1 January 2025 on the eighths of Christmas, Most Holy Mary Mother of God 

First Reading from the Book of Numbers (6,22-27)

*The Lord bless you

To open the new calendar year that follows the Gregorian civil calendar, in use almost all over the world, the beautiful blessing was chosen, which in Israel the priests, starting with Aaron and his sons, used to bless the people during liturgical ceremonies in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is a formula that is now also part of the Christian heritage: taken from the Book of Numbers, it is in fact included among the solemn blessings proposed for the conclusion of the Mass. Notice how this blessing closes: "So they shall put my name on the Israelites and I will bless them" (v.27). On closer inspection, this is a way of expressing oneself, since, in reality, God's name is never pronounced out of respect for him. The name represents the person himself and pronouncing his name is a legal act that implies a taking of possession, but also a commitment to protection. For instance, when a warrior conquers a city, he is said to pronounce his name on it; similarly, on the Jewish wedding day, the husband's name is pronounced on the wife even if she does not bear her husband's name, and this implies ownership and a promise of vigilance.  When God reveals his name, he makes himself accessible to the prayer of his people, and invoking God's name normally constitutes a guarantee of blessing. There is such a strong bond between God and his people that offences directed against God's people constitute blasphemy against his name, they are a personal insult. This is why we better understand Jesus' words: 'As often as you did these things to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me' (Mt 25:40). With this blessing, then, we want to say today that on all the people we will meet throughout the year that is beginning, God has placed his name on them and, because of this blessing, we are invited to look at them with new eyes. 

With regard then to the blessing of the Book of Numbers, here are some points for reflection: 

1. This formula of blessing is in the singular: "May the Lord bless you" and not "May the Lord bless you". In reality, it refers to the entire people of Israel and is therefore a collective singular, and in time, Israel realised that this protection of God was not reserved for him alone, but for the whole of humanity.

2. "The Lord bless you" (v. 24) is in the subjunctive as well as "the Lord make his face to shine upon you ... The Lord turn his countenance upon you" (v.25,26)). We wish to be blessed, but we may ask ourselves: is it possible that the Lord does not bless us, he who makes the sun rise on the bad and the good, that is, on all men, and who asks us to love even our enemies...? Of course, we know that God blesses us continually, that he accompanies us and is with us in all circumstances. Yet, this subjunctive, like all subjunctives, expresses a desire that concerns us and not him. God blesses us continually, but we are free not to receive his blessing... like the sun that shines even when we seek the shadow and we are free to seek the shadow... In the same way, we are free to remove ourselves from God's beneficial action... Those who shelter themselves from the sun lose all possibility of benefiting from its light and warmth, and not because of the sun! Thus, the formula 'God bless you' is a wish that invites us to place ourselves under his blessing. In other words, God offers us his blessing, but it is up to us to accept it, and this subjunctive serves to manifest our free adherence.

3.In what does God's blessing consist? Benedire is a Latin term meaning to say well, so God says well of us. We should not be surprised that God says well of us because he loves us and therefore thinks and says well of us. Indeed, he only stops to see in us what is good. His Word, however, is also action: "He said and all things were" (Gen 1). Therefore, when God says good of us, he acts in us with his word, he transforms us, he does good to us.And so, when we ask for his blessing, we offer ourselves to God's transforming action

4. Beware! This blessing is not something magical.  Being blessed means choosing to live in God's grace, in harmony with Him and in His covenant, without this sparing us difficulties and trials. Whoever lives in God's blessing will go through the hardship of life always hearing God say to me, as Isaiah writes, "I hold thee with my victorious right hand"... "I hold thee by the right hand, and say unto thee, Fear not, I will come to thy help" (Isaiah 41:10-13).  

5. Moses promises the people: "You shall be blessed more than all peoples" (Deut 7:14).  Israel therefore is blessed, but this has not prevented it from going through terrible times; Nevertheless, in the midst of trials, the believer knows that God does not abandon him and indeed accompanies him with persevering patience. On today's feast of Mary, Mother of God, all this takes on a special significance. The angel Gabriel, sent to announce the birth of Jesus, said to her: "I greet you, full of grace" (Lk 1:28). Mary is par excellence the one on whom the name of God has been pronounced and she remains under his sweet protection. Elizabeth will rightly proclaim: 'Blessed art thou amongst women' (Lk 1:42).

5. Unfortunately, the Italian text fails to render all the richness of the original Hebrew formula for two reasons. Firstly, the name of God, YHWH, transcribed here as "the Lord", is the name that God revealed to Moses and in itself represents a promise of protective presence, the same that has always accompanied the children of Israel since their exit from Egypt. Secondly, translating Hebrew verbs with a subjunctive into Italian is an inevitable impoverishment. Since the Hebrew verbal system is very different from the Italian one, for greater precision experts suggest translating it as follows: "The Lord blesses you and keeps you". that is, God blesses you and keeps you now and will bless you and keep you forever." after all, this is our faith!

Responsorial Psalm 66 (67)

*Our God blesses us 

Psalm 66 resonates like an echo of the first reading, where the Book of Numbers offered us the well-known and splendid formula of blessing: 'May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee! May the Lord turn his countenance upon thee, and grant thee peace!". Here, too, are just a few considerations:

1 Let us begin with the very meaning of the term blessing. The prophet Zechariah says: "In those days, ten men of every tongue and nation shall seize a Jew by the hem of his cloak and say to him, 'We wish to go with you, for we have heard that God is with you'" (Zech 8:23). This is an interesting definition of blessing: to say that God blesses us is to say that God is with us, that he is with us. This, moreover, is the meaning of the very Name of God revealed at Sinai: YHWH, an unpronounceable Name that we translate as Lord. Although it is not translatable literally, the Jews understand it as a promise of God's constant presence alongside his people.

2. Here it is the people who invoke God's blessing upon themselves: 'God have mercy on us and bless us'. Regarding the priestly formula in the Book of Numbers, we are constantly assured of God's blessing, but we are free not to receive it. When the priest says 'The Lord bless you', he is not expressing the wish that God chooses to bless us because he could not but bless us, but he is wishing that we open our hearts to his blessing, so that he can transform us and act in us. The Psalm makes this clear: 'God have mercy on us and bless us... God, our God, blesses us'. These two phrases are not contradictory: God blesses us constantly, this is a certainty ("God, our God, blesses us", v. 7), but in order to welcome his action, we only need to desire it ("God have mercy on us and bless us", v. 2).

3. The certainty of being granted even before making a request is characteristic of prayer in Israel. The believer knows that he lives constantly immersed in the blessing, in the beneficent presence of God. Jesus himself says: "I knew that you always listen to me" (Jn 11:42).

4. The people of Israel do not ask this blessing only for themselves, and the blessing pronounced on Israel is poured out on the other peoples: "In you shall all the families of the earth be blessed" God said to Abraham (Gen 12:3). In this Psalm we find, intertwined as always, the two great themes: on the one hand the election of Israel, on the other the universality of God's plan. The work of salvation of humanity is accomplished through the election of Israel. The election of Israel is evident in the expression 'God, our God', which recalls the Covenant God made with the people he chose. But the universalism of the divine plan is equally clear: 'On earth let your way be known, your salvation among all nations', or: 'Let the nations rejoice with joy'. Moreover, in this Psalm, the refrain that is repeated twice foreshadows the day when all peoples will welcome God's blessing: "Let the peoples praise thee, O God, let all peoples praise thee". Israel knows that he is chosen to be the witnessing people: the light that shines on him is a reflection of the One whom Israel is to make known to the world. This understanding of Israel's election as a vocation was not immediate for the men of the Bible and is understandable: at the beginning of biblical history, each people imagined that deities ruled over specific territories: there were the deities of Babylon, those of Egypt, and those of every other country. It was not until around the 6th century that the people of Israel realised that the God with whom they had made the Covenant at Sinai was the God of the whole universe; Israel's election was not annulled, but took on a new meaning as the prophet Zechariah, quoted above (Zech 8:23), well shows. We too are a witnessing people: when we receive God's blessing, we are called to become a reflection of the divine light in the world, and this is the wish we can wish each other at the beginning of this new year: to be bearers of God's light for all those we meet

5. "The earth has yielded its fruit; God, our God, blesses us". Because the Word of God is action, it produces fruit. God promised a fertile land flowing with milk and honey, and He kept His promise by bringing Israel to the promised land. All the more reason for Christians to read this psalm with the birth of the Saviour in mind: when the fullness of time came, the land bore its fruit. St John of the Cross writes: "Since he (God) has given us his Son, who is his one and final Word, in this Word he has said everything and has nothing more to reveal" (Ascent of Mount Carmel. Book II, ch.22, par.3)

Second Reading from the letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Galatians ( 4, 4-7)

*"When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son". 

In this short text we find a theme very dear to St Paul: the fulfilment of God's plan. For believers, both Jews and Christians, this is a fundamental element of faith: history is not an eternal beginning, but a progressive journey of humanity towards its fulfilment, towards the realisation of God's project of merciful love. This theme is central to St Paul's letters and is a key not only to understanding them, but also to reading the entire Bible, starting with the Old Testament.  In the New Testament, it is continually emphasised that the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth fulfil the Scriptures. Paul states before his judges: "I have said nothing apart from what Moses and the prophets foretold" (Acts 26:22). And the evangelist Matthew likes to repeat: "All this came to pass that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled". Should one then think that everything was already written in advance? To better understand, it should be noted that "so that" in Italian is a final subordinating conjunction with two different meanings: one of finality and one of consequence. If we mean finality, then events would have occurred according to a predefined plan, predetermined from eternity. But if we understand it as consequence, it means that events unfold in a certain way and, in retrospect, we recognise how, through them, God fulfilled his plan. God's plan, then, is not a rigid programme in which everyone's role is predetermined. God takes the risk of our freedom and, throughout the ages, men have often obstructed his plan. That is why the prophets complained, but never lost hope. On the contrary, they continually promised that God would not grow weary. Isaiah, for example, announces from God: "I say, my plan shall be fulfilled, and I will accomplish all that I desire" (Isaiah 46:10). And Jeremiah adds: "I know the plans I have made for you, O oracle of the Lord: plans of peace and not of misfortune, to grant you a future full of hope" (Jer 29:11).

In the New Testament, the fulfilment of God's promises is always contemplated in Jesus. "God sent forth his Son: born of a woman, born under the Law". In a few words, Paul encapsulates the whole mystery of the person of Jesus: Son of God, man like other men, Jew like other Jews. The expression 'born of woman', first of all, is common in the Bible and simply means 'a man like other men'. For example, to avoid repetitions of the term man in the same sentence, the expression "son of the woman" is used (cf. Sir 10:18; Job 15:14; Job 25:4). Jesus himself uses this expression when speaking of John the Baptist: "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist" (Matt 11:11).

The statement "born under the Law" indicates that Jesus accepted the condition of the men of his people. Paul continues: "To redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive adoption as sons". One often encounters the term "redeem" in the Bible, which means to free, to enfranchise. In the Old Testament, the redeemer was the one who freed the slave. Being under the Law, therefore, is not the same as being in the condition of sons: there is therefore a transition to be made. The one who lives under the Law acts as a servant, submitting to orders. The son, on the other hand, lives in love and trust: he can obey his father - that is, listen to his word - because he trusts him and knows that his every word is dictated by love. This means moving from the dominion of the Law to the obedience of children. The transition to a filial and trusting attitude is possible because "God sent into our hearts the Spirit of his Son, who cries out, 'Abba, Father'. This cry, which calls out to the Father, is the only one that saves us in all circumstances because it is like the desperate, trusting cry of the child who trusts his father. Whatever happens, we know that God is our Father and that he has only loving tenderness towards us. This is the filial attitude that Christ came to live among us, on our behalf. Paul concludes: "Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, you are also an heir". The term heir is to be understood in the full sense: what belongs to God is promised to us, but we must have the courage to believe it. And that is precisely our problem. When Jesus calls us "people of little faith", perhaps this is what he is referring to: we dare not believe that God's Spirit is in us, that his power belongs to us, that everything that is his is ours, including his ability to love. And all this is not because of us! If we are heirs, it is only by God's grace. That is why we can say, despite our human frailty, with St Therese of the Child Jesus: "Everything is grace, everything is gift: everything God does is for our good" (Manuscript C, 4r of The Story of a Soul)

Gospel according to Luke (2.16-21)

We are in the presence of an apparently secondary tale, yet it is in fact profoundly theological, which means that every detail has its weight, and for this reason it is worth going over it together:

1.The shepherds, first of all: they were little considered, indeed marginal because of their work which prevented them from attending synagogues and observing the Sabbath. Yet, they were the first to be informed of the event that changed the history of humanity: the birth of the awaited Messiah. The shepherds thus become the first apostles and the first witnesses: they tell, they are heard, and they arouse wonder. They speak of the extraordinary announcement they received in the middle of the night from the angels and the miracle is that they are believed as the evangelist Luke recounts (Lk 2:8-14). They tell all that they have seen and heard in their own words and this brings to mind an expression of Jesus that is often quoted: "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the little ones" (Lk 10:21; Mt 11:25). It is not the learned and the wise whom God chooses as his messengers. 

2. The whole event that Luke relates takes place in Bethlehem. It was known at the time that the Messiah would be born in the line of David right there, yet people's interest was for other events and for the arrival of the Messiah, awaited for thousands of years, no one had prepared a home. Joseph and Mary found shelter outside the town and it was in a poor cave or stable: the only detail on this that the gospel specifies is this: "While they (Joseph and Mary) were in that place...Mary gave birth to her first-born son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the lodging" (Lk 2:6-7) . Bethlehem literally means 'the house of bread' and the newborn lying in a manger is an evocative image of the one who will give himself as nourishment to mankind. The link between Christmas and the Eucharist is obvious.

3. 'Mary, for her part, kept all these things, pondering them in her heart ... she kept these things and pondered them in her heart' (Lk 2:19). While the shepherds, made loquacious by the event, recount, Mary contemplates and ponders in her heart. Luke here might want to recall a passage from the vision of the Son of Man in Daniel, where we read: 'I kept these thoughts in my heart' (Dan 7:28). For Luke, this would be a way of already outlining the grandiose destiny of that child.

4. "The name Jesus was given to him" (Lk 2:21).  The name "Jesus" reveals the mystery: it means "God saves". Although Luke does not specify its etymology like Matthew, a few verses earlier he reports the announcement of the angel: "Today a Saviour is born to you" (Lk 2:11). At the same time, Jesus lives in full solidarity with his people: like every Jewish child, he is circumcised on the eighth day. Paul will say to the Galatians: "Born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law" (Gal 4:4). The other Gospels do not mention circumcision, but it was such a common act that there was no need to emphasise it. However, Luke insists on showing how Mary and Joseph fully respected the Mosaic Law. Not only that, he also recounts the presentation in the Temple. "When the days of their ritual purification were completed, according to the Law of Moses, they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord" (Lk 2:22). Here the whole solidarity of Jesus with his people emerges: a theme that culminates in his own words at the Last Supper: "This word of Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'He was numbered among the ungodly'" (Lk 22:37).

5.One last remark: the discretion of the figure of Mary is striking, despite the fact that this liturgical feast is dedicated to her as "Mary, Mother of God". Luke merely says: "Mary, for her part, kept all these things, pondering them in her heart".  Perhaps, her silence is already a message for us: Mary's glory lies in having accepted to be the mother of God, humbly putting herself at the service of the project of salvation. She is not the centre of the project, but Jesus, the one whose name means 'God saves'.

+Giovanni D'Ercole 

(Jn 1:35-42)

«Tenth hour» (v.39): in the Semitic mentality, sunset of the old and beginning of the new Day.

Time saying: we are not a mistake.

Moment that is approached in a dialogical way, heart to heart; not according to a prescribed order.

Supreme hour, of soul tension - while we are never the same. Filling the void:

God is «He who calls», so that without too much comment we see ourselves inside, we intuit the impulses, we develop a new ‘look at things’, we grasp them as an Encounter, and let go.

Such a scenario triggers in the soul a ‘passion’ that sinks into the Mystery.

Energy that enhances impetuses and pauses, on this ‘Way of meaningful Meeting’ with reality - and new albeit extravagant relationships.

Without the hysteria of exasperations.

If undertaken, such processes and unknown territories will introduce the heart into a face-to-face with the invisible Friend who makes everyone feel «at home».

The anxieties of the Waiting, its fantastic frenzies, those murmurs that seem to be fanciful, will perhaps be an expression of an inedited fairy taling that we do not know what it is - but our fascinating Brother does.

Dismantling the “imprinting” we drag, with Jesus we will take a path full of pitfalls, yet magical, because not obvious. Even the dreamy tone of this narrative says so.

In relationship of assiduity with Christ, it’s his and our ideals outside the directives that characterize existence.

«Come and see» (v.39): ‘perception’, the gaze that is aware, is essential to understand the Root; who we are.

Nothing intimistic, but nothing outward - not even for happenings outside of us. We are those who develop innate Images and Dreams.

Instead the Baptist had ‘stopped’ (v.35): «again he stood [there]».

Jesus goes on, always moving; He Himself begins a new road. ‘Way’ that opens the door to healing, growth, and flourishing.

A world in creative hues.

The comparison is raw. Ancient expectations run aground - they no longer have strength in themselves.

The unrepeatable Vocation. Here is the only trail to go, to read and meet the genius of time before problems, and a kind of friendly impulse.

Will and recognition factor, which accompanies and orients in each question.

In life there can be an unforgettable day and hour, but the relationship of intimate existential dialogue is foundational.

A stealthy encounter with Christ in unstoppable movement is not enough to «look inside» and understand any determining weight.

And to become - like Simon - a building stone that combines and is combined (v.42).

Like an artistic vein.

Only in this Vision do we permeate all our inner being and earthly activity, without dissolving ourselves into it.

Here, even in seemingly irrelevant situations, we are ourselves; not an “error”.

We are cosmic and divine intention; we are immeasurably important.

To internalize and live the message:

What do you expect from Jesus?

Or do you give in and let Him lead you?

How do you think he would call you?

[Weekday Liturgy of January 4th]

"Come and see"

(Jn 1:35-42)

"Tithing hour" (v.39): in the Semitic mentality, sunset of the old and beginning of the new Day.

Time that says: we are not wrong.

Time that is approached dialogically, heart to heart; not according to a prescribed order.

Supreme hour, of soul-tension - while we are never the same. Filling the void.

Vocation is discovery of why we come into the world, in the trajectory of a road travelled as if on foot.

Dream for which we are made: reality that corresponds to us immediately, in an unprecedented, non nauseating way.

The call of the hearth of the Word gradually helps to understand our person and to define our exceptional mission.

On such an orientation, each and every character flourishes.

In short, God is "He who calls".

Everything, so that without too much commentary we see ourselves in it, sense the impulses, develop a new outlook on things, grasp them as an Encounter, and let ourselves go.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (LVII): 'From what do I know that this is so? From the present' - and Master Ho-shang Kung comments: 'Lao-tzu says: How do I know that Heaven's intention is this? I know it from what I see today'.

Such a scenario triggers a passion in the soul that sinks into the Mystery.

Energy that develops impulses and pauses, on this Path of meaningful encounter with reality - and new, yet extravagant relationships.

Without the hysteria of exasperations.

The way of scrutinising the world is decisive.

If anchored to small certainties of custom or thought, it will always make us be and set up ordinary things, dictated by habit, prejudice, conditioned hopes that do not belong to us.

Here, we will never shift our inner eye to unfamiliar processes and territories.

When, on the other hand, undertaken, they will introduce the heart to a kind of hermeneutic island, face to face with the invisible Friend who makes each one feel 'at home'.

Such paths together will not give us a priori the certainty that we are 'in the right', but that we are involved in the same spirit of the 'Nazarene': that is, rebelling against the constraints [into which we may already be putting ourselves].

Procedures that entangle with chains and laces the superior Voice, or the innate Icon to be admired intimately, the figure of our Vocation.

If so, the restlessness of the Waiting, its fantastic frenzies, those murmurings that seem to be in the air, will be an expression of an unseen fairy tale that we do not know what it is - but our fascinating Brother does.

On the contrary, we will retrace the path always trodden by others. And we will only be forced to imitate, copying the outside.

That is until an alternative vision launches us onto a path that is still dark instead of well illustrated (the usual path, where everything is under control).

With excessive mental feedback we will get no further than vicious circles, or already adopted characters and defined roles.

They humiliate the Spirit, who dislikes sphinxes, impervious to the dew of the 'coming' tide.

Over-filtering and over-managing will not lead one to appreciate the value of the inner world and its presences.

Common dirigisme will not help us to perceive the meaning of encounters, the openness of the horizon of the proposals that life brings... to dismantle the imprinting that we drag along.

The only therapy for jumping beyond the usual way of seeing things will be to shift the perspective, so that it is itself that makes us dissymmetrical.

And along with the annoyances, allow us to enter the field richer; always varied, outside the perimeter drawn by swampy conventions.

With Jesus we will embark on a path full of pitfalls, yet magical, because it is not taken for granted.

With Him we will realise ourselves, our vocation and our own codes - but in the fullness of the polyhedron that is personal essence.

Neither woman nor man remain without modulations to be discovered and activated; as if they were already calibrated, anonymous, poor before the Lord and others.

Therefore, no one is destined to be a labourer or the official of archaic bandwagons - devoid of living figures and fantastic, enchanting, awe-inspiring inventiveness.

Even the dreamy tone of this narrative says so.

In an assiduous relationship with Christ, it is his and our ideals outside the guidelines that characterise existence.

It becomes red-hot starting from the Core. Starting from the soul... without first being normalised with effort, according to others' regulations.

Beware, therefore, of constructing a conformist destiny of the penultimate hand.

It would run aground all one's life, precisely because it is chosen from among what is common, banal, other people's; habituated and quiet - or vice versa delusional: criteria destined to collapse.

The Calling is virtue, not the projection of ambitions suggested by cheap vanities. Nor a reward for previous loyalties or behind performance.

First of all: a reading of self.

A living listening to events - more intimate, than conformist and outline. 

As well as participatory interpretation of reality, insights, the Word - and elastic reworking of moments, advice, relationships.

"Come and see" [v.39: sense of the Semitic undertone].

Perception, the gaze that notices, is essential to understand the Root; who we are.

Nothing intimate, but nothing external - not even the happenings outside of us. We are those who develop innate Images and Dreams.

God did not create us to stay on the ground, but to take flight.

Yet the Baptist had stopped [v.35 Greek text]: "again he stood [there]".

Jesus, on the other hand, proceeds, is always moving; He Himself begins a new journey.

The comparison is stark. Ancient expectations run aground - they no longer have any strength in themselves.

That is why the first disciples of Jesus came from the school of John - where they had met.

After being a pupil of the greatest leader of his time, the new, young Rabbi sets out on his own, and 'moves on'.

He does so not to stand out above others, but to proclaim the authentic Heart of the Father, in his own figure.

The Word-event of a Son now formed, but who in his Exodus only gradually assimilates the secrets of the human and spiritual journey.

It is an astonishing identity, that of the Lamb of God: his Person, vicissitude and Blood depict the Action of the Creator Spirit.

Powerful, impetuous wind that takes away the forces of evil's ability to do harm - not through immediate and prodigious shortcuts.

Purposes that are too close do not unite man and the world with God.

They do not confirm the rightness and conformity of the great End and Source: the continuous Presence that accompanies our particular activity.

Every soul has an original physiognomy: it "is" in a special way, it has its own place and Meaning.

The personal Calling remains constitutive of this unrepeatable essence, which opens up the task of uniqueness - grammar of our language.

Even with ourselves; and interacting in the world. In the soul, of listening to God.

The unrepeatable Vocation. Here is the only path to read and encounter the genius of time before problems, and a kind of friendly impulse.

Will and recognition factor, which accompanies and orients in every issue.

There may be an unforgettable day and hour in life, but the relationship of intimate existential dialogue is fundamental.

A furtive encounter with the unstoppably moving Christ is not enough to 'look inside' and understand any decisive weight.

And to become - like Simon - building stone that composes and is composed (v.42).

Commenting on the same passage from the Tao (LVII) quoted above, Master Wang Pi points out: "He who rules the world with the Way, exalts the root to make the branches grow.

Like an artistic vein.

Only in such a Vision do we permeate all inner being and earthly activity, without dissolving into it.

Here, even in seemingly irrelevant situations, we are ourselves.

We are cosmic and divine intention; we are immeasurably important.

To internalise and live the message:

What do you wait for from Jesus?

Or do you give in and let him lead you?

What do you think he would call you?

On the sidelines

Life-preserving encounter

(cf. Mk 6:30-34)

Spy and interpretive key of the Gospel passage is the expression "standing aloof" (v.31), which in the Gospels is everywhere used to indicate critical moments of misunderstanding or even open opposition between the Lord and the Apostles.

"Come ye apart, into a deserted place": the explicit reference to the "desert" is that of the Exodus - recalling the time of the first Love.

Experience of the great Ideals that the path of Freedom could still instil in the New People (generated in silence, far from the hustle and bustle of idols): reflection and attention, sobriety of life, welcoming, real sharing.

Jesus moves ever more decisively away from his environment, and does not want a horizon of supposing elect around him, attracted by the suddenly exploded visibility - they would end up considering themselves indispensable.

They would be overloaded with triumphalist and monopolistic platitudes - little attentive to the contents, their connection with the forms of implementation... and the social implications, such as bridging the gaps.

In fact, here they chase the many things to be done - also to make them positively more agile, of course - but they go haphazardly and regardless. Despite all the fuss and hosannas, they do not make sensible paths.

They are always there, even though they should go elsewhere; or vice versa.

All this perhaps precisely to consolidate ascents and positions from the earliest days, in the manner of certain life offices today (never questioned) or stages of careers that cannot be changed.

Conditions that make one artificial, and do not create personal or other fulfilment. They raise a lot of fuss, but they stay in the habit.

The problem they have in mind is wrong, and in spite of any sweating and little free time (or time for themselves) they do not demonstrate a genuinely creative energy.

We see this. 

So the Lord does not call 'aside' for a 'retreat' - to safeguard the stability of exhausted hierarchies, or for a moment's escape to avoid the crush and its stress - but because something profoundly substantial does not fit.

One has to be self-critical.

In all four Gospels, only Jesus is the one who 'teaches' (passim, Greek text). The apostles - who give themselves the air of teachers (v.30) - are only given the task of "proclaiming".

They have no title whatsoever to approach people thinking they have to convey a life tailored to their agenda, and a mind tuned to the result (or banner membership).

After having called them to himself - because they are still far away - and sent them to proclaim their experience of freedom and the Good News on our behalf (vv.7-13), the Master does not seem very happy with what the apostles have preached.

So he imposes on them a test (so to speak) of basic catechism, just for his intimates....

Even after his failure even in Nazareth (vv.1-6) - his bannermen willingly mistook the Servant (who was educating them) for the victorious, hoped-for, respected and glorious Messiah.

For this reason, faced with the needy masses, the Lord first "began to teach" (v.34 Greek text).

In short, the young Rabbi has to start afresh, in order to correct the illusory simplicities transmitted by the followers... perhaps just to leave a trace, to be recognised and to succeed (with the lost people!).

The Tao Tê Ching (xxvii) writes: 'He who travels well leaves neither furrows nor footprints [...] he who closes well uses neither bars nor stakes'.

Master Ho-shang Kung comments: 'He who travels well on the Way seeks within himself, without going down the hall or out the door. That is why he leaves no furrows or footprints". He adds: "He who well closes his cravings through the Tao, preserves the life force".

Master Wang-Pi specifies: "He proceeds in accordance with spontaneity, without being a cause or a principle: that is why creatures reach their highest degree, without leaving chariot furrows or footprints [...] he conforms to the spontaneity of creatures and neither institutes nor confers.

Jesus' closest collaborators had not yet realised that there is another World, evolutionary and inverted - but ignored.

That is why they have a fortune of their own, but produce very bad evangelisation.

The crowds thronging around the Lord were still exactly as they were before: "like sheep that have no shepherd" (v.34). Steeped in dismay.

In spite of the affirmation of the disciples' circle - who had set their sights on the model of subservience and prestige - humanity was still crying out. Their stability made others even more insecure.

(We want to discover our own wealth, not only that of the always close 'pupils', founders, princes or leaders).

What was missing was the friendship that nourishes more than food, a perception of adequacy that satisfies more than health; the adherence that transmits life, the sense of being born and seeking; the encounter that shifts the gaze, the intimately recognised union with the Truth.

Apostles or no apostles, without the Person of Christ Himself, that people searching for their roots would not have flourished - least of all from their own grey, fragile and lacklustre hues.

The deep-seated needs of the infirm were absolutely intact, despite the leaders' busy-ness around... unfortunately contrived and careless, still ambiguous and immature, dirigiste and superficial.

Extremities that even today do not allow the disoriented to reach the highest degree of their being, because every pastoral expedient triggers the reverse: a loss of capacity.

The cunningly opiate and artefactual festivals advocated by the approximate guides are an expression of the normal religious side of the civilisation of the outside world.

Being with the Lord again... sets the mind right.

He alone opens wide the doorways of understanding and creates the other options that correspond to us - in quintessence and hope - generating new answers to new questions, overcoming forced compactness.

This is the true holiday, the authentic decisive appointment: to stay with the right Person; the one who does not enervate with his wrong rhythms or add confusion to confusion.

Christ gathers our kernel from the scattering, our seed from the fragmentariness that hides behind the masks of pretended expertise; our flower, from life without intimate purpose.

To seek oneself one must gather oneself together with Him - and verify oneself in the creative power of His Word, interpreted far from the commonplaces that anaesthetise.

The throng and the noise of the (albeit naive) crowd confuse ideas; they inculcate the vulgar plots of the earthly realm: not the style of the divine life, which entrusts us to our own unexpressed resources. 

No more models. We need a real Witness, who corresponds, and becomes a travelling companion.

We feel an incessant desire to be balanced in the identity of the concrete good. It lies beyond the fatuous, variant but immediately succulent traits of recognition. Here, no person regenerates.

Only around our inner Friend do we become Body in serious, amiable and profound conversation (even in the noisy and confusing everyday).

After a day of worries, instead of TV anaesthetics and before epidermic things, let us regenerate from this Contact that introduces us into the Banquet of Life (vv.35-44).

We will be recovered rather than condemned to pious futility - and never alone. Inside we have a Friend.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you evangelise? Does Jesus speak in you or do you speak alone?

The beauty of this season lies in the fact that it invites us to live our ordinary life as a journey of holiness, that is, of faith and friendship with Jesus continually discovered and rediscovered as Teacher and Lord, the Way, the Truth and the Life of man.

This is what John's Gospel suggests to us in today's liturgy when it presents the first meeting between Jesus and some of those who were to become his Apostles. They had been disciples of John the Baptist and John himself directed them to Jesus when, after baptizing him in the Jordan, he pointed him out as "the Lamb of God" (Jn 1: 36).

Two of his disciples then followed the Messiah who asked them:  "What are you looking for?". The two asked him:  "Teacher, where do you stay?". And Jesus answered:  "Come and see", that is, he invited them to follow him and stay with him for a while. They were so impressed in the few hours that they spent with Jesus that one of them, Andrew, said to his brother Simon:  "We have found the Messiah". Here are two especially important words:  "seek" and "find".

From the page of today's Gospel, we can take these two words and find a fundamental instruction in them for the New Year:  we would like it to be a time when we renew our spiritual journey with Jesus, in the joy of ceaselessly looking for and finding him. Indeed, the purest joy lies in the relationship with him, encountered, followed, known and loved, thanks to a constant effort of mind and heart. To be a disciple of Christ:  for a Christian this suffices. Friendship with the Teacher guarantees profound peace and serenity to the soul even in the dark moments and in the most arduous trials. When faith meets with dark nights, in which the presence of God is no longer "felt" or "seen", friendship with Jesus guarantees that in reality nothing can ever separate us from his love (cf. Rom 8: 39).

To seek and find Christ, the inexhaustible source of truth and life:  the Word of God asks us to take up, at the beginning of the New Year, this never-ending journey of faith. We too ask Jesus:  "Teacher, where do you stay?", and he answers us:  "Come and see". For the believer it is always a ceaseless search and a new discovery, because Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever, but we, the world and history, are never the same, and he comes to meet us to give us his communion and the fullness of life. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to follow Jesus, savouring each day the joy of penetrating deeper and deeper into his mystery.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus January 15, 2006]

2. In this moment of your life, the Pope is happy to be with you in order to listen respectfully to your anxieties and cares, your expectations and hopes. He is here among you to share with you the certainty which is Christ, the truth which is Christ, the love which is Christ. The Church looks to you with the greatest care, because she sees in you her own future and she puts her hope in you.

I imagine that you may be wondering what the Pope wants to say to you this evening before departing. It is this: I want to entrust to you two messages, two "words" spoken by Jesus who is the Word of the Father, and I hope that you will guard them as a treasure for the rest of your life (cf. Mt 6:21).

The first word is that "Come and see", spoken by Jesus to the two disciples who had asked him where he lived (cf. Jn 1:38-39). It is an invitation which has sustained and inspired the Church on her journey through the centuries. I repeat it to you today, dear friends. Draw near to Jesus and strive to "see" what he is able to offer you. Do not be afraid to cross the threshold of his dwelling, to speak with him face to face, as friends speak to each other (cf. Ex 33:11). Do not be afraid of the "new life" which he offers. In your parishes, in your groups and movements, place yourselves at the feet of the Master in order to make your life a response to the "vocation" which, in his love, he has always had in mind for you.

True, Jesus is a demanding friend who sets high goals and asks us to go out of ourselves in order to come to meet him: "Whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it" (Mk 8:35). This statement can seem difficult, and in some cases can even be frightening. But I ask you: is it better to resign yourself to a life without ideals, to a society marked by inequality, oppression and selfishness, or rather to seek with a generous heart what is true, good and just, working to build a world which shows forth the beauty of God, even at the price of having to face the many difficulties which this brings?

3. Knock down the barriers of superficiality and fear! Talk to Jesus in prayer and listen to his word. Taste the joy of reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance. Receive his Body and Blood in the Eucharist, so that you can then welcome him and serve him in your brothers and sisters. Do not yield to the deceits and easy illusions of the world, which very often turn into tragic delusions.

You know that it is at difficult moments and trying times that the quality of our choices is measured. There are no short cuts to happiness and light! Only Jesus can supply answers which are neither illusion nor delusion!

With a sense of duty and sacrifice, therefore, take the path of conversion, of inner growth, of professional commitment, of voluntary work, of dialogue, of respect for all, never surrendering in the face of difficulties or failures, in the full knowledge that your strength is in the Lord, who guides your steps with love (cf. Neh 8:10).

[Pope John Paul II, Plovdiv Cathedral speech, Sunday, 26 May 2002].

Aspiration for Peace: Associated with His Life

16. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the aspiration to peace that you share with all people corresponds to God's initial call to form one family of brothers and sisters, created in the image of the same Father. Revelation insists on our freedom and solidarity. The difficulties we encounter on the path to peace, are partly related to our weakness as creatures, whose steps are necessarily slow and gradual; they are aggravated by our selfishness, by our sins of all kinds, after that sin of origin, which marked a break with God, leading to a break also between brothers. The image of the Tower of Babel describes the situation well. But we believe that Jesus Christ, by the gift of his life on the cross, has become our Peace: he has broken down the wall of hatred, which separated our brother enemies (cf. Eph 2:14). Resurrected and entered into the glory of the Father, he mysteriously associates us with his Life: by reconciling us with God, he mends the wounds of sin and division and makes us capable of inscribing in our societies a sketch of that unity which he restores in us. Christ's most faithful disciples have been peacemakers, even to the point of forgiving their enemies, even to the point of sometimes offering their own lives for them. Their example traces the way for a new humanity, which is no longer content with temporary compromises, but realises the deepest fraternity. We know that our path to peace on earth, without losing its natural consistency or its own difficulties, is embedded within another path, that of "salvation", which finds fulfilment in an eternal fullness of peace, in total communion with God. And so the Kingdom of God, which is the Kingdom of peace, with its own source, means and end, already permeates all earthly activity without dissolving into it. This vision of faith has a profound impact on the daily actions of Christians.

[Pope John Paul II, Message for the 12th World Day of Peace, 1 January 1979]

Gospel presents us with the scene of the encounter between Jesus and John the Baptist at the River Jordan. The one who recounts it is the eyewitness, John the Evangelist, who before becoming a disciple of Jesus, was a disciple of the Baptist, together with his brother James, with Simon and Andrew, all from Galilee, all fishermen.

The Baptist then sees Jesus who is approaching amid the crowd and, inspired from on High, he recognizes in him the One sent by God; he therefore points him out with these words: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29).

The verb that is translated as “take away” literally means “to lift up”, “to take upon oneself”. Jesus came into the world with a precise mission: to liberate it from the slavery of sin by taking on himself the sins of mankind. How? By loving. There is no other way to conquer evil and sin than by the love that leads to giving up one’s life for others. In the testimony of John the Baptist, Jesus assumes the features of the the Lord’s Suffering Servant, who “has borne our grief and carried our sorrows” (Is 53:4) unto death on the Cross. He is the true Paschal Lamb, who immerses himself in the river of our sin in order to purify us.

The Baptist sees before him a man who stands in line with sinners to be baptized, though he had no need of it. A man whom God sent into the world as a Lamb to be immolated. In the New Testament, the word “lamb” recurs many times and always in reference to Jesus. This image of the lamb might be surprising; indeed, an animal that is certainly not characterized by strength and robustness takes upon its shoulders such an oppressive weight. The huge mass of evil is removed and taken away by a weak and fragile creature, a symbol of obedience, docility and defenseless love that ultimately offers itself in sacrifice. The lamb is not a ruler but docile, it is not aggressive but peaceful; it shows no claws or teeth in the face of any attack; rather, it bears it and is submissive. And so is Jesus! So is Jesus, like a lamb.

What does it mean for the Church, for us today, to be disciples of Jesus, the Lamb of God? It means replacing malice with innocence, replacing power with love, replacing pride with humility, replacing status with service. It is good work! We Christians must do this: replace malice with innocence, replace power with love, replace pride with humility, replace status with service. Being disciples of the Lamb means not living like a “besieged citadel”, but like a city placed on a hill, open, welcoming and supportive. It means not assuming closed attitudes but rather proposing the Gospel to everyone, bearing witness by our lives that following Jesus makes us freer and more joyous.

[Pope Francis, Angelus January 19, 2014]

Brother, in the brethren all

(Jn 1:29-34)

In the fourth Gospel the Baptist is not «the forerunner», but a «witness» of the Lamb Light that raises basic questions.

Alarmed, the authorities put him under investigation.

But it’s not he who sweeps away «sin», that is, the humiliation of unbridgeable distances - and the inability to correspond to the personal Vocation, for Life without limit.

Hindrance even underlined by the logic of the «world»: by the false teaching, by the very structure of the ancient official institution, so linked to the interweaving between religion and power.

Condemned to «noon-day» [culmination and full light] on Easter eve, Jesus crosses his earthly end with the hour when the priests of the Temple began to immolate the lambs of propitiation [originally, an apotropaic sacrifice that preceded transhumance].

As for the Lamb of the fathers in foreign land, who had spared them from the slaughter - his Blood gives impetus to cross the land of arid slavery, devoid of warmth and intimate consonance.

As is known, the effigy of the Lamb belongs to the sacrificial theological strand, stemming from the famous text of Isaiah 53 and from all the sacral imagery of the ancient East [which had elaborated a literature and a widespread thought on the King Messiah].

According to the biblical conception, the sovereign was a figure of the whole people and represented them. The Anointed would have had the ideal task of dragging away and atoning for human iniquities.

But Jesus does not "expiate" rather «extirpates». Not even "propitiates": the Father does not reject the precarious condition of his creatures.

In Christ who «supports and removes» all our shame and weaknesses, the Father’s Action is made intimate - for this reason decisive.

He doesn’t annihilate transgressions with a sort of amnesty, even vicarious: it would not be authentic salvation to touch only the suburbs and not the Core, to reactivate us.

An outer dress does not belong to us and will never be ours; it is not assimilated, nor does it become real life. Deletions don’t educate, far from it.

It’s true that a lamb in a world of cunning wolves has no escape. By introducing it you see it perish, but not as a designated victim: it was the only way for the beastmen who believe they were people, to understand that they were still only beasts.

The Risen One introduces into the world a new force, a different dynamism, a way of teaching the soul that becomes a conscious process.

Only by educating us, does the Most High-neighbour annihilate and overcome the instinct of the fairs feeding each other, believing themselves to be authentic human beings - even spiritual.

A third allusion to the figure of the Lamb insists on the votive icon and archetypal category associated with the sacrifice of Abraham, where God himself provides for the victim (Gn 22).

Of course he provides: he did not create us angelic, but malformed, transient. Yet, every divine Gift passes through our shaky ‘condition’ - which is not sin, nor guilt, but a matter of fact; so nourishment, and resource.

We are Perfect in the multiplicity of our creative slopes, even in the limit: a blasphemy for the ancient religious man... a reality for the person of Faith.

The authentic Lamb is not just a [moral] reference: the meekness of those who are called to give everything of themselves, even their skin.

It is an image of the (blatant) ‘boundary’ of those who could never make it to genius in life, so they ‘let themselves be found’ and loaded on the shoulders.

In this way, no decision-making delirium.

It will be the Friend of our vocational nucleus who will transmit strength and devise the way to make us return to the House that is truly ours: the Tent that stitches together the scattered events.

Dwelling that rewires all the being we should - and maybe even could - have brought to fruit.

Incarnation here means that the Lamb is depiction of an accepted - unusual - globality of the divine Face in men.

Totality finally solid - paradoxical, conciliated - that recovers its opposite innocent, natural, spontaneous, incapable of miracle.

Difference between religiosity and Faith.

[Weekday Liturgy of January 3]

Brother, in the brethren all

(Jn 1:29-34)

In the Fourth Gospel, the Baptist is not "the forerunner", but a "witness" of the Lamb Light that raises fundamental questions.

Alarmed, the authorities put him under investigation.

But it is not he who sweeps away 'sin' - the humiliation of unbridgeable distances - and the inability to correspond to the personal Vocation, for Life without limit.

Impediment even underlined by the logic 'of the world': by false teaching, by the very structure of the ancient official institution, so bound up with the intertwining of religion and power.

Condemned at the 'midday' [peak and full light] of Easter Eve, Jesus crosses his earthly turn with the hour when the Temple priests began to immolate the propitiation lambs [originally an apotropaic sacrifice preceding the transhumance].

As with the Lamb of the fathers in a foreign land, who had spared them from slaughter - his Blood gives impetus to cross the land of barren slavery.

"Egypt" of the pharaohs, devoid of warmth and intimate consonance (which lead us to an early death).

As is well known, the effigy of the Lamb belongs to the sacrificial theological strand, stemming from the famous text of Isaiah 53 and from the whole sacred imaginary of the ancient East [which had elaborated a widespread literature and thought on the Messiah King].

According to the biblical conception, the ruler gathered within himself and represented the entire people. The Anointed One would have the ideal task of dragging away and atoning for human iniquities.

But Jesus does not 'atone' but 'extirpates'. Nor does he 'propitiate': the Father does not reject the precarious condition of his creatures, nor does he establish a protectorate favourable to a circle (like the God of archaic religions).

In Christ who 'upholds and takes away' all our shame and weaknesses, the Father's action becomes intimate - and therefore decisive.

He does not annihilate transgressions with a kind of amnesty, even vicarious: it would not be authentic salvation to touch only the peripheries and not the Core, to reactivate us.

An external habit does not belong to us and will never be ours; it is not assimilated, nor does it become real life. Amnesties do not educate, far from it.

It is true that a little lamb in a world of cunning wolves has no chance. To present it, means to see it perish, but not as a designated victim: it was the only way for the beasts that believe themselves to be people to understand that they are still just beasts.

The Risen One introduces a new force into the world, a different dynamism, a way of educating the soul that becomes a conscious process.

It is only by educating us that the Risen One annihilates and overcomes the instincts of the beasts that pounce on each other, believing themselves to be true - even spiritual - human beings.

A third allusion to the figure of the Lamb insists on the votive icon and archetypal category associated with Abraham's sacrifice, where God Himself provides the victim (Gen 22).

Of course he provides: he did not create us angelic, but unsteady, transitory. Yet, every divine Gift passes through our shaky condition - which is not sin, nor guilt, but given; nourishment, and resource.

We are Perfect in the multiplicity of our creaturely sides, even in limitation: a blasphemy for the ancient religious man... a reality for the man of Faith.

The authentic Lamb is not just a (moral) reference: the meekness of those who are called to give everything of themselves, even their skin.

It is an image of the blatant boundary of those who would never make it in life, so they let themselves be found and carried on their shoulders.

In this way, no decision-making delusions.

It will be the Friend of our vocational nucleus who will transmit strength and devise the way to get us back to the Home that is truly ours: the Tent that mends the scattered events.

Home that reknits all the being that we should have - and perhaps could have - brought to bear.

The different paths that lead to the founding Eros that belongs to us, intimate and superior, are both authentic and unique to each one.

The Perfection that will emerge along the Path already corresponds to us.

Then the desire to improve according to ancient or other people's paradigms will no longer be a torment that enervates the soul, diminishing its completeness.

Incarnation here means that the Lamb is a representation of a welcomed - unusual - totality of the divine Face in men.

A totality that is finally firm - paradoxical, reconciled - that recovers its innocent, natural, spontaneous opposite, incapable of miracles.

Difference between religiosity and Faith.

That of the Lamb is not a self already with a course of its own; equipped, self-confident and able to find its way in the world. Perhaps to be accepted, not to be outdone, to always be in the foreground.

It is the passive virtues and weak sides - not the artificial, window-dressing ones - that activate the best, most fruitful parts of us, capable of making us look inside. 

All this, in order to walk ourselves and our brothers, overcoming secret sides and anxieties; transmitting life.

Lamb: not a wanting to be there at all costs and as protagonists, always at ease, with exhibited certainties; too exposed to projections, to other desires to be protagonists - and not to lose positions.

When we put ourselves on stage, we remain completely external and displace our faculties, the other capacities of the heart - such as the need to yield, to let go in order to prepare for something else we do not know. And turn our gaze, discover new orientations, or symbiosis with the different.

This is why we speak of a 'revolution of tenderness' [see below] - which cannot be a guided cultural mask, or an expropriating conditioning.

In the end, one notices the artificial people: they play at holiness - some only to gain the spiritual upper hand over the naive and innocent taken in by the authentically interior and fraternal gaze.

The Lamb is the image of a stability in goodness first of all received as a gift and perhaps not even invoked, but recognisable - which then reveals both the innate silence and the unexpected colours of the soul, and of events.

Step by step it becomes a profound knowledge of ourselves, a guiding figure and a solid dialogue to which we entrust ourselves, activating that singular hope filled with intensity that wrenches us from infatuation.

We hang from its universal and simple lips.

They open the consciousness - surpassing both our demons and the shrill resonances of those who flank each other to feel important (and govern relationships).

Embracing the Lamb, we enter into the right spirit of the inner journey. Then we willingly continue - never alone and orphaned; as Togetherness - in the search for our own unique way of completing ourselves and making ourselves Food.

The Tao Tê Ching (xv) asks:

"Who is capable of being motionless in order to make one calmly rest? Who is capable of being placid so as to make one live slowly, removing at length?".

Master Wang Pi comments:

"The man of supreme virtue is like this: his omens are not discernible, the direction of his virtue is not manifest. If he perfects creatures by remaining obscure, he comes to enlighten them; if he makes creatures rest by being motionless, he comes to enlighten them; if he removes creatures by being placid, he comes to make them live.

Christ the Lamb is definitely the beneficial therapeutic effigy of the soul that seeks nourishment - and of our energetic lot, even during normal occupations.

Then it will seem almost like a song, vibrating around.

To internalise and live the message:

What does the expression "the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world" mean to you?

Healthy tenderness: selfishness without reduction

The saint is he who, walking his own path in the wake of the Risen One, has learnt to "identify himself with the other, regardless of where [or] from where [...] ultimately experiencing that others are his own flesh" (cf. FT 84).

No plant lives only in the light: it would die. No animal: it would perish - if it did not have its lair in the shade.

The man who denies his dark side, lies. And he would never enjoy Joy, the fruit of Allence among our multifaceted facets.

Biblical spirituality is not empty; on the contrary, it is very sober and connected to concrete and multifaceted life, at times opposite - not at all prone to consolatory or one-sided sentimentalistic retreats.

In Deut 6:4-5 [Hebrew text] the love owed to the Lord invests "the whole heart" i.e. all decisions, "the whole life" i.e. every moment of existence, and "all your much". That is, the sharing of goods; which the Son of God means in a universal sense.

Jesus' proposal evolves decisively towards overcoming fences, freedom, and awareness.

It tends to recover the entire creaturely being - and is not even inclined to the liturgy of fulfilments, nor to enhancing performances.

The Son of God defines the coordinates of true Love towards the Father in terms that surprise us, because he adds to the ancient criterion the questioning of the intelligence of the things of man, God and the Church.

To realise, to seek to understand, to dialogue in order to enrich oneself, to bring oneself up to date, to scrutinise everything... these are not cerebral and individual trappings, but decisive steps towards communion with others and with the Father [Mt 22:37; Mk 12:30; Lk 10:27].

In pagan religions it made no sense to speak of love for the gods.

They lived capricious lives and decided by lottery who should be favoured among men and who should endure a life of hardship and insignificance.

The lucky (materially blessed) ones gave thanks by fulfilling prescriptions, e.g. worship obligations; the others idem - at least to keep the heavenly hosts happy and thus not be subject to retaliation from above.

Fear creates hierarchical pyramids. Love puts one on an equal footing. 

Obviously - with the cloak of the many duties to be observed (in order to curry favour) - it was impossible to have such passion for the denizens of Olympus, or demigods, nymphs, heroes - in short, for anyone above them.

For the unseen and landless, personal and social contempt was of course reserved - sacralised by the unquestionable supernal will, identified with the destination to the lower class; in the case, punitive. However, swampy.

[Other than 'bowels of mercy': a maternal expression, common since the First Testament!]

Then the archaic idea of chastisement or blessing (even without end) for merits heaped up in life formed the fabric of the religious mentality of all times.

This until recently, even in the civitas christiana in which we live.

So the 'theology of retribution' has effectively annihilated all personal passion, with the hypocritical idea of exchange. As well as meritocracy projected even to the rank of Paradise - worst of all selfishness.

By levelling us all to the affixing of 'ticks'.

The complex procedures of the 'weighing of the heart' and the 'divine judgement' on the souls of the dead are well known, all the way back to the sarcophagi and the Book of the Dead of ancient Egypt.

Forensic concatenations, which demeaned the idea of divine Justice, which places just conditions and relations where they are not. But opinions and procedures became common to all beliefs in the Mediterranean basin and the ancient Middle East.

Now detached from the invasion of obsessive catechesis about the terrible Last Judgement populated by acolytes armed with pitchforks, we finally feel understood in a personal way; by exclusively vocational, not massified criteria.

By creaturely datum, we are souls called and activated to a path that can bear unrepeatable fruit - a decisive and untestable contribution to the whole of salvation history. Each one of us.

In the vision-proposal of Jesus the Lamb, our being is not omnipotent in goodness; this does not bring condemnation, not even to the powerless.

We are conformed to the need to receive love - as if we were children in front of Parents who precisely raise their children healthy with an overabundance of initiative, which leads them to surpass themselves.

This, in spite of tantrums; indeed, because of them: a magma of opposing yet malleable energies, which see further than easy identifications, and are preparing for later developments.

The experience of evangelical tenderness does not come from good character and social meekness. But from having experienced first-hand the value of eccentricities - and having developed an understanding of one's own dark sides, or reworked and brought into play deviations that at some point in one's life have become amazing resources.

Even the same evolution and transmutation can be seen in the aspects of ourselves that we do not like and would like to correct... then as the days go by they surprise us, and we discover they are the best part of ourselves: the true inclination and the reason we were born.

Each one's deviant and unbalanced character contains an essential secret of the Calling by Name and one's destiny.

This is the starting point for recognising the specific weight of differences and the equally enriching dissonances of sisters and brothers.

It is not goodism, that of the Lambs (oscillating in situation, and linked to contrived ways, devious interests or partisanship): the opposite!

As Pope Francis said: 'Lambs, not fools; but lambs'.

In personal life and in communion, evangelical Tenderness is real understanding and authentic inclusion of the 'different' - starting not from an erratic, momentary and circle (fickle) ideology but from one's own intimate and relational life experience.

It will lead us to experience a Father who provides well for us, just as we brighten the lives of others - enriching our own! - in the confluence and re-harmonisation of our many faces.

Tenderness in the round, convinced in earnest; without the standardised masks of the usual 'staples' of the banal (recited) 'tenderness' that is perhaps obligatory and activated by a weakened conforming identity.

This is the wise contagion that will revive us from the great global crisis: indulgence that does not become hysterical indolence.

And that does not remain sectoral - because it starts not from external manners or knots, but from being oneself and here recognising the You.

Together all brothers, seeds of the Logos.

For a Tenderness of Dialogue without neurosis.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

[…] John the Baptist was the forerunner, the "voice" sent to proclaim the Incarnate Word. Thus, commemorating his birth actually means celebrating Christ, the fulfilment of the promises of all the prophets, among whom the greatest was the Baptist, called to "prepare the way" for the Messiah (cf. Mt 11: 9-10).

All the Gospels introduce the narrative of Jesus' public life with the account of his baptism by John in the River Jordan. St Luke frames the Baptist's entrance on the scene in a solemn historical setting.

My book Jesus of Nazareth also begins with the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, an event which had enormous echoes in his day. People flocked from Jerusalem and every part of Judea to listen to John the Baptist and have themselves baptized in the river by him, confessing their sins (cf. Mk 1: 5).
The baptizing prophet became so famous that many asked themselves whether he was the Messiah. The Evangelist, however, specifically denied this: "I am not the Christ" (Jn 1: 20).

Nevertheless, he was the first "witness" of Jesus, having received instructions from Heaven: "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (Jn 1: 33).
This happened precisely when Jesus, after receiving baptism, emerged from the water: John saw the Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove. It was then that he "knew" the full reality of Jesus of Nazareth and began to make him "known to Israel" (Jn 1: 31), pointing him out as the Son of God and Redeemer of man: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1: 29).

As an authentic prophet, John bore witness to the truth without compromise. He denounced transgressions of God's commandments, even when it was the powerful who were responsible for them. Thus, when he accused Herod and Herodias of adultery, he paid with his life, sealing with martyrdom his service to Christ who is Truth in person.

Let us invoke his intercession, together with that of Mary Most Holy, so that also in our day the Church will remain ever faithful to Christ and courageously witness to his truth and his love for all.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus June 24, 2007]