1. A priestly, sacramental, prophetic community, the Church was established by Jesus Christ as a structured, hierarchical and ministerial society, in function of the pastoral governance for the formation and continuous growth of the community. The first subjects of this ministerial and pastoral function are the twelve Apostles, chosen by Jesus Christ as the visible foundations of his Church. As the Second Vatican Council says, "Jesus Christ, the eternal Shepherd, built up the holy Church and sent the Apostles as He Himself was sent by the Father (cf. Jn 20:21), and He willed that their successors, that is, the bishops, should be shepherds in His Church until the end of time" (LG 18). This passage from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Lumen Gentium - reminds us first of all of the original and unique position of the Apostles in the institutional framework of the Church. From the Gospel story we know that Jesus called disciples to follow him and from among them he chose twelve (cf. Lk 6:13).

The Gospel narrative lets us know that for Jesus it was a decisive choice, made after a night of prayer (cf. Lk 6:12); a choice made with a sovereign freedom: Mark tells us that Jesus, having ascended the mountain, called to himself "those whom he wanted" (Mk 3:13). The Gospel texts record the names of the individuals called (cf. Mk 3:16-19 et par.): a sign that their importance was perceived and recognised in the early Church.

2. By creating the group of the Twelve, Jesus created the Church, as a visible structured society at the service of the Gospel and the coming of the Kingdom of God. The number twelve referred to the twelve tribes of Israel, and Jesus' use of it reveals his intention to create a new Israel, the new people of God established as the Church. Jesus' creative intention transpires from the same verb used by Mark to describe the institution: 'He made twelve . . . He made the twelve'. "Make" recalls the verb used in the Genesis account about the creation of the world and in Deutero-Isaiah (Is 43:1; 44:2) about the creation of God's people, ancient Israel. The creative will is also expressed in the new names given to Simon (Peter) and James and John (Sons of Thunder), but also to the group or college as a whole. Indeed, Luke writes that Jesus "chose twelve, to whom he gave the name of apostles" (Lk 6:13). The Twelve Apostles thus became a characteristic, distinct and, in some respects, unrepeatable socio-ecclesial reality. In their group emerged the Apostle Peter, about whom Jesus manifested more explicitly his intention to found a new Israel, with the name given to Simon: "stone", on which Jesus wanted to build his Church (cf. Mt 16:18).

3. Jesus' purpose in establishing the Twelve is defined by Mark: "He made twelve of them to be with him, and also to send them out to preach, and that they might have power to cast out demons" (Mk 3:14-15). The first constitutive element of the group of the Twelve is therefore an absolute attachment to Christ: they are people called to "be with him", that is, to follow him, leaving everything behind. The second element is the missionary element, expressed on the model of the mission of Jesus himself, who preached and cast out demons. The mission of the Twelve is a participation in Christ's mission by men closely linked to him as disciples, friends, trustees.

4. In the mission of the Apostles, the evangelist Mark emphasises "the power to cast out demons". It is a power over the power of evil, which in a positive sense means the power to give men the salvation of Christ, the One who casts out the "prince of this world" (John 12, 31). Luke confirms the meaning of this power and the purpose of the institution of the Twelve by quoting the word of Jesus giving the Apostles authority in the Kingdom: "You are the ones who have persevered with me in my trials. And I lay down for you a kingdom as the Father has laid down for me" (Lk 22:28). Also in this statement, perseverance in union with Christ and the authority granted in the kingdom are intimately linked. It is a pastoral authority, as is evident from the text on the mission specifically entrusted to Peter: 'Shepherd my lambs . . . Shepherd my sheep" (John 21: 15-17). Peter personally receives supreme authority in the shepherding mission. This mission is exercised as participation in the authority of the one Shepherd and Master, Christ. The supreme authority entrusted to Peter does not cancel the authority given to the other Apostles in the kingdom. The pastoral mission is shared by the Twelve under the authority of the one universal Shepherd, mandatary and representative of the Good Shepherd, Christ.

5. The specific tasks inherent in the mission entrusted by Jesus Christ to the Twelve are the following: a) mission and power to evangelise all nations, as the three Synoptics clearly attest (cf. Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:16-18; Lk 24:45-48). Among them, Matthew highlights the relationship established by Jesus himself between his messianic power and the mandate he gave to the Apostles: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:18). The Apostles will be able and must carry out their mission by the power of Christ manifested in them. b) mission and power to baptise (Mt 28:19), as the fulfilment of Christ's mandate, with a baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity (Ibid), which will be the first baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity (Ibid). Trinity (Ibid), which, being linked to the paschal mystery of Christ, in the Acts of the Apostles is also considered as baptism in the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 2:38; 8:16). c) mission and power to celebrate the Eucharist: "Do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24-25). The commission to redo what Jesus accomplished at the Last Supper, with the consecration of the bread and wine, implies a power of the highest level; to say in the name of Christ: "This is my body", "this is my blood", is almost an identification with Christ in the sacramental act. d) mission and power to forgive sins (Jn 20:22-23). It is a participation of the Apostles in the power of the Son of Man to forgive sins on earth (cf. Mk 2:10): that power which in Jesus' public life had caused the astonishment of the crowd, of which the evangelist Matthew tells us that they "gave glory to God who had given such power to men" (Mt 9:8).

6. To fulfil this mission, the Apostles received, besides power, the special gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 20:21-22), which was manifested at Pentecost, according to Jesus' promise (cf. Acts 1:8). By virtue of this gift, from the moment of Pentecost they began to fulfil the mandate of evangelising all peoples. The Second Vatican Council tells us this in the Constitution Lumen Gentium: "The Apostles . . . preaching everywhere the Gospel, accepted by the hearers through the motion of the Holy Spirit, gather the universal Church, which the Lord founded on the Apostles and built on blessed Peter, their head, while Jesus Christ himself is its cornerstone (cf. Rev 21:14; Mt 16:18; Eph 2:20)" (LG 19).

7. The mission of the Twelve comprised a fundamental role reserved for them, which would not be inherited by others: to be eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Christ (cf. Lk 24:48), to transmit his message to the primitive community, as a hinge between divine revelation and the Church, and for this very reason to initiate the Church in the name and by virtue of Christ, under the action of the Holy Spirit. For this function of theirs, the Twelve Apostles constitute a group of unique importance in the Church, which since the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Symbol is defined as apostolic (Credo una sanctam, catholicam et 'apostolicam' Ecclesiam) because of this indissoluble link to the Twelve. This explains why also in the liturgy the Church has included and reserved special solemn celebrations in honour of the Apostles.

8. However, Jesus conferred on the Apostles a mission of evangelisation of all nations, which takes a very long time, and indeed lasts "until the end of the world" (Mt 28:20). The Apostles understood that it was Christ's will that they should provide successors, who, as their heirs and legates, would carry on their mission. They therefore established "episcopes and deacons" in the various communities "and arranged that after their death other approved men should receive their succession in the ministry" (Clement of Rome, Ep. Ad Cor., 44, 2; cf. 42, 1. 4). In this way Christ established a hierarchical and ministerial structure of the Church, formed by the Apostles and their successors; a structure that did not derive from a previously established community, but was created directly by him. The Apostles were, at one and the same time, the seeds of the new Israel and the origin of the sacred hierarchy, as stated in the Council's Constitution Ad Gentes (AG 5). This structure therefore belongs to the very nature of the Church, according to the divine plan realised by Jesus. According to this same plan, it has an essential role in the entire development of the Christian community, from the day of Pentecost to the end of time, when in the heavenly Jerusalem all the elect will fully participate in the 'New Life' for eternity.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 1 July 1992]

"Prayer and witness" are the "two tasks of the bishops" who are "pillars of the Church". But if they weaken, the whole people of God suffers. That is why, Pope Francis asked during the mass celebrated on Friday morning 22 January in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, we must pray insistently for the successors of the twelve apostles.

The Pontiff's reflection on the figure and mission of the bishop started from the passage from the evangelist Mark (3:13-19) proclaimed during today's liturgy. "There is a word in this Gospel passage that attracts attention: Jesus 'constituted'". And this word "appears twice". In fact, Mark writes: "'He constituted twelve, whom he called apostles'". And then he resumes: 'He therefore constituted the twelve', and names them, one after the other'. Therefore, the Pontiff explained, 'Jesus, among so many people who followed him - the Gospel tells us - "called to himself those he wanted"'. In short, 'there is a choice: Jesus chose those whom He wanted'. And, indeed, "he constituted twelve. Whom he called apostles'. In fact, Francis continued, "there were others: there were the disciples" and "the Gospel speaks of seventy-two, on one occasion". But 'these were something else'.

The "twelve are constituted so that they might be with Him and to send them out to preach with the power to cast out demons," the Pope explained. "This is the most important group that Jesus chose, 'so that they might be with Him', closer, 'and to send them out to preach' the Gospel." And "with the power to cast out demons," Mark further added. Precisely those 'twelve are the first bishops, the first group of bishops'.

These twelve 'chosen ones,' Francis noted, 'were aware of the importance of this election, so much so that after Jesus had been taken up into heaven, Peter spoke to the others and explained to them that, given Judas' betrayal, it was necessary to do something'. And so from among those who had been with Jesus, from John's baptism until his ascension, they chose "a witness 'with us' - says Peter - of the resurrection". Here, continued the Pope, that "Judas' place is taken, is taken by Matthias: Matthias has been elected".

Then "the liturgy of the Church, referring to "some expressions of Paul", calls the twelve "the pillars of the Church". Yes, said the Pontiff, 'the apostles are the pillars of the Church. And the bishops are the columns of the Church. That election of Matthias was the first episcopal ordination of the Church'.

"I would like to say a few words today about bishops," Francis confided. "We bishops have this responsibility to be witnesses: witnesses that the Lord Jesus is alive, that the Lord Jesus is risen, that the Lord Jesus walks with us, that the Lord Jesus saves us, that the Lord Jesus gave his life for us, that the Lord Jesus is our hope, that the Lord Jesus always welcomes us and forgives us." Here is 'the testimony'. Consequently, he continued, 'our life must be this: a testimony, a true testimony to the resurrection of Christ'.

And when Jesus, as Mark recounts, makes "this choice" of the twelve, he has two reasons. Firstly, "so that they might be with Him". Therefore "the bishop has the obligation to be with Jesus". Yes, "it is the bishop's first obligation: to be with Jesus". And it is true "to such an extent that when the problem arose, in the early days, that orphans and widows were not well cared for, the bishops - these twelve - got together and thought about what to do". And "they introduced the figure of the deacons, saying: 'Let the deacons take care of the orphans, of the widows'". While the twelve, "says Peter", are assigned "two tasks: prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel".

Therefore, Francis reiterated, "the first task of the bishop is to be with Jesus in prayer". In fact, "the bishop's first task is not to make pastoral plans... no, no!". It is "to pray: this is the first task". While 'the second task is to be a witness, that is to preach: to preach the salvation that the Lord Jesus brought us'.

They are 'two tasks that are not easy,' the Pontiff acknowledged, 'but it is precisely these two tasks that make the columns of the Church strong'. In fact, "if these columns weaken, because the bishop does not pray or prays little, he forgets to pray; or because the bishop does not proclaim the Gospel, he occupies himself with other things, the Church also weakens; it suffers. The people of God suffer". Precisely 'because the pillars are weak'.

For this reason, Francis said, 'I would like to invite you today to pray for us bishops: because we too are sinners, we too have weaknesses, we too have the danger of Judas: he too was elected as a pillar'. Yes, he continued, 'we too run the danger of not praying, of doing something other than proclaiming the Gospel and casting out demons'. Hence, the Pope reiterated, the invitation to "pray that the bishops be what Jesus wanted and that we all bear witness to Jesus' resurrection".

Moreover, he added, "the people of God pray for the bishops, in every mass we pray for the bishops: we pray for Peter, the head of the episcopal college, and we pray for the local bishop". But 'this may not be enough: one says the name out of habit and moves on'. It is important "to pray for the bishop with the heart, to ask the Lord: 'Lord, take care of my bishop; take care of all the bishops, and send us bishops who are true witnesses, bishops who pray and bishops who help us, with their preaching, to understand the Gospel, to be sure that You, Lord, are alive, are among us'".

Before resuming the celebration, the Pope suggested, again, to pray "therefore for our bishops: it is a task of the faithful". In fact, 'the Church without a bishop cannot go on'. Here, then, that "the prayer of all of us for our bishops is an obligation, but an obligation of love, an obligation of children towards the Father, an obligation of brothers, so that the family may remain united in the confession of Jesus Christ, living and risen."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 23/01/2016]

(Mk 3:7-12)

The Kingdom of the Father announced by Jesus wasn’t at all tied to a creed any: God had not only a Face different from the ‘Empire system’ and the great Sovereign of religions, but even opposite.

This is the meaning of the happy news that his living Body pressed from everywhere and tossed by the waves [his fraternities, besieged] is always called to proclaim with the recovery works of people in difficulty, excluded from the circle of the strong.

In this very concrete sense, Mk’s Gospel insists on the expulsion of demons - starting from a kind of neutralization that is rooted in a quality of interior gaze and eminent relationships, devoid of instinct to competition. Even where it may seem impossible.

In Christ, the physician of suffering humanity, the things of the soul appear different, and so do relationships. All this leads his group to a different view of itself, history, world, multitudes (vv.7-9) and problems.

And with Him in the middle, his intimates are configured as the core of a society with simple ways, but with solid discernment, and divine relations.

At Mk’s time, in a moment of awareness of the crumbling of the golden age promised by the regime, here is the popular fear and belief in the dominance of unclean spirits over good.

On the other hand, instead of freeing people, all the authorities of the various religious expressions sucked their energies - just spreading fantasies and fears that ended up fueling widespread anguish.

On the basis of the alternative teaching and work of the Lord, the Church intended to free the subjugated people from heart-pounding and nightmare of scruples - through a life proposal that no longer relied on unworthiness and the phobias of the punishment of the gods.

The concrete example of the living Christ [in the «little Boat» here in v.9: the tiny Assembly of the sons] had to not let itself be crushed by epochal anxieties and feelings of guilt.

The false spiritual leaders of time inculcated in the people in need of everything an accentuation of the inadequacy feeling.

Thanks to their miseducation, simple people were not restored to themselves, but made radically insufficient.

For the intimates of the Lord, everyone must instead have ‘access’ - and new life.

And the troubled mob can become coexistence of new harmonies, of other alliances; but starting from its integrated, conciliated weakness - no longer because by way of ignorance and subtraction, or psychosis.

By adhering to Christ, we too have a precious experience: quality of support, vocation, naturalness, personal character, and concreteness, are combined.

So the Lord doesn’t want a “delirious” and empty institution - that can create a stir, or pyramids, and put awe. Not even magniloquent, but reduced to «small boat» [v.9 Greek text].

For this reason, Jesus never endured the quest for fame or exhibitionism (v.12), inconclusive ones.

His non-paternalistic Friendship accompanies us, understands, helps, recovers, and is also a step back.

Here is the Communion able to amalgamate people; with an intimate configuration which brings together and joins. The only convincing and lovable condition.

[Thursday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 22, 2026]

(Mk 3:7-12)

The Kingdom of the Father announced by Jesus was by no means bound to just any creed: God did not just have a Face different from the empire system and the great Ruler of religions, but actually opposite.

This is the sense of the glad tidings that his living Body pressed from all sides and tossed about by the waves [his fraternities, then besieged] is always called upon to proclaim with the works of recovery of people in difficulty, excluded from the circle of the strong.

In this very concrete sense, the Gospel of Mk insists on the expulsion of demons - starting with a kind of neutralisation that is rooted in a quality of inner gaze and eminent relationships, devoid of the instinct to compete. Even where it may seem impossible.

In Christ, the physician of suffering humanity, things of the soul appear different, and so do relationships. All this leads his group to a different view of themselves, of history, of the world, of the multitudes (vv.7-9) and of problems.

Incredibly, the Gospel suggests starting again from the masses abandoned by their guides, their 'shepherds'!

In this way - according to the ideal of the Prophets - the Lord himself gathers and forms the authentic remnant of Israel. He does not accept the political and confessional fabric at hand.

And with Him in the midst, His intimates are configured as the nucleus of a society of simple ways, but finally of solid discernment, and divine relations.

At the time of Mc, with the multiplication of palace conspiracies and civil war, everyone in Rome was broadly aware that the Pax Romana was now only an ancient memory, a crude illusion.

In a moment of awareness of the crumbling of the golden age promised by the regime, popular fear and belief in the dominance of unclean spirits over goodness increased.

On the other hand, instead of liberating the people, all the authorities of the various religious expressions of the time sucked their energies - spreading fantasies and fears that ended up feeding widespread anxieties, especially the (pious but tormenting) anxieties of the unconscious.

Based on the alternative teaching and work of its Master, the Church felt invested with the task of liberating the subjugated people.

The heart-rending tortures and pious nightmares had to be placed in the background anyway, so that they would fade away spontaneously.

If of authentic origin, the new proposal of life will no longer appeal to feelings of unworthiness and phobias of the punishment of the gods.

The concrete example of the living Christ is the little boat, here in v.9 [Greek text]: the tiny assembly of sons, in which He abides.

It was not to be crushed by the epochal anxieties and obsessions of guilt, of inadequacy, that the false spiritual guides of the time inculcated in the needy people of the time - and thanks to their diseducation, made even more radically inadequate.

In addition to slaves, other wretched people at that time were the submissive in the ruthless world of the Empire, as well as subservient to the punctilious, pedantic doctrines of the various religious 'authorities'.

Because intimidated, the crowds could see no possibility of emancipation from a slavish, frightened, overwhelmed existence - made up of superstitious fears taken to excess.

Untethered from their ancient imprisonments and able to take on the anxieties and hopes of any crowd, believers relied on trust.

Their healing power did not rest on the manipulative or covert persuasion skills of barkers.

In the crowd of the simple, they instilled endless scruples.

Conversely, the lowly acquired a clear vision of history and life. This was thanks to convivial relations and the new Faith that disintegrated the obtuseness of common thinking.

Thus they could find latent personal and communitarian energies, help each other, and support others to rise up from all affairs.

In this way, stealing from the power of evil all humanity captive to paralysing or falsely consoling idols.

Even today, the true believers never claim to replenish their adherence to their conviviality as sisters and brothers, aligning themselves with the climate of fear on which - still, at full stretch - some beliefs in the field and other leaders rely.

"The" awaited Son of God - with the determinative article [v.11 Greek text: "that one"] was to be a kind of King of the princes of the earth (precisely according to the imposition formula of the tiaras - finally musealised).

"The" awaited Messiah was imagined as an exceptional character, who was to impose himself in a peremptory manner.

The Lord's Anointed One would definitively sweep away the problems, guaranteeing the chosen people extraordinary prosperity at the expense of others.

Instead, the logic of Incarnation is not identified with guile, opportunist calculations, popular traditions, or elite conventions. 

The Lord simply made himself present in a profound way - in the higher self of each one and in his People.

Each must have access and new life.

Thus the afflicted crowd can become a church of new harmonies, of other covenants - but from its integrated, reconciled weakness - no longer through ignorance and subtraction, or psychosis.

By adhering to Christ, coexistence, fellowship, supportive qualities, vocation, naturalness, personal character and concreteness are combined.

The Lord would not have wanted an institution that was servile and flattering, nor spirited and empty - that could create scalpings or pyramids, and awe.

Nor magniloquent, strong, capable of dictating conditions, ideology and norms - but reduced to a "little boat" [v.9 Greek text].

For this reason, Jesus never endured the pursuit of fame or inconclusive exhibitionism (v.12).

His non-paternalistic Friendship accompanies us, understands, recovers, and even stands a step back.

Here is the particular Fraternity and Church itself that is able to amalgamate; its intimate configuration, which brings together and unites all. The only convincing and amiable condition.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (xxxviii):

"The authentic man abides in that which is solid and does not dwell in that which is fickle, abides in the fruit and does not dwell in the flower".

And Master Ho-shang Kung comments: 'The sage who practises the Way abides in that which in the Tao [Way] is solid: he abides in simplicity'.

To internalise and live the message:

What frees you from obsessions? Is there a need for a reassuring, or fluid, support configuration?

In your opinion, how can the crowds converge around Jesus so that free personalities are formed, and an apostolate and an ecclesiology of communion grow, while respecting differences?

1. The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return.

10 [...] "Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rom 10:10). The heart indicates that the first act by which one comes to faith is God’s gift and the action of grace which acts and transforms the person deep within.

The example of Lydia is particularly eloquent in this regard. Saint Luke recounts that, while he was at Philippi, Paul went on the Sabbath to proclaim the Gospel to some women; among them was Lydia and “the Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). There is an important meaning contained within this expression. Saint Luke teaches that knowing the content to be believed is not sufficient unless the heart, the authentic sacred space within the person, is opened by grace that allows the eyes to see below the surface and to understand that what has been proclaimed is the word of God.

Confessing with the lips indicates in turn that faith implies public testimony and commitment. A Christian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him. This “standing with him” points towards an understanding of the reasons for believing. Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes. The Church on the day of Pentecost demonstrates with utter clarity this public dimension of believing and proclaiming one’s faith fearlessly to every person. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us fit for mission and strengthens our witness, making it frank and courageous.

Profession of faith is an act both personal and communitarian. It is the Church that is the primary subject of faith.

[Pope Benedict, motu proprio Porta Fidei]

1. Continuing the topic of the previous catecheses dedicated to the article of faith concerning angels, God's creatures, today we delve into exploring the mystery of the freedom that some of them have directed against God and His plan of salvation towards mankind.

As the evangelist Luke testifies, at the moment when the disciples were returning to the Master full of joy for the fruits they had gathered in their missionary apprenticeship, Jesus uttered a thought-provoking phrase: "I saw Satan falling from heaven like the thunderbolt" (Lk 10:18). With these words, the Lord affirms that the proclamation of the kingdom of God is always a victory over the devil, but at the same time he also reveals that the building of the kingdom is continually exposed to the snares of the spirit of evil. To concern oneself with this, as we intend to do with today's catechesis, is to prepare oneself for the condition of struggle that is proper to the life of the Church in this final time of salvation history (as Revelation states). (cf. Rev 12:7) On the other hand, this allows us to clarify the correct faith of the Church in the face of those who distort it by exaggerating the importance of the devil, or those who deny or minimise its evil power.

The previous catecheses on angels have prepared us to understand the truth that Sacred Scripture has revealed and that the Tradition of the Church has transmitted on Satan, that is, on the fallen angel, the evil spirit, also known as the devil or demon.

2. This "fall", which presents the character of the rejection of God with the consequent state of "damnation", consists in the free choice of those created spirits who have radically and irrevocably rejected God and His kingdom, usurping His sovereign rights and attempting to subvert the economy of salvation and the very ordering of the whole of creation. A reflection of this attitude is found in the words of the tempter to the progenitors: "you shall become like God" or "like gods" (cf. Gen 3:5). Thus the evil spirit attempts to transplant into man the attitude of rivalry, insubordination and opposition to God, which has become almost the motivation of his entire existence.

3. In the Old Testament, the narration of the fall of man, recorded in the book of Genesis, contains a reference to the attitude of antagonism that Satan wants to communicate to man in order to lead him to transgression. (cf. Gen 3:5) Also in the book of Job (cf. Job 1:11; 2:5. 7) we read that Satan seeks to bring about rebellion in the suffering man. In the book of Wisdom (cf. Wis 2: 24) Satan is presented as the author of death, which entered human history together with sin.

4. The Church, in the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), teaches that the devil (or Satan) and other demons "were created good by God but have become evil by their own will". Indeed, we read in the Epistle of St Jude: ". . the angels who did not keep their dignity but left their abode, the Lord keeps them in eternal chains, in darkness, for the judgment of the great day" (Jd 6). Similarly, the Second Epistle of St Peter speaks of "angels who had sinned" and whom God "did not spare, but . . . plunged into the dark abysses of hell, holding them for judgment" (2 Pet 2:4). It is clear that if God "does not forgive" the sin of the angels, he does so because they remain in their sin, because they are eternally "in the chains" of that choice they made at the beginning, rejecting God, against the truth of the supreme and definitive Good that is God himself. In this sense, St John writes that "the devil is a sinner from the beginning . . ." (1 Jn 3:8). And "from the beginning" he has been murderous and "has not persevered in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (Jn 8:4)

5. These texts help us to understand the nature and dimension of Satan's sin, consisting in the rejection of the truth about God, known in the light of intelligence and revelation as infinite Good, Love and subsistent Holiness. The greater the spiritual perfection and cognitive perspicacity of the angelic intellect, the greater its freedom and closeness to God. By rejecting the known truth about God by an act of his own free will, Satan becomes a cosmic "liar" and "the father of lies" (Jn 8:4). He therefore lives in radical and irreversible denial of God and seeks to impose his tragic "lie about the Good" that is God on creation, on other beings created in God's image, and particularly on mankind. In the Book of Genesis we find a precise description of this lie and falsification of the truth about God, which Satan (in the form of a serpent) attempts to pass on to the first representatives of the human race: God would be jealous of his prerogatives and would therefore impose limitations on man (cf. Gen 3:5). Satan invites man to free himself from the imposition of this yoke, making himself 'like God'.

6. In this condition of existential lie Satan becomes - according to St John - also a "murderer", that is, a destroyer of the supernatural life that God from the beginning had grafted into him and into creatures, made in the "image of God": other pure spirits and men; Satan wants to destroy life according to truth, life in the fullness of goodness, the supernatural life of grace and love. The author of the Book of Wisdom writes: ". . death has entered the world through the devil's envy, and those who belong to him experience it" (Wis 2:24). And in the Gospel, Jesus Christ admonishes: "Fear rather him who has the power to cause both soul and body to perish in hell" (Mt 10:28).

7. As the effect of the sin of the progenitors, this fallen angel gained dominion over man to a certain extent. This is the doctrine constantly confessed and proclaimed by the Church, and which the Council of Trent confirmed in its treatise on original sin (cf. DS 1511): it finds dramatic expression in the liturgy of Baptism, when the catechumen is asked to renounce the devil and his seductions.

Of this influence on man and the disposition of his spirit (and body), we find various indications in Holy Scripture, where Satan is called "the prince of this world" (cf. Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and even the God "of this world" (2 Cor 4:4). We find many other names describing his nefarious dealings with man: "Beelzebul" or "Beelzebul", "unclean spirit", "tempter", "evil one" and finally "antichrist" (1 Jn 4:3). He is compared to a "lion" (1 Pet 5:8), a "dragon" (in Revelation) and a "serpent" (Gen 3). Very frequently the name 'devil' is used to designate him, from the Greek 'diaballein' (hence 'diabolos'), which means: to cause destruction, to divide, to slander, to deceive. And to tell the truth, all this takes place from the very beginning through the work of the evil spirit, who is presented in Holy Scripture as a person, even though he asserts that he is not alone: "there are many of us", the devils cry out to Jesus in the region of the Gerasenes (Mk 5:9); "the devil and his angels", says Jesus in the description of the coming judgement (cf. Mt 25:41).

8. According to Holy Scripture, and especially the New Testament, the dominion and influence of Satan and other evil spirits encompasses the whole world. Let us think of Christ's parable about the field (which is the world), about the good seed and the bad seed that the devil sows in the midst of the wheat trying to snatch from hearts that good which has been "sown" in them (cf. Mt 13:38-39). Let us think of the numerous exhortations to vigilance (cf. Mt 26:41; 1 Pet 5:8), prayer and fasting (cf. Mt 17:21). Let us think of that strong affirmation of the Lord: "This kind of demons can in no other way be driven out except by prayer" (Mk 9, 29). Satan's action consists first of all in tempting men to evil, influencing their imagination and higher faculties to turn them in a direction contrary to God's law. Satan even puts Jesus to the test (cf. Lk 4:3-13), in an extreme attempt to thwart the demands of the economy of salvation as God has preordained it.

It is not excluded that in certain cases the evil spirit also goes so far as to exert its influence not only on material things, but also on man's body, for which one speaks of "diabolic possessions" (cf. Mk 5:2-9). It is not always easy to discern what is preternatural in these cases, nor does the Church readily acquiesce in or go along with the tendency to attribute many facts to direct intervention by the devil; but in principle it cannot be denied that in his desire to harm and lead to evil, Satan can reach this extreme manifestation of his superiority.

9. Finally, we must add that the striking words of Apostle John: "The whole world lies under the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19), also allude to the presence of Satan in the history of mankind, a presence that grows more acute as man and society move away from God. The influence of the evil spirit can 'hide' itself in a deeper and more effective way: to be ignored corresponds to its 'interests'. Satan's ability in the world is to induce men to deny his existence in the name of rationalism and every other system of thought that seeks every loophole in order not to admit his work. However, this does not mean the elimination of man's free will and responsibility, nor does it mean the frustration of Christ's saving action. It is rather a conflict between the dark forces of evil and those of redemption. The words that Jesus addressed to Peter at the beginning of his passion are eloquent in this regard: ". . Simon, behold Satan has sought you out to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail" (Lk 22:31).

This is why we understand how Jesus, in the prayer he taught us, the "Our Father", which is the prayer of the kingdom of God, ends almost abruptly, unlike many other prayers of his time, by calling us back to our condition of being exposed to the snares of the Evil One. The Christian, appealing to the Father with the spirit of Jesus and invoking his kingdom, cries out with the power of faith: grant that we may not succumb to temptation, deliver us from Evil, from the Evil One. Grant, O Lord, that we may not fall into the unfaithfulness to which he who was unfaithful from the beginning seduces us.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 13 August 1986]

The heart of every Christian is the theatre of a "struggle". Every time the Father "draws us" towards Jesus, there is "someone else who wages war against us". This was emphasised by Pope Francis in the homily of the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Thursday 19 January, during which, commenting on the Gospel of the day (Mark, 3, 7-12), he dwelt on the reasons that drive people to follow Jesus. And to analyse how this following is never without difficulties, indeed if one did not fight every day with a series of "temptations", one would risk a formal and ideological religiosity.

In the Gospel passage, the Pontiff noted, three times "the word 'crowd' is said: a great crowd followed him on all sides; a great crowd; and the crowd threw themselves upon him, to touch him". A crowd "hot with enthusiasm, following Jesus warmly and coming from all parts: from Tyre and Sidon, from Idumea and Transjordan". So many 'were making this journey on foot to find the Lord'. And faced with such insistence one wonders: "Why did this crowd come? Why this enthusiasm? What did they need?". The motivations suggested by Francis can be many. "The Gospel itself tells us that there were sick people who were seeking healing" but there were also many who had come "to listen to him". After all, "these people liked to hear Jesus, because he spoke not like their doctors, but spoke with authority. This touched the heart". Certainly, the Pope underlined, "it was a crowd of people who came spontaneously: they did not take them in the buses, as we have seen so many times when events are organised and so many have to go there to 'verify' attendance, so as not to lose their jobs afterwards".

So these people "went because they felt something". And they were so numerous "that Jesus had to ask for a boat and go a little far from the shore, so that these people would not crush him". But the real reason, the profound one, what was it? According to the Pontiff, "Jesus himself in the Gospel explains" this sort of "social phenomenon" and says: "No one can come to me unless the Father draws him". In fact, Francis clarified, if it is true that this crowd came to Jesus because "they were in need" or because "some were curious" the real reason is found in the fact that "this crowd was attracted by the Father: it was the Father who attracted people to Jesus". And Christ "did not remain indifferent, like a static teacher who said his words and then washed his hands. No! This crowd touched the heart of Jesus". In the very Gospel we read that 'Jesus was moved, because he saw these people as sheep without a shepherd'.

Therefore, the Pontiff explained, 'the Father, through the Holy Spirit, draws people to Jesus'. It is useless to go looking for 'all the arguments'. Every reason may be "necessary" but "it is not enough to move a finger. You cannot move" take "a step with apologetic arguments alone". What is really necessary and decisive instead is "for the Father to pull you to Jesus".

The decisive cue for the Pontiff's reflection came when he examined the last lines of the brief Gospel excerpt proposed by the liturgy: "It is curious", he noted, "that in this passage while "Jesus is spoken of, the crowd is spoken of, the enthusiasm, even the love with which Jesus received them and healed them" there is a somewhat unusual ending. For it is written: 'When the unclean spirits saw him they fell at his feet and cried out, "You are the Son of God!"'.

But this - said the Pope - "is the truth; this is the reality that each one of us feels when Jesus approaches" and that is that "the unclean spirits try to prevent him, they make war on us".

Someone might object: 'But, Father, I am very Catholic; I always go to Mass.... But never, never do I have these temptations. Thank God!" But no. The answer is: "No! Pray, because you are on the wrong path!" because "a Christian life without temptations is not Christian: it is ideological, it is Gnostic, but it is not Christian". In fact, what happens is that "when the Father attracts people to Jesus, there is another who attracts in the opposite way and wages war against you inside!" It is not by chance that St Paul "speaks of the Christian life as a struggle: an everyday struggle. To win, to destroy Satan's empire, the empire of evil'. And precisely for this reason, the Pope added, that "Jesus came, to destroy Satan! To destroy his influence on our hearts'.

This final notation in the Gospel passage underlines the essential point: "it seems that, in this scene", "both Jesus and the crowd disappear and only the Father and the unclean spirits, that is, the spirit of evil, remain. The Father who draws people to Jesus and the spirit of evil that seeks to destroy, always!". 

We thus understand," the Pontiff concluded, "that 'the Christian life is a struggle' in which 'either you allow yourself to be drawn by Jesus, through the Father, or you can say "I remain quiet, in peace"... But in the hands of these people, these impure spirits". But "if you want to go on, you must fight! Feel your heart struggling, so that Jesus may win'.

Therefore, is the conclusion, every Christian must make this examination of conscience and ask himself: "Do I feel this struggle in my heart?". This conflict "between comfort or service to others, between having a little fun or praying and worshipping the Father, between one thing and another?" Do I feel "the desire to do good" or is there "something that stops me, that makes me ascetic?" And again: "Do I believe that my life moves the heart of Jesus? If I do not believe this,' the Pope admonished, 'I must pray hard to believe it, so that I may be given this grace'.

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 20/01/2017]

Different concerns, and humanizing action

(Mk 3:1-6)

Doing good and raising the real person - as he is, in his own uniqueness - is the only non-negotiable value; criterion of the whole Gospel.

Even the Torah in its core and sense wanted to be an important means of human, personal, religious pedagogy - not the end.

The norms accompany us willingly, when they facilitate the way to dialogue with the Lord in us and in our brothers and sisters. But the "letter" is cold and unfounded in itself.

Once the Meeting has taken place, priority must be given to God’s Project, solicitous to realize and make us flourish; not to procedures.

In fact, the prescriptions put everyone and always on alert towards the ‘different need’.

For this reason, solidarity and fraternity are placed above any devotional and identity homage, or doctrinal necessity, as well as external observance of worship [if lived by automatons].

The same norms must be understood so that they lead to life ‘with’ and ‘in’ Christ - for the realization and fullness of being.

Otherwise the scrupulous virtue of religion turns into malicious action and vice of faith - which loses the totality of the person (v.4).

In this way, on synagogue day, there is no need to celebrate a restoration that stamps the clock.

Rather, we gather in assembly to better restore women and men to their dignity as sublime beings, to be promoted in an unlimited way.

The Sabbath of the Messiah is not a day of custom’s partiality: it is a time of recovered well-being - of Liberation and Creation, of promotion of the vital energies, according to the original and full Plan of the Father.

In fact, in the place of the habitual rite, where the traditional compressed mentality prevails, Jesus does not go to pray, but to teach and cure.

Not even the paralyzed person had asked for healing - so much it seemed normal to him to be there in that way and not to receive attention or any stimulus; not even the good.

Nevertheless, Love is the core and essence of the Law: even in the precept day, help was allowed by same prescriptions, in case of extreme need or repercussion on others.

Jesus is saying that unlocking the person who cannot do anything good [«arid hand»: vv.1.3] is a matter of life or death, even for the whole community [heal or «annihilate»: v.4].

Observing the Lord’s day means, even for us: strengthening the expressive possibilities of humanity and reintegrating it into a ‘new order’.

In order to fulfil the redemptive 'precept', deviant attitudes must first also be assumed, and saved - like preparatory energies for new arrangements.

We can’t afford further neglect.

The crisis that affects everyone leaks the difference between... unconscious content, and truth; fossilizations and hidden energies; religiosity and Faith - character of life in Christ and in the Spirit.

In its sides of limitation and Completeness, legalism or Liberation, stasis and Rebirth, return to "as always" or Regeneration, formalism and Joy [so on], today discernment becomes more acute.

Having already judged it useless to take advantage of the official religious institution to introduce into it the newness of the Kingdom, in chapter 3 of the Gospel of Mark a new community project is advocated.

In this work, the Lord always starts from the masses abandoned by their shepherds; showing us the way.

[Wednesday 2nd wk. in O.T.  January 21, 2026]

Different solicitations: the humanising action, and the dry action of the misanthropes

(Mk 3:1-6)

Commenting on the Tao Tê Ching (XLVII), Master Ho-shang Kung writes: "The saint knows the great by basing himself on the small, the external by examining the internal".

And he reiterates: 'Without ascending into the heavens or descending into the abyss, the saint knows Heaven and Earth: he knows them with his heart.

Procuring the good and lifting up the real person - as he is, in his uniqueness - is the only non-negotiable value; the criterion of the entire Gospel.

Even the Torah in its core and meaning was meant to be an important means of human, personal, religious pedagogy - not the end.

Norms willingly accompany us, when they facilitate the way to dialogue with the Lord, encountering Him in us and in our brothers and sisters.

But the 'letter' is cold and unmotivated.

Once the encounter has taken place, precedence must be given to God's Project, which is solicitous to fulfil us and allow us to flourish; not to procedures.

In fact, prescriptions put everyone and always on the alert for 'different needs'.

Hence, solidarity and fraternity are placed above any devout and identity-based obsequies, or doctrinal necessities, as well as outward observance of worship [if lived by automatons].

The norms themselves must be understood to lead to life 'with' and 'in' Christ - to fulfilment and fullness of being.

Otherwise the scrupulous virtue of religion turns into malign action and vice of faith - which loses the totality of the person (v.4).

In this way, on the day of the synagogue, one does not celebrate a card-stamping restoration.

Rather, one gathers in assembly to better restore man to his dignity as a sublime being, to be promoted in an unlimited way.

The Sabbath of the Messiah is not the day of customary partialities: gestures and words express the Face of the Father, his solicitude.

It is a time of both Liberation and Creation, of promoting vital energies, according to the original and full Plan.

But in the place of habitual ritual, where the traditional [i.e. à la page] compassionate mentality prevails, Jesus does not go to pray, but to teach and heal.

Not even the paralysed man had asked for healing - so much so that it seemed normal for him to stand there like that and receive no attention, no encouragement; not even good.

Nevertheless, Love is the core and essence of the Law: even on the day of precept, help was allowed by the same prescriptions, in case of extreme need or repercussion on others.

The Lord is saying to [his intimate] church leaders:

To unblock the person who can do no good - "a barren hand" (vv.1.3) - is a matter of life and death, even for the whole community [heal or "annihilate": v.4].

When the wigwams of indifferent, dry religion, and the first-raters of sophisticated, distorted devotion, are provoked, the pious mask disappears.

They become violent even in the face of the good that God works on those who are misguided - and devoted to the worst without even realising it.

The hand [action] to be healed remains first and foremost that of the one-sided mummies to whom the strong teaching of the episode is addressed.

Observing the day of the Lord means, for us too: enhancing man's expressive possibilities and reintegrating him into a 'new order'.

This by clearing the environment prone to sectarianism [or ideologism] of old and new owls who intend to save appearances in order to maintain power, fake doctrinal prestige, subservience of consciences.

But in order to fulfil the redemptive 'precept', deviant attitudes must first also be assumed, and saved - like preparatory energies for new arrangements.

Master Ho-shang again: 'When those at the top love the Way, those at the bottom love virtue; when those at the top love war, those at the bottom love strength'.

The plagiarism agencies of some particular 'churches' that want souls locked into relationships of domination would gladly plan to keep the sick in their dependent state.

For some perverse mechanisms of pastoral care and mass catechesis, the fearful and insecure must remain anonymous; even in the time of the synodal journey.

The voiceless are always useful, so that the well-introduced can continue to float about the world - with their unchanged foibles or theories.

For pious, moralistic, or partisan interests [this one private and glamorous, i.e. full of legalistic pitfalls] would gladly leave them uncertain and unaware, or worse - even if Jesus himself showed up to set them free.

We can no longer afford this.

We can no longer condone neglect: the current jolt of the global crisis is accelerating the fall of masks, of swampy or histrionic attitudes; and of symbolic practices for their own sake. 

The emergence that invests everyone makes one better understand the difference between unconscious content and truth, sedentary fossilisation and hidden energies; religiosity and Faith - the discriminator of life in Christ and in the Spirit.

In its sides of limitation and Wholeness, legalism and Liberation, stasis and Rebirth, return to as always or Regeneration, formalism and Gladness, discernment becomes more acute today.

Having already judged it useless to take advantage of the official religious institution to introduce into it the novelty of the Kingdom, in Chapter 3 of the Gospel of Mark a new community project is advocated.

The Master wants to guide people from all walks of life to feel and live deeply their own and others' human dimension, marked by the paradoxically fruitful experience of fallibility.

Only when they internalise its meaning and live in this way will authorities and believers truly experience compassion for the limitations of the flesh - a characteristic understanding of being 'human'.

In this work, the Lord always starts with the masses abandoned by their shepherds.

Genuine incipit comes from the insignificant people who are disengaged from the authorities of the religious-political fabric, and from the official lines of dynastic succession.

To internalise and live the message:

When have you noticed virtues of religion converted into vices of faith?

What do you mean by Salvation secured by the Kingdom of God?

Theology and symbolism of the Hand:

"Let us therefore reflect again on the signs in which the Sacrament has been given to us. At the centre is the very ancient gesture of the laying on of hands, with which He took possession of me, saying: 'You belong to me'. But with this He also said: 'You are under the protection of my hands. You are under the protection of my heart. You are kept in the hollow of my hands and just so you stand in the vastness of my love. Stay in the space of my hands and give me yours'.

Let us remember then that our hands have been anointed with oil, which is the sign of the Holy Spirit and his power. Why the hands? Man's hand is the instrument of his action, it is the symbol of his ability to face the world, in fact to "take it in hand". The Lord has laid his hands on us and now wants our hands to become his hands in the world. He wants them no longer to be instruments to take things, men, the world for us, to reduce it to our possession, but instead to transmit his divine touch, placing themselves at the service of his love. He wants them to be instruments of service and thus an expression of the mission of the whole person who stands as a guarantor of Him and brings Him to men. If man's hands symbolically represent his faculties and, generally, technique as the power to dispose of the world, then the anointed hands must be a sign of his capacity to give, of his creativity in shaping the world with love - and for this, of course, we need the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, anointing is a sign of the assumption of service: the king, the prophet, the priest does and gives more than he gives himself. In a way, he is dispossessed of himself in service, in which he makes himself available to one greater than himself. If Jesus presents himself today in the Gospel as the Anointed One of God, the Christ, then this means precisely that he acts on the Father's mission and in unity with the Holy Spirit and that, in this way, he gives the world a new kingship, a new priesthood, a new way of being a prophet, who does not seek himself, but lives for him in whose sight the world was created. Let us place our hands today once again at his disposal and pray to him to take us by the hand again and to guide us".

[Pope Benedict, Chrism homily 13 April 2006].

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On the journey we are making under St Paul's guidance, let us now reflect on a topic at the centre of the controversies of the century of the Reformation: the question of justification. How does man become just in God's eyes? When Paul met the Risen One on the road to Damascus he was an accomplished man; irreproachable according to the justice deriving from the Law (cf. Phil 3: 6), Paul surpassed many of his contemporaries in the observance of the Mosaic Law and zealously upheld the traditions of his fathers (cf. Gal 1: 14). The illumination of Damascus radically changed his life; he began to consider all merits acquired in an impeccable religious career as "refuse", in comparison with the sublimity of knowing Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 3: 8). The Letter to the Philippians offers us a moving testimony of Paul's transition from a justice founded on the Law and acquired by his observance of the required actions, to a justice based on faith in Christ. He had understood that what until then had seemed to him to be a gain, before God was, in fact, a loss; and thus he had decided to stake his whole existence on Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 3: 7). The treasure hidden in the field and the precious pearl for whose purchase all was to be invested were no longer in function of the Law, but Jesus Christ, his Lord.

The relationship between Paul and the Risen One became so deep as to induce him to maintain that Christ was no longer solely his life but also his very living, to the point that to be able to reach him death became a gain (cf. Phil 1: 21). This is not to say he despised life, but that he realized that for him at this point there was no other purpose in life and thus he had no other desire than to reach Christ as in an athletics competition to remain with him for ever. The Risen Christ had become the beginning and the end of his existence, the cause and the goal of his race. It was only his concern for the development in faith of those he had evangelized and his anxiety for all of the Churches he founded (cf. 2 Cor 11: 28) that induced him to slow down in his race towards his one Lord, to wait for his disciples so they might run with him towards the goal. Although from a perspective of moral integrity he had nothing to reproach himself in his former observance of the Law, once Christ had reached him he preferred not to make judgments on himself (cf. 1 Cor 4: 3-4). Instead he limited himself to resolving to press on, to make his own the One who had made him his own (cf. Phil 3: 12).

It is precisely because of this personal experience of relationship with Jesus Christ that Paul henceforth places at the centre of his Gospel an irreducible opposition between the two alternative paths to justice: one built on the works of the Law, the other founded on the grace of faith in Christ. The alternative between justice by means of works of the Law and that by faith in Christ thus became one of the dominant themes that run through his Letters: "We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law; because by works of the law no one will be justified" (Gal 2: 15-16). And to the Christians of Rome he reasserts that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (Rm 3: 23-24). And he adds "we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (ibid., v. 28). At this point Luther translated: "justified by faith alone". I shall return to this point at the end of the Catechesis. First, we must explain what is this "Law" from which we are freed and what are those "works of the Law" that do not justify. The opinion that was to recur systematically in history already existed in the community at Corinth. This opinion consisted in thinking that it was a question of moral law and that the Christian freedom thus consisted in the liberation from ethics. Thus in Corinth the term "πάντα μοι έξεστιν" (I can do what I like) was widespread. It is obvious that this interpretation is wrong: Christian freedom is not libertinism; the liberation of which St Paul spoke is not liberation from good works.

So what does the Law from which we are liberated and which does not save mean? For St Paul, as for all his contemporaries, the word "Law" meant the Torah in its totality, that is, the five books of Moses. The Torah, in the Pharisaic interpretation, that which Paul had studied and made his own, was a complex set of conduct codes that ranged from the ethical nucleus to observances of rites and worship and that essentially determined the identity of the just person. In particular, these included circumcision, observances concerning pure food and ritual purity in general, the rules regarding the observance of the Sabbath, etc. codes of conduct that also appear frequently in the debates between Jesus and his contemporaries. All of these observances that express a social, cultural and religious identity had become uniquely important in the time of Hellenistic culture, starting from the third century B.C. This culture which had become the universal culture of that time and was a seemingly rational culture; a polytheistic culture, seemingly tolerant constituted a strong pressure for cultural uniformity and thus threatened the identity of Israel, which was politically constrained to enter into this common identity of the Hellenistic culture. This resulted in the loss of its own identity, hence also the loss of the precious heritage of the faith of the Fathers, of the faith in the one God and in the promises of God.

Against this cultural pressure, which not only threatened the Israelite identity but also the faith in the one God and in his promises, it was necessary to create a wall of distinction, a shield of defence to protect the precious heritage of the faith; this wall consisted precisely in the Judaic observances and prescriptions. Paul, who had learned these observances in their role of defending God's gift, of the inheritance of faith in one God alone, saw this identity threatened by the freedom of the Christians this is why he persecuted them. At the moment of his encounter with the Risen One he understood that with Christ's Resurrection the situation had changed radically. With Christ, the God of Israel, the one true God, became the God of all peoples. The wall as he says in his Letter to the Ephesians between Israel and the Gentiles, was no longer necessary: it is Christ who protects us from polytheism and all of its deviations; it is Christ who unites us with and in the one God; it is Christ who guarantees our true identity within the diversity of cultures. The wall is no longer necessary; our common identity within the diversity of cultures is Christ, and it is he who makes us just. Being just simply means being with Christ and in Christ. And this suffices. Further observances are no longer necessary. For this reason Luther's phrase: "faith alone" is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love. Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ, conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ, is love; hence to believe is to conform to Christ and to enter into his love. So it is that in the Letter to the Galatians in which he primarily developed his teaching on justification St Paul speaks of faith that works through love (cf. Gal 5: 14).

Paul knows that in the twofold love of God and neighbour the whole of the Law is present and carried out. Thus in communion with Christ, in a faith that creates charity, the entire Law is fulfilled. We become just by entering into communion with Christ who is Love. We shall see the same thing in the Gospel next Sunday, the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is the Gospel of the judge whose sole criterion is love. What he asks is only this: Did you visit me when I was sick? When I was in prison? Did you give me food to eat when I was hungry, did you clothe me when I was naked? And thus justice is decided in charity. Thus, at the end of this Gospel we can almost say: love alone, charity alone. But there is no contradiction between this Gospel and St Paul. It is the same vision, according to which communion with Christ, faith in Christ, creates charity. And charity is the fulfilment of communion with Christ. Thus, we are just by being united with him and in no other way.

At the end, we can only pray the Lord that he help us to believe; really believe. Believing thus becomes life, unity with Christ, the transformation of our life. And thus, transformed by his love, by the love of God and neighbour, we can truly be just in God's eyes.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 19 November 2008]