In this […] Gospel, Jesus takes the initiative of sending the Twelve Apostles out on mission (cf. Mk 6:7-13). In fact the term “apostles” means, precisely, “messengers” or “envoys”. Their vocation was to be fully achieved only after Christ’s Resurrection with the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Yet it is very significant that Jesus wants to involve the Twelve in his action from the outset: it is a sort of “apprenticeship” with a view to the great responsibility that awaited them. The fact that Jesus calls certain disciples to collaborate directly in his mission demonstrates one aspect of his love, namely, he does not spurn the help that other people can contribute to his work; he knows their limitations, their weaknesses, but bears no contempt for them. On the contrary Jesus confers on them the dignity of being his envoys. He sends them out two by two and gives them instructions which the Evangelist sums up in a few sentences. The first concerns the spirit of detachment: the Apostles must not be attached to money or to other comforts. Then Jesus warns the disciples that they will not always receive a favourable welcome. Sometimes they will be rejected; they might even be persecuted. However this must not frighten them: they must speak in Jesus’ name and preach the Kingdom of God without being worried about whether or not they will succeed. Succeed — its success must be left to God [...].

Jesus warns the Twelve that in some places they may be rejected. Should this be the case, they are to go elsewhere, having shaken the dust from their feet in public. This sign expresses detachment in two senses: moral detachment — as if to say it is you who have refused the proclamation offered to you — and material detachment. We did not seek and do not want anything for ourselves (cf. Mk 6:11).

The other very important instruction in the Gospel passage is that the Twelve must not be content with preaching conversion. They must accompany their preaching, in accordance with Jesus’ instructions and example, with care for the sick, with caring for those who are sick in body and in spirit. It speaks of the healing of illnesses and also of driving out demons, that is, of purifying the human mind, cleansing, cleansing the eyes of the soul that are clouded by ideologies and hence cannot see God, cannot see truth and justice. This twofold corporal and spiritual healing is always the mandate of Christ’s disciples. Hence the apostolic mission must always include the two aspects of preaching God’s word and of showing his goodness in gestures of charity, service and dedication.

[Pope Benedict, Frascati homily 15 July 2012]

7. The urgency of missionary activity derives from the radical newness of life brought by Christ and lived by his followers. This new life is a gift from God, and people are asked to accept and develop it, if they wish to realize the fullness of their vocation in conformity to Christ. The whole New Testament is a hymn to the new life of those who believe in Christ and live in his Church. Salvation in Christ, as witnessed to and proclaimed by the Church, is God's self-communication: "It is love which not only creates the good, but also grants participation in the very life of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For he who loves desires to give himself."

God offers mankind this newness of life. "Can one reject Christ and everything that he has brought about in the history of mankind? Of course one can. Man is free. He can say 'no' to God. He can say 'no' to Christ. But the fundamental question remains: Is it legitimate to do this? And what would make it legitimate?"

8. In the modern world there is a tendency to reduce man to his horizontal dimension alone. But without an openness to the Absolute, what does man become? The answer to this question is found in the experience of every individual, but it is also written in the history of humanity with the blood shed in the name of ideologies or by political regimes which have sought to build a "new humanity" without God.

Moreover, the Second Vatican Council replies to those concerned with safeguarding freedom of conscience: "The human person has a right to religious freedom.... All should have such immunity from coercion by individuals, or by groups, or by any human power, that no one should be forced to act against his conscience in religious matters, nor prevented from acting according to his conscience, whether in private or in public, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits."

Proclaiming Christ and bearing witness to him, when done in a way that respects consciences, does not violate freedom. Faith demands a free adherence on the part of man, but at the same time faith must also be offered to him, because the "multitudes have the right to know the riches of the mystery of Christ-riches in which we believe that the whole of humanity can find, in unsuspected fullness, everything that it is gropingly searching for concerning God, man and his destiny, life and death, and truth.... This is why the Church keeps her missionary spirit alive, and even wishes to intensify it in the moment of history in which we are living." But it must also be stated, again with the Council, that "in accordance with their dignity as persons, equipped with reason and free will and endowed with personal responsibility, all are impelled by their own nature and are bound by a moral obligation to seek truth, above all religious truth. They are further bound to hold to the truth once it is known, and to regulate their whole lives by its demands.".

[Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio]

I am glad to be able to keep the Sunday Angelus appointment, even here from “Gemelli” Polyclinic. I thank you all: I have felt your closeness and the support of your prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The Gospel passage we read today in the Liturgy recounts that Jesus’ disciples, sent by him, “anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them” (Mk 6:13). This “oil” also makes us think of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, which gives comfort to spirit and body. But this “oil” is also listening, the closeness, the care, the tenderness of those who take care of the sick person: it is like a caress that makes you feel better, soothes your pain and cheers you up. All of us, all, need this “anointing” of closeness and tenderness sooner or later, and we can all give it to someone else, with a visit, a phone call, a hand outstretched to someone who needs help. Let us remember that, in the protocol of the final judgment — Matthew 25 — one of the things they will ask us will be about closeness to the sick.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 11 July 2021]

Apprenticeship: radiating from a Face, from a Centre

Today’s Gospel passage (cf. Mk 6:7-13) narrates the moment Jesus sends the Twelve [Apostles] on mission. After calling each of them by name “to be with him” (Mk 3:14), listening to his words and observing his gestures of healing, he now calls them again to “send them out two by two” (6:7) to the villages he was going to visit. It is a sort of “internship” of what they would be called to do following the Resurrection of the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel passage pauses on the style of the missionary which we can sum up in two points: the mission has a centre; the mission has a face.

First of all, the missionary disciple has his centre of reference who is Jesus himself. The narrative indicates this by using a series of verbs which have him as the subject — “He called to him”; he “began to send them”; he “gave them authority”; “he charged them”, “he said to them” (vv. 7, 8, 10) —, so that the going out and working of the Twelve appears to be radiating from a centre, reaffirming the presence and work of Jesus in their missionary actions. This demonstrates that the Apostles have nothing of their own to proclaim, nor any abilities to manifest, but rather that they speak and act as “emissaries”, as messengers of Jesus.

This episode of the Gospel also applies to us and not only to priests but to all baptized people called to witness to the Gospel of Christ in the various spheres of life. And for us too, this mission is authentic only in so far as its unchanging centre who is Jesus. It is not an initiative of faithful individuals nor of groups and not even of large gatherings. It is the mission of the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. No Christian proclaims the Gospel “on his/her own”, but is only sent by the Church who received the mandate from Jesus himself. Indeed it is Baptism that makes us missionaries. A baptized person who does not feel the need to proclaim the Gospel, to proclaim Jesus, is not a good Christian.

The second characteristic of the missionary’s style is, so to speak, a face, which consists in the poverty of means. His accoutrement responds to a criteria of modesty. Indeed the Twelve have the order to “take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts” (6:8). The Teacher wants them to be free and unhampered, without reserves and without favours, certain only of the love of the One who sends them, strengthened only by his Word which they go to proclaim. The staff and the sandals are the gear of pilgrims because that is what the messengers of the Kingdom of God are, not omnipotent managers, not irreplaceable officials, not celebrities on tour. Let us think for example of this Diocese of which I am Bishop. Let us think about some saints from this Diocese of Rome: Saint Philip Neri, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, Saint Alessio, Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, Saint Frances of Rome, Saint Gaspare del Bufalo and many others. They were not officials or business people, but rather humble workers of the Kingdom. This was the face they had. And to this “face” also belongs the way the message is received: it can happen that one is not welcomed or listened to (cf. v. 11). This too is poverty: the experience of failure. The experience of Jesus who was rejected and crucified anticipates the destiny of his messenger. And only if we are united to Him, who died and Rose, can we find the courage to evangelize.

May the Virgin Mary, the first disciple and missionary of the Word of God, help us to convey to the world the message of the Gospel in a humble and radiant exultation, beyond any rejection, misunderstanding or tribulation.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 15 July 2018]

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (year A)  [1 February 2026]

May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us. Rereading and meditating on the Beatitudes in Matthew's Gospel is always an invitation to rediscover the heart of the Gospel faith and to have the courage to live it faithfully.

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah (2:3; 3:12-13)

The Book of Zephaniah is striking for its sharp contrasts: on the one hand, there are terrible threats against Jerusalem, with the prophet appearing very angry; on the other hand, there are encouragements and promises of a happy future, always directed at the city. The question is: to whom are the threats addressed and to whom the encouragement? Historically, we are in the 7th century BC, in the kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom. The young king Josiah ascends the throne at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, in very turbulent times. The Assyrian empire, with its capital at Nineveh, is expanding, and local kings often prefer to surrender to avoid destruction: Jerusalem becomes a vassal of Nineveh. The prophets, however, firmly support the freedom of the chosen people: asking for an alliance with an earthly king means not trusting in the King of heaven. Accepting Assyrian protection was not only a political act, but also entailed the cultural and religious influence of the ruler, with the risk of idolatry and the loss of Israel's mission. Zephaniah denounced all this and prophesied punishment: 'I will raise my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem... on the day of the Lord's wrath' (Zephaniah 1:4-6), a text reminiscent of the famous Dies Irae. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land. Alongside the threats, Zephaniah addresses a message of comfort to the "humble of the land" (in Hebrew anawim, the bowed down), who are law-abiding and righteous, and therefore protected from the Day of the Lord's wrath: God himself is with them. It is the day when creation will be renewed and evil destroyed. The message is not for others, but for each one of us: we are all called to conversion, to become "the humble of the land," the "Remnant of Israel" that the previous prophets had announced. God, who is faithful, will always save at least a small group that has remained faithful. It will be this small remnant, poor and humble, that will carry on the mission of the chosen people: to reveal God's plan to the world. Being humble means recognising one's own limitations (humus) and trusting totally in God. Thus, God's judgement is not against people, but against the evil that corrupts. The small faithful remnant will be the leaven in the world, preserving the true identity of the people and the divine mission. God's wrath strikes only evil, never the innocent. Zephaniah also criticises the adoption of Assyrian customs, such as foreign clothing (Zeph 1:8): it was not just fashion, but a sign of imitation of the pagans, a risk of losing identity and faith.

*Responsorial Psalm (145/146)

Here we have three verses from the Psalm as an inventory of the beneficiaries of God's mercy: the oppressed, the hungry, the chained, the blind, the afflicted, the strangers, the widows and the orphans—all those whom men ignore or despise. The Israelites know these situations because they have experienced them: oppression in Egypt, then in Babylon. The Psalm was written after the return from the Babylonian exile, perhaps for the dedication of the rebuilt Temple. Liberation from evil and oppression is perceived as proof of God's faithfulness to the covenant: "The Lord brings justice to the oppressed, the Lord frees those in chains." God also provides for material needs: during the Exodus, he fed the people with manna and quails. Gradually, God reveals himself to the blind, lifts up the afflicted and guides the people towards justice: 'God loves the righteous'. The Psalm is therefore a song of gratitude: "The Lord brings justice to the oppressed / gives bread to the hungry / frees those in chains / opens the eyes of the blind / lifts up those who are afflicted / loves the righteous / protects the stranger / supports widows and orphans. The Lord is your God forever." The insistence on the name Lord (7 times) recalls the sacred Tetragrammaton YHVH, revealed to Moses at the burning bush, symbol of God's constant and liberating presence. "The Lord is your God forever," the final phrase recalls the Covenant: "You shall be my people, and I will be your God." The Psalm looks to the future, strengthening the hope of the people. The name of God Ehiè asher ehiè (I am who I am / I will be who I will be) emphasises his eternal presence. Repeating this Psalm serves to recognise God's work and to guide conduct: if God has acted in this way towards Israel, the people must behave in the same way towards others, especially the excluded. The Law of Israel provided rules to protect widows, orphans, and foreigners, so that the people would be free and respectful of the freedom of others. The prophets judged fidelity to the Covenant mainly on the basis of attitude towards the poor and oppressed: the fight against idolatry, the promotion of justice and mercy, as in Hos 6:6 (I desire mercy, not sacrifice) and Mic 6:8 (Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God). Sirach also reminds us: 'The tears of the widow flow down the face of God' (Si 35:18), emphasising that those who are close to God must feel compassion for those who suffer.

*Second Reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1:26-31).

It would seem to be the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector: the world is 'turned upside down'. Those who appear wise in the eyes of men, as Paul points out, are not considered worthy before God. This does not mean that Paul despises wisdom: since the time of King Solomon, it has been a virtue sought after in prayer, and Isaiah presents it as a gift of the Spirit of God: 'The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and discernment...' The Bible distinguishes between two types of wisdom: the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God. What seems reasonable in the eyes of men may be far from God's plan, and what is wise in the eyes of God may appear foolish to men. Our logic is human, God's is the logic of love: the folly of divine love, as Paul says, surpasses all human reasoning. This is why the life and death of Christ may seem scandalous. Isaiah says it clearly: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways" (Is 55:8). This distance between human and divine thought is such that Jesus goes so far as to rebuke Peter: "Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking according to God, but according to men" (Mt 16:23). God is the "All-Other": the hierarchy of human values is overturned before him. Often in the history of the Covenant, God chooses the least: think of David, the youngest of Jesse's sons, or the people of Israel, "the least of all" (Deut 7:7; Deut 9:6). God's choices are gratuitous, independent of human merit. True wisdom, divine wisdom, is a gift from We cannot understand God with our own strength: everything we know about Him is revealed to us by Him. Paul reminds the Corinthians that all knowledge of God is a gift: "In him you have received every spiritual blessing... you are not lacking in any spiritual gift" (1 Cor 1:4-7). The gift of knowledge of God is not a reason for pride, but for gratitude. As Jeremiah says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom... but of having the intelligence to know me, the Lord" (Jer 9:22-23). Paul applies these principles to the Corinthians: in the eyes of the world, they were neither wise, nor powerful, nor noble. Yet God calls them, creating his Church out of their poverty and weakness. Their 'nobility' is Baptism. Corinth becomes an example of God's surprising initiative, recreating the world according to his logic, inviting men not to boast before God, but to give him glory for his love.

*From the Gospel according to Matthew (5:1-12a)

 I pause to reflect on the beatitude that may seem most difficult: 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted' (Mt 5:4). It is not a question of rejoicing in mourning itself, nor of considering suffering as good fortune. Jesus himself devoted much of his life to comforting, healing and encouraging people: Matthew reminds us that 'Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom and healed every disease and infirmity among the people' (Mt 4:23). The tears Jesus speaks of are, rather, tears of repentance and tears of compassion. Think of St Peter, who wept bitterly after his denial, finding consolation in God's mercy. Or remember the vision of the prophet Ezekiel: on the last day, God "will mark with a cross on the forehead those who groan and lament over the abominations that are committed" (Ezekiel 9:4). These words of Jesus were addressed to his Jewish contemporaries, who were accustomed to the preaching of the prophets. For us, understanding them means rereading the Old Testament. As the prophet Zephaniah invites us: 'Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth' (Zeph 2:3). And the psalm sings: “I have asked one thing of the Lord: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Ps 145/146:5). These are the true “poor in spirit,” those who entrust themselves completely to God, like the tax collector in the parable: aware of their sins, they open themselves to the Lord’s salvation. Jesus assures us that those who seek God with all their heart will be heard: "Seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you" (Mt 7:7). And the prophets call those whose hearts are turned solely to God "pure". The Beatitudes, therefore, are Good News: it is not power, knowledge or wealth that leads us to the Kingdom, but gentleness, mercy and justice. As Jesus says to his disciples: " I am sending you out like lambs among wolves” (Lk 10:3). Each beatitude points to a path towards the Kingdom: each “Blessed” is an invitation, an encouragement: it is as if it were saying, “take courage, you are on the right path”. Our weaknesses become fertile ground for God’s presence: poverty of heart, tears, hunger for justice, persecution. Paul reminds us: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31). Finally, let us remember that Jesus is the perfect model: poor in heart, gentle, merciful, compassionate, just and persecuted, always grateful to the Father. His life teaches us to look at ourselves and others through the eyes of God, and to discover the Kingdom where we least expect it.

St Augustine writes in his commentary on this beatitude: "Blessed, says the Lord, are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. He does not refer to bodily sadness, but to the sorrow of the heart for sins and the desire to convert to God" (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 30:5).

+Giovanni D'Ercole

Domestic side, not domestications

(Mk 6:1-6)

Where Faith is lacking, only small changes take place, not the staggering wonders of the alternative presence of God’s Kingdom (v.5).

We do not realize that Lord may come from humble, dishonourable origins, as ours could be  - without great dynastic lineages.

But Faith in Christ bids farewell to the idea prevalent in top-down cultures and religions, all of which are ill-suited to deal with the normalcy of life that flows.

Jesus avoids rigid models or great appearance patterns. He gives himself with simplicity to his villagers and aims at the formation of authentic believers.

Their Trust must be placed only in the Kingdom of God - a dimension that really breaks the balance, because it’s introduced into daytime existence, and ferments it from invisible roots.

As Father’s Envoy, he would like all the people to be builders and banners of other dreams - but in his native village he feels like he is blocked by those who are unable to ‘decipher the dimension of the divine in the human’.

He must face the dull incomprehension of the centers of power, but sometimes also defaults and very hopes - quiet or divisive - of the popular reality that frequents places of worship.

The villagers expected the usual now addicted blessings, or perhaps a charismatic leader in the fight against the Romans - and here they gladly used to leverage the blaze of religious identity, to inflame souls.

They would have accepted a belligerent captain, who reflected archaic beliefs - instead they find themselves disappointed in the inapparent reality before their eyes.

They do not know how to discover the God’s plot in the history of the least.

Conversely, there are numerous divine signs inscribed in what is in a minor way manifested, wich can help us discover the not purely earthly dimension of things, relationships, presences.

Many people misunderstand the spirit of strength that Faith transmits to us: it breaks the balance because it does not offer guarantees already imagined - but it’s basically domestic and entirely natural.

Each Seed has its own particular destiny and development.

So why is the boy they have met since birth so different?

For the fact that there is no equation between what is thought in a conformist way, and the Lord. Not even giving emphasis to resolutions.

Both great expectations and proximity can be an obstacle to a daily knowledge of what of extraordinary is hidden behind the ordinary dimension of events and people.

Even many confreres or collaborators of Saints have not been able to grasp the exceptionality of a common life lived in fidelity and dedication to their own Call by Name.

All the more real the less flashy.

Misunderstanding and village jealousy of those who live next door [and chase a god of their own, disfigured] is a source of bitterness, but it does not stop us.

Experience of rejection pushes to change direction (v.6b).

The soul lives under the sign of Uniqueness that renounces prejudice, quiet life, simple approval, easy success.

And closed doors can be an added value! They open us to the journey of the soul in the Spirit, to the eccentric Announcement, to an astounding Mission.

In this way, like Jesus, we too willingly refuse to affix ready-made seals to the spirit of mediocrity that does not annoy anyone.

[Wednesday 4th wk. in O.T.  February 4, 2026]

Domestic side, not domestications

(Mk 6:1-6)

Where Faith is lacking, only small changes occur, not the astounding wonders of the alternative presence of the Kingdom of God:

"And he could do no mighty work there, except that having laid hands on a few sick ones, he healed" (v.5).

We do not realise that the Lord could come from humble, dishonourable beginnings, as ours might be - devoid of great dynastic ties, or violent class jumps.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (vi):

"The spirit of the valley does not die [...] it is used, but it does not tire". Master Wang Pi comments:

'The spirit of the valley is the non-valley at the centre of the valley. It has no form or shadow, nothing contrasts and nothing rejects, it remains at the bottom without moving, it keeps quiet without fading. The valley is completed by it, yet its form cannot be seen: this is the most perfect model'.

Like the Wisdom codes of nature, Faith in Christ bids farewell to the idea prevalent in institutional, representative and top-down cultures and religions.

All ill-disposed, in their great knowledge, to deal with the normality of flowing life.

Jesus avoids rigid or grandiose models. He gives himself with simplicity to his people and aims at the formation of authentic believers.

Their trust must be placed solely in the Kingdom of God - a dimension that truly breaks the balance, because it enters into day-to-day existence and ferments it from invisible roots.

As an envoy of the Father, he would like all the people to be builders and bishops of other dreams - but in his home village he feels as if blocked by those who are incapable of deciphering the dimension of the divine in the human.

He has to face the obtuse incomprehension of the centres of power, but also the very failures and hopes - quiet or divisive - of the popular reality that frequents the places of worship.

The villagers expected the usual blessings (by now addicted) or perhaps a charismatic leader to fight against the Romans - and here they would gladly use the flames of religious identity to inflame their spirits.

They would have accepted a warlike captain, reflecting archaic beliefs - instead they find themselves disappointed with the inapparent reality before their eyes.

They do not know how to discover God's plot in the history of the least.

Conversely, there are many divine signs inscribed in what is in a minor way manifested: warnings that can help us discover the not purely earthly dimension of things, relationships, presences, and so on.

Many misunderstand the spirit of strength that Faith transmits to us.

It breaks balances because it does not offer guarantees that have already been imagined - but it is at bottom domestic and all natural [each Seed has its own particular destiny and development].

How then is the boy they have known from birth so different?

Because there is no equation between what one thinks conformistically, and the Lord. Not even by emphasising intentions.

Both high expectations and proximity can be an obstacle to a daily knowledge of what is extraordinary behind the ordinary dimension of events and people.

Even many brothers or collaborators of Saints have failed to grasp the exceptionality of a common life lived in fidelity and dedication to their Calling by Name. All the more real as it is less conspicuous.

The incomprehension and village jealousy of those who live next door and chase after a god of their own - disfigured - is a source of bitterness; but it does not stop us.

The experience of rejection prompts a change of direction (v.6b).

The soul lives under the sign of Oneness that renounces preconception, the quiet life, simple approval, easy success.

And closed doors can be an added value! They open us up to the soul's journey in the Spirit, to the eccentric Announcement, to an astounding Mission.

Unfortunately, we register another kind of spirit of the 'valley' - of an entirely negative sign, which in the work of evangelisation and community animation is identified with the pastoral of consent [I will give you what you want].

The astute coordinator manages relations with the faithful, the masses and the institutions with extreme shrewdness, as well as expectations - concrete, immediate - of approval and individual or circle advantage.

At times, some leaders (even church leaders) appear to be nothing more than skilful storytellers: they do not fight the dehumanising structures, nor the powerful on the ground. On the contrary, they try to make allies of them, to win easily.

Even in the time of global crisis, the conviction persists that educational, cultural and 'religious' structures can only go on with the external support of power hierarchies, and the established order. Or with the search for more 'signs' and as many prodigies. 

Unfortunately, such a downward, outward-looking attitude - out of weariness, which is widespread - does not equate to the enhancement of the most varied and intimate Gifts of God in people, nor to the promotion of the Kingdom.

It is obvious then that those who frequent the palace do not like incendiaries: those who hold titles and a glorious role remain impervious to the work of the Spirit who makes all things new.

[Every opportunist unfortunately remains tied to the chains of command, to the old tactical balances that have guaranteed him career, position, lustre, visibility, easy security on the side].

Perhaps the worst aspect of this downward and normal common denominator game is the cheap identification between order guaranteed by the Gospel and current equilibrium.

An illusion of external harmony between the Beatitudes proclaimed by the Lord and opportunities for a quiet life, or gain, and social recognition.

Thus the principles experienced first-hand by the Master are subverted by some followers, in an opaque strategy that ends up distorting the Glad Tidings in favour of every lost one.

And each shaky yet unsatisfied person spontaneously tends to adapt to the small certainties they find, offered by the rhetoric of even great narratives.

Even today, on the other hand, the Word of God sparks off the easy appeal of such dynamics and structures of authentic 'sin': it threatens them in no uncertain terms.

Indeed, they seize souls, make them conformist, indifferent to injustice, fearful of freedom - and tend to take even the God of the Exodus hostage.

The Father, however, continues to raise up eccentric prophets: they make us all more capable of perceiving the genius of the age. As well as the personal talents deployed - even amidst the irritated threats of the 'countrymen' caught up in levelling marketing.

Advertisers who risk being left without protection or lineage, of course.

But who refuse to affix ready-made seals to the spirit of mediocrity that annoys no one.

To internalise and live the Word, let us ask ourselves:

What has changed in your journey since you began to live more intensely in adherence to Christ? How has your environment reacted?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to reflect briefly on this […] Gospel passage. It is taken from the text that has the famous saying “Nemo propheta in patria”. In other words no prophet is properly accepted among his own people who watched him grow up (cf. Mk 6:4). Indeed after Jesus, when he was about 30 years old, had left Nazareth and had already been travelling about preaching and working miracles of healing elsewhere, he once returned to his birthplace and started teaching in the synagogue. His fellow citizens “were astonished” by his wisdom, and knowing him as “the son of Mary”, as the carpenter who had lived in their midst, instead of welcoming him with faith were shocked and took offence (cf. Mk 6:2-3). This reaction is understandable because familiarity at the human level makes it difficult to go beyond this in order to be open to the divine dimension. That this son of a carpenter was the Son of God was hard for them to believe. Jesus actually takes as an example the experience of the prophets of Israel, who in their own homeland were an object of contempt, and identifies himself with them. Due to this spiritual closure Jesus “could do no mighty work there [Nazareth], except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them” (Mk 6:5). In fact Christ’s miracles are not a display of power but signs of the love of God that is brought into being wherever it encounters reciprocated human faith. Origen writes: “as in the case of material things there exists in some things a natural attraction towards some other thing, as in the magnet for iron... so there is an attraction in such faith towards the divine power” (Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, 10, 19).

It would therefore seem that Jesus—as is said—is making sense of the negative welcome he received in Nazareth. Instead, at the end of the account, we find a remark that says precisely the opposite. The Evangelist writes that Jesus “marvelled because of their unbelief” (Mk 6:6). The astonishment of Jesus’ fellow townspeople is matched by his own surprise. In a certain sense he too is shocked! Although he knows that no prophet is well accepted in his homeland, the closed heart of his people was nevertheless obscure and impenetrable to him: how could they fail to recognize the light of the Truth? Why did they not open themselves to the goodness of God who deigned to share in our humanity? Effectively Jesus of Nazareth the man is the transparency of God, in him God dwells fully. And while we are constantly seeking other signs, other miracles, we do not realize that he is the true Sign, God made flesh, he is the greatest miracle in the world: the whole of God’s love contained in a human heart, in a man’s face.

The One who fully understood this reality was the Virgin Mary, who is blessed because she believed (cf. Lk 1:45). Mary was not shocked by her Son: her wonder for him was full of faith, full of love and joy, in seeing him so human and at the same time so divine. Let us therefore learn from her, our Mother in faith, to recognize in the humanity of Christ the perfect revelation of God.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 8 July 2012]

1. Reconnecting to the previous catechesis, we can grasp among the biblical data already referred to the prophetic aspect of the action exercised by the spirit of God on the leaders of the people, on kings, and on the Messiah. This aspect requires further reflection, because prophethood is the thread along which the history of Israel runs, dominated by the pre-eminent figure of Moses, the most exalted "prophet", "with whom the Lord spoke face to face" (Deut 34:10). Down the centuries, the Israelites became increasingly familiar with the binomial 'the Law and the Prophets', as an expressive synthesis of the spiritual heritage entrusted by God to his people. And it is through his spirit that God speaks and acts in the fathers, and from generation to generation prepares the new times.

2. Undoubtedly the prophetic phenomenon, which is observed historically, is linked to the word. The prophet is a man who speaks on behalf of God, he delivers to those who hear or read him what God wants to make known about the present and the future. The spirit of God animates the word and makes it vital. It communicates to the prophet and his word a certain divine pathos, so that it becomes vibrant, sometimes passionate and suffering, always dynamic.

Not infrequently, the Bible describes significant episodes in which the spirit of God rests on someone, and he immediately utters a prophetic oracle. Such is the case with Balaam: "The spirit of God was upon him. Then "he uttered his poem and said: . An oracle of one who hears the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High, of one who sees the vision of the Almighty, and falls and the veil is removed from his eyes . . ." (Numbers 24: 2. 3-4). It is the famous "prophecy", which even though it refers, in the immediate instance, to Saul and David, in the fight against the Amalekites, evokes at the same time the future Messiah: "I see him, but not now, I contemplate him, but not from near: a star rises from Jacob, and a sceptre rises from Israel . . ." (1 Sam 15:8; 30:1 ff).

3. Another aspect of the prophetic spirit at the service of the word is that it can be communicated and almost 'subdivided' according to the needs of the people, as in the case of Moses who was concerned about the number of Israelites to be led and governed, who by now numbered '600,000 adults'. The Lord commanded him to choose and assemble "70 men from among the elders of Israel, known to you as elders of the people and as their scribes". Having done this, the Lord "took the spirit that was upon him and infused it upon the 70 elders: when the spirit had come upon them, they prophesied . . ." (cf. Nm 24:16-25).

In the succession of Elisha to Elijah, the former would even like to receive "two thirds of the spirit" of the great prophet, a kind of double portion of the inheritance that fell to the eldest son, in order to be thus recognised as his principal spiritual heir among the multitude of prophets and "sons of the prophets", grouped together in guilds. But the spirit is not transmitted from prophet to prophet as an earthly inheritance: it is God who grants it. In fact, this is how it happens, and the "sons of the prophets" note it: "The spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha" (2 Sam 2:15).

4. In Israel's contacts with the neighbouring peoples there was no lack of manifestations of false prophethood, which led to the formation of groups of exalted ones, who replaced the spirit coming from God with music and gesticulations and even adhered to the cult of Baal. Elijah led a determined battle against these prophets, remaining alone in his greatness. Elisha, for his part, had more relations with certain groups, who seemed to have come to their senses.

Genuine biblical tradition defends and vindicates the true idea of the prophet as a man of the word of God, instituted by God, on a par with and following Moses: "I will raise up to them a prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak what I command him" (Deut 18:18). This promise is accompanied by a warning against the abuse of prophethood: "The prophet who shall presume to speak in my name a thing that I have not commanded him to say, or who shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. If you think: How shall we acknowledge the word that the Lord has not spoken? When the prophet will speak in the name of the Lord and it will not happen and it will not be fulfilled, that word has not been spoken by the Lord" (Deut 18:20-22).

Another aspect of this criterion of judgement is fidelity to the doctrine delivered to Israel by God, in resistance to the seductions of idolatry. This explains the hostility against false prophets. The task of the prophet, as a man of God's word, is to fight the 'spirit of lies' that is on the lips of false prophets, to protect the people from their influence. It is a mission received from God, as Ezekiel proclaims (Eze 13:2-3): "Again this word of the Lord was spoken to me: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, and say to those who prophesy according to their own desires: Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit without having had visions".

5. A man of the word, the prophet must also be a 'man of the spirit', as Hosea already calls him: he must have the spirit of God, and not just his own spirit, if he is to speak for God.

The concept is developed above all by Ezekiel, which gives a glimpse of the realisation that has now taken place concerning the profound reality of prophethood. Speaking in the name of God requires, in the prophet, the presence of God's spirit. This presence manifests itself in a contact that Ezekiel calls 'vision'. In those who benefit from it, the action of God's spirit guarantees the truth of the spoken word. We find here a new clue to the link between word and spirit, which linguistically and conceptually prepares for the link that at a higher level, in the New Testament, is placed between the Word and the Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel is aware of being personally animated by the spirit: "A spirit entered into me," he writes, "made me stand up and I listened to him who spoke to me. The spirit enters into the person of the prophet. It makes him stand up: thus it makes him a witness to the divine word. It lifts him up and sets him in motion: 'A spirit lifted me up . . . and carried me away'. Thus the dynamism of the spirit is manifested. Ezekiel, moreover, specifies that he is speaking of the "Spirit of the Lord" (Ez 2:2; 3:12-14; 11:5).

6. The dynamic aspect of the prophetic action of the divine Spirit stands out strongly in the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah, who, after their return from exile, vigorously urged the repatriated Jews to set to work to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The result of Haggai's first prophecy was that "the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel . . . governor of Judea and Joshua . . . high priest and all the rest of the people and they moved and undertook the work for the cause of the Lord of hosts'. In a second oracle, the prophet Haggai again intervened and promised the powerful help of the Spirit of the Lord: "Courage, Zerubbabel . . . Courage, Joshua . . . Courage, all the people of the land, saith the Lord, and to work . . . my spirit will be with you, fear not" (Hag 2:4-5). And similarly the prophet Zechariah proclaimed: 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts' (Zech 4:6).

In the times most immediately preceding the birth of Jesus, there were no more prophets in Israel and it was not known how long this situation would last. One of the last prophets, Joel, had, however, announced a universal outpouring of the Spirit of God that was to occur "before the day of the Lord, great and terrible," and was to be manifested by an extraordinary spreading of the gift of prophecy. The Lord had proclaimed through him: "I will pour out my spirit upon every human being, and your sons and your daughters shall become prophets; your elders shall have revelatory dreams; your young men shall have visions" (Gl 3:4, 1).

Thus the wish expressed many centuries earlier by Moses was finally to be fulfilled: "Let them all be prophets among the Lord's people, and may the Lord give them his spirit" (Numbers 11:29). Prophetic inspiration would have reached even "the slaves and slave girls", overcoming any distinction of cultural levels or social conditions. Then salvation would be offered to all: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Gl 3:5).

As we have seen in a previous catechesis, this prophecy of Joel found its fulfilment on the day of Pentecost, so that the Apostle Peter, addressing the astonished crowd, was able to declare: "It is coming to pass that which the prophet Joel foretold"; and he recited the prophet's oracle, explaining that Jesus "lifted up to the right hand of God had received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and had poured out" him abundantly. From that day on, the prophetic action of the Holy Spirit has continuously manifested itself in the Church to give her light and comfort.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 14 February 1990]

The Gospel we read in the liturgy [...] (Mk 6:1-6) tells us about the disbelief of Jesus’s fellow villagers. After preaching in other villages in Galilee, Jesus returned to Nazareth where he had grown up with Mary and Joseph; and, one sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who were listening asked themselves: “Where does he get all this wisdom? But, isn’t he the son of the carpenter and Mary, that is, of our neighbours that we know so well?” (cf. vv. 1-3). Confronted with this reaction, Jesus confirms the truth that had even become a part of popular wisdom: “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” (v. 4). We say this many times…

Let us reflect on the attitude of Jesus’s fellow villagers. We could say they knew Jesus, but they did not recognise him. There is a difference between knowing and recognizing. In essence, this difference makes us understand that we can know various things about a person, form an idea, rely on what others say about that person, we might perhaps meet that person every now and then in the neighbourhood; but all that is not enough. This is a knowledge, I would say ordinary, superficial, that does not recognise the uniqueness of the person. We all run this risk: we think we know so much about a person, even worse, we use labels and close the person within our own prejudices. Jesus’s fellow villagers knew him for thirty years in the same way and they thought they knew everything! “But isn’t this the boy we saw growing up, the son of the carpenter and Mary? Where do these things come from?”. The distrust…in reality, they never realised who Jesus truly was. They remained at the exterior level and refused what was new about Jesus.

And here, we enter into the true crux of the problem: when we allow the convenience of habit and the dictatorship of prejudice to have the upper hand, it is difficult to open ourselves to what is new and allow ourselves to be amazed. We control: through attitudes, through prejudices… It often happens in life that we seek from our experiences and even from people only what conforms to our own ideas and ways of thinking so as never to have to make an effort to change. And this can even happen with God, and even to us believers, to us who think we know Jesus, that we already know so much about Him and that it is enough to repeat the same things as always. And this is not enough with God. But without openness to what is new and, above all – listen well – openness to God’s surprises, without amazement, faith becomes a tiring litany that slowly dies out and becomes a habit, a social habit.

I said a word: amazement. What is amazement? Amazement happens when we meet God: “I met the Lord”. But we read in the Gospel: many times the people who encountered Jesus and recognised him felt amazed. And we, by encountering God, must follow this path: to feel amazement. It is like the guarantee certificate that the encounter is true and not habitual.

In the end, why didn’t Jesus’s fellow villagers recognise and believe in Him? But why? What is the reason? In a few words, we can say that they did not accept the scandal of the Incarnation. They did not know this mystery of the Incarnation, but they did not accept the mystery: they did not know it. They did not know the reason and they thought it was scandalous that the immensity of God should be revealed in the smallness of our flesh, that the Son of God should be the son of a carpenter, that the divine should be hidden in the human, that God should inhabit a face, the words, the gestures of a simple man. This is the scandal: the incarnation of God, his concreteness, his ‘daily life’. And God became concrete in a man, Jesus of Nazareth, he became a companion on the way, he made himself one of us. “You are one of us”, we can say to Jesus. What a beautiful prayer! It is because one of us understands us, accompanies us, forgives us, loves us so much. In reality, an abstract, distant god is more comfortable, one that doesn’t get himself involved in situations and who accepts a faith that is far from life, from problems, from society. Or we would even like to believe in a ‘special effects’ god who does only exceptional things and always provokes strong emotions. Instead, brothers and sisters, God incarnated Himself: God is humble, God is tender, God is hidden, he draws near to us, living the normality of our daily life.

And then, the same thing happens to us like Jesus’s fellow villagers, we risk that when he passes by, we will not recognize him. I repeat that beautiful phrase from Saint Augustine: “I am afraid of God, of the Lord, when he passes by”. But, Augustine, why are you afraid? “I am afraid of not recognising him. I am afraid that when the Lord passes by: Timeo Dominum transeuntem. We do not recognize him, we are scandalised by Him, we think with our hearts about this reality.

Now, in prayer, let us ask the Madonna, who welcomed the mystery of God in her daily life in Nazareth, for eyes and hearts free of prejudices and to have eyes open to be amazed: “Lord that we might meet you!”, and when we encounter the Lord there is this amazement. We meet him in the normal: eyes open to God’s surprises, at His humble and hidden presence in daily life.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 4 July 2021]

Faith and Healing, or exclusion

(Mk 5:21-43)

In Rome, at Mk’s time, the situation of confusion generated by the civil war seemed likely to become lethal for the survival of the persecuted young communities, wich some mocked (v.40).

Under the obsessive diseducation of spiritual leaders, particularly on the sense of sin and unworthiness - in addition, the religious terror of demons - everything seemed to sow panic.

Fears absorbed much of the emotional resources - worsening people's situation (v.26).

For this reason the woman moves in taking the Master by surprise, «from behind» (v.27) - indeed, by stealth! But hers was not sacrilege at all.

The transgression of the “defiled” - who even follow their conscience [at that time, a double shame] is grasped by the Lord as an expression of living Faith (v.34)!

«Daughter»: Christ welcomes every "woman" into his Church, and in her He values ​​all those who are kept at a safe distance.

Nor does expect her to go to the Temple to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the Law.

He only says: «Your Faith has saved you. Go in Peace».

That is to say: Go ahead towards the joy of a full life, without the usual judgment of inadequacy on the back.

In fact, even the leader of ancient devotion can only generate sons [that is, a whole spiritual people] already dead from the start (v.35).

But from the moment he turns to the authentic Master, he begins to make transition from elementary religiosity to Faith (v.36).

In this way, the premature end regenerates life, youth, happiness.

The message is not only for the traditional synagogue, but also for the greatest exponents of the nascent Church: the proud Peter, James and John (v.37).

Precisely because they are authoritarian, hasty and stubborn - all other community worshippers are well advised to keep their distance from an ambit that cries out in despair, because it still imagines physical death as an impassable fence (v.38).

And here a new religious transgression arises: the book of Leviticus forbade touching a dead body (v.41).

With this incredible gesture, Christ reaffirms: whoever observes the law that doesn’t humanize, himself produces death and goes to meet death.

The concrete good of the real person is absolute value. God doesn’t look at merits, but at needs.

And personal Faith is the divine Gold that realizes the inner vision.

Indestructible Relationship Quality: such Action-compassion goes beyond ‘death’ that spoils everything.

Precisely, attracting and fulfilling what the same gesture believes (vv. 23.28.34.36.39).

The term «immortality» doesn’t exist in Hebrew Bible.

Israel's slowness in believing in life without end is illuminating: it makes us understand that before believing in the future world, it’s necessary to value and love existence in this world.

When we will be passionate about it in the same way as the Father, the silence of a space of our own, unrepeatable, fragrant, blooming from a genuine Harmony will arise.

Then the Lord will transform us, He will communicate Himself to us (v.43), He will make us similar to Him and able to withstand challenges.

Finally able to untie knots of death and help the suspensions of others.

[Tuesday 4th wk. in O.T.  February 3, 2026]