The Eucharist, bread broken for the life of the world

88. "The bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51). In these words the Lord reveals the true meaning of the gift of his life for all people. These words also reveal his deep compassion for every man and woman. The Gospels frequently speak of Jesus' feelings towards others, especially the suffering and sinners (cf. Mt 20:34; Mk 6:34; Lk 19:41). Through a profoundly human sensibility he expresses God's saving will for all people – that they may have true life. Each celebration of the Eucharist makes sacramentally present the gift that the crucified Lord made of his life, for us and for the whole world. In the Eucharist Jesus also makes us witnesses of God's compassion towards all our brothers and sisters. The eucharistic mystery thus gives rise to a service of charity towards neighbour, which "consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know. This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, affecting even my feelings. Then I learn to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ." (240) In all those I meet, I recognize brothers or sisters for whom the Lord gave his life, loving them "to the end" (Jn 13:1). Our communities, when they celebrate the Eucharist, must become ever more conscious that the sacrifice of Christ is for all, and that the Eucharist thus compels all who believe in him to become "bread that is broken" for others, and to work for the building of a more just and fraternal world. Keeping in mind the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, we need to realize that Christ continues today to exhort his disciples to become personally engaged: "You yourselves, give them something to eat" (Mt 14:16). Each of us is truly called, together with Jesus, to be bread broken for the life of the world.

[Pope Benedict, Sacramentum Caritatis]

Along with physical hunger man has within him another hunger, a more basic hunger, which cannot be satisfied by ordinary food. It is a hunger for life, a hunger for eternity. The sign of the manna was the proclamation of the coming of Christ who was to satisfy man's hunger for eternity by himself becoming the "living bread" which "gives life to the world". And see: those who heard Jesus ask him to fulfil what had been proclaimed by the sign of the manna, perhaps without being conscious of how far their request would go: "Lord, give us this bread always" (Jn 6:34). How eloquent is this request! How generous and how amazing is its fulfilment. "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst... For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:35,55-56). "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day' (Jn 6:54).

What a great dignity has been bestowed on us! The Son of God gives himself to us in the Most Holy Sacrament of his Body and Blood. How infinitely great is God's generosity! He responds to our deepest desires, which are not only desires for earthly bread, but extend to the horizons of life eternal. This is the great mystery of faith!

[Pope John Paul II, homily in Wroclaw 31 May 1997]

The words and gestures of the Lord touch our hearts: He takes the bread in his hands, pronounces the blessing, breaks it and offers it to the disciples, saying: “Take; this is my body” […]

And thus, with simplicity, Jesus gives us the greatest sacrament. His is a humble gesture of giving, a gesture of sharing. At the culmination of his life, he does not distribute an abundance of bread to feed the multitudes, but breaks himself apart at the Passover supper with the disciples. In this way Jesus shows us that the aim of life lies in self-giving, that the greatest thing is to serve. And today once more we find the greatness of God in a piece of Bread, in a fragility that overflows with love, that overflows with sharing. Fragility is precisely the word I would like to underscore. Jesus becomes fragile like the bread that is broken and crumbled. But his strength lies precisely therein, in his fragility. In the Eucharist fragility is strength: the strength of the love that becomes small so it can be welcomed and not feared; the strength of the love that is broken and shared so as to nourish and give life; the strength of the love that is split apart so as to join all of us in unity.

And there is another strength that stands out in the fragility of the Eucharist: the strength to love those who make mistakes. It is on the night he is betrayed that Jesus gives us the Bread of Life. He gives us the greatest gift while he feels the deepest abyss in his heart: the disciple who eats with Him, who dips the morsel in the same plate, is betraying Him. And betrayal is the worst suffering for one who loves. And what does Jesus do? He reacts to the evil with a greater good. He responds to Judas’ ‘no’ with the ‘yes’ of mercy. He does not punish the sinner, but rather gives His life for him; He pays for him. When we receive the Eucharist, Jesus does the same with us: he knows us; he knows we are sinners; and he knows we make many mistakes, but he does not give up on joining his life to ours. He knows that we need it, because the Eucharist is not the reward of saints, no, it is the Bread of sinners. This is why he exhorts us: “Do not be afraid! Take and eat”.

Each time we receive the Bread of Life, Jesus comes to give new meaning to our fragilities. He reminds us that in his eyes we are more precious than we think. He tells us he is pleased if we share our fragilities with him. He repeats to us that his mercy is not afraid of our miseries. The mercy of Jesus is not afraid of our miseries. And above all he heals us from those fragilities that we cannot heal on our own, with love. What fragilities? Let’s think. That of feeling resentment toward those who have done us harm — we cannot heal from this on our own; that of distancing ourselves from others and closing off within ourselves — we cannot heal from that on our own; that of feeling sorry for ourselves and complaining without finding peace; from this too, we cannot heal on our own. It is He who heals us with his presence, with his bread, with the Eucharist. The Eucharist is an effective medicine for these closures. The Bread of Life, in fact, heals rigidity and transforms it into docility. The Eucharist heals because it unites with Jesus: it makes us assimilate his way of living, his ability to break himself apart and give himself to brothers and sisters, to respond to evil with good. He gives us the courage to go outside of ourselves and bend down with love toward the fragility of others. As God does with us. This is the logic of the Eucharist: we receive Jesus who loves us and heals our fragilities in order to love others and help them in their fragilities; and this lasts our entire life. In the Liturgy of the Hours today, we prayed a hymn: four verses that are the summary of Jesus’ entire life. And they tell us this: as Jesus was born, he became our travelling companion in life. Then, at the supper he gave himself as food. Then, on the cross, in his death, he became the “price”; he paid for us. And now, as he reigns in Heaven he is our reward; we go to seek the One who awaits us [cf. Hymn at Lauds on Corpus Christi, Verbum Supernum Prodiens].

May the Blessed Virgin, in whom God became flesh, help us to embrace the Eucharist with a grateful heart and to make a gift of our life too. May the Eucharist make us a gift for all others.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 6 June 2021]

And move the neighbors

(Lk 10:1-9)

Jesus notes that the Apostles are not free people (cf. Lk 9). Their way of being is so grounded on standard attitudes and obligatory behaviors that it translates into impermeable mental armour.

Their predictability is too limiting: it gives no breathing space to the path of those who instead want to reactivate themselves, discover, value surprises behind the secret sides of reality and personality.

That wich remains tied to ancient customs and usual protagonists doesn’t make you dream, it isn’t an amazing appearance and testimony of Elsewhere; it takes away expressive richness from the Announcement and from life.

The Lord is forced to call the Samaritans [the heretics of religion] gathered elsewhere, not coming from "correct" observances, but able to walk, understand, and not be picky.

The new envoys go on the road helpless. Not being able to count on the usual tricks, they are certainly damaged, defrauded and - if they touch all the exposed nerves - torn to pieces.

But their being modest and not doctoral makes us reflect, arouses new knowledge, and awareness. Thus their spontaneous and innocent friendship.

In blocked situations this "disorder" of new amazements will introduce renewed charm, evoke potential, widen expressive opportunities and everyone's field of action.

Once in a territory, it will be good not to go from house to house: from a makeshift accommodation, to the apartment, the villa, and then the palace, because the search for better comforts makes God's Novelty disappear.

The care of the sick and deviations is a cornerstone of the Mission, because it’s precisely from insecurities or eccentricities that a different Kingdom sprouts, the one that notices and takes charge - in the love of those who do not abandon.

And let no time be wasted by combing the “sitting” environment: even a voluntary removal educates to be free.

The momentum of life will awaken consciences and prevail over the negative: on the path that belongs to us, accusations will count for less and less.

Unlike the fruitless action of the Apostles (Lk 9 passim), the return of the new evangelizers is full of joy and results (vv. 17-20).

It’s the last and different ones who bring down from "heaven" - and replace - the enemies of humanity and of our Gladness (vv. 5-6).

In the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalom] to be announced, what had always seemed imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which complete and fulfil us also spiritually.

Now the flourishing Salvation (life as saved persons) is within reach of all (v.9), no longer a privilege.

The sides judged to be crazy, extraneous or materially inconclusive are preparing our new paths.

In the great Mystery of perceiving oneself as ‘being in the Gift’ - «two by two» (v.1) to live in fullness - the self understands the opposite polarities of its essence.

Only thus ‘widened’ do we become a being with and for the other. On the Way, in the form of the Cross.

[St Cyril and Methodius, February 14, 2025]

Beyond the Twelve: 72 others unsure (but transparent) in the uncertainty of wolves

(Lk 10:1-20)

And I and You

"Truth is not at all what I have. It is not at all what you have. It is what unites us in suffering, in joy. It is what unites us in our union, in the pain and pleasure we give birth to. Neither I nor You. And me and You. Our common work, permanent amazement. Its name is Wisdom'.

(Irénée Guilane Dioh)

Jesus notes that the Apostles are not free people, that is why they do not emancipate anyone and even prevent any breakthrough (cf. Lk 9).

Their way of being is so grounded in standard attitudes and obligatory behaviour that they result in impermeable mental armour.

Their predictability is too limiting: it gives no breathing space to the path of those who instead want to reactivate themselves, discover and value surprises behind the secret sides of reality and personality.

That which remains bound to ancient customs and usual protagonists does not make one dream, it is not an apparition and amazing testimony of the Other; it takes away expressive richness from the Announcement and from life.

The Lord is compelled to call the Samaritans (the heretics of religion) gathered elsewhere, not from 'correct' observances - but capable of walking, understanding and not being picky.

At least they do not disprove the Word they proclaim with a life behind the scenes: what you see, they are.

He is practically induced to fly over the Twelve, with insecure but transparent '72s', in the uncertainty of the (many) wolves who feel destabilised.

The new envoys go on the road helpless. Unable to rely on the usual wiles, they are sure to be damaged, defrauded and - if they touch all the exposed nerves - mauled.

But their low and unassuming being makes them think, arouses new knowledge and awareness. Thus their spontaneous and innocent friendship.

Then, in blocked situations, it will be this 'disorder' of new stupefaction that will introduce renewed fascination; evoke potentialities, broaden the possible expressive inclinations, and the field of action of all.

It is the critical witnesses who transmute the world and lead people to praise (because they may have simply regained resources they did not even know they possessed or had lost sight of).

Those who never cease to surprise must beware of the fakers and profiteers who are disturbed by the smile of the newly naive - and very careful. Only here must one be difficult: let there be no more scruples!

Once in a territory, it will be good not to go from house to house: from a makeshift accommodation to the flat, to the villa, then to the palace, because the search for better comforts makes the Newness of God disappear.

Caring for the sick and deviant is a cornerstone of the Mission, because it is precisely from insecurities or eccentricities that a different kingdom sprouts, one that notices and takes charge - in the love of those who do not abandon.

And let us not waste time combing the environment sitting on the false truncated-altar ideology: even a voluntary departure educates to gratuitousness. On the contrary, it is precisely the religious leaders [old-fashioned and otherwise] and their circle devotees who remain attached to positions of social visibility, to the idol of the place, to the disease of the title (without which they do not feel like characters), that astound and reflect.

They are manipulative, and fill our heads with breeziness.

The spy of the sovereign - the 'satan' [his acolytes are many and unsuspected] enemy of humanity's progress - will no longer be relevant.

The momentum of life will awaken consciences and prevail over the negative: on the path that belongs to us, the accusations of the interested overseers will count for less and less.

Unlike the scrupulous but sad and deviant action of the Apostles [Lk 9 passim] the return of the new evangelisers aggregated by direct Calling and without intermediate rituals is full of verve and results (vv.17-20).

It is the last and different ones - not the most well-known and self-referential aggregates - who bring down from "heaven" and replace the Satan-functionaries, enemies of humanity and inclusive Joy (vv.5-6).

In the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalôm] to be proclaimed, what had always seemed imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which also fulfil and realise us spiritually.

Now the blossoming Salvation [saved life, conclusive] is within reach for all (v.9), no longer a privilege.

The sides judged sickly, deranged, suffering, invalid, crazy, or materially inconclusive are preparing our new paths.

In the vocational dynamic, the fixed point does not lie in a satisfactory adherence to criteria of reason, nor in some ingenious elaboration of novelty.

Neither does it lie in the heroicity or fixity of conformed, yet convinced, behaviour.

Our certainty is a surprise that comes.It awakens us, but it resides solely in a perception of the inner eye: in the slight recurring image that dwells there and mysteriously appears, drags and guides.

And cures fears.

The only certainty will be that slight vision that - corresponding and reaffirming its comings and goings - turns each one to its unexpressed personal desire, weaving an ineffable dialogue with the soul and its Way.

The Gift imposes itself upon the intimate scenario, to turn each Name to its destination.

To attract and actualise Future. Of course: not the return to the previous situation that many advocate; today, even in times of global crisis.

There is no other fixed point than our Calling.

It comes to enter into a spousal relationship with the unpredictable and unprecedented work of the personal Faith-Calamite.

Attraction that seduces the soul, frees it from insecurities by infusing it with passion, and demands to be respected.

Only in a vocational and intimately strong sense does the call of the Dream, which emerges to the heart's perception, make us tenacious.

And it revives a wandering existence amidst the storms - like that of a planet adrift - intertwining life with Christ.

It is our Peace in chaos, which also invites introspection.

"Magnet-counter" in the external artifice of being led by others' goals.

Nor is it enough to find a modern antidote to the frenzy that stings us, still making our wandering worse.

Nor is imposing a style that conflicts with the independence of the personal spirit.

A parenthesis is not enough to annihilate the tension of contemporary life.

After all, we do not lack an oasis to reflect on the world, understand ourselves, and friends or those far away.

"I have no peace" - we hear ourselves repeated by people who feel adrift. And this feeling is contagious; rampant today.

How do we proclaim harmony and reconciliation in the home (v.5), in a world besieged by provocations, global maladies and competitions, which if considered responsibly immediately make our wrists shake?

In a New Year's greetings address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, John Paul II summarised four epochal emergencies for the new millennium:

"Life, bread, peace and freedom: these are the great challenges of humanity today".

An outlier for our nature.

How can the man of Faith announce balance and prosperity, if weakness is not protected, if the criterion of nature today seems volatile, if nourishment is not abundant and varied for all, if fraternity is not discernible even in protected environments [at most it is mistaken for generic sympathy for advertising purposes, in a church of events - as Pope Francis says], or if belligerence can have theological motivations (in order not to accept the vital needs of others)... if one does not recognise that one can realise oneself 'in a way that corresponds to one's nature'?

This, in my opinion, is the pivotal point: the prerogative of the Vocation and the inner imagery it arouses; of our response of personal and creative spousal trust.

John Paul said: freedom is light "because it allows one to responsibly choose one's goals and the way to reach them".

Not a light that dazzles, but one that rests, and weaves patterns.

A redeemed light, which becomes relationship, the possibility of sharing; Presence that conveys meaning.

Free will pales, hand in hand with our voluntarism, and even the ability to self-determine for the good is not enough for us. We have always known this.

In his second Satire, Juvenal writes:

"Practices have given you this ringworm/

And to many they give it, like sheep/

Or of swine in a herd one communicates/

To all others scabies and dandruff/

And one grain is enough to spoil a bunch/

From this fashion to uglier matters/

Adagio adagio you will pass: the ladder/

Of vices you will not descend/

In short they will make you one of their own/

Those who at home gird their foreheads".

One must live by Communion, even with oneself, or there is no authentic life.

In the great Mystery of perceiving oneself as a "being in the Gift" - "two by two" (v.1) - to enjoy fullness, the self understands the opposite polarities of its essence.

Only thus expanded do we become a being "with" and "for" the other.

Not infrequently, the sacred proposal isolates us or places us in one-sided watertight compartments, which truncate dreams [not disembodied fantasies, which are corollary to them].

The beautiful ancient customs, or the patterns of abstract sociology, and local styles or customs, determine the tracks of our race: the usual totems of costume. Or the fashions of others; external mannerisms.

Jesus (precisely) notes the failure of his own, who fail to liberate people - and even pretend to prevent it [Lk 9].

So he also calls the Samaritans (v.1), that is, the badly indoctrinated, half-breeds and bastards.

In short, he broadens the horizon of the designated tribes, appealing to pagan nations, for a universal task.

The Lord knows that the 'lay' Faith is not of the circle.It does not willingly conform to models without intimate force; therefore, it does not block evolution, because it makes life out of Relationship and Character.

This, in the midst of all facets of being and history: precisely with and for others, but not outwardly - but firmly within oneself.

In this way, in the friendship of self and neighbour, we become by grace and genuinely much more trustworthy than those who are driven by articulate convictions or strong club voluntarism.

The latter are often very dangerous illusions, if they do not recognise as an absolute value the concrete good of the real man, the right to his Happiness.

Totality or integration resulting from the well-being of a completion in being, no longer reduced.

Messianic Presence [Announcement of the Shalôm] that does not devalue; it does not remain one-sided.

The Falling Spy, and the Little Brains

The spy of the "ruler" - the "Satan" [his acolytes are many and unsuspected], the enemy of humanity's progress - will no longer be prominent.

Dethroned from the condition of power over men, it falls into the abyss (v.18).

It means that thanks to the mission in Christ, the momentum of life will prevail over the negative.

In the path that belongs to us, the accusations of the interested overseers will count for zero.

The old kings and prophets had only sighed for the fullness of the Messiah. They felt themselves to be great, but they had not met the Eternal One in superabundance of Person.

They were still slaves to cosmic elements, sometimes subject to the irrational power of evil; often overcome by common thinking, by their own and others' misery, by the attractions of the surrounding worldly reality.

The 'little ones', on the other hand, even today remain open to the Mystery and receive a renewed being.

The wise suppose that the only life is on their side; they think themselves powerful and convincing. They do not need light, nor do they need a Friend.

It is on this plane that one of the definitive revelations about the authentic Man that manifests the divine condition is formulated.

The Son blesses the Father for the gift bestowed on the insignificant in society, and discovers the crux of the Mystery of our communication with the Most High: the spirit of knowing oneself to be in the Family, in its own right.

Ancient religious holiness rested on separation [Qadosh-Santo: it is an attribute of the God who dwells in distinct, remote, inaccessible places] not on essence.

The new name for (domestic) holiness reflected in the Person of Christ and in that of His brethren is no longer synonymous with 'cut off from others and set apart', but 'United'.

Despite the crutches he wears, he remains in himself 'dignified' and even 'called'; hence enabled to be promoted, without further conditions of ideological or cultic purity.

Father and Son constitute a Mystery of reciprocity and dedication into which only those who wish to receive and welcome themselves in the source - in God, to allow themselves to be enveloped by a Friendship that encompasses the whole being - penetrate.

Dialogue that expands even the smallest qualities, sublimates the unknown and obscure sides of the personality into Pearls; to expand the wave of existence, without chasing the voices of the external world [only apparently vital].

Thus Sending and Mission have as their core the unfolding of the intense quality, of the same intimate and indestructible divine reality: Love.

The only Fire that annihilates the consuming powers, in people, in nations, in history.

Precisely, unlike the scrupulous but sad and deviant work of the Apostles [Lk 9 passim], the return of the new evangelisers aggregated by direct Calling and without intermediate rituals is full of joy and results (vv.17-20).

Let us remember Tagore: 'If Christians were like their Master, they would have all India at their feet'.

They are the last and different - the new protagonists of the proclamation.

Not the best known and self-opinionated co-opted ones succeed in bringing down from heaven and replacing the Satan-functionaries, enemies of humanity and our democratic Joy (vv.5-6).

In the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalôm] to be proclaimed, what had always seemed imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which complement, include and fulfil us spiritually as well.

Now the Salvation [life of the saved] that flourishes is within reach of all who have a caring spirit and virtue as family members. No longer the privilege of circles that feel secure [but lose uniqueness].

Tagore again: 'Kindly, deliberately make yourself small, come into this small abode [...] As a friend, as a father, as a mother make yourself small, come into my heart. I too with my hands will make myself small before the master of the universe; with my small intelligence I will know you and make you known".

The Mystery resists the "learned" who make profession of high wisdom (v.21). 

Conversely, the Kingdom opens to those not imprisoned by conformist and interposed ideas - slaves to thoughts and conventions.

Here is the Hymn of Jubilation (vv.21-24) that introduces the Commandment of Love (vv.25ff).I remember my Augustinian professor of Patristics: he insisted that one of the nicknames earned by the early Christians was 'little brains'.

They were simple people, but full of aptitudes for fullness, and wise new awareness, which astounded the professors and philosophers of the ancient world.

We, too, ask ourselves: what makes us come close to what we are called to do?

Well, perhaps we already know: the sufficiency of those who profess cerebral doctrine - in reality - only leads to falling from the sky.

It annihilates humble self-perception, makes the ability to notice pale; it closes one to forgiveness, to benevolent acceptance, to listening to the soul and to others, to availability. Even to the acumen of innate knowledge, that which belongs to us and would solve real problems.

Precisely those sides that are judged crazy or materially inconclusive - even in the weave of small things - would make us face the external events that beset us... as opportunities for growth.

They are indeed preparing our new paths, and a germ of an alternative society.

To internalise and live the message:

What happened in you when you accepted the modest (and full) status of son?

What new awareness of yourself and the world did you acquire?

Did you also discover outbursts of gratuitousness, as well as gratitude?

The Mission (Effusion) reaches all frontiers

For the Announcement, without knots at the throat

(Lk 10:13-16)

The difference between religiosity and Faith is in the Subject, of Life in the Spirit: it is not we who dispose, set up, new heavens and new earth - but Grace that silently disposes and precedes.

That is why in the Announcement we are not orphans, and with many knots at our throats.

The Master himself is not alone. The witness of even non-disciples is part of Christ's Way to the Father.

Way that comes. It is not the established "internal" commitment that builds a more authentic world with divine traits.

Rather, it is the Kingdom - effusive in itself - that gives rise to the path to the "far", and activates unthinkable scenarios.

They come to us as a proposal for Peace: openness to a wider Plan, and inter-human justice.

The varied experience, the environment full of surprises of non-followers, generates blossoms, of each one - in the discovery of the limit, of one's own deep states - for communion.

No elective reserve; no right of pre-emption. Salvation according to the Father, not "our way".

The Gospel overcomes the barriers of peoples and if necessary leaves behind its cradle of extenuating cultures, locked in a plastered mentality, perhaps intolerant; annoyed at everything.

Those who in full awareness and deliberate consent reject the Word because the world will no longer be 'as it was before' suddenly find themselves without hope, without children, without the possibility of life and expansion.

Without Presence, without the Spirituality of the Covenant - which chains every witness to the Son and the Father. And only God can overcome the power of obstacles; internal and external powers.

Only in the torch of the divine condition [authentic Source, measure that Christ lives and amazes us] do we learn the meaning of our being, communicating, going.

The inaccessible interrogates, and becomes very close. It annihilates the exclusive ballasts, which remain in vain.

Thus the Announcement unleashes the Spirit, it opens up unusual doors: even a window onto the inner world. Where opposites already have a right to exist. Indeed, they call to the New Covenant, which teaches us to stand with the sides we do not like.

In this way we will investigate and discover: the struggle of the blocks, of the fears of what we do not want to see outside and inside us, must cease.

Tendencies that we thought should be denied become an unpredictable source of other lights and virtues, intimate and in relationships.

Even and especially the shadows call for the Exodus, a new covenant - where we are not absolutely alone and one-sided, but more complete.

In short, the Mystery that inhabits us transcends the bonds of belief, makes us less divided. It starts from the source of being.

It becomes real, compelling transcendence-immanence; for all. New Life Awareness.

"He who listens to you listens to me, and he who despises you despises me, but he who despises me despises Him who sent me" (v.16).

"For the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son that all may honour the Son as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him" (Jn 5:22-23).

Scientists and Little Ones

(Lk 10:21-24)

Unlike the fruitless action of the Apostles [Lk 9 passim], the return of the new evangelisers is full of joy and results (vv.17-20). Why?

That which remains tied to ancient customs and usual protagonists does not make one dream, it is not an apparition and astonishing testimony of the Other; it takes away expressive richness from the proclamation and from life.

The leaders looked at religiosity with a purpose of interest. Professors of theology were accustomed to assessing every comma from their own ridiculously supponent knowledge - unrelated to real events.

The new envoys go on the road helpless.

The Master rejoices in their and his own experience, which brings a non-epidermal joy and a teaching from the Spirit - about those who are well disposed to understand the depths of the Kingdom in ordinary things.

In short, after an initial moment of enthusiastic crowds, the Master delves deeper into the issues and finds everyone against him, except God and the least: the weightless, but eager to start from scratch.

Gleam of the Mystery that leavens history - without making it a possession.

At the conclusion of the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis cites the figure and experience of Charles de Foucauld, who - subverting conformism - "only by identifying himself with the least came to be a brother to all" (no.287).

At first, even Jesus was stunned by the rejection of those who were already satisfied with the official religious structure and no longer expected anything that could arouse custom and profit.

Then he understands, praises and blesses the Father's plan.

He understands that the authentic person is born from the depths, in any case from another elaboration and genesis, which upsets the established, inert and reassuring religious relationship - never profound nor decisive for human destiny.

God is Simple Relationship: it demythologises the idol of greatness.

The Eternal One is not the master of creation who manifests himself through the irrepressible powers of nature.

He is Refreshment that refreshes, because He makes us feel complete and lovable; He seeks us out, He is attentive to the language of the heart.

He is Keeper of the world, even of the unlearned - of the "infants" (v.21) spontaneously empty of boastful spirit, that is, of those who do not remain closed in their sufficient belonging.

The Father-Son relationship is communicated to God's poor: those who are endowed with a family-like attitude (v.22).

Insignificant and invisible without great gifts, but who abandon themselves to the proposals of the providential life that comes, like children in the arms of parents.

A spirit of pietas that favours those who allow themselves to be filled, and who do not proceed along the paths of thought or calculating initiative, but of innate Wisdom.

The only reality that corresponds to us and does not present the 'bill': it does not proceed on the paths of functional thinking, of calculating initiative.

It transmits freshness in the readiness to receive - to welcome and personally restore - both the Truth as Gift... and the spontaneous enthusiasm itself, capable of realising it.

A prayer of blessing that is simple and for the simple - this of Jesus (v.21) - that makes us grow in esteem, fits perfectly with our experience, and gets along well with ourselves.

But which strangely the 'learned', who do not live 'the spirit of the neighbourhood' (FT no.152) yet claim positions and always play smart, have not been so willing to pass on to us.

Because such Berakah does not presuppose the energy of 'models', nor the aggressive power of 'bigwigs'.

Precisely, in the perspective of the Peace-Felicity [Shalom] to be announced, what had always seemed to be imperfections and flaws become preparatory energies, which also complete and fulfil us spiritually.

And instead of only with the 'big' and external, one must in this way live in Communion even with the 'small' in oneself, or there is no loveliness, no authentic life.

To internalise and live the message:

What do you feel when you are told: 'You don't count'? Does it remain a humiliating contempt or do you consider it a great Light received, as Jesus did?

Jesus sends 72 disciples out into the great harvest, which is the world, inviting them to pray the Lord of the harvest that there may be no lack of labourers in his harvest (cf. Lk 10:1-3); but he does not send them with powerful means, but “as lambs in the midst of wolves” (v. 3), without purse, bag, or sandals (cf. v. 4). St John Chrysostom, in one of his homilies, comments: “For so long as we are sheep, we conquer: though ten thousand wolves prowl around, we overcome and prevail. But if we become wolves, we are worsted, for the help of our Shepherd departs from us” (Homily 33, 1: PG 57, 389). Christians must never yield to the temptation to become wolves among wolves; it is not with might, with force, with violence that Christ’s kingdom of peace grows, but with the gift of self, with love carried to the extreme, even towards enemies. Jesus does not conquer the world with the force of arms, but with the force of the Cross, which is the true guarantee of victory. The consequence of this for those who want to be disciples of the Lord, his envoys, is to be prepared for the passion and martyrdom, to lose their own life for him, so that in the world goodness, love and peace may triumph. This is the prerequisite needed to say, upon entering into every situation: “Peace be to this house” (Lk 10:5).

[Pope Benedict, Prayer in preparation for the Assisi Meeting, 26 October 2011]

Faith in Christ Is Directed to Man's Freedom

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]

Today’s Gospel passage, taken from the tenth Chapter of the Gospel of Luke (vv. 1-12, 17-20), makes us consider how necessary it is to invoke God, “the Lord of harvest to send out laborers” (v. 2). The “laborers” whom Jesus speaks of are the missionaries of the Kingdom of God, whom he himself calls and sends on “ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come” (v. 1). Their task is to proclaim a message of salvation addressed to everyone. Missionaries always proclaim a message of salvation to everyone; not only those missionaries who go afar, but we too, [are] Christian missionaries who express a good word of salvation. This is the gift that Jesus gives us with the Holy Spirit. This message is to say: “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (v. 9), because God has “come near” to us through Jesus; God became one of us; in Jesus, God reigns in our midst, his merciful love overcomes sin and human misery.

This is the Good News that the “laborers” must bring to everyone: a message of hope and comfort, of peace and charity. When Jesus sends the disciples ahead of him into the villages, he tells them: “first, say ‘Peace be to this house!’ [...]; heal the sick in it” (vv. 5, 9). All of this signifies that the Kingdom of God is built day by day and already offers on this earth its fruits of conversion, of purification, of love and of comfort among men. It is a beautiful thing! Building day by day this Kingdom of God that is to be made. Do not destroy, build!

With what spirit must disciples of Jesus carry out this mission? First of all they must be aware of the difficult and sometimes hostile reality that awaits them. Jesus minces no words about this! Jesus says: “I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves” (v. 3). This is very clear. Hostility is always at the beginning of persecutions of Christians; because Jesus knows that the mission is blocked by the work of evil. For this reason, the laborer of the Gospel will strive to be free from every kind of human conditioning, carrying neither purse nor bag nor sandals (cf. v. 4), as Jesus counseled, so as to place reliance solely in the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ. This means abandoning every motive of personal advantage, careerism or hunger for power, and humbly making ourselves instruments of the salvation carried out by Jesus’ sacrifice. 

A Christian’s mission in the world is splendid, it is a mission intended for everyone, it is a mission of service, excluding no one; it requires a great deal of generosity and above all setting one’s gaze and heart facing on High, to invoke the Lord’s help. There is a great need for Christians who joyfully witness to the Gospel in everyday life. The disciples, sent out by Jesus, “returned with joy” (v. 17). When we do this, our heart fills with joy. This expression makes me think of how much the Church rejoices, she revels when her children receive the Good News thanks to the dedication of so many men and women who daily proclaim the Gospel: priests — those brave parish priests whom we all know —, nuns, consecrated women, missionary men and women.... I ask myself — listen to the question —: how many of you young people who are now present today in the Square, hear the Lord’s call to follow him? Fear not! Be courageous and bring to others this guiding light of apostolic zeal that these exemplary disciples have given to us.

Let us pray to the Lord, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that the Church may never lack generous hearts that work to bring everyone the love and kindness of our heavenly Father.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 3 July 2016]

Eucharistic crumbs

(Mk 7:24-30)

Religious law prevented dealing with foreign people and other ethnicities, borders, or culture.

At the beginning, Jesus [that is: He in the first communities, His Mystical Body] seems not to want to occupy Himself with it (v.27).

But after helping the crowds and his people to emancipate themselves from the prison of the norms of purity (vv. 14-23) the young Rabbi himself had emerged from the conformist ways of experiencing God.

He makes an Exodus even from national and race territories that at that time were seizing the vital sap of the souls - thus flying over the "sacred" preconceptions.

To make us grow in Faith, Christ promotes the most varied existence. In this way, outside the standard myopia, He can find astounding adherences.

Faith: New Principle, which does not alienate us from ourselves. And crumbles any illusion of exclusivity.

The singular initiatives of the Son are born on the basis of the all-personal experience of the divine, of a Father who bestows unconditionally.

Provident, and unequal from the stingy God of ancient religions: sovereign all discordant from creatures, alien, predatory, and (incomprehensibly) addicted to habit.

With an unusual stunt, the young Rabbi tries to open the Judaizing mentality, overcoming borders.

Even the dialogue with a woman not of his people was a "novelty" alien to the mentality of the time’s crowds. Initiative foreign even to the conceptions of the first two generations of believers; marked by a creed still blocked and mixed with idols.

But there was a whole people of strangers [the mestizo «Woman» and her spiritual ‘offspring’] who felt they had no future... and this called into question the many aprioriisms of the time.

In short, even the church of Mk had not fully grasped the meaning of the «bread of the sons» - all available, for it to be "recognized".

Because of rivalry, ancient peoples used to call foreigners with the contemptuous nickname of «dog»: synonymous with impudence, meanness and ignoble baseness.

The Lord's very harsh phrase (v.27) reflects a comparison coming from poor areas and from family life, where once there were plenty of pets and youth.

There was also a difference between ‘children’ generated by listening to the Word of God and those who adjusted themselves “by scent”. But although no one denied sustenance to the «sons» to give it to the «dogs» around them - the latter had at least the right of crumbs fallen on the ground.

For differents and far - even bad-considered - it’s not a problem to resort to Jesus in an instinctive way; indeed, even today they would be satisfied with the shatters.

[Unfortunately, not infrequently strangers and difforms are hungrier of the real Manna from Heaven].

Christian community should not lack the nourishment of the body and the food of wisdom for everyone (Mk 6:42-44).

Faith has no nationality, and it is the only immediate language and relationship valid for communication between God and woman and man.

Christ is a sapiential feeds for a free circulation; not a sign to be hindered and kept closed.

Breaking the Bread is to participate our existence at root; what we have and are. Metre of what we proclaim, believe and practice.

[Thursday 5th wk. in O.T.  February 13, 2025]

Sons, little dogs, demons and free movement

(Mk 7:24-30)

Jesus discovered the will of the Father in the events of life. The same is true for the growth of awareness of the first communities, which carried no small prejudices, at least until the third generation of believers (inclusive) - as witnessed by the Synoptics.

Religious law prevented dealing with foreigners and people of other ethnicities, borders or cultures. At first, Jesus [i.e.: He in the first communities, His mystical Body] seems not to want to care (v.27).

But after helping the crowds and his own to emancipate themselves from the prison of the norms of purity (vv.14-23) Christ breaks out of conformist ways of experiencing God.

He even exoduses himself from the national and racial territories that then sequestered the life-bloods - thus overcoming sacred preconceptions.

The Son's singular initiatives arise on the basis of a wholly personal experience of the divine, of a Father munificent in bestowing without conditions.

Provident and unequal from the stingy God of religions: the latter discordant from creatures, alien, and (incomprehensibly) habitual.

The Lord himself helps us in his story to experience the transcendent in even summary life. Thus, to get out of the contrived doctrinal ways that cage existence [territory, customs, ideology, belonging of various kinds - even 'internal'].

With an unusual gimmick, the young Rabbi tries to open up the Judaizing mentality, crossing borders.

The intent is to make us develop his own Faith. It promoted diverse existence, and outside of traditional myopia could thus find astounding adherences.

No boundary fences, no obstacles ... can contain our will to live: we want to feed not on pride (or resistance) but on love at risk, not debased - and express ourselves completely.

Even dialogue with a woman not of his people was a 'thought' alien to the mentality of the crowds of the time - alien even to the conceptions of the first two generations of believers, in this respect still entrenched and mixed with idols.

But there was a whole people of strangers [the mestizo 'woman' and her spiritual 'descendants'] who felt they had no future. And this challenged the many apriorisms of the time.

In short, even the church of Mk had not fully grasped the meaning of the 'bread of the children' - all available to be “recognised”.

Because of atavistic rivalries, ancient peoples used to call foreigners by the derogatory appellation 'dog', synonymous with impudence, meanness and ignoble baseness.

They were widespread misgivings about the sense of human brotherhood - from primitive vision [and not only, in the age of access].

The Lord's harsh sentence (v.27) reflects a comparison from poor areas and family life, where pets and youth once abounded.

There was still a difference between 'children' generated by hearing the Word of God and those who adjusted themselves “by scent”.

But although no one denied sustenance to the 'children' in order to give it to the 'dogs' around - the latter at least had the right to the crumbs that fell on the ground.

In fact, the text speaks of 'little dogs' [kynaría-kynaríois] as pets loved by the very young and who easily fed them leftovers during meals.

In a sense, they belonged to 'the house'.

For the different and distant - even the misunderstood - it is not a problem to resort to Jesus instinctively; on the contrary, they would be content with the scraps.

According to this, the community of the sons should not lack bodily nourishment and wisdom food for anyone (Mk 6:42-44).

However, the old-timers, who considered themselves family members of entitlement and asserted registry rights, sulked and in the assemblies pretended not to allow everyone to partake of the communion, the Eucharistic grains, the gifts of the festive kingdom.

But thanks to the appeal of the Gospels [quite different from the exaggerated imperial or legionary 'evangelical' proclamations] the dominion of demons (v.29) - so alive in all the various forms of religiosity at the time in Rome - was coming to an end.

According to Mark, there should be no obsession, chain, or preconception that can take away our direction of progress and energy, so that with extreme freedom we are enabled to work and open ourselves to the needs of others, even pagans (Mk 6:45a).

Thus a debate arises in the Roman fraternities about the conditions of community membership.

What is the position of converts from paganism? Do they have the right to participate in the breaking of the Bread without prior doctrine-discipline? Is there or is there not a break with the observant tradition?

Mark emphasises that we have no pre-emption: the principle of universal salvation is the attitude of Faith; not a right.

The community of the baptised is not allowed to live on rent. The gospel is open, it goes beyond the biblical priority of the chosen people.

The reason for any exception is sensitive love, which has the freedom to yield, which becomes the only principle of belonging.

The condition of membership in the new people of God is Faith in the heart and not in the blood or in the head, nor in the discipline that distances us from ourselves, God and others.

Faith: a new principle, which shatters every illusion of exclusivity.

With the Father, in the Son, it is no longer a matter of mortifying oneself, depending, striving and struggling, in order to stand before one another.

Legal purity is insufficient (vv.1-23), indeed now it is the person even of disconcerting origins - formerly an outsider - who emerges 'victorious' from the fight with the Lord.

Spousal entrustment is appreciable everywhere, by anyone: foundational Eros gushing from every soul, and not bound to repertoires. It overcomes any particularism.

Of course, it has its criteria - but they are essential: transparency, freshness, tension towards unity, overcoming conditions and taboos; value of the person; secret empathy of energies.

The Gospel passage traces a whole path of adherence to Christ.

Those who are far away can approach and even start from the popular - inconvenient - idea that Jesus is the expected 'Son of David' [cf. parallel Mt 15:22]: a military commander and ruler who was supposed to seize power, subjugate the nations, ensure the golden age, himself fulfil the prescriptions of the Law as if he were a Model, and impose their observance on all.

The starting point of the journey may be a miserable glimmer, a beginning that perhaps does not promise much. In fact, in this specific case, it is decidedly confusing: the Master does not answer (Mt 15:23).

The title affixed to Him has nothing to do with God, nor does it concern the authentic Firstborn. He is not a powerful Messiah - a predatory, homologated image - but a servant.

It makes no sense even to ask Him for "Mercy" (Mt 15:22)! Indeed - let's face it - despite the superficial ritual habits we have, here Christ seems quite angry (v.23).

This is not the healthy relationship with the Lord: He does not chastise or enjoy being begged by the needy.

Rather, He educates as He does a friend, brother or parent; and He does not grant graces by lottery, or miracles by sympathy and protection, or favours by territory - like pagan gods.

That image is totally deviant, but it is a bogus figure that comes out of the very "insiders" (Mt 15:23-24), who would have nothing to object to [cf. again v.23].

Indeed, their own catechesis is the source of it: the title "son of David" sounds strange, on the lips of a pagan.

Even today, this homologising paternalistic idea - of inculcated guilt - tends to drive away those who seek an amiable companion.

The priority for 'Israel' is acknowledged by Jesus because it is precisely the eldest sons who must be converted to a new Face of the first God of Sinai - still valued Lawgiver and Judge, instead of Creator and Redeemer of our intelligence and freedom.

[Albeit in a good-natured way, they unfortunately continue to spread it, as a sullen notary, since pre-catechism].

Jesus distances himself from those who make claims and at the same time divert the souls of the needy who seek him.

Then, in spiritual terms, no one can boast a right to anything: the truly sacred Gifts do not derive from any selective election relationship, nor even clientelistic [of the buying and selling kind].

So, to become intimate with Christ... can one be content with the Eucharistic 'crumbs' - i.e. 'minimal salvation'?

Can one be satisfied with the mere crumbs that fall from the table of the supponent closed in small schemes (Mk 7:27-28)?

Certainly, because it is Faith that saves (Mk 7:28-29a), not a grand gesture or a long habit in the disciplines of the arcane - nor a code of purity.

The authentic Lord only says:

"By this Word, go" (v.29) - i.e. proceed to the joy of a full life, transmissible to an "offspring" not destined for torment or premature death.

And without the judgement of others, the one with the usual deceptive tares of inadequacy, on your back.

Thanks to Him we are not introduced into a perfunctory religious practice, but into a Relationship that is chiselled over time (vv.25-30).

How to orient oneself?

Instead of the narrow Law, it is the Gospel that fully empowers us.

As if we were "little dogs" (vv.27-28) that seek life and nourishment, instinctively proceeding [by "sniffing"] along unexplored paths. And that according to character, inclination, Calling by Name, appeal to other secret forces.

In short, all men - although still far from an explicit adherence to faith - are inhabited by this knowledge that is at once personal and primordial, that gives immediate and infallible direction.

So, in simplicity, shall we too, in order to find the Way. 

In fact, Faith has no nationality, and is the only valid language-relationship-trajectory for communication between God and woman and man.

It is universal; it crosses time, denominational and even religious borders.

Commenting on the Tao Te Ching (LVIII), Master Wang Pi states:

"He who rules well has no form or name, he does not initiate administrations. The various categories divide and separate, that is why the people are fragmented'.

Master Ho-shang Kung adds:

"When the ruler is liberal, the people are united in wealth and satiety: people love each other and get along well".

Today it is about sharing the minutiae and fragments of the 'more' we in the West inherited from past generations.

A very instructive and affluent 'more'; lavishly bestowed, yet received without 'anything too much' [ne quid nimis] nor much merit or risk (as 'good Christians...').

And respecting in everything the nomenclature of the veterans, of the cordate and the powerful - always disinclined to real coexistence.

Christ, on the other hand, is sapiential food for free circulation; not impeded food, to be kept locked in tabernacles.

His virtue is now understood only outside the sacristies - from far and wide (vv.24-25) - where even a minuet of bread makes one trust and rise, in sharing.

To break the Eucharist as source and summit is to proclaim it a Gift not to be held back or kept intact, but rather to be exposed and distributed without moralising.

To share that Food is to participate in the root of existence, what we have and are; the yardstick of what we proclaim, believe and practise.

Sadly, not infrequently the strangers and dissimilar are hungrier for the true Manna from Heaven.

Saturated to the point of nausea - and perhaps still unable to comprehend its meaning - why experience the shared Nourishment [perhaps with little regard for its meaning] as a problem and fear?

To internalise and live the message:

If not of 'your people', do you at least want to talk to them - even if veterans, inner clubs and regulars forbid it?

Don't you think the synodal path is a good opportunity to review abstract positions?

Do you know of any ecclesial parishes that do not give outsiders a chance?

Do you know people hurt by exclusions? What do you do, silence-consent?