Camel: absurd position and transit

(Mt 19:23-30)

It is not easy to enter into the logic of the Gift and place oneself in authentic following of the Lord, in pursuit of a non-poor Happiness.

But precisely the Gospels are Ways that distinguish individual fulfilment and destiny from both expectations and obvious designs and intentions.

[Likewise natural wisdom, as e.g. reflected in the Tao Tê Ching].

Mundane expectations, common ways and thoughts indeed lock the meaning of existence into what is already represented:

"The Way that can be said, is not the eternal Way" [Tao Tê Ching, i].

Human impossibility and God's possibility (v.26): the Father transmits authentic and flourishing Life, while possessions pull on the other side - although they attract with hopes of fullness.

They normalise existence and make it stagnate.

We are accustomed to leaning on, counting on, leveraging riches... but they give opposite orders to the need for completeness of being, to the deep longing for rebirth. To the wait for the occasion, for the immediate, astonishing Gift, that will bring a significant stroke of wings.

In fact, all-encompassing Joy is not linked to the capacity to "purchase": it can only be "inherited" [gratuitously: vv.25-26.29-30].

This is the reason for the perplexity and debate between Jesus and the followers.

In short, the access of the rich into a community that lives the Faith in Christ becomes problematic (vv.23-24).

This is precisely in terms of the clarity of situations, and transparency of motives, as well as the flowering already on earth of the very Life of the Eternal [v.29 Greek text].

Here opulence distracts; it normalises the existence of even the most willing, it makes them stagnate. It gives precisely opposite orders.

Faced with the rigid and 'absurd' position of the Master, the Apostles are frightened (v.25): why not avail themselves of the help - even ambiguous - of wealthy people, who could make everything easier, more expeditious and grandiose?

Detachment from certain banners is impossible among men (v.26).

But the sphere in which God reigns is his Church, also not visible; a reality that is configured as a kind of inverted world (vv.28-30).

In fact, when God wants to realise a project, he always passes over mannerists, authorities, false (interested) friends, palaces of power and court palaces - even those within reach.

Even more than of moral credibility, it is a problem of meaning, of the roots of our choice, of vitality from below and "the renewal of all things" [v.28 Greek text]; in order to the hoped-for change and awakening.

Peter's question (v.27) highlights the discriminator of everything: the idea of exchange; retribution, typical of the archaic religious mentality.

In order to avoid conformist models ["palingenesis" v.28 Greek text] one must get out of them, and re-enter a different instinct - a mine of authentic benefit.

By introducing other content, certainly less obscure.

"What do I gain? What title do you give me? Will I get compensation for overtime?": pedestrian reciprocation is an expression of emptiness.

A mentality that drowns Love, because it annihilates the gratuitousness of gestures; it denies the sense of the Covenant.

Instead, the personal experience of the Mystery and the ability to correspond to the Call for the construction of a seed of an alternative society become the possibility of receiving the Hundred for One.

The sphere in which God reigns is his Church, even if not visible. A reality that is configured precisely as a kind of "kingdom" with inverted pyramids (vv.28-30).

In this way, the support of an intimate and apparently unreasonable conviction takes over, but one that gushes forth clearly from the springs of being.

Here is a knowledge that gushes forth from the personal soul and meets the Wisdom of every culture:

An ineffable instrument of growth is to make oneself socially insignificant.

Cultivate the concealment that guards what belongs to us.

Accepting the lack of material resources; shortage that establishes in the quality - instead of the exterior.

Here the existential 'emptiness' becomes an encounter with the vocational layers, with the pulsing of the primordial essence that characterises the Core and destiny.

Mouldable energetic expression, interspace of acute polyhedral listening (of fontal, and specific, cosmic resources of the intimate).

In his free proposal, Jesus wants to bring in the support of a reposed and apparently unreasonable conviction, but one that gushes forth clearly from the springs of being.

The founding Eros of the Calling emerges here.

Not so much the character (placid and resigned) of the believer, but a higher personal Gift: that of a discernment that is unrepeatable for each one, linked to deep nature.

To regenerate ["palingenesis" v.28] one must therefore return with greater conviction to one's own motives.

Even the wisdom of nature, of all times and latitudes, admits a clear detachment from the obvious opinions and formulas of worldly success.Primacy and glory-seeking cut off the fruitfulness of Mystery, and dampen personal Discovery. They do not open to the Extraordinary.

In fact, when God wants to realise a project, He always glosses over the surrounding situations.

It is a question of meaning, of the roots of our choice, of vitality from below and - as we said - "renewal of all things" [v.28].

A life of obligations or attachments blocks creativity, multiplies idols and artificial preoccupations; it creates a dark chamber where we do not grasp what belongs to us.

Away goes the backstage that covers our uniqueness.

The meaning of personal following is in order to the hoped-for, qualitative change and awakening: that of the One Hundred for One, strength of the weak. 

Paradoxical widening of perspective.

"The saint postpones his person, and his person is premised; he apparates his person, and his person endures. Is it not because he is devoid of interest? For this he can realise his interest' [Tao Tê Ching, vii].

According to St Ignatius [Meditation of the Two Flags], the greed of things gives birth in us to the vain honour of the world, and from it an immense pride is generated, which cuts off all possibility of internalisation.

The fruitful strength of the weak overcomes the fabulous and comfortable results expected from the support of the well-connected.

And there remains the paradoxical widening of perspective of life in the Spirit.

To internalise and live the message:

Why do you not see the hundred per cent realised?

What do you find difficult to implement in the Church because of constraints and responsibilities granted to wealthy people?

Are you also a reason for defection for those who wish to worship God in the brethren instead of shortcuts and earthly interests?

Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.

(Pope Benedict, homily at the beginning of the Petrine ministry, 24 April 2005)

O Saint Benedict Abbot!Thou who hast not taught otherwise than as thou hast lived, make us all feel the perennial relevance of thy teaching, that it may continue to inspire good for contemporary mankind.O Saint Scholastica, to you we entrust our girls, our young women, our Religious, our Mothers, that they may know how to live their dignity as women today, according to God's plan.Amen.

(John Paul II)

God of our Fathers, great and merciful, you have plans for peace and not for affliction, you condemn wars and abate the pride of the violent.Thou hast sent thy Son Jesus to proclaim peace to near and far, to gather men of every race and kindred into one family.Hear the unanimous cry of your children, the heartfelt plea of all humanity: never again war, adventure without return, never again war, spiral of mourning and violence!Speak to the hearts of those responsible for the fate of peoples, stop the logic of retaliation and revenge, grant our time days of peace!Amen.

(John Paul II)

We also gather something from the long monastic tradition. In the beginning, it favoured in a certain way an escape from the world, trying to get away from urban decadence. This is why monks sought the desert, convinced that it was the right place to recognise the presence of God. Later, St Benedict of Norcia wanted his monks to live in community, combining prayer and study with manual labour (Ora et labora).This introduction of manual labour imbued with spiritual meaning proved revolutionary. People learned to seek maturity and sanctification in the interweaving of recollection and work. Such a way of experiencing work makes us more capable of care and respect for the environment, and imbues our relationship with the world with a healthy sobriety. (LS 126)

REFLECTION How do I live the tasks entrusted to me by my superiors?In what way does the Lord ask me to carry them out in a "revolutionary" way, which goes beyond "it has always been done this way", for a magis?

PRAYER Give us Father the ability to be attentive to the environment and our brothers and sisters in carrying out the tasks entrusted to us. Give us Lord the Grace to have the awareness of "being a mission on this earth, and for this reason I am in this world" (EG 273).

(https://www.assisiofm.it/news-papa-francesco-e-san-benedetto-da-norcia.html)

«Departed, preach, saying [that] the kingdom of heaven has come near» (v.7)

(Mt 10:7-15)

Jesus recommends to the friends who announce Him not to carry a saddlebag and money to distinguish themselves from customs and contexts (and inoculate the poison of fears).

The eloquent gesture of «Peace» of the faithful in Christ is not that to fill empty glasses, but to make God already Present discover in those to whom they turn, without foreclosures.

An understanding of woman and man in themselves, in the ‘limit’ - divine seed in them - that becomes boost to open up.

For a consideration of the human condition that does not start from the "ideals", but from reality; that does not move from disembodied "values" [and elsewhere] but from the concrete day-to-day.

Compared to other currents that sought a new way of living and living together - Pharisees, Essenes, Baptist - the believer mustn’t be prevented.

Trusting both in hospitality and in the food of others [all ritually pure], the Lord’s friend broadens the expression of the First Covenant.

The destitution accepted comes before the obligations. It let become human. It drops the weights. It doesn't make "guilt" the measure of life.

The Kingdom is «Close». It communicates a sense of adequacy, not of reproach. It starts from conscience, not from error.

The small fraternities of Galilee and Syria to which Mt sends his message are minimal realities - within the reach of ordinary people.

Conversion they can propose has no definitive measure.

It gives everyone (even those who announce) permission to make mistakes and fall, no more shame than the state of destitution.

Thus the action of women and men of Faith arouses a renewed gaze, because it bears witness to closeness and freedom - not observance of obsessive, artificial, unnatural fulfilments.

In the small assemblies of the early days and in their gratuitous action God himself was present. Without pyramids or heaps of recriminations.

For a new land, animated by a new Heaven: that of the Beatitudes that recover torn relationships, and reintegrate into coexistence the very imperfect, first excluded in the name of God.

The Kingdom - germ of reality just at the beginning - thanks to the Gift’ spirit would have transformed the world, in the recovery of opposites.

Proposing the alternative of an unexpected face of the Eternal Lover, but also of the successful man, and of society.

So what’s the engine of inclusion? Under the eyes of the first protagonists of evangelization, the solution germinated from spontaneous development.

Even today, boundless amiability is born simply by recognizing the great absolute privilege of being approved by the Creator Father, because we ourselves; unrepeatable.

The passion for another Kingdom before any interest will be only an inner fruit: recognition of predilections «by Name», brought of unique, not external riches.

Fidelity to a Heaven not to be conquered, but that already dwells.

[Thursday 14th wk. in O.T.  July 10, 2025]

"Depart, preach, saying [that] the kingdom of heaven has come near" (v.7)

(Mt 10:7-15)

To the friends who proclaim it, Jesus recommends that they do not carry saddlebags and money to distinguish themselves from customs and contexts (and inoculate the poison of fears). 

The eloquent gesture of 'Peace' of the faithful in Christ is not to fill empty glasses, but to make them discover God already Present in those they address, without preclusion.

An understanding of woman and man in themselves, in the "limit" - divine seed in them - that becomes a drive to open up.

For a consideration of the human condition that does not start from 'ideals' but from reality; that does not move from disembodied 'values' (and elsewhere) but from the concrete summary.

Compared to other currents that sought a new way of living and living together - Pharisees, Essenes, Baptists - the believer must not be prejudiced.

By trusting both hospitality and the food of others (all ritually pure) the friend of the Lord expands the expression of the First Covenant.

Accepted indigence comes before obligations. It lets them become human. It drops weights. He does not make 'guilt' the measure of life.

The Kingdom is "Near". It communicates a sense of adequacy, not reproach. It starts from conscience, not from error.

The small fraternities of Galilee and Syria to which Mt launches his message are tiny realities - within the reach of ordinary people.

The "conversion" they can propose does not have a definitive measure.

It gives everyone (even those who proclaim) permission to err and fall, no longer ashamed of their state of destitution.

Thus the actions of women and men of Faith arouse a renewed gaze, because they bear witness to proximity and freedom - not to obsessive, artificial, unnatural compliance.

In the small assemblies of the early days and in their free action, God himself was made present. Without pyramids or heaps of recriminations.

For a new earth, animated by a new Heaven: that of the Beatitudes that recover torn relationships, and reintegrate into coexistence precisely the imperfect, previously excluded in the name of God.

The Kingdom - a germ of reality barely in its infancy - thanks to the spirit of Gift would transform the world, in the recovery of opposites.

Proposing the alternative of an unexpected face of the Eternal Lover, but also of the successful man, and of society.

What then is the engine of inclusion? How can Peace be transmitted, when many admit afflicted and disappointed: "I have no peace"? Impossible by effort.

Under the eyes of the first protagonists of evangelisation, the solution germinated from a spontaneous development.

Even today, boundless loveliness arises simply by recognising the great absolute privilege of being approved by the Creator Father, because we ourselves; unrepeatable.

["The trial of crimes is instructed, but what does the jury think? Who are the jurors? Who is the deputy attorney general of humanity?" (Djibril Tamsir Niane)].

Only by grasping the profound correspondence between the dignity of the Call, the desire for fullness of life and identity-personal character, will we proclaim the "Gratis" received, showing trust in people.

A sign of integration will also be not going from house to house: from an initial makeshift accommodation to the flat, to the cottage and finally to the palace (which will absorb all the energy).

The missionary and the authentic Church are critical signs with respect to the culture of accumulation - a shame still unspoken and widespread in the petty gerontocracy - that certainly does not reveal a model of coexistence and appreciation of deep goods.

Passion for another Kingdom before any interest will only be an inner fruit: recognition of predilections "by Name", bearing unique, not external, riches.

Faithfulness to a Heaven not to be conquered, but which already dwells.

To internalise and live the message:

In which delivery of Jesus do you recognise yourself? How do you rely on Providence?

What is your unselfish sign that reflects a great extra gear?

"When the weaver lifts one foot, the other lowers. When the movement ceases and one of the feet stops, the fabric is no longer made. His hands throw the spool that passes from one to the other; but no hand can hope to hold it. Like the weaver's gestures, it is the union of opposites that weaves our lives' (Peul African Oral Tradition).

"We are absolutely lost if we lack this particular individuality, the only thing we can truly call our own - and whose loss is also a loss for the whole world. It is also precious because it is not universal' (Rabindranath Tagore).

"Truth is not at all what I have. It is not what you have at all. It is what unites us in suffering, in joy. It is the child of our Union, in pain and pleasure born. Neither I nor You. And I and You. Our common work, permanent amazement. Its name is Wisdom' (Irénée Guilane Dioh).

"The loss of all certainty and shelter is both a kind of trial and a kind of healing" (Pema Chödrön).

"When we suffer a serious disappointment, we never know if it is the conclusion of the story we are living: it could also be the beginning of a great adventure" (Pema Chödrön).

"To grow means to go beyond what you are today. Do not imitate. Do not pretend to have achieved the goal and do not try to rush things. Seek only to grow' (Svami Prajnanapada).

"True morality consists not in following the beaten path, but in finding the true path for us and following it without fear" (Gandhi).

"Truth resides in every human heart, and here one must seek it; one must be guided by the truth as one sees it. But no one has the right to force others to act according to their own view of the truth' (Gandhi).

"You must stand up to the whole world even at the cost of being alone. You must look the world in the eye, even though it may happen that the world looks at you with bloodshot eyes. Fear not. Believe in that little thing within you that resides in your heart and says: abandon friends, wife, everything; but bear witness to that for which you have lived and for which you must die" (Gandhi).

"In Benin, if you see a jar of water lying under a tree in front of a house, know that it is for you, a stranger passing through; there is no need to knock on the door to ask for a drink, you just open the jar, take the gourd, drink the water and go on your way if no one is there" (Raymond Johnson).

"We must learn to abandon our defences and our need to control, and trust totally in the guidance of the spirit" (Sobonfu Somé).

"Observing and listening are a great art. From observation and listening we learn infinitely more than from books. Books are necessary, but observation and listening sharpen your senses' (Krishnamurti).

"Fire is related to Dreaming, to maintaining our connection to ourselves and ancestors, and to the art of keeping our visions alive" (Griot of Central Africa).

"As in life, contraries coexist everywhere: in social organisation and affective life, in exchanges between individuals. To live and realise the contradiction, that is the essential" (Alassane Ndaw).

"The trial of crimes is instructed, but what does the jury think? Who are the jurors? Who is mankind's deputy attorney general?" (Djibril Tamsir Niane).

"Man must take responsibility for the ties, both visible and invisible, which together give meaning to life" (Aminata Traoré).

"Introducing the spirit of other people into our lives gives us more eyes to see and allows us to overcome our limitations" (Sobonfu Somé).

"In the forest, when the branches quarrel, the roots embrace" (African proverb).

For even in a relationship of deep love and coexistence 'there is a need to free oneself from the obligation to be equal' (Amoris Laetitia, no. 139).

"The waves each rise to their own height, almost competing incessantly with each other, but they only reach a given point; thus they lead our minds to the great calm of the sea, of which they too are a part and to which they must return with a rhythm of marvellous beauty" (Rabindranath Tagore).

For Jesus we are not a "mass", a "multitude"! We are individual "persons" with an eternal value, both as creatures and as re-deemed persons! He knows us! He knows me, and loves me and gave himself for me! (Gal 2:20) [John Paul II]

11. "Each to his own way", says the Council. So, there is no need to be discouraged when contemplating models of holiness that appear unattainable. There are testimonies that are useful to stimulate and motivate us, but not because we try to copy them, as this might even lead us away from the unique and specific way the Lord has in store for us. What is important is that each believer discerns his own path and brings out the best in himself, what is so personal God has placed in him (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), and not that he exhausts himself trying to imitate something that was not meant for him. We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many existential forms of witnessing. In fact, when the great mystic Saint John of the Cross wrote his spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid fixed rules for everyone and explained that his verses were written so that each person could benefit "in his own way". For the divine life is communicated to some in one way and to others in another.

[Gaudete et Exsultate].

To internalise and live the message:

Which gospel do you feel you have to write with your life?

Prayer-presentment, unitive. To not lose the magic of the Mystery

Gratitude: the Kingdom at hand

(Mt 9,35-10,1.6-8)

Jesus differs from the Rabbis of his time because he does not wait for the exhausted and prostrate people (v.36) to come to him: he seeks them out.

And the group of his own must participate, both in works of healing and deliverance - fraternity motivated by luminous selflessness.He enters prayer assemblies with pastoral anxiety: to teach, not to disquisition. He does not give lessons in logical analysis, but lets it be known who dwells in it.

He proclaims a Kingdom totally different from the way it was inculcated by the manipulators of consciences (full of detailed convictions) - who certainly did not exercise gratuitousness.

The ancient doctrines and their protagonists dampened any dissonance and produced the worst: intimate coercion, anonymity, loneliness, passivity.

They inculcated that it was decisive to acquire their flat certainties, not to be open to the personal Mystery, to innate character - fruitfulness out of context.

In fact, they sought to disturb the journeys of the soul, which sometimes wanders to find itself, and which prefers new glimpses to the usual way of seeing - swampy, stagnant.

They did not admit that in each believer could dwell a fundamental option that did not conform to their ideology and manner.

Everything about other people's lives had to work perfectly according to their goals. So they preached not upheaval, but stillness.

Nothing new was to happen that would challenge the social equilibrium, their authoritarian influence... and their income.

Nothing different was to be explored and found.

Yet, yesterday as today, within each woman and man resides a volcano of potential energies - which according to the dominant ideology had only to be stifled and aligned.

For all this (which still drags on) we conversely seek a God to be experienced, who is lovable, not 'artfully' constructed... nor invisible or distant from our condition.

We want the One who gives breath, and understands us.

We can see it clearly: what we are hatching is not a miserable illusion, to be extinguished in favour of external balances.

In fact, the Gospel (v.35) proclaims Grace: the face of the Father - who wants nothing for himself, but gives everything to transmit his own Life to us (not to deaden our inner energy).

The Glad Tidings proclaims a Friend Who Comes, not forcing one to "ascend" (in the abstract) or imprisoning in guilt, exhausting the already subdued creatures - making them even more desolate than before.

Here is revealed a Heaven that makes one feel adequate, does not chastise or even impress, but promotes and puts everyone at ease; a Merciful One who is not only good: exclusively good.

The prodigal Father welcomes people as the Son does in the Gospels - as they are; not by enquiring. Rather dilating.

His Word-event also not only reactivates: it reintegrates the imbalances and enhances them in the perspective of paths as a real person - without judging or dispersing or breaking anything.

For such a work of wise recomposition of being, the Master invites to Prayer (v.38) - the disciples' first form of commitment.

Access to different attunements in the Spirit teaches us to stimulate the soul's gaze, to value and understand everything and everyone.

So - after making them less ignorant - Jesus invites his own to involve themselves in missionary work; not to be scholars or moral lecturers.

That would be careless posturing, which makes the unbalanced feel even more lost.

The Mission grows from a small but boundless dimension - that of intimate perception, which becomes aware of the needs and mystery of a favourable Presence.

New configurations in spirit: fully discovered only in deep prayer (v.38).  Incarnate.

It is not meant to distract us from inner fulfilment; on the contrary, it acts as a guide, and returns the soul (scattered in the many common practices to be performed) to its own centre.

It makes us feel the yearning and understanding of the perfect condition: the Father does not intend to absorb our aptitudes, but to strengthen them. For everyone has an intimate project, a Calling by Name, their own place in the world.

It seems paradoxical, but the outgoing Church - the one that does not speculate or engage in mass proselytising to impress the mainstream - is first and foremost a matter of formation and internal consciousness.

In short, one recognises oneself and becomes not unaware of things through Prayer-presentment, unitive.

In Christ, it is not performance or devout expression, but rather understanding and first and foremost listening to the God who reveals and calls in a thousand subtle forms.

The commitment to heal the world is not won without vocation awareness, nor by letting ourselves be plagiarised and going haphazardly.

Rather, sharpening our gaze, and reinvesting the virtue and character even of our own still-shadowed sides.

Nor does it remain essential to always cross every boundary (Mt 10:5-6) with a logic of escape.

Because not infrequently - unfortunately - only those who love strength start from the too remote and out of reach.

The 'sheep' who are lost and tired of trying and trying again - the excluded, the considered lost, the marginalised - are not lacking (they are close at hand) and there is no urgency to immediately turn away. Almost as if to exempt oneself from the nearest.

The horizon expands itself, if one is convinced and does not like masks or subterfuge.

The sense of closeness to oneself, to others, and to reality is an authentic bearer of the Kingdom that is revealed: the Near.

Understanding the nature of creatures and increasingly conforming to it, all are inspired to change and complete themselves, enriching (even cultural sclerosis) without alienating forcing.

Exercising a practice of goodness even with oneself.

Some of the most quoted aphorisms from the Tao culture read: "the way of doing is being"; "he who knows others is wise, he who knows himself is enlightened"; "a long journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"; "the master observes the world, but trusts his inner vision"; "if you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place"; "when you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you".

Thus in the battle against infirmity (Mt 9:35-10:1): we win by sharpening our gaze and reinvesting the energy and character even of our own sides still in shadow.

All the gratuitousness (Mt 10:8) that will be able to spring forth from it to build up life in favour of our brothers and sisters, will spring forth not as puerile hysterical reciprocation, or engagement.

It will be spontaneous, solid and cheering Love Dialogue, because it is devoid of those imbalances that smoulder under the ashes of facade conditioning.

The sense of closeness (v.7) to oneself, to others and to reality will be an authentic - not programmatic, nor alienated - port of the Kingdom that is revealed: Beside.

To internalise and live the message:

Does Prayer in Christ shake your conscience?

What consolation do you expect from the God Who Comes?

Perhaps a compensation?

Or a gratuitousness that triggers - here and now - true Love-understanding, attentive to the calls of every subtle Voice?

Even among the saints there are contrasts

Barnabas, Silvanus and Apollos

Dear brothers and sisters, as we continue our journey among the protagonists of the Christian origins, let us turn our attention today to some of St Paul's other collaborators. We must recognise that the Apostle is an eloquent example of a man open to collaboration: in the Church, he does not want to do everything alone, but makes use of numerous and diverse colleagues. We cannot dwell on all these precious helpers, for they are many. Suffice it to recall, among others, Epaphras (cf. Col 1:7; 4:12; Phm 23), Epaphroditus (cf. Phil 2:25; 4:18), Tychicus (cf. Acts 20:4; Eph 6:21; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 4:12; Tit 3:12), Urbanus (cf. Rom 16:9), Gaius and Aristarchus (cf. Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2; Col 4:10). And women such as Phoebe (cf. Rom 16:1), Triphena and Trifòsa (cf. Rom 16:12), Pèrside, the mother of Rufus - of whom St Paul says: "She is also my mother" (cf. Rom 16:12-13) - not to forget spouses such as Prisca and Aquila (cf. Rom 16:3; 1Cor 16:19; 2Tm 4:19). Today, among this great host of St Paul's co-workers, we turn our attention to three of them, who played a particularly significant role in the evangelisation of the origins: Barnabas, Silvanus and Apollos.

Barnabas means "son of exhortation" (Acts 4:36) or "son of consolation" and is the nickname of a Jewish-Levite native of Cyprus. Settled in Jerusalem, he was one of the first to embrace Christianity after the Lord's resurrection. With great generosity he sold a field he owned, handing over the proceeds to the Apostles for the needs of the Church (cf. Acts 4:37). It was he who guaranteed Saul's conversion to the Christian community in Jerusalem, which still distrusted the former persecutor (cf. Acts 9:27). Sent to Antioch of Syria, he went to take Paul back to Tarsus, where the latter had retired, and spent a whole year with him, devoting himself to the evangelisation of that important city, in whose Church Barnabas was known as a prophet and doctor (cf. Acts 13:1). So Barnabas, at the time of the first conversions of the pagans, realised that this was the time of Saul, who had withdrawn to Tarsus, his city. There he went to look for him. Thus, at that important moment, he almost gave Paul back to the Church; he gave her, in this sense, once again the Apostle of the Gentiles. From the Antiochian Church Barnabas was sent on mission together with Paul, making what is known as the Apostle's first missionary journey. In reality, it was a missionary journey of Barnabas, since he was the one in charge, with whom Paul joined as a co-worker, touching the regions of Cyprus and central-southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, with the cities of Attalya, Perge, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (cf. Acts 13-14). Together with Paul, he then went to the so-called Council of Jerusalem where, after a thorough examination of the matter, the Apostles with the Elders decided to separate the practice of circumcision from Christian identity (cf. Acts 15:1-35). Only thus, in the end, did they officially make the Church of the Gentiles possible, a Church without circumcision: we are children of Abraham simply through faith in Christ.

The two, Paul and Barnabas, then came into conflict, at the beginning of the second missionary journey, because Barnabas was of the opinion to take John Mark as his companion, while Paul did not want to, as the young man had separated from them during the previous journey (cf. Acts 13:13; 15:36-40). So even among saints there are contrasts, discords, controversies. And this seems very consoling to me, because we see that the saints did not 'fall from heaven'. They are men like us, with even complicated problems. Holiness does not consist in never having done wrong, sinned. Holiness grows in the capacity for conversion, repentance, readiness to begin again, and above all in the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness. And so Paul, who had been rather bitter and bitter towards Mark, eventually finds himself with him. In the last Epistles of St Paul, to Philemon and in the second to Timothy, Mark himself appears as "my co-worker". It is therefore not never having done wrong, but the capacity for reconciliation and forgiveness that makes us holy. And we can all learn this path to holiness. In any case Barnabas, with John Mark, left for Cyprus (cf. Acts 15:39) around the year 49. From then on, his trail is lost. Tertullian attributes the Letter to the Hebrews to him, which is not without verisimilitude because, being from the tribe of Levi, Barnabas could have had an interest in the subject of the priesthood. And the Letter to the Hebrews interprets the priesthood of Jesus to us in an extraordinary way.

Another of Paul's companions was Silas, a Greekised form of a Hebrew name (perhaps sheal, "to ask, to invoke", which is the same root as the name "Saul"), of which the Latinised form Silvanus also appears. The name Silas is attested only in the Book of Acts, while the name Silvanus appears only in the Pauline Epistles. He was a Jew from Jerusalem, one of the first to become a Christian, and was held in high esteem in that Church (cf. Acts 15:22), being considered a prophet (cf. Acts 15:32). He was commissioned to convey "to the brethren of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia" (Acts 15:23) the decisions taken at the Council of Jerusalem and to explain them. Evidently he was considered capable of mediating between Jerusalem and Antioch, between Jewish-Christians and Christians of pagan origin, and thus serving the unity of the Church in the diversity of rites and origins. When Paul separated from Barnabas, he took Silas as his new travelling companion (cf. Acts 15:40). With Paul he reached Macedonia (with the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea), where he stopped, while Paul continued on to Athens and then Corinth. Silas joined him in Corinth, where he co-operated in the preaching of the Gospel; indeed, in Paul's second Letter to that Church, he speaks of "Jesus Christ, whom we preached among you, I, Silvanus and Timothy" (2 Cor 1:19). This explains why he appears as co-moderator, together with Paul and Timothy, of the two Letters to the Thessalonians. This also seems important to me. Paul does not act as a "soloist", as a pure individual, but together with these co-workers in the "we" of the Church. This 'I' of Paul is not an isolated 'I', but an 'I' in the 'we' of the Church, in the 'we' of the apostolic faith. And Silvanus is also mentioned at the end in the First Epistle of Peter, where we read: "I have written to you through Silvanus, my faithful brother" (5:12). Thus we also see the communion of the Apostles. Silvanus serves Paul, serves Peter, because the Church is one and the missionary proclamation is unique.

Paul's third companion, whom we wish to commemorate, is called Apollonius, probably short for Apollonius or Apollodorus. Although it is a pagan name, he was a fervent Jew from Alexandria in Egypt. Luke in the Book of Acts describes him as "a learned man, versed in the Scriptures... full of fervour" (18:24-25). Apollodorus' entry onto the scene of the first evangelisation took place in the city of Ephesus: there he had gone to preach and there he had the good fortune to meet the Christian spouses Priscilla and Aquila (cf. Acts 18:26), who introduced him to a more complete knowledge of the 'way of God' (cf.) From Ephesus he went on to Achaia and reached the city of Corinth: here he arrived with the support of a letter from the Christians of Ephesus, who recommended that the Corinthians welcome him (cf. Acts 18:27). In Corinth, as Luke writes, "he was very helpful to those who by grace had become believers; for he vigorously refuted the Jews, publicly demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ" (Acts 18:27-28), the Messiah. His success in that city had a problematic side, however, as there were some members of that Church who, fascinated by his way of speaking, opposed the others in his name (cf. 1 Cor 1:12; 3:4-6; 4:6). Paul in the First Letter to the Corinthians expresses appreciation for the work of Apollos, but reproaches the Corinthians for tearing the Body of Christ apart by dividing it into opposing factions. He draws an important lesson from the whole affair: 'Both I and Apollos,' he says, 'are but diakonoi, that is, mere ministers, through whom you have come to faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5). Everyone has a differentiated task in the Lord's field: "I planted, Apollo watered, but it is God who made it grow... For we are God's co-workers, and you are God's camp, God's building" (1 Cor 3:6-9). Returning to Ephesus, Apollos resisted Paul's invitation to return to Corinth immediately, postponing the journey to a later date that we ignore (cf. 1 Cor 16:12). We have no other news of him, although some scholars think of him as the possible author of the Letter to the Hebrews, of which, according to Tertullian, Barnabas would be the author.

All three of these men shine in the firmament of the witnesses of the Gospel by a common note as well as by characteristics peculiar to each. What they have in common, apart from their Jewish origin, is their dedication to Jesus Christ and the Gospel, together with the fact that they were all three co-workers of the Apostle Paul. In this original evangelising mission they have found the meaning of their lives, and as such stand before us as shining models of selflessness and generosity. And let us think again, in the end, of this sentence of St Paul: both Apollos and I are all ministers of Jesus, each in his own way, because it is God who makes us grow. This word also applies to everyone today, to the Pope, to Cardinals, Bishops, priests and lay people. We are all humble ministers of Jesus. Let us serve the Gospel as much as we can, according to our gifts, and let us pray to God that he will make his Gospel, his Church, grow today.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 31 January 2007].

For Christians, volunteer work is not merely an expression of good will. It is based on a personal experience of Christ. He was the first to serve humanity, he freely gave his life for the good of all. That gift was not based on our merits. From this we learn that God gives us himself. More than that: Deus Caritas est – God is love, to quote a phrase from the First Letter of Saint John (4:8) which I employed as the title of my first Encyclical Letter. The experience of God’s generous love challenges us and liberates us to adopt the same attitude towards our brothers and sisters: “You received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). We experience this especially in the Eucharist when the Son of God, in the breaking of bread, brings together the vertical dimension of his divine gift with the horizontal dimension of our service to our brothers and sisters.

Christ’s grace helps us to discover within ourselves a human desire for solidarity and a fundamental vocation to love. His grace perfects, strengthens and elevates that vocation and enables us to serve others without reward, satisfaction or any recompense. Here we see something of the grandeur of our human calling: to serve others with the same freedom and generosity which characterizes God himself. We also become visible instruments of his love in a world that still profoundly yearns for that love amid the poverty, loneliness, marginalization and ignorance that we see all around us.

Of course, Catholic volunteer work cannot respond to all these needs, but that does not discourage us. Nor should we let ourselves be seduced by ideologies that want to change the world according to a purely human vision. The little that we manage to do to relieve human needs can be seen as a good seed that will grow and bear much fruit; it is a sign of Christ’s presence and love which, like the tree in the Gospel, grows to give shelter, protection and strength to all who require it.

This is the nature of the witness which you, in all humility and conviction, offer to civil society. While it is the duty of public authority to acknowledge and to appreciate this contribution without distorting it, your role as Christians is to take an active part in the life of society, seeking to make it ever more humane, ever more marked by authentic freedom, justice and solidarity. 

Our meeting today takes place on the liturgical memorial of Saint Martin of Tours. Often portrayed sharing his mantle with a poor man, Martin became a model of charity throughout Europe and indeed the whole world. Nowadays, volunteer work as a service of charity has become a universally recognized element of our modern culture. Nonetheless, its origins can still be seen in the particularly Christian concern for safeguarding, without discrimination, the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God. If these spiritual roots are denied or obscured and the criteria of our collaboration become purely utilitarian, what is most distinctive about the service you provide risks being lost, to the detriment of society as a whole. 

Dear friends, I would like to conclude by encouraging young people to discover in volunteer work a way to grow in the self-giving love which gives life its deepest meaning. Young people readily react to the call of love. Let us help them to hear Christ who makes his call felt in their hearts and draws them closer to himself. We must not be afraid to set before them a radical and life-changing challenge, helping them to learn that our hearts are made to love and be loved. It is in self-giving that we come to live life in all its fullness. 

With these sentiments, I renew my gratitude to all of you and to all those whom you represent. I ask God to watch over your many works of service and to make them ever more spiritually fruitful, for the good of the Church and of the whole world. To you and your associates I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.

[Pope Benedict, Meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", 11 November 2011]

Lent, the providential time for conversion, helps us to contemplate this stupendous mystery of love. It is a return to the roots of our faith, so that by pondering the measureless gift of grace which is Redemption, we cannot fail to realize that all has been given to us by God’s loving initiative. In order to meditate upon this aspect of the mystery of salvation, I have chosen as the theme for this year’s Lenten Message the Lord’s words: “You received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8). 

Yes! We have received without pay. Is not our entire life marked by God’s kindness? The beginning of life and its marvellous development: this is a gift. And because it is gift, life can never be regarded as a possession or as private property, even if the capabilities we now have to improve the quality of life can lead us to think that man is the “master” of life. The achievements of medicine and biotechnology can sometimes lead man to think of himself as his own creator, and to succumb to the temptation of tampering with “the tree of life” (Gn 3:24).

It is also worth repeating here that not everything that is technically possible is morally acceptable. Scientific work aimed at securing a quality of life more in keeping with human dignity is admirable, but it must never be forgotten that human life is a gift, and that it remains precious even when marked by suffering and limitations. A gift to be accepted and to be loved at all times: received without pay and to be placed without pay at the service of others.

[Pope John Paul II, Message for Lent 2002]

"Service" and "gratuitousness" are the two key words around which Pope Francis built his meditation during Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on the morning of Tuesday, 11 June. These are the fundamental characteristics that must accompany Christians "along the way," said the Pontiff, along that path, that "journey" that always distinguishes life, "because a Christian cannot remain stationary."

The teaching comes directly from the Gospel: it is there that we find — as highlighted by the passage from Matthew proposed by the liturgy of the day (10:7-13) — Jesus' instructions to the apostles who are being sent out. A mission which, said the Pope, is also that of "the successors of the apostles" and of "every Christian, if sent". Therefore, first and foremost, "the Christian life is about moving forward, always. Not standing still." And in this journey, what does the Lord recommend to his followers? "Heal the sick, preach that the kingdom of heaven is near, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons." In other words, "a life of service."

This is the first fundamental point highlighted by the Pope: "Christian life is about serving." And it is very sad, he added, to see "Christians who, at the beginning of their conversion or their awareness of being Christians, serve, are open to serving, serve the people of God," and then, instead, "end up serving themselves. This hurts so much, so much to the people of God." The Christian vocation, therefore, is to 'serve' and never to 'use'.

Continuing his reflection, Francis then moved on to a concept that, he emphasised, "goes right to the heart of salvation: 'Freely you have received, freely give'. Christian life is a life of gratuitousness." From Jesus' recommendation to the apostles he sent out, it is clear that "salvation cannot be bought; salvation is given to us freely. God saved us, saves us freely. He does not make us pay'. This is, the Pope explained, a principle 'that God has used with us' and that we must use 'with others'. And it is 'one of the most beautiful things' to know 'that the Lord is full of gifts to give us' and that only one thing is asked of us: 'that our hearts be open'. As in the Lord's Prayer, where 'we pray, we open our hearts, so that this gratuitousness may come. There is no relationship with God outside of gratuitousness'.

Considering this cornerstone of Christian life, the Pontiff then highlighted some possible and dangerous misunderstandings. Thus, he said, "sometimes, when we need something spiritual or a grace, we say: 'Well, now I will fast, I will do penance, I will do a novena...'". All this is fine, but "let us be careful: this is not to 'pay' for grace, to 'buy' grace; this is to open your heart so that grace may come." Let us be clear, in fact: "Grace is free. All of God's gifts are free. The problem is that the heart shrinks, closes and is incapable of receiving so much love, so much free love." Therefore, "everything we do to obtain something, even a promise — 'If I have this, I will do that' — is to enlarge the heart, not to bargain with God... No. With God, there is no bargaining." With God, "only the language of love and of the Father and of gratuitousness" is valid.

And if this is true in our relationship with God, it is also true for Christians — 'Freely you have received, freely give' — and, Francis emphasised, especially for the 'pastors of the Church'. Grace "cannot be sold," he reiterated, adding: "It hurts so much when you find pastors who do business with God's grace: 'I will do this, but this costs so much, that costs so much...'. And God's grace remains there and salvation is a business." All this, he strongly reiterated, "is not the Lord. The Lord's grace is free and you must give it freely." Unfortunately, he explained, in the spiritual life there is "always the danger of slipping into payment, always, even when talking to the Lord, as if we wanted to give the Lord a bribe." But the relationship with the Lord cannot go down "that road."

Therefore, the Pope reiterated, no to dynamics such as, 'Lord, if you do this for me, I will give you that'; but, if necessary, yes to a promise that with it one's heart will be enlarged 'to receive' what 'is free for us'. And "this relationship of gratuitousness with God is what will then help us to have it with others, both in Christian witness and in Christian service and in the pastoral life of those who are shepherds of God's people."

'Along the way': this is how the Pope summed up his reasoning at the end of his homily. 'Christian life,' he said, 'is about going. Preach, serve, do not 'make use of'. Serve and give freely what you have received freely'. And he concluded: "May our life of holiness be this opening of the heart, so that God's gratuitousness, God's graces that are there, free, that He wants to give, may reach our hearts."

[Pope Francis, St. Martha, in L'Osservatore Romano, 11 June 2019]

Emergency large, through small Name

(Mt 10:1-7)

None of the apostles was worthy of the Call; yet he is called upon, and can receive his Mandate - as if he were already perfect!

Most of them have typical names of Judaism, even of the patriarchs’ time - which indicates a cultural and spiritual extraction rooted more in religion than in Faith... not easy to manage.

Peter was eager to step forward, but also often receding (backtracking) until he became for Jesus a «satàn» [in the culture of the ancient East, an official of the great sovereign, sent to be a controller and whistleblower - practically an accuser]. James of Zebedee and John were brothers, heated fundamentalists, and hysterically they wanted the Master only for them. Philip did not appear to be a very practical type, neither quick or trained to grasp the things of God. Andrew seems instead to be doing well: inclusive person. Bartholomew was probably open but perplexed, because the Messiah did not correspond much to him. Thomas was a little inside and a little outside. Matthew a collaborationist, avid accomplice of the oppressive system. Simon the Canaanite a hothead. Judas Iscariot one who destroys himself by trusting the old spiritual guides, imbued with a nationalist ideology, of private interest, opportunism and power. Two others (James son of Alpheus and Judas Thaddeus) perhaps simple disciples of no great importance or initiative.

But the Kingdom is «near» [v.7: «it has become close»]: God is in our history - it was already experienced in the early days, in first community of sons.

In ancient devotion, the idea of a distant God produced separations, pyramidal hierarchies, cultivation of inner circle interests.

The idea of an Eternal leader and avenger left prolific a priestly class that instead of reconciling and integrating people, neglected and abandoned the irrelevant persons.

The fact of believing in a divine Presence linked to material abundance dulled minds and the ability to read the Redemption.

[The idea of advantage and disadvantage, prosperity and scarcity, always originate in us or in the conventional mentality; from opinions].

Therefore, it’s crucial to mature first, wherever we live.

Not infrequently there are unnoble reasons to want to reach everyone, run everywhere, spread, increase and do it immediately.

We say so… not to distinguish the moment of the Call from that of Sending.

It is the ‘way of intimate’ that really penetrates the space of the suburbs. In fact, only those who love strength prefer to start from what is very far from themselves.

The only way to peer far is to stick to the reason of things, a principle that we can know if we are not misled by dispersion.

By understanding the nature of themselves and creatures, everyone is inspired to complete.

In short, the Road to Heaven is intertwined with the Way of the Person, not with the journey of excellence; not with the path on the models’ base - or we will be overfishers common and cheesy.

The Kingdom has become ‘close’ and by Name since the beginning (vv.2-4): there is no more incisive authentic and healing Mission.

[Wednesday 14th wk. in O.T.  July 9, 2025]