XXI Sunday in Ordinary Time (year C)  [24 August 2025]

May God bless us and the Virgin protect us. It is useful in these times to reread these biblical texts in light of what is happening in the Middle East.

*First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (66:18-21)

The prophets speak in the name of God, and their listeners know this well, but when they want to emphasise the importance of their statements, they remind them that these are the very words of the Lord, and therefore something very important. In this passage, there are at least two great announcements: the universal dimension of God's plan, 'I will come to gather', and the role of the small remnant of believers, 'the survivors', those who have escaped and who, amid general discouragement, preserve their faith.  While the first Isaiah or Micah (8th century BC) announced only the salvation of the 'little remnant of Israel', during and after the exile (6th century) Israel discovered the universal dimension of God's plan and learned to consider its election not as an exclusive privilege but as a vocation. This is a new discourse because it highlights the missionary role that God entrusts to Israel in the service of all humanity, the universal dimension of God's plan: "I will gather all nations and all languages" and even more surprising: "they will come and see my glory" (v. 18). The term glory indicates the splendour of God's presence (literally in Hebrew 'weight'). God does not need us to glorify him; rather, it is we who become happy when we live in a covenant of love with him. "They will see my glory" means recognising Him as the only God, freeing humanity from all forms of idolatry. And the text continues: "I will send their survivors to the farthest nations... these messengers will proclaim my glory among the nations... they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord... to my holy one in Jerusalem" (v. 20). Here is the fulfilment of the vocation of the chosen people: to be a light to the nations, so that salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (cf. Is 49:6). This is also the vocation of the Church, the people of God called to bear witness to the truth of God in the world, even if it does not replace Israel: to proclaim the glory of God to all peoples, to bear witness to the Gospel that enlightens life: 'I will put my sign upon them' (v. 19), and in this light we understand what Jesus will say: 'When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself' (Jn 12:32). The last sentence is a third important announcement: not only will the peoples draw near to the Lord, but 'I will take priests and Levites from among them' (v. 21), which means that the usual conditions for the priesthood will no longer be required and every human being can draw near to the living God. We can understand why, a few verses before this Sunday's reading, Isaiah invited all those who love Jerusalem to rejoice because the Lord will make "peace flow towards it like a river, and the glory of the nations like a torrent" (Isaiah 66:10-12).

Some notes *St Augustine writes: 'Who would be so foolish as to believe that God needs the sacrifices offered to him? The worship given to God benefits man and not God. It is not the source that benefits us if we drink from it, nor the light if we see it' (The City of God, X, 5-6).

*In Third Isaiah (the prophet after the exile), we find the theology of the "saving remnant," of which we read a trace in Psalm 39/40: "Many will see and fear and trust in the Lord" (Ps 39/40:4), which can be compared to the announcement we find here in Isaiah (vv. 20-21). 

*In the Bible, nations are not always spoken of in a positive way, and the term is sometimes loaded with decidedly negative meanings: The book of Deuteronomy, for example, speaks of the "abominations of the nations" (18:9-12) because of their religious practices in general and human sacrifices in particular. In biblical pedagogy, the chosen people are guided to remain faithful to God, to discover the face of the one God, avoiding all contact with nations at risk of idolatrous contagion. This positive vision is already present in Abraham: "All the families of the earth shall be blessed in you" (Genesis 12:3). With firmer faith, Israel will discover the universalism of God's plan, gradually understanding that it is the older brother, not the only child, with the role of opening the way to its God for all humanity: if God is the only true God, he is the God of all.

Responsorial Psalm 116/117

This psalm is shorter than the psalter and could be summed up in a single word: Alleluia, the last word of the psalm, but also the first, since Praise the Lord (v. 1) is equivalent to Alleluia: 'Allelu' is an imperative: Praise, and 'Ia' is the first syllable of God's name. The purpose of the entire psalter, which means 'Praises' (in Hebrew Tehillim), derives from the same root as Alleluia. Here is the rabbis' commentary on Alleluia: 'God has led us from slavery to freedom, from sadness to joy, from mourning to celebration, from darkness to splendour, from slavery to redemption. For this reason, we sing Alleluia before him." "God has led us from slavery to freedom": this is what God has done for his people, but it is also God's plan for all humanity. The salvation of his people is the beginning and promise of what God will do for all humanity when he announced to Abraham: "All the families of the earth will be blessed in you" (Gen 12:3). Solomon had already dreamed of this: 'All the peoples of the earth will recognise your name and worship you, as your people Israel do' (1 Kings 8:41-43; cf. the first reading). Hence the structure of this psalm, which is very simple but evocative: 'Praise God' (v. 1); "For he has shown his love" (v. 2). Looking more closely, we read: "Praise God, all you nations" (v. 1); For his work on behalf of his people: "For he has shown his love for us". Here the "for" is very important: when the nations see what God has done for us, they will believe. In other words, because God has proven himself by saving his people, other nations will be able to believe in him. The same reasoning is found in Psalm 39/40 (20th Sunday of the year C) where the psalmist says: "God has brought me out of the pit of death... seeing this, many will fear and put their trust in the Lord" (Ps 39/40:4). Similarly, Psalm 125/126 sings of the exile in Babylon: "Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them'" (Ps 125/126:2). This idea is found several times in the prophets: when the people are in misfortune, other nations may doubt God's power. It is in this sense that Ezekiel dares to say that the exile in Babylon is a disgrace to God and even goes so far as to say that the exile of God's people "desecrated" God's name, while liberation, on the contrary, will be proof of his liberating power before all. This leads him to proclaim, in the midst of the Babylonian exile: "I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them; then the nations shall know that I am the Lord... when I have shown my holiness in you before their eyes" (Ezekiel 36:23; 36:36). Recognising God's Name in biblical language means discovering the God of tenderness and faithfulness revealed to Moses (Ex 34:6): tenderness and faithfulness that Israel has experienced throughout its history. This is the meaning of the second verse of the psalm: "His love for us is strong, and the Lord's faithfulness endures forever."  One final observation: this psalm is part of the Hallel (from Psalm 112/113 to 117/118) and occupies a special place in the liturgy of Israel because it is recited after the Passover meal. Jesus himself sang it on Holy Thursday evening, and the Gospels of Matthew and Mark echo it (cf. Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26). We too can repeat: "He has shown his love for us" by listening to Jesus: "No one has greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn 15:13) and "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16).

Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (12:5-7, 11-13)

The recipients of the Letter to the Hebrews, Christians going through a period of severe persecution, have already suffered greatly for their faith, as is clear in chapter 10:32-34. To console them and instil courage, the author tells them not to forget the exhortation addressed to them and delves into the Old Testament, taking up what the prophet Isaiah said to his compatriots exiled in Babylon: "Strengthen your limp hands and your weak knees" (v. 12). He speaks to them as if they too were living in exile and addresses the problem of suffering not to justify or explain it, but to give it meaning. He calls for perseverance, an indispensable virtue in times of trial when God, like a Father, shows his love even in seemingly absurd ways. The dominant image is therefore that of the pedagogical father of God present in the wisdom literature of the Bible, where suffering can become a journey, a test of the believer's faith, who knows that, whatever happens, God is silent, but is neither deaf nor indifferent. On the contrary, like a father, he accompanies us on this difficult path and helps us to emerge stronger from every evil. What you endure is therefore a 'correction' with references to the book of Proverbs: 'Do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, for the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father disciplines the child he delights in' (Pr 3:11-12). This theme was familiar to the early Christians, who knew well the book of Deuteronomy, which compared God to a teacher who accompanies the growth of those he educates (cf. Dt 8:2-5). Lived in trust in God, suffering can become an opportunity to bear witness to the hope and inner peace that the Spirit gives. Suffering can thus become a school in which we learn to live in the Spirit everything that happens because, as St. Paul writes, tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance a proven virtue, and proven virtue the hope that does not disappoint thanks to the love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:3-4). Suffering is therefore part of the human condition: even in such a situation, God entrusts us with the honour and responsibility of bearing witness to the faith, and if persecution is part of the journey of life, it is not because God wants it, but for reasons linked to human behaviour. When Jesus said that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer, he was not speaking of a demand from God, but of the sad reality of human opposition. St. Paul, addressing the early communities in Asia Minor, which were also persecuted, reminded them that we must enter the Kingdom of God through many tribulations (cf. Acts 14:22).

From the Gospel according to Luke (13:22-30)

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and, visibly, does not miss an opportunity to teach, but what he says is not always what one would expect. Here, for example, someone asks a question concerning salvation, and he does not answer directly: 'Lord, are there few who are saved?' (v. 23). The answer does not concern who will be saved, as if there were those who were chosen and those who were excluded in advance, but what is the condition for entering the kingdom: to pass through the door! "Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able to" (v. 24). The image of the narrow gate is evocative and eloquent: someone who is excessively obese or laden with bulky packages cannot pass through a narrow gate unless they undergo a drastic weight-loss programme or decide to abandon all their baggage. The text that follows allows us to understand what spiritual obesity is and what baggage prevents us from passing through.  Knocking at the door, they will say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets' (vv. 25-26). Here Jesus denounces the self-assurance of his interlocutors, who are convinced that, simply because they were born of the chosen people, they are entitled to salvation and that the door will open for them. Jesus, however, points out that the door is the same for everyone, so why will they not be able to pass through it? Indeed, the master will specify: "I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you who practise lawlessness' (v. 27). It is true that Jesus is one of them, that he ate and drank with them and taught among them; it is true that their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets are in the Kingdom of God, but all this does not give them any rights. Spiritual obesity and burdensome weights are their certainties: they do not welcome the kingdom of God as a gift, convinced that they have rights. Then the last sentence becomes clear: 'there are those who are last who will be first, and there are those who are first who will be last' (v. 30). The first in God's plan, as St Paul says, are the children of Israel, to whom belong adoption, glory, the covenants, the Law, worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and it is from them that Christ was born. (cf. Rom 9:4-5). The Jewish people are the people of the Covenant by God's sovereign choice, as we read in Deuteronomy: 'The Lord did not set his heart on any nation but your own, to be his people, as he promised to your ancestors and as he promised to you, because you were the people who were a stony ground and a dry rock, where no one lived, and he brought you out of the desert to give you a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey' (Deut 10:15). And with good reason, the people of Israel were happy and proud to be chosen by God, as it is said in Psalm 32/33: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Blessed are the people he has chosen as his inheritance... We wait for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. The joy of our hearts comes from him, and our trust is in his holy name." (Ps 32/33:12, 20-21). But, like every vocation, God's choice is a mission: the first ones invited to the kingdom had the task of bringing all humanity into it, as Isaiah reminded us several times (cf. Is 42:6; 49:5-6) so that salvation might be achieved for all. When Jesus speaks, they reject his teaching because it disturbs their certainties and their self-satisfaction, and when Jesus tells them to go away because they are doing evil, he does not mean evil actions, but refers to this closure of the heart. Shortly before, he had healed a sick woman in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and instead of rejoicing at her healing, they criticised the place and the time. This same spiritual obtuseness and selfish view of faith can mark our lives as Christians. By closing our hearts to Grace, we become blind and spiritually obese because, like some of Jesus' contemporaries who were closed in their certainties, we fail to recognise him and follow him as the Messiah. Pope Francis repeated that a closed heart does not hear the voice of God nor recognise the face of our brothers and sisters. Let us therefore accept the Lord's invitation to remove hardness from our hearts, so that we may receive the gift of a heart of flesh: only in this way will we be able to understand his will and proclaim his Gospel with joy.

+ Giovanni D'Ercole

(Mt 23:13-22)

«Alas for you, scribes and pharisees, theatrical ones, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven before the people» (Mt 23:13).

Unceremoniously, Jesus unmasks the untouchable veterans and religious leaders, all agreeing [for the first time in their lives] and coalescing for reasons of self-interest.

Hypocrite is one who puts a veil over reality so that it seems different: the ugly must appear beautiful, the bad (or hardship) good.

‘Radicality of believing' is not attachment to subtleties of reasoning and disciplines, but the Faith as a life current - “duty” yes, but of love.

The very harsh and topical tone makes it clear that the Lord is deeply grieved [vv.13-16.23: «Alas for you...»; «Alas to you...»].

The young Rabbi is not confronting the well-disguised duplicity of the scribes and pharisees of two millennia ago.

He speaks as a master because he addresses the top of the class in his communities. They make a spectacle of themselves, using the Lord as a screen, hijacking him; taking him hostage.

It is precisely the experts who close the Kingdom - that is, the scope in which the Father “reigns”.

They present a lawgiver and judge God, ultimately equal to that of the religions or the First Testament.

In such guise, the leaders themselves falsify the image of the Church.

In doing so, it is precisely the supposedly elect, the upright and experienced back in the Christian assemblies, who mortify the loving Face of the Eternal.

They made Him an unbearable caricature, which turned hearts away.

In short, already in the first assemblies the leaders who did not know how to stand aside manipulated Son and Father.

They reintroduced ancient rigmarole, forms of respect [and duty] towards them; as well as the idea of a moralizing God, who embarrassed with torment those who appeared at the threshold of the assemblies.

Idiocies of arrogant people who believed they did not need compassion... nonsense exercised over the signs (so believed) of another's sin.

All this closed the souls of the unsteady. In short, it had nothing to do with the Father's plan of salvation.

«Truth» is what one gives, not what one believes one possesses.

In his fraternities, Jesus demands enlightened leaders, not clamouring chiefs; not «reciters» who cling to [outdated or à la page] roles.

Instead, disciplines of the arcane, roadmaps, demands, false forms of subservience and manipulation began to appear again.

Artifices only useful to the astute who knew how to turn people's spontaneous devotion into market, forum, and catwalk - where everything is bought and sold at (even realization) prices.

A life-stopping situation, because the zeal of official figures is not always good - especially if it is mannered.

In the distant and insignificant persons - vice versa - Jesus encountered people who were perhaps more ethically negative and compromised than the conformist leaders, but without a mask.

Women and men with a genuine face, not «thespians» with something fake to save [vv.13-15 Greek text].

The last and inexperienced were not duplicitous, nor corrupt inside. They did not lose their sense of closeness.

Always the 'little ones', the 'infants' know the Father who walks with his people. And they do not become disloyal: they can therefore receive the joy of a newfound life.

[Monday 21st wk. in O.T.  August 25, 2025]

(Mt 23:13-22)

«Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees theatrists, for you close the kingdom of heaven before people» (Mt 23:13).

Without much ado, Jesus unmasks the untouchable veterans and religious leaders, all agreeing [for the first time in their lives] and ganging up on self-interest.

Hypocrite is one who puts a veil over reality, so that it appears different: the ugly must appear beautiful, the bad (or hardship) good.

Radicality of belief' is not attachment to the subtleties of reasoning and disciplines, but Faith as a life current - 'duty' yes, but of love.

The very harsh and topical tone makes it clear that the Lord is deeply grieved [vv.13-16.23: "Alas for you..."; "Alas for you..."].

The young Rabbi is not confronting the well-disguised duplicity of the scribes and Pharisees of two millennia ago.

He is speaking as a master because he is addressing the top of the class in his communities. Vanities who make a spectacle of themselves, using the Lord as a screen, hijacking him; taking him hostage.

It is precisely the experts who close the Kingdom - that is, the sphere in which the Father 'reigns'.

They present a God who is legislator and judge, ultimately equal to that of the religions or the First Testament.

In this way, it is precisely the leaders who falsify the image of the Church.

In so doing, it is precisely the supposedly elect, the upright and returning experts in the Christian assemblies, who mortify the loving Face of the Eternal.

They make him an unbearable caricature, which alienates hearts.

In short, already in the first assemblies, those in charge who did not know how to stand aside manipulated Son and Father.

They reintroduced ancient pieties, forms of respect [and duty] towards them; as well as the idea of a moralising God, who embarrassed with torment those who appeared at the threshold of the assemblies.

Idiocies of the haughty who believed they had no need of compassion... exercised over the signs (so believed) of another's sin.

All this closed the souls of the unfortunate. In short, it had nothing to do with the Father's plan of salvation.

"Truth" is what one gives, not what one believes one possesses.

In his fraternities, Jesus demands enlightened guides, not clamouring; not "reciters" who cling to [outdated or à la page] roles.

Instead, disciplines of the arcane, roadmaps, pretensions, false forms of subservience and manipulation begin to appear again.

Artifices useful only to pimps who knew how to turn people's spontaneous devotion into a market, a forum, and a catwalk - where everything is bought and sold at a price (even a realisation price).

A life-stopping situation, because the zeal of official figures is not always good - especially if it is mannerly.

In the distant and insignificant - conversely - Jesus encountered people who were perhaps more ethically negative and compromised than conformist leaders, but without masks.

Women and men with a genuine face, not 'theatrics' with something phoney to save [vv.13-15 Greek text].

The last and inexperienced were not duplicitous, nor corrupt within. They did not lose their sense of closeness.

Always the 'little ones', the 'infants' know the Father who walks with his people. And they do not become disloyal: they can therefore receive the joy of a newfound life.

To internalise and live the message:

Does your community care for your rare exceptionality? What divine face does it convey? Does it help you find yourself or does it bind you to its patterns from the start?

Dives in Misericordia: theocentrism and anthropocentrism 

"God, rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4) is the one whom Jesus Christ revealed to us as Father: his Son, in himself, manifested him to us and made him known to us.

The more the mission carried out by the Church is human-centred, the more it is, so to speak, anthropocentric, the more it must be confirmed and realised theocentrically, that is, oriented in Jesus Christ towards the Father. While the various currents of human thought in the past and present have been and continue to be inclined to divide and even oppose theocentrism and anthropocentrism, the Church on the other hand, following Christ, seeks to unite them in human history in an organic and profound manner. And this is also one of the fundamental principles, and perhaps the most important, of the Magisterium of the last Council.

[Pope John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia n.1].

They have lost the key to intelligence

Here, said the Pope, they "arrive at a pile of prescriptions and for them this is salvation: they have lost the key to intelligence which, in this case, is the gratuitousness of salvation". In reality, "the law is a response to God's gratuitous love: it is He who has taken the initiative to save us, and because you have loved me so much, I try to go your way, the way you have shown me", in a word "I fulfil the law". But 'it is a response' because 'the law, always, is a response and when one forgets the gratuitousness of salvation one falls, one loses the key to the intelligence of salvation history'.

And, again, the Pontiff relaunched, those people "have lost the key to intelligence because they have lost the sense of God's closeness: for them God is the one who made the law" but "this is not the God of revelation". In reality "the God of revelation is God who began to walk with us from Abraham to Jesus Christ: God who walks with his people". Therefore "when we lose this close relationship with the Lord, we fall into this obtuse mentality that believes in the self-sufficiency of salvation through the fulfilment of the law".

Precisely "today's Gospel passage points out two of them", was the reply. "First of all the closure: 'You did not enter, and those who wanted to enter, you prevented'". Yes, 'these people closed the door to the faithful and the faithful did not understand: they, all their moral theology, made intellectual mannerism, but it did not reach the people and, with that, they drove people away. No, this is not the religion I wanted: this is not the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ'. And, the Pontiff pointed out, "I am thinking here of the responsibility we pastors have: when we pastors lose or take away the key to intelligence, we close the door to ourselves and to others".

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 20/10/2017].

Memory of Gratuity

May the Lord give us memory of the "gratuitousness" of salvation and of God's closeness and of the concreteness of the works of mercy he wants from us, whether they are "material or spiritual": in this way we will become people who help to "open the door" to ourselves and to others. This was the Pope's prayer during the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta. Taking his cue from today's Gospel passage from Luke, in which the scribes and Pharisees considered themselves righteous and Jesus makes them touch with their hands that God alone is righteous, Francis explains why the doctors of the law had "taken away knowledge", with the "consequence" of "not entering the Kingdom and not even letting others enter".

"This taking away of the ability to understand God's revelation, to understand God's heart, to understand God's salvation - the key to knowledge -, we can say that it is a grave forgetfulness. One forgets the gratuitousness of salvation; one forgets God's nearness and one forgets God's mercy. And those who forget the gratuitousness of salvation, the nearness of God and the mercy of God, have taken away the key to knowledge'.

They have therefore 'forgotten' gratuitousness. It is "God's initiative to save us and instead they take the side of the law": salvation - says the Pope - "is there, for them", thus arriving at "a pile of prescriptions" that in fact become salvation. Thus, however, "they do not receive the power of God's justice". Instead, the law is always "a response to the gratuitous love of God", who has taken the "initiative" to save us. And, Francis adds, "when one forgets the gratuitousness of salvation one falls, one loses the key to the intelligence of the history of salvation", losing "the sense of God's closeness".

"For them God is the one who made the law. And this is not the God of revelation. The God of revelation is God who began to walk with us from Abraham to Jesus Christ, God who walks with his people. And when we lose this close relationship with the Lord, we fall into this obtuse mentality that believes in the self-sufficiency of salvation with the fulfilment of the law. God's closeness'.

In fact, when God's closeness is missing, when prayer is missing, highlights the Pope, "one cannot teach doctrine" or even "do theology", much less "moral theology": Francis reiterates that theology "is done on one's knees, always close to God". And the closeness of the Lord reaches "to the highest point of Jesus Christ crucified", since we have been "justified" by the blood of Christ, as Saint Paul says. This is why, the Pontiff explains, the works of mercy "are the touchstone of the fulfilment of the law", because one goes to touch the flesh of Christ, "to touch Christ who suffers in a person, both corporally and spiritually". And he also warns that when one loses the key to knowledge, one also comes "to corruption". Finally, the Pope thinks of the "responsibility" of pastors in the Church today: when they lose or take away "the key to knowledge", they close "the door to us and to others".

"In my country I have heard many times of pastors who did not baptise the children of single mothers, because they were not born in canonical marriage. They were closing the door, scandalising God's people, why? Because the hearts of these pastors had lost the key to knowledge. Without going so far back in time and space, three months ago, in a town, a mother wanted to baptise her newborn son, but she was civilly married to a divorced man. The parish priest said: 'Yes, yes. I will baptise the child. But your husband is divorced. Stay outside, he cannot be present at the ceremony". This happens today. The Pharisees, the doctors of the law are not things of those times, even today there are many. That is why it is necessary to pray for us pastors. Pray, so that we do not lose the key to knowledge and do not close the door to us and to the people who want to enter".

[Giada Aquilino, in:

https://www.vaticannews.va/it/papa-francesco/messa-santa-marta/2017-10/papa-a-santa-marta--gratuita-della-salvezza-di-dio-apre-porta-ag.html]

Of course in recent decades we have also experienced another use of the term, “adult faith”. People speak of an “adult faith”, namely, emancipated from the Magisterium of the Church. As long as I am under the mother I am a child, I must emancipate myself; emancipated from the Magisterium, I have finally reached adulthood. But the result is not an adult faith, the result is dependence on the waves of the world, on the opinion of the world, on the dictatorship of the media, of the opinion which is in all minds and which all want. This is not true emancipation, emancipation from the communion of the Body of Christ!

On the contrary, it is falling under the dictatorship of the wind and waves of the world. True emancipation is, precisely, freeing oneself from this dictatorship, in the freedom of God’s children who believe together in the Body of Christ, with the Risen Christ, and thus see reality and are able to respond to the challenges of our time.

It seems to me that we must pray the Lord often to help us to be emancipated in this sense, free in this sense, with a really adult faith which sees, which enables others to see and can also help them arrive at true perfection, and at true adulthood, in communion with Christ.

In this context there is the beautiful expression, aletheuein en te agape, being true in charity, living the truth, being truth in charity. The two concepts go hand in hand. Today the concept of truth is somewhat under suspicion, because truth is combined with violence. Unfortunately in history there have also been episodes in which an effort was made to defend truth with violence. But the two are in opposition.

Truth is not imposed with other means than itself! Truth can only come through itself, through its own light. However, we stand in need of truth; without truth we do not know the true values and how could we order the kosmos of values? Without truth we are blind in the world, we have no path. The great gift of Christ is precisely that we see the Face of God and, even though we see it enigmatically, very insufficiently, we know its basis, the essential of truth in Christ, in his Body. And in knowing this truth, we also grow in charity, which is the legitimation of the truth and shows us that it is truth.

I would say precisely that charity is the fruit of truth — the tree is known by its fruit — and if there is no charity, then truth is not adopted or lived either; and where truth is, charity comes into being. Thanks be to God, we see this in all the centuries; despite the negative factors, the fruit of charity has always been present in Christianity and still is today! We see it in the martyrs, we see it in numerous sisters, friars and priests, who humbly serve the poor and the sick, who are a presence of Christ’s charity. And in this way they are the great sign that the truth lies here.

Let us pray the Lord that he may help us to bear fruits of charity and thereby to be witnesses of his truth. Many thanks.

[Pope Benedict, Meeting with the parish priests of Rome 23 February 2012]

"God, rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4) is the one whom Jesus Christ revealed to us as Father: his Son, in himself, manifested him to us and made him known to us.

The more the mission carried out by the Church is centred on man, the more it is, so to speak, anthropocentric, the more it must be confirmed and realised theocentrically, that is, oriented in Jesus Christ towards the Father. While the various currents of human thought in the past and present have been and continue to be inclined to divide and even oppose theocentrism and anthropocentrism, the Church on the other hand, following Christ, seeks to unite them in human history in an organic and profound manner. And this is also one of the fundamental principles, and perhaps the most important, of the Magisterium of the last Council.

[Pope John Paul II, Dives in Misericordia n.1]

Here, said the Pope, they "arrive at a pile of prescriptions and for them this is salvation: they have lost the key to intelligence which, in this case, is the gratuitousness of salvation". In reality, "the law is a response to God's gratuitous love: it is He who has taken the initiative to save us, and because you have loved me so much, I try to go your way, the way you have shown me", in a word "I fulfil the law". But 'it is a response' because 'the law, always, is a response and when one forgets the gratuitousness of salvation one falls, one loses the key to the intelligence of salvation history'.

And, again, the Pontiff relaunched, those people "have lost the key to intelligence because they have lost the sense of God's closeness: for them God is the one who made the law" but "this is not the God of revelation". In reality "the God of revelation is God who began to walk with us from Abraham to Jesus Christ: God who walks with his people". Therefore "when we lose this close relationship with the Lord, we fall into this obtuse mentality that believes in the self-sufficiency of salvation through the fulfilment of the law".

Precisely "today's Gospel passage points out two of them", was the reply. "First of all the closure: 'You did not enter, and those who wanted to enter, you prevented'". Yes, 'these people closed the door to the faithful and the faithful did not understand: they, all their moral theology, made intellectual mannerism, but it did not reach the people and, with that, they drove people away. No, this is not the religion I wanted: this is not the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ'. And, the Pontiff pointed out, "I am thinking here of the responsibility we pastors have: when we pastors lose or take away the key to intelligence, we close the door to ourselves and to others".

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano 20/10/2017]

Memory of Gratuitousness

May the Lord give us memory of the "gratuitousness" of salvation and of God's closeness and of the concreteness of the works of mercy that he wants from us, whether "material or spiritual": in this way we will become people who help to "open the door" to ourselves and to others. This is the Pope's prayer at morning Mass in Casa Santa Marta. Taking his cue from today's Gospel passage from Luke, in which the scribes and Pharisees considered themselves righteous and Jesus made them realise that God alone is righteous, Francis explained why the doctors of the law had "taken away knowledge," with the "consequence" of "not entering the Kingdom and not even letting others enter."

"This taking away of the ability to understand God's revelation, to understand God's heart, to understand God's salvation — the key to knowledge — we can say is a grave forgetfulness. They forget the gratuitousness of salvation; they forget God's closeness and they forget God's mercy. And those who forget the gratuitousness of salvation, God's closeness and God's mercy, have taken away the key to knowledge."

Gratuitousness has therefore been 'forgotten'. It is 'God's initiative to save us, and instead they side with the law': salvation, says the Pope, 'is there for them', thus arriving at 'a pile of prescriptions' that in fact become salvation. But in this way, 'they do not receive the power of God's justice'. The law, on the other hand, is always "a response to God's gratuitous love", who took "the initiative" to save us. And, Francis adds, "when we forget the gratuitousness of salvation, we fall, we lose the key to understanding the history of salvation", losing "the sense of God's closeness".

"For them, God is the one who made the law. And this is not the God of revelation. The God of revelation is the God who began to walk with us from Abraham to Jesus Christ, the God who walks with his people. And when this close relationship with the Lord is lost, one falls into this obtuse mentality that believes in the self-sufficiency of salvation through the fulfilment of the law. The closeness of God."

In fact, when God's closeness is lacking, when prayer is lacking, the Pope points out, "you cannot teach doctrine" or even "do theology," much less "moral theology." Francis reiterates that theology "is done on one's knees, always close to God." And the closeness of the Lord reaches "the highest point of Jesus Christ crucified," since we have been "justified" by the blood of Christ, as St. Paul says. For this reason, the Pope explains, works of mercy "are the touchstone of the fulfilment of the law," because they touch the flesh of Christ, "touch Christ who suffers in a person, both physically and spiritually." He also warns that when the key to knowledge is lost, "corruption" also ensues. Finally, the Pope reflects on the "responsibility" of pastors in the Church today: when they lose or take away "the key of understanding," they close "the door to us and to others."

"In my country, I have heard many times of parish priests who did not baptise the children of single mothers because they were not born in canonical marriage. They closed the door, scandalising the people of God. Why? Because the hearts of these parish priests had lost the key to knowledge. Without going so far back in time and space, three months ago, in a village, in a city, a mother wanted to have her newborn son baptised, but she was civilly married to a divorced man. The parish priest said: 'Yes, yes. I will baptise the child. But your husband is divorced. He must remain outside; he cannot be present at the ceremony." This happens today. The Pharisees, the doctors of the law, are not things of the past; there are many of them today. This is why we need to pray for us pastors. Pray that we do not lose the key to knowledge and do not close the door to ourselves and to the people who want to enter."

[Giada Aquilino, in:

https://www.vaticannews.va/it/papa-francesco/messa-santa-marta/2017-10/papa-a-santa-marta--gratuita-della-salvezza-di-dio-apre-porta-ag.html]

Narrow door: not because oppressive

(Lk 13:22-30)

The meaning of the first question is: «Is Salvation exclusive?» (v.23). Of course not - and not even despotic. But it’s not enough to declare oneself "Friends".

Half a century after the crucifixion of Jesus, the first signs of relaxation began to appear in the communities.

The privileged were already away from “home” [vv.25ss].

Their story warns against the illusion of feeling "elected". And it questions believers. How can we get on ourselves on the right path?

Occasion to understand if we are on the steps that really belong to us is the constant revision of the relationship with the "inadequate" Person of Christ [the «narrow Door»: v.24].

According to the Master, one doesn’t become "better" by following ostentatious habitual clichés, poorly convinced and fulfilled in routine.

In short, who works many things for God (v.26) and not for the brothers - nor even realizes that they exist - in reality does not honor the Father.

Those who do not "deflate", not only lack humility to become servants, but also do not cross the interstices of the walls in which the Spirit wedges.

However, we still wonder surprised how the Father can neglect his own intimates who have so much believed in Him, and even prefer those distant, coming from it’s not well known where.

Maybe they loved like Him. They didn’t have a "correct" relationship with God, but a right relationship with others, yes.

It’s in their hearts that they have come to know the Lord. Personally. And by transmigrating, they have accomplished their Exodus.

Moving directly to the goal, they were interested in the fruit: listening, compassion, generous sharing of goods - instead of the many leaves.

With the eyes of the soul, in these people completely devoid of spiritual presumption, the perception of the inner orientations has overcome the thoughts and the idols of the custom at hand.

They are those who have never considered themselves too great.

It applies for us: not feeling excellent and not having pretensions is by Christ evaluated much more than the papers in order.

He defines these as «makeers of vain things, doers of dead things» [Lk 13,27; the Greek text has a Semitic background of the kind: Ps 6,9 Hebrew text].

He refers to the ‘lukewarm’ people that go on by inertia and still participate in external manifestations with extreme superficiality.

They make number, but personally they do not set anything in motion. They didn’t pass through the «tight Door» which is Jesus himself.

Forcing him to say: «I do not know ‘from’ where you are» (vv.25-27).

True disciples participate in the Banquet without pretense: they have not fled the world, they have struggled (v. 24) to make themselves able to love. They have compromised themselves.

In this way were able to meet the deep states of themselves and accompany the eccentricities of others, recovering the opposites (v.30).

«Narrow Door»: not because oppressive.

[21st Sunday in O.T.  (year C),  August 24, 2025]

Luke 13:22-30 (18-30)

Modest beginnings, a Prodigy that does not stun

From within and in daily things

(Luke 13:18-21)

The two parables were told at a time of doubt about the Master's proposal and the mission of his followers. Could a small group of faithful people with no social connections say anything to the world?

Despite their commitment, women and men are tormented by all their old problems, feeling the weight of suffering and anguish: at first glance, everything seems the same as before, disconnected, chaotic, fragmented.

What meaning does the small hope of a few believers without any visible wealth have for the cultural and civic concert - now global - of today?

It seems that nothing changes in the reality of the cosmos... but the grain has been sown in the furrow of the earth. It seems that the human dough is the same as always, but a leaven is renewing it from within.

Jesus was like a seed planted in darkness, nothing sensational. He was thrown into the garden (v. 19 Greek text), where no spectacular crops are grown, but simple potatoes, lettuce, aubergines, cucumbers, tomatoes - normal things, nothing special.

However, the mustard seed has an incredible and intrinsic evolutionary power.

Of course, the moment of growth ends with a very simple little tree - a shrub like many others, exposed to the elements... yet capable of giving rest and shelter to anyone who passes by (v. 19).

This brings about the final miracle: 'a form of life with the flavour of the Gospel [...] that goes beyond the barriers of geography and space. Here [St. Francis] declares blessed those who love others as if they were close to them, even when they are far away'.

Although taken from expressions in the First Testament, in the passages described by Luke, the Gospel image of the birds of the sky illustrates 'the essence of an open fraternity, which allows us to recognise, appreciate and love every person beyond physical proximity, beyond the place in the world where they were born or where they live' (cf. encyclical Fratelli Tutti, n. 1). 

The experience of the Saint of Assisi, with his "heart without boundaries, capable of going beyond distances," introduces us to a logic of dialogue that avoids "every form of aggression or contention and even of living a humble and fraternal submission" - without ever imposing a "dialectical war" or "doctrines" (FT, 3-4).

So it is enough to put a pinch of yeast in the dough to make it rise completely.

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

As we deepen our life in the Spirit, we repeatedly realise that we have only seen part of it: there is still much (more) to discover, although we sense that it is within reach - in relation to the development of ordinary life.

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

We must enter into a process that is personal and completely hidden - and therefore authentically spontaneous, convinced and open.

In fact, even 'when the work is done, to withdraw is the Way of Heaven' (Tao Tê Ching, ix).

On the horizon of every journey there is always a new plant, another genesis, a different flowering in the seasons; an unprecedented effervescence to be introduced into the ancient order already capitalised.

This splendour (and hidden vitality of the intuitive and missionary soul) does not belong to collective cultural rituals or peripheral duties.

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

Indeed, leaving the herd that gives birth to the usual pale (and drug-addicted) interpretative models will be an opportunity to discover something new.

We will be amazed at our own intimate propulsive capacities - accompanied only by the Friend who sees in secret.

Seed and ferment work unbeknownst to us. Lack of spotlight, poverty, smallness... these are not obstacles to growth, but rather the conditions for it.

What seems like nothing becomes what Creation awaits: it is barely visible or not visible at all - but by giving it time, without forcing or rushing, it achieves evolution (cordial and domestic) that is not out of tune with God and the least among us.

The Church that is to come will not be intrusive: it will not demand adherence (under penalty of exclusion).

For this reason, the dynamism of growth will have an extraordinary outcome, but only from a human point of view and in terms of hospitality (v. 19), not in terms of grandiose splendour.

Devoid of sensational, striking and refined magnificence, the new divine Bride will be recognised in her attitude of fullness, because she will correspond to the plan of complete life that dwells in our hearts and which we mysteriously intuit as our own. We will understand: she will make everyone feel good.

The insecure will become decisive, the loser will be transformed by Grace into the wise. We will understand that welcoming the Word and responding to our personal vocation will not be terrifying, but regenerating.

Those who do not get caught up in themselves but shift their thoughts, stake everything, will bring out their essence.

We will understand that our being is already calibrated to innate, subtle, personally and socially corresponding patterns.

In the Spirit and in real life, we will discover the qualitative and special Magnificence that the most conformist and hasty, least dialogical or capable of listening, cannot even remotely imagine can excel.

To internalise and live the message:

What sensational cunning has attempted to destroy your land?

What conformism (even group conformism) has made you pale?

What subdued and measured Word spoken to you did not cause turmoil but regenerated your passion and expanded your life?

First, last. The recovery of opposites

Narrow Gate: not because it is oppressive

(Lk 13:22-30)

The meaning of the first question is: 'Is salvation exclusive?' (v. 23). Of course not - nor is it oppressive.

But it is not enough to declare oneself a 'friend' [here and there a mere proclamation, which has become a licence to lead a double life].

Half a century after Jesus' crucifixion, the first signs of relaxation, affectation and confusion began to appear in the communities.

In fact, it is precisely those who are distant, new and rejected by the veterans who show themselves to be believers who recognise the Lord more than the community's regulars (v. 25).

Some of them are now inauthentic practitioners of his Table and Word (v. 26).

How is it that Luke's indulgent Son ends up slamming the door in the face of his old devotees?

Because they have become fake mannerists, actors like those of the old religion, manipulators of the image of God of the Exodus.

They are now incapable [v. 24 Greek text] of orienting themselves according to the Father's plan, and despotic, only because they are clothed in long ritual practices. These are external stylistic features, fulfilled out of custom and to the detriment of a full life - that is, a life made available to one's brothers and sisters.

The privileged are already outside the House [vv. 25ff].

Their story warns against the illusion of feeling 'chosen' and being on the right path.

In short, we must avoid posing as (Christological) phenomena out of routine - cheaply - instead of serving humanisation.

An opportunity to understand whether we are truly on the right path is the constant review of our relationship with the 'inadequate' Person - Christ (the 'narrow gate': v. 24).

According to the Master, we do not become 'better' by following ostentatious, half-hearted and routine clichés.

Is there therefore a critical point in his clemency? What kind of inflexibility is this? Why is the distinction made within his circle?

Those who do many things for God (v. 26) and not for their brothers and sisters – or do not even notice that they exist – do not really honour the Father.

Those who do not 'deflate' themselves not only lack the humility to become servants, but they do not even pass through the cracks in the stone walls (or rubber walls, more diplomatic) in which the Spirit is wedged.

However, we still wonder with surprise how the Father can neglect his own who have believed so much in him, and even favour those who are far away, coming from who knows where.

Perhaps they loved as He did.

They spontaneously brought about that change of course and destiny that the Church as an institution [reflection of the Kingdom] has always been called to embody.

And how did they manage to find a way through?

They did not have a 'correct' relationship with God - probably - but they did have a right relationship with others.

It is in their hearts that they have come to know the Lord. Personally - even those who have never heard of Him directly. 

And by migrating, they have accomplished their Exodus.

Going straight to the goal, they have focused on the fruit: listening, compassion, generous sharing of goods - instead of the many leaves (of banners, rituals and formulas).

With the eyes of the soul, in these people completely devoid of spiritual arrogance, the perception of inner orientations won out over the thoughts and idols of custom within reach.

They are those who never considered themselves too great.

Not feeling excellent and not having pretensions is and will be valued much more than correct observance and the exact banner.

These are futile characteristics, even (!) - which the new Rabbi attributes precisely to the regulars who seem to have what it takes.

He calls them 'doers of vain things, doers of dead things' [Lk 13:27; the Greek text has a Semitic background of the kind found in Ps 6:9, Hebrew text].

He is referring to the lukewarm who go along out of inertia and still today participate in outward manifestations with extreme superficiality.

They form a body, but personally they set nothing in motion.

The Lord does not want to humiliate us, but to invite us to rethink the reasons and ways in which we follow him.

Receiving his Bread means accepting to become food for the life of the world.

Welcoming his Word is a gesture that denotes an ardent desire to live it, not a habit, nor a way to be appreciated and to slalom.

Yet Christ is forced to say, 'I do not know where you are from' (vv. 25-27).

Meanwhile, some who have never even known the Lord have mysteriously passed through the 'narrow gate' that is Jesus himself, without realising it.

They are free from the hypocrisy of considering themselves great apostles, or those who know how to live in the world.

Their secret is that of a convinced experience and a fraternal practice that has dispelled the spiritual deception of (theatrical) parentheses in society.

They did not participate in (sacred) catwalks only to spend their lives pointing fingers, mortifying and crippling the existence of everyone, especially the infirm.

They are people who have dedicated themselves to the good - and therefore have not drowned in the stale anguish of devout and moralistic local cultures. Perhaps they are stuck there for fear of contamination.

They are souls who have not lived under a cloak of morbid obsessions, typical of those who fixate on the behaviour of others [and cultivate it within themselves in an unexpressed way].

True disciples participate in the Banquet because they have not fled the world, they have struggled (v. 24) to make themselves capable of love.

They have compromised themselves with the vile limitations of their own and their brothers' existential peripheries.

They have dedicated their lives to social inclusion and the acceptance of feelings, to recognising everyone's legitimate desire for life.

They have uprooted themselves from the idea that religious belonging grants a licence of immunity (or even sacralisation) to lukewarmness.

With all their imperfections, they have desired Happiness, not the banal cheerfulness that covers the nothingness of choices.

They are already complete persons, who have also filled our existence, and for this reason they have 'entered' into the light of God.

They have had respect for their infallible Core and for the nature of the things of the world, which they call Communion.

If they were women and men of prayer, they listened to the voice of their own essence.

They knew how to welcome any initial state of mind (and intuition) as a guest of honour. They realised.

They perceived and expressed, not just thought and stifled.

And digging deeper, they asked themselves: what does this joy or sadness mean for me? Why do I feel calm or anxious?

In this way, they learned to encounter themselves in everything and to accompany the eccentricities of others, recovering their opposites (v. 30).

They were angels who remained in tune with the Mystery of God that lurks in the folds of personal history and the events of others, day by day, in the genius of the times.

They grasped God's secret because they did not overlook anything as if it were a deception, nor did they silence their anxieties.

The Lord's teaching transformed their existence: knowledge of God became compassion and empathy.

Thus, they did not mistake indifference for peace, opportunism for tranquillity, or the failure of the 'mixed races' for tranquillity.

They were not so presumptuous as to consider themselves entitled. They did not call the subordination of the least and the excluded victory.

'Narrow gate': not because it is oppressive.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Today's liturgy presents to us enlightening yet at the same time disconcerting words of Christ. 

On his last journey to Jerusalem someone asked him: "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And Jesus answered: "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Lk 13: 23-24). 

What does this "narrow door" mean? Why do many not succeed in entering through it? Is it a way reserved for only a few of the chosen? 

Indeed, at close examination this way of reasoning by those who were conversing with Jesus is always timely: the temptation to interpret religious practice as a source of privileges or security is always lying in wait. 

Actually, Christ's message goes in exactly the opposite direction: everyone may enter life, but the door is "narrow" for all. We are not privileged. The passage to eternal life is open to all, but it is "narrow" because it is demanding: it requires commitment, self-denial and the mortification of one's selfishness. 

Once again, as on recent Sundays, the Gospel invites us to think about the future which awaits us and for which we must prepare during our earthly pilgrimage. 

Salvation, which Jesus brought with his death and Resurrection, is universal. He is the One Redeemer and invites everyone to the banquet of immortal life; but on one and the same condition: that of striving to follow and imitate him, taking up one's cross as he did, and devoting one's life to serving the brethren. This condition for entering heavenly life is consequently one and universal. 

In the Gospel, Jesus recalls further that it is not on the basis of presumed privileges that we will be judged but according to our actions. The "workers of iniquity" will find themselves shut out, whereas all who have done good and sought justice at the cost of sacrifices will be welcomed. 

Thus, it will not suffice to declare that we are "friends" of Christ, boasting of false merits: "We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets" (Lk 13: 26). 

True friendship with Jesus is expressed in the way of life: it is expressed with goodness of heart, with humility, meekness and mercy, love for justice and truth, a sincere and honest commitment to peace and reconciliation. 

We might say that this is the "identity card" that qualifies us as his real "friends"; this is the "passport" that will give us access to eternal life. 

Dear brothers and sisters, if we too want to pass through the narrow door, we must work to be little, that is, humble of heart like Jesus, like Mary his Mother and our Mother. She was the first, following her Son, to take the way of the Cross and she was taken up to Heaven in glory, an event we commemorated a few days ago. The Christian people invoke her as Ianua Caeli, Gate of Heaven. Let us ask her to guide us in our daily decisions on the road that leads to the "gate of Heaven".

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 26 August 2007]