In the Gospel we heard the question asked by John the Baptist who was in prison: John, who had proclaimed the coming of the Judge who would change the world, and now felt had that the world has remained the same. Thus he sends word to Jesus asking: “Are you ‘He who is to come’, or shall we look for another?”. Is it you or should we expect another? 

In the past two or three centuries many have asked: “But is it really you? Or must the world be changed in a more radical manner? Will you not do it?”. 

And a great tide of prophets, ideologists and dictators have come and said: “It is not him! He did not change the world! It is we!”. And they created their empires, their dictatorships, their totalitarianism which was supposed to change the world. And they changed it, but in a destructive manner. Today we know that of these great promises nothing remained but a great void and great destruction. It was not they.

And thus we must see Christ again and ask Christ: “Is it you?” The Lord, in his own silent way, answers: “You see what I did, I did not start a bloody revolution, I did not change the world with force; but lit many I, which in the meantime form a pathway of light through the millenniums”. 

Let us start here in our Parish with St Maximilian Kolbe, who offered to die of hunger himself in order to save the father of a family. What a great light he became! How much light shone from this figure and encouraged others to give themselves, to be close to the suffering and the oppressed!

Let us think of Damien de Veuster who was a father to lepers, and who lived and died with and for lepers, and has thus brought light to this community.

Let us think of Mother Teresa, who gave so much light to people that, after a life without light, they died with a smile because they were touched by the light of God’s love.

And thus we shall be able to continue and we shall see, as the Lord said in his answer to John, that it is not the violent revolution of the world, but rather the silent light of the truth, of the goodness of God that is the sign of his presence and gives us the certainty that we are loved to the end and are not forgotten, that we are not a product of chance but of a will to love.

Thus we may live, we may feel God’s nearness. “God is close”, says today’s First Reading, he is near us but we are often distant. Let us draw near, let us move into the presence of his light, let us pray the Lord that through contact with him in prayer we ourselves will become light for others.

And this is precisely also the meaning of the parish church: to enter here, to enter into conversation, into contact with Jesus, with the Son of God, so that we ourselves may become one of the smallest lights that he has lit to carry his light into the world which feels it must be redeemed.

Our spirit must be open to this invitation and let us thus walk joyfully towards Christmas, like the Virgin Mary who awaited the Redeemer’s birth in prayer, with intimate and joyful trepidation. 

Amen!

[Pope Benedict, homily at Torre Angela, 12 December 2010]

1. The difficulties that sometimes accompany the development of evangelisation highlight a delicate problem whose solution cannot be sought in purely historical or sociological terms: the problem of the salvation of those who do not visibly belong to the Church. We are not given the opportunity to scrutinise the mystery of divine action in minds and hearts, to assess the power of Christ's grace in taking possession, in life and in death, of those whom 'the Father has given him', and whom he himself has proclaimed he does not want to 'lose'. We hear this repeated in one of the Gospel readings proposed for the Mass for the dead (cf. Jn 6:39-40).
But, as I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, the gift of salvation cannot be limited "to those who explicitly believe in God and have entered the Church. If salvation is destined for all, it must be made available to all in concrete terms". And, admitting that it is practically impossible for many people to access the Christian message, I added: "Many people do not have the opportunity to know or accept the revelation of the Gospel or to enter the Church. They live in socio-cultural conditions that do not allow it, and they have often been educated in other religious traditions" (Redemptoris Missio, 10).
We must recognise that, as far as human foresight and knowledge are concerned, this practical impossibility seems destined to continue for a long time, perhaps even until the final completion of the work of evangelisation. Jesus himself warned that only the Father knows "the times and moments" he has set for the establishment of his Kingdom in the world (cf. Acts 1:7).
2. However, what I have said above does not justify the relativistic position of those who believe that a way of salvation can be found in any religion, even independently of faith in Christ the Redeemer, and that interreligious dialogue should be based on this ambiguous conception. This is not the Gospel-compliant solution to the problem of the salvation of those who do not profess the Christian Creed. Instead, we must maintain that the path to salvation always passes through Christ, and that it is therefore the task of the Church and her missionaries to make him known and loved at all times, in every place and in every culture. Outside of Christ, "there is no salvation." As Peter proclaimed before the Sanhedrin, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching: "There is no other name given to men under heaven by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Even for those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and do not recognise themselves as Christians, the divine plan has provided a way of salvation. As we read in the conciliar decree on missionary activity Ad Gentes, we believe that "God, through ways known only to himself, can lead men who through no fault of their own are ignorant of the Gospel" to the faith necessary for salvation (Ad Gentes, 7). Of course, the condition "through no fault of their own" cannot be verified or assessed by human evaluation, but must be left solely to divine judgement. For this reason, in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council declares that in the heart of every person of good will "grace works invisibly" and that "the Holy Spirit gives everyone the possibility of coming into contact, in the way known to God, with the Paschal Mystery" (Gaudium et Spes, 22).
3. It is important to emphasise that the path to salvation taken by those who ignore the Gospel is not a path outside Christ and the Church. The universal will to save is linked to the unique mediation of Christ. The First Letter to Timothy affirms this: "God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and humankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:3-6). Peter proclaims this when he says that "there is no salvation in anyone else," and calls Jesus the "cornerstone" (Acts 4:11-12), highlighting the necessary role of Christ as the foundation of the Church.
This affirmation of the “uniqueness” of the Saviour originates from the words of the Lord himself, who says that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), that is, for humanity, as St Paul explains when he writes: “One died for all” (2 Cor 5:14 cf. Rom 5:18). Christ obtained universal salvation by the gift of his life: no other mediator has been established by God as Saviour. The unique value of the sacrifice of the Cross must always be recognised in the destiny of every human being.
4. And since Christ works salvation through his mystical Body, which is the Church, the way of salvation is essentially linked to the Church. The axiom extra Ecclesiam nulla salus – "outside the Church there is no salvation" – enunciated by Saint Cyprian (Epist 73,21: PL 1123 AB), belongs to Christian tradition and was included in the Fourth Lateran Council (Denz.-S. 802), in the bull Unam Sanctam of Boniface VIII (Denz.-S. 870) and in the Council of Florence (Decretum pro Jacobitis, Denz.-S. 1351).
The axiom means that for those who are not ignorant that the Church was founded by God through Jesus Christ, it is necessary to enter and persevere in it in order to obtain salvation (cf. Lumen Gentium, 14). For those who have not received the proclamation of the Gospel, as I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, salvation is accessible through mysterious ways, inasmuch as divine grace is conferred on them by virtue of Christ's redemptive sacrifice, without external adherence to the Church but always in relation to it (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 10). This is a "mysterious relationship": mysterious for those who receive it, because they do not know the Church and indeed sometimes reject it externally; mysterious also in itself because it is linked to the saving mystery of grace, which involves an essential reference to the Church founded by the Saviour.
In order to be effective, saving grace requires adherence, cooperation, and a yes to divine self-giving: and such adherence is, at least implicitly, oriented towards Christ and the Church. Therefore, we can also say sine Ecclesia nulla salus – 'without the Church there is no salvation': adherence to the Church, the mystical Body of Christ, however implicit and mysterious, is an essential condition for salvation.
5. Religions can have a positive influence on the destiny of those who belong to them and follow their teachings with sincerity of spirit. But if the decisive action for salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit, we must bear in mind that man receives his salvation only from Christ, through the Holy Spirit. It begins already in earthly life, which grace, accepted and reciprocated, makes fruitful, in the evangelical sense, for earth and heaven.
Hence the importance of the indispensable role of the Church, which "is not an end in itself but fervently seeks to be wholly of Christ, in Christ and for Christ, and wholly of men, among men and for men". This role is therefore not 'ecclesiocentric', as has sometimes been said: the Church does not exist or work for itself, but is at the service of humanity called to divine filiation in Christ (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 19). It therefore exercises an implicit mediation even towards those who are ignorant of the Gospel.
However, this should not lead to the conclusion that its missionary activity is less necessary in such circumstances. Quite the contrary. In fact, those who are ignorant of Christ, through no fault of their own, find themselves in a condition of darkness and spiritual famine, which often has negative repercussions on a cultural and moral level. The missionary activity of the Church can provide them with the conditions for the full development of Christ's saving grace, proposing full and conscious adherence to the message of faith and active participation in the life of the Church in the sacraments.
This is the theological line drawn from Christian tradition. The Magisterium of the Church has followed it in doctrine and practice as the way marked out by Christ himself for the Apostles and for missionaries of all times.
[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 31 May 1995]

We have listened to a passage from the Gospel of Matthew (11:2-6). The evangelist’s intention is that of making us enter more deeply into the mystery of Jesus, in order to grasp his goodness and his mercy. The scene is as follows: while John the Baptist was in prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask him a very clear question: “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (v. 3). He was precisely in a moment of darkness ... John was anxiously awaiting the Messiah and used colourful language to describe him in his preaching as a judge who would finally inaugurate the Kingdom of God and purify his people, rewarding the good and punishing the bad. John preached in this way: “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3:10). Now that Jesus has begun his public mission in a different manner, John suffers because he is in a two-fold darkness: the darkness of his prison cell, and the darkness of heart. He does not understand this manner of Jesus, and he wants to know if He is really the Messiah, or if he must await someone else.

And at first Jesus’ answer does not seem to correspond to John’s question. In fact, Jesus says: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offence at me” (vv. 4-6). Here Jesus’ intent becomes clear: He responds by saying that he is the real instrument of the Father’s mercy, who goes to encounter everyone, bringing consolation and salvation, and, in doing so, he manifests God’s justice. The blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, regain their dignity and are no longer excluded because of their disease, the dead return to life, while the Good News is proclaimed to the poor. And this becomes the summary of Jesus’ action, who in this way makes God’s own actions visible and tangible.

The message that the Church receives from this account of Christ’s life is very clear. God did not send his Son into the world to punish sinners, nor to destroy the wicked. Rather, they were invited to convert, so that, seeing the signs of divine goodness, they might rediscover their way back. As the Psalm says: “If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, / Lord, who could stand? / But there is forgiveness with thee, / that thou mayest be feared” (130 [129]:3-4). 

The justice that John the Baptist places at the heart of his preaching is manifested in Jesus firstly as mercy. And the Precursor’s doubts merely anticipate the astonishment that Jesus’ actions and words will arouse later. The conclusion of Jesus’ answer, therefore, is understandable. He says: “blessed is he who takes no offence at me” (v. 6). Offence means “obstacle”. Thus Jesus warns against a particular danger: if one’s obstacle to believing is above all Jesus’ works of mercy, it means that one has a false image of the Messiah. But blessed are those who, in view of Jesus’ works and words, render glory to the Father who is in heaven. 

Jesus’ admonition is always pertinent: today too, man forms an idea of God that prevents him from enjoying His real presence. Some people carve out a “do-it-yourself” faith that reduces God to the limited space of one’s own desires and convictions. This faith is not a conversion to the Lord who reveals himself, but rather, it prevents him from enlivening our life and consciousness. Others reduce God to a false idol; they use his holy name to justify their own interests, or actual hatred and violence. For others still God is only a psychological refuge in which to be reassured in difficult moments: it is a faith turned in on itself, impervious to the power of the merciful love of Jesus which reaches out to others. Others still consider Christ only as a good instructor of ethical teachings, one among the many of history. Finally, there are those who stifle the faith in a purely intimate relationship with Jesus, nullifying his missionary thrust that is capable of transforming the world and history. We Christians believe in the God of Jesus Christ, and our desire is that of growing in the living experience of his mystery of love. 

Let us therefore commit ourselves not to allow any obstacle to hinder the Father’s merciful action, and let us ask for the gift of a great faith so that we too may become signs and instruments of mercy.

[Pope Francis, General Audience, 7 September 2016]

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary [8 December]

Biblical texts: Gn 3:9–20; Ep 1:3–12; Lk 1:26–38 May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us! Instead of commenting on the readings, I propose a theological and spiritual meditation on the Immaculate Conception, starting with St Paul and referring to the tradition of the Church and the liturgy.

1. Saint Paul and Mary: a hidden but real bond Although Paul speaks almost nothing directly about the Virgin Mary, his teaching on the election, holiness and predestination of Christians (Eph 1:4-11) deeply illuminates the mystery of Mary. Saint Paul affirms that all the baptised are chosen, holy and immaculate. Applying this to Mary, we understand that what is true for the whole Church is realised in her in a perfect and anticipated way.

2. The mystery of the Church sheds light on the mystery of Mary In the development of theology, especially in the early centuries, Mary was understood in relation to the Church: Mary is what the Church is called to become. What is partial in us is perfect in her. She is 'the first on the journey': first in time, first in perfection. Mary is 'first' in two senses: chronologically first to welcome Christ, first to share in his Passion, first to enter into glory with body and soul. Qualitatively: no one welcomed Christ with greater purity, love and freedom. Her unique grace does not separate her from us, but manifests what God wants to accomplish in the whole Church. The Immaculate Conception is not an isolated privilege, but the full realisation of the vocation of every Christian: Mary is preserved from sin in view of Christ's merits. We are saved from sin through Christ's merits (baptism, sacraments, conversion). The trajectories are the same; in Mary they are only anticipated and brought to perfection thanks to her total obedience and total abandonment to God's will: Mary did not do the divine will but lived entirely in God's will. Herein lies the key to her life: tempted like everyone else, including Jesus, she defeated Satan by choosing to live always and completely in the Father's will, and for this reason she is now a sign of sure hope for us all.

3. Why is Mary Immaculate? The reason is profoundly simple: to be truly the Mother of God. To love Jesus for what he really is — true God and true man — Mary had to be totally free from sin, totally open to love, capable of welcoming God without hindrance. The Immaculate Conception is a gift of love: God formed her this way out of love for his Son and for us, so that Mary might become the Mother of the Saviour and the Mother of the Church. St John Damascene writes: "As Eve cooperated in the fall, Mary cooperated in the redemption: immaculate, she brought life to the one who was to give life to the world." And St Bartholomew Longo, recently canonised, observes: "The Immaculate Conception is not just a title, but a living mystery: God created her entirely pure to make her the Mother of the Redeemer."

4. Mary precedes us to show us our destiny. Mary does not crush, humiliate or distance us: she shows us what we will be in glory; she is a foretaste of what the Church will become; her holiness is a promise of ours. In her we see the goal of Christian life. Mary freely receives the angel's announcement and her "fiat" opens the door to salvation. Today, too, the Church, like Mary, is called to proclaim Christ, to bring his love into the world, to say her "yes" in history. God needs our hands, our eyes, our arms, our hearts: like Mary, we are called to be bearers of light, and we can be so to the extent that God's will lives in us as the protagonist of our entire existence.

5. What does it mean to be “immaculate” today? For us, it does not mean being without sin, but welcoming God’s action in our lives. It means living open to grace, saying our daily “yes”, allowing ourselves to be purified and transformed by the Spirit, becoming transparent in order to show Christ in the world. The Immaculate Conception thus becomes a vocation and a journey. "The truth about the Immaculate Conception seemed the most difficult for me to accept... when I finally accepted it, everything became clear: my faith found meaning." (Testimony reported on the website CatholicConvert.com in the story of Delores, a woman who recounts her conversion to Catholicism).

Important points to remember: +Mary is understood starting from the Church: what is true for all the baptised is perfect in her. +Immaculate because she is the Mother of God: in order to love her Son fully, she had to be totally free from sin. +"First on the journey": first in time and in the quality of love and holiness. +Her grace is promised to us: what she already lives, the Church and Christians will live fully in glory. +Shared predestination: Mary is preserved from sin; we are saved from sin. +Mary's "fiat" as a model: God calls, but waits for our freedom; the yes opens the way to mission. +Being immaculate today: it means welcoming God, allowing ourselves to be purified, becoming transparent to his light. +Mary takes nothing away from God: she is the "echo of God"; to venerate her is to honour God's work in her. +Mary points to our destiny: in her we see what God wants to accomplish in each of us. +The Immaculate Conception is a gift of love: from God to Mary and from Mary to the world.

*Here is a very brief historical summary of the main medieval defenders of the Immaculate Conception: St. Albert the Great (1200-1280) – Dominican theologian; open to the idea of Mary's preservation from original sin, but without defining it definitively. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) – Dominican theologian; he argued that Mary was redeemed 'after original sin', therefore not immaculate from conception. Duns Scotus (1266-1308) – Franciscan theologian; main defender of the Immaculate Conception. Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment, thanks to the merits of Christ anticipated by God. William of Ockham (1287-1347) – Franciscan; supporter of Scotus' position, albeit with some philosophical nuances. Scotus' central idea: Mary immaculate from the moment of conception, preserved by God's grace thanks to the future merits of Christ, anticipating the official dogma defined in 1854.

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

The authority of Jesus and ours

(Mt 21:23-27)

«With wich authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?» (Mt 21:23).

In the traditional Judaizing milieu of the early communities, questions bounced about Christ’s authority in putting under siege the ordinary religious system, and His distinction even from prophets recognized as the Baptist.

Only answer: the power of God that was expressed in the sign of the times - by fermenting consciences.

Jesus’ mission was not regular: He baffled the atmosphere, so His living and sharp Word had to be circumscribed at all costs.

Such bold behavior would have seemed irreverent, even if adopted by the expected Messiah himself.

And a landless man could only be his false claimant...

Religious leaders that the Lord faced - rooted in established thought patterns and strategies - were always content to adapt Heaven within closed screens.

Mt tried to help his communities in Galilee and Syria: they had to continue fearlessly, and not let themselves be seduced by official religious practices, nor polluted by imperial ideology.

The Evangelist also seems to suggest to the faithful in Christ to avoid puny diatribes, with the representatives of a world only apparently stable - vice versa destined to implode on its own contradictions.

After the expulsion of the sellers and usurer-profaners from the Temple (Mt 21:12ff), Jesus' fate is sealed.

But through his intimates, the new Kingdom - untied - must be proposed in spirit of disinterest, and as a Surprise.

Only the Father can have seed management, of the roots and development.

No man can give "permission" to any person to be reflective and dissolved.

There is an unpredictable path even for those who are accustomed to being directed in every story. Instead the guarantees clutter minds and clog the streets that then result in frontier experiences.

In this way, we manifest independence and freedom because Jesus himself has demonstrated it, flying over all expectations and purpose.

Sooner or later the leaders would have been dismayed by those who could not stand the ratifications, finally recognizing their ignorance.

They would have stranded themselves permanently, on their own - even because of the will not to expose themselves (vv.25-27a). Tactical perplexity, which reveals disbelief - lukewarmness - total lack of Faith.

In short, the ‘silence’ of those who like a more attentive and less external Church is often the just echo of God, more eloquent than so many brilliant disquisitions (v.27b).

Thus Jesus avoids the ambiguity of mental restriction or evasive semantics: in Him the non-response to the leaders becomes a question.

The Lord remains silent, but without diverting the point.

[Monday 3rd wk. in Advent, December 15, 2025]

The authority of Jesus and ours

(Mt 21:23-27)

"By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority?" (Mt 21:23).

In the traditional Judaizing environment of the early communities, questions about Christ's authority in laying siege to the ordinary religious system, and his standing apart even from recognised prophets such as the Baptist, were bouncing around.

The only answer: the power of God expressed in the sign of the times - fermenting consciences.

Jesus' mission was not a regular one: he disconcerted the atmosphere, so his sharp, living Word had to be contained at all costs.

Such bold behaviour would have seemed irreverent towards the authorities, even if adopted by the expected Messiah himself. And a landless one could only be his false pretender....

The religious leaders whom the Lord confronted - rooted in established patterns of thought and strategies, even coinage - were always content to fit Heaven into closed dishcloths.

Even the faithful in the congregations of Mt seemed under the tutelage of interests, ways, words and deeds imposed by the despotic climate.

In the 1970s-80s, Jewish converts to the Lord were persecuted because they resisted the customs and pressures of established religious leaders and the power system.

Some had already thoughtlessly attempted the diplomatic route, trying to reconcile Faith and Empire.

As Paul, by now sadly aware of the defeat of his theology, said: 'Those who want to make a good impression in the flesh, force you to be circumcised, just so as not to be persecuted because of the cross of Christ'.

Mt tries to help his communities in Galilee and Syria: they should continue fearless, and not be seduced by official religious practices, nor polluted by the corrupt ideology of the various Caesars.

The evangelist also seems to suggest to the faithful in Christ to avoid punctilious diatribes, with the representatives of a world only apparently stable - on the contrary destined to implode on its own contradictions.

The Tao Tê Ching (v) writes: "To speak much and scrutinise rationally, is worth less than to be empty". And Master Wang Pi comments: 'He who does not talk and does not reason surely scrutinises the reason of things'.

After the expulsion of the sellers and usurer-profaners from the Temple (Mt 21:12ff), Jesus' fate is sealed.

The true god of the ancient high places is not touched: the sack of the 'masters' and the treasure of the priests involved.

Those in charge of the black affairs of the sacred precinct appeared believing and loyal, but only when scrutinised from the outside.

Their inner eye and activity well concealed under their cloaks and behind the scenes lay on anything but spiritual goods.

They were masters of everything, so no one had to take any initiative without their placet. Let alone affect religious commerce.

Who ever gave the imprimatur to a carpenter's son to stand in the way of lavish earnings, and undermine their prestige?

Useful beliefs and habitual income were 'vested rights'.

Unfortunately, the history of religions is punctuated with episodes of plagiarism and compromise, even in times when the economic and social situation became difficult or complex (like today).

Where the less affluent classes declined the risks, the more willingly they outsourced the difficult management of personal freedom - leaving the field open to business partners with God, manipulators of conscience.

But here - by dint of permits to be asked for with deference, similar proceedings (and smuggling 'cordatas') - that freshness full of wonder, typical of the soul open to adventure and the passion of love, was finally lacking.

Therefore, according to Jesus, no man can give 'permission' for any person to be reflective and dissolved.

There is an unpredictable path even for those who are used to being directed in every affair.

The seed borne by the wind of the Spirit makes its own plant, which does not necessarily resemble the surrounding ones: it does not bind itself in its particular expressiveness, and it also flies out of bounds.

Although the constituted authorities absolutely did not want to lose control of things and imposed the usual standard pious life - with its own spin-offs - according to Christ, God alone could have stewarded the seed, roots and development.

Through his intimates, the new Kingdom - untied - is to be proposed to the whole world, in the spirit of selflessness... and as a Surprise.

Unforeseen and unburdened attributes, which the Son reveals in his caring for the weak, and opposing the wily; in his Person.

We manifest independence and freedom, because Jesus himself demonstrated it, overriding all expectations and intentions.

The Master was not a qualunquist with those who hatched plots of trade and even demanded approval.Without seeking lexical concordances, he emphasised that orthodoxy should not be confused with repetition.

The guarantees of the past often clog up minds and clog up paths that then lead to frontier experiences.

In this way, sooner or later the leaders would have been dismayed by those who do not endure ratifications, finally acknowledging their ignorance.

They would run themselves aground - overwhelmed by their own cheating and their anxiety not to lose power over the people [increasingly intolerant of 'visas'].

This, even because of the desire not to expose themselves (vv.25-27a). 

Tactical perplexity, which reveals unbelief - lukewarmness - total lack of Faith.

As Pope Francis pointed out:

Jesus, with intelligence, answers with another question and puts the chief priests "in a corner", asking them whether John the Baptist baptised with an authority that came to him from heaven, that is, from God or from men. Matthew describes their reasoning, reread by the Pontiff "If we say, "From heaven", they will say to us, "Why did you not believe?"; if we say, "From men", people will come against us. And they wash their hands of it and say: 'We do not know'. This, the Holy Father commented, "is the attitude of the mediocre, the liars of faith".

"Not only did Pilate wash his hands of it," the Pope explained, these also wash their hands of it: 'We do not know'. This means, Francis continued, "not entering into the history of men, not getting involved in problems, not fighting to do good, not fighting to heal so many people in need.... 'Better not. Let's not get dirty'".

That is why, the Pontiff clarified, Jesus replies "with the same tune: 'Neither do I tell you by what authority I do this'". In fact, "these are two attitudes of lukewarm Christians", recalled Francis, "of us - as my grandmother used to say - "rose-water Christians"; Christians like this: without consistency".

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 16-17/12/2019].

In his commentary on the Tao (LXV) Master Ho-Shang Kung writes: "The man who possesses the mysterious virtue is so profound that he cannot be probed, so inscrutable that he has no limit.

The silence of those who in Christ are still educating the protagonists of the sacred places is often God's righteous echo, more eloquent than many brilliant disquisitions (v.27b).

Thus Jesus avoids the ambiguity of mental restriction or evasive semantics: in Him the non-answer to the leaders is transformed into a question.

The Lord remains silent, but without deflecting the question.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you demonstrate autonomy and emancipation from those who aspire to control your personality, only to make you a (licensed) labourer in (their) temple?

In your opinion: despite their pompous appearances of rank, did the people's spiritual leaders and temple officials have anything to do with the One they were celebrating?

Sometimes, perhaps - even us - little or nothing?

Translating power into humility

Jesus' word to the people immediately opens up access to the Father's will and to the truth about themselves. Not so, however, for the scribes, who had to strive to interpret the Holy Scriptures with countless reflections (...)

Divine authority is not a force of nature. It is the power of God's love that creates the universe and, by becoming incarnate in the Only-Begotten Son, descending into our humanity, heals the world corrupted by sin. Romano Guardini writes: 'Jesus' entire existence is the translation of power into humility...it is sovereignty that here lowers itself to the form of a servant' (Il Potere, Brescia 1999, 141,142).

For man, authority often means possession, power, dominion, success. For God, on the other hand, authority means service, humility, love; it means entering into the logic of Jesus who stoops to wash the disciples' feet (cf. Jn 13:5), who seeks the true good of man, who heals wounds, who is capable of a love so great that it gives life, because it is Love. In one of her Letters, St Catherine of Siena writes: 'It is necessary that we see and know, in truth, with the light of faith, that God is supreme and eternal Love, and can will nothing but our good' (Ep. 13 in: Le Lettere, vol. 3, Bologna 1999, 206).

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 29 January 2012]

The words Jesus addresses to the people immediately give access to the will of the Father and to the truth about themselves. This was not the case for the scribes who instead had to make an effort to interpret the Sacred Scriptures with countless reflections (...)

The divine authority is not a force of nature. It is the power of the love of God that creates the universe and, becoming incarnate in the Only-Begotten Son, descending into our humanity, heals the world corrupted by sin. Romano Guardini wrote: “Jesus’ entire existence is the translation of power into humility... here is the sovereignty which lowers itself into the form of a servant” (Il Potere, Brescia 1999, 141-142).

Authority, for human beings, often means possession, power, dominion and success. Instead for God authority means service, humility and love; it means entering into the logic of Jesus who stoops to wash his disciples’ feet (cf. Jn 13:5), who seeks man’s true good, who heals wounds, who is capable of a love so great that he gives his life, because he is Love. In one of her Letters St. Catherine of Siena wrote: “It is necessary for us to see and know, in truth, with the light of the faith, that God is supreme and eternal Love and cannot want anything but our good” (Ep. 13 in: Le Lettere, vol. 3, Bologna 1999, 206).

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 29 January 2012]

This is not the appropriate place for quoting the confirmations of this fact which run through the whole history of humanity. What is certain is that from the most ancient times the dictate of conscience has guided every human subject towards an objective moral norm which finds concrete expression in respect for the other person and in the principle of not doing to that person what one would not wish done to oneself (41).

[41] "The moral law", Confucius says, "is not distant from us... The wise man does not make many mistakes regarding the moral law. He has as his principle: do not do to others what you would not wish done to you" (Chung Yung: Equilibrium and Norm, 13). A Japanese master of ancient times (Dengyo Daishi, also called Saicho, who lived 767-822 A.D.) urges people to be "forgetful of self, doers of good to others: this represents the summit of friendship and compassion" (cf. W.T. De Bary, Sources of Japanese Tradition, New York 1958, Vol I, p. 127). Nor can one fail to mention Mahatma Gandhi, who taught the "power of truth" (satyagraha), which conquers without violence by the dynamism intrinsic to just action.

[Pope John Paul II, Dilecti Amici n.7]

Two attitudes of lukewarm Christians - 'cornering God and washing their hands of Him' - are dangerous: because 'it is like challenging God'. If the Lord cornered us "we would never enter Paradise" and woe if he then "washed his hands of us". This is how Pope Francis, in his homily during the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Monday 16 December, reread the Gospel of Matthew proposed by the liturgy: the one about the dialogue between Jesus and the chief priests, who ask him with what authority he teaches in the temple.

Jesus, the Pontiff recalled, exhorted the people, healed them, taught and performed miracles, and thus unnerved the chief priests, because with his gentleness and dedication to the people he attracted everyone to him. While they, the officials, were respected by the people, who however did not approach them "because they did not trust them". So they agreed 'to corner Jesus'. And they ask him, Francis continued, "By what authority do you do these things?" For 'you are not a priest, a doctor of the law, you have not studied in our universities. You are nothing'.

Jesus, with intelligence, answers with another question and corners the chief priests, asking them whether John the Baptist baptised with an authority that came to him from heaven, that is, from God or from men. Matthew describes their reasoning, reread by the Pontiff "If we say, "From heaven", they will say to us, "Why did you not believe?"; if we say, "From men", people will come against us. And they wash their hands of it and say: 'We do not know'. This, the Holy Father commented, "is the attitude of the mediocre, the liars of faith".

"Not only did Pilate wash his hands of it," the Pope explained, these also wash their hands of it: 'We do not know'. This means, Francis continued, "not to enter into the history of men, not to involve oneself in the problems, not to fight to do good, not to fight to heal so many people in need.... 'Better not. Let's not get dirty'".

That is why, the Pontiff clarified, Jesus replies "with the same tune: 'Neither do I tell you by what authority I do this'". In fact, "these are two attitudes of lukewarm Christians", recalled Francis, "of us - as my grandmother used to say - "rose-water Christians"; Christians like this: without consistency". Hence, the Pontiff explained, that attitude of "putting God in the corner: 'Either you do this to me or I will never go to a church again'".

The other attitude of lukewarmness, the Pope continued, is washing one's hands of it, like "the disciples of Emmaus that morning of the Resurrection": they see the women "all rejoicing because they had seen the Lord", but they do not trust them, because the women "are too imaginative"; and so they wash their hands of it and so they enter the confraternity "of St. Pilate".

"So many Christians," Pope Francis then denounced, "wash their hands of it before the challenges of culture, the challenges of history, the challenges of the people of our time; even before the smallest challenges. How many times, he recalled, "we hear the stingy Christian in front of a person who asks for alms and does not give it: 'No, no I do not give because then these people get drunk. He washes his hands of it'. And to those who reply, continued the Pontiff: "But he has no food.... - It's his business: I don't want him to get drunk'. We hear this many times, many times".

"Putting God in a corner and washing one's hands of him," was the Pontiff's warning, "are two dangerous attitudes, because it is like challenging God. Let us think what would happen if the Lord cornered us. We would never enter Paradise. And what would happen if the Lord washed his hands of us? Poor things". These are, Pope Francis concludes, "two hypocritical attitudes of the educated".

"No, not this one. I don't meddle", so the Pope voiced the hypocritical educated, "I corner people, because they are dirty people", while "in front of this I wash my hands of it because it is their business". Hence Francis' final invitation to see "if there is something like this in us"; and if there is to cast out "these attitudes to make way for the Lord who comes."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 16-17/12/2019]

Crisis of the titanic spirit

(Mt 11:2-11)

«What did you go out to contemplate in the desert? But what did you come out to see?» (vv.7.8.9).

The Lord wants to help us to become deeply aware of the stretch of road travelled and of what is still ahead of us.

We are not already in possession of Salvation. We have to reflect on the true Exodus still to be done.

Baptist and Jesus never attended court palaces. This is clear (v.8).

The spirit of hedonism or of domestication persuades and attracts us, but it softens and weakens the frankness, the vitality of every path.

Instead, Christ proposes another movement of Conversion: a further excavation, which distinguishes his proposal from that of the Precursor.

«Truly, I say to you, one greater than John the Baptist has not arose among the born of women; but the smallest in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him» (v.11).

For a journey of authentic and finally mature growth - sons in the Son - it is appropriate to free ourselves from every model of perfection.

Adopting a one-sided way does not lead to any blossoming, rather to making things worse.

In the positive (and intimate) itinerary there is no single road. Life is variety, change, resurrection experience.

At that horizon, the greatest obstacles in responding to the personal Call by Name arise precisely from identifications.

Resolute recognitions is always artificial. They do not awaken us from swampy situations, nor do they let us find the gold of mysterious, intimate, wise inclinations.

Existence and the people themselves are in fact not “either/or”. And the path of Life in the Spirit accepts the shades of typeface.

They can sometimes appear as confusing notes, typical of personalities to be corrected. This is how it was imagined until not so long ago; a situation that, however, tended to impoverish and level us.

The ancient devout idea - which has conditioned us so much - was in fact linked to the primacy of external moral "coherence" [correspondence between ideas and actions].

Christ replaces this banal thought with a completely different focus: the correspondence between inner states and their manifestation.

In short, a «little in the kingdom of the heavens» can also be a misfit and disturbing, an eccentric and reprehensible restless - but who would like to grow.

So he does not cover his own internal struggles.

Not infrequently circumstance smiles, moralisms, or the same good manners, veil ideas, impulses, opposite habits that somehow, sooner or later, will find their way to become protagonists.

Not to mention - even in religion - of the dirigiste attitudes, which we do not know well which "double" they hide.

They are not true linearity, authentic order; much less "discipline".

The Master dreams that his apostles turn away from rash judgments and abstract ideals. Too easy. They do not make us perceive clearly.

In short, we must suspend clichés about love for God and others, and the think coarse about ourselves - as well as absorbed opinions.

Contrasts are natural.

Discomfort is the primordial language of the soul that calls us to displace our gaze, to activate the spirit towards new trajectories to explore.

Only in this Exodus will we dock at the Promised Land, a virgin territory to be discovered. To be redone every day.

Not by cutting the Roots horizontally, but starting from them.

[3rd Sunday of Advent (year A) Gaudete, December 14, 2025]