The Bible readings [...] invite us to meditate on a fascinating theme which can be summed up like this: "freedom and following Christ". The Evangelist Luke tells us that "as the time approached when he was to be taken from this world", Jesus "firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem" (Lk 9: 51). In the phrase "firmly resolved", we can glimpse Christ's freedom.

Indeed, he knows that in Jerusalem, death on a cross awaits him, but in obedience to the Father's will, he offers himself for love. It is in his very obedience to the Father that Jesus achieves his own freedom as a conscious decision motivated by love.

Who is freer than the One who is the Almighty? He did not, however, live his freedom as an arbitrary power or as domination. He lived it as a service. In this way he "filled" freedom with content, which would otherwise have remained an "empty" possibility of doing or not doing something.

Like human life itself, freedom draws its meaning from love. Indeed, who is the freest? Someone who selfishly keeps all possibilities open for fear of losing them, or someone who expends himself "firmly resolved" to serve and thereby finds himself full of life because of the love he has given and received?

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians of Galatia, today in Turkey, said: "You were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another" (Gal 5: 13).

Living according to the flesh means following the selfish tendencies of human nature. Living according to the Spirit, on the other hand, means allowing oneself to be guided in intentions and works by God's love which Christ has given to us. Therefore, Christian freedom is quite the opposite of arbitrariness; it consists in following Christ in the gift of self even to the sacrifice of the Cross.

It may seem a paradox, but the Lord lived the crowning point of his freedom on the Cross as a summit of love. When they shouted at him on Calvary: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross!", he showed his freedom as the Son precisely by remaining on that scaffold, to do the Father's merciful will to the very end.

Other witnesses to the truth have shared this experience, men and women who showed that they remained free even in a prison cell and under the threat of torture. "The truth will set you free". Those who side with the truth will never be slaves of any power but will always make themselves freely servants of their brothers and sisters.

Let us look at Mary Most Holy. A humble Handmaid of the Lord, the Virgin is the model of a spiritual person who is totally free because she is immaculate, immune to sin and all holy, dedicated to the service of God and neighbour. May she help us with her motherly care to follow Jesus, to know the truth and to live freedom in love.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 1 July 2007]

Christian revelation excludes reincarnation, and speaks of a fulfilment which man is called to achieve in the course of a single earthly existence. Man achieves this fulfilment of his destiny through the sincere gift of self, a gift which is made possible only through his encounter with God. It is in God that man finds full self-realization: this is the truth revealed by Christ. Man fulfils himself in God, who comes to meet him through his Eternal Son. Thanks to God's coming on earth, human time, which began at Creation, has reached its fullness. "The fullness of time" is in fact eternity, indeed, it is the One who is eternal, God himself. Thus, to enter into "the fullness of time" means to reach the end of time and to transcend its limits, in order to find time's fulfilment in the eternity of God.

[Pope John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente n.9]

In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Lk 9:51-62), Saint Luke begins the narrative of Jesus’ last journey towards Jerusalem, which ends at Chapter 19. It is a long journey, not only geographically and spatially, but also spiritually and theologically, towards the fulfilment of the Messiah’s mission. Jesus’ decision is radical and total, and those who follow him are called to measure up to it. Today the Evangelist presents us three characters — three cases of vocation, we could say — that shed light on what is required of those who wish to follow Jesus to the end, completely.

The first character promises him: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Generous! But Jesus replies that the Son of man, unlike foxes that have holes, and birds that have nests, “has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). The absolute poverty of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus left his paternal home and gave up all security in order to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost sheep of his people. In this way Jesus pointed out to us, his disciples, that our mission in the world cannot be static, but is itinerant. The Christian is itinerant. The Church by her very nature is in motion; she does not stay sedentary and calm within her enclosure. She is open to the broadest horizons, sent forth — the Church is sent forth — to bring the Gospel through the streets and to reach the human and existential peripheries. This is the first character.

The second character Jesus meets receives the call directly from him, but replies: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). It is a legitimate request based on the commandment to honour your father and mother (cf. Ex 20:12). Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Lk 9:60). With these deliberately provocative words, he intends to emphasize the primacy of following and of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over and above the most important realities, such as the family. The urgency of communicating the Gospel, which breaks the chains of death and ushers in eternal life, does not permit delays but requires promptness and complete willingness. Thus, the Church is itinerant, and here the Church is decisive, acts quickly, on the spot, without waiting.

The third character also wants to follow Jesus but on one condition: he will do so after bidding farewell to his relatives. And this is the response he receives from the Teacher: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and backward glances but requires the virtue of decision.

In order to follow Jesus, the Church is itinerant, acts promptly, quickly and decisively. The value of these conditions set by Jesus — itnerancy, promptness and decision — does not lie in a series of saying ‘no’ to the good and important things in life. Rather, the emphasis is placed on the main objective: to become a disciple of Christ! A free and conscious choice, made out of love, to reciprocate the invaluable grace of God, and not made as a way to promote oneself. This is sad! Woe to those who think about following Jesus for their own advantage, that is, to further their career, to feel important or to acquire a position of prestige. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and about the Gospel. A heartfelt passion which translates into concrete gestures of proximity, of closeness to the brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Precisely as he himself lived.

May the Virgin Mary, icon of the pilgrim Church, help us to joyfully follow the Lord Jesus and, with renewed love, to proclaim the Good News of Salvation to brothers and sisters.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 30 June 2019]

From the ancient dream to the embodied relationship

(Jn 1:47-51)

People are convinced by meeting, seeing and experiencing, not by imposing. However, the Eternal’s plan baffles us.

Witness and sharing lead persons to Christ, but they are not enough - because his plan is not as people imagine or propose, as they await and desires it to be.

To the enthusiastic announcement, Nathanael responds with a preconceived skepticism that represents us: what good can come out of the most insignificant suburbs (v.46)?

Why doesn't the solution to our expectations come from predictable places [Judaea]?

Personal encounter with Jesus and listening to his Word go beyond every obstacle, up to an explicit and convinced profession of Faith.

And like Nathanael, whoever consecrates his life to the study of the Scriptures finds in them Christ himself (vv.45.48-49).

At first perhaps we too approached the Son of God imagining that he had the attributes of King of a chosen people (v.49).

Then the custom with the Person and the vital experience [«Come and see»: sense of the basic Semitic expression of v.46] showed us a much broader Relationship with Heaven (vv.50-51).

In walking the Way that the unexpected Messiah proposes, we perceive the convergence of God’s movement towards men and our longing for him.

It is the realization (and overcoming) of Jacob’s ancient dream.

Those who pursue preconceptions remain to take the cool under a fig tree (cf.v.48), ie he remains linked to the ancient religion [the rabbis taught the ancient Scriptures sitting under the trees; the fig tree was symbol of Israel].

«Israelite without deceit» (v.47): each one is so when, after sifting, he knows how to get rid of common opinions and teachings; when he realizes that they do not coincide with the Father’s plan.

Salvation history aims at «greater things» (v.50) than those already wanted; normal, expected, invoked, calculated, longed for.

From religiosity we will move on to Faith: the best of God’s Dream in us must come. «Greater things» than clichés.

Jesus is Jacob’s authentic Dream, which heralded to a vast lineage; further unfolded (Gen 28:10-22) and become reality.

But no one would have expected that the Messiah could identify himself with the «Son of Man» (v.51), the One who creates abundance where it’s not there, and that before did not seem licit it could expand.

The new bond between God and human beings is in the Brother who becomes ‘next of kin’: which creates an atmosphere of humanization with wide outlines - not at all discriminating.

‘True, successful Son’ is the one who, having reached the maximum of human fullness, comes to reflect the divine condition and radiates it in a widespread way - not selective as expected.

It’s the flowering and humanization of the people: the peaceful, true and full development of the divine plan on humanity.

«Son of Man» is therefore not a stowed, cautious, controlled and reserved title, but an opportunity for all those who adhere to the Lord’s proposal, and reinterpret life in a creative personal way.

They go beyond the firm boundaries, making room for the Gift; welcoming from the Grace fullness of being, in its new unrepeatable tracks.

On this Way, every day we perceive the same impulse that brought Nathanael to Jesus: an instinct of incomparable Presence [Michael: Who as God?], a liberation of the shrunken consciousness [Raphael: God has healed - Rescuer], an astonishing unveiling [Gabriel: Strength of God].

In short, on the new adventures to be undertaken, the invisible world has a special relationship with humanity and creation.

In the soul and in things, we are as if guided on the right path (in an incessant, increasing, unexpected way) even through our anxieties, rebellions, crises and doubts.

[Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels. September 29]

From the ancient dream to the incarnate relationship

(Jn 1:47-51)

Today's liturgy presents Nathanael's first encounter with the Lord, whom some traditions identify as the apostle Bartholomew.

The purpose of the Call is to follow Jesus; let us see the chain of events. First of all: people are convinced by encounter, by seeing and experiencing, not by imposition.

But the Eternal One's plan takes us by surprise. Witness and sharing lead to Christ, but they are not enough - because his plan is not what people imagine or propose, what they expect and desire it to be.

To Philip's enthusiastic announcement [name of Greek origin], Nathanael [from the Hebrew Netan'El: 'God has given'] responds with a preconceived scepticism that represents us: what good can come from the most insignificant suburbs (v. 46)?

Why does the solution to our expectations not come from the palaces of power, from the exceptional magnificence of the Holy City, or from the proven and selective doctrinal prestige of the observant territory (Judea)?

Nazareth was an insignificant village of hotheads and Galilean troglodytes; Jesus was a carpenter, so he did not even own land.

The expectation of the Messiah was anchored to other manifestations of prestige, wealth, splendour and power (substituting for the authentic experience of relationship and fullness of being).

The personal encounter with Jesus and listening to his Word overcome every obstacle, leading to an explicit and convinced profession of faith.

And like Nathanael, those who devote their lives to the study of the Scriptures find Christ in them (vv. 45, 48-49).

At first, perhaps we too approached the Son of God imagining that he had the attributes of the King of a chosen people (v. 49).

Then familiarity with the Person and life experience ["Come and see": meaning of the Semitic expression in verse 46] showed us a much broader relationship with Heaven (vv. 50-51).

In following the Way proposed by the unexpected Messiah, we see the convergence of God's movement towards men and our yearning for Him. It is the realisation (and overcoming) of Jacob's ancient dream.

Those who cling to preconceptions remain under the fig tree (cf. v. 48), that is, they remain tied to the ancient religion [the rabbis taught the ancient Scriptures while sitting under trees; the fig tree was a symbol of Israel].

By remaining in expectation of magnificence and allowing ourselves to be carried away by standard notions of expected glory, we do not enter into the movement that binds our earth to Love: we will find ourselves increasingly old, bogged down and sterile - incapable of generating new creatures and being reborn.

'Israelite without deceit' (v. 47): everyone is this when - having examined - they know how to discard common opinions and teachings; when they realise that they do not agree with the Father's plan for us.

The history of salvation aims at 'greater things' (v. 50) than those already desired; normal, expected, invoked, calculated and longed for (transmitted by doctrines and 'teachers' as they are).

Even the Plan of Providence is not as people imagine or desire it to be. Situations await us that no one has ever seen before.

'God has given' [meaning of the proper name Nathanael], but everyone must be reborn.

From Nathanael, every believer makes an Exodus to transmigrate to the meaning of the name Bartholomew: 'Son of the well-ploughed field and the land of abundant furrows'.

From religiosity we will move on to Faith: the best of God's Dream in us must come. 'Greater things' than commonplaces.

Jesus is the authentic Dream of Jacob, which foreshadowed a vast descendants; further unfolded (Gen 28:10-22) and became reality.

But no one would have expected that the Messiah could be identified with the 'Son of Man' (v. 51), the One who creates abundance where there is none - and where it did not seem possible for it to expand before.

The new bond between God and human beings is in the Brother who becomes a 'close relative', who creates an atmosphere of humanisation with broad contours - not at all discriminatory.

The 'Son of Man' is the one who, having reached the height of human fulfilment, comes to reflect the divine condition and radiates it in a diffuse way - not selectively as expected.

'Successful Son': the Person with the definitive step, who in us aspires to the most expansive fullness in events and relationships, to an indestructible calibre within each one who approaches [and encounters divine signs].

It is the growth and humanisation of the people: the peaceful, true and full development of the divine plan for humanity.

'Son of Man' is therefore not a religious title, reserved, cautious, controlled and discreet, but an opportunity for all those who adhere to the Lord's proposal and reinterpret life in a creative and personal way.

They overcome their fixed and summary boundaries, making room for the Gift; welcoming from Grace the fullness of being and character, in its new and unrepeatable paths.Feeling totally and undeservedly loved, we discover other facets... we change the way we are with ourselves and read history.

In short, we can grow, fulfil ourselves, flourish, and radiate the completeness we have received - without any more closures.

On this Path, every day we feel the same impulse that led Nathanael to Jesus: an instinct of incomparable Presence [Michael: Who like God?], a liberation of shrivelled consciousness [Raphael: God has healed - Rescuer], a revelation of wonder [Gabriel: Strength of God].

In short, on the new adventures to be undertaken, the invisible world has a special relationship with humanity and creation.

In our souls and in things, we are guided along the right path (in an incessant, growing, unexpected way) even through our anxieties, rebellions, crises and doubts.

From Son of David to Son of Man

The Church is Catholic because Christ embraces all humanity in his mission of salvation. While Jesus' mission in his earthly life was limited to the Jewish people, 'the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Mt 15:24), it was nevertheless oriented from the beginning to bring the light of the Gospel to all peoples and to bring all nations into the Kingdom of God. Faced with the faith of the Centurion in Capernaum, Jesus exclaims: "I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 8:11). This universalistic perspective emerges, among other things, from Jesus' presentation of himself not only as the "Son of David" but as the "Son of Man" (Mark 10:33), as we have also heard in the Gospel passage just proclaimed. The title "Son of Man," in the language of Jewish apocalyptic literature inspired by the vision of history in the Book of the Prophet Daniel (cf. 7:13-14), refers to the figure who comes "with the clouds of heaven" (v. 13) and is an image that heralds a completely new kingdom, a kingdom supported not by human powers, but by the true power that comes from God. Jesus uses this rich and complex expression and refers it to himself to manifest the true character of his messianism, as a mission destined for the whole of humanity and for every human being, overcoming all ethnic, national and religious particularism. And it is precisely in following Jesus, in allowing oneself to be drawn into his humanity and thus into communion with God, that one enters this new kingdom, which the Church proclaims and anticipates, and which overcomes fragmentation and dispersion.

[Pope Benedict, address to the Consistory, 24 November 2012]

We are celebrating this Episcopal Ordination on the Feast of the three Archangels who are mentioned by name in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. This reminds us that in the ancient Church - already in the Book of Revelation - Bishops were described as "angels" of their Church, thereby expressing a close connection between the Bishop's ministry and the Angel's mission. From the Angel's task it is possible to understand the Bishop's service. But what is an Angel? Sacred Scripture and the Church's tradition enable us to discern two aspects. On the one hand, the Angel is a creature who stands before God, oriented to God with his whole being. All three names of the Archangels end with the word "El", which means "God". God is inscribed in their names, in their nature. Their true nature is existing in his sight and for him. In this very way the second aspect that characterizes Angels is also explained: they are God's messengers. They bring God to men, they open heaven and thus open earth. Precisely because they are with God, they can also be very close to man. Indeed, God is closer to each one of us than we ourselves are. The Angels speak to man of what constitutes his true being, of what in his life is so often concealed and buried. They bring him back to himself, touching him on God's behalf. In this sense, we human beings must also always return to being angels to one another - angels who turn people away from erroneous ways and direct them always, ever anew, to God. If the ancient Church called Bishops "Angels" of their Church, she meant precisely this: Bishops themselves must be men of God, they must live oriented to God. "Multum orat pro populo" - "Let them say many prayers for the people", the Breviary of the Church says of holy Bishops. The Bishop must be a man of prayer, one who intercedes with God for human beings. The more he does so, the more he also understands the people who are entrusted to him and can become an angel for them - a messenger of God who helps them to find their true nature by themselves, and to live the idea that God has of them. 

All this becomes even clearer if we now look at the figures of the three Archangels whose Feast the Church is celebrating today. First of all there is Michael. We find him in Sacred Scripture above all in the Book of Daniel, in the Letter of the Apostle St Jude Thaddeus and in the Book of Revelation.
Two of this Archangel's roles become obvious in these texts. He defends the cause of God's oneness against the presumption of the dragon, the "ancient serpent", as John calls it. The serpent's continuous effort is to make men believe that God must disappear so that they themselves may become important; that God impedes our freedom and, therefore, that we must rid ourselves of him.
However, the dragon does not only accuse God. The Book of Revelation also calls it "the accuser of our brethren..., who accuses them day and night before our God" (12: 10). Those who cast God aside do not make man great but divest him of his dignity. Man then becomes a failed product of evolution. Those who accuse God also accuse man. Faith in God defends man in all his frailty and short-comings: God's brightness shines on every individual. It is the duty of the Bishop, as a man of God, to make room in the world for God, to counter the denials of him and thus to defend man's greatness. And what more could one say and think about man than the fact that God himself was made man? Michael's other role, according to Scripture, is that of protector of the People of God (cf. Dn 10: 21; 12: 1). Dear friends, be true "guardian angels" of the Church which will be entrusted to you! Help the People of God whom you must lead in its pilgrimage to find the joy of faith and to learn to discern the spirits: to accept good and reject evil, to remain and increasingly to become, by virtue of the hope of faith, people who love in communion with God-Love. 

We meet the Archangel Gabriel especially in the precious account of the annunciation to Mary of the Incarnation of God, as Luke tells it to us (1: 26-38). Gabriel is the messenger of God's Incarnation. He knocks at Mary's door and, through him, God himself asks Mary for her "yes" to the proposal to become the Mother of the Redeemer: of giving her human flesh to the eternal Word of God, to the Son of God. The Lord knocks again and again at the door of the human heart. In the Book of Revelation he says to the "angel" of the Church of Laodicea and, through him, to the people of all times: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (3: 20). The Lord is at the door - at the door of the world and at the door of every individual heart. He knocks to be let in: the Incarnation of God, his taking flesh, must continue until the end of time. All must be reunited in Christ in one body: the great hymns on Christ in the Letters to the Ephesians and to the Colossians tell us this. Christ knocks. Today too he needs people who, so to speak, make their own flesh available to him, give him the matter of the world and of their lives, thus serving the unification between God and the world, until the reconciliation of the universe. Dear friends, it is your task to knock at people's hearts in Christ's Name. By entering into union with Christ yourselves, you will also be able to assume Gabriel's role: to bring Christ's call to men.

St Raphael is presented to us, above all in the Book of Tobit, as the Angel to whom is entrusted the task of healing. When Jesus sends his disciples out on a mission, the task of proclaiming the Gospel is always linked with that of healing. The Good Samaritan, in accepting and healing the injured person lying by the wayside, becomes without words a witness of God's love. We are all this injured man, in need of being healed. Proclaiming the Gospel itself already means healing in itself, because man is in need of truth and love above all things. The Book of Tobit refers to two of the Archangel Raphael's emblematic tasks of healing. He heals the disturbed communion between a man and a woman. He heals their love. He drives out the demons who over and over again exhaust and destroy their love. He purifies the atmosphere between the two and gives them the ability to accept each other for ever. In Tobit's account, this healing is recounted with legendary images. In the New Testament, the order of marriage established in creation and threatened in many ways by sin, is healed through Christ's acceptance of it in his redeeming love. He makes marriage a sacrament: his love, put on a cross for us, is the healing power which in all forms of chaos offers the capacity for reconciliation, purifies the atmosphere and mends the wounds. The priest is entrusted with the task of leading men and women ever anew to the reconciling power of Christ's love. He must be the healing "angel" who helps them to anchor their love to the sacrament and to live it with an ever renewed commitment based upon it. Secondly, the Book of Tobit speaks of the healing of sightless eyes. We all know how threatened we are today by blindness to God. How great is the danger that with all we know of material things and can do with them, we become blind to God's light. Healing this blindness through the message of faith and the witness of love is Raphael's service, entrusted day after day to the priest and in a special way to the Bishop. Thus, we are prompted spontaneously also to think of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Penance which in the deepest sense of the word is a sacrament of healing. The real wound in the soul, in fact, the reason for all our other injuries, is sin. And only if forgiveness exists, by virtue of God's power, by virtue of Christ's love, can we be healed, can we be redeemed.

[Pope Benedict, homily for the episcopal ordination, 29 September 2007]

1. Our catechesis on God, creator of the world, cannot conclude without devoting adequate attention to a specific content of divine revelation: the creation of purely spiritual beings, which Sacred Scripture calls 'angels'. This creation appears clearly in the Symbols of Faith, particularly in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed: "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." We know that man enjoys a unique position within creation: thanks to his body, he belongs to the visible world, while his spiritual soul, which gives life to his body, places him almost on the border between the visible and invisible creation. According to the Creed professed by the Church in the light of revelation, the latter includes other beings, purely spiritual, not belonging to the visible world, even though they are present and active in it. They constitute a specific world.

2. Today, as in times past, there is much discussion, with varying degrees of wisdom, about these spiritual beings. It must be acknowledged that there is sometimes great confusion, with the consequent risk of passing off as Church teaching on angels what does not belong to the faith, or, conversely, of omitting some important aspect of revealed truth. The existence of spiritual beings, whom Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels', was already denied in Christ's time by the Sadducees (cf. Acts 23:8). Materialists and rationalists of all ages also deny it. Yet, as a modern theologian astutely observes, "if one wanted to get rid of angels, one would have to radically revise Sacred Scripture itself, and with it the whole history of salvation" (A. Winklhofer, Die Welt der Engel, Ettal 1961, p. 144, note 2; in Mysterium Salutis, II, 2, p. 726).. The whole Tradition is unanimous on this question. The Creed of the Church is basically an echo of what Paul writes to the Colossians: "For through him (Christ) all things were created, those in heaven and those on earth, the visible and the invisible: Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers, all things were created through him and for him" (Col 1:16). That is, Christ, who as the eternal Son-Word and consubstantial with the Father is "begotten before all creatures" (Col 1:15), is at the centre of the universe, as the reason and cornerstone of all creation, as we have already seen in previous catechesis and as we will see again when we speak more directly about him.

3. The reference to the “primacy” of Christ helps us to understand that the truth about the existence and work of angels (good and evil) is not the central content of God’s word. In revelation, God speaks first of all "to men . . . and converses with them, inviting them and admitting them to communion with himself," as we read in the Second Vatican Council's constitution Dei Verbum (Dei Verbum, 2). Thus, 'the profound truth . . . both of God and of the salvation of men' is the central content of revelation, which 'shines forth' most fully in the person of Christ. The truth about angels is in a sense "collateral," yet inseparable from the central revelation, which is the existence, majesty, and glory of the Creator shining forth in all "visible" and "invisible" creation and in God's saving action in human history. Angels are therefore not creatures of primary importance in the reality of revelation, yet they belong fully to it, so much so that at certain moments we see them performing fundamental tasks on behalf of God himself.

4. According to revelation, everything that belongs to creation is part of the mystery of divine Providence. This is stated in an exemplary concise manner by Vatican I, which we have already quoted several times: "Everything that God has created, he preserves and directs with his providence, 'extending his power from one end of the universe to the other and governing all things with his goodness' (cf. Wis 8:1). 'Everything is naked and open to his eyes' (cf. Heb 4:13), 'even what will take place by the free initiative of creatures'" (DS 3003). Providence therefore also embraces the world of pure spirits, who are even more fully rational and free beings than human beings. In Sacred Scripture we find valuable insights concerning them. There is also the revelation of a mysterious yet real drama that affected these angelic creatures, without anything escaping the eternal Wisdom, which with strength ("fortiter") and at the same time with kindness ("suaviter") brings everything to fulfilment in the kingdom of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

5. We recognise first of all that Providence, as the loving Wisdom of God, manifested itself precisely in the creation of purely spiritual beings, so that the likeness of God might be better expressed in them, who far surpass all that is created in the visible world, together with man, who is also an indelible image of God. God, who is absolutely perfect Spirit, is reflected above all in spiritual beings who, by nature, that is, because of their spirituality, are much closer to him than material creatures, and who constitute almost the 'environment' closest to the Creator. Sacred Scripture offers a fairly explicit testimony to this maximum closeness to God of the angels, of whom it speaks, in figurative language, as God's 'throne', his 'hosts', his 'heaven'. It has inspired the poetry and art of the Christian centuries, which present angels to us as the 'court of God'. 

(Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 9 July 1986)

8. Finally, it is worth noting that the Church honours three figures of angels with liturgical worship, who are called by name in Sacred Scripture. The first is Michael the Archangel (cf. Dan 10:13, 20; Rev 12:7; Jude 9). His name succinctly expresses the essential attitude of good spirits. "Mica-El" means "Who is like God?" This name expresses the salvific choice by which angels "see the face of the Father" who is in heaven. The second is Gabriel, a figure linked above all to the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. (cf. Lk 1:19-26) His name means 'my power is God' or 'power of God', as if to say that, at the height of creation, the Incarnation is the supreme sign of the almighty Father. Finally, the third archangel is called Raphael. "Rafa-El" means "God heals". He is known to us from the story of Tobit in the Old Testament (cf. Tob 12:15 ff.), which is so significant in terms of entrusting God's little children, who are always in need of care, protection and guidance, to the angels.

On reflection, we see that each of these three figures - Mica-El, Gabri-El, Rafa-El - reflects in a particular way the truth contained in the question raised by the author of the Letter to the Hebrews: "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to serve those who are to inherit salvation?" (Heb 1:14).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, 6 August 1986]

A true act of entrustment to the archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, asking them to help us in the fight against the temptations of the devil, to bring us the good news of salvation and to take us by the hand so that we do not stray from the path of life, thus cooperating in 'God's plan of salvation'. This is the prayer recited by the Pope during Mass celebrated in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta on Friday, 29 September, the feast day of the holy archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.

"In the opening prayer at the beginning of Mass," Francis immediately pointed out, "we prayed as follows: 'O God, who calls angels and men to cooperate in your plan of salvation, grant us pilgrims on earth the protection of the blessed spirits, who stand before you in heaven to serve you and contemplate the glory of your face.'"

"One thing that attracts attention from the outset," the Pope explained, "is that angels and we have the same vocation: to cooperate in God's plan of salvation; we are, so to speak, 'brothers' in vocation." Angels "stand before the Lord to serve him, to praise him and also to contemplate the glory of the Lord's face: angels are great contemplatives, they contemplate the Lord; they serve and contemplate. But the Lord also sends them to accompany us on the path of life."

"Today we celebrate three of these archangels," said the Pontiff, "because they played an important role in the history of salvation. And we celebrate these three because they also play an important role in our journey towards salvation."

Starting with "Michael — the great Michael — the one who wages war against the devil," explained the Pope, referring to the passage from Revelation (12:7-12) proposed by the liturgy and emphasising: "In the end, when the dragon fought against Michael, when he was defeated, the text says: 'The great dragon, the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, was thrown down.'" The devil is 'our enemy' and this, explained the Pontiff, is 'a vision of the end of the world, but in the meantime he causes trouble, he causes trouble in our lives: he always tries to seduce, as he seduced our mother Eve, with convincing arguments: "Eat the fruit, it will do you good, it will teach you many things"'. And so, "like the serpent, he begins to seduce, to seduce, and then, when we have fallen, he accuses us before God: 'He is a sinner, he is mine!'"

So, Francis reiterated, '"this is mine" is precisely the devil's word, he wins us over by seduction and then accuses us before God: "He is mine, I will take him with me". And "Michael wages war against him, the Lord asked him to wage war: for us who are on our way, in this life of ours, towards heaven, Michael helps us to wage war against him, not to let ourselves be seduced by this evil spirit who deceives us with seductions." Precisely "for this reason, today we thank St Michael for this work he does for the Church and for each one of us, and we ask him to continue to defend us.".

The second archangel, "Gabriel, is the one who brings good news, the one who brought the news to Mary, to Zechariah, to Joseph," Francis continued. Gabriel, therefore, brings "good news and the good news of salvation." He too "is with us and helps us on our journey." Especially when, as often happens, "with so much bad news or news that has no substance, we forget the good news, that of the Gospel of God, of salvation, that Jesus came to us and brought us God's salvation." And it is precisely "Gabriel who reminds us of this, and for this reason today we ask Gabriel to always announce the good news to us." Gabriel, Francis prayed, "remind us of God's good news, of what God has done."

"And then there is the third archangel, Raphael, who helps us on our journey, who walks with us," said the Pontiff. "Michael defends us, Gabriel gives us the good news, and Raphael takes us by the hand and walks with us, helping us with the many things that happen along the way." To Raphael, "we must ask: please, do not let us be seduced into taking the wrong step, into taking the wrong path; guide us on the right path, on the good path. You are our companion on the journey, as you were Tobias' companion on his journey."

The three archangels, Francis continued, "are before God, they are our companions because they have the same vocation in the mystery of salvation: to carry forward the mystery of salvation. They adore God, they glorify God, they serve God." And so, "today we simply pray to the three archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael," the Pope invited, suggesting the words of the prayer: "Michael, help us in our struggle; everyone knows what struggle they have in their lives today, each of us knows the main struggle, the one that puts our salvation at risk. Help us, Gabriel, bring us news, bring us the good news of salvation, that Jesus is with us, that Jesus has saved us and gives us hope. Raphael, take us by the hand and help us on our way so that we do not stray from the path, so that we do not remain stationary: always walking, but helped by you."

[Pope Francis, St. Marta, in L'Osservatore Romano, 30/09/2017]

External solution?

(Lk 16:19-31)

Today's Gospel raises a question of apparent obviousness: is it not perhaps in the natural order of things that in human society there are first and last, learned and ignorant, princes and subjects?

Even Leo XIII, Pope of the social encyclicals, recognized that «in human society it’s according to the order established by God that there are princes and subjects, masters and proletarians, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, nobles and plebeians; the obligation of charity of the rich and the landowners is to help the poor and the destitute» [mentality of an omission’ sin: it’s enough that they then do "charity"].

The position of the Lord is very very different.

According to Lk the rich man is not the Blessed by God, as the patriarchs of the First Testament were considered.

His sought-after clothing is only a metaphor for the inner emptiness and ephemeral he basks in - what will later be corroded by moths.

His gorging is a sign of an intimate abyss to be bridged - a sort of nervous hunger.

«Eli hezer»: «God helps»; He doesn’t forget, on the contrary He’s definitely on the unsteady’ side. Therefore, that form of "enjoying life" is giving up living completely.

The evangelist doesn’t specify that Lazarus was a good and responsible person: just a poor.

Nor does he affirm that the “Dives” was a total criminal: if the indigent stopped outside his door and nowhere else, it means that was remedying something there.

But at that time there was no cutlery and rich men cleaned their fingers with the crumb, then thrown on the ground; the miserable ate of this.

A dog's life, worse than insults. And ignored.

Radical evil, which was not in the individual acts, rather in the depths of being, and in the consequent global carelessness.

Inattention that tends to choose consensus and hierarchies as the ultimate backdrop to existence.

Therefore the question that the passage of Lk reiterates is not trivially moralistic: merits or faults, juridical or religious.

The question arises about humanity itself: diminished, reduced, arid, incapacitated; unable to articulate a deliberate reversal.

Inextricably linked to the already dug abyss.

The Gospel wants to stimulate us to reflect not on the theme of lawful almsgiving, but on warning, and the Communion of resources: on the meaning of unbridled wealth alongside poverty.

Involuntary misery is often considered a situation by now habitual, but this drama affects persons and entire peoples.

And how can we distract from the seduction of material goods?

Overcoming the lures of money and the craving for accumulation which generates social paralysis and devastating humiliation, is a true miracle.

And neither a prodigy nor a vision can do a miracle of conscience (vv.29-31).

Least of all a common religion, if it tended to sacralize and not interfere, to make positions persist; to be complicit in manifacturing poor and rich, gaining on both.

In short, to build the Kingdom and change the divided world, it’s only worth letting oneself be educated by the Word of God.

Intimate Seed and Germ, Event-Therapy, Energetic Spirit and Call: which introduces into the active and nuptial awareness of Love.

Logos that places us in the right position. Exception Warning; not external.

Founding Eros that already here and now reverses situations.

[26th Sunday in O.T. (year C), September 28, 2025]

An external solution?

(Lk 16:19-31)

The reversal of situations in the afterlife is a theme that belongs to the entire culture of the ancient Middle East, an area strongly marked by social discrimination. But the meaning of the Gospel is profound.

The new CEI translation has correctly rendered the term Hades (v. 23) as 'underworld', no longer 'hell' [CEI '74], because the meaning of Jesus' parable is entirely focused on this world!

'Behind the clouds' has nothing to do with it. What interests the Lord is not so much the final fate as the current situation of those who listen to him - starting with his own followers: where are they going?

In the parables of Mercy and the forgiving Father (15:1-32), Luke announced that a lost man would be a defeat for God himself.

His unusual revelation prompts the envious top of the class to spy on the freedom that the newcomers to the Church allow themselves.

"Who authorised you to consider yourselves equal to others and undermine our precedence, without having gone through the whole process, the stubborn commitment and the efforts of us veterans?"

The pagans have an easy game (Lk 16:1-15): they accuse the elders of hiding their spirit of unshakeable greed under the ill-concealed guise of "homage", meritorious works, and hierarchical necessity.

The 'best' are easily caught red-handed, accustomed as they are to revering God in order to serve a completely different master - well hidden.

In fact, after telling the parable of the dishonest steward, Jesus himself hears sniggering behind him (Lk 16:14), not from sinners, but from devout and bigoted people.

They are the cunning members of the elite who are attached to material things and lovers of money (vv. 13-15) - accustomed to practising that ancient craft [easy, considered the right of religious leaders]. What the Lord had defined as incompatible ('abomination': v. 15): revering the Most High and pocketing his loot.

'Poor deluded man!' - the charlatans, false friends of God, would say of our Master: 'It is impossible to make followers without booty: the gratuitousness of love is a beautiful dream, but it raises nothing, does not gather proselytes and does not trigger the predatory instinct of the top of the class!'.

In today's Gospel passage, those who consider themselves entitled to precedence [in the community of children!] raise a question of apparent obviousness:

Is it not in the natural order of things that in human society there are first and last, learned and ignorant, sovereigns and subjects?

After all, the legal principle that governed all private property rights in the Latin world is also the motto of a well-known official newspaper: Unicuique Suum.

Even Leo XIII, the pope of social encyclicals, recognised that 'in human society, it is according to the order established by God that there are princes and subjects, masters and proletarians, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, nobles and plebeians; the obligation of charity on the part of the rich and the propertied is to provide for the poor and the needy' [a mentality of simple omission: it is enough that they then perform "charity"].

The Lord's position is very, very different. For Luke, the rich are not blessed by God, as the landowners were supposed to be - and so were the patriarchs of the First Testament.

His refined clothing is only a metaphor for the inner emptiness and transience he revels in - which will then be corroded by moths.

His gluttony is a sign of an inner abyss to be filled - a kind of nervous hunger that makes him feel dizzy.

'Eli hezer' ['Lazarus']: God helps, but not the glutton - according to the pious, sanctimonious and backward mentality.

He does not forget; on the contrary, he is decidedly on the side of the weak: Faith believes the opposite of archaic religions!

Therefore, the careless 'enjoyment of life' of the super-rich is to give up living completely: they do not even have a name - which is terrifying for the ancient mentality.

The evangelist does not specify that Lazarus may once have been a good and responsible person: he was simply poor.

Nor does he say that the great lord was a total criminal: apart from his 'blindness'... if the poor man preferred to stay outside his door and not elsewhere, it means that he got something there.

But at that time there was no cutlery and people cleaned their fingers with breadcrumbs, which were then thrown on the ground; the poor fed on these.

A dog's life, worse than insults. And ignored.

This is the root of evil: it was not in individual acts, but rather in the depths of being, and in the resulting global carelessness.

Carelessness that tends to choose consensus and hierarchies as the ultimate backdrop to existence.

Therefore, the question that Luke's passage reiterates is not trivially moralistic: merits or faults, legal or religious.

The question is about humanity itself: diminished, reduced, arid, incapacitated; incapable of bringing about a deliberate reversal.

Inextricably linked to the abysses already dug.The Gospel wants to stimulate us to reflect not on the theme of lawful almsgiving, but on the warning, and the communion of resources: on the meaning of unbridled wealth alongside poverty.

Involuntary poverty is often considered a normal situation, but this tragedy affects individuals and entire populations - forced from birth to death into an unbalanced or unsustainable reality.

In many areas, class disparities are even tending to worsen, perhaps due to the internal logic of an economic and social system that tends to concentrate power and direct resources.

In ancient times, the 'bosom of Abraham' (vv. 22-23) was the condition that recognised the success of God's plan, the place where the Promises of Israel were fulfilled.

Even today, those who do not feel that some people are wasting away in a world of misery, turning their lives into a failure, find themselves useless and empty, unable to reach the Light of Life.

Those who procrastinate - without encountering others - choose a form of existence that has nothing to do with the People of God; nothing to do with the Mystery of the Eternal One and his blessings.

How, then, can one avoid sinking into the abyss of insignificance?

It is not a fate due to ignorance or a spirit of revenge that clashes with the Father's plan for his children.

Being open to humanising sensitivity and the greatness of God's work is not a matter linked to some heavenly mechanism of revenge 'afterwards'.

Nor is it a matter of some kind of (albeit eloquent) external warning.

So how can we distract ourselves from the seduction of material goods?

Overcoming the attractions of money and the desire to accumulate wealth, which generates social paralysis and devastating humiliation, is a true miracle.

And a miracle of conscience cannot be achieved by an immediate prodigy or a vision (vv. 29-31).

Nor can it be achieved by a common religion, if it tends to sacralise and not interfere, to perpetuate positions; to become complicit in creating poor and rich, profiting from both.

What Jesus refers to is Listening. The 'Shema Israel' - recited twice every day.

In the extreme poverty of means, 'Hear, O Israel' is the Father's Call.

The Lord shares in the oppressed situation of too many of his children - unable to dress in expensive clothes or feast lavishly and frequently.

In short, to build the Kingdom and change the divided world, the only thing that counts is to allow oneself to be educated by the Word of God.

Intimate Seed and Germ, Therapy-event, Energetic Word and Call: which introduces us to the active and spousal awareness of Love.

Logos that places us in the right position. A unique warning; not external.

Founding Eros that already here and now overturns situations.