Manifestations of God’s power on earth: nothing external

(Mk 8:11-13)

Jesus clashes with disbelief, stemming from various blinding, or that arises from inattention.

Incarnation: there are no other valid Signs than the events and new relationships with oneself and others - which present the very and unheard-of Person of the Risen One.

God is no longer the pure transcendence of the Jews, nor the peak of the ancient world wisdom: Trace of God is the story of Jesus living in us. He opens the way that leads to the Father.

The «Pharisees» to wich Jesus turns are those of his communities (cf. vv.10-11), who were trying to frame the Messiah in the pattern of normal expectations.

They found it difficult to embrace the idea of the Son of God as a Servant, confident in ‘dreams’ without prestige.

In short, Christ wants a change of pace that can mark the demise of the blatant society, dehumanizing, of the outside world.

“Popular” leaders often miss the meaning of the Sign-Person: Christ the Food of Life.

Because of them, not the distant ones, our Lord «groans in the spirit» (v.12) -  saddened by such blindness.

Life is precluded to those who do not know how to shift their gaze. 

Immediately after Mk 8:15 refers to the danger of the dominant ideology that made the same guides lose the objective perception of events.

A coarse «yeast» but rooted in the painful experience of the people; and that stimulated strange “pufferies” even in the disciples, contaminating them.

To the firsts in the class it might have seemed that Jesus was a leader like Moses, for he had just fed the starving people in the desert (vv.1-9).

But the rejection is sharp: Mk makes him vivid by emphasizing both the Master’s sense of suffering and His radical, peremptory denial (vv.12-13).

To those who don’t want to open their eyes except to have their senses captured, because they remain tied to an ideology of power - the Lord does not reserve impressive confirmations «from heaven» (v.11) that of it would be paradoxical validation.

The only sign is and will be his living Church, the Risen One pulsating in all those who take Him seriously.

But He doesn’t bestow any cosmic display forcing spectators to bow their heads.

[Over the centuries we have sometimes fallen into this temptation that dries us up: looking for marvellous signs and flaunting them to silence opponents]...

Stratagems for a banal attempt to shut the mouth to those who conversely ask for experiences of concrete disalienation; of being one humanity in the Master, remaining themselves.

In our soul we have a fresh power, which not let itself be impressed by flashy, glaring things.

The only Sign of salvation is the ‘image and likeness’ of humanity, new; Manifestation without expedients, of God’s power on earth.

Christ inside. Nothing external.

[Monday 6th wk. in O.T.   February 17, 2025]

The manifestations of God's power on earth: nothing external

(Mk 8:11-13)

Jesus comes up against unbelief. It comes from various blinders and parties taken, or (especially in the disciples) arises from carelessness.

The Lord turns away from those who test him and those who reject what is God-given, claiming to fix how he should act.

The Son of Man respects each person who follows him, but makes it clear that decisions and even before that, lack of acute perception prevent the encounter and redemption of life.

In this perspective, believers do not live to "prove". Christ himself does not wait for us in subliminal and miraculous manifestations, but on the shore of an earthly spirituality.

Value does not need applause (a double-edged sword) - the mask of the artificial proposal, and inauthentic life.

Humanising correspondence does not grow with the multiplication of dizzying signals.

God does not coerce the unconvinced, nor does He overpower them with trials; thus He gains a heritage of Love in growth.

His authentic Church, without clamour or persuasive stance - seemingly insignificant - is all gathered in intimate unity with its Firstborn: native, portentous and regenerative power - solid and real.

The Pharisees sought overt solutions full of impression, but they could know them far better within their own souls and lives.

Incarnation: there are no other valid signs than the occurrences and new relationships - with oneself and others - which bring forth the very and unheard-of Person of the Risen One (the one without wrappings).

The Eternal is no longer the pure transcendence of the Jews, nor the summit of wisdom of the ancient world.

The sign of the Most High is the story of Jesus (alive in us). It opens the exciting road that leads to the Father.

We trust in Christ, so no spiritual drugs that delude us of happiness.

This is the meaning of the new Creation: in the surrender to the Spirit - but all concrete (not mannered) and proceeding dragging the alternative reality.

His Person is a unique signal, which dissolves the many ersatz religion of fears, fetters, established roles.

Tares that would like to imprison him in 'ally' doer of seductive and immediately resolving miracles.

Some into a simple temple purifier or a white mill character - and so are we, if we allow ourselves to be manipulated.

The 'Pharisees' Jesus addresses are those back in his communities (cf. vv.10-11) who wanted to frame the Messiah in the pattern of normal expectations to which they had always been accustomed.

Already they were fed up with it....

In these 'veterans' there was no sign of conversion to the idea of the Son of God as a Servant, trusting in dreams without prestige.

In them? No trace of a new idea - no change of pace that would mark the demise of the blatant, dehumanising - and also sacred - society of the outside.

The popular leaders sometimes miss the significance of the only living Sign: Jesus the Food of Life.

Because of them, not the distant ones, the Lord "groans in the spirit" (v.12 Greek text) - even today, saddened by so much blindness.

Life is indeed precluded to those who cannot shift their gaze.

Immediately after Mk 8:15 he refers to the danger of the dominant ideology that made the leaders themselves lose their objective perception of events.

A 'leaven' that was coarse but rooted in the painful experience of the people - that stimulated puffery even in the disciples, contaminating them.

To the first of the class it might have seemed that Jesus was a leader like Moses, for he had just fed the starving people in the desert (vv.1-9).

But the rejection is stark: Mark makes it sharp by emphasising both the Master's sense of suffering and his radical, peremptory denial.

To save the needy people there is no other way but to start from within.

Then proceeding towards a fullness of being that permeates, approves us, and allows us to break our lives in favour of our brothers.

There is no escape. Only communion with the hidden source of one's own eminent Self and respectful and active dialogue with others saves one from a closed group mentality.

In this way, no club is allowed - claiming monopolistic exclusivity over God and souls (Mk 9:38-40) with an explicit claim to discipline the multitudes.

The community of the Risen One abhors the competitive conception of religious life itself, if it is a sacred reflection of the imperial world and of a society that cramps and embitter the existence of the little ones.

It would be a sick life in the pursuit of even apparent prestige.

Conversely, in fraternal realities the first "will be last of all and servant of all" (Mk 9:35).

Therefore, it is imperative to avoid a pyramid mentality and discard mentality creeping into the faithful. 

A spirit of competition that then inexorably ends up seeking refuge in hypocritical miraculism, a substitute for a life of Faith.

The Master does the same to educate the members of the Church who remain - some still do - affected by a sense of superiority towards the crowds and outsiders.

A feeling of chosen and privileged people (Lk 9:54-55) that was infiltrating even the primitive communities.

To those who do not want to open their eyes except to have their senses captured by phenomena all to be discerned - because despite the official creed they profess, they remain tied to an ideology of power - the Lord never reserves impressive confirmations coming "from heaven" (v.11) that would be the paradoxical validation.

The only sign is and will be his living Church: the 'victory' of the Risen One pulsating in all those who take him seriously.

Without fixed hierarchies - under the infallible guidance of the Call and the Word - the children know how to reinterpret, even in an unprecedented way.

Such is the prodigy, embodied in the thousand events (of history, of personal and community life); in the impossible recoveries, recoveries and revaluations.

The authentic Messiah bestows no cosmic display.

No festival that forces spectators to bow their heads in the presence of such shocking glory and dignity - as if he were a heavenly dictator.

And no shortcut lightning.

Over the centuries, the Churches have often fallen into this 'apologetic' temptation, all internal to devotions of arid impulse: to look for marvellous signs and flaunt them to silence opponents.

Stratagems for a trivial attempt to shut the mouths of those who ask not for experiences of parapsychology, but rather for testimonies with little withering and without trickery or contrivance: of concrete disalienation.

Not bad, this liberation activity of ours in favour of the last, and one that holds fast; not clinging to the idea of a ruffian with triumphalist or consolatory aspects.

We prefer the wave of Mystery.

We yearn to be guided by an unknown energy, which has a non-artificial goal in store - led by the eminent but intimate and hidden Friend (exclusive in us).

We will be one humanity in the Master, on the Right Path and belonging to us. Even on broken and incomplete paths, even of bewilderment.

In commentary on the Tao Tê Ching (i) Master Ho-shang Kung writes:

"The eternal Name wants to be like the infant that has not yet spoken, like the chick that has not yet hatched.

The bright pearl is inside the oyster, the beautiful gem is in the middle of the rock: however resplendent it may be on the inside, on the outside it is foolish and insipid'.

All of this is perhaps rated 'unconsciousness' and 'inconclusiveness'... but it bears what we are - expressing another way of seeing the world.

Within ourselves and within the Call of the Gospels we have a fresh power, approving the path different from the immediately normal and the glaringly obvious.

A Call that is enchantment, delight and splendour, because it activates us by questioning.

A Word that does not reason according to patterns.

A heartfelt plea, which is not impressed by exceptional things, by plays that suffocate the soul in search of meaning and authenticity.

Genuine Wonder, an indomitable impulse nested in the dimension of human fullness, and that does not give up: it wants to express itself in its transparency and become reality.

A kind of intimate Infante: it moves in a way that is judged 'abstruse', but puts things right, inside and out.

The free and life-giving testimony, attentive and always personally ingenious, will be innate and unprecedented, biting, inventive without shrewdness, unpredictable and not at all conformist.

It will unleash and unceasingly re-energise a convinced, singular, incisive experience of Faith - despite the fact that it may appear losing and unsuccessful, unhonourable and senseless.

Far more than miracles, the pleas of our essence and reality will make us recognise the call and action of God in people and in the fabric of history.

Invitations that can germinate other astonishments and prodigies of divine-human goodness, than paroxysmal visions seasoned with neurosis and empty sentimentality, or magic.

The only sign of salvation is Christ in us - without seams, or grand hysterical gestures.

The image and likeness of the new humanity; the manifestation of God's power on earth.

For authentic conversion: nothing external.

To internalise and live the message:

What is the nature of your search for evidence?

How does your Sign (making believe) differ from gimmicks, acts of force, or what others would have you spread?

15. Having reached the end of his life, Saint Paul asks his disciple Timothy to “aim at faith” (2 Tim 2:22) with the same constancy as when he was a boy (cf. 2 Tim 3:15). We hear this invitation directed to each of us, that none of us grow lazy in the faith. It is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history, faith commits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world. What the world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and for true life, life without end.

[Pope Benedict, motu proprio Porta Fidei]

1. There is no doubt that in the Gospels Christ's miracles are presented as signs of the kingdom of God, which has entered human and world history. "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come among you," says Jesus (Matthew 12:28). No matter how many discussions are made and have been made on the subject of miracles (to which Christian apologists have responded), it is certain that it is not possible to detach the "miracles, wonders and signs" attributed to Jesus, and even to his apostles and disciples working "in his name", from the authentic context of the Gospel. In the preaching of the apostles, from which the Gospels principally originate, the early Christians heard eye-witness accounts of those extraordinary events, which occurred in times close by and were therefore verifiable from what we might call a critical-historical perspective, so that they were not surprised by their inclusion in the Gospels. Whatever the contestations of later times, from those genuine sources of Christ's life and teaching one thing emerges for certain: the apostles, evangelists and the entire early Church saw in each of those miracles the supreme power of Christ over nature and its laws. He who reveals God as Father, Creator and Lord of creation, when he performs those miracles by his own power, reveals himself as Son consubstantial with the Father and equal to him in his lordship over creation.

2. Some miracles, however, also present other aspects that are complementary to the fundamental meaning of proof of the divine power of the Son of Man, in order to the economy of salvation. Thus, speaking of the first "sign" performed in Cana of Galilee, the evangelist John notes that through it Jesus "manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him" (Jn 2:11). The miracle is therefore performed for a purpose of faith, but it takes place during a wedding feast. It can therefore be said that, at least in the intention of the evangelist, the "sign" serves to highlight the whole divine economy of the covenant and grace that in the books of the Old and New Testaments is often expressed with the image of marriage. The miracle of Cana of Galilee could thus be related to the parable of the wedding feast that a king made for his son, and to the eschatological "kingdom of heaven" that "is similar" to just such a banquet (cf. Mt 22:2). Jesus' first miracle could be read as a "sign" of this kingdom, especially if one considers that since "Jesus' hour" had not yet come, i.e. the hour of his passion and glorification (Jn 2:4; cf. 7:30; 8:20; 12:23.27; 13,1; 17,1), which is to be prepared by the preaching of the "Gospel of the kingdom" (cf. Mt 4,23; 9,35), the miracle obtained through Mary's intercession can be considered as a "sign" and a symbolic announcement of what is to come.

3. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, which took place near Capernaum, can be read even more clearly as a "sign" of the salvific economy. John relates it to the speech Jesus gave the following day, in which he insists on the necessity of procuring "the bread that does not perish" through "faith in him who sent me", and speaks of himself as the true bread that "gives life to the world" and indeed of the one who gives his flesh "for the life of the world". This is a clear foreshadowing of the salvific passion and death, not without reference and preparation for the Eucharist that was to be instituted the day before his passion, as the sacrament-bread of eternal life (Jn 6:29,33.51.52-58).

4. In turn, the storm calmed on the Lake of Genesaret can be reread as a "sign" of Christ's constant presence in the "boat" of the Church, which many times throughout history is exposed to the fury of the winds during stormy hours. Jesus, awakened by the disciples, commands the winds and the sea to be becalmed. Then he says to them, "Why are you so fearful? Have you no faith yet?" (Mk 4:40). In this, as in other episodes, one can see Jesus' desire to inculcate in the apostles and disciples faith in his operative and protective presence even in the most stormy hours of history, in which doubt about his divine assistance could infiltrate the spirit. Indeed, in Christian homiletics and spirituality, the miracle has often been interpreted as a "sign" of Jesus' presence and a guarantee of trust in him on the part of Christians and the Church.

5. Jesus, who goes towards the disciples walking on water, offers another "sign" of his presence, and ensures constant vigilance on the part of the disciples and the Church. "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid," Jesus says to the apostles, who had taken him for a ghost (cf. Mk 6:49-50). Mark points out the astonishment of the apostles "because they had not understood the fact of the loaves and their hearts were hardened" (Mk 6:52). Matthew reports the question of Peter who wants to go down to the water to meet Jesus and records his fear and plea for help when he feels himself sinking: Jesus saves him, but gently rebukes him: "Man of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Mt 14:31). He also adds that "those who were in the boat prostrated themselves before him, exclaiming: 'You are truly the Son of God'" (Mt 14:33).

6. The miraculous peaches are for the apostles and the church the "signs" of the fruitfulness of their mission if they remain deeply united to the saving power of Christ (cf. Lk 5:4-10; Jn 21:3-6). In fact, Luke includes in the narrative the fact of Simon Peter throwing himself at Jesus' knees exclaiming: "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinner" (Lk 5:10). John in turn follows the narration of the fishing after the resurrection with Christ's command to Peter. "Shepherd my lambs, feed my sheep" (cf. Jn 21:15-17). It is a significant juxtaposition.

7. It can therefore be said that Christ's miracles, the manifestation of the divine omnipotence with regard to creation, which is revealed in his messianic power over men and things, are at the same time the "signs" through which the divine work of salvation is revealed, the salvific economy that with Christ is introduced and definitively implemented in human history and is thus inscribed in this visible world, which is also always a divine work. People who - like the apostles on the lake - seeing Christ's "miracles" ask themselves: "Who is ...? who is this, whom even the wind and the sea obey?" (Mk 4:41), through these "signs" are prepared to receive the salvation offered to man by God in his Son.

This is the essential purpose of all the miracles and signs performed by Christ in the eyes of his contemporaries, and of those miracles that throughout history will be performed by his apostles and disciples in reference to the saving power of his name: "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk!" (Acts 3:6).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 2 December 1987].

https://disf.org/giovanni-paolo-ii-salvezza-miracoli

There are people who know how to suffer with a smile and who preserve "the joy of faith" despite trials and illness. It is these people who "carry the Church forward with their everyday holiness", to the point of becoming authentic points of reference "in our parishes, in our institutions". In Pope Francis' reflection on the "exemplary patience of the people of God", offered on Monday 17 February during the Mass in the Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, there are therefore echoes of Sunday afternoon's meetings with the parish community of the Roman suburb of Infernetto.

"When we go to the parishes," said the bishop of Rome, "we find people who suffer, who have problems, who have a disabled child or have a disease, but they carry on with life with patience". They are people who do not ask for "a miracle" but live with "the patience of God" reading "the signs of the times". And it is precisely of this holy people of God that "the world is unworthy", said the Pope, expressly quoting chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews and affirming that also "of these people of our people - people who suffer, who suffer many, many things but do not lose the smile of faith, who have the joy of faith - we can say that of them the world is not worthy: it is unworthy! The spirit of the world is unworthy of these people!".

2

 The Pontiff's reflection on the value of patience started, as usual, from today's liturgy: the passage from the Letter of James (1, 1-11) and the passage from the Gospel of Mark (8, 11- 13).

"Consider it perfect joy, my brothers, when you suffer all kinds of trials": commenting on these words taken from the first reading, the Pope noted that "it seems a bit strange what the Apostle James tells us". It almost seems - he observed - "an invitation to be a fakir". Indeed, he asked, "how can undergoing a trial give us joy?". The Pontiff went on to read the passage from St. James: 'Knowing that your faith, when put to the test, produces patience. And patience completes his work in you, so that you may be perfect and whole, lacking nothing'.

The suggestion, he explained, is "to bring life into this rhythm of patience". But 'patience,' he warned, 'is not resignation, it is something else'. Patience means in fact 'bearing on our shoulders the things of life, the things that are not good, the bad things, the things that we do not want. And it is precisely this patience that will make our life mature'. Those, on the other hand, who have no patience "want everything immediately, everything in a hurry". And "whoever does not know this wisdom of patience is a capricious person", who ends up behaving just "like capricious children", who say: "I want this, I want that, I don't like this", and are never satisfied with anything.

"Why does this generation ask for a sign?" the Lord asks in Mark's Gospel passage in response to the Pharisees' request. And so he meant, said the Pope, that 'this generation is like children who if they hear music of joy do not dance and if they hear music of mourning do not cry. None of it is good!" In fact, the Pope continued, "the person who has no patience is a person who does not grow, who remains in the whims of children, who does not know how to take life as it comes," and only knows how to say, "It's this or nothing!"

When there is no patience, "this is one of the temptations: to become capricious" like children. And another temptation of those "who have no patience is omnipotence", encapsulated in the claim: "I want things at once!". This is precisely what the Lord is referring to when the Pharisees ask him for "a sign from heaven". In reality, the Pontiff pointed out, "what did they want? They wanted a show, a miracle'. It is after all the same temptation that the devil proposes to Jesus in the desert, asking him to do something - so we all believe and this stone becomes bread - or to throw himself down from the temple to show his power.

In asking Jesus for a sign, however, the Pharisees "confuse God's way of acting with a sorcerer's way of acting". But, the Holy Father pointed out, "God does not act like a sorcerer. God has his own way of going forward: the patience of God'. And we 'every time we go to the sacrament of reconciliation we sing a hymn to God's patience. How the Lord carries us on his shoulders, with what patience!".

3

 "The Christian life," is the Pope's suggestion, "must unfold to this music of patience, because it was precisely the music of our fathers: the people of God". The music of "those who believed the word of God, who followed the commandment that the Lord had given to our father Abraham: walk before me and be blameless!" 

The people of God, he went on, quoting again from chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews, 'suffered much: they were persecuted, they were killed, they had to hide in caves, in caves. And they had the joy, the gladness - as the Apostle James says - of greeting the promises from afar'. It is precisely this 'patience that we must have in trials'. It is "the patience of an adult person; the patience of God who carries us, supports us on his shoulders; and the patience of our people," the Pontiff noted, exclaiming: "How patient our people are even now!"

The Bishop of Rome then recalled that there are so many suffering people who are able to 'carry life on with patience. They do not ask for a sign', like the Pharisees, 'but they know how to read the signs of the times'. Thus "they know that when the fig tree sprouts, spring comes". Instead, the "impatient" people presented in the Gospel "wanted a sign" but "did not know how to read the signs of the times. That is why they did not recognise Jesus".

The Letter to the Hebrews, said the Pope, clearly says that "the world was unworthy of God's people". But today "we can say the same of these people of our people: people who suffer, who suffer many, many things, but do not lose the smile of faith, who have the joy of faith". Yes, even of all of them "the world is not worthy!". It is precisely 'these people, our people, in our parishes, in our institutions', who carry 'the Church forward with their everyday, every day holiness'.

In conclusion, the Pope reread the passage from St James that he also proposed at the beginning of his homily. And he asked the Lord to give "patience to all of us: the joyful patience, the patience of work, of peace", giving us "the patience of God" and "the patience of our faithful people who are so exemplary".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily 17 February 2014].

 Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

(from: L'Osservatore Romano, daily ed., year CLIV, n.039, Mon. 18/02/2014)

Faith and religion. Turnover in the Church

(Lk 6:20-26)

Jesus judges the configuration of the world in which his Church, in the Spirit, finds herself living: rich and destitute [in many ways], prominent and invisible figures.

Situation that does not reflect conditions of fullness life; rather - even today - it makes bitter blood to many.

A false and not definitive reality, exasperating, wich the Lord absolutely denounces not to like among his intimates: that of praised dominators (despite the selfish abuse of goods and positions) and insignificant subjected.

Devoid of high-sounding titles, the young Rabbi turns from bottom to top (v.20) to those who have freely chosen his proposal of fraternal existence and sharing of property [in Mt «poor "for" the Spirit (of love)»].

He is pleased [«Blessed»] with the choice of his apostles, which makes us enjoy the experience of harmony with the Master. A different Vision, and the reciprocity, that is, the same quality of God’s life.

Already here on earth the critical prophets testify to the possibility of a different perception of things, as well as the Dream of a society based on coexistence - in the exchange of benefits.

A bud of hospitable world - which Lk wants to encourage - where there is no above and below or front and behind: only humanizing upheavals (such as the reversal of roles) that strengthen the fabric concorde.

Also in his House there must be rotation and reversal of prominent figures and tasks. The change is the sign of the Kingdom that comes; able to sharpen sensitivity to Communion.

In the documents of ancient literature little is spoken of the poor, voiceless and hungry. The focus was on the rich, the heroes, the rulers and generals. The overthrow of fate was unimaginable.

On the contrary, the new powerful of the Kingdom of God are those who feel the Son present, pulsating in their hearts, Risen in them.

They do not keep for themselves, but transform goods, goals, titles and ministries into Life and Relationship.

What is decisive and conclusive is the construction of this unusual type of Church [Kingdom].

Germ that deviates from the unilaterality of relationships. With enrichment and alternation, where everyone feels adequate, no longer pointed out.

In the adventure of Faith-Love there is always mutual recognition. 

The offices, the assignments, alternate incessantly.

Indeed, excessively centered relationships of subjection annihilate the living Gifts of God; they produce deep, paralyzing wounds.

They reduce Creator and creature to silence [and opacity]: a paradoxical self-condemnation.

But Christ clearly distinguishes what makes Blessed - complete, not one-sided - and what does not belong to and does not resemble the full work of the Father.

He does it not simply by admonishing, but by uniting us and expanding our Core; by lubricating the intimate, best essences - of all people.

In proclaiming the Beatitudes, the Risen Jesus wants to communicate [especially in his Churches, which seem to him to have need it so much] a less schematic and partial energy, more permeable and confluent; an inclusive rhythm.

And to everyone gives permission to live.

[6th Sunday in O.T. (year C), February 16, 2025]

Lk 6,17.20-26 (6,12-26)

Foreword (Lk 6:12-19): Called to Himself, Emergency by Name

The double address of worship, but the Axis is to be with Him

(Lk 6:12-19)

"He went out to the mountain to pray and spent the night in prayer to God" (v.12).

"And the whole crowd sought to touch Him, for a Power went out from Him and healed all" (v.19).

Lk reflects the double direction of worship in the primitive communities.

First, the Prayer as a significant opening to the Father and internal celebration among disciples (vv.13-17). Then the public proclamation (with works) to the people.

The community is close: God is in our history.

The idea of a distant Kingdom produces separations, (pastorally) inconsistent pyramidal hierarchies. Sometimes, dispersive cultivation of internal interests passed off as great sensitivity and altruism.

In short, to walk seriously alongside oneself and others, it is essential to first mature, wherever we live.

This applies to taking different initiatives; even possibly to rebelling against the stagnant landscape that likes to return to old-fashioned securities.

In this way, there may be less than noble motives for wanting to get everywhere at once, to run everywhere to make proselytes, and to do so out of opposition, without a "dream of friendship" [cf. encyclical Fratelli Tutti, passim].

For he who cultivates many lusts, projects them; he brings about his own murky influences.

That is why prayer and reflection are necessary - indispensable also to Jesus (v.12) - which give us the sense of our being in the world, the Father's vision, and a right disposition.

Deep meditations and spontaneous prayers annihilate infidelities that do not offer genuine life, authentic motives, or values of the spirit.

Prayers undermine and demolish the dehumanisations, the emotions that alienate us and alienate us from our brothers, the pitfalls that tend to build other temples and shrines.

The same charge of universality and 'sense of urgency' are contained in the rootedness to values conveyed by dialogue with God. And his Mystery (for us), in relationships, in intimate self-knowledge.

In fact... stimuli, virtuous principles, gaps and hidden sides are complementary energetic aspects.

It seems a paradox, but the interest in the needs of the multitudes is an issue exquisitely rooted in the intimate, not at all external.

It is from oneself and from the community that one looks at the world with empathy, knowing how to recover its opposites.

It is the Way of the Interior that interpenetrates and activates the Way of the Exterior.

This is how we willingly pray: to immerse ourselves in the vibrant Source of being, and to shift our hasty gaze.

By contrast and hindrance, the habitual partiality that "gets in the way" does not grasp the value of the social and cultural polyhedron.

On the other hand, unfortunately, it is only by loving strength that one prefers to start from the too distant.

One must first heal what is intimate and close. Whoever is not free cannot emancipate anyone.

Thus, the only way to peer into the distance is to stick to the reason of things - the principle that one actively knows, if not misled by superficialities and reductions [individualistic or monovalent, one-sided and club-like].

By understanding the nature of creatures and increasingly conforming to it, all are inspired to transmute and complete themselves.

A non-alienating process that also enriches possible cultural sclerosis, without hysterical or external forcing.

All this, practising goodness even with oneself.

The Tao (XLVII) says: "Without going out the door, you know the world; without looking out the window, you glimpse the Way to Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. That is why the saint does not go around and yet knows, does not see and yet discerns, does not act and yet completes".

It is only from the Source of being - the common home - that an undissociated, all-saved life springs forth, one that effectively endures and can expand. 

Are we a sign of dedication and striving people? We do not do this for 'merit' or to gain sympathy.

Without being a cult, after a good training - which also imparts to us a wise tolerance, from the world within.

No extrinsic purpose, which would lose its soul and bring no change.

Not to distinguish the moment of Vocation from that of ministerial sending.

The way to Heaven is intertwined with the way of the Person and with the way of Nature ["like a sister, with whom we share existence, and like a beautiful mother who welcomes us into her arms": Laudato Si', no.1] or we will be busybodies.

None of the Apostles - ordinary people - were worthy of the Call (vv.13-15).

To understand this, and approach the meaning of their missional uniqueness, Jesus must spend an entire night in prayer (v.12).

Most of the early followers have names typical of Judaism, even from the time of the Patriarchs - indicating a mental and spiritual background rooted more in ancient religion than in the new Faith; baggage that is not easy to handle.

But even for the undecided, the Lord unleashes his power of full Life, precisely because he is an absolutely ordinary person full of limitations; not infrequently perplexed, even open opponents.

Peter was eager to come forward, though often backtracking - backtracking - to the point of becoming for Jesus a 'satan' [(Mt 16:23; Mk 8:33): in the culture of the ancient East, an official of the great ruler, sent to act as a controller and delator - practically an accuser].

James of Zebedee and John were brothers, ardent fundamentalists, and in a wrathful manner wanted the Master for themselves alone, as well as the first places.

Philip [conditioned perhaps by a Hellenistic extraction, as his name indicates] at first sight did not seem a very practical fellow, nor quick to grasp the things of God.

Andrew, on the other hand, seemed to do well: an inclusive person.

According to well-known traditional identifications, Bartholomew was perhaps open but perplexed, because the Messiah did not correspond to him much.

Thomas always a little in and a little out.

Matthew - a collaborator, greedy accomplice of the oppressive system, and willingly extorting money from his people [the people ruthlessly condemned him].

Simon - the zealot, the Canaanite - a hothead.

Judas Iscariot a tormented, self-destructive for trusting old spiritual leaders - imbued with nationalist ideology, self-interest, opportunism and power.

Two others (James the younger son of Alphaeus, and Judas Thaddeus) mere disciples perhaps of no great prominence or capacity for initiative.

But the Kingdom is "local and universal" [Fratelli Tutti, nn.142-153], Near and by Name - as the Gospel passage from Lk.

This is the manifold, grasping, incomparable, close and precisely personal power that overcomes any possibility of ideal sabotage (due to adverse circumstances).

Power drawn both from prayer directed to the Father in Christ - in his nightly Listening (v.12) - as well as from works of love (vv.17-19).

Power in personal, sensitive, shared symbiosis.

Not for the excellent alone... or even in the time of global emergency there will be no healing work (v.19) but only external, accusatory and aimed at propaganda, proselytism.

Announcement and Mission of new Light received in Gift: where precisely not a single form or colour appears.

And the Axis is "being" with Him.

For a contagion that is neither alarmist nor unilateral, monochromatic, but flourishing, multifaceted, sometimes "hidden", and restless.

To internalise and live the message:

In your experience, what chain has united heaven and earth?

Beatitudes and inversion, antidote to one-sidedness

Faith and religion. Turnover in the Church

(Lk 6:17.20-26)

In Mt the Beatitudes outline a programme for fraternities of Jewish origin.

In Lk the sermon seems more radical in character and is addressed to Hellenistic communities, with a strong social emphasis.

Jesus judges the configuration of the world in which his Church in the Spirit finds itself living: rich and destitute [shaky in many senses], prominent and invisible.

A situation that does not reflect conditions of fullness of life; rather - even today - it makes the blood bitter for many.

A distorted and non-definitive reality, exasperating, which he absolutely denounces he does not like among his own: that of lauded rulers (despite the selfish abuse of possessions and positions) and insignificant subordinates.

Devoid of lofty titles, the young Rabbi addresses from the bottom up (v.20) those who have freely chosen his proposal of fraternal existence and sharing of property [in Mt "poor "for" the Spirit (of love)"].

The Master explicitly rejoices ["Blessed"] in the choice of his own, alienated from selfishness.

He praises that experience of attunement: in the same quality of intimate life with God, united and promoted to a different vision and reciprocity.

Already here on earth, the intimates testify to a different perception of things: looking down.

In addition, the Dream of an alternative society, founded on harmonious coexistence, without discrimination. A heady thing - in the exchange of benefits.

A sprout of a hospitable world - which Lk wants to encourage - where there is no top and bottom or front and back: only humanising upheavals (such as role reversal) that strengthen the concordant fabric.

Even in his House there must be rotation and reversal of leading figures and roles - signs of the Kingdom to Come.

Replacement is a sign of the Kingdom to Come; capable of sharpening sensitivities to Communion.

Not installation (even, for life) and fixity.

In the documents of ancient literature there is little mention of the poor, voiceless and hungry. The focus was on the rich, the heroes, the kings and generals.The reversal of fortune was unimaginable, although here and there [especially in the world of women, which was completely stifled] it was perceived as a deep and far more authentic desire.

The powerful of the new humanising world are precisely the opposite of what was foreseen: those who feel the Son present, pulsating in their hearts, Risen in them.

They do not keep for themselves, but transform goods, goals, titles and ministries into Life and Relationship.

Dynamism that will no longer cause anyone to lose the ground under their feet.

Nor will high tones be needed to defend themselves.

If one is still unable to distinguish and recognise oneself, one can become less noisy in reciprocity.

Then, what one now experiences - and suffers for love - is transitory, not definitive.

What, on the other hand, is decisive and conclusive is the construction of this unusual type of Church [Kingdom].

Germ that departs from the one-sidedness of relationships.

Seed and Nest - with enrichment and alternation - where everyone feels adequate, no longer singled out.

In any case, independent of conformist or pyramidal opinion, interested in perpetuating themselves.

In this way, persecutions that then bring suffering must be taken into account - not as a death rattle, but as glad tidings: birth pains, emblem and source of broad Hope.

The old competitive world is reeling and defending itself by all means, but the announced future is coming.

Fraternities that make decisive choices go the right way, sensible, vital, that not only cushions but teaches how to live misfortunes as an opportunity for Novelty and different Harmony.

Those to whom everything runs smoothly and are incensed - and allow themselves to carve out fixed positions of prominence in the assemblies of Faith reduced to the realm of man - only reaffirm the divergences that already marked the structure of the Empire.

They have nothing in common with the Father's plan.

Therefore Jesus does not rejoice in their presence, rather he laments it.

He does not believe that social inequality is the result of fatality, but of injustice - unbearable for those who call themselves disciples and brothers.

In an atmosphere of real sharing of resources and conviviality of differences, it also helps us to understand the relationship of Friendship in a strong sense - between us members of the Church, and with God.

In an atmosphere of blissful living, the inner core is finally heard, and shakes up crystallised situations. It makes one see life from other points of view. So no exaggeration of control; no forcing.

Between believers, any need finds space - without any more script - and everything moves away from the partiality of external relationships.

In a religious and verticist (already chained, voluntarist) Father-son relationship devoid of Faith, it is always the Almighty who dominates, and the creature obeys.

God is in the foreground and judges; man follows him, living as a function of the 'master' and his 'representatives' - even in vital positions - as if all others had a bland, decentralised identity.

Instead, in the community that reflects the divine, there is never anyone who is always in the background and the usual ones who prevail and decide - while others follow and act as spectators.

Otherwise some will end up brooding over abandonment or retaliation, and react [the only way] not to annihilate themselves.

No one can live without expressing his or her own personality and unrepeatable Vocation: in micro and macro community relations, in the Church active in the lay apostolate - if untiring.

This also applies with God.

The same ideal of harmonisation applies with Traditions or so-called Charisms - which should not overburden souls.

No more worldviews chiselled out according to another size: someone else's, or already dated, that no longer belong to us. Although it can in various cases propose a world of knowledge in which one can and must recognise oneself....

If, on the other hand, the relationship is filled with overwhelming power - as in devotions or ideologies, in business gangs or sects - the inclination will not be able to generate unity [if not facade] but all sorts of betrayal and abandonment.

But here defection becomes paradoxically necessary, in order to find oneself.

There remains a moment of tension and perhaps on the spur of the moment an escape, but from an oppressive situation - like that of the prodigal son (in ch.15) who runs away from home because he is harassed by the attitude of the 'eldest son'.

In the Faith-Love adventure, there is always a mutual recognition.  Thus, offices are incessantly reversed.

Roles are incessantly reversed between subject and 'object' (made into a protagonist in its turn) of the exchange of resources and gift-giving.

Over-centred relationships of subjection annihilate God's living Gifts; they produce deep, paralysing wounds.

They reduce Creator and creature to silence: a paradoxical self-condemnation.

In the realm of multifaceted 'holiness', on the contrary, the inversion persists between the one who proposes, the one who welcomes, and the one who expands.In each situation assessing whether the brother is in joy. [In this sense the synodal path is really appropriate].

Then over time one grows and also changes one's opinion - e.g. about people or events that we considered distant, inconclusive.

And instead they spoke to us of mission, or of our secret pace towards another goal and destiny.

The Christ present in every believer and in his mystical body that lives the Beatitudes, surpasses all normalised opinions.

God is not monochromatic: he overcomes disparities of behaviour, class divisions, discontents - and this is not a far cry from us.

E.g. until recently in Baptism we used to perform a formality.

We did not realise what was happening between God and the creature brought into the Church - nor the difference between pious ceremony and life orientation.

But pausing with ourselves and our Meaning, together, would have qualified the way of understanding ourselves; understanding others, being in the field.

Spontaneously we would have abandoned our 'character', role and primacy (which centralise, but act as a ball and chain to the best energies).

In short, with the help of a qualitatively rich common house, alive and committed in the spirit of gratuitousness, we would already be here in the divine condition.

We would have reactivated ourselves and our capacities in the round - without first adjusting positions on homologated models without vigour, which subject us to rancorous, suffocating, partial, equivocal relationships.

In the contrasts in vv.24-26, the Lord distinguishes well between what makes us blessed - complete, not one-sided - and what does not belong to or resemble the Father's work.

But he does so not simply by admonishing, but to bring together, and expand our Core; to lubricate the intimate, better essences of all.

By proclaiming the spirit of the Beatitudes - within each one of us - even in the time of pandemic and global crisis, he does not intend to make us gnaw our guts out and feel traitorous, inconsistent and off-track.

This Word wants to communicate [especially to the assemblies themselves, who seem to need it so much from the Risen One] a less centralised and partial energy, more permeable and confluent; an inclusive rhythm.

And full permission to live.

To internalise and live the message:

What is your ideal of happiness?

Do you know any blessed men in the Church, or mostly men of earth and centralising relationships, tasks, management of pastoral programmes and more (...) while propagating 'unity'?

What is your angry cry that you do not let out, for fear of being excluded? Don't you think it is speaking deeply to you of discriminating human choices, of personal and ecclesial Vocation?

Do you believe that the Beatitudes are a hindrance to personal and social fulfilment, or vice versa a chance to assert yourself, and with determination?

Paradoxes for a sharing

Brother Egidius, a companion of St Francis, summarised his Founder's teaching thus:

"You want to hear well? Become deaf. Want to speak well? Be silent. Want to walk well? Cut off your legs. You want to work well? Cut off your hands. Wanna really love? Hate yourself. Want to live well? Mortify yourself. Want to gain? Learn to lose. Want to get rich? Be poor. Want to be consoled? Cry. Want to live in security? Always be afraid. Do you want to climb high? Humble yourself. Want to be esteemed? Despise yourself and esteem those who despise you. Want to have good? Endure evil. Want to be at peace? Strive. Want to be blessed? Hope that they curse you'.

In the Letter to Diognetus (mid-second century) we read:

"Christians neither by region, nor by voice, nor by custom are to be distinguished from other men. For they neither dwell in cities of their own, nor use a jargon that differs, nor lead a special kind of life. Their doctrine is not in the discovery of the thought of multiform men, nor do they adhere to a human philosophical current, as others do. Living in Greek and barbarian cities, as each one has done, and adapting to the customs of the place in dress, food and the rest, they testify to an admirable and undoubtedly paradoxical method of social life. They live in their homeland, but as strangers; they participate in everything as citizens and are detached from everything as foreigners. Every foreign homeland is their homeland, and every homeland is foreign. They marry like everyone else and beget children, but they do not throw out babies. They share the table, but not the bed. They are in the flesh, but do not live according to the flesh. They dwell in the earth, but have their citizenship in heaven. They obey the established laws, and by their lives they overcome the laws. They love all, and by all they are persecuted. They are not known, and they are condemned. They are killed, and they live again. They are poor, and make many rich; they lack everything, and abound in everything. They are despised, and in despises they have glory. They are reviled and proclaimed righteous. They are reviled and blessed; they are abused and honoured. Doing good they are punished as evildoers; condemned they rejoice as if they received life. By the Jews they are fought as foreigners, and by the Greeks persecuted, and those who hate them could not tell the reason for their hatred."

"To put it briefly, as the soul is in the body, so in the world are Christians. The soul is diffused in all parts of the body, and Christians in the cities of the earth. The soul dwells in the body, but is not of the body; Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world (...). God has placed them in such a place that they are not permitted to leave'.

In a June 2016 review of L. M. Epicoco's book 'Only the Sick Heal', the Zenit Agency publicist draws an agile profile of the 'paradoxes of Jesus and Christianity':

"Christianity is the religion of paradox and 'the Gospel is the demolition of the banal imagery about God'. In the chapter on Faith (The Breaking of Bread) Epicoco explains: 'God is born poor instead of rich. He is born on the periphery instead of in the centre. He is born the son of no one instead of the son of someone notable. He is born in a stable instead of a temple. He reveals the news of his coming to the unreliable shepherds instead of the press releases of the doctors and prophets. He has to flee despite being omnipotent. He submits to the chronicle of the exiles instead of imposing new social justice. When he grows up he will care for sinners instead of the righteous. He will touch the sick instead of the healthy. He will say peace when everyone wants war. He will say fire when everyone wants water. He will preach aloud when none of the great ones want to hear him. And he will remain silent when all of them will expect explanations and words to catch him in the act. He will die on the cross at the hands of the Romans instead of the oppressing Romans. And in the end he will rise again when everyone, instead, thought they were keeping him dead in a tomb. Including his own (...)".

Christianity is not a religion, but a Person and his proposal: an exceptional Path of Friendship and Paradox.

Quoting Emmanuel Carrère: "(Jesus) is always what his followers wanted to see, hear, touch, but not how they expected to see him, hear him, touch him (...). He is the first to pass, he is the last of the beggars".

And he concludes by quoting: 'The heart is the enemy of homogeneity and tranquillity, always in search of fullness, of happiness (...). Restlessness is the incandescent demand for happiness that we carry within us. And everything that is incandescent burns. That is why restlessness hurts. But woe betide to extinguish restlessness because we would extinguish the torch of life itself, that which warms it, that which leads it (...). A man without questions is a dead man. A faith without questions is a dead faith. A love without questions is a dead love. The question is the infinite need for the answer, and not the macabre taste of taking everything apart to leave everything shattered'.

God's imaginative choices pass for the undecided, the defeated, the weak ignoble fools. Not because of an alternative quirk, but because these are the people who - while working to brighten the lives of others - by risking their own make experience of a Father who provides for their uniqueness.

They let the Light through

All Saints, between religious sense and Faith

Embodying the spirit of the Beatitudes, we ask ourselves what is the difference between common "religious feeling" and "living by Faith".

In ancient devotions, the Saint is the composite man sui, perfect and detached [but predictable]; and the opposite of Saint is 'sinner'.

In the proposal of full life in the Lord, the 'saint' is a person of communicative understanding and who lives for conviviality, creating it where there is none.

In the path of the sons, the saint is indeed the excellent man, but in its full sense - full and dynamic, multifaceted; even eccentric. Not in a one-sided, moralistic or sentimental sense.

In the Latin language perfìcere means to complete, to go all the way.

In such a complete and integral meaning, 'perfect' becomes an authentic embodied value: a possible attribute - of every person who is aware of his or her own condition of vulnerability, and does not despise it.

The woman and man of Faith value every occasion or emotion that exposes the condition of nakedness [not guilt] in order to open new paths and renew themselves.

From the point of view of life in the Spirit, the saint [in Hebrew Qadosh, a divine attribute] is indeed the 'detached' man, but not in a partial or physical sense, but ideal.

He is not the person who at a certain point in life distances himself from the human family to embark on a path of purification that would elevate him. Deluding himself that he is getting better.

As the encyclical Fratelli Tutti emphasises: 'A human being [...] does not realise himself, does not develop, cannot find his own fullness [... and] does not come to fully recognise his own truth except in the encounter with others' (No.87).The authentic witness is not animated by contempt for existential chaos - nor eager to outsource the difficulties of managing one's own freedom by handing it over to an alienating agency with a secluded mentality (which solves the drama of personal choices).

In Christ, man is "disjointed" from the common mentality, insofar as he is faithful to himself, to his own Fire that is not extinguished - to the passions, to his own unrepeatable uniqueness and Vocation.

And at the same time, "separated" from external competitive criteria: of having, of power, of appearance. Self-destructive powers.

To the latter, he concretely substitutes the fraternity of giving, of serving and of diminishing [from "character"]. Fruitful energies.

All for the global Communion, and in Truth also with one's own intimate character seed - avoiding proselytising and being noticed in the catwalks.

The true believer knows his redeemed limit, sees the possibilities of imperfection.... Thus he replaces the presuppositions of keeping for oneself, of climbing over others and dominating them, with a fundamental humanising triptych: giving, freedom to 'come down', collaboration.

This is the authentic Detachment, which does not flee one's own and others' inclinations, nor does it despise the complex trait of the human condition.

In this way, the "saint" lives the essential Bliss of the persecuted (Mt 5:11-12; Lk 6:22-23) because he has the freedom to "lower himself" in order to be in tune with his own essence; coexisting in his originality.

In terms of Faith, the Saint is thus no longer a physically "separate", but rather "united" to Christ - and banished like Him, into the weak brothers and sisters.

In short, the divine Design is to compose Families of the small and shaky, not to carve out a group of "strong" friends, and "better" than the others.

Only this horizon of the Hearth drives us on.

Consequently, the opposite of Saint is not "sinful", but rather unrealised or unfinished.

Let us look again at the reason (vocational and personal).

Jesus was a friend of publicans and public sinners not because they were better than the good, but because in religion the 'righteous' are often not very spontaneous; making themselves impermeable, closed, refractory to the action of the Spirit.

Surprisingly, the Lord Himself repeatedly experienced that it was precisely the devoutly deficient who were willing to question themselves, realise, rework, deviate from habit - for the building up of new paths, even by groping.

Not being able to enjoy the respectable cloak of social screens, after an awareness of one's own situation (and over time) - compared to those who considered themselves 'arrived' and friends of God - from 'distant' they became people more than the 'impecunious' willing to love.

Questioning is fundamental in a biblical perspective.

At every turn, Scripture proposes a spirituality of the Exodus, that is, a road of liberation from fetters and walked as if on foot, step by step. Hence one that values paths of seeking, exploring, self-discovery and the Newness of a God who does not repeat, but creates.

The call that the Word makes is to embark on an itinerary; that is the point. And we have always been "those of the Way" and who do not pass by, do not look the other way [cf. Lk 10:31-33; FT, 56ff].

For the classical pagan mentality, woman and man are essentially 'nature', therefore their being in the world is conditioned [I remember my professor of theological anthropology Ignazio Sanna even used to say 'de-centred'], even determined by birth (fortunate or not).

According to the Bible, woman and man are creatures, splendid and adequate in themselves for their mission, but pilgrim and lacking.

God is the One who 'calls' them to complete themselves, making up for their deficient aspects.

To come to be the image and likeness of the Lord, we must develop the capacity to respond to a Vocation that makes us not phenomena, nor exceptional 'perfect' ones, but particular Witnesses.

Chosen by Name, just as we are; who embrace their deep being - even unexpressed - to the point of recognising it in the You, and unfolding it in the We.

A person's holiness is thus combined with many states of dissatisfaction, boundary, and even partial failure - but always thinking and feeling reality.

For a New Covenant.

In the Old Testament, the believer came into contact with divine purity by frequenting holy places, fulfilling prescriptions, reciting prayers, respecting times and spaces, avoiding embarrassing situations; and so on.

Our experience and conscience infallibly attest that strict observance is too rare, or mannered: inside, it often does not correspond to us - nor does it humanise us.

It sooner or later becomes a house of cards, shaky the more it points 'upwards'. All it takes is to lay one of them out clumsily, and the artificial construction collapses.We realise our natural inability to meet such high sterilisations, (other people's) maps and standards.

With Jesus, Perfection is not about 'thinking', nor is it about adherence to an abstract code of observances. Perfection is about a quality of Exodus and Relationship.

In ancient contexts, the path of the sons has been cloaked with a mystical or renunciatory proposal of abstinence, fasting, retreats, secluded living, obsessive cultic observances... which in many situations formed the backbone of pre-Conciliar spirituality.

But in Scripture, saints do not have a halo or wings.

They are not such because they performed incomparable and astounding miracles of healing: they are women and men embedded in the ordinary world and in the most ordinary aspects. 

They know the problems, weaknesses, joys and sorrows of everyday life; the search for their own identity-character, or deep inclination.

And the apostolate; the family, raising children, work. The seductive power of evil, even.

In the First Testament, 'Qadosh' exclusively designated an attribute of the Eternal [the only non-intermittent Person] - and its separateness from the tangle of often confused earthly ambitions.

Despite the flaws, however, in Christ we become capable of listening, of perception; thus enabled to seize every opportunity to bear witness to the innate, vital Gratuity of divine and real initiative.

Unceasingly, providential life proposes itself and comes to open unthinkable, breaching gaps.

Its unprecedented journeys of growth renew the existence all linked and conforming.

This also makes us marvel at intimate resources, previously unconscious or unconfessed and concealed, or unforeseeably hidden behind dark sides.

That which is Insignificant is no longer moved behind clouds and placed in fortified enclosures.

Therefore, God's adversary will not be transgression: instead, it becomes the lack of a spirit of communion, in differences.

The enemy of the Salvation story is not religious incompleteness, but the gap from the Beatitudes - and from the unfolding spirit of the 'wayfarer' for whom 'wandering' is also synonymous [not paradoxical] with 'wandering'.

God's counterpart is thus not 'sins', but 'the' Sin [in the singular, a theological term, not a moralistic one].

"Sin" is the inability to correspond to an indicative Calling, which acts as a spring to complete us, to regenerate us not to be partial. This by harmonising opposite sides - in being ourselves and being-With.

Here it is the Faith that 'saves', where we are - because it annihilates 'the sin of the world' (Jn 1:29), that is, the disbelief and guilt; the humiliation of unbridgeable distances.

In fact, Jesus does not recommend doctrines, nor does he recommend parcelling out one's life with punctual ethylisms. Nor does he envisage any religious ascent [in terms of progressiveness] peppered with effort.

To no one in the Gospels does Christ say 'become holy', but with Him, like Him and in Him - united, to encounter one's deepest states unceasingly.

Recognising them better, also through the You and the We.

The Saint is the little one, not the all-in-one, uniform, predictable hero.

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

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

The liturgical year is a great journey of faith made by the Church, always preceded by her Mother the Virgin Mary. This year, during the Sundays in Ordinary Time, the path is marked by readings from Luke's Gospel. Today it brings us to "a level place" (Lk 6: 17), where Jesus stops with the Twelve and where a crowd of other disciples and people who had come from everywhere gather to listen to him. This is the setting for the proclamation of the "Beatitudes" (Lk 6: 20-26; cf. Mt 5: 1-12). Jesus, lifting up his eyes to his disciples, says: "Blessed are you poor.... Blessed are you that hunger.... Blessed are you that weep.... Blessed are you when men hate you... when they cast out your name" on account of me. Why does he proclaim them blessed? Because God's justice will ensure that they will be satisfied, gladdened, recompensed for every false accusation in a word, because from this moment he will welcome them into his Kingdom. The Beatitudes are based on the fact that a divine justice exists, which exalts those who have been wrongly humbled and humbles those who have exalted themselves (cf. Lk 14: 11). In fact, the Evangelist Luke, after repeating four times "blessed are you", adds four admonitions: "Woe to you that are rich.... Woe to you that are full now.... Woe to you that laugh now" and: "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you", because as Jesus affirms, the circumstances will be reversed; the last will be first, and the first will be last (cf. Lk 13: 30). 

This justice and this Beatitude are realized in the "Kingdom of Heaven", or the "Kingdom of God", which will be fulfilled at the end of times but which is already present in history. Wherever the poor are comforted and admitted to the banquet of life, there God's justice is already manifest. This is the work that the Lord's disciples are called to carry out also in today's society. I am thinking of the Hostel run by the Roman Caritas at Termini Station, which I visited this morning. I warmly encourage all who work in that praiseworthy institution and those who, in every part of the world, volunteer themselves generously to similar works of justice and of love. 

This year I dedicated my Message for Lent which will begin this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday to the theme of justice. Today I would therefore like to deliver it, in spirit, to all of you, inviting you to read and meditate on it. Christ's Gospel responds positively to Man's thirst for justice, but in an unexpected and surprising way. He does not propose a social or political revolution but rather one of love, which he has already brought about with his Cross and his Resurrection. It is on these that are founded the Beatitudes which present a new horizon of justice, unveiled at Easter, thanks to which we can become just and build a better world. 

Dear friends, let us turn now to the Virgin Mary. All the generations call her "blessed", because she believed the good news that the Lord proclaimed (cf. Lk 1: 45-48). Let us be guided by her on our Lenten journey, to be freed from the illusion of self-sufficiency, to recognize that we need God and his mercy, and thus to enter into his Kingdom of justice, of love and of peace.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 14 February 2010]

3. “Blessed are you!”, he says, “all you who are poor in spirit, gentle and merciful, you who mourn, who care for what is right, who are pure in heart, who make peace, you who are persecuted! Blessed are you!” But the words of Jesus may seem strange. It is strange that Jesus exalts those whom the world generally regards as weak. He says to them, “Blessed are you who seem to be losers, because you are the true winners: the kingdom of heaven is yours!” Spoken by him who is “gentle and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29), these words present a challenge which demands a deep and abiding metanoia of the spirit, a great change of heart. 

You young people will understand why this change of heart is necessary! Because you are aware of another voice within you and all around you, a contradictory voice. It is a voice which says, “Blessed are the proud and violent, those who prosper at any cost, who are unscrupulous, pitiless, devious, who make war not peace, and persecute those who stand in their way”. And this voice seems to make sense in a world where the violent often triumph and the devious seem to succeed. “Yes”, says the voice of evil, “they are the ones who win. Happy are they!”

4. Jesus offers a very different message. Not far from this very place Jesus called his first disciples, as he calls you now. His call has always demanded a choice between the two voices competing for your hearts even now on this hill, the choice between good and evil, between life and death. Which voice will the young people of the twenty-first century choose to follow? To put your faith in Jesus means choosing to believe what he says, no matter how strange it may seem, and choosing to reject the claims of evil, no matter how sensible or attractive they may seem. 

In the end, Jesus does not merely speak the Beatitudes. He lives the Beatitudes. He is the Beatitudes. Looking at him you will see what it means to be poor in spirit, gentle and merciful, to mourn, to care for what is right, to be pure in heart, to make peace, to be persecuted. This is why he has the right to say, “Come, follow me!” He does not say simply, “Do what I say”. He says, “Come, follow me!” 

You hear his voice on this hill, and you believe what he says. But like the first disciples at the Sea of Galilee, you must leave your boats and nets behind, and that is never easy – especially when you face an uncertain future and are tempted to lose faith in your Christian heritage. To be good Christians may seem beyond your strength in today’s world. But Jesus does not stand by and leave you alone to face the challenge. He is always with you to transform your weakness into strength. Trust him when he says: “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9)! 

5. The disciples spent time with the Lord. They came to know and love him deeply. They discovered the meaning of what the Apostle Peter once said to Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn6:68). They discovered that the words of eternal life are the words of Sinai and the words of the Beatitudes. And this is the message which they spread everywhere.

At the moment of his Ascension Jesus gave his disciples a mission and this reassurance: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations . . . and behold I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:18-20). For two thousand years Christ’s followers have carried out this mission. Now, at the dawn of the Third Millennium, it is your turn. It is your turn to go out into the world to preach the message of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. When God speaks, he speaks of things which have the greatest importance for each person, for the people of the twenty-first century no less than those of the first century. The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes speak of truth and goodness, of grace and freedom: of all that is necessary to enter into Christ’s Kingdom. Now it is your turn to be courageous apostles of that Kingdom!

Young people of the Holy Land, Young people of the world: answer the Lord with a heart that is willing and open! Willing and open, like the heart of the greatest daughter of Galilee, Mary, the Mother of Jesus. How did she respond? She said: “I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38). 

O Lord Jesus Christ, in this place that you knew and loved so well, listen to these generous young hearts! Continue to teach these young people the truth of the Commandments and the Beatitudes! Make them joyful witnesses to your truth and convinced apostles of your Kingdom! Be with them always, especially when following you and the Gospel becomes difficult and demanding! You will be their strength; you will be their victory!

O Lord Jesus, you have made these young people your friends: keep them for ever close to you! Amen.

[Pope John Paul II, homily to young people, Mount of the Beatitudes 24 March 2000]

Today’s Gospel presents us Saint Luke’s passage on the Beatitudes (cf. 6:17, 20-26). The text is arranged into four beatitudes and four admonitions denoted by the expression, “woe to you”. With these assertive and sharp words, Jesus opens our eyes and lets us look with his gaze, beyond appearances, beyond the surface and teaches us to discern situations with faith.

Jesus proclaims the poor, the hungry, the suffering and the persecuted blessed, and he admonishes those who are rich, satisfied, who laugh and are praised by the people. The reason behind this paradoxical beatitude lies in the fact that God is close to those who suffer, and intercedes to free them from their bondage. Jesus sees this; he already sees the beatitude beyond its negative reality. And likewise, the “woe to you” addressed to those who are doing well today, has the purpose of “waking” them from the dangerous deceit of egotism, and opening them up to the logic of love, while they still have the time to do so.

The page from today’s Gospel thus invites us to reflect on the profound sense of having faith, which consists in our trusting completely in the Lord. It is about demolishing worldly idols in order to open our hearts to the true and living God. He alone can give our life that fullness so deeply desired and yet difficult to attain. Brothers and sisters, indeed there are many in our day too who purport to be dispensers of happiness: they come and promise us swift success, great profits within our reach, magical solutions to every problem and so on. And here it is easy to slip unwittingly into sinning against the first Commandment: namely idolatry, substituting God with an idol. Idolatry and idols seem to be things from another age, but in reality they are of all ages! Even today. They describe certain contemporary attitudes better than many sociological studies do.

This is why Jesus opens our eyes to reality. We are called to happiness, to be blessed, and we become so as of now, to the measure in which we place ourselves on the side of God, of his Kingdom, on the side of what is not ephemeral but rather endures for eternal life. We are happy if we acknowledge we are needy before God — and this is very important: “Lord, I need you” — and if, like him and with him, we are close to the poor, the suffering and the hungry. We too are like this before God: we are poor, suffering, we are hungry before God. Although we possess worldly goods, we experience joy when we do not idolize or sell our souls out to them, but are able to share them with our brothers and sisters. Today the liturgy invites us once again to question ourselves about this and to be truthful in our heart.

Jesus’ Beatitudes are a decisive message which urges us not to place our trust in material and fleeting things, not to seek happiness by following smoke vendors — who are often vendors of death — experts in illusion. We should not follow them because they are unable to give us hope. May the Lord help us open our eyes to acquire a more penetrating view of reality, to heal the chronic shortsightedness with which the worldly spirit infects us. With his paradoxical Word he stirs us and enables us to recognize what truly enriches us, satisfies us, gives us joy and dignity; in other words, what truly gives meaning and fullness to our lives. May the Virgin Mary help us listen to this Gospel passage with open hearts and minds so that it may bear fruit in our life and that we may become witnesses of the happiness that does not disappoint, that of God who never disappoints.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 17 February 2019]