(Luke 11:1-13)
Cross within Prayer: no longer looking outward
Sons’ Prayer: performance or listening?
In the communities of Matthew and Luke, the "prayer" of the children - the "Our Father" - does not arise as a prayer, but as a formula of acceptance of the Beatitudes (in its sections: invocation to the Father, the human situation and the coming of the Kingdom, liberation).
In any case, the full difference between religious prayer and expression animated by Faith lies in the distinction between: Performance or Perception.
[As Pope Francis says: 'Praying is not talking to God like a parrot'. 'Our God does not need sacrifices to win his favour! He needs nothing'.
In religions, in fact, it is the praying subject who 'prays', expressing requests, exposing himself, praising, and so on.
Again in Thomism, the virtue of religion was considered an aspect of the cardinal virtue of Justice. In other words, the right position of man before God is that of one who recognises a duty of worship (worship that comes from him) towards the Creator; and man - the subject of prayer - would fulfil it.
Conversely, the son of God in Christ is a 'listener' to the Logos: he is the one who listens, perceives, welcomes: in short, the authentic Subject who expresses himself is God himself.
He reveals himself through the Word, in the reality of events, in the folds of universal and personal history, in the particular Call he grants us, even in intimate images.
These become plastic expressions of Mystery (and personal Vocation) which, wave upon wave, even guide the soul.
"When you pray, do not babble like the pagans, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words" (Mt 6:7; cf. Lk 11:1).
In Faith, we participate in the authentic prayer of Jesus himself - Person in us - addressed to the Father, first of all in "listening" to His providential proposals: as if, united with our Friend and Brother, we were entering into this Dialogue - filled with even figurative suggestions.
But it is the Only Begotten Son who prays; we are not the great protagonists. Only in this sense can the act of prayer be defined as "of the children" or "Christian".
Our life of prayer is not an ascetic exercise - much less a duty or a shopping list - because God does not need to be informed about something He had not thought of before.
As the Master says, the Father knows what we need (Mt 6:8). Therefore, no effort is necessary to turn to Him [no painful struggle to focus on ourselves and come out of ourselves...]. Nor does He oblige us to say too many (or the right) words.
Authentic prayer is not a repetition, nor a leap into the external darkness, but rather a searching and sifting, a gift. It is a plunge into our being, where the intimacy of the Agreement seeks to understand the Author's signature in the heart of events, even in emotions.
The prayer of the man of Faith does not aim to introduce God's will and the reality of situations into narrow horizons and already understandable judgements, as if pushing it into unnatural harmonies.
Prayer is a perceptive leap without repetitive identities, from one's own core - which eliminates mental toxins; and thus becomes an experience of fullness of being, in search of global and personal meaning.
The praying man is not even prey to some kind of excited (ridiculous or soporific) paroxysmal state: he is welcoming an Action - a Work of paradoxical suspension, on the path towards his own Beatitude.
Prayer is even an aesthetic gesture in Christ. Precisely because it tends to jolt our everyday imagination, so that it may be shaped according to the guiding vision that dwells within. It shifts and almost directs the eye of the soul, and the ecclesial experience.
A virtue-event that gradually chisels away at that very personal image that brings to awareness a goal or a communal reality of praise, or rather an innate narrative... A voice of unknown energies, for important changes.
Step by step, this perception and dialogue that emerges leads us to internalise hidden glimpses of the path that belongs to us: a missionary spirit that seeks harmony, the creation of a living environment, and so on. Even destabilising ones.
Only in this sense is prayer beneficial to us.
Nor can it be reduced to a group distinction, because while recognising themselves in certain knowledge, each person has their own language of the soul, a significant history and sensitivity, an unprecedented iconic world (also in terms of dreamed micro and macro relationships), as well as a unique task of salvation.
For this reason too – although in relation to the community of reference – the Symbol of those reborn in Christ who turn to the Father has come down to us in different versions: Matthew, Luke, Didache [‘Teaching’, perhaps contemporary with the last writings of the New Testament, a sort of early Catechism].To introduce us to specific considerations, it is appropriate to ask ourselves: why does Jesus not frequent places of worship to recite traditional formulas, but rather to teach?
And there is never any mention of the apostles praying with Him: it seems that they only wanted a formula to distinguish themselves from other rabbinical schools (cf. Lk 11:1).
The Lord stands firm only on the mentality and lifestyle: he proceeds on fundamental options - and insists on a perception aimed at welcoming, rather than on our saying and organising (which are not deeply imbued with a well-founded eternity).
Father
The God of religions was named with an abundance of high-sounding honorific epithets, as if He craved ever larger crowds of flatterers.
The Father does not surround himself with prestigious titles. A child does not address his parent as someone who is very high, eternal or exalted, but as the one who gives him life.
And the son does not imagine that he must offer cries and external acknowledgements - otherwise the superior and master would be offended and might punish him: the Parent looks at needs, not merits.
The God of religions rules his subjects by issuing laws, as a sovereign does; the Father transmits his Spirit, his very Life, which elevates and perfects both the capacity for personal listening and awareness (e.g., of one's brothers and sisters).
The only request is to extend our missionary resources and to feed ourselves with the Bread-Person who remoulds us according to his own virtues, according to what we should be, and perhaps already could have been.
A reality within our reach is the cancellation of the material debts that our neighbour has incurred out of necessity.
There is no witness to God-Love that does not pass through a fraternal community, where the communion of goods is lived.
The assurance of being at peace with God lies in the joy of living together and sharing.
In religious belief, material blessings are often confused with divine blessings, which accentuates competition, artificial primacy and the hardships of real life.
Conversely, the spirit of the Beatitudes is evident in a people where distinctions between creditors and debtors are abolished.
«Lead us not»: ancient prayer of sons, in real life
The essence of God is: Love that does not betray or abandon; it is useless, confusing and blasphemous to ask a Father: 'Do not abandon me' [cf. Greek text]. Even if it may be effective to the external ear.
The false mystics of Jesus abandoned (even by the Father!) do not educate; they may fascinate, they certainly confuse - and they brainwash.
In prayer, only the Spirit is guaranteed: the clarity to understand the fruitfulness of the Cross, the gain in loss, life not in triumph but in death. And the strength to be faithful to one's calling, despite persecutions, even 'internal' ones.
The community and individual souls, however, ask not to be placed in extreme conditions of trial, knowing well their own limits, their personal invincible precariousness, even if redeemed.
This is the threshold that distinguishes religiosity from Faith: on the one hand, the 'safe' formula of the convinced and strong; on the other, a humble and expectant prayer: that of the unsteady, redeemed by love.
'Lead us not' is precisely (in the Latin and Greek sense: 'lead us to the end') an ancient symbol of those reborn in Christ, in the experience of real life.
In religions, there are clearly opposing demons and angels: disordered and dark powers, contrary to the luminous and 'right' ones.
But by dint of pushing back the former, the worst continually resurface, until they win the game and spread.
In the lives of the saints, we see these great men strangely always under temptation - because they disdain evil, they do not know it. Gradually, however, the constant harassment becomes an uncontrollable crowd.
Women and men of faith do not act according to pre-established, superficial models, not even religious ones; they are aware that they are not heroes or paradigm phenomena.
That is why they entrust themselves. They let their intimate problems pass: they have understood their power!
This is the meaning of the Lord's Prayer in its original sense: 'do not bring us to trial, for we know our weakness'.
This attention arises so that sin itself - by dint of denying it, then masking it - does not paradoxically become the hidden protagonist of our journey. The focus of attention, which unfortunately clogs the mind, blocking the internal processes of spontaneous growth, perception of Grace and self-healing [in accordance with one's own unique Calling].
This would be the opposite of Redemption and Freedom, and therefore of Love: it is destroyed where there is a superior who dominates - even if it is God.
On the other hand, it is very beneficial to recover the energy that has brought us into contact with our deepest layers, opening up new horizons. We should take it on board and make it our own, in order to (only then) invest it in unexpected and wise ways.If, on the other hand, our 'counterpart' becomes a constant afterthought and block, we’re done for.
Pain, failure, sadness, frustration, weakness, a thousand anxieties, too many falls, accustom us to experiencing evil as part of ourselves: a condition to be evaluated, not a 'fault' to be cut out.
In the process of true salvific transmutation, that signal speaks about us: within a deviation or eccentricity there is a secret or knowledge to be discovered, in order to be personally reborn.
By looking at discomfort and opposition, we realise that these critical aspects of being become like malleable magma, which more quickly brings about healing. It is like a permanent, radical conversion... because it involves us and belongs to us; it is not artificial or superficial, but fundamental, coming from our core, from our seed and nature.
Absorbed patterns and beliefs prevent us from understanding that a passionate life is made up of contrasting states, of competing energies - which we must not mask in order to be considered respectable people.
By perceiving and integrating these depths, we abandon the idea and atmosphere of impending danger, devoid of further opportunities, only for death.
We become mature, without dissociations or hysterical states resulting from artificial identifications, or contempt for an important part of ourselves.
In short, limitations and 'crosses' have something to tell us.
They shake the soul to its core, sweep away absorbed masks, ignite the person, and save lives.
In this way, inconveniences and anxieties help us. They hide abilities and possibilities that we cannot yet see.
In the virtue of the fragile yet unique exceptionality of each person, the true path opens up.
The path of the Father and of the heart, the Way that wants to guide us towards alternative trajectories, new dimensions of existence.
What is the difference between Faith and ancient religiosity [in the sense of the cross within]?
It lies in the awareness that only the sick are healed, only the incomplete grow.
Only the limping regain expression, evolve. And by falling, they spring forward.
Continuous prayer: a condition of grace and strength that does not lead astray.
Failing without failing. Struggle: incessant, effective, with ourselves and with God
(Lk 11:5-13)
Sometimes we put the Father in the dock, because He seems to let things go as our freedom directs them.
But his plan is not to make the world work with the perfection of transistors (of the past) or integrated circuits (in their respective 'packages') or 'chips' [various 'bits and pieces']...
God wants us to acquire a New Creation mentality. His Action shapes us in the image of his Son, transforming our plans, ideas, desires, words and standard behaviour.
At first, prayer may seem tinged with requests. The more we progress in the experience of prayer in the Spirit of Christ, the less we ask.
The questions diminish until they almost cease altogether.
Desires for accumulation, revenge and triumph give way to listening and perception.
The penetrating eye notices what is within reach and what is unusual, in an ever more conscious acceptance that becomes real contemplation and union.
We do not know how long it takes, but the 'result' comes suddenly: not only certain, but disproportionate.
But as if extracted from a process of continuous incandescence, where there are no logical networks or easy shortcuts.
We receive the greatest and most complete Gift. And we can welcome it with dignity. A new Creation in the Spirit, a different aspect.
An unexpected Face - not simply the one fantasised or well arranged (as transmitted by the family or expected in the background).
God allows events to follow their course, apparently distant from us; therefore, prayer can take on dramatic tones and arouse irritation - as if it were an open dispute between us and Him.
But He chooses not to be the guarantor of our external dreams. He does not allow Himself to be confined within narrow limits.
He wants to involve us in something far greater than our goals, which are often too conformist to what we have right under our noses.
He invents expanded horizons, but in this struggle it must be clear that we must not fail ourselves. That is, the character of our essence and vocation.
All this, precisely by not betraying ourselves - that is, by giving up our rigid point of view and dialoguing with our deepest layers.
This process shifts the conditioned emphasis.
It is not that God takes pleasure in being constantly prayed to and relied upon by the poor.
It is we who need time to encounter our own souls and allow ourselves to be introduced to other kinds of programmes that are not conformist and predictable.
Reading events according to totally 'inappropriate', eccentric or excessive visions, less constrained by the usual armour (and so on) can open the mind.
Broadening one's gaze increases intuition, changes feelings, transforms and activates. It captures other patterns, opens up different horizons - with already prodigious, certainly unpredictable intermediate results.
When someone believes they have understood the world, they already condition themselves to further, more intense desires that would invade our space.
This artificial 'nature' of spurious, external or other people's attitudes blocks the path that leads to the nature of character, the true calling and personal mission.
Prayer must be insistent, because it is like a gaze fixed on oneself; not as we had thought: authentically.
The inner eye serves to create a sort of clear and individual space within, which opens up to our own and others' Presence, to be looked at (in the way that matters).
It will be the wisest, strongest and most reliable travelling companion... carrying our identity-character and not pulling the essential self of the person elsewhere.
The conscious emptying of the clutter piled up (by ourselves or others) must be filled over time through an intensity of Relationship.
This is interpersonal dialogue-Listening with the Source of being.
Nestled within it is our particular Seed: there, the difference in the face that belongs to us is seated and in the making.
It will be the radical depth of the relationship with our Root - perhaps lost in too many regular, even elevated or functioning expectations - that will give us another, more convincing Way.
And it will reveal the unique tendency and destination that belongs to us, for the Happiness we never imagined.
Goals, resolutions, disciplines, memories of the past, dreams of the future, searches for points of reference, habitual assessments of possibilities, piles of merit... sometimes these are ballast.
They distract us from the land of the soul, where our grain would like to take root and become what is in our hearts.
And from the Core, we understand the Mission we have received - not conquered, nor possessed - so that it may grant us another prodigious quality (not visibility).
Often, the mental and emotional system recognises itself in an album of thoughts, definitions, gestures, forms, problems, titles, tasks, characters, roles and things that are already dead.
This morphology of interdiction loses sight of the authentic present, where, on the contrary, the divine Dream takes root and completes us, realising us in our specificity.
So here is the therapy of absolute premonition in Listening - of non-planning; starting with each one of us.
This is done in the conscious gap of that part of us that seeks security, approval, and indulges in banality.
Through incessant dialogue with the Father in prayer, we make room for the roots of Being, which (in the meantime) is already filling us with visions and opportunities for a different fate.
By reactivating the exploratory energy suffocated in the gears, we create the right space and set off again on the Exodus.
Being satisfied, stopping, settling in one place would transform even qualitative achievements into a land of new slavery.
It would force us to act and retrace steps we have already taken - which, on the contrary, we are called upon to overcome.
Exodus... within a spring-like, cosmic and identifying relationship that is uniquely fundamental.
Thanks to prolonged listening in prayer, we children acquire the knowledge of the soul and of the Mystery.
We dwell for a long time in the House of our very special essence.
In this way, we plant it - or root it even deeper - in order to understand it and recover it completely, clear and full.
Now freed from the destiny traced in an environment of hardship, already marked but devoid of dreams.
When we are ready, Uniqueness will come into play with a new solution, even an extravagant one.
It will give birth to what we truly are, at our best - within that chaos that solves real problems. And wave after wave, it will leap towards the finish line.
Away with definitions and aspirations from nomenclature, in a sort of letting go of ourselves - in a 'discharged' state but full of potential energy - we will give space to the new Seed that knows more than anyone else.
Already here and now, our characteristic and unmistakable Plant wants to touch the divine condition.
Continuous prayer [listening and perception, not sporadic] digs and disposes of the volume of banal, redundant thoughts in this space.
In this interstice and 'void', opportunities open up. Inner cleansing is created so that the Gift may arrive - not second-hand.
Do we want a decisive conversion? Do we desire a return to the totality of humanising existence, without limitations and in our uniqueness?
[Then can divine action reach anyone? Does it take root in any face? And how can we avoid breaking it?].
Why not start afresh now? Prayer and the "new fullness" of the Spirit become for us - children in the process of growing up - the milk of the soul.
[Cf. Jn 16:23-28: Prayer in the Name: Saturday 6th Easter] [Cf. Mt 11:25-27: Jesus' only prayer that is little taught: Wednesday 15th T.O]
The second fall
Pros and cons
Lk 11:14-23 (14-26)
Prejudice undermines unity, and no one can seize Jesus and hold him hostage. He is the strong one whom no fortified citadel can contain.
Those who fear losing their command and losing their artificial prestige have already lost. No armour or booty can hold them back.
There is no custom, compromise or police force to trust that can withstand the siege of Freedom in Christ.
The Scriptures form an inseparable unity. However, only in Him does Tradition not block charisms, diminish us, cause anxiety, or lead to scruples—rather, it acquires its vital significance.
Friendship with the Risen One is in fact extraordinarily original and respects uniqueness. It lies in continuity and at the same time in a break with the old mindset. It is the vital monotheism of a new Spirit who welcomes gifts.
Those who do not commit themselves to expanding the creative work of the Father, those who do not do their utmost to understand and enliven situations or people - even respecting eccentricities that previously had no place and seemed incommunicable - hover over illusions, disperse themselves and undermine the whole environment.
The Tao Te Ching (LXV) says: "In ancient times, those who practised the Tao well did not make the people perceptive, but strove to make them obtuse: the people are difficult to govern because their wisdom is too great."
Normal people accept chaos, they do not shun life. Missionaries are trained to find in every effort, in every mistake or imperfection, a new order, orderly and secret. Nothing external.
In every uncertainty there is a certainty, in every insecurity a greater security, in every shadow an unexpected pearl, in every disorder a cosmos: this is the secret of life, of happiness, of the experience of Faith.
The authorities were attached to their false prestige and very concerned that Jesus was faithful to his unique task and might succeed in taking away from them the people they had lured - but now liberated - from the religion of fear.
He (his community) remained more convincing because he was bringing about the Kingdom, he was beginning to show it; not in fantasies of cataclysms that would put souls on a leash, but alive and efficient, step by step, person by person.
It met the desire for human fulfilment that dwelled in every heart, so it did not rely on obsessions and paroxysms or on the Law, but on real good, healing, life (always different).
The care of individual and relational infirmities was no longer a secondary matter: thus, for example, the liberation of a single unhappy person began to seem to have absolute, definitive value.
The scene on earth could no longer be dominated by adapted catechisms and pious customs that denied everything except fears.
In short, Christ himself is the strong man who sees far, a sign of God's effective coming among men.
With him, the reign of illusions and fixed positions declines; the world opposed to the disintegration of concrete existence takes over, respecting the uniqueness and conviviality of differences.
The activity of his Church performs exorcisms: it emancipates from dehumanising forces, conditioning and structures. It moves not on a legalistic level, but on a level of active faith and love that guarantees to each person the path of spontaneity and fulfilment desired in their heart.
Even today, the fraternal community must be aware that it is an instrument of redemption and an energetic presence of God among ordinary men and women of all cultural backgrounds, to lead them and accompany them towards a present-future that gives breath not only to the group but also to individual inclinations.
The assemblies of the children are enabled by grace and vocation to untie knots and overcome mental barriers, thus creating a welcoming environment that accepts travellers: this is the principle and non-negotiable horizon of the Faith.
By overcoming old fixed convictions that bracket the reality of people and accentuate their blockages, the community of children in the Risen One is called to become the power of God.
It is urged to become a clear sign of the enterprising presence of the personal and diligent Holy Spirit [“the finger of God”: v. 20], who surpasses reassuring and empty spirituality, as well as the superficial, indolent distraction of devotion according to customs imposed by conventions and chains of command.
But why does Jesus emphasise that the second fall is more ruinous than the first (vv. 24-26)?
If the mind of the faithful is emptied of the great step of the living Christ - which it has first practised and recognised within itself and in its mission - it is no longer focused on something useful, vital and splendid: weakened, it is lost.
While Luke was writing the Gospel, in the mid-80s, there were quite a few defections due to persecution.Believers were discouraged, dismayed by social contempt - thus many saw the enthusiastic excitement of the early days fade away.
Love could not be put in the bank, but several brothers in the community who had come from paganism, after an initial experience of conversion, preferred to return to their former life, to imitating models, to the usual easy thoughts, to the attractions and approval of the crowds.
Falling back and resigning themselves to the forces at work, some abandoned the position of inner autonomy they had gained through the liberating action of the idols, favoured by the wise and prayerful life in the fraternal community.
Then they also attempted an individual search for compensation and revenge for the difficult years spent being faithful to their vocation, in that stimulus to grow together through the exchange of gifts and resources.
Lk warns us: it is normal that there are as many nights as there are days.
We understand the stress of wandering in order to approach the infinity of the soul, the competitive reality and our neighbours (even those in the community) - but be careful... a second fall would be worse than the first.
The person who once returned to himself and gave up everything in despair would then succumb to general disillusionment, to a more global lack of judgement, awareness and trust.
All this still happens today due to particular pressures, discouragement or hastiness, after seeing ideals shattered by imperfect circumstances. Or because of the effort of facing discoveries and developments (which always call everything into question) in the long time needed to achieve patient consistency with one's own deep-rooted codes.
Thus, those who allow themselves to be stunned would easily return to seeking the green light from others and that alignment that hides conflicts and makes them tremble less - because the old conviction that has become a modus vivendi does not change the ways of doing things or the normal frame of reference.
Difficulties caused some to give up, and this seemed to put a tombstone on the hope of actually building an alternative society without hurting ourselves too much.
But the Gospel reiterates that a neutral attitude (v. 23) from a safe distance is not an option. There are no half measures: only clear choices and no repressed needs.
Integrate, yes: contradictory sides always dwell in our hearts, and there is no need to be alarmed by this. Opposing states of being are a richness that completes us.
Indeed, we become neurotic precisely when reductionist obsessions or single-issue (club) demands prevail and stifle the multifaceted Call - which, although chiselled by Name, is never one-sided.
To live fully, freely and happily, it is good to be ourselves, aware of who we are: perfect children (for our task in the world).
So we can ignore the discomfort of the insults of those who scold and belittle us, let them flow away - and do without chasing praise.
The man of Faith has experienced and knows the essential: it is life that conquers death, not the other way around; therefore, he disregards obsessions (even those cloaked in sacredness) and does not allow his spirit to be worn down.
He enjoys a critical conscience that knows how to put immediate results in the background, thus regenerating himself; he incessantly reactivates and does not eradicate his strengths.
Those baptised in Christ live attitudes full of authenticity and totality of being, regardless of favourable or unfavourable circumstances. They remain distant from childish fears, enjoy a free heart and are steadfast in action.
They anticipate that they may be wayfarers, besieged by a hysterical system that cannot tolerate real change (v. 22).
In this they rest, always calling upon their natural and character roots - where the primordial energies of the soul and the innate (not derived) dreams that heal and guide are kept.
After all, his journey is against the grain and will certainly be punctuated by hard lessons.
But the cliché is all induced rhetoric; it tries to invade us with weightless recriminations: futile attempts to block the way forward.
It is no surprise that the acolytes of the conformist world defend themselves in every way possible.
And they attack with that standard, socially 'acceptable' rhetoric that attempts to accentuate intimate and personal conflicts. With the vast resources at their disposal, they leverage feelings of guilt.
We will continue to walk swiftly on the Way of the Lord, even when urged on by doubts and indecision; without retreating, even when we feel lost - but with a taste of gain even in loss.
The most difficult moments will be further calls for transformation.
And in every circumstance, we will experience the taste of victory of a full life over the power of evil and over the imitative, banal cultural tenor of others.
Here - in fidelity to our inner world that wants to express itself, and in a change of style or imagination in our approaches - we will resolve the real problems and all the issues in a rich and personal way.Reborn in Christ, who protects and promotes us starting from our exceptional originality, we cannot 'die' by losing our essence and the unrepeatable Encounter.
Returning to identify ourselves in roles, like photocopies - without the Journey of the soul.
Free towards the promised land that belongs to us, we do not seek circumstantial perfection, but fullness.
To internalise and live the message:
Who and what activates me or loses me?
Is Jesus my Lord or am I (my status, my group, my 'respectable' manners, even religious influences...) His master?
How do I face situations, open up paths and not lose myself, in harmony with the ancient and new Voice of the soul, and in the Spirit?
