history (cf. Mt 24:31; 25:31. 41).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 6 August 1986]

The Pope's reflection took its starting point from the first reading of the day, taken from the book of Exodus (23:20-23), in which "the Lord promises a very special help to his people and to all of us who walk on the road of life". For we read: "Behold, I send an angel ahead of you to keep you on the path and to bring you into the place I have prepared". And the Church celebrates precisely these 'our companions on the way, our protectors on the path: the angels, who guard us and are right with us, on the path'. Because, added Francis, 'it is true: life is a journey, and we must be helped to walk well, because on the journey there are pitfalls, there are dangers'. A path in which man easily runs the risk of losing his coordinates: 'We need a compass: but a human compass, or a compass that resembles the human and that helps us to see where we have to go'.

First of all, man must face a first danger: that of "not walking". Indeed, "how many people settle down and do not walk, and the whole life is still, without moving, without doing anything.... This is a danger'. These, the Pontiff explained, are situations similar to the one described in the Gospels, where it speaks of the man 'who was afraid to invest his talent'. After burying it, he repeated to himself: 'I am at peace, I am calm. I will not make a mistake. So I don't risk it'. The same happens to so many people who 'do not know how to walk or are afraid to take risks and stop'. But, said the Pope, 'we know that the rule is that whoever is stationary in life ends up corrupting himself. Like water: when the water is still there, the mosquitoes come, they lay eggs, and everything becomes corrupted. Everything'. It is precisely in such circumstances, he added, that 'the angel helps us, urges us to walk'.

But this is not the only risk in the journey of life. "There is another danger", which is that of "taking the wrong path". Here too, Francis recalled experiences common to all people: 'We too - let us tell the truth - how many times have we taken a wrong turn, for not listening to the inspiration of our fellow traveller or the advice of our brothers and sisters'. Again, the man is comforted by a certainty: "The angel is there to help us not to take the wrong path. He is with us for this: because if you make a mistake, at the beginning it is easy to correct, but after so many years - so many years - you go far away, somewhere other than where you should go".

Continuing his reflection, the Pontiff identified a further dangerous attitude. Indeed, he said, 'there are some who walk, but not on the road: they walk in the square. They do the walk of life in the square. And they go, they go to the square, always like that. And some are more creative: they go into the square, but inside the square they go one way and the other, like in a labyrinth'. Once again a concrete image to recall and better understand an inner, spiritual reality: "The labyrinth never leads you to the end: you remain trapped there. It therefore happens that man is convinced: "I am not standing still, I am walking", but he does not realise that he is not walking "on the road". In this situation too, the angel comes to "help us walk the road".

Of course, the Pope explained, that of the angel is a reality that must be recognised: "We must pray to him: 'But help me'". Even in Scripture we read: 'Have respect for his presence'. Because 'the angel is authoritative, he has authority to guide us', but we must 'listen to him', we must 'listen to the inspirations, which are always from the Holy Spirit, but it is the angel who inspires us'.

At this point, Francis addressed those present directly: 'But I would like to ask you all a question: do you talk to your angel? Do you know the name your angel has? Do you listen to your angel? Do you allow yourselves to be led by the hand on the road or to be pushed to move?". It was a call to bring everyone to an important awareness, because "the angel's presence in our lives is not only to help us on the way" but also "to show us where we must arrive".

In this regard, the Pontiff also recalled the Gospel of the day (Matthew, 18, 1-5.10) in which Jesus, faced with the disciples who ask: "But who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", takes a child and says "a very beautiful thing". Indeed, he says: "This is the greatest" and, continuing, invites them not to despise children because "their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven". This is an important detail: 'Our angel,' the Pope emphasised, 'is not only with us, but sees God the Father. He is in relationship with him. He is the daily bridge, from the hour we get up to the hour we go to bed, who accompanies us and is in connection between us and God the Father". Therefore 'the angel is the daily door to transcendence, to the encounter with the Father': that is, he 'helps me to go because he looks at the Father and knows the way'.

Hence Francis' final exhortation - "let us not forget these companions on our journey" - and the advice: "Let each one think: do I pray to my angel? Do I listen to inspirations? Do I stop when I feel that there is something he is saying to me? And do I know, am I sure that he is a bridge to the Father, because he is looking at the Father?". This was the Pope's concluding prayer: "May the Lord give us all, on this feast of the guardian angels, the grace to understand this mystery of the guardianship of the angel, of companionship on the road, and of contemplation of the angel. Contemplation to God the Father."

[Pope Francis, s. Marta, in L'Osservatore Romano 03/10/2018]

(Lk 9:51-62)

Jesus intends to make a scratch against the tide - and to do so he has to fight: it was not enough for him to make a career out of “combing” sheep.

He understands that it is the hairpin bends and crises without stability that produce the Result of God - when the tenacity of Faith comes into play.

The young Rabbi leaves his region to confront severely and uncompromisingly the established reality of the holy city - an eternal web of interests.

It will be a fight to the death, because people's happiness is at stake.

He hardens his face without do-goodisms [v.51 cf. Greek text] and goes, knowing full well what a cruel task he was taking on.

Nobody with a “head on their shoulders” would have had the guts to expose themselves to that deadly danger.

The opposition of the power that wants to be perpetuate itself is fierce, but the Son of God does not let himself be crushed by prudence.

The climate with which his Exodus begins is already heavy, but he doesn’t desist.

The Lord still sends messengers [Angels] «before his face» (v.52). He does not renounce to spread the vital wave of his proposal.

In fact, he valued the 'stable' spiritual relationships of his time as very ambiguous: they ignited inner conflicts - although as today they extinguished outer ones, blunting them (just for a while).

And in Person of Christ, ‘Apostle’ is the one who pulls a situation in the opposite direction to the customary or to the fascinating, disembodied, sophisticated; however external.

By creating the turmoil that solves the real problems, the Master first detaches himself from anyunquism.

Not because the conflict can then been "leaded back", "managed", "adjusted" - with a different winner (vv.54-55).

With an open face, the very squabbles that erupt will serve to dispel the fog, kindle souls, generate different paths (v.56).

So - even suddenly - the possibility of putting together new forces, new resources and “ancient” awareness will be created.

The Father makes use of cross paths, wich intersect and overlap. For a Genesis of Happiness at all costs, even in hard snout.

By letting out our gritty character - not only in extreme cases - the Helmsman of the soul, the irreducible Friend, will be able to guide the everyone’s personal route and journey. Encouraging the achievement of stubborn and liberating goals.

If, on the other hand, history had already been written and the way remained external, the experiences would always be the same.

Life would not give birth to other forms; only reductions.

And forced domestication can rob us of hidden wealth, stealing our personal destiny: this is the real mistake to avoid!

Otherwise, having lost the energy-Person that leads to the destination, Uniqueness would pale into the mediations that hold us hostage.

To internalize and live the message:

What’s the style of your testimony? Are you outraged, short-tempered, and furious, or just determined?

 [Tuesday 26th wk. in O.T.  October 1st, 2023]

Lk 9:51-56 (51-62)

Jesus wants to make a good scratch against the tide - and to do so he has to fight: it was not enough for him to make a career out of "combing" sheep.

He understands that it is the twists and turns and crises without stability that produce the Result of God - when the tenacity of Faith comes into play.

The young Rabbi leaves his region to severely and uncompromisingly confront the established reality of the holy city - an eternal web of interests.

It will be a fight to the death, for what is at stake is the happiness of the people.

He hardens his face without kindness [v.51 cf. Greek text] and goes, knowing full well what a cruel commitment he was taking on.

No one with a 'head on his shoulders' would have had the guts to expose himself to that mortal danger.

The opposition of the religious and cultural power that wants to perpetuate the ancient world is fierce, but the Son of God does not allow himself to be crushed by the dominant and hasty way of conceiving, nor by prudence.

The climate with which he begins his Exodus is already heavy, but he does not desist.

This means that we too must love our edgy and unshakable sides. They will come into play at the appropriate time, when it is necessary to de-cide.

In frankness, we will not lack the opportunity to make serious cuts - e.g. with the 'banking' (or qualunquist) malpractice covered in ostentation; with the good manners of official devotion [organic to perpetuating its ambiguous system], and so on.

The Lord still sends messengers [Angels] "before his face" (v.52). He does not give up spreading the life-wave of his proposal.

Divine Face, here He is partly hostile; more than resolute, for a clash with that institution that degraded humanity.

In fact, he valued the 'stable' spiritual relationships of his time as very ambiguous: they ignited inner conflicts - although (as today) they extinguished the outer ones, blunting them (only for a while).

In the Person of Christ, Apostle is one who pulls the situation in the opposite direction to the customary or fascinated, disembodied, sophisticated; however external.

By creating the disarray that solves the real problems, the Master first and foremost breaks away from qualunquism.

This is not because the conflict can then be 'brought back', 'managed', 'adjusted' - with a different winner (vv.54-55).

God has no need to reassert Himself, not even through a leader who fades the style of the old Temple, replacing one method of government with another - more or less purified and convincing.

Jesus does not present himself to the world and to everyone's heart as a mere Prophet.

He does not want to rabble-rouse the return to worship, nor the practice of the old religion. Neither does he intend to keep a safe distance, launching grand narratives, modernised, futuristic, 'à la page'.

He knows that only with an open face, the very bickering that erupts will serve to dispel the fog: to kindle souls, to generate different paths (v.56).

Then - even suddenly - new forces, new resources, and - why not - even ancient awarenesses will be created.

In short, the soporific mysticism of non-militant sloth (detached from the losing and losing ourselves that regenerates us) is false.

They do not correspond to the Gospels and do not prepare the Coming of the Lord, that is, other territories to be explored.

Those who continue to venerate securities, points of reference or new mannerisms [in themselves though plausible (vv.57-62)] are only managing a world of the dead.

Whoever welcomes Christ must open himself to a Newness that he does not know, internal and external; capable of bringing out aspects that he has not yet given space to.

In passing, Jesus is rejected (v.53) precisely because he is falsely announced by his own. Still breathless intimates.

The new Master has a practical vision that does not reflect any of the archaic cults, but supplants them.

In doing so, he disrupts a whole false identity approach: commemorative and nostalgic, or spineless.

It is the only episode in Luke in which the Samaritans (synonymous with 'heretics') dribble the Son of God. A complete failure.

This is precisely because the 'messengers' he had sent to dispose hearts had preached him as a nationalist and triumphant Messiah, not a servant.

Moreover, there is something radically unusual about Him - something that cannot be discussed or fought against in an ordinary, doctrinal, customary way.

The Master does not go to some 'holy' citadel to sterilise or perpetuate the old sectarian and intolerant ideology. But to reject it.

He incinerates (vv.54-55) and annihilates the acclaimed configurations, not the peoples removed from the precincts (venerable, fundamentalist, or hypocritical and scape-goating only imaginative).

The Lord does not proceed to the great Temple to shrug off hostilities with his own respectable proposal, which would then make everyone swallow everything.

The young Rebbe never liked that kind of elucubration or wait-and-see and regret of pious desires and good intentions that wastes the soul (generation after generation).He who ploughs a field and turns back does not plough a straight furrow (v.62).

Quite decisively, the Master goes out of his way to denounce that world of slavery, deviant and ideological; incapable of development.

Our alternatives to his reckless attitude have brought further disconnection between signs and life.

Let us not be under the illusion of intermediate stages or domiciles, heartfelt and quiet nests (v.58) of pale consolation.

Faith challenges courage, even to the point of violence towards one's own spontaneous letting go of annoyances and big things, which would torment social irenicism [of the fixed place] with inconveniences and counter appeals.

Annoyances that surprise and guide life Elsewhere.

Urges for the Exodus; a new beginning filled with Desire; a different inner knowing that ignites the outer; a tolerance in the vital diversity of characters.

Instead of the tickle of béchamel, cream-filled husbands, soft candies and sugar-and-honey confectionery, all pleasant, God acts through convulsions.

The Father uses transverse, intersecting and overlapping ways. For a Genesis of Happiness at all costs, even with a hard face.

By letting our gritty nature come out - not only in extreme cases - the Helmsman of the soul, the die-hard Friend, can steer the personal course and the journey of all.

Favouring the achievement of stubborn and liberating goals.

No matter how much one may be conditioned by surrounding expectations, sooner or later one realises that one's heart beats elsewhere than in convention.

It no longer wants to submit; it begins to deviate from the transmitted idea of integrity or social (and ecclesial) cynicism - which rhymes with local respectability.

This also happens to priests, for example, when they realise they have entered a gear that sacralises habits and does not make them grow. Or when they feel they have become the pivot of ephemeral, and anxiogenic, instead of liberating practices.

A stagnant employee instead of a shepherd, an opportune and silent situationist instead of a missionary; the coryphaeus of an inherited situation with the task of keeping the bell tower happy...

In the provinces, also placed in the trenches, but only to act as a filter - to protect 'central' nuisances and affairs, as opposed to peripheral needs or pressures.

He then realises that he is losing himself, his identity of character - the reason why he is in the world.

In spite of material security, he feels anguish and frustration coming on in his conscience (crisis of 'character' in the way: an unmistakable sign that this is not the way).

Tedium or aversion comes to his heart so that he resets the same malaise, and relies on a solidity quite different from inheritance; from the stalemate and rhetoric of the forces in the field.

There is a different way to feel close to people, like Jesus: to be oneself, so that others may also be; setting everyone on paths of inner freedom.

Freedom that sustains the particular essence, making a dam against the established ways, and the pressing reality - only to be confirmed, indeed blessed (at best, repackaged).

Communion here will be a conviviality of differences, made authentic by innate forces.

It is the space granted to the Mystery that makes us independent and fraternal - because we now derive our attraction from the common, hidden but abundant Source.

And what happens moves us, but no longer oppresses or destroys the living Vision before each one's eyes.

The bride-soul's obedience is not lacking, but it becomes an immediate relationship with the Lord who calls and guides to full life. Helping to recognise what instinctively corresponds, and distinguishing what is not important and should be dropped.

The inner gaze and Christ within will sustain, so that we become autonomous and develop a new heaven - whose features we have perceived from the beginning. They that have led us not to act to preserve the old world.

Our innate Echo will constitute such a call that it will assume decisive power over calculations, fears, anxieties, bitterness, persecutions.

The result will be happily educational, even in favour of the adversaries, who will at least begin to presume the meaning of our going out into the world.

With open hands - not full.

"Woe to you, sheep combers" - would say the Pontiff, who gladly added to some of those in charge: "Be fathers, not masters, nor princes". And not even 'administrators of cordatas'!

Calculation and common sense would lead towards the safest and most tested direction, but the vocational fire within unceasingly can recover the instances of the Ideal Core. 

Too much disorder? As Pope Francis reiterated: "for the Spirit, disorder is a beautiful sign.

The torn soul, which no longer recognises itself, if it is too mortified by accommodating banalities and half-choices, then attacks us. And it itself exacerbates suffering.The resulting imbalance is an indication of the unconscious re-emergence of the desire to recover the authentic Calling; as opposed to programmed quietism.

We may have allowed ourselves to be dragged into such a swamp of summateness out of convenience - and the latter has displaced us from ourselves, as well as from the wonder of our personal Work.

Resemblance to forms and customs - even of agreed trivial improvement - becomes the prison of the Creator's design. He wanted to lead us to Him, into ourselves.

Conversely, the role has domesticated us according to matrices to be absorbed uncritically, to the point of making our essence sick.

The dismay then is an alarm: we have entered the 'role'. The heartbeat provokes us; the breathlessness comes to revive us; the panic attacks so that we awaken.

The soul thus wants to realise our dormant and stifled Dream. A desire that would change our lives.

It demands in us that we unhinge the locked doors of 'task' - which precludes the only Happiness: to feel established in one's Centre.

Every scheme (whether acquired or fashionable) annoys the worlds to be discovered, deforms the image of our destination; it violates the journey towards the dwelling that is ours, in order to make it 'equal', hence fictitious.

So an unbalanced, introverted, irascible and fearful character meets perhaps better than others the dreams he did not know, the guide-images that hide a task elsewhere configured, and the best of himself, of Mystery itself.

Repairing, 'setting things right' and 'optimising' are the typical clichés of a stagnant world. So is not confronting; repairing and balancing.

Instead, one must be reborn, not go back to the way it was before, in the common resilience.

The focus must be on the energy that gives birth to us again, on the unknown road that opens up and we had not thought of.

No one spoils us, even if they intended to.

Rather, we are urged to bring out the hidden resources, uncovering the still hidden world.

Opening up an entirely singular story that will change habitual existence.

A quiet mind does not project further, because it loves repetition and the fake securities of yesteryear.

The non-dual mind does not let us discover inner forces. The soul, on the other hand, wants to give birth, to express its creative power.

Unforeseen situations and unforeseen relationships lay it under siege, but in a state of gestation - not first 'marked'.

Those who do not leave the road already beaten, those who do not put it behind them (even seizing the opportunity of adverse conditions such as the global crisis) are forced into a cause-effect chain that does not make exponential leaps.

If history has already been written and the path remains external, the experiences are always the same.

Life does not give birth to other forms; only reductions.

To internalise and live the message:

What is the style of your testimony?

Are you indignant, irascible and furious, or simply assertive?

The Bible readings [...] invite us to meditate on a fascinating theme which can be summed up like this: "freedom and following Christ". The Evangelist Luke tells us that "as the time approached when he was to be taken from this world", Jesus "firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem" (Lk 9: 51). In the phrase "firmly resolved", we can glimpse Christ's freedom.

Indeed, he knows that in Jerusalem, death on a cross awaits him, but in obedience to the Father's will, he offers himself for love. It is in his very obedience to the Father that Jesus achieves his own freedom as a conscious decision motivated by love.

Who is freer than the One who is the Almighty? He did not, however, live his freedom as an arbitrary power or as domination. He lived it as a service. In this way he "filled" freedom with content, which would otherwise have remained an "empty" possibility of doing or not doing something.

Like human life itself, freedom draws its meaning from love. Indeed, who is the freest? Someone who selfishly keeps all possibilities open for fear of losing them, or someone who expends himself "firmly resolved" to serve and thereby finds himself full of life because of the love he has given and received?

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians of Galatia, today in Turkey, said: "You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another" (Gal 5: 13).

Living according to the flesh means following the selfish tendencies of human nature. Living according to the Spirit, on the other hand, means allowing oneself to be guided in intentions and works by God's love which Christ has given to us. Therefore, Christian freedom is quite the opposite of arbitrariness; it consists in following Christ in the gift of self even to the sacrifice of the Cross.

It may seem a paradox, but the Lord lived the crowning point of his freedom on the Cross as a summit of love. When they shouted at him on Calvary: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross!", he showed his freedom as the Son precisely by remaining on that scaffold, to do the Father's merciful will to the very end.

Other witnesses to the truth have shared this experience, men and women who showed that they remained free even in a prison cell and under the threat of torture. "The truth will set you free". Those who side with the truth will never be slaves of any power but will always make themselves freely servants of their brothers and sisters.

Let us look at Mary Most Holy. A humble Handmaid of the Lord, the Virgin is the model of a spiritual person who is totally free because she is immaculate, immune to sin and all holy, dedicated to the service of God and neighbour. May she help us with her motherly care to follow Jesus, to know the truth and to live freedom in love.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 1 July 2007]

Christian revelation excludes reincarnation, and speaks of a fulfilment which man is called to achieve in the course of a single earthly existence. Man achieves this fulfilment of his destiny through the sincere gift of self, a gift which is made possible only through his encounter with God. It is in God that man finds full self-realization: this is the truth revealed by Christ. Man fulfils himself in God, who comes to meet him through his Eternal Son. Thanks to God's coming on earth, human time, which began at Creation, has reached its fullness. "The fullness of time" is in fact eternity, indeed, it is the One who is eternal, God himself. Thus, to enter into "the fullness of time" means to reach the end of time and to transcend its limits, in order to find time's fulfilment in the eternity of God.

[Pope John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente n.9]

5. We shall conclude this catechesis by turning once again to the figure of Jesus Christ, High Priest, Good Shepherd and supreme exemplar of priests. He is the model of the spoliation of earthly goods for the priest who wants to conform to the requirement of evangelical poverty. For Jesus was born and lived in poverty. St Paul admonished: 'From being rich that he was, he became poor for your sake' (2 Cor 8:9). Jesus himself, to one who wanted to follow him, said of himself: "Foxes have their dens and birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Lk 9:57). These words manifest a complete detachment from all earthly comforts. It should not be concluded, however, that Jesus lived in misery. Other passages in the Gospels report that he received and accepted invitations to the homes of rich people (cf. Mt 9:10-11; Mk 2:15-16; Lk 5:29; 7:36; 19:5-6), had female co-workers to support him in his financial needs (Lk 8:2-3; cf. Mt 27:55; Mk 15:40; Lk 23:55-56) and was able to give alms to the poor (cf. Jn 13:29). There is no doubt, however, about the life and spirit of poverty that characterised Him.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 21 July 1993]

In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Lk 9:51-62), Saint Luke begins the narrative of Jesus’ last journey towards Jerusalem, which ends at Chapter 19. It is a long journey, not only geographically and spatially, but also spiritually and theologically, towards the fulfilment of the Messiah’s mission. Jesus’ decision is radical and total, and those who follow him are called to measure up to it. Today the Evangelist presents us three characters — three cases of vocation, we could say — that shed light on what is required of those who wish to follow Jesus to the end, completely.

The first character promises him: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Generous! But Jesus replies that the Son of man, unlike foxes that have holes, and birds that have nests, “has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). The absolute poverty of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus left his paternal home and gave up all security in order to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost sheep of his people. In this way Jesus pointed out to us, his disciples, that our mission in the world cannot be static, but is itinerant. The Christian is itinerant. The Church by her very nature is in motion; she does not stay sedentary and calm within her enclosure. She is open to the broadest horizons, sent forth — the Church is sent forth — to bring the Gospel through the streets and to reach the human and existential peripheries. This is the first character.

The second character Jesus meets receives the call directly from him, but replies: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). It is a legitimate request based on the commandment to honour your father and mother (cf. Ex 20:12). Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Lk 9:60). With these deliberately provocative words, he intends to emphasize the primacy of following and of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over and above the most important realities, such as the family. The urgency of communicating the Gospel, which breaks the chains of death and ushers in eternal life, does not permit delays but requires promptness and complete willingness. Thus, the Church is itinerant, and here the Church is decisive, acts quickly, on the spot, without waiting.

The third character also wants to follow Jesus but on one condition: he will do so after bidding farewell to his relatives. And this is the response he receives from the Teacher: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and backward glances but requires the virtue of decision.

In order to follow Jesus, the Church is itinerant, acts promptly, quickly and decisively. The value of these conditions set by Jesus — itnerancy, promptness and decision — does not lie in a series of saying ‘no’ to the good and important things in life. Rather, the emphasis is placed on the main objective: to become a disciple of Christ! A free and conscious choice, made out of love, to reciprocate the invaluable grace of God, and not made as a way to promote oneself. This is sad! Woe to those who think about following Jesus for their own advantage, that is, to further their career, to feel important or to acquire a position of prestige. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and about the Gospel. A heartfelt passion which translates into concrete gestures of proximity, of closeness to the brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Precisely as he himself lived.

May the Virgin Mary, icon of the pilgrim Church, help us to joyfully follow the Lord Jesus and, with renewed love, to proclaim the Good News of Salvation to brothers and sisters.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 30 June 2019]