(Mk 10:28-31)

According to correct mentality - typical in Judaism - to receive the divine inheritance it was enough to keep the commandments (vv.17-20).

Jesus' proposal does not focus on the exchange of "favours" (Pharisaic automatism): it has breath, and rests on gratuitousness; it helps freedom - it is broader, without ballast.

Therefore, lean towards ecclesial poverty. Both the affluent and the apostles' conviction must be freed from the idol of opulence - an even more swampy force than guilt.

The Gospel passage itself is a sign that the "internal" mentality of the communities had to be straightened out, even back then.

It is not with security upstream that one can exodus - to meet the One (v.21) in the heart. Nor can the Church stay safe with the material contribution of the rich (v.26).

The path of love and the educational risk presuppose the path of adventurous sobriety, without which it is not possible to impact the watertight compartments of thought and society.

In contrast to devotions, the life of Faith does not require the offering of a modest or resigned sacrifice to God, but abandonment to the coming future.

Even as a matter of crude substance, it will force us to shift our gaze - and reactivate it incessantly.

Thus making the disciples abide in the energy of undertaking will finally leave no one with bowed heads. For here the cards are exchanged (v.31).

He does not want to rob us of anything: his friendly Presence is a consistent ferment, which wants to realise the absolute in each of us.

Detachment from things to expand and rejoice in the quality of the journey is the seed of a new sacredness, of another face of humanity and the world.

The concrete existence that flows from the proposal of Faith surpasses every religious model. He even extends the community, creating Family without boundaries - all brothers and sisters, no leaders for life.

We are no longer minors: we have full Hope - not moderate.

Only the sharing of goods will stand: fruit of providence and systematic gift - and there will be no needy, rather it will advance for others (an ideal already of Deut 15 - with no more cultural fences).

And no calculations of reciprocation: because there is no starting point for selfishness or for the profit of clubs with nice manners (and greedy possession).

Of course, Christ will be the choice of the poor, who have always dreamed of a reversal of the pyramid (v.31).

At the time of Jesus, people's lives were in fact marked - trait by trait - by dual subjugation: Herod's politics and religious slavery.

The system of exploitation and repression was widespread and well organised.

Even the religious authorities had cunningly found a remunerative modus vivendi well established in the ganglia of the empire.

All this at the cost of the disintegration of community and family life (facets of the ancient clan communion, now harassed by problems of material survival and increased individualism).

In a context of social collapse, many were forced to get by in a discarded and excluded condition.

But in the assemblies of Jesus, the attitude of inclusion towards the marginalised, weak and shaky characterised them and made them stand out (gradually preferred) against all other groups.

At that time, there was no lack of various sects - even well-motivated ones - that wished to show an alternative model of life to the ruthlessness of the current reality.

However, e.g. the Essenes were legalists and purists, and lived apart; so did the Pharisees - observant people bound even to oral tradition - who abhorred 'defiled' people.

The Zealots also resented the weak and indecisive, voiceless crowd.

Those considered ignorant and cursed (for not being able to fulfil the prescriptions of the law) and valued in sin, were conversely welcome in Christian communities.

Precisely the weightless - endowed with little energy and relationships - forcibly excluded from the clan because of economic necessity, found there at last refuge, warmth, listening, understanding, help.

The Master himself had explicitly ordered anti-ambition and personal dispossession in favour of the sick and weak; of all those who were left behind.

Simplicity in life went hand in hand with sobriety in mission.

In fact, the Lord advised the envoys to witness radical confidence in hospitality (offered by so many new 'family members').

Sense of adaptation and measure, ability to live in the essentials and be content, were the indispensable character of evangelisation.

True witnesses of Christ, even today and as time passes, feel content in the temporary - typical of pilgrims. They did not covet better future accommodations, passing from house to house (Mk 6:10).

In all this, and in being able to adapt to the situations and normal rewards of local work, believers demonstrate the Presence of the fraternal Kingdom.It is a concrete reality and "in between": in fact, it makes itself equidistant; it overturns roles - and optics, such as habitual positions between women and men, young and old, or new and old (v.31).

Of course, change can be frightening, but inserted in the fraternity that hears the call to "go out", we take the leash off situations and stir souls from the tortuousness of retreats.

And here is the Father's hundredfold in everything (vv.28-30). Except for one thing: because we are called to be on an equal footing.

There will be no hundred to one of "fathers" (in the ancient sense), i.e., of conditioning controllers (vv.29-30) who dictate their track and pace, as to subordinates.

Then we sit in our Centre, not because we are identified in the standard habitual role, but chiselled in an amazing way by the facets of the Mystery it touches, starting from within.

And turn everything upside down.

A life of attachments blocks creativity. To cling to an idol, to allow oneself to be plagued or intimidated, to anchor oneself in fear of problems or worries is like creating a dark room.

Feeling programmable, already designed without a more... subjugating ordinary or conformist views... excludes the vector of the unknown and all-personal Novelty.

Those who allow themselves to be inhibited by exclusive ethics, by having to be with themselves and others according to clichés of established prestige and so on, build an artificial dwelling, which is neither their home nor the tent of the world.

And while in the pass of the mission, even conjuring up fruitful eccentricities or global adventures, we shrink back, afraid of possible conflicts.

But in fear we do not grasp what is truly ours and others': what is only revealed during a process, which becomes holy in the exodus from self and in the quality of creative relationships.

As Pope Francis said in Dublin: "Docile to the Spirit and not based on tactical plans" that block life.

After all, behind the reluctance to be in Christ and in relationships that go beyond what is due and already thought, lies nothing more than the fear of losing the attention of others or reputation.

But for Via, it is an intimate experience of a different 'switch' inside, which helps us express ourselves and face events where not everything is already in place. 

We lay step by step the fears of being scolded, and that life (precisely because of our ideal choices) might collapse.

Away with the behind-the-scenes.

It is the new genesis under a new and unknown stimulus that allows us to shift attention from calculation to the brightness of the soul, from the brain to the eye, from reasoning to perception.

Once we have removed the artificial ties of wanting to come to the head of situations prematurely and by force, we learn to welcome all sides, and life will go its own way, expanding from wave to wave.

At this point, my mind goes back to 22 October 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter’s Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!” The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society. The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.

[Pope Benedict, homily for the beginning of the ministry, 24 April 2005]

1. In the Gospels, when Jesus called his first Apostles to make them "fishers of men" (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17; cf. Lk 5:10), they "left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:11; cf. Mt 4:20, 22; Mk 1:18, 20). One day it was Peter himself who reminded us of this aspect of the apostolic vocation, saying to Jesus: "Behold, we have left everything and followed you" (Mt 19, 27; Mk 10, 28; cf. Lk 18, 28).Jesus then listed all the necessary detachments "for my sake," he said, "and for the sake of the gospel" (Mk 10, 29). It was not only a matter of giving up material goods, such as the "house" or the "fields", but also of parting with the dearest people: "brothers or sisters or father or mother or children", - so says Matthew and Mark - "wife or brothers or parents or children", - so says Luke (18, 29).

Let us observe here the diversity of vocations. Not from all his disciples did Jesus demand radical renunciation of family life, although from all of them he demanded the first place in his heart when he said: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10:37). The need for effective renunciation is proper to the apostolic life or the life of special consecration. Called by Jesus, "James of Zebedee and John his brother" did not only leave the boat in which they were "rearranging the nets", but also their father, with whom they were (Mt 4:22; cf. Mk 1:20).

These findings help us to understand the reason for the Church's legislation on priestly celibacy. In fact, the Church has considered and continues to consider it as part of the logic of priestly consecration and the consequent total belonging to Christ in view of the conscious implementation of His mandate of spiritual life and evangelisation.

2. In fact, in the Gospel according to Matthew, a little before the passage on separation from loved ones, which we have just quoted, Jesus expresses in strong Semitic language another renunciation required "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven", the renunciation, that is, of marriage. "There are," he says, "eunuchs who have made themselves such because of the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 19:12). That is, they are committed to celibacy in order to put themselves entirely at the service of the "Gospel of the Kingdom" (cf. Mt 4:23; 9:35; 24:34).

In his First Letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul affirms that he has resolutely taken this path and demonstrates the consistency of his decision by declaring: 'He who is unmarried worries about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. He who is married, on the other hand, worries about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is divided!" (1 Cor 7:32-34). Certainly, it is not fitting that one who has been called to occupy himself, as a Priest, with the things of the Lord should "be divided". As the Council says, the commitment to celibacy, stemming from a tradition that is linked to Christ, is "particularly suited to the priestly life. For it is both a sign and a stimulus of pastoral charity, and a source of spiritual fruitfulness in the world' (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16).

It is very true that in the Eastern Churches, many presbyters are legitimately married according to canon law concerning them. Even in those Churches, however, Bishops live in celibacy, and so do a certain number of Priests. The difference in discipline, linked to conditions of time and place assessed by the Church, is explained by the fact that perfect continence, as the Council says, "is not required by the very nature of the priesthood" (Ibid). It does not belong to the essence of the priesthood as an Order, and therefore is not imposed absolutely in all Churches. There are, however, no doubts about its appropriateness and indeed congruence with the requirements of Holy Orders. It is, as we have said, part of the logic of consecration.

3. The concrete ideal of this condition of consecrated life is Jesus, model for all, but especially for priests. He lived as a celibate, and was therefore able to devote all his strength to preaching the Kingdom of God and serving mankind, with a heart open to the whole of humanity, as the progenitor of a new spiritual generation. His choice was truly "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven" (cf. Mt 19:12).

By his example, Jesus indicated a direction, which was followed. According to the Gospels, it seems that the Twelve, destined to be the first sharers in his priesthood, renounced family life in order to follow him. The Gospels never speak of wives or children with regard to the Twelve, although they do let us know that Peter, before being called by Jesus was a married man (cf. Mt 8:14; Mk 1:30; Lk 4:38).

4. Jesus did not promulgate a law, but proposed an ideal of celibacy, for the new priesthood he instituted. This ideal became more and more established in the Church. One can understand that in the first phase of the propagation and development of Christianity a large number of priests were married men, chosen and ordained along the lines of the Jewish tradition. We know that in the Epistles to Timothy (1 Tim 3:2-33) and Titus (Titus 1:6) it is required that, among the qualities of the men chosen as presbyters, there be that of being good fathers of families, married to one woman (i.e. faithful to their wives). It is a phase of the Church in the process of organising and, one might say, experimenting with what, as a discipline of states of life, best corresponds to the ideal and the 'counsels' proposed by the Lord. On the basis of experience and reflection, the discipline of celibacy gradually established itself until it became generalised in the Western Church by virtue of canonical legislation. It was not only the consequence of a juridical and disciplinary fact: it was the maturation of an ecclesial conscience on the appropriateness of priestly celibacy for reasons that were not only historical and practical, but also derived from the ever better discovered congruence between celibacy and the demands of the priesthood.

5. The Second Vatican Council sets out the reasons for such 'intimate suitability' of celibacy with the priesthood: "By virginity or celibacy observed for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, presbyters consecrate themselves to Christ with a new and lofty title, adhere more readily to Him with an undivided love, devote themselves more freely in Him and for Him to the service of God and men, serve His Kingdom and His work of divine regeneration more effectively, and in this way are better disposed to receive a wider paternity in Christ." They 'thus evoke that mysterious marriage instituted by God, and which will be fully manifested in the future, for which the Church has Christ as her only Bridegroom ... they become a living sign of that future world, already present through faith and charity, in which the children of the resurrection are not united in marriage' (PO 16; cf. Pastores dabo vobis, 29; 50; CCC 1579).

These are reasons of noble spiritual elevation, which we can summarise in the following essentials: fuller adherence to Christ, loved and served with an undivided heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-33); broader availability to the service of the Kingdom of Christ and the fulfilment of one's duties in the Church; the more exclusive choice of a spiritual fruitfulness (cf. 1 Cor 4:15); the practice of a life similar to the definitive life in the beyond, and therefore more exemplary for the life hereafter. This is valid for all times, including our own, as the supreme reason and criterion for every judgement and choice in harmony with the invitation to 'leave everything', addressed by Jesus to the disciples and especially to the Apostles. This is why the 1971 Synod of Bishops confirmed: 'The law of priestly celibacy, in force in the Latin Church, must be fully preserved' (Ench. Vat., IV, 1219).

6. It is true that today the practice of celibacy finds obstacles, sometimes even serious ones, in the subjective and objective conditions in which priests find themselves. The Synod of Bishops considered them, but considered that even today's difficulties are surmountable, if "the appropriate conditions are promoted, namely: the increase of the interior life with the help of prayer, self-denial, ardent charity towards God and neighbour, and with the other aids of the spiritual life; human equilibrium through an orderly insertion into the structure of social relations; fraternal relations and contacts with other priests and with the bishop. by better implementing pastoral structures to this end, and also with the help of the community of the faithful" (Ibid., IV, 1216).

It is a sort of challenge that the Church launches against the mentality, tendencies, and maladies of the century, with an ever new will for consistency and fidelity to the evangelical ideal. For this reason, while admitting that the Supreme Pontiff can evaluate and decide what to do in certain cases, the Synod reaffirmed that in the Latin Church "the priestly ordination of married men is not permitted even in particular cases" (Ibid., IV, 1220). The Church believes that the consciousness of total consecration, which has matured over the centuries, still has reason to subsist and to be increasingly perfected.

The Church is also aware, and reminds presbyters and all the faithful with the Council, that 'the gift of celibacy, so befitting the priesthood of the New Law, is granted in great measure by the Father, on condition that all those who share in the Priesthood of Christ by the sacrament of Orders, indeed the whole Church, ask for it humbly and insistently' (PO 16).But perhaps, even before that, it is necessary to ask for the grace to understand priestly celibacy, which undoubtedly includes a certain mystery: that of the demand for boldness and trust in absolute attachment to the person and redemptive work of Christ, with a radicalism of renunciation that to human eyes can appear shocking. Jesus himself, in suggesting this, warns that not everyone can understand it (cf. Mt 19:10-12). Blessed are those who receive the grace to understand this, and remain faithful on this path!

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 17 July 1993]

Today’s Gospel, taken from Mark, Chapter 10, is divided into three scenes, punctuated by three gazes of Jesus.

The first scene presents the encounter between the Teacher and a fellow who — according to the parallel passage of Matthew — is identified as a “young man”. The encounter of Jesus with a young man. This man runs up to Jesus, kneels and calls him “Good Teacher”. Then he asks: “what must I do to inherit eternal life”, in other words, happiness (v. 17). “Eternal life” is not only the afterlife, but is a full life, fulfilled, without limitations. What must we do to achieve it? Jesus’ answer restates the commandments that refer to loving one’s neighbours. In this regard the young man has nothing to reproach; but clearly, observing the precepts is not enough. It does not satisfy his desire for fulfillment. Jesus perceives this desire that the young man bears in his heart; for this reason his response is expressed in an intense gaze filled with tenderness and love. The Gospel thus says: “[Jesus] looking upon him loved him” (v. 21). He realized he was a good young man.... But Jesus also understood his interlocutor’s weakness, and offers him a practical proposal: to give all his possessions to the poor and follow Him. That young man’s heart, however, was divided between two masters: God and money, and he went away sorrowful. This shows that faith and attachment to riches cannot coexist. Thus, in the end, the young man’s initial enthusiasm is dampened in the unhappiness of a sunken sequela.

In the second scene the Evangelist frames the eyes of Jesus, and this time it is a pensive gaze, one of caution: “[Jesus] looked around and said to his disciples: ‘How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’” (v. 23). To the astonishment of the disciples, who ask him: “Then who can be saved?” (v. 26), Jesus responds with a encouraging gaze — it is the third gaze — and says: salvation, yes, “with men it is impossible, but not with God!” (v. 27). If we trust in the Lord, we can overcome all obstacles that impede us from following him on the path of faith. Trust in the Lord. He will give us strength, he gives us salvation, he accompanies us on the way.

And thus we arrive at the third scene, that of Jesus’ solemn declaration: Truly, I say to you those who leave all to follow me shall have eternal life in the age to come and a hundredfold now in this time (cf. vv. 29-30). This “hundredfold” is comprised of things first possessed and then left, but which shall be restored and multiplied ad infinitum. In divesting oneself of possessions, one receives in exchange the comfort of true good; freed from the slavery of things, one earns the freedom of serving out of love; in renouncing possessions, one acquires the joy of giving. As Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (cf. Acts 20:35).

The young man did not allow himself to be conquered by Jesus’ loving gaze, and thus was not able to change. Only by accepting with humble gratitude the love of the Lord do we free ourselves from the seduction of idols and the blindness of our illusions. Money, pleasure, success dazzle but then disappoint: they promise life but procure death. The Lord asks us to detach ourselves from these false riches in order to enter into true life, the full, authentic, luminous life. I ask you, young people, young men and young women, who are here now in the Square: “Have you felt Jesus’ gaze upon you? Do you prefer to leave this Square with the joy that Jesus gives us or with the sadness of heart that worldliness offers us?”.

May the Virgin Mary help us to open our heart to Jesus’ love, to Jesus’ gaze, the only One who can satiate our thirst for happiness.

[Pope Francis, Angelus of 11 October 2015]

Inherit the Life of the Eternal

(Mk 10:17-27)

To realize ourselves it’s not enough to accentuate or refine, we need to take a Leap; an extra step is not enough.

It starts from the perception of an inner wound that moves us (v.17) in search of that Good that ‘unifies’ and gives meaning to life.

Jesus makes us reflect on what is to be considered Great, «distinguished» [thus the Greek text: vv.17-18].

It is not a magisterium for those who are far away, but for us: «One you are missing!» [v.21] - as if he wanted to underline: «the One, the Whole you miss: you have almost nothing!».

Normal life goes on, but there is no astonishment.

Too many things are missing: the challenge of ‘the most’ personal, the care of others, the confrontation with the drama of reality. There is no Unity; there is a lack of authentic Presence that launches love into the spirit of adventure..

It is not a question of having an idea, an extra cue in addition to what we already have, while continuing to be slaves to it.

It’s not enough to improve relationship situations that we know by heart, being approved from the first step.

The transition from religiosity to Faith that brings our vocational destiny and full realization is played out on a shortage of supports - in chaotic systems of correlation.

To be happy is not worth "normalizing", because the soul demands the challenge of unexplored skies.

Waters that we have not probed: sides of ourselves, of others and of reality that we have not brought out, and yet perhaps we are not even scrutinizing.

It is necessary to venture into the basal and extraordinary stretches that today also call in the day after day; do not wait for insurance.

And the starting point can also be the accent of doubt, a healthy restlessness of the soul - the very danger... typical of critical witnesses.

Let’s not silence our being insecure, nor the sense of dissatisfaction for a life without jolts: they are fruitful suspensions, which will activate us.

Feeling complete, fulfilled, happy? One needs one's eyes and heart to yield, not to be occupied.

It is absolutely necessary to let certainties fall from the mind and from one's hand.

The gamble is the reckless investing of everything for 'another realm' - where energies surface, different relationships are explored; one attempts to sublimate possessions into a matrix of life [also others: v.21].

Our Core remains restless if it does not infuse correspondences that fly over the ancient ruler: the material goods, which make one stagnate.

The Deep Roots want to modify the vector of the swampy, situated ego - "as it should", well inserted or self-referential - so that it dilates to encompass the Thou and the real whole (vv.28-30).

It’s the Birth of the new woman and man; mothers and fathers of humanization.

What touches the divine condition. Able even to reverse positions (v.31).

It is Genesis in the authenticity of cosmic energies and inner powers, which are preparing stages of growth - elsewhere.

Gradually the feeling and reciprocity of a comprehensive relationship is created, the purpose of Love in what we undertake or redo; like the friendly warmth of a non-frigid Presence.

We live the extreme from which there is no turning back, because it places us in the very Life of the Eternal (v.17). The One who is missing (v.21).

As I strive to question myself or others, previously hidden resources that I did not even know about emerge.

With amazement I experience a reality that is gradually unfolding... as well as the Father who provides for me (v.27).

In this extension, we learn to recognize the [decisive new] Subject of the spiritual path: God's plan in Being itself.

Dream leading... and despite the travails, the emotional storms, our twists and turns, it gradually reveals itself to be Resembling.

As innate: forthright, genuine, limpid; irrefutable, glowing, flowing.

[Monday 8th wk. in O.T.  March 3rd, 2025]

Inheriting the Life of the Eternal

(Mk 10:17-27)

What are we missing, despite our conviction and involvement? Why do we make certain behavioural choices?

Even if we were to devote years of commitment to the spiritual journey in religion, we would realise that in the end it is not just the icing on the cake that is missing, but the global One.

It is not enough to accentuate or perfect the good things, one has to take a leap; one step (even alternative) more is not enough.

Paradoxically, it starts from the perception of an inner wound that stirs (v.17) the search for that Good that unifies and gives meaning to life.

Jesus makes us reflect on what is to be considered "Insignificant" (so the Greek text: vv.17-18).

It is not a magisterial statement for those far away, but for us: "One is missing you!" - As if to emphasise: "You lack the All, you have almost nothing!".

Normal life proceeds, but the path of trust is lacking. There is no astonishment.

Our going is not consolidated or qualified by adapting to our surroundings, adding heritage to heritage and avoiding peccadilloes, or - above all - unknowns.

Too many things are missing: the challenge of the more personal, caring for others, confronting the drama of reality: there is no unity, there is a lack of the authentic Presence that launches love into the spirit of adventure.

It is not a matter of having a cue in addition to what we already possess, continuing to be slaves to it (the titles, the capital or the money, which give us orders like masters; they promise, they guarantee, they flatter).

It is not enough to improve on relationship situations that we know by heart, making ourselves approved from the first step - nor to limit ourselves to pious curiosities by satiating the spiritual gluttony.

The passage from religiosity to Faith that brings our vocational destiny and full realisation is played out on a shortage of supports - in chaotic systems of correlation.

To be happy, it is not worth 'normalising' or remaining decent, devout people, because the soul demands the challenge of unexplored skies.

Waters we have not probed: sides of ourselves, of others and of reality that we have not brought to the surface, and yet perhaps are not even probing.

It is necessary to venture into the basic and extraordinary traits that are calling today; not waiting for assurances.

And the starting point can also be the accent of doubt, a healthy restlessness of the soul - the very danger... typical of critical witnesses.

Let us not be silent about our unhealthy being, nor our sense of dissatisfaction with an ordinary, unshaken existence: these are fruitful suspensions, which (when ready) will activate us.

To feel complete, fulfilled, happy? It is necessary for the eyes and heart to give way, not to be already occupied.

It is absolutely necessary to let go of certainties from the mind and one's own hand.

Daring is not the maceration of self or of the main lines of one's personality - but the reckless investing of everything for another realm, where energies surface, different relationships are explored; one attempts to sublimate possessions into a matrix of life (also others': v.21).

After a sense of incompleteness or even spiritual infirmity has driven us to a rich attunement with the codes of the soul and brought us face to face with Jesus (v.17) from Him we understand the secret of Joy.

Our Core remains restless if it does not infuse correspondences that fly over - precisely - the ancient ruler: possessions, which make one stagnate.

Despite the assurances promised, they remain constipated, meaningless. 

Indeed, locking ourselves into dependency causes us to regress almost into the pre-human - snatching away the delight of open, self-respecting relationships.

The Deep Roots want to modify the vector of the swampy and situated self - "as it should be", well-integrated or self-referential - so that it dilates to include the You and the real whole (vv.28-30).

It is the Birth of the new woman and man, mothers and fathers of humanisation (in a living community that accepts the conviviality of differences). That which verges on the divine condition.

Capable even of reversing positions (v.31). Eschatological sign of the genuine Church. Nest and true Hearth.

It is Genesis in the authenticity of cosmic energies and inner powers, which are preparing stages of growth - elsewhere.

Gradually the warmth and reciprocity of an understanding relationship is created, the purpose of Love in what we undertake or do again; like the friendly warmth of a non-frigid Presence.

We experience the inebriating distinction from which there is no turning back, because it places us in the very Life of the Eternal (v.17). The missing One (v.21).

As I strive to question myself or others, previously hidden resources surface - that I did not even know about.

With amazement I experience a reality that is gradually unfolding.... as well as of the Father who provides for me (v.27).

In this extension, we learn to recognise the (new decisive) Subject of the spiritual journey: God's Design in being itself.Dream leading, and in spite of the travails, the emotional storms, our contortions, it gradually reveals itself to be Resembling.

As innate: forthright, genuine, limpid; irrefutable, flowing.

Inserted in the Community that hears the call to "go out", we move from the tortuousness of retreats; and here is the Father's hundredfold in everything (vv.28-30).

Except for one thing: we are called to be Brothers, on the same level. 

There will be no hundred-to-one "fathers" (in the ancient sense), i.e. conditioning controllers (vv. 29-30) who dictate their track and rhythm, as to subordinates.

Then we will be in our Centre, not because we are identified with the role, but chiselled in an astonishing way by facets of the Unknown.

A life of attachments or subservience to dirigisme blocks creativity. 

To cling to an idol, to allow oneself to be plagued or intimidated, to anchor oneself in the fear of problems or pre-occupations is like creating a dark room.

To feel programmable, already designed, without a more... To submit to ordinary or conformist views... excludes the vector of personal novelty.

Those who allow themselves to be inhibited build an artificial dwelling, which is neither their home nor the tent of the world.

Conceiving that we can foresee global adventures, we shrink, we frighten. One does not grasp what is really ours and others'.

This is what becomes apparent during a process - which becomes holy in the exodus from oneself and in the quality of creative relationships.

As Pope Francis said in Dublin: 'Docile to the Spirit and not based on tactical plans'.

Under a stimulus of the unprecedented and unknown, it is the new genesis that allows attention to be shifted from calculation to the brightness of the soul, from the brain to the eye, from reasoning to perception.

What should I "do" (v.17)? Embracing the Gift of difference and difference - even in my own inner faces, not infrequently opposites; complementing.

We transcend the One who is missing, but who reaches out to us.

One does not manufacture, but receives, one 'inherits' (v.17) freely - from the real that presses.

"Where is the Insigne for me?".

To become who we authentically are in the election of our sacred Source, one must surrender oneself to things, situations, even unusual emotional guests - treating them with dignity, just as they are.

Within this new ancient ground is the secret of that elevation that rises above dilemmas, for each one.

With all its load of stimulating surprises and appeals to flourish in humanising fullness, the Good lies in welcoming something that I do not already know what it is or will be, but It comes.

"You miss the One!" - and the best way to value contact is a bet, a matrix of being: transforming goods (of all kinds) into life and relationship.

Empty Spirituality, or Goods-Relation

From customs with limits to the Spirituality of Goods-Relation

(Mt 19:16-22)

At the time of Jesus there was a moment of social collapse and disintegration of the communitarian dimension of life - in the past more linked to family, clan and community.

Herod's policy guaranteed the empire control of the situation: a reality of maximum exploitation and severe economic and civil repression.

Religious impositions even ensured the subjugation of consciences - and the spiritual authorities willingly made themselves guarantors of this most hidden form of slavery.

The condition of total (civil and religious) subjugation of the people everywhere tended to diminish the sense of interpersonal and group fraternity.

There was no lack of severe conditions of social and cultural exclusion, which accentuated the bewilderment of the people, who were marginalised, homeless and without references - even religious ones.

Some movements were attempting to mend the rifts and propose forms of shared life, of course - but they were united by an idea of tormenting decontamination [Essenes, Pharisees, Zealots].

Jesus chose the path of a decisive vital redemption, compared to the ideologies of the rediscovery of ascetic purism and custom, traditionalist nationalist fundamentalist.

For a radical fulfilment of the spirit of the Law, it was necessary to go beyond doctrines. They excite some, yet they do not erase our inner sense of emptiness.

The community of the sons does not keep within the 'limits', and does not live apart; thus it does not accentuate the torments of imperfection, or the perception of incompleteness, nor the marginalisations - but rather welcomes them.

It does not feel endangered by contact with the realities that the external legalism of ancient devotion considered dangerous and cursed or in sin. It trembles for them.

The Church recognises the value of existential poverty: it is not enough to seek 'good things' without 'fire' within.

It confesses the richness not of all that is already recognisable and static, but of new positions and differing relationships, which open up the present and open up creative visions of the future.Faith, in short, is not a popularly identified belief capable of accrediting roles, tasks and characters - and their advantages, on which all should depend [!]

Nor can the dimension-richness still rhyme with differentiation-safety.

In vv.18-19 Jesus does not enumerate commandments that would make the interlocutor [as they used to say] live 'more from near' to 'God alone', but criteria that bring us near and alongside sisters and brothers.

The honour reserved for the Father is not one of many forms of competitive love: the threshold is the neighbour.

The God of religions is a capricious child who demands the big piece of the cake, at snack time: but the Son does not deceive us with the most childish ideas of widespread beliefs.

Nor does it cite the first commandments, identifying the exalted Lord of his people.

Our hands embrace the timeless in concrete love.

They trigger the dynamisms that annihilate the torments of the least, and thus in an unthinkable way help us rediscover the meaning and joy of living - letting the world be reborn, far more than with the usual forms of insurance (sacralising titles and acquired economic levels).

Conscious living does not have to do with customs and clichés [that produce alibis] but with another serenity and joy: the wonder of the unusual and of new degrees, places, states, relationships, situations.

There is no other wealth to fill our days, while there is only sadness (v.22) in the old bonds without humanity. They lower us all into an artificial mental and emotional reality.

To detach oneself from immediate calculation seems an absurd choice, out of the air and destined to go wrong, but it is, on the contrary, the winning move that opens the doors to the new Life of the Kingdom and to Happiness, which can be accessed precisely when material goods are transformed into Relationship.

We know of no religious discipline that holds [and that can defy time, our emotions].

Only the risk for complete Life - ours, everyone's - acts as a spring to the will and impels full dedication.

Says the Tao (xiii): "To him who makes merit of himself for the sake of the world, the world may be trusted; to him who cares for the sake of the world, the world may be trusted".

And Master Ho-shang Kung comments: "If I did not care about my person, I would have the spontaneity of the Tao in me: I would lightly rise up to the clouds, I would go in and out where there are no gaps, I would put the spirit in communication with the Tao. Then what misfortune would I have?

Let us free ourselves from the plethora of misguided goals, which crush our paths, making them swampy. Let us also reflect well, then, on "that which is worthy" (v.17).

To internalise and live the message:

Thanks to spiritual guides, have you learnt to grasp your life from the Goodness of God, or to be lulled and content with what is there?

In the Church, have you found Jesus' criterion fulfilled, the strong desire for the Good of others too, capable of showing a path? Or more attention to the things of the earth?

1. Jesus meets a young man

“As [Jesus] was setting out on a journey” – the Gospel of Saint Mark tells us – “a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honour your father and your mother.’ He replied and said to him, ‘Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth’. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, ‘You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me’. At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions” (Mk 10: 17-22).

This Gospel passage shows us clearly how much Jesus was concerned with young people, with all of you, with your expectations and your hopes, and it shows how much he wants to meet you personally and to engage each of you in conversation. Christ interrupted his journey to stop and answer the young man’s question. He gave his full attention to this youth who was moved with an ardent desire to speak to the “good Teacher” and to learn from him how to journey through life. My Predecessor used this Gospel passage to urge each of you to “develop your own conversation with Christ – a conversation which is of fundamental and essential importance for a young person” (Letter to Young People, No. 2). 

2. Jesus looked at him and loved him 

In his Gospel account, Saint Mark emphasises that “Jesus, looking at him, loved him” (Mk 10: 21). The Lord’s gaze is at the heart of this very special encounter and the whole Christian experience. To be sure, Christianity is not primarily a moral code. It is an experience of Jesus Christ who loves each of us personally, young and old, poor and rich. He loves us even when we turn away from him.

When Pope John Paul II commented on this scene, he turned to you and added: “May you experience a look like that! May you experience the truth that he, Christ, looks upon you with love!” (Letter to Young People, No. 7). It was love, revealed on the Cross so completely and totally, that led Saint Paul to write in amazement: “He loved me and gave himself up for me” (Gal 2:20). Pope John Paul II wrote that “the awareness that the Father has always loved us in his Son, that Christ always loves each of us, becomes a solid support for our whole human existence” (ibid.). It enables us to overcome all our trials: the realization of our sins, our sufferings and our moments of discouragement.

In this love we find the source of all Christian life and the basic reason for evangelization: if we have really encountered Jesus, we cannot help but bear witness to him before those who have not yet met his gaze!

3. Finding a plan in life

If we look at the young man in the Gospel, we can see that he is much like each of you. You too are rich in talents, energy, dreams and hopes. These are resources which you have in abundance! Your age itself is a great treasure, not only for yourselves but for others too, for the Church and for the world.

The rich young man asks Jesus: “What must I do?” The time of life which you are going through is one of discovery: discovery of the gifts which God has bestowed upon you and your own responsibilities. It is also a time when you are making crucial choices about how you will live your lives. So it is a time to think about the real meaning of life and to ask yourselves: “Am I satisfied with my life? Is there something missing?”

Like the young man in the Gospel story, perhaps you too are experiencing situations of uncertainty, anxiety or suffering, and are yearning for something more than a life of mediocrity. It makes you ask yourselves: “What makes a life successful? What do I need to do? How should I plan my life? “What must I do for my life to have full value and full meaning?” (ibid., No. 3). 

Do not be afraid to ask yourselves these questions! Far from troubling you, they are giving voice to the great aspirations that you hold in your hearts. That is why you should listen to them. The answers you give to them must not be superficial, but capable of satisfying the longing you truly feel for life and happiness.

In order to discover the life-project that will make you completely happy, listen to God. He has a loving plan for each one of you. You can confidently ask him: “Lord, what is your plan, as Creator and Father, for my life? What is your will? I want to carry it out”. You can be certain that he will answer you. Do not be afraid of his answer! “For God is greater than our hearts and knows everything” (1 Jn 3:20).

4. Come and follow me!

Jesus invites the rich young man to do much more than merely satisfy his aspirations and personal plans. He says to him: “Come and follow me!” The Christian vocation derives from a love-filled invitation made by the Lord, and it can be lived out only by a love-filled response: “Jesus invites his disciples to give their lives completely, without calculation or personal interest, with unreserved trust in God. The saints accept this demanding invitation and set out with humble docility in following the crucified and risen Christ. Their perfection, in the logic of faith which is at times humanly incomprehensible, consists in no longer putting themselves at the centre but in choosing to go against the tide, by living in line with the Gospel” (Benedict XVI, Homily at Canonizations, 11 October 2009).

Following the example of so many of Christ’s disciples, may you too, dear friends, joyfully welcome his invitation to follow him, and so live your lives intensely and fruitfully in this world. Through Baptism, in fact, he calls each of us to follow him concretely, to love him above all things and to serve him in our brothers and sisters. The rich young man, unfortunately, did not accept Jesus’ invitation and he went away saddened. He did not find the courage to leave behind his material goods in order to find the far greater good proposed by Jesus. 

The sadness experienced by the rich young man in the Gospel story is the sadness that arises in the heart of all those who lack the courage to follow Christ and to make the right choice. Yet it is never too late to respond to him!

Jesus never tires of turning to us with love and calling us to be his disciples; to some, however, he proposes an even more radical choice. In this Year for Priests, I would like to urge young men and boys to consider if the Lord is inviting them to a greater gift, along the path of priestly ministry. I ask them to be willing to embrace with generosity and enthusiasm this sign of a special love and to embark on the necessary path of discernment with the help of a priest or a spiritual director. Do not be afraid, then, dear young men and women, if the Lord is calling you to the religious, monastic or missionary life, or a life of special consecration: He knows how to bestow deep joy upon those who respond to him with courage!

I also invite those who feel called to marriage to embrace this vocation with faith, working to lay a solid foundation for a love that is great, faithful and receptive to the gift of life. This vocation is a treasure and grace for society and for the Church.

5. Directed towards eternal life

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”. This question which the young man in the Gospel asks may seem far from the concerns of many young people today. As my Predecessor observed, “Are we not the generation whose horizon of existence is completely filled by the world and temporal progress? (Letter to Young People, No. 5). Yet, the question of “eternal life” returns at certain painful moments of our lives, as when we suffer the loss of someone close to us or experience failure. 

But what is the “eternal life” to which the rich young man is referring? Jesus describes it to us when he says to his disciples: “But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (Jn 16: 22). These words point to an exciting possibility of unending happiness, to the joy of being surrounded by God’s love for ever.

Wondering about the definitive future awaiting each of us gives full meaning to our existence. It directs our life plan towards horizons that are not limited and fleeting, but broad and deep, and which motivate us to love this world which God loves so deeply, to devote ourselves to its development with the freedom and joy born of faith and hope. Against these horizons we do not see earthly reality as absolute, and we sense that God is preparing a greater future for us. In this way we can say with Saint Augustine: “Let us long for our home on high, let us pine for our home in heaven, let us feel that we are strangers here” (Tractates on the Gospel of Saint John, Homily 35:9). His gaze fixed on eternal life, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died in 1925 at the age of 24, could say: “I want to live and not simply exist!” On a photograph taken while mountain-climbing, he wrote to a friend: “To the heights”, referring not only to Christian perfection but also to eternal life.

Dear young friends, I urge you to keep this perspective in developing your life plan: we are called to eternity. God created us to be with him, for ever. This will help you to make meaningful decisions and live a beautiful life.

6. The commandments, the way to authentic love

Jesus reminded the rich young man that obedience to the Ten Commandments is necessary in order to “inherit eternal life”. The Commandments are essential points of reference if we are to live in love, to distinguish clearly between good and evil, and to build a life plan that is solid and enduring. Jesus is asking you too whether you know the Commandments, whether you are trying to form your conscience according to God’s law, and putting the Commandments into practice.

Needless to say, these are questions that go against the grain in today’s world, which advocates a freedom detached from values, rules and objective norms, and which encourages people to refuse to place limits on their immediate desires. But this is not the way to true freedom. It leds people to become enslaved to themselves, to their immediate desires, to idols like power, money, unbridled pleasure and the entrapments of the world. It stifles their inborn vocation to love.

God gives us the Commandments because he wants to teach us true freedom. He wants to build a Kingdom of love, justice and peace together with us. When we listen to the Commandments and put them into practice, it does not mean that we become estranged from ourselves, but that we find the way to freedom and authentic love. The commandments do not place limits on happiness, but rather show us how to find it. At the beginning of the conversation with the rich young man, Jesus reminds him that the law which God gives is itself good, because “God is good”.

7. We need you

Being young today means having to face many problems due to unemployment and the lack of clear ideas and real possibilities for the future. At times you can have the impression of being powerless in the face of current crises and their repercussions. Despite these difficulties, do not let yourselves be discouraged, and do not give up on your dreams! Instead, cultivate all the more your heart’s great desire for fellowship, justice and peace. The future is in the hands of those who know how to seek and find sound reasons for life and hope. If you are willing, the future lies in your hands, because the talents and gifts that the Lord has placed in your hearts, shaped by an encounter with Christ, can bring real hope to the world! It is faith in his love that, by making you stronger and more generous, will give you courage to face serenely the path of life and to take on family and professional responsibilities. Try hard to build your future by paying serious attention to your personal development and your studies, so that you will be able to serve the common good competently and generously.

In my recent Encyclical Letter on integral human development, Caritas in Veritate, I listed some of the great and urgent challenges essential for the life of our world: the use of the earth’s resources and respect for ecology, the fair distribution of goods and control of financial mechanisms, solidarity with poor countries within our human family, the fight against world hunger, greater respect for the dignity of human labour, service to the culture of life, the building of peace between peoples, interfaith dialogue, and the proper use of social communications.

These are challenges to which you are called to respond in order to build a more just and fraternal world. They are challenges that call for a demanding and passionate life plan, in which you use all your many gifts in accordance with the plan that God has for each of you. It is not a matter of accompanishing heroic or extraordinary acts. It means allowing your talents and abilities to flourish, and trying to make constant progress in faith and love.

In this Year for Priests, I ask you to learn about the lives of the saints, and in particular of those saints who were priests. You will see how God was their guide and how they made their way through each day in faith, in hope and in love. Christ is calling each of you to work with him and to take up your responsibilities in order to build the civilization of love. If you follow his Word, it will light up your path and lead you to high goals that will give joy and full meaning to your lives.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, watch over and protect you. With the assurance of my prayers, and with great affection, I send my blessing to all of you.

From the Vatican, 22 February 2010

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

[Pope Benedict, Message for the XXV WYD]

7. Continuing our examination of Christ's conversation with the young man, we now enter another phase. It is a new and decisive one. The young man has received the essential and fundamental response to the question: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?", and this response coincides with the whole journey of his life up to this point: "All these I have observed from my youth". How ardently I hope that the journey of the life of each one of you up to this point has similarly coincided with Christ's response! Indeed, it is my hope that your youth will provide you with a sturdy basis of sound principles, that your conscience will attain in these years of your youth that mature clearsightedness that during your whole lives will enable each one of you to remain always a "person of conscience", a "person of principles", a "person who inspires trust", in other words, a person who is credible. The moral personality formed in this way constitutes the most important contribution that you can make to life in the community, to the family, to society, to professional activity and also to cultural and political activity, and finally to the community of the Church-to all those spheres with which you are already or will one day be connected.

It is a question here of a full and profound human authenticity and of an equal authenticity of the development of the human personality, female or male, with all the characteristics which make up the unrepeatable features of this personality, and which at the same time and in different ways have an impact on the life of the community and of the various environments, beginning with the family. Each one of you must in some way contribute to the richness of these communities, first of all by means of what he or she is. Is it not in this direction that the youth which is the "personal" treasure of each of you tends? Man sees himself, his own humanity, both as his own interior world and as the specific area of his being "with others", "for others".

Precisely here the commandments of the Decalogue and of the Gospel take on a decisive meaning, especially the commandment of love which opens the human person to God and neighbor. For charity is the "`bond of perfection".(38) Through charity, man and human fraternity come to fuller maturity. For this reason, love is the greatest(39) and the first of all the commandments, as Christ teaches; (40) and in it all the others are included and made one.

My wish for each of you therefore is that the paths of your youth may meet in Christ, that you may be able to confirm before him, by the witness of your consciences, this evangelical moral code, to the values of which so many individuals of noble spirit have in the course of the generations in some way drawn near.

This is not the appropriate place for quoting the confirmations of this fact which run through the whole history of humanity. What is certain is that from the most ancient times the dictate of conscience has guided every human subject towards an objective moral norm which finds concrete expression in respect for the other person and in the principle of not doing to that person what one would not wish done to oneself.(41)

Here we see already clearly emerging that objective morality of which Saint Paul declares that it is "written on their hearts" and that "their conscience also bears witness" to it.(42) The Christian readily perceives in it a ray from the creating Word that enlightens every man;(43) and precisely because he is a follower of that Word made flesh he rises to the higher law of the Gospel which positively imposes upon him-in the commandment of love-the duty to do to neighbor all the good that he would wish to be done to himself. He thus seals the inner voice of conscience with absolute acceptance of Christ and his word.

It is also my hope that, after you have made the discernment of the essential and important questions for you youth, for the plan of the whole life that lies before you, you will experience what the Gospel means when it says: "Jesus, looking upon him, loved him". May you experience a look like that! May you experience the truth that he, Christ, looks upon you with love!

He looks with love upon every human being. The Gospel confirms this at every step. One can also say that this "loving look" of Christ contains, as it were, a summary and synthesis of the entire Good News. If we would seek the beginning of this look, we must turn back to the Book of Genesis, to that instant when, after the creation of man "male and female", God saw that "it was very good".(44) That very first look of the Creator is reflected in the look of Christ which accompanies his conversation with the young man in the Gospel.

We know that Christ will confirm and seal this look with the redemptive Sacrifice of the Cross, because precisely by means of this Sacrifice that "look' reached a particular depth of love. In it is contained an affirmation of man and of humanity such as only he is capable of-Christ the Redeemer and Bridegroom. Only he "knows what is in every man":(45) he knows man's weakness, but he also and above all knows his dignity.

My wish for each of you is that you may discover this look of Christ, and experience it in all its depth. I do not know at what moment in your life. I think that it will happen when you need it most: perhaps in suffering, perhaps together with the witness of a pure conscience, as in the case of that young man in the Gospel, or perhaps precisely in an opposite situation: together with the sense of guilt, with remorse of conscience. For Christ looked at Peter too in the hour of his fall: when he had three times denied his Master.(46)

Man needs this loving look. He needs to know that he is loved, loved eternally and chosen from eternity.(47) At the same time, this eternal love of divine election accompanies man during life as Christ's look of love. And perhaps most powerfully at the moment of trial, humiliation, persecution, defeat, when our humanity is as it were blotted out in the eyes of other people, insulted and trampled upon. At that moment the awareness that the Father has always loved us in his Son, that Christ always loves each of us, becomes a solid support for our whole human existence. When everything would make us doubt ourselves and the meaning of our life, then this look of Christ, the awareness of the love that in him has shown itself more powerful than any evil and destruction, this awareness enables us to survive.

My wish for you then is that you may experience what the young man in the Gospel experienced: "Jesus, looking upon him, loved him".

[Pope John Paul II, Dilecti Amici]

Today’s Liturgy offers us the encounter between Jesus and a man who “had great possessions” (Mk 10:22), and who went down in history as “the rich young man” (cf. Mt 19:20-22). We do not know his name. The Gospel of Mark actually speaks of him as “a man”, without mentioning his age or name, suggesting that we can all see ourselves in this man, as though in a mirror. His encounter with Jesus, in fact, allows us to test our faith. Reading this, I test myself on my faith.

The man begins with a question : “What must I do, to have eternal life?” (v. 17). Notice the verbs he uses: “must do ” — “to have ”. Here is his religiosity: a duty, a doing so as to obtain; “I do something to get what I need”. But this is a commercial relationship with God, a quid pro quo. Faith, on the other hand, is not a cold, mechanical ritual, a “must-do-obtain”. It is a question of freedom and love. Faith is a question of freedom, it is a question of love. Here is a first test: what is faith for me? If it is mainly a duty or a bargaining chip, we are off track, because salvation is a gift  and not a duty, it is free and cannot be bought. The first thing to do is to free ourselves of a commercial and mechanical faith, which insinuates the false image of an accountant God, a controlling God, not a father. And very often in life we experience this “commercial” relationship of faith: I do this, so that God will give me that.

Jesus, in the second step, helps this man by offering him the true face of God. Indeed, the text says, “Jesus looking upon him loved him” (v. 21): this is God! This is where faith is born and reborn: not from a duty, not from something that is to be done or paid, but from a gaze  of love to be welcomed. In this way Christian life becomes beautiful, if it  is not based on our abilities and our plans, but rather based  on God’s gaze. Is your faith, is my faith tired? Do you want to reinvigorate it? Look for God’s gaze: sit in adoration, allow yourself to be forgiven in Confession, stand before the Crucified One. In short, let yourself be loved by him. This is the starting point of faith: letting oneself be loved by him, by he who is father.

After the question and the gaze there is — the third and final step  — an invitation  from Jesus, who says: “You lack one thing”. What was that rich man lacking? Giving, gratuitousness. “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor” (v. 21). It is perhaps what we are missing too. We often do the bare minimum, whereas Jesus invites us to do the maximum possible. How many times  are we satisfied with doing our duties — the precepts, a few prayers, and many things like that — whereas God, who gives us life, asks us for leaps of life! In today’s Gospel we can see this passage from duty to giving, clearly; Jesus begins by recalling the Commandments: “Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal….”, and so on (v. 19) and arrives at a positive proposal: “Go, sell, give, follow me!” (cf. v. 21). Faith cannot be limited to [a series of] “no”, because Christian life is a “yes” a “yes” of love.

Dear brothers and sisters, a faith without giving, a faith without gratuitousness is an incomplete faith. It is a weak faith, a faith that is ill. We could compare it to rich and nourishing food that nonetheless lacks flavour, or a more or less well-played game, but without a goal: no, it isn’t good, it lacks “salt”. A faith without giving, without gratuitousness, without works of charity, makes us sad in the end: just like that man who returned home “sorrowful” with a fallen countenance, even though he had been looked upon with love by Jesus in person. Today we can ask ourselves: “At what point is my faith? Do I experience it as something mechanical, like a relationship of duty or interest with God? Do I remember to nourish it by letting myself be looked at and loved by Jesus”? Letting oneself be gazed at and loved by Jesus; letting Jesus look at us, love us. “And, attracted by him, do I respond freely, with generosity, with all my heart?”.

May the Virgin Mary, who said a total “yes” to God, a “yes” without “but” — it is not easy to say “yes” without “but”: Our Lady did just that, a “yes” without a “but” — let us savour the beauty of making life a gift.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 10 October 2021]

(Lk 6:39-45)

«How much our human family needs to learn to live together in harmony and peace, without all of us having to be the same!» (Pope Francis FT n.100).

In the assemblies of the first centuries the baptized were called «enlightened», people capable of orienting themselves, choosing and making autonomous.

The Lord didn’t allow his followers to take on the role of "guides" in the life of others (v.39).

The apostles of all times must only announce and remain disciples, that is, pupils of the Spirit - not experts.

God's Way is Christ himself. Person that can’t be communicated by teachers.

Global Truth: it’s not an “information” that fills empty heads and useless events redundant with exteriority.

The context of today's passage abolishes judgment, in the ideal of a personal existence transformed into wealth and gift - which ridicules any tendency of domination.

No one is master of the fate and personality of those who do not orient themselves, otherwise everyone goes astray (v. 39) - even with the best of intentions.

Jesus himself neither commanded nor directed, but educated and helped.

The rabbis got paid: He offered everything, living with his disciples [for mutual identification, but with a wide mesh].

Transparent and creative attitude: this is the true and only norm of conduct for the apostles of all times, often unable to grasp their own blindness - because they are still one-sided.

Again, of a plant it’s not the size and appearance that count, but the Fruit (vv. 43-45).

All the more reason to re-emphasize that church animators are not superior to others, nor are they the repositories of absolute truths.

In fact, Jesus is incomparable: Master sui generis (v.40).

He does not have a classroom furnished with a Chair and desks. And he still teaches along the way: there introduces us to meet ourselves, our brothers and the surrounding reality; in a process, on a journey.

He doesn’t hold quiet glossary, compilation or moralistic lessons: He amazes.

He does not reinterpret the quagmire of archaic knowledge, customs and dispositions - or fashions - authentic «beams» (vv.41-42) poked into the free eye of the soul, which deform its gaze.

He proposes his Person and his Life. As well as his reproaches - but precisely those and not other (obvious) volatile as «motes» (vv.41-42).

This while the false teachers considered themselves friends of God and recipients of obvious recognition.

From how they behaved, they seemed to feel distinctly superior not only to the people, but to the Master himself (v.40).

So He dubbed them for what they are: «hypocrites» (v.42). In the Greek language it means actors, people who act.

Jesus warns his followers [who in words gladly call him Lord: v.46] against presuming to be captains of the troop.

There is only one Master who directs and knows where to go; and each person is ‘unique’ - perhaps inexperienced and believed to be blind, but who ‘sees’ better than the big names.

These, from their bad treasure, will bring out - just around the corner - the «ugly and corrupt» for others too (vv. 43-45; Greek text).

Instead, the man of Faith still experiences a new Beauty inside, which wants to express itself and remain at first hand - not be satisfied with tearing a "mediocre draw".

Worst of ditches (v.39) in which we fall together.

«We are absolutely lost if we lack this particular Individuality, the only thing we can truly say ours and whose loss also constitutes a loss for the whole world. It’s very precious, precisely because it is not universal» (Tagore).

[8th Sunday in O.T. (year C)  March 2, 2025]