(Is 11:1-10; Mt 3:1-12)

The Son of God who is coming "will not judge by appearances, nor make decisions based on hearsay" (Is 11:3).

So does the Church that bears witness to him.

But how can we, in the outside world, avoid being influenced by prevailing opinions?

How can a withered reality blossom again and reveal its splendour, manifesting its divine nature?

Certainly not by striving to remain young and beautified.

Not by trying to reproduce the world around us.

Rather, by attempting the principle of renewal that can only be introduced from the Source of the Sense of self and of the cosmos - then it will also flow outwards, and it will happen constantly.

Not... immediately with blush, pouty lips, inflated cheekbones, levelling of furrows; nor with a wishful 'U-turn'.

Not an exhausting regression to the external religion of the Temple; rather, settling within, in that Force of the Logos in the heart.

In this way, in the Gospels, the Greek term 'metanoia' does not indicate a return to the God of normalised worship; rather, a change of mentality.

The life of Faith is precisely marked by the reversal of the hierarchy of values, which is reflected in real choices.

New Testament conversion is a reappropriation of oneself, but not as in devotions, rather with a coup de main.

A leap forward that makes the recovery of the whole Church, which draws from its own Source, fruitful, green and happy.

A reconquest of the same Core that draws the whole of reality along with it.

God in the soul not only improves, but rises again in vital fullness.

The Lord does not repackage the contents, dressing them up with superficial updates; he intervenes by creating.

He acts by refounding, and chisels out our true Path.

First of all, he overlooks the established cliques of the greats of the world and of the sacred.

It would be useless to insist on environments and personalities that are constitutionally resistant to the newness of the Spirit.

Even then, it was harmful to continue to be used as a screen by a caste that, after the Exodus, had seized and taken God and his things hostage, content to live off their income.

Thus, the Word-event comes to rest on a visionary of the present and the future.

At less than twenty years of age, John should have presented himself to the professionals of ritual and the Law to be examined according to the purist norms of the Torah, in order to then officiate the cults at the Temple in Jerusalem.

But despite being of priestly lineage, he rejected that formal, insensitive and corrupt environment - which he knew well.

In short, the choice and figure of the Baptist is a reminder for us: it is not enough for the authentic Church to smooth out the wrinkles.

Botox and creams do not scratch reality, but they disturb the Essence.

Our primordial Source offers us opportunities and even uncertainties, so that we can make the most of our abilities.

It makes harsh reminders, revealing varied situations; even embarrassing events, together with ideal impulses.

Along the way, we will find ways to activate the primal energy of our eternal side, learning to recognise the novelties from Elsewhere that want to make space for themselves in the folds of history and in us.

So every day, behaviour can change: for example, I can imagine an initiative to be carried out and it is as if I were returning to that Fire that does not go out inside me - to welcome renewed vigour, a broader view and another magical breath.

The Baptist felt young and alive precisely because he did not want to resemble others, to fit in at all costs, to be identifiable, to repeat opinions - nor did he limit himself to remedying the situation.

He understands that forgiveness of sins is obtained simply by changing one's life [vv.6ff]; not by performing a liturgy in the Temple!

He did not want to fade away, purifying the institution - because he wanted to see the scope of reality beyond the sacred enclosure.

He wanted to fix his gaze not on the great signs, but on his own (and others') attitudes.

For us too, our 'destiny' lies in that daily impetus to want to do something creative and personal, something new and drawn only from the core of our waves, our tides, our many faces.

Advent [Coming] offers us once again that Call of the Roots that opens the way, throws open the toll booth - so that we can achieve something unusual, but which belongs to us.

Changing the order of things heals each of us with that different youthfulness that comes from the imbalance of appearances and conformist judgements.

A liveliness that does not come from the standard of commemorations.

Transparency deriving from breaking through peaceful patterns. Those that do not open up the adventure of a new path - one that can make us 'be born' not already seasoned, and fall in love.

Other than impromptu and sporadic adjustments, according to fashion and local external conditions!

We must learn to recognise and activate that spring-like aspect of ourselves that lives in God's Covenant.

A rainbow that nothing and no one will ever be able to pave over.

It towers above our disturbances and disturbers. And it runs, offering new paths that strengthen us - enabling us to think, imagine and live in this fundamental Eros.

In the refraction of explorations, our muddy earth is bound to Heaven; at first episodically or confusingly, but spontaneously and immediately colourfully.

The Path of entrusting ourselves to the varied springs of Being - to the Self still hidden - will be the paradoxical platform that transmigrates our 'flesh' [cf. parallel Lk 3:6; Greek text], that is, our vulnerability as creatures like leaves in the wind or cracked and torn, in the event of a life saved.

We will be 'sprouting shoots' that are not crushed, but rather 'rise up as a banner for the multitudes' because we are enraptured and placed on that Ray of unusual 'knowledge of the Lord that will fill the earth'.

Almost without knowing it, no longer removed or absorbed by external influences. For a Coming One who still brings to life the hidden self without straitjackets, but rather in the change of alternating events.

A Sacred One who is not entrenched like the one who still blocks pastoral leadership - but who awakens us, not for a backward adjustment and continuation at all costs.

The Eternal bursts forth unexpectedly.

And reactivates us as in John, outside the established boundaries, thanks also to the chaos of patterns.

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today, the Second Sunday of Advent, it presents to us the austere figure of the Precursor, whom the Evangelist Matthew introduces as follows: "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea: "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Mt 3: 1-2). His mission was to prepare and clear the way for the Lord, calling the people of Israel to repent of their sins and to correct every injustice. John the Baptist, with demanding words, announced the imminent judgement: "Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Mt 3: 10). Above all, John put people on guard against the hypocrisy of those who felt safe merely because they belonged to the Chosen People: in God's eyes, he said, no one has reason to boast but must bear "fruit that befits repentance". 

While the Advent journey continues, while we prepare to celebrate the Birth of Christ, John the Baptist's appeal for conversion rings out in our communities. It is a pressing invitation to open our hearts to receive the Son of God, who comes among us to make manifest the divine judgement. The Father, writes John the Evangelist, judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son because he is the Son of Man (cf. Jn 5: 22, 27). And it is today, in the present, that our future destiny is being played out. It is our actual conduct in this life that decides our eternal fate. At the end of our days on earth, at the moment of death, we will be evaluated on the basis of our likeness - or lack of it - to the Child who is about to be born in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, because he is the criterion of the measure that God has given to humanity. The Heavenly Father, who expressed his merciful love to us through the birth of his Only-Begotten Son, calls us to follow in his footsteps, making our existence, as he did, a gift of love. And the fruit of love is that fruit which "befits repentance", to which John the Baptist refers while he addresses cutting words to the Pharisees and Sadduccees among the crowds who had come for Baptism. 

Through the Gospel, John the Baptist continues to speak down the centuries to every generation. His clear, harsh words are particularly salutary for us, men and women of our time, in which the way of living and perceiving Christmas unfortunately all too often suffers the effects of a materialistic mindset. The "voice" of the great prophet asks us to prepare the way of the Lord, who comes in the external and internal wildernesses of today, thirsting for the living water that is Christ. May the Virgin Mary guide us to true conversion of heart, so that we may make the necessary choices to harmonize our mentalities with the Gospel.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 9 December 2007]

Dear brothers and sisters!

1. “Lord, you have searched me and you know me . . . You know all my ways” (Ps 139 [138]:1–2).

This is how we pray together with the psalmist in today's liturgy. His words express what unites us here deeply, invisibly, it is true, but truly and essentially: we are gathered here in our common faith in God who is present, in God who searches and knows us. God has always known everything about us, he knows each one of us, we are all inscribed in his loving heart, his Providence embraces the whole of creation. "For in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28): this is how the Apostle Paul explains to the Athenians, who questioned him in the Areopagus, God's closeness to us human beings.

We are gathered here before him – before the invisible God. In his eternal word, the incarnate Son, he has called us by name, so that we may have life through him and have it in abundance (Jn 10:10).

This is why we celebrate the Eucharist. We come to receive from the Father in Jesus Christ everything that can serve our salvation. And we bring everything: our joy, our gratitude, our prayers, ourselves, to give ourselves entirely to the Father in Christ: in him, who is the firstborn of all creation (cf. Col 1:15). In and through Christ, we want to pray to our creator and Father together with the psalmist: "I praise you, for you have made me as a wonder; your works are marvellous" (Ps 139 [138]:14).
3. "Lord, you search me and you know me." The Church repeats these words of the psalmist in today's festive liturgy, on the anniversary of the birth of John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. "From his mother's womb" God called him to preach "the baptism of conversion" in the Jordan and to prepare for the coming of his Son (cf. Mk 1:4).
The particular circumstances of John's birth have been handed down to us by the evangelist Luke. According to an ancient tradition, it took place at Ain Karim, outside the gates of Jerusalem. The circumstances surrounding this birth were so unusual that even at that time people wondered, "What will this child be?" (Lk 1:66). For his believing parents, neighbours and relatives, it was clear that his birth was a sign from God. They saw clearly that the "hand of the Lord" was upon him. This was already evident in the announcement of his birth to his father Zechariah while he was serving as a priest in the temple in Jerusalem. His mother, Elizabeth, was advanced in years and was considered barren. Even the name "John" that was given to him was unusual for his environment. His father himself had to give orders that he be called "John" and not, as everyone else wanted, "Zachariah" (cf. Lk 1:59-63).

The name John means "God is merciful" in Hebrew. Thus, the name itself expresses the fact that the newborn would one day announce God's plan of salvation.

The future would fully confirm the predictions and events surrounding his birth: John, son of Zachariah and Elizabeth, became the "voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Matthew 3:3), who on the banks of the Jordan called the people to repentance and prepared the way for Christ.

Christ himself said of John the Baptist that "among those born of women there has arisen no one greater" (cf. Mt 11:11). For this reason, the Church has also reserved a special veneration for this great messenger of God from the very beginning. Today's feast is an expression of this veneration.

4. Dear brothers and sisters! This celebration, with its liturgical texts, invites us to reflect on the question of the becoming of man, his origins and his destiny. It is true that we seem to know a great deal about this subject, both from the long experience of humanity and from increasingly in-depth biomedical research. But it is the word of God that always re-establishes the essential dimension of the truth about man: man is created by God and wanted by God in his image and likeness. No purely human science can prove this truth. At most, it can approach this truth or intuitively suppose the truth about this 'unknown being' that is man from the moment of his conception in his mother's womb.

At the same time, however, we find ourselves witnessing how, in the name of a supposed science, man is "reduced" in a dramatic process and represented in a sad simplification; and so it happens that even those rights that are based on the dignity of his person, which distinguishes him from all other creatures in the visible world, are overshadowed. Those words in the book of Genesis, which speak of man as a creature made in the image and likeness of God, highlight, in a concise and at the same time profound way, the full truth about him.

5. We can also learn this truth about man from today's liturgy, in which the Church prays to God, the creator, with the words of the psalmist:

"Lord, you have searched me and you know me . . .
You created my inmost being
and knit me together in my mother's womb . . .
You know me through and through.
When I was being formed in secret . . .
my bones were not hidden from you . . .
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps 139 [138], 1, 13-15).

Man is therefore aware of what he is - of what he has been from the beginning, from his mother's womb. He knows that he is a creature whom God wants to meet and with whom he wants to dialogue. Moreover, in man he wants to meet the whole of creation.

For God, man is “someone”: unique and unrepeatable. He, as the Second Vatican Council says, “is the only creature on earth that God willed for its own sake” (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 24).

"The Lord called me from my mother's womb; from my mother's womb he named me" (Is 49:1); like the name of the child born in Ain-Karim: "John". Man is that being whom God calls by name. For God, he is the created “you.” Among all creatures, he is that personal “I” who can turn to God and call him by name. God wants man to be that partner who turns to him as his creator and Father: “You, my Lord and my God.” To the divine “you.”

6. Dear brothers and sisters! How do we human beings respond to this call from God? How does man today understand his life? In no other age have so many efforts been made through technology and medicine to protect human life against disease, to prolong it ever more and to save it from death. At the same time, however, no other era has produced so many places and methods of contempt and destruction of man as our own. The bitter experiences of our century with the death machines of two world wars, the persecution and destruction of entire groups of people because of their ethnic or religious affiliation, the arms race to the extreme limit, and the powerlessness of men in the face of great misery in many parts of the world could lead us to doubt, if not deny, God's affection and love for man and for the whole of creation.

Or should we rather ask ourselves the opposite question, when we consider the terrible events that have befallen the world because of human beings and in the face of the many threats of our time: is it not human beings who have distanced themselves from God, who is their origin, have they not strayed from him, and have they not elevated themselves to the centre and measure of their own lives? Do you not think that in the experiments conducted on human beings, experiments that contradict their dignity, in the mental attitude of many towards abortion and euthanasia, there is a worrying loss of respect for life? Is it not evident, even in your society, when you look at the lives of many - characterised by inner emptiness, fear and escape - that man himself has cut off his roots? Shouldn't sex, alcohol and drugs be seen as warning signs? Don't they indicate the great loneliness of modern man, a desire for care, a hunger for love that a world turned in on itself cannot satisfy?

In fact, when man is no longer connected to his roots, which is God, he becomes impoverished of inner values and gradually falls prey to various threats. History teaches us that men and peoples who believe they can exist without God are inevitably destined for the catastrophe of self-destruction. The poet Ernst Wiechert expressed this in the following sentence: "Be assured that no one will fall out of this world who has not first fallen out of God."

On the contrary, through a living relationship with God, man acquires an awareness of the uniqueness and value of his own life and personal conscience. In his concrete life, he knows that he is called, supported and encouraged by God. Despite injustices and personal suffering, he understands that his life is a gift; he is grateful for it and knows that he is responsible for it before God. In this way, God becomes a source of strength and trust for man, and from this source man can make his life worthy and also know how to put it generously at the service of his brothers and sisters.

7. God called John the Baptist already “in his mother’s womb” to be “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” and thus to prepare the way for his Son. In a very similar way, God has also “laid his hand” on each one of us. He has a special calling for each of us, and he entrusts each of us with a task that he has designed for us.

In each call, which can come to us in many different ways, we hear that divine voice which spoke through John: "Prepare the way of the Lord!" (Mt 3:3).

Every person should ask themselves how they can contribute, in their own work and in their own position, to opening the way for God in this world. Every time we open ourselves to God's call, we prepare, like John, the way of the Lord among people. Among all those men and women who throughout history have opened themselves in an exemplary way to God's work, I would like to mention St Martin. Even though centuries separate us from him, he is close to us in following Christ through his example and his ageless greatness. He is your diocesan and regional patron saint. He is venerated as the great saint of the entire region of Pannonia: 'Martinus natus Savariae in Pannonia'.

Martin stands before us as a man who trusted God, who understood and practised his 'yes to faith' as a 'yes to life'. He fulfilled what he felt called to do to the very end. Even before he became a Christian, he shared his cloak with the poor. Military life certainly gave him satisfaction, but it was not enough for him. Like every man, he was searching for lasting joy, a joy that nothing could destroy. Only in his later years did he encounter Jesus Christ in faith, and in him he found the fullness of joy and happiness. Through faith, Martin did not become poorer, but richer: he grew in his humanity, he grew in grace before God and men.

8. In order that this truth – that man finds his fulfilment and his true salvation only in God – may always be proclaimed, priests and religious are necessary. Therefore, be aware of your shared responsibility in awakening spiritual vocations. I was delighted to learn that in a few days six priests will be ordained in your diocese. This is a great gift for the Church and for your country. Never cease to pray that the Lord will send labourers into his harvest!

I address myself in a special way to young people, who are the future of your country and of the Church. Try to understand, dear young friends, what God wants from you. Be open to his call! Listen carefully, for he may be inviting you to follow Christ as priests or religious here in your homeland or in mission lands.

I pray to all of you: whatever path you decide to take, let the seed of God's Word fall into the furrows of your heart; once there, do not let it dry up, but nurture it so that it may sprout and bear rich fruit.

Say “yes to faith”, say “yes to life”, because God lives it together with you! Together with him, your life will become an adventure: it will be beautiful, rich and full!

10. “Prepare the way of the Lord . . . that he may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (cf. Is 49:6). When we, dear brothers and sisters, look at our vocation as Christians, who through Baptism have become one body with Christ, then these words of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Isaiah – from the advent of salvation history before the first coming of Christ – take on a special meaning for us at the end of the second millennium since the birth of Christ. We find ourselves, especially here in the old continent, in a “new advent” of universal history. Must we not ensure that the “salvation” given to us by Christ reaches once again the furthest frontiers of Europe?

We all feel a great need for renewal, for a new encounter with God. Renewal, conversion and encounter with God, at the sources of faith, meditation on integral faith: this is the appeal that today's feast of the birth of John the Baptist makes to us, and this is the spur that the example of St Martin also gives us.

We all know the need for renewal in our society, for the re-evangelisation of our continent: so that Europeans do not lose their sense of fundamental dignity; so that they do not become victims of the destructive forces of spiritual death, but rather have life, and have it in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10)!

Praised be Jesus and Mary!

[Pope John Paul II, homily at Eisenstadt-Trausdorf Airport, 24 June 1988]

In the Gospel given this second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist’s invitation resounds: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt 3:2). With these very words, Jesus begins his mission in Galilee (cf. Mt 4:17); and such will also be the message that the disciples must bring on their first missionary experience (cf. Mt 10:7). Matthew the evangelist would like to present John as the one who prepares the way of the coming Christ, as well as the disciples as followers, as Jesus preached. It is a matter of the same joyful message: the kingdom of God is at hand! It is near, and it is in us! These words are very important: “The kingdom of God is in our midst!”, Jesus says. And John announces what Jesus will say later: “The kingdom of God is at hand, it has arrived, and is in your midst”. This is the central message of every Christian mission. When a missionary goes, a Christian goes to proclaim Jesus, not to proselytize, as if he were a fan trying to drum up new supporters for his team. No, he goes simply to proclaim: “The kingdom of God is in our midst!”. And in this way, the missionaries prepare the path for Jesus to encounter the people.

But what is this kingdom of God, this kingdom of heaven? They are synonymous. We think immediately of the afterlife: eternal life. Of course this is true, the kingdom of God will extend without limit beyond earthly life, but the good news that Jesus brings us — and that John predicts — is that we do not need to wait for the kingdom of God in the future: it is at hand. In some way it is already present and we may experience spiritual power from now on. “The kingdom of God is in your midst!”, Jesus will say. God comes to establish his lordship in our history, today, every day, in our life; and there — where it is welcomed with faith and humility — love, joy and peace blossom.

The condition for entering and being a part of this kingdom is to implement a change in our life, which is to convert, to convert every day, to take a step forward each day. It is a question of leaving behind the comfortable but misleading ways of the idols of this world: success at all costs; power to the detriment of the weak; the desire for wealth; pleasure at any price. And instead, preparing the way of the Lord: this does not take away our freedom, but gives us true happiness. With the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, it is God himself who abides among us to free us from self interest, sin and corruption, from these manners of the devil: seeking success at all costs; seeking power to the detriment of the weak; having the desire for wealth; seeking pleasure at any price.

Christmas is a day of great joy, even external, but above all, it is a religious event for which a spiritual preparation is necessary. In this season of Advent, let us be guided by the Baptist’s exhortation: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight!”, he tells us (v. 3). We prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight when we examine our conscience, when we scrutinize our attitudes, in order to eliminate these sinful manners that I mentioned, which are not from God: success at all costs; power to the detriment of the weak; the desire for wealth; pleasure at any price.

May the Virgin Mary help us to prepare ourselves for the encounter with this ever greater Love, which is what Jesus brings and which, on Christmas night, becomes very very small, like a seed fallen on the soil. And Jesus is this seed: the seed of the kingdom of God.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 4 December 2016]

Obsession and Compulsion

A gentleman confides in me that for some time now he has felt the need to check whether he has locked the front door of his house. A lady, on the other hand, needs to be sure that she has turned off the gas in the kitchen.

After checking, both the gas and the front door were fine and in order.

Another middle-aged man feels the need to see if his car is okay, then he has to go and check it, walk around it, touch it in different places, and only after completing these behavioural sequences can he return home peacefully. Sometimes he feels the need to do this several times a day.

In the Treccani dictionary, the term 'obsession' is defined as: 'a mental representation that the will cannot eliminate, accompanied by anxiety'. 

The term 'compulsion' is defined as: 'compulsion, being driven by necessity to do something'.

Many people have thoughts that they have no interest in; these are often ideas that make no sense, but which require considerable mental effort.

Without wanting to, these ideas invade our minds and make our brains 'rack' as if they were fundamental issues.

These may be thoughts or images that cause concern, and are usually followed by compulsions that the person must perform to calm their anxiety. 

Between the 'fixed' idea and the need to perform some act or gesture to ensure that nothing bad happens, doubt often arises, undermining our most certain convictions.

This leads to increasing indecision, which limits our freedom of action: even simple choices take a long time to make.  

Sometimes it leads us to be unable to make a decision. The doubt may concern a thought, a memory, an action, etc., and may spill over from one content to another.

A person with these problems, when leaving the house, sometimes feels compelled to return to  make sure they have not left the light on, and to be sure, they sometimes have to do this several times.

In literature, there are examples of people who, after sending a letter, felt the need to reopen it to check what they had written.

In psychological contexts such as this, we also talk about 'rumination', which is always associated with doubt.

In biology, it refers to the digestive process of certain animals, such as cattle. Food that has been swallowed is brought back into the mouth to be chewed again, more thoroughly, and then swallowed again to complete digestion.

In psychology, 'rumination' describes repetitive and persistent thinking focused on past events, as opposed to 'brooding', which is more concerned with future events.

Ceremonials are also described. In these, the individual must perform a sequence of acts such as washing their hands frequently or cleaning everyday objects many times.

This is where an aspect of the psychological picture described comes into play: 'rupophobia' and contamination. Rupophobia is a morbid fear of dirt and of being infected. It can affect any aspect of our lives: objects, people or public places. It is an aspect that can also harm intimacy.

The Covid period has increased the fear of contagion, but this was a real event. Many years ago, around 1986, there was the Chernobyl phenomenon, and there we really had to be careful about what we ate because food, especially vegetables, could have been contaminated.

Anyone who has these ideas may count the cars in the car park while walking, or touch lampposts, or try to avoid cracks in the pavement, etc.

In severe cases, these people may feel that they are harming someone, so these thoughts make them 'back away'. They need to give themselves a 'shake' to try to dispel these terrifying ideas.

People with these characteristics are generally strict, concerned with details, and meticulous about rules and formalities. 

However, by focusing on details, they often overlook the essentials.      

How many people in their work environment feel the need to line up their objects in excessive order?      

Order and control are closely interlinked, because external order can be a way of achieving internal order, which can reduce stress. 

However, we are talking about excessive order. A minimum of order is necessary to avoid confusion and to be able to find our things.

Stuttering is also a speech disorder linked to this psychological condition.

The person who stutters struggles at the beginning, with the first letter or syllable, and repeats it until the word is finished. 

As we know, their speech is fluent when they are alone or when they recite or sing.

Otherwise, mortified by their defect, they will tend to isolate themselves and speak as little as possible. Or they will stubbornly insist on speaking with intense physical effort.

Stuttering 'is a conflict between the erotic urethral tendency to expel and the erotic-anal tendency to retain, shifted to the mouth' (Manual of Psychiatry, Arieti, vol. I, p. 353).

Dr Francesco Giovannozzi, Psychologist-Psychotherapist.

Free of charge: the Near Kingdom and Incarnate Prayer

(Mt 9:35-10:1.6-8)

Jesus distinguishes himself from the Rabbis of his time, because he doesn’t wait for the exhausted and prostrate people (v.36) to go to him: he seeks it.

And the group of his intimates must be involved, both in works of healing and liberation - fraternity motivated by luminous disinterest.

The Lord enters the prayer assemblies with pastoral concern: to teach, not to discuss. He does not give lessons in logical analysis, but he does bring out Who inhabits him.

He proclaims a Kingdom totally different from how it was instilled by the manipulators of consciences - overflowing with detailed convictions, producing intimate coercion, anonymity, loneliness, passivity.

Still today we are looking for a God to experience, loveable, ‘not invisible’.

Thus the Gospel (v.35) announces Grace: the face of the Father - who doesn’t want anything for himself, but gives everything to transmit us his own Life.

A Friend who Comes, who doesn’t force us to "go up" [in the abstract] nor imprisons in guilt, exhausting already submissive creatures - making them even more desolate than before.

Here a Heaven is revealed that makes us feel adequate, doesn’t punish or impress, but promotes and puts at ease.

The Prodigal Father welcomes people as the Son does in the Gospels - as they are; not by inquiring. Rather by dilating.

His Word-event not only reactivates: it replenishes imbalances and enhances them in perspective of real person paths - without judging or disperse, nor break anything.

For such a work of wise recomposition of being, the Master invites to Prayer (v.38) - first form of disciples’ commitment.

Access to different tunies in the Spirit teaches us to stimulate the gaze of the soul, to value and understand everything and everyone.

Therefore - after making them less unaware - Jesus invites his disciples to get involved in missionary work; not to do the learned, nor moral lessons.

They would be scripted without love, which make the sick people feel yet more desperate.

Mission grows from a small but boundless dimension - that of inner perception, which is aware of the needs and mystery of a favourable Presence.

New configurations of understanding, in spirit: fully discovered only in deep Prayer (v.38). Incarnate Prayer.

Prayer does not want to distract us from our deep realization; on the contrary, it guides us - and relocates the soul scattered in the many common practices to be carried out, to its center.

It makes us feel the struding of desire and of understanding the perfect condition: the Father doesn’t intend to absorb our attitudes, but to empower them. Because everyone has an intimate project, a Call by Name, his own place in the world.

It seems paradoxical, but the outgoing Church is first and foremost a problem of formation and internal consciousness.

In short, we recognize ourselves and become aware of things through the Prayer-hunch, unitive.

In Christ it’s not a performance or a devout expression, but an understanding and above all a Listening to the God who in a thousand subtle forms reveals himself and calls.

Thus the fight against infirmities (Mt 9:35-10:1): we recover and win by sharpening our gaze and reinvesting the energy and character even of our own still blurred sides.

All the Free of charge (Mt 10:8) that may spring from it to build life in favor of the brothers, will not sprout as a childish exchange.

The sense of closeness (v.7) to oneself, to others and to reality, will be an authentic - neither programmatic nor alienated - contribution of the Kingdom that reveals itself: Beside.

[Saturday 1st wk. in Advent, December 6, 2025]

Gratitude: the Kingdom at hand and Prayer Incarnate

(Mt 9,35-10,1.6-8)

Jesus differs from the Rabbis of his time because he does not wait for the exhausted and prostrate people (v.36) to come to him: he seeks them out.

And the group of his own must participate, both in works of healing and deliverance - fraternity motivated by luminous selflessness.

He enters prayer assemblies with pastoral anxiety: to teach, not to disquisition. He does not lecture in logical analysis, but lets the One who dwell in him emerge.

He proclaims a Kingdom that is totally different from how it was inculcated by the manipulators of consciences (overflowing with detailed convictions) - who certainly did not exercise gratuitousness.

The ancient doctrines and its protagonists dampened any dissonance and produced the worst: intimate coercion, anonymity, loneliness, passivity.

They inculcated that it was decisive to acquire their flat securities, certainly not to open up to the personal Mystery, to the innate character - fruitfully not conforming to the context.

In fact, they sought to disturb the journeys of the soul, which sometimes wanders to find itself, and which prefers new glimpses to the usual way of seeing - swampy, stagnant.

They did not admit that in each believer could dwell a fundamental option that did not conform to their ideology and way of seeing.

Everything about other people's lives had to work perfectly according to their goals. So they did not preach upheaval, but static.

Nothing new was to happen that would challenge the social balance, their authoritarian influence... and their income.

Nothing different was to be explored and found.

Yet, yesterday as today, within each woman and man resides a volcano of potential energies - which according to the dominant ideology only had to be stifled and aligned.

For all that still drags on, we conversely seek a God to be experienced, who is lovable, not 'artfully' constructed... nor invisible or far removed from our condition.

We want the One who gives breath, and understands us.

This is clearly understood: what we hatch is not a miserable illusion, to be extinguished in favour of external balances.

In fact, the Gospel (v.35) proclaims Grace: the face of the Father - who wants nothing for himself, but gives everything to transmit his own Life to us. And he does this not to deaden our inner energy.

The Glad Tidings proclaim a Friend who comes, who does not force us to "ascend" [in the abstract] nor imprison us within guilt, exhausting the already subdued creatures - making them even more desolate than before.

Here is revealed a Heaven that makes one feel adequate, does not chastise or even impress, but promotes and puts everyone at ease; a Merciful One who is not only good: exclusively good.

The prodigal Father welcomes people as the Son does in the Gospels - just as they are; not inquiring. Rather by expanding.

His Word-event also does not only reactivate: it reintegrates imbalances and enhances them in the perspective of paths as a real person - without judging or dispersing, nor breaking anything.

For such a work of wise recomposition of being, the Master invites to Prayer (v.38) - the disciples' first form of commitment.

Access to different attunements in the Spirit teaches us to stimulate the soul's gaze, to value and understand everything and everyone.

So - after making them less ignorant - Jesus invites his disciples to involve themselves in missionary work; not to act like scholars or moral lecturers.

That would be careless posturing, which makes the hopeless feel even more lost.

The Mission grows from a small but boundless dimension - that of intimate perception, which becomes aware of the needs and mystery of a favourable Presence.

New configurations of understanding, in spirit: fully discovered only in deep prayer (v.38). Incarnate prayer.

It is not meant to distract us from inner realisation; on the contrary, it acts as a guide, and returns the soul, dispersed in the many common practices to be performed, to its own centre.

It makes us experience the yearning and understanding of the perfect condition: the Father does not intend to absorb our aptitudes, but to strengthen them. For everyone has an intimate project, a Calling by Name, their own place in the world.

It seems paradoxical, but the outgoing Church - the one that does not speculate, nor engage in mass proselytising to impress the mainstream - is first and foremost a matter of formation and internal awareness.

In short, one recognises oneself and becomes not unaware of things through prayer-presentment, unitive.

In Christ, it is not performance or devout expression, but rather understanding and first and foremost listening to the God who reveals and calls in a thousand subtle forms.

The commitment to heal the world is not won without an awareness of vocation, nor by allowing oneself to be plagiarised and going haphazardly.Rather, by sharpening our gaze, and reinvesting virtue and character even in our own sides that are still in shadow.

Nor does it remain essential to always cross every boundary (Mt 10:5-6) with a logic of flight.

For not infrequently - unfortunately - only those who love strength start from the too far removed from themselves [from the far off and out of reach].

The 'sheep' lost and weary of trying and trying again - the excluded, the considered lost, the marginalised - are not lacking. They are close at hand, and there is no immediate urge to extricate oneself. Almost as if to exempt oneself from those closest.

The horizon expands itself, if one is convinced and does not like masks or subterfuges.

The sense of proximity to oneself, to others and to reality is an authentic bearer of the Kingdom that is revealed: the Near.

Understanding the nature of creatures and conforming to it in a growing way, all are inspired to change and complete themselves, enriching even cultural sclerosis, without alienating forcings.

Exercising a practice of goodness even with oneself.

Some of the most quoted aphorisms from the Tao culture read: "The way of doing is being"; "he who knows others is wise, he who knows himself is enlightened"; "a long journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"; "the master observes the world, but trusts his inner vision"; "if you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place"; "when you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you".

So in the battle against infirmity (Mt 9:35-10:1): we recover and overcome by sharpening our gaze and reinvesting the energy and character even of our own still-dulled sides.

All the gratuitousness (Mt 10:8) that may flow from this to build up life for the sake of the brethren, will burst forth not as puerile [hysterical] reciprocation or engagement.

It will be spontaneous, solid and cheering Love Dialogue, because it will be free of those imbalances that smoulder under the ashes of facade conditioning.

The sense of closeness (v.7) to oneself, to others, and to reality will be an authentic - not programmatic, nor alienated - port of the Reign that is revealed: Beside.

To internalise and live the message:

Does Prayer in Christ shake your conscience?

What consolation do you expect from the God Who Comes?

Perhaps a reward?

Or a gratuitousness that triggers - here and now - true Love-understanding, attentive to the calls of every subtle Voice?

Theme: "Vocations at the Service of the Church-Mission

Dear brothers and sisters,

1. For the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be celebrated on 13 April 2008, I have chosen the theme: Vocations at the service of the Church on mission. The Risen Jesus gave to the Apostles this command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19), assuring them: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28: 20). The Church is missionary in herself and in each one of her members. Through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, every Christian is called to bear witness and to announce the Gospel, but this missionary dimension is associated in a special and intimate way with the priestly vocation. In the covenant with Israel, God entrusted to certain men, called by him and sent to the people in his name, a mission as prophets and priests. He did so, for example, with Moses: “Come, - God told him - I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people … out of Egypt …when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you will serve God upon this mountain” (Ex 3: 10 and 12). The same happened with the prophets.

2. The promises made to our fathers were fulfilled entirely in Jesus Christ. In this regard, the Second Vatican Council says: “The Son, therefore, came, sent by the Father. It was in him, before the foundation of the world, that the Father chose us and predestined us to become adopted sons … To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us the mystery of that kingdom. By his obedience he brought about redemption” (Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 3). And Jesus already in his public life, while preaching in Galilee, chose some disciples to be his close collaborators in the messianic ministry. For example, on the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves, he said to the Apostles: “You give them something to eat” (Mt 14: 16), encouraging them to assume the needs of the crowds to whom he wished to offer nourishment, but also to reveal the food “which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6: 27). He was moved to compassion for the people, because while visiting cities and villages, he found the crowds weary and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mt 9: 36). From this gaze of love came the invitation to his disciples: “Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Mt 9: 38), and he sent the Twelve initially “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” with precise instructions. If we pause to meditate on this passage of Matthew’s Gospel, commonly called the “missionary discourse”, we may take note of those aspects which distinguish the missionary activity of a Christian community, eager to remain faithful to the example and teaching of Jesus. To respond to the Lord’s call means facing in prudence and simplicity every danger and even persecutions, since “a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Mt 10: 24). Having become one with their Master, the disciples are no longer alone as they announce the Kingdom of heaven; Jesus himself is acting in them: “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me” (Mt 10: 40). Furthermore, as true witnesses, “clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24: 49), they preach “repentance and the forgiveness of sins” (Lk 24: 47) to all peoples.

3. Precisely because they have been sent by the Lord, the Twelve are called “Apostles”, destined to walk the roads of the world announcing the Gospel as witnesses to the death and resurrection of Christ. Saint Paul, writing to the Christians of Corinth, says: “We – the Apostles – preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1: 23). The Book of the Acts of the Apostles also assigns a very important role in this task of evangelization to other disciples whose missionary vocation arises from providential, sometimes painful, circumstances such as expulsion from their own lands for being followers of Jesus (cf. 8,1-4). The Holy Spirit transforms this trial into an occasion of grace, using it so that the name of the Lord can be preached to other peoples, stretching in this way the horizons of the Christian community. These are men and women who, as Luke writes in the Acts of the Apostles, “have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15: 26). First among them is undoubtedly Paul of Tarsus, called by the Lord himself, hence a true Apostle. The story of Paul, the greatest missionary of all times, brings out in many ways the link between vocation and mission. Accused by his opponents of not being authorized for the apostolate, he makes repeated appeals precisely to the call which he received directly from the Lord (cf. Rom 1: 1; Gal 1: 11-12 and 15-17).

4. In the beginning, and thereafter, what “impels” the Apostles (cf. 2 Cor 5: 14) is always “the love of Christ”. Innumerable missionaries, throughout the centuries, as faithful servants of the Church, docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, have followed in the footsteps of the first disciples. The Second Vatican Council notes: “Although every disciple of Christ, as far in him lies, has the duty of spreading the faith, Christ the Lord always calls whomever he will from among the number of his disciples, to be with him and to be sent by him to preach to the nations [cf. Mk3: 13-15]” (Decree Ad Gentes, 23). In fact, the love of Christ must be communicated to the brothers by example and words, with all one’s life. My venerable predecessor John Paul II wrote: “The special vocation of missionaries ‘for life’ retains all its validity: it is the model of the Church's missionary commitment, which always stands in need of radical and total self-giving, of new and bold endeavours”. (Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, 66)

5. Among those totally dedicated to the service of the Gospel, are priests, called to preach the word of God, administer the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation, committed to helping the lowly, the sick, the suffering, the poor, and those who experience hardship in areas of the world where there are, at times, many who still have not had a real encounter with Jesus Christ. Missionaries announce for the first time to these people Christ’s redemptive love. Statistics show that the number of baptized persons increases every year thanks to the pastoral work of these priests, who are wholly consecrated to the salvation of their brothers and sisters. In this context, a special word of thanks must be expressed “to the fidei donum priests who work faithfully and generously at building up the community by proclaiming the word of God and breaking the Bread of Life, devoting all their energy to serving the mission of the Church. Let us thank God for all the priests who have suffered even to the sacrifice of their lives in order to serve Christ ... Theirs is a moving witness that can inspire many young people to follow Christ and to expend their lives for others, and thus to discover true life” (Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, 26).

6. There have always been in the Church many men and women who, prompted by the action of the Holy Spirit, choose to live the Gospel in a radical way, professing the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. This multitude of men and women religious, belonging to innumerable Institutes of contemplative and active life, still plays “the main role in the evangelisation of the world” (Ad Gentes, 40). With their continual and community prayer, contemplatives intercede without ceasing for all humanity. Religious of the active life, with their many charitable activities, bring to all a living witness of the love and mercy of God. The Servant of God Paul VI concerning these apostles of our times said: “Thanks to their consecration they are eminently willing and free to leave everything and to go and proclaim the Gospel even to the ends of the earth. They are enterprising and their apostolate is often marked by an originality, by a genius that demands admiration. They are generous: often they are found at the outposts of the mission, and they take the greatest of risks for their health and their very lives. Truly the Church owes them much” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 69).

7. Furthermore, so that the Church may continue to fulfil the mission entrusted to her by Christ, and not lack promoters of the Gospel so badly needed by the world, Christian communities must never fail to provide both children and adults with constant education in the faith. It is necessary to keep alive in the faithful a committed sense of missionary responsibility and active solidarity with the peoples of the world. The gift of faith calls all Christians to co-operate in the work of evangelization. This awareness must be nourished by preaching and catechesis, by the liturgy, and by constant formation in prayer. It must grow through the practice of welcoming others, with charity and spiritual companionship, through reflection and discernment, as well as pastoral planning, of which attention to vocations must be an integral part.

8. Vocations to the ministerial priesthood and to the consecrated life can only flourish in a spiritual soil that is well cultivated. Christian communities that live the missionary dimension of the mystery of the Church in a profound way will never be inward looking. Mission, as a witness of divine love, becomes particularly effective when it is shared in a community, “so that the world may believe” (cf. Jn 17: 21). The Church prays everyday to the Holy Spirit for the gift of vocations. Gathered around the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, as in the beginning, the ecclesial community learns from her how to implore the Lord for a flowering of new apostles, alive with the faith and love that are necessary for the mission.

9. While I entrust this reflection to all the ecclesial communities so that they may make it their own, and draw from it inspiration for prayer, and as I encourage those who are committed to work with faith and generosity in the service of vocations, I wholeheartedly send to educators, catechists and to all, particularly to young people on their vocational journey, a special Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 3 December 2007

BENEDICT XVI

[Pope Benedict, Message for the 45th World Day of Prayer for Vocations]

Lent, the providential time for conversion, helps us to contemplate this stupendous mystery of love. It is a return to the roots of our faith, so that by pondering the measureless gift of grace which is Redemption, we cannot fail to realize that all has been given to us by God’s loving initiative. In order to meditate upon this aspect of the mystery of salvation, I have chosen as the theme for this year’s Lenten Message the Lord’s words: “You received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). 

2. God has freely given us his Son: who has deserved or could ever deserve such a privilege? Saint Paul says: “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but they are justified by his grace as a gift” (Rom 3:23-24). In his infinite mercy God loved us, not permitting himself to be blocked by the grievous state of separation to which man had been consigned by sin. He graciously stooped down to our weakness, and made it the cause of a new and still more wondrous outpouring of his love. The Church does not cease to proclaim this mystery of infinite goodness, exalting God’s free choice and his desire not to condemn man but to draw him back into communion with himself.

“You received without paying, give without pay”. May these words of the Gospel echo in the heart of all Christian communities on their penitential pilgrimage to Easter. May Lent, recalling the mystery of the Lord’s Death and Resurrection, lead all Christians to marvel in their heart of hearts at the greatness of such a gift. Yes! We have received without pay. Is not our entire life marked by God’s kindness? The beginning of life and its marvellous development: this is a gift. And because it is gift, life can never be regarded as a possession or as private property, even if the capabilities we now have to improve the quality of life can lead us to think that man is the “master” of life. The achievements of medicine and biotechnology can sometimes lead man to think of himself as his own creator, and to succumb to the temptation of tampering with “the tree of life” (Gn 3:24).

It is also worth repeating here that not everything that is technically possible is morally acceptable. Scientific work aimed at securing a quality of life more in keeping with human dignity is admirable, but it must never be forgotten that human life is a gift, and that it remains precious even when marked by suffering and limitations. A gift to be accepted and to be loved at all times: received without pay and to be placed without pay at the service of others.

[Pope John Paul II, Message for Lent 2002]

"Service" and "gratuitousness": these are the two key words around which Pope Francis built the meditation of the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on the morning of Tuesday 11 June. They are the fundamental characteristics that must accompany the Christian "along the way", the Pontiff said, along that journey, that "going" that always characterises life, "because a Christian cannot remain stationary".

The teaching comes directly from the Gospel: it is there that we find - as highlighted by the passage from Matthew proposed by the liturgy of the day (10, 7-13) - Jesus' instructions for the apostles who are sent. A mission that, said the Pope, is also that of "the successors of the apostles" and of "each Christian, if sent". Therefore, first of all, 'the Christian life is to make a way, always. Not to stand still'. And in this going, what does the Lord recommend to his own? "Heal the sick, preach saying that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons". That is, "a life of service".

Here is the first fundamental datum highlighted by the Pontiff: 'The Christian life is to serve'. And it is very sad, he added, to see "Christians who at the beginning of their conversion or their awareness of being Christians, serve, are open to serve, serve God's people", and then, instead, "end up serving God's people. This does so much harm, so much harm to the people of God". The vocation of the Christian therefore is 'to serve' and never 'to serve oneself of'.

Continuing his reflection, Francis then moved on to a concept that, he stressed, "goes right to the core of salvation: 'Freely you have received, freely give'. The Christian life is a life of gratuitousness'. It is clear from Jesus' recommendation to the apostles sent that "salvation cannot be bought; salvation is given to us freely. God saved us, he saves us free of charge. He does not make us pay'. It is, the Pope explained, a principle "that God has used with us" and that we must use "with others". And it is "one of the most beautiful things" to know "that the Lord is full of gifts to give us" and that only one thing is asked of man: "that our heart be opened". As in the prayer of the Our Father, where 'let us pray, let us open our hearts, so that this gratuitousness may come. There is no relationship with God outside gratuity'.

Considering this cornerstone of Christian life, the Pontiff then pointed out possible and dangerous misunderstandings. Thus, he said, "sometimes, when we need something spiritual or a grace, we say: 'Well, I'm going to fast now, I'm going to do a penance, I'm going to do a novena...'". This is all well and good, but "let us be careful: this is not to 'pay' for grace, to 'acquire' grace; this is to enlarge your heart so that grace may come". Let us be clear, in fact: "Grace is free. All God's goods are free. The problem is that the heart shrinks, closes and is not capable of receiving so much love, so much gratuitous love'. Therefore 'everything we do to obtain something, even a promise - "If I have this, I will do that" - this is enlarging the heart, it is not entering into haggling with God... No. With God there is no bargaining". With God, 'only the language of love and the Father and gratuitousness applies'.

And if this is true in the relationship with God, it is also true for Christians - 'Freely you have received, freely give' - and, Francis emphasised, especially for the 'pastors of the Church'. Grace "cannot be sold," he reiterated, adding: "It hurts so much when you find pastors doing business with God's grace: 'I will do this, but this costs so much, this so much...'. And God's grace stays there and salvation is a bargain'. All this, he emphatically reiterated, 'is not the Lord. The Lord's grace is free and you must give it freely'. Unfortunately, he explained, in the spiritual life there is "always the danger of slipping into payment, always, even talking to the Lord, as if we wanted to give a bribe to the Lord". But the relationship with the Lord cannot go "down that road".

Therefore, the Pontiff reiterated, no to the dynamic of the type: 'Lord if you do this to me, I will give you this'; but, eventually, yes to a promise so that with it one's heart may be enlarged 'to receive' what 'is gratuitous for us'. And "this relationship of gratuitousness with God is what will help us then to have it with others both in Christian witness and in the pastoral life of those who are pastors of God's people".

"This is how the Pope summed up his reasoning at the end of his homily'. "The Christian life," he said, "is going. Preach, serve, not 'serve of'. Serve and give for free what you have received for free'. And he concluded: 'Let our life of holiness be this widening of the heart, so that God's gratuitousness, God's graces that are there, gratuitous, that He wants to give, can reach our heart.

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 11.06.19]