(Mk 8:22-26)

In this section of Mk the initiation of Faith is described; in filigree, the routing to the relationship with Christ that takes away the difficulties of ‘sight’ - and the first baptismal liturgies typical rhythm.

The overall context of the passage makes it clear that the episode preludes a lengthy Jesus instruction.

He announces his Passion three times to Peter and disciples, who are reluctant to commit themselves to Cross.

When Mk was writing, the communities situation was one of deep travail. A lot of pains were experienced: it was not easy to understand so much suffering.

In 64 Nero decreed the first great persecution, which produced many victims among believers.

The following year the Jewish revolt broke out, triggering the bloody reconquest of Palestine starting from Galilee.

In the meantime, in Rome the troubles of the bloody civil war (68-69) were crumbling the idea of ​​the Golden Age and rather causing a lot of hardships.

The holy city, Jerusalem, was being razed to the ground in 70. And although Titus had returned to Rome, the war was going on in other outbreaks, until the fall of Masada (74).

In this framework, strong tensions arose outside Palestine between Jewish converts to Christ and observant Jews; and the greatest difficulty was over the interpretation of Jesus’ Cross.

For the traditionalists - and at first for the apostles themselves - a defeated and humiliated man could not be the expected Messiah.

The Torah itself stated that all the crucified were to be considered persons cursed by God [Dt 21:22-23: «the hanged man is a curse from God»].

In that very context, Mk seems to hint that... the real blind ones are Peter and the apostles themselves, conditioned by the propaganda of the Messiah glorious King; as well as the Judaizers.

Everyone wanted a triumphant Jesus. They were like blind people who understood nothing but the easy and flashy propaganda - as well as the world organized on the basis of selfishness.

In order to heal the blindness of his leaders or simple community members who were still uncertain, the Lord had to lead them «out of the village» - the place of usual, ancient illusory beliefs.

And he had to forbid his intimates to re-enter it: there, no one would ever be able to understand the value of the self-giving in ordinary existence or in assembly living, God’s testimonies (vv.23.26).

The same happened to us, like as the «blind man from Bethsaida»: only when the Relationship was internalized and consolidated, did we move from glimmers to greater clarity, learning to understand people, issues, realities.

To be finally «enlightened», we had to accept that God’s gift was introduced through the identity of life in the Son.

The Lord healed our gaze, making us grow over time. A "portent" that became recovery, also natural.

A perspective that prompted decision and action, which now even measure up to great things. Starting from a new vantage point, filled with Hope.

This is also true in the perception of discomforts, which gradually regenerate the being - because anxieties are simple voices of an energy that wants to dispel fog and ballast, and make us flourish otherwise.

These are the event-witnesses to the ‘coming’ of the Messiah in our lives.

Intimate guiding events and images, which the Gospels do not frame in a Christological or ecclesiological framework of a triumphalist kind, but rather in an almost day-to-day and spontaneous manner; very human and relational.

To say that the new person is perhaps still immersed in the shadows, but gradually places the “old man” in the background.

And in the metamorphosis of perspective gaze, in Christ each can bring his or her future person closer.

[Wednesday 6th wk. in O.T.  February 19, 2025]

(Mk 8:22-26)

The encyclical Brothers All invites us to a perspective look, which arouses decision and action: a new eye, filled with Hope.

It "speaks to us of a reality that is rooted in the depths of the human being, regardless of the concrete circumstances and historical conditioning in which he lives. It speaks to us of a thirst, of an aspiration, of a yearning for fullness, for a fulfilled life, of a measuring oneself against what is great, against what fills the heart and lifts the spirit towards great things, such as truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. [...] Hope is audacious, it knows how to look beyond personal comfort, the small securities and compensations that narrow the horizon, to open up to great ideals that make life more beautiful and dignified" [n.55; from a Greeting to young people in Havana, September 2015].

In this section of Mk, the initiation of the Faith is described; in filigree, the instraction to the relationship with Christ that takes away the difficulties of "sight", and the typical passages of the first baptismal liturgies.

The general context of the passage makes it clear that the episode preludes a long instruction of Jesus.

He announces his Passion three times to Peter and the disciples, who are reluctant to commit themselves to the Cross.

The Master insists - not to add insult to injury and wear down his intimates.

[As the Tao Tê Ching (xxxiii) also recognises: 'That which dies but does not perish has everlasting life'].

When Mc wrote, the situation of the communities was not easy. Much suffering was experienced: it was not so easy to understand so much suffering.

In 64 Nero decreed the first great persecution, which produced many victims among the believers.

The following year, the Jewish revolt broke out, triggering the bloody reconquest of Palestine from Galilee.

In the meantime, in Rome the turmoil of the bloody civil war (68-69) was crumbling the idea of the Golden Age and rather bringing many hardships.

Finally the holy city, Jerusalem, was being razed to the ground (70).

And although Titus had returned to Rome, the war was going on in other hotbeds until the fall of Masada (74).

Within this framework, strong tensions arose outside Palestine between Jews converted to the Lord and observant Jews, and the greatest difficulty was over the interpretation of the Cross of Jesus.

For the traditionalists - and at first for the apostles themselves - a defeated and humiliated man could not be the expected Messiah.

The Torah itself stated that all the crucified were to be considered "cursed by God" [cf. Deut 21:22-23: "the hanged man is a curse from God"].

In that very context, Mk seems to hint that... the real blind ones are Peter and the apostles themselves, conditioned by the propaganda of the glorious Messiah-King, as well as the Judaizers.

They all wanted a triumphant monarch. But they were like blind men who understood nothing but the easy and flashy propaganda - and the world organised on the basis of selfishness.

In order to heal the blindness of his 'leaders' or simple community members who were still uncertain, the Son had to lead them 'out of the village' - the place of the usual, old illusory beliefs.

And forbid his intimates from re-entering it: there, no one would ever be able to understand the value of self-giving in ordinary life or in assembly living, witnesses of God (vv.23.26).

From the very beginning the initiation into the Faith included rite and the new Word.

The latter fully revealed the meaning of the first liturgies - reaching out towards a transformation that touched the whole man in concrete terms.

Mind and heart, spirit and senses, individual and community were involved - for a clear vision of the meaning of life.

In the language of the First Testament, Word and active event are expressed in a single term: 'Dabar'.

Here vision and listening coincide in a single process of perception, assimilation, internalisation and attunement, then action.

Everything in Christ and in us is offered to the senses and the intelligence.

We seem to see a catechumen being - as we used to say - "enlightened", that is, snatched from the disorientation of a paganising life.

The candidate was introduced into the new radiance of the Faith: progressively "initiated" into the Person of Christ, into the demands of Communion and Mission.

The same thing happened to the "blind man of Bethsaida".

Having made the first informal contacts with Jesus, we too began by perceiving something, perhaps in a confused way at first...

As as children, we drew 'pictures' - and at first we could not really delineate the differences, not even the outlines of the surrounding volumes.

Only when the relationship became internalised and consolidated did we move from glimmers to greater clarity, learning to understand people, themes, reality.

It has been and continues to be a 'prodigy' to be assimilated, adapting little by little to the natural course.This although it does not limit itself to an updating of cultural formulae, but finally arrives at 'compromising' the baton.

A 'sign' (John would say) of greater realities, a sign of wondrous things - if you will.

A powerful work, but one that unfolds in an evolutionary process of self-knowledge and knowledge of others, of existential learning, and flowering in the faculties.

[There is no talk of infused science; nor of 'mirabilia Dei' in the ancient sense, i.e. of a conspicuously immediate wonder. As if it were an incredible, exceptional, unrepeatable, sensational (and fortuitous - or extremely difficult and stunted) feat. To convince only someone and peremptorily].

An essential element of revelation in the sacred Scriptures - compared to other religious texts of the ancient world - is the demythologised cosmos, on a human scale.

The problems are traced back to the dialectic of our choice between death and life, as well as the ability to accept a Vocation within a Vocation.

Passages and metamorphoses serve to avoid petrifying life. They bring providential newness to woman and man, to history and sensibility.

By opening our gaze, we crumble useless convictions; we open our aptitude to listen to the proposed renewal.

Indeed, seeing what was previously unnoticed is part of the process that leads from darkness to Faith.

To be finally enlightened, we had to accept that the gift of God was introduced through the identity of life in the Son, which prompts other births.

The Lord healed our gaze by making us grow in time. A 'portent' that also became natural recovery.

The contact with the Lord that opens our eyes and makes us see more and more happens in stages - a non-point source event; also expressed through the tactile language of the Sacraments.

And step by step He lets us advance in the sharpness of insight, in the understanding of the world around us.

Perspective that aroused decision and action, which are now even measured by great things. From a new vantage point, filled with Hope.

This is also true in the perception of hardships, which gradually regenerate the being - because hardships and anxieties are mere voices of an energy that wants to dispel fog and ballast, and make us flourish otherwise.

These are the events-witnesses to the Messiah's coming in our lives.

Intimate guiding events and images, which the Gospels do not frame in a triumphalist Christological or ecclesiological framework, but rather in an almost summary and spontaneous manner - very human and relational.

To say that the new person is perhaps still immersed in the shadows, but gradually places the old man in the background.

And in the metamorphosis of his perspective gaze, in Christ he brings the future person closer.

To internalise and live the message:

What acumen of vision has the Person of Christ granted you? What intimate and engaging icon?

What leap in relationships, in terms of humanisation?

Because of Adam’s sin we too are born “blind” but in the baptismal font we are illumined by the grace of Christ. Sin wounded humanity and destined it to the darkness of death, but the newness of life shines out in Christ, as well as the destination to which we are called. In him, reinvigorated by the Holy Spirit, we receive the strength to defeat evil and to do good. 

In fact the Christian life is a continuous conformation to Christ, image of the new man, in order to reach full communion with God. The Lord Jesus is the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12), because in him shines “the knowledge of the glory of God” (2 Cor 4:6) that continues in the complex plot of the story to reveal the meaning of human existence. 

In the rite of Baptism, the presentation of the candle lit from the large Paschal candle, a symbol of the Risen Christ, is a sign that helps us to understand what happens in the Sacrament. When our lives are enlightened by the mystery of Christ, we experience the joy of being liberated from all that threatens the full realization.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 3 April 2011]

Dear pilgrims.

You are glad to find yourselves gathered in the Pope's house. And I too am very happy to welcome you. Together, we are experiencing some "heart to heart" moments, as at the Ark of Trosly-Breuil, as in the 67 Arks of the world. All of you who have some limitations in health or who so gently surround these young people with disabilities, have a priority place in my heart as a universal Pastor. Is this not how Jesus behaved? Isn't that how parents and educators here behave?

For a few moments I want to gather with you and contemplate Jesus with you. Reading the Gospel carefully, we are - almost on every page - amazed by the Lord's attitude in his dealings with people. He has a unique way - he has, I would say, the secret - of approaching people or letting them come to him. A unique way of conversing with them by listening to them and letting them express themselves. A unique way of freeing them or beginning to free them from their miseries: he progressively opens them up to something other than themselves, to other valid realities. One might say: Jesus liberates them through a progressive decentralisation from themselves.

Therefore, like you in the Ark communities, Jesus uses with respect and delicacy the human resources of closeness, of the gaze, of gestures, of silence, of dialogue. You can also - in this meditative perspective - examine at length his encounters with the first apostles, with Nicodemus, the guests at the wedding in Cana, the Samaritan woman, Zacchaeus, the Roman centurion, the blind man of Bethsaida or the one at the pool of Siloe, Martha and Mary of Bethany, the disciples of Emmaus, Thomas, the unbelieving apostle . . .

Jesus' relationship with his compatriots manifests in the highest degree his sense of dignity, of the sacred value of each person.

You are persuaded of the unprecedented richness of this revelation, which can only be divine. but we know, unfortunately, that too many people and too many leaders of peoples forget it. your arks are and can be, even more, a serene and vigorous demonstration of sacred respect, of patient attention, of possible human promotion, in favour of children and adolescents limited from birth by various handicaps. you contribute, without making noise, to the 'civilisation of love'.

Wholeheartedly, I encourage you to continue your educational and evangelically inspired work, carried out in an original and communitarian way, in the 67 Arche spread over several continents. I imagine that this community life is not without problems. Solving them once and for all will take time. But what is important is to live with your problems, renewing and affirming each day your will, your choice of respect, of listening, of tenderness, of forgiveness, of cooperation, of hope, of joy. Truly, this behaviour alleviates the problems, creating a climate of openness of spirit and heart among those with handicaps and fostering the growth of the personality of adults devoted body and soul to their service.

I fervently invoke on the group I have the joy of receiving, but also on all the Arks of the world, on their members and their leaders, and on their founder, Monsignor Jean Vanier, renewed graces of light and divine strength.

[Pope John Paul II, Address to the Arche Community 16 February 1984]

Today’s Gospel sets before us the story of the man born blind, to whom Jesus gives sight. The lengthy account opens with a blind man who begins to see and it closes — and this is curious — with the alleged seers who remain blind in soul. The miracle is narrated by John in just two verses, because the Evangelist does not want to draw attention to the miracle itself, but rather to what follows, to the discussions it arouses, also to the gossip. So many times a good work, a work of charity arouses gossip and discussion, because there are some who do not want to see the truth. The Evangelist John wants to draw attention to something that also occurs in our own day when a good work is performed. The blind man who is healed is first interrogated by the astonished crowd — they saw the miracle and they interrogated him —, then by the doctors of the law who also interrogate his parents. In the end the blind man who was healed attains to faith, and this is the greatest grace that Jesus grants him: not only to see, but also to know Him, to see in Him “the light of the world” (Jn 9:5).

While the blind man gradually draws near to the light, the doctors of the law on the contrary sink deeper and deeper into their inner blindness. Locked in their presumption, they believe that they already have the light, therefore, they do not open themselves to the truth of Jesus. They do everything to deny the evidence. They cast doubt on the identity of the man who was healed, they then deny God’s action in the healing, taking as an excuse that God does not work on the Sabbath; they even doubt that the man was born blind. Their closure to the light becomes aggressive and leads to the expulsion from the temple of the man who was healed.

The blind man’s journey on the contrary is a journey in stages that begins with the knowledge of Jesus’ name. He does not know anything else about him; in fact, he says: “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes” (v. 11). Following the pressing questions of the lawyers, he first considers him a prophet (v. 17) and then a man who is close to God (v. 31). Once he has been banished from the temple, expelled from society, Jesus finds him again and “opens his eyes” for the second time, by revealing his own identity to him: “I am the Messiah”, he tells him. At this point the man who had been blind exclaims: “Lord, I believe!” (v. 38), and he prostrates himself before Jesus. This is a passage of the Gospel that makes evident the drama of the inner blindness of so many people, also our own for sometimes we have moments of inner blindness.

Our lives are sometimes similar to that of the blind man who opened himself to the light, who opened himself to God, who opened himself to his grace. Sometimes unfortunately they are similar to that of the doctors of the law: from the height of our pride we judge others, and even the Lord! Today, we are invited to open ourselves to the light of Christ in order to bear fruit in our lives, to eliminate unchristian behaviours; we are all Christians but we all, everyone sometimes has unchristian behaviours, behaviours that are sins. We must repent of this, eliminate these behaviours in order to journey well along the way of holiness, which has its origin in baptism. We, too, have been “enlightened” by Christ in baptism, so that, as St Paul reminds us, we may act as “children of light” (Eph 5:8), with humility, patience and mercy. These doctors of the law had neither humility, nor patience, nor mercy!

I suggest that today, when you return home, you take the Gospel of John and read this passage from Chapter nine. It will do you good, because you will thus see this road from blindness to light and the other evil road that leads to deeper blindness. Let us ask ourselves about the state of our own heart? Do I have an open heart or a closed heart? It is opened or closed to God? Open or closed to my neighbour? We are always closed to some degree which comes from original sin, from mistakes, from errors. We need not be afraid! Let us open ourselves to the light of the Lord, he awaits us always in order to enable us to see better, to give us more light, to forgive us. Let us not forget this! Let us entrust this Lenten journey to the Virgin Mary, so that we too, like the blind man who was healed, by the grace of Christ may “come to the light”, go forward towards the light and be reborn to new life.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 30 March 2014]

And the much yeast, which impoverishes

(Mk 8:14-21)

Jesus says one thing, the apostles understand another. The «leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod» is a theme that alludes to the ideology of domination.

The disciples were close to Christ, because he was the character of the moment.

But enraptured by cheap illusions, they no longer listened to the Master, who was pursuing them.

Even today some followers do not feel like getting involved in things they do not want to know and would put them in shortage (v.14) - with the only possibility of fraternal sharing.

They seem unwilling to hear anything but proclamations of power, opulence, fame and imperial victory.

Their heads and their desires remain distant, engaged only in the validations of "swelling" and profit - despite appearances to the contrary.

They come to kidnap the Son of God for themselves, because they seem to have become exactly like the adversaries of the new Faith: hardened hearts (v.17) - eyes that do not look, ears that do not listen (v.18).

By moving away from him to turn willingly to the usual idolatries and pagan hopes.

Of course, there were confused ideas about the Messiah around - but all related to the [unfaithful] conception of ‘grandeur’.

But the authentic Messiah doesn’t want to reach an eminent position through contacts and deceptions, but rather to help needy and frightened humanity.

Many were waiting for a King, others for a high priest who was finally holy.

Some expected a guerrilla, or a healer;  others a judge or a prophet. No one a Servant.

Everyone reduced him to normal flattery, according to their interests - and class of belonging.

In fact, the very intimates of the Master showed themselves willing to go after any breeze of doctrine, as long as this could allow them to retain the treasures of the Kingdom.

Any title for the Messiah - religious, political, nationalist - could be tolerated, digested and made tameable... except the one that forced them to become servants of others.

The only uncomfortable presence.

Yet the prolonged absence of a prophetic spirit becomes the cause of many torments.

The inclination to coexistence and communion is missionary ‘truth’. Instrument for the redemption of all, starting with those who reach out to needy sisters and brothers.

By its nature and mandate, the small boat of the Church remains sent to all nations. ‘Salt of the earth’, ‘Light of the world’.

No believer must imagine himself exonerated.

Baptism has incorporated us, so that we are launched to cooperate - according to capacity and contexts.

A breath that cannot be interrupted or limited. Death would result.

In short, the Lord doesn’t ask us for marginal and nuanced behavior, but rather receptive and global ones.

Attitudes that affect the sense of history and its assets...

Because sharing the little «bread» doesn’t impoverish; rather, it enriches.

To internalize and live the message:

«They had ‘only one bread’ with them in the boat»: do you complain about it or do you evaluate its meaning?

[Tuesday 6th wk. in O.T.  February 18, 2025]

Dear friends, do not hesitate to follow Jesus Christ. In him we find the truth about God and about mankind. He helps us to overcome our selfishness, to rise above our ambitions and to conquer all that oppresses us. The one who does evil, who sins, becomes a slave of sin and will never attain freedom (cf. Jn 8:34). Only by renouncing hatred and our hard and blind hearts will we be free and a new life will well up in us.

Convinced that it is Christ who is the true measure of man, and knowing that in him we find the strength needed to face every trial, I wish to proclaim openly Jesus Christ as the way, the truth and the life. In him everyone will find complete freedom, the light to understand reality more deeply and to transform it by the renewing power of love.

[Pope Benedict, homily in Havana 28 March 2012]

4. In my first encyclical, in which I set forth the program of my Pontificate, I said that "the Church's fundamental function in every age, and particularly in ours, is to direct man's gaze, to point the awareness and experience of the whole of humanity toward the mystery of Christ."4

The Church's universal mission is born of faith in Jesus Christ, as is stated in our Trinitarian profession of faith: "I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father.... For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man."5 The redemption event brings salvation to all, "for each one is included in the mystery of the redemption and with each one Christ has united himself forever through this mystery."6 It is only in faith that the Church's mission can be understood and only in faith that it finds its basis.

Nevertheless, also as a result of the changes which have taken place in modern times and the spread of new theological ideas, some people wonder: Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant? Has it not been replaced by inter-religious dialogue? Is not human development an adequate goal of the Church's mission? Does not respect for conscience and for freedom exclude all efforts at conversion? Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion? Why then should there be missionary activity?

"No one comes to the Father, but by me" (Jn 14:6)

5. If we go back to the beginnings of the Church, we find a clear affirmation that Christ is the one Savior of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to God. In reply to the Jewish religious authorities who question the apostles about the healing of the lame man, Peter says: "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.... And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:10, 12). This statement, which was made to the Sanhedrin, has a universal value, since for all people-Jews and Gentiles alike - salvation can only come from Jesus Christ.

The universality of this salvation in Christ is asserted throughout the New Testament. St. Paul acknowledges the risen Christ as the Lord. He writes: "Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth - as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords' - yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1 Cor 8:5-6). One God and one Lord are asserted by way of contrast to the multitude of "gods" and "lords" commonly accepted. Paul reacts against the polytheism of the religious environment of his time and emphasizes what is characteristic of the Christian faith: belief in one God and in one Lord sent by God.

In the Gospel of St. John, this salvific universality of Christ embraces all the aspects of his mission of grace, truth and revelation: the Word is "the true light that enlightens every man" (Jn 1:9). And again, "no one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known" (Jn 1:18; cf. Mt 11:27). God's revelation becomes definitive and complete through his only-begotten Son: "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the world" (Heb 1:1-2; cf. Jn 14:6). In this definitive Word of his revelation, God has made himself known in the fullest possible way. He has revealed to mankind who he is. This definitive self-revelation of God is the fundamental reason why the Church is missionary by her very nature. She cannot do other than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the fullness of the truth which God has enabled us to know about himself.

Christ is the one mediator between God and mankind: "For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth" (1 Tm 2:5-7; cf. Heb 4:14-16). No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit. Christ's one, universal mediation, far from being an obstacle on the journey toward God, is the way established by God himself, a fact of which Christ is fully aware. Although participated forms of mediation of different kinds and degrees are not excluded, they acquire meaning and value only from Christ's own mediation, and they cannot be understood as parallel or complementary to his.

6. To introduce any sort of separation between the Word and Jesus Christ is contrary to the Christian faith. St. John clearly states that the Word, who "was in the beginning with God," is the very one who "became flesh" (Jn 1:2, 14). Jesus is the Incarnate Word-a single and indivisible person. One cannot separate Jesus from the Christ or speak of a "Jesus of history" who would differ from the "Christ of faith." The Church acknowledges and confesses Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16): Christ is none other than Jesus of Nazareth: he is the Word of God made man for the salvation of all. In Christ "the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col 2:9) and "from his fullness have we all received" (Jn 1:16). The "only Son, who is the bosom of the Father" (Jn 1:18) is "the beloved Son, in whom we have redemption.... For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his Cross" (Col 1:13-14, 19-20). It is precisely this uniqueness of Christ which gives him an absolute and universal significance, whereby, while belonging to history, he remains history's center and goal:7 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (Rv 22:13).

Thus, although it is legitimate and helpful to consider the various aspects of the mystery of Christ, we must never lose sight of its unity. In the process of discovering and appreciating the manifold gifts-especially the spiritual treasures-that God has bestowed on every people, we cannot separate those gifts from Jesus Christ, who is at the center of God's plan of salvation. Just as "by his incarnation the Son of God united himself in some sense with every human being," so too "we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility of sharing in the Paschal Mystery in a manner known to God."8 God's plan is "to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth" (Eph 1:10).

[Pope John Paul II, Redemtoris Missio]

“We offer this Mass for our 21 Coptic brothers, slaughtered for the sole reason that they were Christians”. These were Pope Francis’ words during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Tuesday, 17 February. “Let us pray for them, that the Lord welcome them as martyrs, for their families, for my brother Tawadros, who is suffering greatly”, he added. In a telephone conversation on Monday afternoon, Pope Francis spoke personally with Tawadrosii, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He expressed his profound sadness for the barbaric assassination carried out by Islamic fundamentalists, and assured him of his prayers for the funerals.

Pope Francis opened his homily with the words of the entrance antiphon, “Be my protector, O God, a mighty stronghold to save me. For you are my rock, my stronghold! Lead me, guide me, for the sake of your name” (cf. Ps 31[30]:3-4). He continued with the passage on the flood in the day’s Reading from the Book of Genesis (6:5-8, 7:1-5, 10) which, he said, “makes us think about man’s capacity for destruction: man is capable of destroying everything that God made” when “he thinks he is more powerful than God”. Thus, “God can make good things, but man is capable of destroying them all”.

Even starting from the beginning “in the first chapters of the Bible, we find many examples”. For example, Francis explained, “man summons the flood through his wickedness: it is he who summons it!”. Moreover, “man summons the fire out of heaven, to Sodom and Gomorrah, out of his wickedness”. Then, “man creates confusion, the division of humanity — Babel, the Tower of Babel — with his wickedness”. In other words, “man is capable of destruction, we are all capable of destruction”. This is confirmed again in Genesis with “a very, very sharp phrase: ‘This wickedness was great and every innermost intent of their heart — in the heart of mankind — was nothing but evil, always”.

It isn’t a question of being too negative, the Pope pointed out, because “this is the truth”. At this point “we are even capable of destroying fraternity”, as demonstrated by the story of “Cain and Abel in the first pages of the Bible”. This episode which “destroys fraternity, is the beginning of wars: jealousy, envy, such greed for power, to have more power”. Yes, Francis confirmed, “this seems negative, but it is realistic”. After all, he added, one need only pick up a newspaper to see “that more than 90 percent of the news is about destruction: more than 90 percent! And we see this every day!”.

Thus the fundamental question: “what happens in the heart of man?”, the Pope asked. “Jesus once warned his disciples that evil does not enter a man’s heart because he eats something that isn’t pure, but rather, it comes out of the heart”. And “all wickedness comes out of the heart of man”. Indeed, “our weak heart is wounded”. There is “always that desire for autonomy” which leads one to say: “I do what I want, and if I want to do this, I do it! And if I want to make war over this, I do it! And if I want to destroy my family over this, I do it! And if I want to kill my neighbour over this, I do it”. But this is really “everyday news”, the Pope remarked, observing that “newspapers don’t tell us news about the life of saints”.

Therefore, he continued, returning to the central question: “why are we like this?”. And the answer: “Because we have the opportunity to destroy: this is the problem!”. And in doing so, “with war, with arms trafficking, we are entrepreneurs of death!”. And “there are countries that sell arms to this one that is at war with that one, and they also sell them to that one, so that war continues”. The problem is precisely the “capacity for destruction and this does not come from our neighbour” but “from us!”.

“Every innermost intent of the heart is nothing but evil”, Francis again repeated. And “we have this seed inside, this possibility”. But “we also have the Holy Spirit who saves us”. It is thus a matter of choosing to start with the “little things”. And so, “when a woman goes to the market and finds another, starts to gossip, to speak ill of her neighbour, about that woman over there: this woman kills, this woman is evil”. And this happens “at the market” but also “in the parish, in associations, when there is jealousy, the envious ones go to the priest to say ‘this one no, this one yes, this one does...’”. And this too “is evil, the capacity to destroy, which all of us have”.

This is the point on which “today the Church, on the threshold of Lent, causes us to reflect”. The Pope’s reflection in this regard started from the Gospel of Mark (8:14-21). “In the Gospel, Jesus lightly reprimands the disciples who were arguing: ‘you were supposed to bring the bread — no, you were!’”. Basically the Twelve “were discussing as usual, were arguing amongst themselves”. And Jesus says something beautiful to them “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod”. Thus, “He simply makes an example of two people: Herod is bad, he is an assassin, and the Pharisees hypocrites”. But the Lord also speaks of “‘leaven’ and they do not understand”.

The fact is, as Mark writes, the disciples “were speaking about bread, about this bread, and Jesus tells them: ‘that leaven is dangerous, what we have inside is what leads us to destroy. Take heed, beware!’”. Then “Jesus shows the other door: ‘Are your hearts hardened? Do you not remember when I broke the five loaves, the door of God’s salvation?”. In fact, “nothing good ever comes from arguing”, he said, “there will always be division, destruction!”. He continued: “Think about salvation, about what God too did for us, and make the right choice!”. But the disciples “did not understand because their hearts were hardened by this passion, by this wickedness of arguing amongst themselves to see who was to blame for forgetting the bread”.

Francis then advised that “this message of the Lord” should be taken seriously, because “this isn’t something strange, this isn’t a Martian talking, no: these are things that happen in everyday life”. And to confirm this, he repeated, we only need to pick up “the newspaper, nothing more!”.

However, he added, “man is capable of doing such good: let’s consider Mother Teresa, for example, a woman of our era”. But if “all of us are capable of doing such good” we are “also capable of destroying in great and small measure, in the same family: of destroying the children, not letting the children grow freely, not helping them to grow well” and thus in some way nullifying the children. “We have this capacity and this is the reason constant meditation, prayer, discussion among ourselves is necessary, to avoid falling into this wickedness which destroys everything”.

And “we have the strength” to do it, as “Jesus reminds us”, and “today He tells us: Remember. Remember me, who spilled my blood for you; remember me, who saved you, who save everyone; remember me, who has the power to accompany you on the journey of life, not on the road of evil, but on the path of goodness, of doing good for others; not on the path of destruction, but on the path of building: building a family, building a city, building a culture, building a homeland, always more!”.

With today’s reflection, Francis asked the Lord, for the grace to “always choose the right path with his help and not to let ourselves be deceived by the seduction that will lead us down the wrong path” before Lent begins.

[L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly ed. in English, n. 8, 20 February 2015]