"Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit"

(Mk 3:22-30)

"But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not have forgiveness for ever, but is guilty of eternal sin" (v.29).

Holy Spirit is a term that translates the Hebrew Ruah haQodesh: an impetuous Wind, not a stagnant air.

The latter would be an atmosphere without a vital wave, lacking a forge of relations; which does not grow: it makes the situation flat.

"Spirit": energy that throws personal, community and ecclesial affairs into the air... in order to make them mature and renew them.

Not to confirm the standard, but to expand the boundaries.

It is enough to glance at the points dealt with in the recent encyclical on social friendship to realise: borders, the shadows of the closed world, shattered dreams, the end of historical consciousness, without a project for all, world waste, even food waste... etc.

The Spirit introduces a kind of sublime quality into reality, (above all) bursting in with an Action that discerns evolution and turns it upside down, makes it something Other than the stagnant spirit - only willing to reaffirm, celebrate and spread itself.

"Holy" because it distinguishes the sphere of Life - Holiness - from the swampy sphere of deadly germs, which turn us towards retreat and self-destruction.

There was a time when even Catholic 'missionary activity' [even the precious activity of human promotion, imagined as extraneous to 'evangelisation' - an ideal with a 'Protestant' flavour] was conceived in terms of internal proselytism.

Fratelli Tutti, on the other hand, denounces the reality and reminder of the overall scourges: the shortcomings of a common project, the persistence of a 'world gap' and the universal inadequacy of human rights; situations of conflict and fear, progress 'without a common course'... and so on.

Today's Gospel itself was born as an appeal to the churches and the faithful exposed to hostilities, so that they would neither deflect nor allow themselves to be discouraged in their real and genuine witness to Christ in the world.

An appeal that must not be ignored, despite the deep misery and boundaries that continue to lurk in hearts.

Believers must not give up that they are drawn to the critical power of the Word.

In time, it has the power to strip the intriguers of their delusions of vain grandeur or perversion, and bring out the Light that unites us, attracts us spontaneously, without artifice.

Church members who live by Faith-love cannot identify with advantageous lifestyles, outdated and uncritical interpretations of reality, although they are typical of 'doctrine-discipline religions' - or of the various historical denominations.

As Brothers All sadly points out about the encounter between different Christian denominations:

"We cannot forget the desire expressed by Jesus: that all may be One (Jn 17:21). Listening to his invitation, we acknowledge with sorrow that the process of globalisation still lacks the prophetic and spiritual contribution of unity among all Christians" (n.280).

This is an 'unforgivable sin' - in every sense - not a laughable one.

As John Paul II stated: "The 'blasphemy' [in question] does not really consist in offending the Holy Spirit with words; it consists, instead, in refusing to accept the salvation that God offers man through the Holy Spirit, and which works by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross [It] does not allow man to come out of his self-prison and to open himself up to the divine sources of purification" (General Audience 25 July 1990).

Only the work filled with hope meets the teachings of Jesus.

It is the Crucified One who reveals the intimacy of God and man, as well as the distortions of that pious hypocrisy that privileges the spirit of interest and frontier, power, the accumulation of any resources, and disvalues.

In symbiosis with the passage from Luke and the new Magisterium, we can reaffirm that it is precisely in the moment of the threats in the situation - today unfortunately also global - that we read the extent of our choice for the Lord.

There are those who rely on transparent fraternity, on the spirit of the sons, on the love that "integrates and gathers" (FT 190-192)... conversely, there are those who seek self-confidence or try to fall back on the usual worldly calculations (vv.11-12), looking for results rather than the fruitfulness of initiating processes (cf. FT 193-197).

So much for petty transgressions!

It is in the moment of fundamental threats that we read the extent of our choice for the Lord.

Mk alludes in particular to circumstantial, particular excuses in the search for support: favours from 'cultural' paradigms, or from people who matter. E.g. by facilitating one's own affairs through ideological and cowardly servility to the authorities, with guarantees of a way out.

All this without ever 'thinking and generating an open universe' (cf. FT 87-127) who knows how to go beyond the 'world of associates' and cordatas - even ecclesial ones, as the current pontiff has reiterated on several occasions [alluding precisely to the prelates themselves].

Here we face the danger of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: distancing oneself from the Gospel by believing that today Jesus is for exclusivism, or a stranger who points out paths of ruin and death, instead of authentic Life.

Of course, there are not a few who may outwardly deny Christ, but they do not reject the meaning of Jesus: they live by his very Spirit [love of neighbour, victory over evil, hope in a more authentic kingdom: v.10; FT 271ff].

The Master and the new magisterial commitment - sounding in unison - intend to shake consciences and make us understand the seriousness of choices contrary to God's plan.

Today, the impulses of the Spirit renewing the face of the earth are upsetting the landscape, but not to abandon humanity to pure limits and inexorable oblivion.

The Tao Tê Ching (xxxiv) writes about our reliance on the Perfect One:

"How universal is the great Tao! He can be on the left as well as the right'. And Master Wang Pi comments: "There is nothing that the universality and superabundance of the Tao does not reach: left and right, high and low. If everywhere it confers and strives, there is nothing it does not reach". Master Ho-shang Kung reiterates: "There is no place it does not reach.

The path of he who walks the Path of Freedom must be fearless, because the Exodus makes us to ourselves; redeemed and sanctified.

With a "heart open to the whole world" (FT 128-153): established in the "local flavour" with a "universal horizon".

Restored to our Core and by the power of Faith that intertwines our story with the personal and cosmic Christ, we will see the impossible Promise realised; things we do not know, sovereignly effective.

Only the Spirit does not go against our eminent nature, therefore it is impermeable, definitive - though it is not. Because it calls us to trust, it does not leave us clinging to shadows, memories, old certainties and commemorations that do not guide our gaze elsewhere.

To foment the museum of vintage details [or to abandon oneself to the wave of fashions, even of thought] is to strand one's mind on the past, on experiences that perhaps were never even put into being.

Simple ideals of another's time, models; archaic theologisations, or conversely hedonistic ones.

We want to exist completely, because we are not gone bad people.

That is why there are crises, upheavals, cuts: they lead back to our fragrance, which - this one - we could lose.

If, on the other hand, we were to remain identified, we would run the risk of not putting ourselves in a snapping position; of not changing our relationships, and letting the energies now present in the round (also within) fade away.

Let us not let them slip away - detracting from the unseen emergencies that call to us.

We have sides to our souls that would otherwise not express themselves, except in the dangers that bewilder, in the difficult and all-encompassing relationships, or in the most painful and finally overwhelming rejections that force us to shift our gaze.

But we must put aside the hasty and opportunistic mind, which immediately seeks to remedy and repair according to stereotypes.

Danger and the busy times come to remind us of our eternal side. It can only express itself when the matrix of our being in the field deflects, to prepare us to welcome the unexpected solution.

Unexpected punishment or defeat will not make us 'like it by force' in society, even ecclesial society, but will allow us to be what we are. And to become ourselves, to discover other views - according to Signature.

This even when it seems to others that our life is lost.

In reality, we are gambling it without externality of content, in order to trigger the integral Beauty of the new Youth that we do not know, but which is advancing.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you live persecution? Curse or Opportunity?

Under threat, insult, slander, trial, mockery, violence, emergency, have you ever thought that Jesus led you down paths of death?

And making the new Magisterium your own, what cut with the indecencies of the past, what youthful horizon, what beauty and differing relationships have you tasted?

Evil is not an anonymous force.

Limit of human liberation

We must be well aware that evil is not an anonymous force acting in the world in an impersonal or deterministic way. Evil, the devil, passes through human freedom, through the use of our freedom. It seeks an ally, man. Evil needs him to spread. Thus, having offended the first commandment, love of God, he comes to pervert the second, love of neighbour. With him, love of neighbour disappears in favour of lies and envy, hatred and death. But it is possible not to be overcome by evil and to overcome evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21). It is to this conversion of the heart that we are called. Without it, the much-desired human 'liberations' disappoint, because they move in the reduced space granted by man's narrowness of spirit, his harshness, his intolerances, his favouritism, his desires for revenge and his death drives. A deep transformation of spirit and heart is necessary to regain a certain clairvoyance and impartiality, a deep sense of justice and the common good. A new and freer gaze will make one capable of analysing and questioning human systems that lead to dead ends, in order to move forward with the past in mind, never to repeat it again with its devastating effects. This required conversion is exhilarating because it opens up possibilities by appealing to the innumerable resources that dwell in the hearts of so many men and women eager to live in peace and ready to commit themselves to peace. Now it is particularly demanding: it is about saying no to revenge, acknowledging one's wrongs, accepting apologies without seeking them, and finally forgiving. For only forgiveness given and received lays the lasting foundation for reconciliation and peace for all (cf. Rom 12:16b.18).

[Pope Benedict, Address to the Meeting in Baabda Lebanon 15 September 2012].

We need to be very conscious that evil is not some nameless, impersonal and deterministic force at work in the world. Evil, the devil, works in and through human freedom, through the use of our freedom. It seeks an ally in man. Evil needs man in order to act. Having broken the first commandment, love of God, it then goes on to distort the second, love of neighbour. Love of neighbour disappears, yielding to falsehood, envy, hatred and death. But it is possible for us not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21). It is to this conversion of heart that we are called. Without it, all our coveted human “liberations” prove disappointing, for they are curtailed by our human narrowness, harshness, intolerance, favouritism and desire for revenge. A profound transformation of mind and heart is needed to recover a degree of clarity of vision and impartiality, and the profound meaning of the concepts of justice and the common good. A new and freer way of looking at these realities will enable us to evaluate and challenge those human systems which lead to impasses, and to move forward with due care not to repeat past mistakes with their devastating consequences. The conversion demanded of us can also be exhilarating, since it creates possibilities by appealing to the countless resources present in the hearts of all those men and women who desire to live in peace and are prepared to work for peace. True, it is quite demanding: it involves rejecting revenge, acknowledging one’s faults, accepting apologies without demanding them, and, not least, forgiveness. Only forgiveness, given and received, can lay lasting foundations for reconciliation and universal peace (cf. Rom 12:16b, 18).

[Pope Benedict, Address to the Meeting in Baabda Lebanon 15 September 2012]

And when he foretells to his disciples that persecution awaits them, with imprisonment and interrogation, he adds: "Do not worry about what you will have to say, but say what will be given you at that hour: for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit" (Mk 13:11). "The Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say" (Lk 12, 12).

5. The synoptic Gospels record another statement by Jesus in his instructions to the disciples that cannot fail to impress. It concerns "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit". He says: "Whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven him, but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven him" (Lk 12:10; cf. Mt 12:32; Mk 3:29). These words create a problem of greater theological and ethical magnitude than one might think, on the surface of the text. "Blasphemy" (of which we are speaking) does not really consist in offending the Holy Spirit with words; it consists, instead, in refusing to accept the salvation that God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, and which works by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross. . If blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be remitted either in this life or in the life to come, it is because this 'non-remission' is linked, as its cause, to 'non-penitence', that is, the radical refusal to be converted . . . Now blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the sin committed by man, who claims his supposed 'right' to persevere in evil - in any sin - and thus refuses redemption . . . (It) does not allow man to come out of his self-prison and open himself to the divine sources of purification of conscience and remission of sins' (Dominum et vivificantem, 46). This is the exact inversion of the condition of docility and communion with the Father, in which Jesus lives in prayer and action, and which he teaches and recommends to man as an inner attitude and as a principle of action.

6. In the whole of the preaching and action of Jesus Christ, which flows from his union with the Holy Spirit-Love, is contained an immense richness of heart: "Learn from me, who am meek and humble of heart," he exhorts, "and you will find rest for your souls" (Mt 11:29), but present at the same time is all the firmness of the truth about the kingdom of God, and therefore the insistent invitation to open one's heart, under the action of the Holy Spirit, to be admitted to it and not be excluded from it.

In all of this, the "power of the Holy Spirit" is revealed, and indeed the Holy Spirit Himself is manifested by His presence and action as the Paraclete, the comforter of man, the confirmer of divine truth, the eradicator of the "master of this world".

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 25 July 1990]

Jesus reacted with firm and clear words; he did not tolerate this, because those scribes, perhaps without realizing it, were falling into the gravest sin: denying and blaspheming against God’s Love which is present and active in Jesus. And blasphemy, the sin against the Holy Spirit, is the one unforgivable sin — as Jesus said — because it comes from closing the heart to God’s mercy which acts in Jesus.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 10 June 2018]

The Call of the fishermen

(Mt 4:12-23)

It is not the call of the boss, but the invitation of the Friend, who lives firsthand what he preaches, exposing himself.

To Abraham God says «Go to the land that I will point you to». Jesus does not say «Go», but «Come»: it’s He who risks and goes ahead, offering Himself as Lamb.

Abraham is only an envoy; the disciple of Christ on the way reproposes a Person in relationship and his whole story.

«Fishermen of men»: the meaning of the expression is clearer in Lk 5:10 [Greek text]: our mission is to raise to life those who no longer breathe, suffocate, enveloped by impetuous waves, by forces of negativity.

Pull them out of polluted eddies where one live dehumanizing. To place everyone in transparent water, with values that are no longer those of the folded up and corrupt society of the cunnings.

The Son of God calls us to cut off what degrades the experience of personal fullness. He promotes in each one the dna of God who doesn’t create competition, but communion.

It’s essential to abandon the «nets»: what envelops and prevents, blocks. Even the «boat», that is, the way of managing work.

And the «father», who in the family passed on the tradition, customs which risked blurring the new Light.

All jerseys to be broken. It means: a new approach, even if you continue to carry out the previous life.

Values are no longer static and banal [seeking consensus, settling down...]: fatuous glitters, that inculcate external idols, regulating and uniformizing.

To give these new impulses, Jesus flies over the court palaces, from which nothing would have been born.

Nor does he designate anyone with the title that belongs to Him alone: «Pastor».

We need attention, not directors and leaders who judge, or binaries that do not concern us; nor unnecessary mental patterns.

The woman and the man of all times need only wise support; traveling companions who help discover their hidden sides, unknowns, secrets, that can flourish.

The Person dimension is essential.

Of course, we must distract the mind from the known, and take the Way of the "farther": no shortcut free of unknowns.

Road traveled on foot, which changes one’s own and other people’s mental atmosphere; wich flies over the custom, used, whatever, external way of seeing things.

Here, standing in our Call and naturalness, we’ll be all-round ourselves. And we will be surprised.

This in the gamble of unpredictable Love: only in this way can one contact one’s own deep states, to know each other; thus realizing unexpected dreams of open and complete life, by activating dormant energies.

And like Jesus, able to put into action anyone who we meet - recovering the opposite sides and eccentricities, for a total ideal.

Special trait: to turn to all the earth, even the enemies. Without presumption, without any foreclosure.

In Christ, there is no more imperfection, mistake or unfirm condition that can keep us distant.

Each is indispensable and precious. Everyone is legitimized. No one should atone.

Openness, not effort.

[3rd Sunday in O.T. (year A)  January 25, 2026]

(Mt 4:12-23)

Conversion and Kingdom Near

Accepting and not transferring assessments

(Mt 4:12-17)

The Kingdom is near if, thanks to our involvement, God comes to earth and happiness knocks at the door, converting us to something profoundly new: choices of light instead of judgement, possession, the exercise of power, and the display of glory.

The Gospel of Matthew was written to support the communities of Galilee and Syria, composed of converted Jews who suffered accusations of having betrayed the promises of the Covenant and welcomed pagans.

The purpose of the text is to bring out the figure of Jesus the Messiah [no longer the son of David] who brings salvation, extended beyond the boundaries: not only to the chosen people and those who observe its normative clichés.

He excludes no one, and everyone must feel adequate.

Already in the initial genealogy, Matthew heralds the universal ecclesiology of the new Rabbi as a source of abundant blessing, even outside Israel and its observances.

This is not an ambitious reality, an alternative to the Empire or to the life of restricted cultures - absolutely not set up or ruled by us.

To encourage his faithful not to fear being excluded, and to recognise themselves in the Master, the evangelist reiterates the criterion of redemption without boundaries.

He does so in the text of the Magi and in the one in question: salvation proposed as a journey, and without too much struggle against it.

The sad situation of ancient times (vv. 14-16) is behind us.

Even in the Sermon on the Mount - for which Matthew 4 prepares the audience - the evangelist emphasises the specificity of the vocation of Christian fraternities.

Their special trait: turning to the whole earth, even to enemies. Without presumption, without any preclusion.

In Christ, there is no longer any imperfection, mistake or unstable condition that can keep us apart.

Everyone is indispensable and precious. Everyone is legitimised. No one has to atone.

In this way, the call not to feel marginalised, the vocation not to neglect oneself and not to neglect others, is reiterated throughout the book.

The authentic and divine Herald does not raise his voice or his pace, does not break the bruised reed (Mt 12:2-3), and transcends the boundaries of purity and race.

This is the basis of good formation of those who are close to him; there is no cultural, ethnic or religious gap.

The young Announcer then sends his disciples to all peoples - in the style of opening up without hesitation and not being picky.

The complete idea of what we would today call the 'culture of encounter' was already born in the confrontation with the internal reality of the school of the Baptist.

The son of Zachariah and Elizabeth claimed to be able to prepare well for the Coming of the Kingdom. Conversely, it remained unpredictable.

John's environment was one in which the Announcement was not only positive, nor always full of life and only joy and welcome: often it was judgemental and sharp.

The Baptist did not fully legitimise spontaneity or each person's own ways. He did not dispel the fears of every perplexed soul, the fear of being 'wrong'.

Instead, if the Kingdom with its unexpected facets is here, all we have to do is live it fully and with wonder.

Following the Baptist [and pupil, together with his first disciples], the new Master had definitively grasped the difference between reductionist ascetic dynamics and the Father's plan of salvation.

A stimulus towards all-round humanisation - based on the exchange of gifts, the creative freedom of love, and a spirit of broad understanding.

The luminous and universal mission of the Son of God is understood by only a few - all fragile and insignificant people - and was slow to establish itself.

This is the condition of the faithful to whom Matthew addresses himself.

The Lord's friends must not give up if they cannot convince everyone immediately.

It is too difficult to make veteran religious and their established realities believe that no one has the exclusive right.

Even the strong and self-confident must simply accept the Life that comes - let alone the weak and errant.

But until the Precursor himself is imprisoned and silenced, even the authentic Messiah lives almost in the shadow of the last of the ancient prophets (cf. Jn 3:22-23).

Then he is forced to flee even from his small, traditionalist and nationalist village (Mt 4:12-13, 25).

No one could believe in a Kingdom without grand proclamations and arduous conditions.

It seemed impossible that the Eternal One could share his life in such a broad way, already among us, so ordinary and nothing exceptional.

As if he were a Father who transcends but draws us all close, without prior conditions of purity.

It seemed unlikely to move from the idea of the imminence of the announced empire of power to its daily and unspectacular presence.

All the more so in the Person of the Messiah as servant; not as executioner, leader, or self-sufficient avenger.

Such a humble closeness, nothing sensational, just like his friends, who were converts from popular Judaism and paganism.

To animate the churches at a critical moment, Matthew brings out in the Lord's own story the characteristic experiences and the same peaks of discrimination suffered by the poor members of his tiny fraternities.

Like Jesus, they were not to be overcome by fear, condemnation, narrow-minded separatist and distinctive ideas, nor by feeling like a minority - or by fears of persecution.

In fact, those reborn of such a broad Spirit were no longer to stifle their tendencies and innate inclinations, perceiving their minds and natural abilities as a conflict to be adjusted according to models.

We are not called to a small and stagnant delegation, but to be Light and Presence - in motion - towards ourselves and the multitudes we recognise inside and outside ourselves (vv. 23-25).

Even with silent and not frenzied Faith.

The innate wisdom transmitted by God the Creator to each of us can emerge anywhere, in the authenticity of the Gospel.

The Word crosses sacred boundaries: especially when it echoes our essence in a non-artificial way and calls upon our good-natured instinct.

It is a new Voice: one that recomposes the intimate energy of all and unfolds its higher Guidance.

A radical appeal that addresses and even fulfils the disturbances in every woman and man - a world that belongs to us, only apparently inferior.

And it goes beyond the absolute piety of exclusive plans or mortifications.

A reality that does not transfer evaluations beyond the person - but knows how to wait for them and does not dictate procedures, measures, or the rhythms of others; elective.

No foreground, not even religiously 'correct'.

Openness, not effort.

Commenting on the Tao Tê Ching (i), Master Ho-shang Kung states: 'Mystery is Heaven. He says that both the man who has desires and the man who has none receive the ch'i from Heaven in the same way'.

To internalise and live the message:

How can you avoid cultural, doctrinal or charismatic closures (everything already planned and regulated) and live the universality of the new humanisation? 

What is the yardstick by which your ecclesial reality approaches those who are different?

Meaning of "Gospels" and Integral Healing

In today's liturgy, the evangelist Matthew presents the beginning of Christ's public mission. It consists essentially in preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, to show that this Kingdom is near, indeed, that it has already come among us. Jesus begins to preach in Galilee, the region where he grew up, a 'peripheral' territory with respect to the centre of the Jewish nation, which is Judea, and in it Jerusalem. But the prophet Isaiah had foretold that this land, assigned to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, would have a glorious future: the people immersed in darkness would see a great light (cf. Is 8:23-9:1), the light of Christ and his Gospel (cf. Mt 4:12-16). The term "gospel" in Jesus' time was used by Roman emperors for their proclamations. Regardless of their content, they were called "good news," that is, announcements of salvation, because the emperor was considered the lord of the world and each of his edicts a harbinger of good. Applying this word to Jesus' preaching therefore had a strongly critical meaning, as if to say: God, not the emperor, is the Lord of the world, and the true Gospel is that of Jesus Christ.

The "good news" that Jesus proclaims can be summed up in these words: "The kingdom of God - or kingdom of heaven - is at hand" (Mt 4:17; Mk 1:15). What does this expression mean? It certainly does not indicate an earthly kingdom limited in space and time, but announces that it is God who reigns, that God is Lord and his lordship is present, actual, and is being realised. The novelty of Christ's message is therefore that God has become close to us in Him, reigning among us, as demonstrated by the miracles and healings He performs. God reigns in the world through His Son made man and with the power of the Holy Spirit, who is called "the finger of God" (cf. Lk 11:20). Wherever Jesus goes, the creative Spirit brings life and people are healed of their bodily and spiritual illnesses. God's lordship is thus manifested in the integral healing of man. In this way, Jesus wants to reveal the face of the true God, the God who is close to us, full of mercy for every human being; the God who gives us the gift of life in abundance, of his own life. The kingdom of God is therefore life triumphing over death, the light of truth dispelling the darkness of ignorance and falsehood.

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, that she may always obtain for the Church the same passion for the Kingdom of God that animated the mission of Jesus Christ: passion for God, for his lordship of love and life; passion for man, encountered in truth with the desire to give him the most precious treasure: the love of God, his Creator and Father.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 27 January 2008]

An arduous journey, but not without joy

The call of the fishermen

(Mt 4:18-23)

It is not the call of a leader, but the invitation of a Friend who lives first-hand what he proclaims, exposing himself.

It is he who takes risks and goes before, offering himself as the Lamb. He does not sit down to lecture and teach doctrines.

His "Good News" [Mk 1:15] reveals a divine face opposite to that preached by the official guides: the Father does not absorb our energies, but gives them in fullness and freely.

'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (v. 17) is the famous parallel in Mark: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel'.

Both expressions are, in fact, hendiadys: for example, the two coordinated terms 'repent and believe' express the same meaning. 

But not in a separatist or doctrinal sense.

In short:

The Kingdom is near if, thanks to our involvement, God comes to earth to replace the daily grind, and happiness knocks at the door.

Transformation that comes; change that bursts in. It is not planned down to the smallest detail; it is not built as if it were a scaffold.

It turns us towards something profoundly new: choices of light instead of judgement, possession, the exercise of power, the display of glory.

The Baptist claimed to prepare for the coming of the Messiah; Jesus proclaims the Kingdom already close at hand and deeply in tune with human beings - present, therefore simply to be welcomed, in order to live fully.

Following John [his pupil, together with his first disciples], the new Master had definitively grasped the difference between ascetic - reductionist - dynamics and the Father's plan of salvation.

A stimulus towards an all-round humanisation based on the exchange of gifts, the creative freedom of love, and a spirit of broad understanding.

The luminous and universal mission of the Son is understood by only a few - all fragile and insignificant people - and is slow to assert itself.

It is too difficult to make long-standing Judaizing religious leaders and their established realities believe that no one has exclusivity: everyone must simply accept the new Promises of the Covenant.

Until John [even more famous than Christ during his public life] is imprisoned and silenced, the Son of God lives almost in the shadow of the Precursor (cf. Jn 3:22-23).

Then he is forced to flee even from his small, traditionalist and nationalist village (Mt 4:12-13).

No one could believe in a divine reality without grand proclamations and arduous conditions.

No one could have imagined a widespread Jerusalem, already among us, so spontaneous, ordinary and open-ended - transcending but bringing us all together.

It was too difficult to move from the idea of the imminent empire of power to its unifying, unspectacular Presence - in the Person of a servant Messiah, not a self-sufficient avenger.

Such a humble closeness, nothing exceptional, like his faithful - 'converts' both from the religion of their fathers and from paganism, and therefore marginalised.

In the First Testament, Galilee appears only fleetingly, because observant Jews did not appreciate its contamination of beliefs.

Yet that region of suspicious people becomes the land of change.

In concrete terms, the unexpected invitation to conversion on Galilean soil (v. 18) means: 'Turn the ladder of values upside down!'.

There is indeed a freedom to be regained, but the scene is quick, because the young Master teaches not as the know-it-alls do: with his life.

God says to Abraham, 'Go to the land that I will show you'. Jesus does not say 'Go', but 'Come'.

Abraham is only an envoy; the disciple of Christ on his journey proposes a Person, his whole story.

He is interested in real life: he does not advocate a return to the Temple, to the ancient religion, to the cult that would have had to patch up its already recognised practice.

In this way, here are the first ones called: from 'fishers' to 'fishers of men' (vv. 18-19). The meaning of the expression is clearer in Luke 5:10 [Greek text].

Our mission is to raise to life those who no longer breathe and are suffocating, enveloped by impetuous waves (the forces of negativity).

The true task of the Apostle is to pull everyone out of the polluted environment, where they live in a dehumanising way.

And to place everyone in transparent water, with values that are no longer those of a closed and corrupt society - a habitat of obsessive blocks, useful only to the strong, quick and cunning.

The Son of God calls us to cut away what degrades the experience of personal fulfilment.

He promotes in each person the DNA of the communal God. Transmitted inwardly and unconditionally.

[Commenting on the passage from the Tao Te Ching (LXV), Master Ho-shang Kung emphasises:

'The man who possesses the mysterious virtue is opposed to and different from creatures: they want to increase themselves, the mysterious virtue gives to others'.

It is essential to abandon the 'nets' (v. 20): that which envelops, impedes, and stops. Even the 'boat' (v. 22), that is, the way of managing work.

Even the 'father' (v. 22): the imposed tradition that obscures the new Light.

All these are chains that must be broken.

In fact, the Lord must begin far away from the observant region and the holy city - Judea, the capital Jerusalem.

This means a new approach, even if one can continue to live one's previous life.

But values are no longer static and trivial: seeking consensus, settling down, keeping things for oneself, and so on.

Frivolous sparkles that instil external idols.

Too 'regular' and normal, uniforming; without uniqueness or decisive peaks. They pose a thousand obstacles to the free expression that is our right.

To give these unprecedented impulses, Jesus does not choose sacred environments and perhaps devout people who would not know how to regenerate anyone.

He flies over the court palaces, from which nothing would have been born (cf. Jn 4:1-4).

Nor does he designate anyone with the title that belongs to him alone: 'Shepherd'.

And even today, it is not clear why all denominational traditions have (immediately) filled themselves with 'shepherds', that is, guides, teachers, directors of the 'flock'.

We need attention, not leaders who judge and pass sentences of inadequacy. Nor do we want tracks that do not concern us, useless mental models.

Women and men of all times need only wise support; travelling companions who help them discover the hidden, unknown, secret sides that can flourish.

Teachers who let us complete ourselves, allowing our personalities to embrace the aspects that are still in the shadows.

This inner alliance will be a source of fulfilment, a sense of confidence and a fullness of life.

But to this end, someone must teach us to distract our minds from the known, and thus embark on the Path of 'beyond'.

Of course, this is a danger for those who like to interpret things with a sense of permanence: in short, there are no shortcuts without unknowns.

It is a path that changes our own and others' mental atmosphere; it overlooks the usual, indifferent, superficial way of seeing things.

Here, staying in our Calling and naturalness, we will be ourselves in the round. And we will surprise ourselves.

Here we are in the gamble of the Gift received: only in this way are we able to contact our deepest states; to know ourselves, and thus realise unexpected dreams of open and complete experience.

Precisely by activating dormant energies.

Like Jesus, able to set anyone he meets into action; recovering the opposite sides and eccentricities, for a humanising, total ideal.

Natural Wisdom says, in the Tao Tê Ching (LXV):

'In ancient times, those who practised the Tao [the Way] well did not use it to make the people insightful, but strove to make them obtuse'.

The theme - from the biblical evangelical point of view - is precisely that of Exodus: the allusion to the 'sea' [v.16; actually a lake].

Therefore, the 'Conversion' forward that the new Rabbi proposes is not a U-turn - as is often said.

'Conversion' does not concern a devout return to worship and the Temple, but a change of mentality and orientation.

And 'Kingdom of God' does not allude to a world 'in' Heaven: it does not refer to the afterlife, but to areas where the Beatitudes are lived.

'Conversion'? Authentic, without the punishments of a mortifying religion. Nor - as will unfortunately happen - the submission of consciences.

Obviously, no subjection to the cycle of profits without sharing.

The obtuseness of ancient, passing, insipid, provincial power - even of an ecclesiastical nature - is to believe that a voice of denunciation cannot be replaced by a more incisive Herald.

But it can (vv.11-12).

In Christ, we will launch radical changes, bringing out and activating in people awareness that is valuable and lasting.

No longer will we insist on seeking false, glossy, glamorous or papier-mâché securities, but we will know how to transmit life, taking all the risks of love.

Faith will stand out everywhere over conformist devotion, good for all seasons. This is because it does not plan for further stagnation, but rather a ceaseless journey.

Way, homeland, and way of seeing the world, unanchored from certainties of little specific weight: ultimately, they produce situations that are as reassuring as they are poor.

Then we will be ourselves in the fullness of the power of the Spirit [cf. parallel passage Lk 4:14], that is, in the unknown of unpredictable Love.

And in the risk of contamination: only in this way will we be able to realise the dreams of others for an open and complete life that goes beyond (Lk 4:15).

Like Jesus, and in Him, for our brothers and sisters. With his new way of taking action and marching forward.

Not: held back, in order to 'prepare' assurances and fine-tune according to clichés of manner.

Moving forward without the background: every trajectory is personal.

An orientation that draws us into exploration and action, towards a total ideal.

Openness, not effort.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you care about assurances? What certainties do you still need to leave behind?

Do you cultivate vital openness?

In the Church, do you feel closeness and life moving forward?

Or do the background, judgements, cataloguing, anonymity, ostentation and detachment prevail?

If you met Jesus walking, travelling, going beyond: how and according to what inclinations do you think your sterility could become fruitful?

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

In today's liturgy the Evangelist Matthew, who will accompany us throughout this liturgical year, presents the beginning of Christ's public mission. It consisted essentially in preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, showing that this Kingdom is close at hand and is already in our midst. Jesus began his preaching in Galilee, the region where he grew up, the "outskirts" in comparison with the heart of the Jewish Nation which was Judea, and in it, Jerusalem. But the Prophet Isaiah had foretold that this land, assigned to the tribes of Zebulun and Napthali, would have a glorious future: the people immersed in darkness would see a great light (cf. Is 8: 23-9: 2). In Jesus' time, the term "gospel" was used by Roman emperors for their proclamations. Independently of their content, they were described as "good news" or announcements of salvation, because the emperor was considered lord of the world and his every edict as a portent of good. Thus, the application of this phrase to Jesus' preaching had a strongly critical meaning, as if to say God, and not the emperor, is Lord of the world, and the true Gospel is that of Jesus Christ. 

The "Good News" which Jesus proclaims is summed up in this sentence: "The Kingdom of God - or Kingdom of Heaven - is at hand" (cf. Mt 4: 17; Mk 1: 15). What do these words mean? They do not of course refer to an earthly region marked out in space and time, but rather to an announcement that it is God who reigns, that God is Lord and that his lordship is present and actual, it is being realized. The newness of Christ's message, therefore, is that God made himself close in him and now reigns in our midst, as the miracles and healings that he works demonstrate. God reigns in the world through his Son made man and with the power of the Holy Spirit who is called "the finger of God" (Lk 11: 20). Wherever Jesus goes the Creator Spirit brings life, and men and women are healed of diseases of body and spirit. God's lordship is thus manifest in the human being's integral healing. By this, Jesus wanted to reveal the Face of the true God, the God who is close, full of mercy for every human being; the God who makes us a gift of life in abundance, his own life. The Kingdom of God is therefore life that asserts itself over death, the light of truth that dispels the darkness of ignorance and lies. 

Let us pray to Mary Most Holy that she will always obtain for the Church the same passion for God's Kingdom which enlivened the mission of Jesus Christ: a passion for God, for his lordship of love and life; a passion for man, encountered in truth with the desire to give him the most precious treasure: the love of God, his Creator and Father.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 27 January 2008]

Dear brothers and sisters.

1. […] Dear friends, being here in Pomposa Abbey, where since the ninth century many people have lived together to follow Christ exclusively, gives me the opportunity to remind you that every Christian, and each one of you, is called to follow in the footsteps of the Son of God.

The ascetic and material work of the monks was, in fact, always at the service of the religious and human growth of the people of this area. And the artistic beauty of the Abbey expresses the truth, freedom and dignity of the person who works in a Christian manner.

Here we can clearly see that "work must not be a mere necessity, but must be considered an authentic vocation, a call from God to build a new world, in which justice and brotherhood coexist, a foretaste of the kingdom of God, in which there will be neither shortages nor limitations" (Address to workers, 30 January 1979).

2. Some of you may wonder how it is possible to realise the sublime gift that is the vocation to be children of the Almighty Lord. There are many difficulties that man encounters in recognising God's plan in his own life. In addition to self-love, which causes him to withdraw into himself, the conditions of social life, often conceived and structured without reference to God, who - unfortunately - is considered by many to be alien to authentically human interests, often act as an obstacle.

Yet Christ, who called the holy abbot Guido, St Pier Damiani, Guido d'Arezzo and many other monks whose names are unknown to us, also addresses his invitation to you, so that in your daily life and work you may accept his invitation to follow him.

One might then ask: "What form should the vocation of the lay faithful, who live and work in the world, take?" Configured to Christ through Baptism, every believer is a witness to divine mercy, which, as it has regenerated us, recreates everything through us, associating us with the plan to "recapitulate all things in Jesus" (Eph 1:10).

In this 'new creation', Christians are called to work with 'the Word of life' (1 Jn 1:1). In their lay state, they persevere in their work, on land or at sea, aware that what they are doing is not merely cooperation, but union with Christ in his redemptive work (cf. Gaudium et spes, 67).

3. Faith is a gift, and believers, recognising God as Father, attain the fullness of their humanity: they then know how to live and die, how to hope, how to love, spreading serenity and peace around them. In this way, they contribute to the building of the new earth and the new heavens (1 Pt 3:13).

I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, not to resist Christ, not to reject the Word who became flesh. Rather, welcome him without reserve, because around him all human existence and the whole world are called to gather in unity and be renewed.

The Abbey in which we find ourselves shows, in its history, how this is possible. The monk, in fact, knowing full well that religious dependence on God does not lead to death but fulfils life in its fullness, consecrates himself exclusively to him. In the rhythm marked by 'Ora et labora', he praises the Lord and points the world towards the One to whom each of us must constantly turn our gaze and our mind. He follows Christ in poverty, obedience and virginal consecration; he offers himself to him totally and definitively. The lay faithful also live by Christ if they converse with him in prayer, encounter him in the sacraments and show him their love by observing the commandments.

Personal and liturgical prayer and moral commitment are intimately connected with friendship with the Redeemer and with the apostolic and missionary task that follows from it.

Dear brothers, always feel yourselves in deep communion with those who in monasteries unceasingly praise the Lord and, supported also by their prayer, bear fruits of holiness with an irreproachable conduct of life in every moment of your existence.

4. This spiritual solidarity shows that work and time devoted exclusively to God are not opposed to each other, but complement each other, as we can clearly see in the 'Ora et labora' of the monks of St Benedict. Devotion to God (the 'ora') is the foundation of authentic dedication (the 'labora') to people and to the earth, which is their home.

Whatever field you work in, you are always called to be witnesses and evangelisers, that is, to make Christ visible, who 'was portrayed before you' (cf. Gal 3:1). Work springs from prayer, just as charity flows from faith. Adhering to Christ and entrusting oneself to his hands generates total openness to the divine will.

Moreover, work, though tiring, when done in close union with Christ, makes us love life, no longer seen as a source of anxiety, but as a training ground for virtue that forms us in serenity and peace.

5. Brothers and sisters, I invite you, finally, to offer your generous contribution to the new evangelisation, which contemporary society so badly needs, and to work actively for the spread of the Gospel in your workplaces. Bring to everyone that hope and solidarity which every person constantly longs for and which can only be found in Christ. Always nourish yourselves with God and with a concrete love that speaks of him to those you meet. I entrust each of you to the Virgin Mary, that you may know how to listen, welcome and cherish the Word made flesh.

May the awareness of the maternal presence of the Mother of God be for you and your families a daily comfort and stimulus to do good.

Once again, I thank you for this invitation, for this very evocative meeting. The Benedictine monks who left us this sanctuary are always present here with their inspiration. But here, at the same time, over the centuries, there has lived and continues to live a population that, from generation to generation, has distinguished itself above all for its agricultural work and fishing. All this constitutes a special synthesis, I would say evangelical. We know well how in the Gospel there are those who work the land as well as fishermen, people loved by Jesus, transformed into apostles.

Today, the Pope, the successor of Peter, who was one of these fishermen, comes to say to you fishermen and to you workers of the land: you are called to be apostles, not by changing your profession and the conditions of your life, but by following Christ, according to the simple and prophetic words of the Benedictine Abbey, of St. Benedict: 'Ora et labora'. This is your method in the apostolate, the simplest and most effective. I hope that this "Ora et labora" will become your daily programme and, despite all the difficulties of agricultural and maritime life, will also make you serene, happy and bearers of good to others.

[Pope John Paul II, speech at Pomposa, 22 September 1990]

Today’s Gospel (cf. Mt 4:12-23) presents us with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. This occurred in Galilee, a land on the periphery of Jerusalem that was looked upon with suspicion because the population was mixed with Gentiles. Nothing good and new was expected from that region. However, it was precisely there that Jesus, who had grown up in Nazareth in Galilee, began his preaching.

He proclaimed the central core of his  teaching in his condensed appeal: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v. 17). This announcement is like a powerful ray of light that pierces the darkness and splits the fog and evokes the prophecy of Isaiah that is read on Christmas Eve: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined” (Is 9:2). With the coming of Jesus, Light of the world, God the Father showed  his closeness and friendship to humanity. These [gifts] are freely given to us  regardless of our merits. Closeness to God and friendship with God, are not deserved but gifts  freely given by God. We must safeguard these gifts.

The appeal to conversion that Jesus addresses to all men and women of good will is fully understood, precisely in view of the event of the manifestation of the Son of God, on which we meditated on recent Sundays. It is often impossible to change life, to abandon the path of egotism, of evil, to abandon the way of sin because we centre our commitment to conversion only on ourselves and on our strengths, and not on Christ and his Spirit. However, our adherence to the Lord cannot be reduced to a personal effort, no. To think this would also be a sin of pride. Our adherence to the Lord cannot be reduced to a personal effort. Instead, it must express itself in a trusting opening of the heart and of the mind in order to welcome the Good News of Jesus. This is — the Word of Jesus, the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel — that changes the world and hearts! We are thus called to trust Christ’s Word, to open ourselves to the Father’s mercy and to allow ourselves to be transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

This is where a true journey of conversion begins. Just as occurred to the first disciples: the encounter with the divine Teacher, with his gaze, with his Word spurred them to follow him, to change their lives by placing themselves concretely at the service of the Kingdom of God.

The surprising and decisive encounter with Jesus began the disciples’ journey, transforming them into proclaimers and witnesses of God’s love for his people. May each of us follow in the footsteps of the Saviour to offer hope to those who thirst for it, imitating these first heralds and messengers of the Word of God.

May the Virgin Mary whom we address in this prayer of the Angelus, support these intentions and strengthen them with her maternal intercession.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 26 January 2020]

Overwork Mission Family, by unbalanced

(Mk 3:20-21)

Today’s short Gospel can be interpreted according to different reading plans: let’s start with a vocational approach.

The family core of society should also be a springboard to the adventure of Faith that urges other bonds.

The kinsmen can be dismayed by our desire to give ourselves entirely to God in sisters and brothers in a wider sense.

And sometimes the affections and natural constraints can prevent the fulfilment of the Mission to which we are called.

Sometimes, even important commitments in the Church’s action remain half or completely frustrated - due to a “fondness” and impediments that we are unable to ‘cut’.

Now we come to the historical level:

Jesus also had serious problems in his “house”, but the Gospel passage refers to the nascent Church in Peter’s dwelling in Capernaum, very close to the Synagogue.

Over time, the two almost adjacent realities found themselves fiercely facing each other.

Yet in the Abode of Peter at one point the number of those from Judaism, as well as pagans, who converted to the Lord's proposal exploded.

The People themselves and the religious culture that generated Christ [his «Family»] had difficulty questioning themselves. And the first reaction was rejection.

That new portion of the Jewish lineage that recognized Jesus Messiah seemed to want to do more and more of its own.

Social aspect:

Indeed, the hearth and its own clan had become alarmed, because adult Jesus did not follow a submissive behavior.

So the relatives decided to bring him back by force (cf. vv.31-35) considering him an unbalanced who wore out their internal and with authorities on the territory relations.

But the beliefs now crystallized in the Synagogue - as well as the theological and ‘cordial’ heritage of all its compromise reality - no longer seemed viable. Why?

The imperial system implanted in Galilee had weakened the sense of sharing and fraternity. Closures strengthened by the religiosity of the time.

The increasing observance of purity standards was a factor of serious social and cultural marginalization.

Entire sections of the population were excluded from the relationship with God: precisely those most in need of hope, and of a lovable ‘face’.

Instead of promoting acceptance and participation, the devoted rules even favoured separations and exclusions.

Political, economic and social structure, and sacred ideology, conspired in favor of weakening the central values of the spirit of communion.

In today’s Gospel passage we note precisely how the narrow limits of the family went to conflict with the proposal of the new Rabbi, to recover the clenchement of solidarity..

In short, it was in the House of Peter that every small family gained breath, opening up itself not only to the nation, but to the wider human Family.

Integral Assembly, even with women and sickly ill persons, or of uncertain and distant.

An absolutely new reality; no longer gathered only for worship but unable of ‘living together’.

[Saturday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 24, 2026]