Jul 4, 2025 Written by 

Persecution and inappearance: from one's Core to the terraces

The Mystery of Oneness: the all-important Uniqueness does not let us "resume": but it makes us be Reborn.

(Mt 10:24-33)

 

Christ's proposal subverts the quietism and meaning of personal and social life.

The disciple of the Truth is exposed to attack.

There is no set orientation. But in states of discomfort, in defeat, in humiliation, a malleable energy world acts, which brings out innate capacities; it activates the person to fly with his own wings.

It is a source of origin, which wherever we go, we do not shake off. Because here we are ourselves; in the centre of our Mission, not homologated under conventions and accommodations.

In this way, belonging to the Church is not a safe haven and shelter from every storm.

The faithful must not be astounded by the trials, sufferings, isolation, blackmail - ploys of those who use power [or established religiosity itself] for their own gain and as a weapon.

The fear of being marginalised cannot drive us to hide the truth, which is a factor of recognition for us: to lose the connection and neglect to be one with it would be worse than torture.

To be honest, what makes us cowardly, unfaithful, diplomatic and weak - therefore useless and irrelevant - is often much less of a danger to life, property, or our smallest freedoms.

 

Purposes that are too close do not unite man and the world with God. They do not confirm the rightness and conformity of the great End and Source: continuous Presence that accompanies our particular activity.

Many are the "falling hairs", but each of them has an original physiognomy: it "is" in a special way, it has its own place and meaning.

The personal Calling remains constitutive of the unrepeatable essence that opens to the commitment of Oneness.

It opens to the task of 'rebirth': in the time of the global crisis, not of 'recovery as before' - but of exceptional astonishment in the new genesis of each person, and of the earth.

It is unprecedented character, even with ourselves. Cipher of the grammar of our daily language, of interacting in the world.

And in the soul, of listening to God who reveals himself by triggering vital energies [complete because discordant]. With its unthinking healing processes, without formula.

The genuine Vocation - unrepeatable to the end, whatever the cost - is the only path to take to read and encounter the 'genius of time' before problems.

Personal Atypicality fertilised by Mystery is a kind of impulse that turns crises into opportunities.

Willingness-factor of recognition that accompanies and orients us in them; with the help of simplicity, for a new blossoming.

Here, even in seemingly insignificant or downright critical situations, we can perceive the energy of inner resources - left free to act and nurture all opposing situations.

 

By treading the paths of the unusual, we will become flexible; we will ride the waves of unexpected change.

But there we will be totally ourselves: cosmic and divine intention, immeasurably important.

 

The encyclical Fratelli Tutti rails against "a model of globalisation that consciously aims at one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial quest for unity. If globalisation claims to make everyone equal, as if it were a sphere, this globalisation destroys the distinctiveness of each person and each people. This false universalist dream ends up depriving the world of the variety of its colours, its beauty and ultimately its humanity. Because the future is not monochromatic, but, if we have the courage, it is possible to look at it in the variety and diversity of the contributions that each person can make. How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace without us all being equal!" (n.100)

It is good to rejoice in the dissimilarities that inhabit us, in the variety of contributions and points of view that each one can communicate - important: also in the view of difficulties and ways of solving them.

The mature, integral man, in the diversification and variety of knowledge, in the dissimilarity of approaches and processes, in the versatility of channels of expression, is more complete.

Today, even in a culture strongly marked by communitarian anthropology, such as that of Africa, one realises perfectly well the value of what is personal and unprecedented - even in favour of ties:

"A day will come when you too will have to share your knowledge of things and men. You will bear singular witness to a unique event revealed to you alone, in a language as yet unseen. And you will tell your brothers the unspeakable wisdom of your heart' [Irénée Guilane Dioh].A similarly African oral tradition - ceremonial and personalistic - indeed reads:

"The outward initiation is the opening of the eyes, all the teaching that is given during the traditional ceremonies or periods of retreat that follow. But this teaching one must then live it, assimilate it, make it bear fruit, adding to it one's own personal observations, one's own understanding, one's own experience'.

 

The scene of the spontaneous examples that Jesus draws from nature is also an echo of the conciliatory life dreamt for us by the Father.

It introduces us to the Happiness that makes one aware of existing, in all personal reality.

In fact, the Gospel passage shows the value of genuine, silent, unremarkable things, which nevertheless inhabit us - they are not 'shadows'. And we perceive them without effort or cerebral commitment.

In the time of epochal choices, of the emergency that seems to checkmate us - but wants to make us less artificial - such awareness can overturn our judgement of substance, of 'the small' and 'the great'.

Indeed, for the adventure of love there is no accounting.

'Heaven' that conquers death is in God and in reality the 'place' for each of us without lacerations.

The afterlife is not imprecise.

One does not have to distort oneself for consensus... much less for a constellated firmament.

The destiny of exceptional Uniqueness does not go to ruin: it is precious and dear, as every singularity is in nature.

Its Beauty, future and already present, must be discerned.

With immediate gain marginalised, or any social guarantee that does not concern the value of littleness - there will be no more need to identify oneself with the skeletons of established [or fashionable] thought and manners.

Nor will it matter to place oneself above and in front: rather, in the background; already rich and perfect, in the intimate sense of fullness of being.

Thus we will not have to trample on each other (cf. Lk 12:1)... even to meet Jesus.

In short:

"We are absolutely lost if we lack this particular individuality, the only thing we can truly say is ours - and whose loss is also a loss for the whole world. It is also precious because it is not universal' [Rabindranath Tagore].

Indeed, even in a relationship of deep love and coexistence "there is a need to free oneself from the obligation to be equal" (Amoris Laetitia, no.139).

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

Did a persecution happen to you that - while you would have preferred other near goals - brought out precisely the uniqueness of your vocational physiognomy?

 

 

For Jesus we are not a "mass", a "multitude"! We are individual "persons" with an eternal value, both as creatures and as re-deemed persons! He knows us! He knows me, and loves me and gave himself for me! (Gal 2:20) [John Paul II]

 

 

Uniqueness

11. “Each in his or her own way” the Council says. We should not grow discouraged before examples of holiness that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and inspiring, but that we are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in their hearts (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for them. We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many actual ways of bearing witness. Indeed, when the great mystic, Saint John of the Cross, wrote his Spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid hard and fast rules for all. He explained that his verses were composed so that everyone could benefit from them “in his or her own way”. For God’s life is communicated “to some in one way and to others in another”.

[Gaudete et Exsultate]

1 Last modified on Friday, 04 July 2025 04:22
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? (Pope Benedict)
Non abbiamo forse tutti in qualche modo paura - se lasciamo entrare Cristo totalmente dentro di noi, se ci apriamo totalmente a lui – paura che Egli possa portar via qualcosa della nostra vita? Non abbiamo forse paura di rinunciare a qualcosa di grande, di unico, che rende la vita così bella? Non rischiamo di trovarci poi nell’angustia e privati della libertà? (Papa Benedetto)
For Christians, volunteer work is not merely an expression of good will. It is based on a personal experience of Christ (Pope Benedict)
Per i cristiani, il volontariato non è soltanto espressione di buona volontà. È basato sull’esperienza personale di Cristo (Papa Benedetto)
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‘Vegna vêr noi la pace del tuo regno’, esclama Dante nella sua parafrasi del Padre Nostro (Purgatorio XI,7). Un’invocazione che orienta lo sguardo al ritorno di Cristo e alimenta il desiderio della venuta finale del Regno di Dio. Questo desiderio però non distoglie la Chiesa dalla sua missione in questo mondo, anzi la impegna maggiormente [Giovanni Paolo II]
Let our prayer spread out and continue in the churches, communities, families, the hearts of the faithful, as though in an invisible monastery from which an unbroken invocation rises to the Lord (John Paul II)
La nostra preghiera si diffonda e continui nelle chiese, nelle comunità, nelle famiglie, nei cuori credenti, come in un monastero invisibile, da cui salga al Signore una invocazione perenne (Giovanni Paolo II)
"The girl is not dead, but asleep". These words, deeply revealing, lead me to think of the mysterious presence of the Lord of life in a world that seems to succumb to the destructive impulse of hatred, violence and injustice; but no. This world, which is yours, is not dead, but sleeps (Pope John Paul II)
“La bambina non è morta, ma dorme”. Queste parole, profondamente rivelatrici, mi inducono a pensare alla misteriosa presenza del Signore della vita in un mondo che sembra soccombere all’impulso distruttore dell’odio, della violenza e dell’ingiustizia; ma no. Questo mondo, che è vostro, non è morto, ma dorme (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
"Refined as it is", Tertullian writes, "your cruelty serves no purpose. On the contrary, for our community, it is an invitation. We multiply every time one of us is mowed down. The blood of Christians is effective seed" (semen est sanguis christianorum!, Apologeticus, 50: 13) [Pope Benedict]
«Per quanto raffinata – scrive Tertulliano –, a nulla serve la vostra crudeltà: anzi, per la nostra comunità, essa è un invito. A ogni vostro colpo di falce diveniamo più numerosi: il sangue dei cristiani è una semina efficace! (semen est sanguis christianorum!)» (Apologetico 50,13) [Papa Benedetto]

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