Lk 9:57-62 [cf. Mk 5:18-20]

For Semites, parental figures indicate a connection with ethnicity, tradition, the past and the cultural environment.

Jesus seems to exclude any correlation with such figures, even though he addresses his own in an exclusive and singular way.

He never speaks of fathers, but of the Father - who is not a repeater.

He therefore imposes on everyone a horizontal break with customs that could delay or condition his Call, the profound discovery of the meaning of events, the emergence of a new mentality, the Following.

He diversifies Vocations, to make each person understand the intimate character, by Name, of the relationship of Covenant in Faith - which does not depersonalise as in religions.

Paradoxically, symbiosis with the surrounding mentality or intellectual knowledge itself can obscure the very intelligence of the unique inclinations that manifest the incomparable signature of the Creator in our innermost being.

The authentic Call captures women and men in an exclusive and penetrating way, in the uniqueness of their experience. What kind of Covenant and Mission would it be otherwise?

Sometimes the best thing to do for oneself and for others is to cut the umbilical cord and distance oneself from the expectations of people one usually associates with.

This decision is essential in order to seek the meaning of the Spirit, which is only personal Love - and becomes true Passion.

Here, the inner state of individuation and independence must be very present in the soul.

By frequenting the same conformist environments, we identify with people and situations: thus blocking the centre of expectations and dreams. The doors to other worlds, to another realm, do not open.

The personality wants its space of autonomy, because life in its fullness is to experience a fresh cascade of rebirths in Christ - celebrating together, but standing on one's own two feet.

Impossible for our nature... but the Source of being leads us like a skilled director, always from novelty to novelty. And his profound Wisdom will make us dance - even if we have never learned to dance in style.

What kind of life of Faith would it be that claims to stem the waves of the open sea to keep us always in the most familiar, reassuring harbour?

Leaning on family, friends, habitual opinions, the cove of the club or the beach of the movement [in short, wanting to be like everyone else in order to gain immediate approval] does not allow us to experience new beginnings.

Jesus is peremptory, because the choice is decisive.

Those who keep their heads down or look back – or compare themselves to others – cannot experience the adventure of Faith; they do not live, but drag behind them the religion of the dead.

Those who live only in the future and have no sense of reality experience illusions. But those who remain in the past or with models, stay with skeletons (not only in the closet) and do not perceive the meaning of change.

They easily become obsessed or brooding, becoming chronic. Whereas new stimuli could introduce them to a chain of unexpected leaps.

This is why insistent family and cultural ties can take away the intensity or character of the Call by Name.

They encroach on the necessary space, invaded by too many 'Yes, sir's' - which do not belong to us and which we do not want. They only block the hidden mechanisms.

In the passionate exodus with Jesus, the pleasure of the Vocation cannot allow the inclinations of others [and conformists] to pour into, pervade and occupy our personal world and time.

In order to listen to and make the Call to Mission our own, it is necessary to build a sphere of the Self that is eminent, unassailable, friendly, and protected - one whose pace and horizons we will learn to follow over time.

This identifying sphere, with boundaries protected from interference, will help us in the Dialogue of prayer. It will remove us from the danger of being absorbed by the common, impersonal, accommodating mentality.

The defence of this confidentiality, dense with the Unpublished and non-institutional, becomes the springboard and driving force of our committed life, which does not turn back.

Over time, this Nest will teach us to express the quality of relationships in a genuine, rather than conventional, way - even complete disagreement with the prevailing external mentality, which has power, however trivial.

Those who choose otherwise will sooner or later have to compensate for the cut (of themselves) with gratifications of various kinds, which will distance them from their own face and from the ideal that intimately corresponds to it.

[Even a dreamy, saintly wickedness can serve to rediscover the intimate core of a person, the sacredness of each individual].

We are not called to conform to a neutral do-goodism that only wants to please outwardly, perhaps because it is afraid of being excluded from the circle or judged badly - even the opposite.

Behind the main lines of each person's personality lies a Pearl, which, in order to make a significant contribution according to the Lord's Plan, must manifest its own unique nuances.Especially in our spousal relationship with God, we must not adapt to roles that do not belong to us deeply.

Over time, compromise becomes a habit that causes us to lose our natural tendencies: within them lie the chromosomes of our Vocation.

The realisation of our unique missionary calling does not happen according to character or established and widespread principles – conciliatory and successful – nor because we go hand in hand with the whole world of veterans [or those who are 'à la page'].

Instead of adapting and letting ourselves be influenced by irenicism, at a certain point we deviate to follow the inner Friend who knows where to lead us and does not know the pretence of always agreeing.

Otherwise, having lost the energy-Person and the goal that lead us to our destination, Uniqueness fades in the mediations that hold us hostage - behind events, lines of thought and roles that are now obsolete.

Finally, we lose sight of our founding Eros, which wanted to move our desires, our way of knowing the world and our activities.

[Outcome: a now blurred Core, a Source that recycles and no longer gushes as before, dispersed in a thousand rivulets of transformation - astute shortcuts for a smooth career].

Hence the great dances on nothingness: that of missed dangers - staged as quiet compensation by those whom Christ would call 'empty shells' ['makers of vain things': Lk 13:27 original text].

It is not uncommon for the goals of a caste or group linked to tribal and sectoral thinking to consolidate - to take precedence over the specific weight and intimacy of values, replaced by facile and conformist slogans or adultoids that plagiarise existence.

Every missionary knows that entrusting one's life to mannered, serious and quiet opinions, reassuring initiatives or textbook choices does not bear fruit; on the contrary, it becomes counterproductive.

Concordism seems like an attractive refuge, but it only becomes a den of flattery.

According to Chinese thought, in order to acquire polish and escape a polluted and worn-out servility, the Saints 'learn from animals the art of avoiding the harmful effects of domestication that life in society imposes'.

In fact: 'Domestic animals die prematurely. And so do men, whom social conventions forbid to obey spontaneously the rhythm of universal life'.

'These conventions impose continuous, self-interested, exhausting activity [whereas it is appropriate] to alternate periods of slow living and jubilation'.

"The Saint does not submit to retreat or fasting except in order to achieve, through ecstasy, escape through long journeys. This liberation is prepared by invigorating games, which nature teaches."

"One trains for a heavenly life by imitating the pleasures of animals. To become holy, one must first become brutalised – that is, learn from children, animals and plants the simple and joyful art of living only for the sake of life."

[M. Granet, Il Pensiero Cinese, Adelphi 2019, Kindle pp. 6904-6909].

The suggestion of the past to be perpetuated, the bondage of narrow judgements and the ties of circles can rob us of hidden riches, stealing the present and the future: this is the real mistake to avoid!

What matters is not to restore the situation, copy the ancients or the acclaimed and powerful, identify with them in order to remain quiet and not make mistakes, but rather to renew ourselves in order to evolve, grow, expand and amaze. 

Otherwise, our clumsy problems will always be the same and there will be no exuberant Path or Promised Land, but only a vicious circle of regrets or false reassurances.

To live the Faith of the real moment - without giving up and putting things in order - we cannot be schoolchildren repeating the place or fashions, the time or the day before.

A radical and total decision:

the Church does not promote itself

In today's Gospel (cf. Lk 9:51-62), St Luke begins the account of Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem, which will end in chapter 19. It is a long march, not only geographical and spatial, but spiritual and theological, towards the fulfilment of the Messiah's mission. Jesus' decision is radical and total, and those who follow him are called to measure themselves against it. Today, the Evangelist presents us with three characters - three cases of vocation, we might say - who highlight what is required of those who want to follow Jesus to the end, totally.

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 dens and birds that have nests, 'has nowhere to lay his head' (v. 58). The absolute poverty of Jesus. Jesus, in fact, left his father's house and renounced all security in order to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost sheep of his people. Thus Jesus showed us, his disciples, that our mission in the world cannot be static, but is itinerant. The Christian is an itinerant. The Church, by its very nature, is on the move; it does not remain sedentary and tranquil within its own enclosure. It is open to the broadest horizons, sent forth – the Church is sent forth! – to bring the Gospel to the streets and to reach the human and existential peripheries. This is the first character.

The second person Jesus meets receives his call directly from him, but responds: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). It is a legitimate request, based on the commandment to honour one’s father and mother (cf. Ex 20:12). However, Jesus replies: “Let the dead bury their dead” (v. 60). With these deliberately provocative words, He intends to affirm the primacy of following Him and proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over the most important realities, such as family. The urgency of communicating the Gospel, which breaks the chain of death and inaugurates eternal life, does not allow for delays, but requires readiness and availability. Therefore, the Church is itinerant, and here the Church is decisive, acting quickly, in the moment, without waiting.

The third character also wants to follow Jesus, but on one condition: he will do so after saying goodbye to his relatives. And this is what he hears from the Master: 'No one who puts his hand to the plough and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God' (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and looking back, but requires the virtue of decision.

The Church, in order to follow Jesus, is itinerant, acting immediately, quickly and decisively. The value of these conditions set by Jesus – itinerancy, readiness and decisiveness – does not lie in a series of 'no's' to good and important things in life. Rather, the emphasis should be placed on the main objective: to become a disciple of Christ! A free and conscious choice, made out of love, to reciprocate God's inestimable grace, and not made as a way to promote oneself. How sad this is! Woe to those who think they are following Jesus to promote themselves, that is, to advance their careers, to feel important or to acquire a position of prestige. Jesus wants us to be passionate about Him and the Gospel. A passion of the heart that translates into concrete gestures of closeness, of proximity to our brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Just as He himself lived.

May the Virgin Mary, icon of the Church on her journey, help us to follow the Lord Jesus with joy and to proclaim the Good News of salvation to our brothers and sisters with renewed love.

(Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 June 2019)

The biblical readings of Holy Mass […] give me the opportunity to take up the theme of Christ's call and its requirements, a topic on which I also reflected a week ago, on the occasion of the ordinations of the new priests for the Diocese of Rome. In fact, those who have the good fortune to know a young man or woman who leaves the family and studies and works in order to consecrate him- or herself to God know well what is involved, for they have before them a living example of a radical response to the divine call. This is one of the most beautiful experiences one can have in the Church: seeing and actually touching the Lord's action in people's lives; experiencing that God is not an abstract entity but a reality so great and strong that it fills human hearts to overflowing, he is a Person, alive and close, who loves us and asks to be loved. 

The Evangelist Luke presents to us Jesus, walking to Jerusalem, who meets some men on the road probably young men who promise they will follow him wherever he goes. Jesus proves very demanding with them and warns them that "the Son of Man", namely, the Messiah, "has nowhere to lay his head" that is to say, he has no permanent dwelling place of his own and that those who choose to work with him in God's field cannot turn back (cf. Lk 9:57-58; 61-62). On the other hand Christ says to someone else: "Follow me", asking him to sever completely his ties with his family (cf. Lk 9:59-60). These requirements may seem too harsh but in fact they express the newness and absolute priority of the Kingdom of God that is made present in the very Person of Jesus Christ. All things considered, it is a question of that radicalism that is due to the Love of God, whom Jesus himself was the first to obey. Those who give up everything, even themselves, to follow Jesus, enter into a new dimension of freedom that St Paul defines as "walk[ing] by the Spirit" (cf. Gal 5:16). "For freedom Christ has set us free", the Apostle writes, and he explains that this new form of freedom acquired from Christ consists in being "servants of one another" (Gal 5:1, 13). Freedom and love coincide! On the contrary, complying with one's own egoism leads to rivalry and conflict. 

Dear friends, the month of June, characterized by the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ, is now coming to an end. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart we renewed our commitment to sanctification together with the priests of the whole world. Today, I would like to invite everyone to contemplate the mystery of the divine and human Heart of the Lord Jesus, to draw from the very source of God's Love. Those who fix their gaze on that pierced Heart that is ever open for our love sense the truth of this invocation: "You are my inheritance O Lord" (Responsorial Psalm), and are prepared to leave everything to follow the Lord. O Mary, who answered the divine call without reserve, pray for us!

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 27 June 2010]

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]

5. We shall conclude this catechesis by turning once again to the figure of Jesus Christ, High Priest, Good Shepherd and supreme exemplar of priests. He is the model of the spoliation of earthly goods for the priest who wants to conform to the requirement of evangelical poverty. For Jesus was born and lived in poverty. St Paul admonished: 'From being rich that he was, he became poor for your sake' (2 Cor 8:9). Jesus himself, to one who wanted to follow him, said of himself: "Foxes have their dens and birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Lk 9:57). These words manifest a complete detachment from all earthly comforts. It should not be concluded, however, that Jesus lived in misery. Other passages in the Gospels report that he received and accepted invitations to the homes of rich people (cf. Mt 9:10-11; Mk 2:15-16; Lk 5:29; 7:36; 19:5-6), had female co-workers to support him in his financial needs (Lk 8:2-3; cf. Mt 27:55; Mk 15:40; Lk 23:55-56) and was able to give alms to the poor (cf. Jn 13:29). There is no doubt, however, about the life and spirit of poverty that characterised Him.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 21 July 1993]

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading (Lk 9:51-62) shows a very important step in Christ’s life: the moment when, as St Luke writes: “He [Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51). Jerusalem is the final destination where Jesus, at his last Passover, must die and rise again and thus bring his mission of salvation to fulfilment.

From that moment, after that “firm decision” Jesus aimed straight for his goal and in addition said clearly to the people he met and who asked to follow him what the conditions were: to have no permanent dwelling place; to know how to be detached from human affections and not to give in to nostalgia for the past.

Jesus, however, also told his disciples to precede him on the way to Jerusalem and to announce his arrival, but not to impose anything: if the disciples did not find a readiness to welcome him, they should go ahead, they should move on. Jesus never imposes, Jesus is humble, Jesus invites. If you want to, come. The humility of Jesus is like this: he is always inviting but never imposing.

All of this gives us food for thought. It tells us, for example, of the importance which the conscience had for Jesus too: listening in his heart to the Father’s voice and following it. Jesus, in his earthly existence, was not, as it were “remote-controlled”: he was the incarnate Word, the Son of God made man, and at a certain point he made the firm decision to go up to Jerusalem for the last time; it was a decision taken in his conscience, but not alone: together with the Father, in full union with him! He decided out of obedience to the Father and in profound and intimate listening to his will. For this reason, moreover, his decision was firm, because it was made together with the Father. In the Father Jesus found the strength and light for his journey. And Jesus was free, he took that decision freely. Jesus wants us to be Christians, freely as he was, with the freedom which comes from this dialogue with the Father, from this dialogue with God. Jesus does not want selfish Christians who follow their own ego, who do not talk to God. Nor does he want weak Christians, Christians who have no will of their own, “remote-controlled” Christians incapable of creativity, who always seek to connect with the will of someone else and are not free. Jesus wants us free. And where is this freedom created? It is created in dialogue with God in the person’s own conscience. If a Christian is unable to speak with God, if he cannot hear God in his own conscience, he is not free, he is not free.

This is why we must learn to listen to our conscience more. But be careful! This does not mean following my own ego, doing what interests me, what suits me, what I like.... It is not this! The conscience is the interior place for listening to the truth, to goodness, for listening to God; it is the inner place of my relationship with him, the One who speaks to my heart and helps me to discern, to understand the way I must take and, once the decision is made, to go forward, to stay faithful.

We have had a marvellous example of what this relationship with God is like, a recent and marvellous example. Pope Benedict XVI gave us this great example when the Lord made him understand, in prayer, what the step was that he had to take. With a great sense of discernment and courage, he followed his conscience, that is, the will of God speaking in his heart. And this example of our Father does such great good to us all, as an example to follow.

Our Lady, in her inmost depths with great simplicity was listening to and meditating on the Word of God and on what was happening to Jesus. She followed her Son with deep conviction and with steadfast hope. May Mary help us to become increasingly men and women of conscience, free in our conscience, because it is in the conscience that dialogue with God takes place; men and women, who can hear God’s voice and follow it with determination, who can listen to God’s voice, and follow it with decision.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 June 2013]

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)  [28 September 2025]

May God bless us and may the Virgin protect us. We continue our teaching on wealth and our relationship with the poor, a subject that is particularly relevant for our reflection in the face of the injustices, both large and small, that we see in the news every day.

First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos (6:1a, 4-7)

In the Bible, Amos is the first 'writing' prophet, that is, the first of whom a book remains. Other great prophets before him remained very famous: Elijah, for example, or Elisha, or Nathan... but we do not have their written sermons, only memories handed down by those around them. Amos preached around 780-750 BC and certainly had to say things that not everyone liked, since he was eventually expelled after being denounced to the king.  Originally from the south, he preached in the north during a period of great economic prosperity. Last week we read one of his texts in which he rebuked some rich people for building their wealth at the expense of the poor. Today's passage gives us an idea of the luxury that reigned in Samaria: 'Lying on beds of ivory... they eat lambs from the flock and calves from the stall... they sing to the sound of the harp like David and anoint themselves with the finest ointments, but they do not worry about Joseph's ruin'. The rulers do not know or do not want to know that a terrible threat hangs over them: 'they do not care about the ruin of Joseph'. They will then be deported, indeed they will be the first to be deported, and the band of revellers will no longer exist. This prophet of doom, who sought to warn the powerful and the ruling class, was not listened to; on the contrary, he was silenced by getting rid of him. But what he feared came true. Amos therefore addresses the rich and powerful, those in charge. What exactly does he reproach them for? The first sentence gives us the key: 'Woe to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria'. In other words: you are comfortable, satisfied with your well-being and even your luxury... well, I pity you because you have understood nothing: you are like people who hide under the covers so as not to see the cyclone coming, and this whole society will collapse, crushed a few years later by the Assyrians, with many dead and the survivors deported. Woe to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria'... But what are they doing wrong? The wrong is to base their security on what is passing: some ephemeral military success, economic prosperity and the appearances of piety... so as not to displease God and his prophet. They even boast of their successes, believing they deserve some credit, when everything comes from God. Now, Israel's only security is fidelity to the Covenant. This is the great insistence of all the prophets, as Micah will do a few years later when he preaches in Jerusalem. Hypocrisy reigned in Samaria: when they offer sacrifices, they turn the banquet that follows into a revelry... because the meals that Amos describes are probably sacred meals, like those that followed certain sacrifices. Sacrilegious meals, therefore, that have nothing to do with the Covenant. The difficulty of this passage lies in its conciseness: in fact, to understand it, one must have in mind the whole of prophetic preaching; Amos' logic, like that of all the prophets, is as follows: the happiness of individuals and peoples inevitably depends on fidelity to the Covenant with God; and fidelity to the Covenant means social justice and trust in God, and if one departs from these two points, one is lost. This is what Amos is talking about, and we need only reread last Sunday's text, in which he rebuked the rich for enriching themselves on the backs of the poor. In today's text, the luxury banquets described obviously do not benefit everyone, and the need for God is no longer felt. Isaiah will also say: 'This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me' (Is 29:13). Samaria was covered with luxurious palaces, built by some at the expense of others; once they had become rich, thanks to flourishing trade, it was easy to expropriate small landowners, reducing some of the poorest to slavery, as in last Sunday's text. Archaeology also provides interesting details on this point: while in the tenth century the houses were all of the same model and represented identical standards of living, in the eighth century, on the contrary, there was a clear distinction between rich and poor neighbourhoods.

*Responsorial Psalm (145/146, 6c.7, 8.9a, 9bc-10)

This splendid litany is only part of Psalm 145/146, and today's liturgy does not include the Alleluias that frame it in the Hebrew text, as it is an Alleluia psalm. This means that, as last Sunday, we are faced with a psalm of praise. Speaking in this psalm are the oppressed, the hungry, the blind, the bent over, the strangers, the widows, and the orphans who recognise God's concern for them. In reality, it is the people of Israel who speak of themselves: it is their own history that they recount and give thanks for God's protection, having experienced all these situations: oppression in Egypt, from which God freed them with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, and oppression in Babylon, where once again God intervened. They experienced hunger in the desert, and God sent manna and quails. God opens the eyes of these blind people, revealing himself progressively through his prophets. It is these broken people that God tirelessly lifts up and makes stand; they are the people seeking justice that God guides. It is therefore a song of gratitude: The Lord brings justice to the oppressed, gives bread to the hungry, frees prisoners, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts up those who have fallen, loves the righteous, protects the stranger and supports the widow and the orphan. The Lord, who returns in a liturgical manner, is the translation of the Name of God in four letters, the Tetragrammaton: YHVH, which speaks of his active and liberating presence. The verse preceding today's verses sums them all up: 'Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord (YHVH) his God': the secret of happiness is to rely on God and expect everything from Him. This psalm is chosen for this Sunday as a response to the text of Amos, who warned the people of Samaria to know well in whom to place their trust, fleeing false securities because only God is trustworthy. Recognising our dependence on God and living it with complete trust, because He is total benevolence: this is the definition of faith and the secret of happiness, as the prophets preach.  We must not forget the unique experience that the children of Israel had the privilege of enjoying: throughout their journey to freedom, they experienced the presence of the One they recognised as the Lord who led them in their search for freedom and justice for all, indeed for greater justice, respect and defence of the small and the weak. If we look more closely, we see that the law of Israel has no other goal: to make Israel a free people, respectful of the freedom of others. God leads his people on this long journey of liberation. It is good for us to reread this psalm not only to recognise what God does for his people, but also to give us a course of action: if God has acted in this way towards Israel, we, who are heirs to this long journey of Covenant, are in turn obliged to do the same for others.

*Second Reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to Timothy (6:11-16)

One could not imagine a more complete summary of everything that constitutes the faith and life of a Christian. At the same time, Paul's solemn formulas are surprising: 'Before God and... Christ Jesus, I charge you'. At first reading, one seems to perceive echoes of difficulties in the community of Ephesus, where Timothy had responsibilities: 'Fight the good fight of faith'. A little earlier in the same letter, Paul had already spoken of the fight for the faith in the first chapter (1 Tim 1:18-19). There is therefore a battle to be fought in order to affirm one's faith. The moment is serious, which explains the solemn tone: the fidelity of the young Christian community to its baptism is at stake. The passage we read today is framed by two very similar texts that further clarify the two dangers to be avoided: false doctrines and the pursuit of riches. We must believe that there were real problems with false doctrines: Timothy, guard the deposit, avoid ungodly chatter and pseudo-scientific objections. Because they professed it (meaning this pseudo-science), some strayed from the faith (cf. 1 Tim 6:20-21). And in the same vein, a few verses earlier: If anyone teaches a different doctrine, if he does not adhere to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine in accordance with godliness, he is blinded by pride. He is ignorant, sick, seeking controversy and verbal disputes (1 Tim 6:3-4). This problem had already appeared at the beginning of the letter, and Paul had recommended that Timothy remain in Ephesus (cf. 1 Tim 1:3-4). He then insists with the same force on the risk of seeking riches because the root of all evil is the love of money (cf. 1 Tim 6:10). These, then, are the two worst dangers to the faith in Paul's eyes, and he invites Timothy to remain faithful to his baptism. In Paul's time, baptisms were administered in front of the entire community, and in the baptismal rite itself, the profession of faith was a very important moment because the 'yes' of our baptism is rooted in Christ's 'yes' to the Father, and we must be able to repeat this 'yes' day after day. Timothy will need all his strength, which is why Paul multiplies his recommendations that he persevere in fighting for the faith in order to obtain eternal life. The weapons of combat are faith, love, perseverance and gentleness, which is the main weapon. True combat has nothing to do with religious wars, and history shows that religious wars have never converted anyone. The goal on which we must always keep our eyes fixed is eternal life, which is also the manifestation ('epiphany') of Christ. Paul concludes with a kind of profession of faith, which is precisely what Timothy must continue to affirm against all adversity: 'God is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the only one who possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see'. God is the All-Other, a theme we find in the Old Testament: it is the transcendence of God, the All-Other who nevertheless draws close to us and, at the appointed time, will reveal the Lord Jesus Christ.

From the Gospel according to Luke (16:19-31)

The last sentence is doubly terrible: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead."  This statement seems desperate, as if nothing can change a heart of stone, and it is even more terrible coming from the mouth of Jesus. When Luke wrote the Gospel, he knew full well that Christ's Resurrection had not converted everyone; on the contrary, it had hardened the hearts of some even more. Let us move on to the story of the rich man and poor Lazarus: we do not know much about the rich man, not even his name; it is not said that he is evil; on the contrary, later he will think of saving his brothers from misfortune in the afterlife. However, he lives in his own world, so immersed in his comfort, like the Samaritans mentioned by Amos in the first reading, that he does not even see the beggar dying of hunger at his door who would be content with his leftovers. The poor man's name is Lazarus, which means 'God helps', and this already says a lot: God helps him, not because he is virtuous, but simply because he is poor. This is perhaps the first surprise that Jesus has in store for his listeners: this story was a well-known tale from Egypt, about two characters, a rich man full of sins and a poor man full of virtues: when they arrive in the afterlife, they are weighed on the scales, and the good and bad deeds of both the rich and the poor are evaluated. The good, both rich and poor, were rewarded, while the bad, rich or poor, were punished. Even the rabbis before Jesus told similar stories: the rich man was the son of a sinful tax collector, while the poor man was a very devout man; they too were weighed on the scales and the merits of each were carefully evaluated, with the devout man proving to be more deserving than the tax collector's son. Jesus upsets this logic somewhat: he does not calculate merits and good deeds because it is not said that Lazarus is virtuous and the rich man evil, but simply notes that the rich man remained rich all his life, while the poor man remained poor at his door: this signifies the abyss of indifference that was created between rich and poor, simply because the rich man never opened his door. Another important detail in Jesus' story: it is not entirely true that we know nothing about the rich man, because he tells us how he was dressed: in purple and linen, a clear allusion to the clothes of priests. The colour purple, originally the colour of royal clothing, had become the colour of the high priests because they served the king of the world; linen was the fabric of the high priest's tunic. Jesus means that you can be the High Priest, but if you despise your brothers, you do not deserve the title of children of Abraham. In fact, Abraham is mentioned seven times and is certainly a key to the text. Jesus' question is: "Who is truly a son of Abraham?" and he answers that if you do not listen to the Law and the Prophets, if you are indifferent to the suffering of your brothers, you are not a son of Abraham. And he goes further: the poor man would have liked to eat the rich man's crumbs, but it was the dogs that licked his sores. Dogs were unclean animals... so even if the pious rich man had taken the trouble to open the door, he would still have been scandalised and would have fled from that unclean man licked by dogs... Jesus' lesson is therefore: You worry about merits, you try to remain pure, you are proud to be descendants of Abraham... but you forget the essential... No extraordinary signs are needed to convert: the Law with the Prophets is enough, and for us the Gospel is enough: but we must live them!

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

(Lk 9:51-62)

Jesus intends to make a scratch against the tide - and to do so he has to fight: it was not enough for him to make a career out of “combing” sheep.

He understands that it is the hairpin bends and crises without stability that produce the Result of God - when the tenacity of Faith comes into play.

The young Rabbi leaves his region to confront severely and uncompromisingly the established reality of the holy city - an eternal web of interests.

It will be a fight to the death, because people's happiness is at stake.

He hardens his face without do-goodisms [v.51 cf. Greek text] and goes, knowing full well what a cruel task he was taking on.

Nobody with a “head on their shoulders” would have had the guts to expose themselves to that deadly danger.

The opposition of the power that wants to be perpetuate itself is fierce, but the Son of God does not let himself be crushed by prudence.

The climate with which his Exodus begins is already heavy, but he doesn’t desist.

The Lord still sends messengers [Angels] «before his face» (v.52). He does not renounce to spread the vital wave of his proposal.

In fact, he valued the 'stable' spiritual relationships of his time as very ambiguous: they ignited inner conflicts - although as today they extinguished outer ones, blunting them (just for a while).

And in Person of Christ, ‘Apostle’ is the one who pulls a situation in the opposite direction to the customary or to the fascinating, disembodied, sophisticated; however external.

By creating the turmoil that solves the real problems, the Master first detaches himself from anyunquism.

Not because the conflict can then been "leaded back", "managed", "adjusted" - with a different winner (vv.54-55).

With an open face, the very squabbles that erupt will serve to dispel the fog, kindle souls, generate different paths (v.56).

So - even suddenly - the possibility of putting together new forces, new resources and “ancient” awareness will be created.

The Father makes use of cross paths, wich intersect and overlap. For a Genesis of Happiness at all costs, even in hard snout.

By letting out our gritty character - not only in extreme cases - the Helmsman of the soul, the irreducible Friend, will be able to guide the everyone’s personal route and journey. Encouraging the achievement of stubborn and liberating goals.

If, on the other hand, history had already been written and the way remained external, the experiences would always be the same.

Life would not give birth to other forms; only reductions.

And forced domestication can rob us of hidden wealth, stealing our personal destiny: this is the real mistake to avoid!

Otherwise, having lost the energy-Person that leads to the destination, Uniqueness would pale into the mediations that hold us hostage.

To internalize and live the message:

What’s the style of your testimony? Are you outraged, short-tempered, and furious, or just determined?

 [Tuesday 26th wk. in O.T.  September 30, 2025]

Lk 9:51-56 (51-62)

Jesus wants to make a good scratch against the tide - and to do so he has to fight: it was not enough for him to make a career out of "combing" sheep.

He understands that it is the twists and turns and crises without stability that produce the Result of God - when the tenacity of Faith comes into play.

The young Rabbi leaves his region to severely and uncompromisingly confront the established reality of the holy city - an eternal web of interests.

It will be a fight to the death, for what is at stake is the happiness of the people.

He hardens his face without kindness [v.51 cf. Greek text] and goes, knowing full well what a cruel commitment he was taking on.

No one with a 'head on his shoulders' would have had the guts to expose himself to that mortal danger.

The opposition of the religious and cultural power that wants to perpetuate the ancient world is fierce, but the Son of God does not allow himself to be crushed by the dominant and hasty way of conceiving, nor by prudence.

The climate with which he begins his Exodus is already heavy, but he does not desist.

This means that we too must love our edgy and unshakable sides. They will come into play at the appropriate time, when it is necessary to de-cide.

In frankness, we will not lack the opportunity to make serious cuts - e.g. with the 'banking' (or qualunquist) malpractice covered in ostentation; with the good manners of official devotion [organic to perpetuating its ambiguous system], and so on.

The Lord still sends messengers [Angels] "before his face" (v.52). He does not give up spreading the life-wave of his proposal.

Divine Face, here He is partly hostile; more than resolute, for a clash with that institution that degraded humanity.

In fact, he valued the 'stable' spiritual relationships of his time as very ambiguous: they ignited inner conflicts - although (as today) they extinguished the outer ones, blunting them (only for a while).

In the Person of Christ, Apostle is one who pulls the situation in the opposite direction to the customary or fascinated, disembodied, sophisticated; however external.

By creating the disarray that solves the real problems, the Master first and foremost breaks away from qualunquism.

This is not because the conflict can then be 'brought back', 'managed', 'adjusted' - with a different winner (vv.54-55).

God has no need to reassert Himself, not even through a leader who fades the style of the old Temple, replacing one method of government with another - more or less purified and convincing.

Jesus does not present himself to the world and to everyone's heart as a mere Prophet.

He does not want to rabble-rouse the return to worship, nor the practice of the old religion. Neither does he intend to keep a safe distance, launching grand narratives, modernised, futuristic, 'à la page'.

He knows that only with an open face, the very bickering that erupts will serve to dispel the fog: to kindle souls, to generate different paths (v.56).

Then - even suddenly - new forces, new resources, and - why not - even ancient awarenesses will be created.

In short, the soporific mysticism of non-militant sloth (detached from the losing and losing ourselves that regenerates us) is false.

They do not correspond to the Gospels and do not prepare the Coming of the Lord, that is, other territories to be explored.

Those who continue to venerate securities, points of reference or new mannerisms [in themselves though plausible (vv.57-62)] are only managing a world of the dead.

Whoever welcomes Christ must open himself to a Newness that he does not know, internal and external; capable of bringing out aspects that he has not yet given space to.

In passing, Jesus is rejected (v.53) precisely because he is falsely announced by his own. Still breathless intimates.

The new Master has a practical vision that does not reflect any of the archaic cults, but supplants them.

In doing so, he disrupts a whole false identity approach: commemorative and nostalgic, or spineless.

It is the only episode in Luke in which the Samaritans (synonymous with 'heretics') dribble the Son of God. A complete failure.

This is precisely because the 'messengers' he had sent to dispose hearts had preached him as a nationalist and triumphant Messiah, not a servant.

Moreover, there is something radically unusual about Him - something that cannot be discussed or fought against in an ordinary, doctrinal, customary way.

The Master does not go to some 'holy' citadel to sterilise or perpetuate the old sectarian and intolerant ideology. But to reject it.

He incinerates (vv.54-55) and annihilates the acclaimed configurations, not the peoples removed from the precincts (venerable, fundamentalist, or hypocritical and scape-goating only imaginative).

The Lord does not proceed to the great Temple to shrug off hostilities with his own respectable proposal, which would then make everyone swallow everything.

The young Rebbe never liked that kind of elucubration or wait-and-see and regret of pious desires and good intentions that wastes the soul (generation after generation).He who ploughs a field and turns back does not plough a straight furrow (v.62).

Quite decisively, the Master goes out of his way to denounce that world of slavery, deviant and ideological; incapable of development.

Our alternatives to his reckless attitude have brought further disconnection between signs and life.

Let us not be under the illusion of intermediate stages or domiciles, heartfelt and quiet nests (v.58) of pale consolation.

Faith challenges courage, even to the point of violence towards one's own spontaneous letting go of annoyances and big things, which would torment social irenicism [of the fixed place] with inconveniences and counter appeals.

Annoyances that surprise and guide life Elsewhere.

Urges for the Exodus; a new beginning filled with Desire; a different inner knowing that ignites the outer; a tolerance in the vital diversity of characters.

Instead of the tickle of béchamel, cream-filled husbands, soft candies and sugar-and-honey confectionery, all pleasant, God acts through convulsions.

The Father uses transverse, intersecting and overlapping ways. For a Genesis of Happiness at all costs, even with a hard face.

By letting our gritty nature come out - not only in extreme cases - the Helmsman of the soul, the die-hard Friend, can steer the personal course and the journey of all.

Favouring the achievement of stubborn and liberating goals.

No matter how much one may be conditioned by surrounding expectations, sooner or later one realises that one's heart beats elsewhere than in convention.

It no longer wants to submit; it begins to deviate from the transmitted idea of integrity or social (and ecclesial) cynicism - which rhymes with local respectability.

This also happens to priests, for example, when they realise they have entered a gear that sacralises habits and does not make them grow. Or when they feel they have become the pivot of ephemeral, and anxiogenic, instead of liberating practices.

A stagnant employee instead of a shepherd, an opportune and silent situationist instead of a missionary; the coryphaeus of an inherited situation with the task of keeping the bell tower happy...

In the provinces, also placed in the trenches, but only to act as a filter - to protect 'central' nuisances and affairs, as opposed to peripheral needs or pressures.

He then realises that he is losing himself, his identity of character - the reason why he is in the world.

In spite of material security, he feels anguish and frustration coming on in his conscience (crisis of 'character' in the way: an unmistakable sign that this is not the way).

Tedium or aversion comes to his heart so that he resets the same malaise, and relies on a solidity quite different from inheritance; from the stalemate and rhetoric of the forces in the field.

There is a different way to feel close to people, like Jesus: to be oneself, so that others may also be; setting everyone on paths of inner freedom.

Freedom that sustains the particular essence, making a dam against the established ways, and the pressing reality - only to be confirmed, indeed blessed (at best, repackaged).

Communion here will be a conviviality of differences, made authentic by innate forces.

It is the space granted to the Mystery that makes us independent and fraternal - because we now derive our attraction from the common, hidden but abundant Source.

And what happens moves us, but no longer oppresses or destroys the living Vision before each one's eyes.

The bride-soul's obedience is not lacking, but it becomes an immediate relationship with the Lord who calls and guides to full life. Helping to recognise what instinctively corresponds, and distinguishing what is not important and should be dropped.

The inner gaze and Christ within will sustain, so that we become autonomous and develop a new heaven - whose features we have perceived from the beginning. They that have led us not to act to preserve the old world.

Our innate Echo will constitute such a call that it will assume decisive power over calculations, fears, anxieties, bitterness, persecutions.

The result will be happily educational, even in favour of the adversaries, who will at least begin to presume the meaning of our going out into the world.

With open hands - not full.

"Woe to you, sheep combers" - would say the Pontiff, who gladly added to some of those in charge: "Be fathers, not masters, nor princes". And not even 'administrators of cordatas'!

Calculation and common sense would lead towards the safest and most tested direction, but the vocational fire within unceasingly can recover the instances of the Ideal Core. 

Too much disorder? As Pope Francis reiterated: "for the Spirit, disorder is a beautiful sign.

The torn soul, which no longer recognises itself, if it is too mortified by accommodating banalities and half-choices, then attacks us. And it itself exacerbates suffering.The resulting imbalance is an indication of the unconscious re-emergence of the desire to recover the authentic Calling; as opposed to programmed quietism.

We may have allowed ourselves to be dragged into such a swamp of summateness out of convenience - and the latter has displaced us from ourselves, as well as from the wonder of our personal Work.

Resemblance to forms and customs - even of agreed trivial improvement - becomes the prison of the Creator's design. He wanted to lead us to Him, into ourselves.

Conversely, the role has domesticated us according to matrices to be absorbed uncritically, to the point of making our essence sick.

The dismay then is an alarm: we have entered the 'role'. The heartbeat provokes us; the breathlessness comes to revive us; the panic attacks so that we awaken.

The soul thus wants to realise our dormant and stifled Dream. A desire that would change our lives.

It demands in us that we unhinge the locked doors of 'task' - which precludes the only Happiness: to feel established in one's Centre.

Every scheme (whether acquired or fashionable) annoys the worlds to be discovered, deforms the image of our destination; it violates the journey towards the dwelling that is ours, in order to make it 'equal', hence fictitious.

So an unbalanced, introverted, irascible and fearful character meets perhaps better than others the dreams he did not know, the guide-images that hide a task elsewhere configured, and the best of himself, of Mystery itself.

Repairing, 'setting things right' and 'optimising' are the typical clichés of a stagnant world. So is not confronting; repairing and balancing.

Instead, one must be reborn, not go back to the way it was before, in the common resilience.

The focus must be on the energy that gives birth to us again, on the unknown road that opens up and we had not thought of.

No one spoils us, even if they intended to.

Rather, we are urged to bring out the hidden resources, uncovering the still hidden world.

Opening up an entirely singular story that will change habitual existence.

A quiet mind does not project further, because it loves repetition and the fake securities of yesteryear.

The non-dual mind does not let us discover inner forces. The soul, on the other hand, wants to give birth, to express its creative power.

Unforeseen situations and unforeseen relationships lay it under siege, but in a state of gestation - not first 'marked'.

Those who do not leave the road already beaten, those who do not put it behind them (even seizing the opportunity of adverse conditions such as the global crisis) are forced into a cause-effect chain that does not make exponential leaps.

If history has already been written and the path remains external, the experiences are always the same.

Life does not give birth to other forms; only reductions.

To internalise and live the message:

What is the style of your testimony?

Are you indignant, irascible and furious, or simply assertive?

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]