From within and in the domestic

(Lk 13:18-21)

The two parables were expounded at a time of doubt about the Master's proposal and the mission of his people.

Could a small group of believers with no social connection say anything to the world?

In spite of their commitment, women and men struggle with all their old problems, they feel the weight of suffering and anguish: at first glance everything seems the same, disconnected, chaotic, fragmentary.

What sense does the small hope of a few believers without a conspicuous heritage have for the cultural and civic concert - today global -?

It seems that in the reality of the cosmos nothing changes... but the Grain has been cast into the furrow of the earth.

It seems that the human dough is the same as ever, but a Leaven is renewing it all, from within.

Jesus was like a seed planted in the darkness, nothing sensational. And sown as in the kitchen garden [v.19 Greek text] where no sensational parades are cultivated, but simple potatoes, salad, aubergines, cucumbers, tomatoes - normal things, no big deal.

The mustard seed, however, has an incredible and intrinsic evolutionary power.

Of course, the moment of growth ends with a very simple sapling - a shrub like so many, subjected to the elements... yet able to give rest and shelter to anyone who passes by (v.19).

This brings the final miracle: 'a form of life with the flavour of the Gospel [...] that goes beyond the barriers of geography and space. Here [St Francis] declares blessed the one who loves the other when he is far from him, as much as if he were next to him'.

Although taken from expressions of the First Testament, in the features described by Lk the evangelical figure of the birds of the air illustrates "the essence of an open fraternity, which allows one to recognise, appreciate and love each person beyond physical proximity, beyond the place in the world where he or she was born or where he or she lives" [cf.]

The experience of the Saint of Assisi with a "heart without boundaries, capable of going beyond distances" introduces a logic of dialogue that avoids "any form of aggression or contention and also of living a humble and fraternal submission" - without ever imposing a "dialectical war" or "doctrines" [FT, 3-4].

So it is enough to put a pinch of yeast in the mass to make it fully ferment.

The leaven does not stand out, it is hidden: it disappears inside. And at that time everything was stored in a simple household cupboard.

As we delve deeper into life in the Spirit, we repeatedly realise that we have only seen in part: there is still much (more) to be discovered - in relation to the development of ordinary life.

So we guess it is basically within everyone's grasp; certainly not mysterious, nor can it be acquired in any of the disciplines of the arcane.

In short, megalomaniacs notwithstanding, the dimensions of the Kingdom of God, the universe of the soul, and the Mission are not something that can be verified immediately and completely.

One must enter into a process, personal and all-concealed - for this is authentically emergent, convinced, and paradoxically wide-open.

Indeed, even 'when the work is done, retreating is the Way to Heaven' [Tao Tê Ching, ix].

On the horizon of every path, there is always a new plant, another 'genesis', a different blossoming in the time of the seasons; a new effervescence, to be introduced into the already capitalised old arrangement.

This hidden radiance and vitality of the intuitive and missionary heart, does not belong to 'cultural' or collective rituals, nor to side duties.

Artificial passes make us prisoners of conditioning that blunt perception and dampen the mission for which we were born.

On the contrary, breaking out of the herd that gives birth to the usual pale (only drugged) models of interpretation will be an opportunity to discover something new.

We will also astound ourselves with our own intimate propulsive capacities - accompanied only by the Friend who sees in the secret.

Seed and ferment work unknown.

Lack of spotlight, poor situation, littleness... these are not obstacles to growth, but the condition.

What seems nothing becomes what Creation awaits.

It is barely visible or not at all - but by giving time without forcing and rushing, it achieves the friendly and domestic evolution that does not clash with God and the least.

The Church to come will not be intrusive: it will not demand adherence [on pain of exclusion].

That is why the dynamism of growth will be out of scale, but only in terms of human and hospitable capacities (v.19), not in terms of excited magnificence.

Deprived of clamorous, resounding and sought-after magnificence, the new divine Bride will be caught in the attitude of fullness. But only because it will correspond to the project of complete life that dwells in our breasts, and we mysteriously sense it to be ours.

We will understand: it will make everyone feel good.

The insecure will become decisive, the loser will be transformed by Grace into the wise. We will understand that to accept the Word and correspond to one's personal Vocation will not be terrifying, but regenerating.

Those who do not wrap themselves up but will shift their thoughts, point everything, will bring out their essence.

We will realise that our being is already calibrated on innate, subdued, personally-matched plots.

In the Spirit and in real life, we will discover the qualitative and special Magnificent that the more conformist and hasty, less dialogic or capable of listening, do not even remotely imagine could excel.

To internalise and live the message:

What sensational cunning has attempted to destroy your land?

What conformity - even of clan - has made you pale?

What subdued Word calibrated to you did not produce turmoil, but regenerated your passion, and expanded your life?

Being Christians, we know that the future is ours and the tree of the Church is not a tree that is dying but a tree that constantly puts out new shoots. Therefore we have a reason not to let ourselves be upset, as Pope John said, by the prophets of doom who say: well, the Church is a tree that grew from the mustard seed, grew for two thousand years, now she has time behind her, it is now time for her to die. No. The Church is ever renewed, she is always reborn. The future belongs to us. Of course, there is a false optimism and a false pessimism. A false pessimism tells us that the epoch of Christianity is over. No: it is beginning again! The false optimism was the post-Council optimism, when convents closed, seminaries closed and they said “but... nothing, everything is fine!”.... No! Everything is not fine. There are also serious, dangerous omissions and we have to recognize with healthy realism that in this way things are not all right, it is not all right when errors are made. However, we must also be certain at the same time that if, here and there, the Church is dying because of the sins of men and women, because of their non-belief, at the same time she is reborn. The future really belongs to God: this is the great certainty of our life, the great, true optimism that we know. The Church is the tree of God that lives for ever and bears within her eternity and the true inheritance: eternal life.

[Pope Benedict at the Roman Seminary, 8 February 2013]

2. Jesus says: "The Kingdom of God is like a man who sows a seed in the earth: sleep or wake, night or day, the seed germinates and grows; how, he himself does not know. For the earth produces spontaneously, first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. When the fruit is ready, immediately you put your hand to the sickle, because the harvest has come" (Mk 4:26-29). So the Kingdom of God grows here on earth, in human history, by virtue of an initial sowing, that is, of a foundation, which comes from God, and of a mysterious working of God himself, which continues to cultivate the Church down the centuries. In God's work for the Kingdom, the sickle of sacrifice is also present: the development of the Kingdom is not achieved without suffering. This is the meaning of the parable in Mark's Gospel.

3. We also find the same concept in other parables, especially those gathered in Matthew's text (Mt 13:3-50).

"The kingdom of heaven," we read in this Gospel, "can be compared to a mustard seed, which a man takes and sows in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the other seeds and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven nestle among its branches" (Mt 13:31). This is the growth of the kingdom in the "extensive" sense.

Another parable, on the other hand, shows its growth in an "intensive" or qualitative sense, comparing it to the yeast, which a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour so that it all fermented" (Mt 13:32).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 25 September 1991]

Do Christians 'really believe' in the 'power of the Holy Spirit' within them? And do they have the courage to "sow the seed", to get involved, or do they take refuge in a "pastoral of conservation" that does not let "the Kingdom of God grow"? These are the questions posed by Pope Francis during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Tuesday 31 October, in which he outlined a horizon of "hope", for each individual man and for the Church as a community: that of the full realisation of the Kingdom of God, which has two pillars: the disruptive "force" of the Spirit and the "courage" to let this force be unleashed.

The cue came to the Pontiff from the reading of the Gospel passage (Luke 13:18-21) in which "it seems that Jesus struggles a bit: 'But how can I explain the Kingdom of God? To what can I compare it?"" and uses "two simple examples from everyday life": those of the mustard seed and the yeast. They are, Francis explained, both small, they seem harmless, "but when they enter into that movement, they have within them a power that comes out of themselves and grows, it goes beyond, even beyond what can be imagined". Precisely 'this is the mystery of the Kingdom'.

The reality, in fact, is that 'the wheat has power within, the leaven has power within', and also 'the power of the Kingdom of God comes from within; the power comes from within, the growing comes from within'. It is not, the Pope added with a comparison that refers to current events, "a growth as for example occurs in the case of a football team when the number of fans increases and makes the team bigger", but "it comes from within". A concept that, he added, is taken up by Paul in the Letter to the Romans (8:18-25) in a passage "that is full of tension", because "this growth of the Kingdom of God from within, from within, is a growth in tension".

So the apostle explains: "How many tensions are there in our lives and where they lead us", and says that "the sufferings of this life are not comparable to the glory that awaits us". But even the 'waiting' itself, said the Pontiff rereading the epistle, is not a 'quiet' waiting: Paul speaks 'of ardent expectation. There is an ardent expectation in these tensions'. Moreover, this expectation is not only of man, but "also of creation" which is "stretched out towards the revelation of the sons of God". In fact, "creation too, like us, has been subjected to transience" and proceeds in the "hope that it will be freed from the bondage of corruption". Therefore, "it is the whole creation that from the existential transience it perceives, goes right to glory, to freedom from slavery; it leads us to freedom. And this creation - and we with it, with creation - groans and suffers the pains of childbirth to this day'.

The conclusion of this reasoning led the Pope to relaunch the concept of 'hope': man and the whole creation possess 'the firstfruits of the Spirit', that is, 'the internal force that carries us forward and gives us hope' of the 'fullness of the Kingdom of God'. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote "that phrase that teaches us so much: 'For in hope we have been saved'".

It, the Pontiff continued, is a 'path', it is 'that which leads us to fullness, the hope of coming out of this prison, out of this limitation, out of this slavery, out of this corruption and arriving at glory'. And it is, he added, "a gift of the Spirit" that "is within us and leads to this: to a great thing, to a liberation, to a great glory. And that is why Jesus says: 'Inside the mustard seed, that tiny grain, there is a power that unleashes unimaginable growth'".

Here then is the reality foreshadowed by the parable: "Within us and in creation - because we are going together towards glory - there is a force that unleashes: there is the Holy Spirit. That gives us hope'. And, Francis added, 'To live in hope is to let these forces of the Spirit go forth and help us grow towards this fullness that awaits us in glory'.

Next, the Pontiff's reflection looked at another aspect, for in the parable it is added that 'the mustard seed is taken and thrown. A man took it and threw it into the garden' and that even the leaven is not left unturned: 'a woman takes and mixes'. That is, 'if the grain is not taken and thrown, if the leaven is not taken by the woman and mixed, they remain there and that inner strength they have remains there'. In the same way, Francis explained, 'if we want to keep the grain for ourselves, it will be one grain. If we do not mix with life, with the flour of life, the yeast, only the yeast will remain'. It is therefore necessary to 'throw, to mix, that courage of hope'. Which "grows, because the Kingdom of God grows from within, not by proselytism". It grows "with the power of the Holy Spirit".In this regard, the Pope recalled that 'the Church has always had both the courage to take and to throw, to take and to mix', and also 'the fear of doing so'. And he noted: "Many times we see that we prefer a pastoral of conservation" rather than "letting the Kingdom grow". When this happens 'we remain what we are, little ones, there', perhaps 'we stay safe', but 'the Kingdom does not grow'. Whereas "for the Kingdom to grow it takes courage: to cast the grain, to stir the yeast".

Someone might object: 'If I throw the grain, I lose it'. But this, the Pope explained, is the reality of always: 'There is always some loss, in sowing the Kingdom of God. If I mix the yeast I get my hands dirty: thank God! Woe to those who preach the Kingdom of God with the illusion of not getting their hands dirty. These are museum-keepers: they prefer beautiful things" to "the act of throwing so that force may break out, of stirring so that force may grow".

All this is encapsulated in the words of Jesus and Paul proposed by the liturgy: the "tension that goes from the slavery of sin" to the "fullness of glory". And the hope that 'does not disappoint' even if it is 'as small as wheat and as leaven'. Someone, the Pontiff recalled, 'said that it is the most humble virtue, it is the servant. But there is the Spirit, and where there is hope there is the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who brings forth the Kingdom of God'. And he concluded by suggesting to those present to think back to 'the mustard seed and the yeast, the tossing and the stirring' and to ask themselves: 'How is it, my hope? Is it an illusion? A 'maybe'? Or do I believe, that there is the Holy Spirit in there? Do I speak with the Holy Spirit?"

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 31 October 2017]

XXIX Sunday Ordinary Time (B) - 20 October 2024

1. "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many". The Son of Man of whom the gospel speaks is a clear reflection of the figure of "my righteous servant" announced by Isaiah in the first reading: he is Jesus, the humiliated and mockingly crowned with thorns Christ, who before Pilate proclaims himself king not of this world, he is the Saviour of humanity. But the only way to meet him and know him is to bend our intelligence to the incomprehensible because he is a God who surprises and amazes us, forcing us to enter into his logic that is totally different from ours: he makes himself a servant and humbles himself to the point of the impossible, he suffers the unjust passion and death on the cross, but rises again and humbles himself again to the point of becoming broken bread to nourish hope and love, the true nourishment of life that does not die. If you want to try to come closer to Christ, kneel before the mystery of the Eucharist and repeat with St Francis: "Who are you, God, and who am I"? If you want to follow him to the point of allowing yourself to be transformed by him, you must know that you risk misunderstanding, isolation and even persecution. Probably the episode that we read today in the gospel and Christ's response to the disciples found an echo in the community for which Mark writes the gospel: a community already under persecution and aware that the work of liberation from all that prevents one from encountering the true face of the God of Jesus Christ was not finished, but would require the contribution of many martyrs, which would last for centuries and millennia. What should make us reflect is that the absolute novelty of God becoming man and taking upon himself the sins of all mankind, becoming 'the guilty one' in our place, has not entered our hearts, and therefore our way of life is not converted.

2. A question arises: why did God want to go through the drama of death to save us?  Let us start from the last words of the Gospel text: "The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many". The word 'ransom' over the centuries has completely changed its meaning compared to Jesus' time, so that in interpreting its meaning with modern logic we risk going off the rails. In fact, if someone speaks of ransom today we immediately think of a hostage and therefore of the need to negotiate with the kidnappers and the ransom is the sum to be paid to free the kidnapped person. At the time of Christ, the word 'ransom' meant something else, it meant liberation, and the Greek word translated as 'ransom' comes from a verb meaning to loosen, to free. It would therefore be a contradiction to the Greek text of Mark's gospel if we thought that Jesus had to pay something on our behalf to appease the wrath of a God provoked by our sins. Jesus' disciples, who knew the Old Testament, knew well that the whole Bible speaks of a God who wants to free his people and later the whole of humanity from all forms of slavery. The God of the Bible is a God who liberates, and this constitutes the first article of Israel's creed. Furthermore, all the prophets fought against the practice of human sacrifice, calling it an abomination.  So when Jesus states that he must give his life as a ransom for many, it does not occur to anyone that God could demand the death of his only Son to appease anyone's anger. On the contrary, they were well aware that God has no resentment or hatred towards mankind and especially does not demand sacrifices, especially human sacrifices. Israel was waiting for deliverance, at first certainly from the occupation of the Romans, and this misunderstanding remained in their minds for a long time: in this key we can for example understand the behaviour of Judah.  The Jewish people were believers who, supported by the preaching of the prophets, awaited the liberation of mankind from all forms of evil, whether physical, moral or spiritual. The disciples, knowing the scriptures and in the school of Jesus, understand that he must consecrate his life for this liberation of humanity and know that true liberation comes through conversion of heart that makes one capable of giving life even unto death. And, precisely to sustain them in this faith, the Lord for the third time announces his passion, death and resurrection even though this effort of his does not seem to calm their restlessness and fear. The evangelist makes us understand this when, recounting that Jesus goes towards Jerusalem at the head of the group of twelve, they follow him without haste, seized by a dark foreboding because they know what awaits them. And when James and John, after Jesus announces his passion and death for the third time, seem to exorcise their fear by asking whether, after having faced the trial with him to the end, they too will be able to share in his glory, Jesus reiterates that the path of suffering and death is not avoidable even for them.

3. Instead, he insists that he did not come to be served but to serve. He does not present himself as a triumphant king, but as the "just servant" of God who will justify many by taking on their iniquities, recalling the prophecy of Isaiah who in the first reading speaks of the "just servant of God", a title insistently present in the four cantos of the "Servant of the Lord" of the so-called Deutero-Isaiah. If the early Christians immediately interpreted that the righteous servant is Jesus, the prophet was probably pointing to the small group of Jewish people in exile who were faithful to God despite many difficulties. But how to internalise this phrase: "It pleased the Lord to prostrate him with sorrows?" It would be nonsense to believe that God takes pleasure in making men suffer, and it also clashes with the oft-repeated statement that God is love. In no text of the Bible is it said that God took pleasure in prostrating his people with suffering. The verb 'it pleased', which is always used to say that God accepted the sacrifices and gave his absolution to all the people, emphasises that the righteous suffering servant imitates God in taking on suffering as a work of reparation and transforming it into a source of salvation. The expression: "prostrate him with sorrows" therefore recalls the image of the broken heart spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel and Psalm 50/51: a heart of stone that through suffering becomes a heart of flesh, especially when it is provoked by the afflictions inflicted by men. In every form of painful trial one reacts either by hardening the heart (with hatred and the desire for revenge) or with forgiveness and love, and in this way the suffering of the righteous servant becomes a path of light as Isaiah notes: 'after his torment he will see the light'.  From every evil God can draw a good, and it is in this mystery of hatred and forgiveness that the power of his love shines through. It follows that the righteous suffering servant contributes to the salvation of all, and of the injustice suffered he makes a path of light. The Lord accepts the intention of the heart and forgives all, even the executioners; that is, he accepts the attitude of the heart that offers him suffering and forgiveness as a sacrifice of atonement, and in his mercy he himself makes reparation and forgiveness. As Isaiah notes, crushed by the hatred of men, the righteous man responds with silence and forgiveness that becomes a saving force for those he persecutes and can convert their hearts. However, the most important message Isaiah summarises in this way: 'the will of the Lord will be done through him'. Through the sacrifice of the righteous, God saves humanity by freeing it from every chain of evil, hatred, violence and jealousy that devours the heart. For if the righteous servant makes his life a sacrifice of reparation, through this very giving of himself God will accomplish his will and reconciled sinners can begin a new life. "My righteous servant shall justify many, he shall bear their iniquities. The salvation of the persecutors is in the hands of the victims, and only the forgiveness given by the victims can melt the hardness of the persecutor's heart. Jesus prophesied: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself"(Jn 12:32) and the prophet Zechariah: "I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and consolation: they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced"(12:10; and "in that day there shall be for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem a gushing spring to wash away sin and impurity"(13:1).  Consoling and challenging is the message of God's word: humanity is saved when nonviolence, forgiveness, service, humility are the only means employed to change human hearts, and challenging is the programme that Jesus proposes to his disciples: "the rulers of the nations rule over them and their leaders oppress them. But let it not be so among you. All of you, my disciples, if you are the leaven and the seed of the new humanity, follow my example by sacrificing your lives as I do for the good of all.

+ Giovanni D’Ercole

He Called to Himself: emergency by Name, before than around

(Lk 6:12-19)

Lk reflects the double direction of worship in primitive communities: Prayer as a significant openness to the Father and internal celebration among disciples (vv.13-17) - and the public Proclamation with works, to the people.

The community is close: God is in our history. The idea of a distant Kingdom produces separations, pastorally inconsistent pyramids, and dispersive cultivation of interests.

In short, it’s crucial to mature first, wherever we live.

Whoever cultivates many cravings projects them; he causes his own murky influences. For this reason Prayer and reflection are necessary, which - from Listening - transmit to us the sense of our being in the world and a right disposition.

It seems a paradox, but concern for the needs of the multitudes is a problem exquisitely rooted in the depths.

It is from oneself and from the community that we look with empathy at the world itself, knowing how to recover its opposite sides.

It is the Way of the Interior that penetrates and activates the way of the outside.

Thus we immerse ourselves in the Source of Being: to shift our hasty gaze. He who is not free cannot free.

The only wise way to scrutinize far is to stick to the reason for things, a principle that we actively know, if not misled by superficiality and reductions.

Understanding the nature of creatures and conforming to them in a growing way, everyone is inspired to transmute and complete, enriching even the cultural sclerosis without alienating forcing.

All this, activating a practice of goodness even with oneself.

Not to distinguish the moment of the Vocation from that of the ministerial Sending: the way of Heaven is intertwined with the path of the Person.

It’s in short to approach the sense of the missional uniqueness of each Apostle that Jesus spends an entire night in Prayer (v.12).

Most of the early followers have names typical of Judaism, even of the time of the Patriarchs - which indicates a mental and spiritual extraction rooted more in ancient religion than in the new Faith: reality not easy to manage.

But also for them the Lord releases his full strength of Life, despite the fact that in themselves they were ordinary individuals, full of limits.

However, the Kingdom is «local and universal» [Brethren All, nn.142-153], Near and by Name - as the Gospel passage from Lk.

This is the multiple force, biting, incomparable, close and personal, which wins any possibility of ideal sabotage [because of adverse circumstances].

Power drawn both from direct prayer to the Father in Christ - in his night Listening (v.12) - and from the works of love (vv.17-19).

Powers in personal, sensitive, shared symbiosis.

Mission not only for excellents, nor unilateral, but for a restless contagion.

Announcement of new Light received in Gift: where precisely not a single form or colour appears.

And the Axis is for us: hiding sometimes with Him.

«This is what tradition was subsequently to formulate in the well-known saying: "Contemplata aliis tradere" (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 188, art. 6)» [Pope Benedict].

To internalize and live the message:

In your experience, which chain united Heaven and earth?

[St  Simon and Jude, October 28, 2024]

The double address of worship, but the Axis is to be with Him

(Lk 6:12-19)

"He went out to the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer to God" (v.12).

"And the whole crowd sought to touch Him, for a Power went out from Him and healed all" (v.19).

Lk reflects the double direction of worship in the primitive communities.

First, the Prayer as a significant opening to the Father and internal celebration among disciples (vv.13-17). Then the public proclamation (with works) to the people.

The community is close: God is in our history.

The idea of a distant Kingdom produces separations, (pastorally) inconsistent pyramidal hierarchies. Sometimes, dispersive cultivation of internal interests passed off as great sensitivity and altruism.

In short, to walk seriously alongside oneself and others, it is essential to first mature, wherever we live.

This applies to taking different initiatives; even possibly to rebelling against the stagnant landscape that likes to return to old-fashioned securities.

In this way, there may be less than noble motives for wanting to get everywhere at once, to run everywhere to make proselytes, and to do so out of opposition, without a "dream of friendship" [cf. encyclical Fratelli Tutti, passim].

For he who cultivates many lusts, projects them; he procures his own murky influences.

That is why prayer and reflection are necessary - indispensable also to Jesus (v.12) - which give us the sense of our being in the world, the Father's vision, and a right disposition.

Deep meditations and spontaneous prayers annihilate infidelities that do not offer genuine life, authentic motives, or values of the spirit.

Prayers undermine and demolish the dehumanisations, the emotions that alienate us and alienate us from our brothers, the pitfalls that tend to build other temples and shrines.

The same charge of universality and 'sense of urgency' are contained in the rootedness to values conveyed by dialogue with God. And his Mystery (for us), in relationships, in intimate self-knowledge.

Indeed... stimuli, virtuous principles, gaps and hidden sides are complementary energetic aspects.

It seems a paradox, but the interest in the needs of the multitudes is an issue exquisitely rooted in the intimate, not at all external.

It is from oneself and from the community that one looks at the world with empathy, knowing how to recover its opposites.

It is the Way of the Interior that interpenetrates and activates the Way of the Exterior.

This is how we willingly pray: to immerse ourselves in the vibrant Source of being, and to shift our hasty gaze.

By contrast and hindrance, the habitual partiality that "gets in the way" does not grasp the value of the social and cultural polyhedron.

On the other hand, unfortunately, it is only by loving strength that one prefers to start from the too distant.

One must first heal what is intimate and close. He who is not free cannot emancipate anyone.

Thus, the only way to peer into the distance is to stick to the reason of things - the principle that one actively knows, if not misled by superficialities and reductions [individualistic or monovalent, one-sided and club-like].

By understanding the nature of creatures and increasingly conforming to it, all are inspired to transmute and complete themselves.

A non-alienating process that also enriches possible cultural sclerosis, without hysterical or external forcing.

All this, practising goodness even with oneself.

The Tao (XLVII) says: "Without going out the door, you know the world; without looking out the window, you glimpse the Way to Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. That is why the saint does not go around and yet knows, does not see and yet discerns, does not act and yet completes".

It is only from the Source of being - the common home - that an undissociated, all-saved life springs forth, one that effectively endures and can expand. 

Are we a sign of dedication and striving people? We do not do this for 'merit' or to gain sympathy.

Without being a cult, after a good training - which also imparts to us a wise tolerance, from the world within.

No extrinsic purpose, which would lose its soul and bring no change.

Not to distinguish the moment of Vocation from the moment of ministerial sending.

The way to Heaven is intertwined with the way of the Person and with the way of Nature ["like a sister, with whom we share existence, and like a beautiful mother who welcomes us into her arms": Laudato Si', no.1] or we will be busybodies.

None of the Apostles - ordinary people - were worthy of the Call (vv.13-15).

To understand this, and approach the meaning of their missional uniqueness, Jesus must spend an entire night in prayer (v.12).

Most of the first followers have names typical of Judaism, even of the time of the Patriarchs - indicating a mental and spiritual background rooted more in the ancient religion than in the new Faith; baggage not easy to handle.But even for the undecided, the Lord unleashes his power of full Life, precisely because he is an absolutely ordinary person full of limitations; not infrequently perplexed, even open opponents.

Peter was eager to come forward, though often backtracking - backtracking - to the point of becoming for Jesus a 'satan' [(Mt 16:23; Mk 8:33): in the culture of the ancient East, an official of the great ruler, sent to act as a controller and delator - practically an accuser].

James of Zebedee and John were brothers, ardent fundamentalists, and in a wrathful manner wanted the Master for themselves alone, as well as the first places.

Philip [conditioned perhaps by a Hellenistic extraction, as his name indicates] at first sight did not seem a very practical fellow, nor quick to grasp the things of God.

Andrew, on the other hand, seemed to do well: an inclusive person.

According to well-known traditional identifications, Bartholomew was perhaps open but perplexed, because the Messiah did not correspond to him much.

Thomas always a little in and a little out.

Matthew - a collaborator, greedy accomplice of the oppressive system, and willingly extorting money from his people [the people ruthlessly condemned him].

Simon - the zealot, the Canaanite - a hothead.

Judas Iscariot a tormented, self-destructive for trusting old spiritual leaders - imbued with nationalist ideology, self-interest, opportunism and power.

Two others (James the younger son of Alphaeus, and Judas Thaddeus) mere disciples perhaps of no great prominence or capacity for initiative.

But the Kingdom is "local and universal" [Fratelli Tutti, nn.142-153], Near and by Name - as the Gospel passage from Lk.

This is the manifold, grasping, incomparable, close and precisely personal power that overcomes any possibility of ideal sabotage (due to adverse circumstances).

Power drawn both from prayer directed to the Father in Christ - in his nightly Listening (v.12) - as well as from works of love (vv.17-19).

Power in personal, sensitive, shared symbiosis.

Not for the excellent alone... or even in the time of global emergency there will be no healing work (v.19) but only external, accusatory and aimed at propaganda, proselytism.

Announcement and Mission of new Light received in Gift: where precisely not a single form or colour appears.

And the Axis is "being" with Him.

"This is what tradition has then formulated with the well-known expression: 'Contemplata aliis tradere' (cf. St Thomas, Summa Theologiae, IIa-IIae, q. 188, art. 6)". [Pope Benedict].

For a contagion that is neither alarmist nor one-sided, monochromatic, but flourishing, multifaceted, sometimes 'hidden', and restless.

To internalise and live the message:

In your experience, what chain has united heaven and earth?

The (accusatory) list and effort of transgressions to be neurotically corrected?

Or a personal Calling, inclusive of your many faces in the soul - a Vocation supported by a Church that became an echo and a free Source of all-round understanding?

The Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles as a community of faith, hope and charity. Through the Apostles, we come to Jesus himself. The Church begins to establish herself when some fishermen of Galilee meet Jesus, allowing themselves to be won over by his gaze, his voice, his warm and strong invitation:  "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men" (Mk 1: 17; Mt 4: 19). 

At the start of the third millennium, my beloved Predecessor John Paul II invited the Church to contemplate the Face of Christ (cf. Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 16 ff.). Continuing in the same direction, I would like to show, in the Catechesis that I begin today, how it is precisely the light of that Face that is reflected on the face of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 1), notwithstanding the limits and shadows of our fragile and sinful humanity.

After Mary, a pure reflection of the light of Christ, it is from the Apostles, through their word and witness, that we receive the truth of Christ. Their mission is not isolated, however, but is situated within a mystery of communion that involves the entire People of God and is carried out in stages from the Old to the New Covenant. 

In this regard, it must be said that the message of Jesus is completely misunderstood if it is separated from the context of the faith and hope of the Chosen People:  like John the Baptist, his direct Precursor, Jesus above all addresses Israel (cf. Mt 15: 24) in order to "gather" it together in the eschatological time that arrived with him. And like that of John, the preaching of Jesus is at the same time a call of grace and a sign of contradiction and of justice for the entire People of God. 

And so, from the first moment of his salvific activity, Jesus of Nazareth strives to gather together the People of God. Even if his preaching is always an appeal for personal conversion, in reality he continually aims to build the People of God whom he came to bring together, purify and save. 

As a result, therefore, an individualistic interpretation of Christ's proclamation of the Kingdom, specific to liberal theology, is unilateral and without foundation, as a great liberal theologian Adolf von Harnack summed it up in the year 1900 in his lessons on The essence of Christianity:  "The Kingdom of God, insofar as it comes in single individuals, is able to enter their soul and is welcomed by them. The Kingdom of God is the dominion of God, certainly, but it is the dominion of the holy God in individual hearts" (cf. Third Lesson, 100 ff.). 

In reality, this individualism of liberal theology is a typically modern accentuation:  in the perspective of biblical tradition and on the horizon of Judaism, where the work of Jesus is situated in all its novelty, it is clear that the entire mission of the Son-made-flesh has a communitarian finality. He truly came to unite dispersed humanity; he truly came to unite the People of God.

An evident sign of the intention of the Nazarene to gather together the community of the Covenant, to demonstrate in it the fulfilment of the promises made to the Fathers who always speak of convocation, unification, unity, is the institution of the Twelve. We heard about this institution of the Twelve in the Gospel reading. I shall read the central passage again:  "And he went up into the hills and called to him those whom he desired; and they came to him. And he appointed twelve to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. The names of the twelve Apostles are these..." (Mk 3: 13-16; cf. Mt 10: 1-4; Lk 6: 12-16). 

On the site of the revelation, "the mount", taking initiative that demonstrates absolute awareness and determination, Jesus establishes the Twelve so that, together with him, they are witnesses and heralds of the coming of the Kingdom of God. 

There are no doubts about the historicity of this call, not only because of the antiquity and multiplicity of witnesses, but also for the simple reason that there is also the name of Judas, the Apostle who betrayed him, notwithstanding the difficulties that this presence could have caused the new community. 

The number 12, which evidently refers to the 12 tribes of Israel, already reveals the meaning of the prophetic-symbolic action implicit in the new initiative to re-establish the holy people. As the system of the 12 tribes had long since faded out, the hope of Israel awaited their restoration as a sign of the eschatological time (as referred to at the end of the Book of Ezekiel:  37: 15-19; 39: 23-29; 40-48). 

In choosing the Twelve, introducing them into a communion of life with himself and involving them in his mission of proclaiming the Kingdom in words and works (cf. Mk 6: 7-13; Mt 10: 5-8; Lk 9: 1-6; 6: 13), Jesus wants to say that the definitive time has arrived in which to constitute the new People of God, the people of the 12 tribes, which now becomes a universal people, his Church.
Appeal for Israel 

With their very own existence, the Twelve - called from different backgrounds - become an appeal for all of Israel to convert and allow herself to be gathered into the new covenant, complete and perfect fulfilment of the ancient one. The fact that he entrusted to his Apostles, during the Last Supper and before his Passion, the duty to celebrate his Pasch, demonstrates how Jesus wished to transfer to the entire community, in the person of its heads, the mandate to be a sign and instrument in history of the eschatological gathering begun by him. In a certain sense we can say that the Last Supper itself is the act of foundation of the Church, because he gives himself and thus creates a new community, a community united in communion with himself. 

In this light, one understands how the Risen One confers upon them, with the effusion of the Spirit, the power to forgive sins (cf. Jn 20: 23). Thus, the Twelve Apostles are the most evident sign of Jesus' will regarding the existence and mission of his Church, the guarantee that between Christ and the Church there is no opposition:  despite the sins of the people who make up the Church, they are inseparable.

Therefore, a slogan that was popular some years back:  "Jesus yes, Church no", is totally inconceivable with the intention of Christ. This individualistically chosen Jesus is an imaginary Jesus.

We cannot have Jesus without the reality he created and in which he communicates himself. Between the Son of God-made-flesh and his Church there is a profound, unbreakable and mysterious continuity by which Christ is present today in his people. He is always contemporary with us, he is always contemporary with the Church, built on the foundation of the Apostles and alive in the succession of the Apostles. And his very presence in the community, in which he himself is always with us, is the reason for our joy. Yes, Christ is with us, the Kingdom of God is coming.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 15 March 2006]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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