Living Stones and Liberation from Merchants:

Sign and Anticipation of a new cosmos, of a new humanity

(Jn 2:13-22)

Where to worship the Most High? Already the cosmos is like a great cathedral, weaving divine praise; then certainly both high places and temples made historical sense.

But now Christ is the place where woman and man meet God, the centre of irruption and unfolding of the Father's Love, in the cosmos.

The Lord comes willingly, to merge with the life of the believer and expand his capacities, qualitative resources, world of relationships.

The Eternal lives and acts in the friend who - albeit unconsciously - accepts his proposals. Thus, even if the heavens do not contain Him, He deigns and delights to be among us and in us.

The great ancient Sovereign was relegated to the Temple, and in the affairs of daily life we forgot Him. Now we are the shrines, true and living.

So, even if crowds of tourists wander around to admire the art, the basilicas are signs, not realities.

We are the churches outside the churches, where the Source of being dwells, which reveals itself and which we must make others encounter.

Effective sign and anticipation of a more human cosmos. In each one the Face of Christ.

Only in this sense "Lateran/ a le cose mortali andò di sopra" [Dante, Paradiso 31, 30-35].

"The Passover was near": a time of liberation from slavery - from the merchants who had seized the God of the Exodus.

The people believed that they were emancipated through the acquisition of the 'promised land', and that they worshipped in a pleasing manner.

In reality, they were still enslaved to a pagan image of the Almighty, and to a religiosity repeatedly patched up for the use of the professionals of the sacred.

The Temple in Jerusalem was the pride of the spiritualising elite, yet Jesus behaves in a way that disconcerts the established cultural system.

He does not mediate, he does not seek support, he does not intend to make a career, he does not mind throwing away the market so dear to the priestly class.

Every implication was based on a false teaching, which appealed to the sense of unworthiness inculcated in simple people. Hence on the fear of heavenly curses - under conditions, favourable only to the protagonists of the religious trade.

The Temple complex was made up of a series of circuits that gradually screened out visitors.

Into the esplanade could enter all sane people, even pagans; then began the walls of separation.

The first, under threat of death, blocked the non-Israelites. The second the women, the third also the circumcised.

Only the ritualists had access to the inner sanctuary: no layman could tread on the sacred stones.

Only the high priest entered the holy of holies, once a year (Yom Kippur day).

The most striking feature of the complex [logic of its closed precincts] was Separation: the exclusion of people.

Precisely those most in need were not allowed in: the sick, paralytics, sinners, publicans, shepherds - not even Israelites.

Jesus wants to dismantle the barriers that prevent people from approaching God; all prejudices and dividing walls.

The great novelty is that in Him everyone has access to the Father, without hindrance or imprimatur to be implored.

He proposes communion as conviviality of differences, not synergy with any purpose.

He values the unicum of personal resources, not proposing the usual totem - hammering any of our faculties.

Anyone who wishes may enter the sanctuary of the new Temple-Person, without hindrance [nor having to first obtain permission (as sometimes happens) from dangerous, opaque, and insulting people].

Then, the fear inculcated by the old religiosity had turned the great houses of worship of the ancient East into banks - as well as places of obsession.

The mixture of prayer and money is really unbearable. When economic interests take over, the consequences on civilisation and weightless people are devastating.

But the theatre of 'sanctifying' and respectable power is back (at times, almost imperturbable) even under the aegis of the poor Crucified.

So Jesus in his prophets came - even - to emphasise the incompatibility between commerce and a life of communion with the Father.

Which connotes the enormous difference between material building and personal sacred place.

Christ in us does not set out to mend the ancient pious practice, nor to purify the Temple, but to replace it, to supplant it. And even eliminate it - because it tends to legitimise illusions of perfection, which dehumanise hearts and assemblies.

The Master throws us out of the false image of God presented in the spaces of what appears inviolable and heavenly... to recover him within each one of us and in the community that we really meet.

In short, we must put an end to the palisades - even 'ideal' ones - in which gratuitousness and prayer bear little resemblance to the Son's relationship with the Father.Informal and unbalanced in love like the Eternal Himself, we too do not know how to 'be in the world' in a fixed, tranquil, reassuring way.

By Faith we are no longer the product of shrines of cold, hard stones.

Not infrequently, temples are images of abstract religious knowledge, and of a standard way of life that incapacitates, that cannot give answers to new questions, that does not solve real problems.

We would indeed like to learn to translate our leaps forward with the "nostalgia for the infinite", with the desire to return to the Source, to Beauty, to the origins - but which accompany the "pilgrim".

They in Christ do not create any "constant and obsessive bond" [cf. Brothers All, no. 44].

Nor do we expect to end up in the surrendering and disembodied ideology of the elites: a way of thinking so sophisticated that it totally blocks any challenging bet for an educational risk and pastoral action.

We are not qualunquists.

On the contrary, we yearn to go all the way, to discover the Roots, and to astound the unexpressed characters; in the life of love that reaches the shadowy, hidden, deep sides. Those sides to which we have not yet given space.

Without precisely silencing anxieties, nor denying dark sides, or the contradictions, unpleasant moments, fractures, discomforts that coexist in the essence. And they complete us.

We will learn how to return to the House that belongs to the founding Eros, without suppressing the intimate protrusions - appeals of the soul, often constricted.

Then we will know and teach how to recover the bitter, unpleasant or "impure" dimensions that the wall temple imagines can be neglected, removed, sterilised.

Instead, they configure the most fertile terrain of our evolution.

All this may not reassure, but it activates the Exodus - pushing us to understand elsewhere, navigating towards impossible territories.

Finally, landing more and more in the density of the Mystery that wants to travel with us.

And devotions or not, we will make a different kind of acquisition - not that of business partners with God - or of 'separates'.

"Today the liturgy commemorates the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which is the cathedral of Rome and which tradition defines as "mother of all the churches of the Urbe and the Orbe". The term 'mother' refers not so much to the sacred building of the Basilica as to the work of the Holy Spirit that is manifested in this building" [Pope Francis, Angelus 9 November 2014].

We reiterate: only in this sense "Lateran/ a le cose mortali andò di sopra".

Sorry for the leaders of the "news" who want to tear us away from the infinite codes that inhabit us.

The eminent Friendly Self takes our step - he does not intend to relegate us to enlisted world-bearers.

Smuggling is now incompatible with our action as living stones.

The same is true in the relationship of Faith-Immediate Identity: no trading (cf. vv.23-25).

With those who approach Him as miracle-workers, material protectors, or banners for sacralising visions of the world all planted in the mire of the chronicle, Jesus has a detached attitude.

Credulity in the extraordinary of prodigies or thoughts is fragile, transient - subservient to the persistence of outward spectacles, flashy manners and fashions, or the useful.

It is not here that one accepts to become - like Him - critical witnesses of the new world. Fathers and mothers of a new humanity.

"If man pays attention to the objects of the senses, attachment to them eventually arises in him; from attachment arises desire, from desire arises anger; from anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment confusion in memory, from loss of memory the ruin of the intellect: with the ruin of the intellect man is lost" (Bhagavad Gita, II, 62-63).

Liberation and Personalisation: Difference between Religiousness and Faith

Little House of God or place of business? No more haggling

(Lk 19:45-48)

Jesus notes that around the activity that took place within the perimeters of the Temple a whole ambiguous structure of sin had been articulated.

The Sanctuary's business eagerness was not even hidden - indeed, it even confronted it.

But the priestly perspectives of the holy tribute and the horizons of the people's full life conflicted.

Ditto for the aims of jurists and doctors, who willingly flocked especially under Solomon's porch [on the other side, towards the east] to 'grant' advice.

The exclusive function of fostering an encounter with the presence of God was totally mortified.

The sacred area had become a den of shrewd merchants, businessmen perpetually on the prowl, always intent on changing currency.

This was with the blessing of the sect of the ruling Sadducees, who could not resist the temptation to pull the strings of the lavish trade.In ousting the false friends of the succouring Father, the parasites of religiosity, the Lord does not so much aim to restore the purity of the Place, nor to restore the polish of the original sober worship - as the Prophets intended.

He renders a holy service not to the ancient God (as in the religions) but to the people - by that system [or tangle] rendered totally unaware of their own vocational dignity: only chained, milked, and sheared.

Indeed, the Zealots aimed to restore the purity of rituals. They imagined that they could somehow recover their coherence.

The Essenes, on the other hand, had abandoned the Temple altogether. They considered the shameful situation now compromised.

John the Baptist had made the same detachment.

Although of priestly lineage, he preached to the people the forgiveness of sins through a conversion of life, not through the sacrifices of the liturgy [only in Jerusalem].

Instead, the authentic Angel of the Covenant was definitely intransigent, far more radical than any of them!

In fact, according to the very first Christians, who frequented the Temple, the place of encounter with God, the land from which his Love radiated, was no longer linked to material aspects.

Nor was it in itself religious; much less imbued with doctrinal observances, moralistic codes, or one-sided worldviews.

Thus, for us too, the divine Presence and its Communion are not caught in mythical purity, ancient magnificence, perfectionist endeavours - or à la page adherence.

Service to God is honouring woman and man as and where they are: sacred respect starts from a Gift that already runs through our lives. Opinions are of no use.

The unknown Friend wants to dwell in us not to appropriate, but to merge and expand our relational and qualitative capacities. Our own, not others' or on the side.

In Christ, we move from obedience to more or less dated norms [even futuristic ones] to the style of personal likeness. That which builds living shrines.

Honour to the Father is realised not in the details or in the spirit of the body already dictated, but in the sons and daughters, however - if they live in fraternity.

This happens especially when they assimilate Jesus' Teaching [on Grace] (v.47).

Thus in time, they learn conviviality from Himself, and together they are encouraged to dialogue with their exceptional and unrepeatable Vocation, which captivates because it truly corresponds.

And intimate conviction is alone, incomparable and precious energy of transformative value - which leads one not to withdraw from oneself, one's own exceptionalism, nor to overlook the reality of one's brothers.

Rather, it induces one to make Exodus, to explore new conditions of being, to transfigure perception into blissful action.

Only from here does coexistence arise.

And Sin indeed remains deviation, but no longer transgression of the law - but inability to correspond to the Call that characterises, unleashes and empowers a surprising uniqueness of Relationship.

The first Tent of God is thus humanity itself, its beating heart - not a space of stones and bricks, fixed, delimited, or fanciful... to be adorned with overlays.

Having entered Jerusalem, the Master takes possession of the heavenly House - which is not the Temple, but the People.

That is why He casts out of the sacred imagery inculcated in the naive, precisely the most uneducational traits of the festival - and especially teaches the unhealthy, to feel already adequate!

Unbelievable: to each Christ changes the mental atmosphere.

The true Lord does not teach us to enter into habitual or abstract and formal armour, accepted in outline but distant from ourselves, from creatures.

Rather, he encourages us not to restrain our true nature with cloaks of habit [dated or not] according to which 'it is never enough'.

Behind our character essence lies a fruitful, unrepeatable, singular Calling; with visual and social implications that we do not know.

As we are - just so - we are fine.

There is no need to exorcise anything of our deepest being, which spontaneously manifests its compressed discomforts and joyful correspondences, even in outward eccentricities.

Rather, any conventional epidermal, adaptive, or cunning domestication stifles the core of the Calling by Name - authentic Guidance, impulse of Spirit.

Our inner world is not to be hysterically regarded as a dangerous outsider to be reconfigured.

Our innate roots and natural energy have the right to flourish and prevail over common ways or ideas: they are experimental traces of the Divine.

There is a Personal bond in them.

The Lord's claim is immediately countered by the hostility of the paludates, interested in the give-and-take of that mannerist theatre.

They make him out to be deranged, to be eliminated immediately: a very dangerous dreamer, because he activates and enhances souls, instead of the mediating structure.This is the condemnation handed down by the 'big boys' in society: the outcome of any truth operation.

This is how they try to tarnish any attempt at emancipation of the oppressed in spirit, in the core of the self - whether through fear of God or obsession with unworthiness.

But in today's reality, which heels us in, the Risen One continues to demythologise the excessive preoccupation with identified places, the "heights" of settled and material character.

With their implications that do not nourish in a full and stable way - on the contrary, they become a cankerworm.

In short, a change of approach is needed.

He himself is the essential point of worship of the Eternal.

In such a light of Person in His Person, each one can embrace proposals that are not others and intrusive; that will not prove to be ballast.

And the Church's authentic prestige will be to echo the proclamation that liberates and truly pleases.

Obviously provoking the same mercantile tensions; litmus test of our divine action.

Through the work of apostles frightened by the bluntness of the authorities, and perhaps themselves prone to compromise - the magnificent sanctuary that Jesus had explicitly described as a den of scoundrels will once again become the centre of the ecclesial assembly [Lk 24:53; Acts 5:12].

It will provide more effectively... not the burning conscience, but the tragic history of the holy city, to make its excess of importance fade away.

Even today: the ancient phantasmagorical culmination is becoming periphery, decay. And to find ourselves, we make it difficult.

An opportunity not to be missed to move forward in a lively and singular way, in tune with an ever new teaching on Love, which takes our step.

It is the burning Call of "the Mount", which centres on passion: precisely on Desire.

No longer a stern call to the 'no' of great appearances - but finally Listening to the Voice in the soul, which amazes (v.48).

Authentic sacredness of the temple.

Jesus' teaching in the venerable place is presented by Lk 19:47 as enduring: "he was teaching every day" [Greek text].

Through the Word that does not remain on high but partakes of our humanity (finally opened wide) He also finds His Temple today. 

Dwelling place cleared of old and new hunters.

He only longs for his People - women and men freed from the cave of robbers [Jer 7:11; Lk 19:46] who still try to penetrate our quality of relationship.

Paraphrasing the encyclical Fratelli Tutti (No. 226) we gladly reiterate with Pope Francis: "there is no more room for empty diplomacies, for dissimulations, double talk, cover-ups, good manners that hide the reality" (irritating) of business partners with God.

The rubbish must be eliminated. The stakes are too high and personal.

With what does not correspond, even culturally, socially and spiritually, one no longer bargains.

To internalise and live the message:

Do you still need set times, carved-out places, gestures of atonement and propitiation, or do you feel a living relationship with God?

What is your House of Prayer?

Churches of service, not supermarkets.

The most important temple of God is our heart

"Churches of service, churches that are gratuitous, just as salvation was gratuitous, and not 'supermarket churches'": Pope Francis did not mince words in re-proposing the relevance of Jesus' gesture of driving the merchants out of the temple. And "vigilance, service and gratuitousness" are the three key words he relaunched in the mass celebrated on Friday 24 November at Santa Marta.

"Both readings of today's liturgy," the Pontiff explained, "speak to us of the temple, indeed of the purification of the temple. Taking his cue from the passage in the first book of Maccabees (4:36-37, 52-59), the Pope pointed out how "after the defeat of the people that Antiochus Epiphanes had sent to paganise the people, Judas Maccabaeus and his brothers wanted to purify the temple, that temple where there had been pagan sacrifices, and restore the spiritual beauty of the temple, the sacredness of the temple". For this "the people were joyful". Indeed, we read in the biblical text that "great was the joy of the people, because the shame of the pagans had been wiped away". Therefore, the Pope added, "the people rediscovered their own law, they rediscovered their own being; the temple became, once again, the place of the encounter with God".

"Jesus does the same when he expels those who were selling in the temple: he purifies the temple," said Francis, referring to the Gospel passage from Luke (19:45-48). In doing so, the Lord makes the temple "as it should be: pure, only for God and for the people who go to pray". But, on our part, "how do we purify the temple of God?". The answer, said the Pope, lies in "three words that can help us understand. First: vigilance; second: service; third: gratuitousness'.

"Vigilance", therefore, is the first word suggested by the Pontiff: "Not only the physical temple, the palaces, the temples are the temples of God: the most important temple of God is our heart, our soul". So much so that, the Pope pointed out, St Paul tells us: 'You are the temple of the Holy Spirit'. Therefore, Francis reiterated, 'within us dwells the Holy Spirit'.

And this is precisely 'why the first word' proposed by Francis is 'vigilance'. Hence some questions for an examination of conscience: "What is happening in my heart? What is happening within me? How do I deal with the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit one more of the many idols I have within me or do I care for the Holy Spirit? Have I learnt to be vigilant within myself, so that the temple in my heart is only for the Holy Spirit?"

Here, then, is the importance of "purifying the temple, the inner temple, and keeping watch," said the Pope. With an explicit invitation: "Be careful, be vigilant: what happens in your heart? Who is coming, who is going... What are your feelings, your ideas? Do you speak with the Holy Spirit? Do you listen to the Holy Spirit?" It is, therefore, a matter of "watchfulness: be attentive to what is happening in our temple, within us".

The "second word is service," continued the Pontiff. "Jesus," he recalled, "makes us understand that he is present in a special way in the temple of those in need". And "he says it clearly: he is present in the sick, those who suffer, the hungry, the imprisoned, he is present there". For the word "service" Francis also suggested some questions to ask oneself: "Do I care for that temple? Do I take care of the temple with my service? Do I approach it to help, to clothe, to console those in need?"

"St John Chrysostom," Francis noted, "rebuked those who made so many offerings to adorn, to beautify the physical temple and did not take care of those in need: he rebuked and said: 'No, this is not good, first the service then the ornaments'". In short, we are called to "purify the temple that is others". And to do this well, we must ask ourselves: "How do I help to purify that temple?". The answer is simple: "With service, with service to the needy. Jesus himself says that he is present there". And 'he is present there,' the Pope explained, 'and when we approach to give service, to help, we resemble Jesus who is there'.

In this regard, Francis confided that he had 'seen such a beautiful icon of Cyrene helping Jesus carry the cross: looking closely at that icon, the Cyrene had the same face as Jesus'. Therefore, 'if you guard that temple which is the sick, the imprisoned, the needy and the hungry, your heart will also be more like that of Jesus'. Precisely "that is why guarding the temple means service".

"The first word, vigilance," the Pontiff summarised, expresses something that "happens within us". While "the second word" leads us towards "service to the needy: that is purifying the temple". And "the third word that comes to mind," he continued, "reading the Gospel is gratuitousness. In the Gospel passage, Jesus says: "My house shall be a house of prayer. You, on the other hand, have made it a den of thieves'. Precisely with these words of the Lord in mind, said the Pope, "how many times with sadness do we enter a temple - think of a parish, a bishopric - and we do not know whether we are in the house of God or in a supermarket: there are businesses there, even the price list for the sacraments" and "gratuitousness is missing".

But 'God saved us gratuitously, he did not make us pay for anything,' the Pontiff insisted, inviting us to be of help 'so that our churches, our parishes are not a supermarket: that they are a house of prayer, that they are not a den of thieves, but that they are free service'. Of course, the Pope added, someone could object that 'we must have money to maintain the structure and also we must have money to feed the priests, the catechists'. The Pontiff's answer is clear: "You give freely and God will do the rest, God will do what is lacking".

"Guarding the temple," Francis affirmed, "means this: vigilance, service and gratuitousness". First of all "vigilance in the temple of our heart: what happens there, be careful because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit". Then "service to the needy" he repeated, also suggesting reading chapter 25 of Matthew's gospel. Service also "to the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, those in need because Christ is there", always with the certainty that "the needy is the temple of Christ".

Finally, the Pope concluded, the 'third' point is the 'gratuitousness in the service that is given in our churches: churches of service, churches that are gratuitous, just as salvation was gratuitous, and not 'supermarket churches'."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 25/11/2017]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

The liturgy today has us celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called the "mother and head of all the Churches of the Urbe and Orbe". Actually, this Basilica was the first to be built after the Edict of the Emperor Constantine who, in 313, conceded to Christians the freedom to practice their religion. The same Emperor gave Pope Miltiades the ancient estate of the Laterani family and had the Basilica, the Baptistery and the Patriarchate built for him, the latter being the Bishop of Rome's residence, where Popes resided until the Avignon era. The dedication of the Basilica was celebrated by Pope Silvester in about 324 and the temple was dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour; only after the 6th century were the names of Sts John the Baptist and John the Evangelist added, from which came its common name. This occasion initially only involved the city of Rome; then, from 1565 onwards, it extended to the entire Church of the Roman rite. Hence, honouring the holy building is meant as an expression of love and veneration for the Roman Church "which", as St Ignatius of Antioch affirms, "presides in charity" over the entire Catholic communion (cf. Epistula ad Romanos, 1, 1). 

The Word of God during this Solemnity recalls an essential truth: the stone temple is the symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, that the Apostles Peter and Paul had, in their Letters, already understood as a "spiritual building", constructed by God with the "living stones" that are the Christians, upon the one foundation that is Jesus Christ, who is in turn compared to the "cornerstone" cf. 1 Cor 3: 9-11, 16-17; 1 Pt 2: 4-8; Eph 2: 20-22). "Brethren,... you are God's building", St Paul writes, and he adds, "God's temple is holy, and you are that temple" (1 Cor 3: 9c, 17). The beauty and the harmony of churches, destined to render praise to God, invites us human beings too, though limited and sinful, to convert ourselves to form a "cosmos", a well-ordered construction, in close communion with Jesus, who is the true Holy of Holies. This reaches its culmination in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the "ecclesia" that is, the community of baptized finds itself again united to listen to the Word of God and nourish itself on the Body and Blood of Christ. Gathered around this twofold table, the Church of living stones builds herself up in truth and in love and is moulded interiorly by the Holy Spirit, transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself ever more to her Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, thus becomes a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God. 

Dear friends, today's feast celebrates an ever current mystery: that God desires to build himself a spiritual temple in the world, a community that adores him in spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4: 23-24). But this occasion reminds us also of the importance of the concrete buildings in which the community gathers together to celebrate God's praises. Every community therefore has the duty to carefully guard their holy structures, which constitute a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we invoke the intercession of Mary Most Holy, so that she might help us to become, like her, a "house of God", living temple of his love. 

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 9 November 2008]

1. "The temple of God is holy, and you are that temple" (I Cor 3: 17). We listen once again to these words of the apostle Paul in today's solemn liturgy of the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Cathedral of Rome, Mother of all the churches. 

Every place set aside for divine worship is a sign of that spiritual temple, which is the Church, made up of living stones:  of the faithful united by the one faith, of the participation in the Sacraments and of the bond of charity. The Saints, in particular, are precious stones of that spiritual temple. 

Holiness, fruit of the unceasing work of God's Spirit, shines in the new Blesseds: Juan Nepomuceno Zegrí y Moreno, priest; Valentin Paquay, priest; Luigi Maria Monti, religious; Bonifacia Rodríguez Castro, virgin; Rosalie Rendu, virgin. 

2. The vision of the Sanctuary presented to us in today's liturgy by the prophet Ezechiel describes a stream that flows from the temple carrying life, vigour and hope: "Everything will live where the river goes" (Ez 47: 9). This image expresses God's infinite goodness and his design of salvation which scales the walls of the sacred enclosure and thus becomes the blessing of the entire earth. 

Juan Nepomuceno Zegrí y Moreno, an upright priest of deep Eucharistic piety, understood well how the proclamation of the Gospel needed to become a dynamic reality, able to transform the apostle's life. As a parish priest, he was committed to "visibly providing for all those who, suffering from abandonment, must drink from the bitter chalice and receive nourishment from the bread of tears" (19 June 1859). 

He developed his redemptive spirituality with this purpose, born from intimacy with Christ and directed towards charity for the neediest. He was inspired, through invocation to the Virgin of Mercy, Mother of the Redeemer, to found the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, with the aim of making God's love ever-present where there was "just one suffering to heal, one misfortune to console, one single hope to instil in hearts". Today this Institute, following in the footsteps of its Founder, continues its dedication to witness and promote redemptive charity. 

3. Fr Valentin Paquay is truly a disciple of Christ and a priest according to the heart of God. As an apostle of mercy, he spent long hours in the confessional, with a special gift to place sinners anew on the right path, reminding men and women of the greatness of divine forgiveness. Placing the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery at the centre of his priestly life, he invited the faithful to come frequently to communion with the Bread of Life. 

Like many saints, at a young age Fr Valentin was entrusted to the protection of Our Lady, who was invoked under the title of Cause of our Joy in the Church where he grew up, in Tongres. Following his example, may you be able to serve your brothers and sisters to give them the joy of meeting Christ in truth! 

4. "I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple... everything will live where the water goes" (Ez 47: 1, 9). The image of water, which brings everything back to life, illuminates well the life of Bl. Luigi Maria Monti, entirely dedicated to healing the physical and spiritual wounds of the sick and the orphaned. He loved to call them "Christ's poor ones", and he served them, enlivened by a living faith and sustained by intense and continual prayer. In his evangelical commitment, he was constantly inspired by the example of the Holy Virgin and placed the Congregation he founded under the sign of Mary Immaculate. 

How relevant is the message of this new Blessed! For his spiritual sons and for all believers, he is an example of faithfulness to God's call and to the proclamation of the Gospel of charity. He is a model of solidarity towards the needy and of affectionate entrustment to the Immaculate Virgin. 

5. The words of Jesus proclaimed in today's Gospel: "Stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace" (Jn 2: 16), question today's society, often tempted to turn everything into commodity and profit, putting aside values and dignity which do not have a price. Since the human person is the likeness and dwelling place of God, a purification is necessary, so as to protect the person beginning with his or her social condition or work. 

Bl. Bonifacia Rodríguez Castro was dedicated entirely to this activity; she herself was a worker who understood the risks of the social condition of her age. In the simple and protected life of the Holy Family of Nazareth, she discovered a model of the spirituality of work that gives the human person dignity and makes every activity, however little it may seem, an offering to God and a means of sanctification. 

This is the spirit that she wished to instil in working women, starting with the Josephine Association and then with the foundation of the Servants of St Joseph, who continue their work in the world with simplicity, joy and renunciation. 

6. In an era troubled by social conflicts, Rosalie Rendu joyfully became a servant to the poorest, restoring dignity to each one by means of material help, education and the teaching of the Christian mystery, inducing Frédéric Ozanam to place himself at the service of the poor. 

Her charity was inventive. Where did she draw the strength to carry out so many things? From her intense prayer life and the continuous praying of the Rosary, which she never abandoned. Her secret was simple: to see the face of Christ in every man and woman, as a true daughter of St Vincent de Paul and like another Sister of her epoch, St Catherine Labouré. Let us give thanks for the witness of charity that the Vincentian family gives unceasingly to the world! 

7. "He spoke of the temple of his body" (Jn 2: 21). These works evoke the mystery of the death and Resurrection of Christ. All of the Church's members must be conformed to Jesus crucified and risen. 

Mary, Mother of Christ and our Mother, is our strength and guide in this commitment. May the new Blesseds, whom we contemplate today in the glory of Heaven, intercede for us. May it also be granted to us all that we one day find ourselves in Paradise, to experience together the joy of everlasting life. Amen!

[Pope John Paul II, homily 9 November 2003]

Today the liturgy commemorates the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which is the Cathedral of Rome and which tradition defines as “mother of all Churches of the city and of the world”. The term “mother”, refers not as much to the sacred building of the Basilica, as to the work of the Holy Spirit who is made manifest in this building, bearing fruit through the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, and in all communities which abide in unity with the Church over which he presides.

Each time we celebrate the dedication of a church, an essential truth is recalled: the physical temple made of brick and mortar is a sign of the living Church serving in history, that is to say, of that “spiritual temple”, as the Apostle Peter says, in which Christ himself is the “living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious” (1 Pt 2:4). In the Gospel from today’s liturgy, Jesus, speaking about the temple, reveals a shocking truth: that the Temple of God is not only a building made of brick and mortar, but is his Body, made of living stone. Through the power of Baptism, every Christian takes part in “God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9), indeed they become the Church of God. The spiritual structure, the Church community of mankind sanctified by the Blood of Christ and by Spirit of the Risen Lord, asks each one of us to be consistent with the gift of the faith and to undertake a journey of Christian witness. And we all know that in life it is not easy to maintain consistency between faith and testimony; but we must carry on and be coherent in our daily life. “This is a Christian!”, not so much in what he says, but in what he does, and the way in which he behaves. This coherence, which gives us life, is a grace of the Holy Spirit which we must ask for. The Church, at the beginning of her life and of her mission in the world, was but a community constituted to confess faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God and Redeemer of Man, a faith which operates through love. They go together! In today’s world too, the Church is called to be the community in the world which, rooted in Christ through Baptism, humbly and courageously professes faith in Him, witnessing to it in love.

The institutional elements, the structures and the pastoral entities must also be directed toward this goal, this essential goal of bearing witness to the faith in love. Love is the very expression of faith and also, faith is the explanation and the foundation of love. Today’s celebration invites us to meditate on the communion of all Churches, that is, of this Christian community. By analogy she spurs us to commit ourselves in order that humanity may overcome the confines of enmity and indifference, to build bridges of understanding and dialogue, to make of the entire world one family of people reconciled among themselves, in fraternal solidarity. The Church herself is a sign and preview of this new humanity, as she lives and, through her witness, spreads the Gospel, the message of hope and reconciliation for all mankind.

Let us invoke the intercession of the Most Holy Mary, that she may help us to become like her, the “House of God”, the living temple of his love.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 9 November 2014]

Christian shrewdness: sense of duty and of the fair 'Master'

(Lk 16:1-13)

In «The death of Peregrinus» [De morte Peregrini, 13] the irreverent Lucian of Samosata, polemist of second century - expresses himself as follows towards Christians:

«Their first Legislator persuades them that they are all brothers among themselves, and, as they convert, denying the Greek Gods, they adore that “wise” Crucifix, and live according to his laws. For wich they despise all goods equally and believe them as common and do not care when they have them. Therefore if among them arose a shrewd impostor who knew how to handle them well, immediately he would become rich, mocking these gullible and silly people».

Even more so than private individuals, ecclesial society manages goods for itself that are common, sacred and not exclusive.

But a responsible, community leader [cf. v.14], is accused of taking advantage of his position as administrator of the goods of God and the church.

The Torah, the specific regulations and all the official customs of the ancient East prohibited asking for interest on supplies (or loans) of foodstuffs.

However, under the counter the landowners relied on blackmail. Withholding undue and lavish compensation, on transactions.

Then the "opportunist" puts the right evaluation into play: he recalculates and aligns accountings - renouncing the illicit income he had hoped to enjoy firsthand.

Although used to going head-on in society, the old man finally chooses not to continue stubbornly in scaming of the percentages in addition, which were not due to him.

He seizes the opportunity that presents itself on his way. This is the point that Lk emphasizes. And he promptly decides not to continue to corrupt himself and others: valid option.

He’s therefore praised (v.8) because he realizes another possibility. And he does it with fair ‘cunning’, this time not random.

Spiritual Way has a raw crossroads: to ask oneself whether to start again in the style of accumulation-and-withhold, or to focus on the quality of relationships.

Excellent work of the Faith in ecclesial experience - and threshold of joy - is to transform resources into Life and Relationship.

In short, a spiritualism of sentimental character is not enough. We must heal the budgets and avoid the internal business groups [cf. v.14].

Justice and the universal destination of goods are not mere additions, the meaning of which can be blurred.

Once the truth has been restored, here is a beautiful method to «purify» even the unfair wealth: to use it for the recipients.

Despite mistakes that can be made - we may always impose on ourself a decisive turn.

In short, the fullness of the God’s Kingdom is realized through Encounter, and goods make sense as a possibility of human development (vv.9-13).

Therefore, spiritual guides must be the first witnesses of this social, humanizing and divine function.

They are called upon to dispose of common resources in a way that’s neither cheerful nor carefree, but with a strong sense of responsibility - without any shadow.

[Friday 31st wk. in O.T.  November 8, 2024]

Christian shrewdness: sense of duty and of the fair 'Master'

(Lk 16:1-8)

We ask ourselves: is there another way of life, beyond the habit of asserting oneself in all circumstances? What is it that generates so much friction without rest or criterion, even in times of submission? What is the solution for building a common house? And the first concrete step for the future?

Luke speaks very clearly, chiselling a catechesis probably taken from a living experience that has marked the environment of believers.

In "The Death of Peregrinus" [De morte Peregrini, 13] the irreverent Lucian of Samosata - a polemicist of the 2nd century - expresses himself with regard to Christians as follows:

"Their first Lawgiver persuades them that they are all brothers among themselves, and as they convert, denying the Greek gods, they worship that wise Crucified One, and live according to his laws. For something they despise all goods equally and believe them to be common and do not care when they have them. Therefore if a shrewd impostor arose among them who knew how to handle them well, he would immediately become rich, mocking these gullible and foolish people".

Let us hypothesise the situation, probably referring to a veteran of the Judeo-Christian circle [considered in the Gospels to be that of the "Pharisees" returning to the assemblies of the early times] (cf. Lk 16:14).

A manager, a community leader [cf. v.14], is accused of profiting from the position of steward of God's and the church's property.

The Torah, specific regulations, and all the official customs of the ancient East forbade charging interest on supplies (or loans) of foodstuffs.

But in fact and under the table, landlords used blackmail. By withholding undue and lavish fees, on transactions.

The skimming rate depended on the ability to scrutinise needs and raise the interest rate - even on wheat, oil and staple food.

Even the church coordinator had allowed himself to be seduced by the current malpractice, for easy profit (on people's hunger).

Having turned a deaf ear for a long time, the scandal emerges (among leaders and groups bearing the Christian name!).

The leading man is cornered for a transparent accounting.

Then the 'pinched' man chooses to recalculate and align the accounts - renouncing the illicit income that he had fondly enjoyed himself.

Everything should have been put at the disposal of the faithful and the common good, without (uncontrolled - usual) scheming.

Although accustomed to going head over heels in society, the guy finally chooses not to stubbornly continue in the stubborn imbroglio of additional dues he was not entitled to.

The (God's) treasures are to be shared, without private mark-up - so he avoids grasping at straws, pirouetting, seeking the support of accomplices or gangs [cf. v.14] and groups of sharers.

He seizes the opportunity that comes his way. This is the point that Lk emphasises. And he promptly decides not to continue corrupting himself and others: a valid option.

Things are obvious and he does not advance the kind of explanations - as unfortunately happens - that chronicle and degenerate the situation.

He is therefore praised (v.8) because instead of going back to feeding himself and his tail... he notices another possibility.

There is an Elsewhere to be perceived, here; with foresighted inner tension and equitable 'shrewdness', this time not aleatory.

The Spiritual Path has a stark crossroads: to ask oneself whether to start again in the accumulation-and-retreat style, or to focus on the quality of relationships.

No more intimidation such as: "You don't know who I am"; "You don't know who and how many of us there are" - and attempts tacked on to the bottom line.

No more shenanigans to conceal and destructive subterfuges for the sake of cheerful administration: better to disfigure personally than to be an active and omerto accomplice of another 'god' (the one who gives orders opposite to the Father's advice).

The excellent work of Faith in Church experience - and the threshold of joy - is to transform resources into Life and Relationship.

This is our Guide for tomorrow and happiness, always.

Justice and the universal destination of goods are not mere additions to the devout goings-on, the meaning of which may be blurred - even where community appurtenances are the prerogative of those who have their hands and feet all over the place: cliques with good manners and bad habits.

There is another utility and functionality of the old uninhibited profits: not those of the liberal economy and private property, but of free friendship, which does not hold back - the ability to recreate balances where they are not; to cultivate equality and transparency, happiness and widespread life.

Sentimental spiritualism is not enough. Balances must be healed.Having re-established the truth, and without looking into the face of any primate, or 'fellow travellers' or pressure groups, here is a beautiful method to 'purify' even unequal wealth: use it for the recipients.

It is the only fair valuation, which annihilates malpractice and the strange competitions between dowry-less and upside-down poor who seem destined only to fry.

We are called upon to use 'our' energies and resources to expand everyone's existence, instead of continuing to peck and paw at each other to show who is in charge.

This is - despite the mistakes we may make - giving the decisive breakthrough, for a beautiful life.

In short, the fullness of the Kingdom of God is realised through encounter, and goods have meaning as a possibility for human development (cf. vv.9-13).

In the encyclical Fratelli Tutti we read in n.120:

"the Christian tradition has never recognised the right to private property as absolute or untouchable, and has emphasised the social function of any form of private property. The principle of the common use of goods created for all is the first principle of the whole social-ethical order, it is a natural right, original and overriding. All other rights to the goods necessary for the integral realisation of persons, including that of private property and any others, must therefore not stand in the way, but, on the contrary, facilitate its realisation [...] The right to private property can only be considered as a secondary natural right derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods, and this has very concrete consequences, which must be reflected in the functioning of society. It frequently happens, however, that secondary rights are placed above primary and original rights, depriving them of practical relevance'.

This right-base is without frontiers, and the same applies to the functioning of church society - neither co-opted nor concealed.

Even more so than private individuals, it is accountable without tricks: it manages goods that are in themselves common, varied, sacred and not exclusive.

Church leaders are the first to overcome the one-sidedness of the role and resources, let alone manage them as if they were selective property or reserved clubs.

Therefore, spiritual leaders must be the first witnesses of this social, humanising and divine function.

They are called upon to dispose of the resources to be 'broken' in a way that is not cheerful and carefree, but with a strong sense of responsibility - without any shadow.

"Renzo gladly embraced this opinion; Lucia approved it; and Agnes, proud of having given it, took the poor beasts out of the room one by one, put their eight legs together as if she were making a bunch of flowers, wrapped them up and tied them with a string, and handed them into Renzo's hand; who, having given and received words of hope, went out into the garden, so as not to be seen by the boys, who ran after him, shouting: the bridegroom! the bridegroom! So, crossing the fields or, as they say there, the places, he went off down the lanes, trembling, thinking over his misfortune, and ruminating over the speech to be made to Doctor Azzecca-garbugli. I leave it to the reader to think how those poor beasts must have been travelling, so tied up and held by the legs, head downwards, in the hand of a man who, agitated by so many passions, accompanied with gestures the thoughts that passed through his mind in turmoil. Now he stretched out his arm in anger, now he raised it in despair, now he thrust it in the air, as if to threaten, and, in every way, he shook them fiercely, and made those four heads jump; which in the meantime were endeavouring to peck at each other, as happens all too often among companions in misfortune" [I Promessi Sposi, ch.3].

To internalise and live the message:

In your community, is the administration of goods public, regular and transparent or the chronic prerogative of individuals and groups without control?

Last Sunday, St Luke the Evangelist, who was more concerned than others to show Jesus' love for the poor, offered us various ideas for reflection on the danger of an excessive attachment to money, to material goods and to all that prevents us from living to the full our vocation to love God and neighbour. Today too, through a parable that inspires in us a certain surprise since it speaks of a dishonest steward who is praised (cf. Lk 16: 1-13), a close look reveals that here the Lord has reserved a serious and particularly salutary teaching for us. As always, the Lord draws inspiration from the events of daily life: he tells of a steward who is on the point of being dismissed for dishonest management of his master's affairs and who, to assure a future for himself, cunningly seeks to come to an arrangement with his master's debtors. He is undoubtedly dishonest but clever: the Gospel does not present him to us as a model to follow in his dishonesty, but rather as an example to be imitated for his farsighted guile. The short parable ends, in fact, with these words: "The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence" (Lk 16: 8) [...]

We could then say, paraphrasing one of St Augustine's thoughts, that through earthly riches we must procure for ourselves those true and eternal riches: indeed, if people exist who are prepared to resort to every type of dishonesty to assure themselves an always unpredictable material well-being, how much more concerned we Christians must be to provide for our eternal happiness with the goods of this earth (cf. Discourses, 359, 10). Now, the only way of bringing our personal talents and abilities and the riches we possess to fruition for eternity is to share them with our brethren, thereby showing that we are good stewards of what God entrusts to us.

[Pope Benedict, homily in Velletri 23 September 2007]

2. They come from afar, one could almost define them as endemic, the problems and challenges that present themselves to the pastoral activity of the Brazilian Northeast, posing the disquieting question to the pastors of the Church: how to evangelise such immense and poor populations and share the anguish born of their poverty, which in real life has very concrete aspects, in which we should recognise the suffering features of Christ? How can we build the Church, with its distinguishing characteristic of "signalling and safeguarding the transcendent dimension of the human person" and promoting his integral dignity, with these "living stones", when their poverty is, many times, not only a casual consequence of ineluctable situations of natural factors, but also a product of certain economic, social and political structures?

3. One cannot fail to recall with gratitude on this occasion, at least globally, the pleiads of self-sacrificing, virtuous and devoted missionaries and pastors who have preceded you and who must be considered as the founders of the Church of God (cf. Eph 2:20) in your present-day dioceses, or, to use the patristic expression, "have there begotten" Churches, and not without suffering. In their time, they must surely have wondered what God's plan was for each man's vocation in the building of society, to make it ever more human, just and fraternal, and how the priority of priorities in evangelisation could be implemented: to seek first and foremost the kingdom of God and its justice.

5. Peoples and human groups, in general, in order to progress, gradually and effectively, and not only satisfy immediate vital needs, need solidarity, to achieve the indispensable and permanent transformation of the structures of economic life. But it will not be easy to proceed along the steep path of this transformation, unless there is a true conversion of minds, wills and hearts, which will do away with the confusion of freedom with the instinct of individual and collective interest, or even with the instinct of struggle and predominance, whatever the ideological colours with which they are clothed (cf. John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, 16).

[Pope John Paul II, Address to the Brazilian Bishops 16 September 1985]

Today, Jesus invites us to reflect on two opposing ways of life: the way of the world and that of the Gospel — the worldly spirit is not the spirit of Jesus — and He does so by recounting the parable of the unfaithful and corrupt steward, who is praised by Jesus, despite his dishonesty (cf. Lk 16:1-13). We must point out immediately that this administrator is not presented as a model to follow, but as an example of deceitfulness. This man is accused of mismanaging his master’s affairs, and before being removed, astutely he tries to ingratiate himself with the debtors, condoning part of their debt so as to ensure himself a future. Commenting on this behaviour, Jesus observes: “For the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light” (v. 8).

We are called to respond to this worldly astuteness with Christian astuteness, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. This is a matter of departing from the worldly spirit and values, which the devil really favours, in order to live according to the Gospel. How is worldliness manifested? Worldliness is manifested by attitudes of corruption, deception, subjugation, and it constitutes the most ill-chosen road, the road of sin, because one leads you to the other! It’s like a chain, even if — it’s true — it is generally the easiest road to travel. Instead, the spirit of the Gospel requires a serious lifestyle — serious but joyful, full of joy! — serious and challenging, marked by honesty, fairness, respect for others and their dignity, and a sense of duty. And this is Christian astuteness!

The journey of life necessarily involves a choice between two roads: between honesty and dishonesty, between fidelity and infidelity, between selfishness and altruism, between good and evil. You can not waver between one and the other, because they move on different and conflicting forms of logic. The prophet Elijah said to the people of Israel that went on these two roads: “You are limping with both feet!” (cf. 1 Kings 18:21). It’s a fine image. It is important to decide which direction to take and then, once you have chosen the right one, to walk it with enthusiasm and determination, trusting in God’s grace and the support of His Spirit. The conclusion of the Gospel passage is powerful and categorical: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Lk 16:13).

With this teaching, Jesus today urges us to make a clear choice between Him and the worldly spirit, between the logic of corruption, of the abuse of power and greed, and that of righteousness, meekness and sharing. Some people conduct themselves with corruption as they do with drugs: they think they can use it and stop when they want. It starts out small: a tip here, a bribe over there.... And between this and that, one’s freedom is slowly lost. Corruption is also habit-forming, and generates poverty, exploitation, and suffering. How many victims there are in the world today! How many victims of this widespread corruption. But when we try to follow the Gospel logic of integrity, clarity in intentions and in behaviour, of fraternity, we become artisans of justice and we open horizons of hope for humanity. In gratuitousness and by giving of ourselves to our brothers and sisters, we serve the right master: God.

May the Virgin Mary help us to choose at every opportunity and at all costs, the right way, even finding the courage to go against the tide, in order to follow Jesus and his Gospel.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 18 September 2016]