Initiates, circles, prejudices, or different paths

(Lk 9:46-50)

Redemption presents two essential aspects: the Gift of the Call and the aptitude to accept the Proposal.

From wave to wave this realizes a new Creation of the person, of fraternity, of the Church, and of the world.

Thus Faith: a relationship of welcome and incisiveness, wich reverberates; always young. Such is spiritual childhood.

It’s for this reason that Greek text speaks of workshop boy, the servant of the house [«paidìon»: vv.47-48] as a model of disciple close to the Lord - ready to shoot in front of every life request. 

Greatness in smallness.

But in this passage Lk joins that of the servant, with an idea of "first period" typical of those who present themselves at the threshold of communities: «mikròi» [v.48: incipients and shakies].

Often those who have less energy.

However, instead of an unconditional welcome, the latter feel the mistrust of veterans, who disdain dialogue and confrontation; always beware of novelties - and the danger of to be "overshadowed".

The unprecedented life that could arise is immediately suffocated or encapsulated by self-styled experts (v.49), neglecting and dampening the renewed God’s Gift to the assembly.

In short, the Community must return to its immediate and spontaneous Principle, without making the arrangements chronic.

The «following together with us» [instead of following Him personally, v.49] is contrasted with the simple richness of spiritual childhood and service, in the wider coexistence and sharing.

We also know in ourselves the cravings for domination; but those who become «minimum», «servant», «voiceless», leave ample room for the strength and tolerant - transmuting - work of life.

The New radiates the unforeseeable divine and human. And the boldness of modesty that listens and has respect for one’s own soul and brother as a gift-proposal, can make everyone find again, from within.

Pure freshness that evokes the joy of Grace; that keeps a clear eye on everything - even on the wiles of others, because they too can make us take different directions.

The place of honor is so coveted, but those who remain unpretentious can be much better available to an unparalleled condition, and to fraternity that respects the vocation of each one.

In this way, let us avoid punctuating the present in Christ with the models (vv.49-50) because in following the Lord not everyone walks in the same mode.

The Coming tide wants to drag us on the territory of growth without mortification: inside, there exists and it’s eloquent a secret time and space, that inhabit us.

They resonate in harmony with the Gospels. There is no need to "get back in step" of all time always, nor just find a way out.

Let’s surrender to the young and creative instinct. It would be the journey of Joy: in the new reality and eminent Beauty, from discomfort.

To internalize and live the message:

What nourishes your desire for God, for youth, for brothers and sisters?

[Monday 26th wk. in O.T.  September 30, 2024]

Initiates, circles, prejudices, and different paths - from "emptiness"

(Lk 9:46-50)

According to the Tao Tê Ching (LXXXI) "The saint does not accumulate; the more he has done for others, the more he possesses; the more he has given to others, the more he abounds".

Redemption has two essential aspects: the Gift of the Call and the ability to accept the Proposal.

It brings about a new Creation of the person, of the fraternity, of the Church, and of the world.

Such is Faith: a relationship of acceptance and incisiveness that reverberates, always young. Such is spiritual infancy.

This is why the Greek text speaks of the shop boy, the house servant ["paidìon": vv.47-48] as a model of the disciple close to the Lord - ready to spring up in the face of every request for life.

Greatness in smallness.

But in this passage Lk also connects to that of the servant an idea of "first period" typical of those who present themselves at the threshold of the communities: "mikròi" [v.48: incipient and unsteady]. Often those with the least energy.

However, instead of an unconditional welcome, they feel the distrust of the veterans, who disdain dialogue and confrontation; always wary of new things - and the danger of being 'overshadowed'.

The unprecedented life that might arise is immediately stifled or pigeonholed by self-styled experts (v.49), neglecting and dampening the renewed Gift of God to the assembly.

In short, the Community must return to its immediate and spontaneous Principle: fraternal and universal love - re-actualised by the knocking at the door of the churches of the unimportant in society.

But we often go as if to war, because the top of the class only demand to be served and revered - by the new ones and those destined to efforts, obligations... and formulation of impersonal intentions.

So much for total acceptance: the little one is considered a usurper of private property - he who would indeed make the actors of holiness finally become 'great', resembling the Father.

On the other hand, those in charge on the ground continue to dry up things and situations, and stiffen everyone within immobile forms.

Even the missionary activity of outsiders to the official group is denigrated, suffers derision, and encounters contrived obstacles that attempt to chronicle the arrangements.

Thus evangelisation is weighed down: not service to the Lord and brothers, but territory of conquest to feel protagonists - and the many competitors seem dangerous... to self-assertion.

Such riches of 'following along with us' (v.49) instead of personally following Him, are contrasted with the simple riches of spiritual childhood and service in broader coexistence and sharing.

We also know in ourselves the delusions of dominance that transcend humility, the anxieties of memorable feats and important deeds that we deem more meaningful than understanding and fluency.

But those who make themselves 'minimal' leave ample space for the tolerant and transmuting power and work of life.

He perceives the inner self and takes note of new things, to truly exist and not feel orphaned - indeed, to shatter situations and bring attention to other dimensions.

The audacity of modesty that listens and has respect for one's own soul and for one's brother as a gift and a proposal, can make one rediscover within each the 'servant' and the 'voiceless' waiting to be called back to life.

Pure freshness that evokes the joy of Grace; that keeps a clear eye on everything, even on the decision-making wiles of others, because they too can take us in different directions.

The place of honour is much coveted, but those who remain unassuming can much better be themselves and make themselves available to a condition of the other kingdom - to the fraternity that respects the incomparable vocation of each one.

We must not dot the present in Christ with models, for in following the Lord not everyone walks in the same way. And the new radiates the unpredictable.

Simplicity and upheaval: Rebirth without mortification

It is not a matter of finding excuses to justify laziness in the spiritual quest and exodus: small, spontaneous and natural - but rich inside - one becomes, lowering oneself from one's character.

It is the art of making life dense and complex, multifaceted and vast, then simplifying, without dispersing.

Often all it takes is to observe in a singular and personal way, or to rest one's gaze in a different place, to find a thousand unexpected and self-regenerating outlets.

Indeed, the solution to the complications that stifle the soul and the experience of the fullness of being we seek is inherent in our own questioning.

Not infrequently, it belongs to preconceptions rather than reality or the tide that comes, which wants to drag us into the territory of growth - simply, with its own rhythm.

We are obnubilated by thoughts. But there is an innate knowledge that watches over our uniqueness and does not intoxicate the soul.It exists and is eloquent within, a secret time and space that inhabits us: they resonate in tune with the Gospels.

There is no need to 'catch up' with the past, or just find a way out.

If we surrender to such a young and creative instinct, wiser, comforted by the Word, the Core of Being will come forth with its primordial energies.

Virtues that recreate the earth like the mythical Child of the World: a little Jesus - inside and outside of us.

Thus we annihilate even the disaster of the global crisis, and rise again: each in his own way (which is not 'his' in the sense of arbitrariness).

And when we are able to accept the events as a Call to come out of our cages so that we perceive the Elsewhere, we will find an intimate result.

The thorn in the side will unravel and relaunch the special path; it will accentuate the possibilities of exchanging unseen gifts, not stereotypes - without even experiencing fatigue, and the subtle dissatisfactions we know.

Projected totally into external problems, we overload our mind and spirit with expectations induced by cultural paradigms in vogue [whether antiquated or disembodied] or to which we are accustomed.

Thus existence quickly becomes conformist again, stagnant in the usual means and goals, devoid of new peaks or authentic relationships and unimagined vitality.

The diktat of the objective induced by the roles we imagined acquired exhausts us, and the instituted idea of perfection sterilises the humus - it impoverishes within.

The reductionism in place puts actual needs in brackets.

The one-sidedness then lets ways of being prevail, the roles already expressed; it withers relationships, making environments (all impermeable and established) murky again.

Fixed ideas condition life and do not allow the inner organism - psychic and spiritual - to feed on transparent, unprejudiced truths; and sincere feelings, which would give us breath.

Freeing ourselves from the usual ways of going about things, from apodictic judgments and convictions, would conversely allow us to break the chains that hold back the luminous and rainbow faculties.

As well as the ability to correspond to the unheard-of Personal Calling, opening up other views.

The 'emptiness' advocated by the Tao only resembles in earshot the 'emptiness' of other, decidedly more depersonalising Eastern wisdom.

The Oriental teaching of the Way does not lose the sense of importance and exceptionality of the individual seed.

On the contrary, it fully respects its propulsive vocation. Remaining ourselves, not only in spite of - but because of - the obligatory abyss we have crossed.

By minimising the intentions of revisiting the old maquillage - and all non-epochal convictions, which do not call us, nor would we like to - we clear our souls of ballast.

In this way we will bring out its exceptional specific weight and unrepeatable character, in order to lighten it and fill it only with what is needed to activate the new paths that await us.

The slowing down and letting go that Lao Tse advocates does not lead to the insignificant flattening of differences, but to dilating the sacred and natural times of wise action, and appreciating its value.

Stages and goals that do not correspond to us will not bring fulfilment.

Indeed, artifices force us to amplify relationships - but only to cover up the problem with ourselves, or even with a couple, a group, a movement, a community, a work environment.

While we wish to clothe [and not depose] with a sense of permanence the character of before - a cliché that does not correspond to us - we go round in circles. We burden ourselves with outsized expectations, with useless stress that makes no room for love [friendship with which one encounters oneself, things, sisters and brothers, the many events].

Natural Wisdom, even bitter events, and the Bible, remind us that the face... each path, the name, and the rhythm, are ours alone.

So too is the synthesis: each one is called upon to write his own eccentric glad tidings for the benefit of the woman and man of all times (Jn 20:30-31).

Please note: Fraternity is not levelling:

"But there are many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written down one by one, I think that not even the world itself could contain the books that should be written" (Jn 21:25).

That would be the journey of Joy: into the new reality and eminent Beauty, out of discomfort.

To internalise and live the message:

What fuels your desire for God and brethren?

God’s sign is simplicity. God’s sign is the baby. God’s sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby – defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will – we learn to live with him and to practise with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him, and love him. The Fathers of the Church, in their Greek translation of the Old Testament, found a passage from the prophet Isaiah that Paul also quotes in order to show how God’s new ways had already been foretold in the Old Testament. There we read: "God made his Word short, he abbreviated it" (Is 10:23; Rom 9:28). The Fathers interpreted this in two ways. The Son himself is the Word, the Logos; the eternal Word became small – small enough to fit into a manger. He became a child, so that the Word could be grasped by us. In this way God teaches us to love the little ones. In this way he teaches us to love the weak. In this way he teaches us respect for children. The child of Bethlehem directs our gaze towards all children who suffer and are abused in the world, the born and the unborn. Towards children who are placed as soldiers in a violent world; towards children who have to beg; towards children who suffer deprivation and hunger; towards children who are unloved. In all of these it is the Child of Bethlehem who is crying out to us; it is the God who has become small who appeals to us. Let us pray this night that the brightness of God’s love may enfold all these children. Let us ask God to help us do our part so that the dignity of children may be respected. May they all experience the light of l ove, which mankind needs so much more than the material necessities of life.

[Pope Benedict, Christmas homily 24 December 2006]

1. The difficulties that sometimes accompany the development of evangelisation highlight a delicate problem whose solution should not be sought in purely historical or sociological terms: the problem of the salvation of those who do not visibly belong to the Church. We are not given the opportunity to scrutinise the mystery of divine action in minds and hearts, to assess the power of Christ's grace in taking possession, in life and in death, of those whom 'the Father has given Him', and whom He Himself has proclaimed that He does not want to 'lose'. We hear this repeated in one of the Gospel readings proposed for the Mass of the Dead (cf. Jn 6:39-40).

But, as I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, one cannot limit the gift of salvation "to those who explicitly believe in God and have entered the Church. If salvation is destined for all, it must be made concretely available to all'. And, admitting that it is concretely impossible for so many people to access the Christian message, I added: "Many people do not have the possibility of knowing or accepting the revelation of the Gospel to enter the Church. They live in socio-cultural conditions that do not allow it, and they have often been educated in other religious traditions" (Redemptoris Missio, 10).

We must recognise that to the extent that it is within the human capacity for foresight and knowledge, this practical impossibility would seem destined to last much longer, perhaps even until the final completion of the work of evangelisation. Jesus himself admonished that only the Father knows "the times and moments" fixed by him for the establishment of his Kingdom in the world (cf. Acts 1:7).

2. What I have said above, however, does not justify the relativistic position of those who believe that a way to salvation can be found in any religion, even independently of faith in Christ the Redeemer, and that inter-religious dialogue should be based on this ambiguous conception. This is not the Gospel-compliant solution to the problem of salvation for those who do not profess the Christian creed. Instead, we must maintain that the road to salvation always passes through Christ, and that therefore it is up to the Church and its missionaries to make him known and loved in every time, in every place and in every culture. Outside of Christ 'there is no salvation'. As Peter proclaimed before the Sanhedrin from the very beginning of the apostolic preaching: "There is no other name under heaven given to men in which it is appointed that we should be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Even for those who through no fault of their own do not know Christ and do not recognise themselves as Christians, the divine plan has provided a way of salvation. As we read in the conciliar Decree on missionary activity Ad Gentes, we believe that "God, through the ways he alone knows, can bring men who through no fault of their own ignore the Gospel" to the faith necessary for salvation (Ad Gentes, 7). Of course, the condition 'without their guilt' cannot be verified or appreciated by human evaluation, but must be left solely to divine judgement. This is why in the Constitution Gaudium et Spes the Council declares that in the heart of every man of good will "grace works invisibly", and that "the Holy Spirit gives everyone the possibility of coming into contact, in the way God knows, with the Paschal Mystery" (Gaudium et Spes, 22).

3. It is important to emphasise that the way of salvation taken by those who ignore the Gospel is not a way outside Christ and the Church. The universal salvific will is linked to the unique mediation of Christ. This is stated in the First Letter to Timothy: "God our Saviour, who wills that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For one is God, and one is the mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2: 3-6). Peter proclaims this when he says that "in no one else is there salvation", and calls Jesus the "head of the corner" (Acts 4:11-12), emphasising the necessary role of Christ as the foundation of the Church.

This affirmation of the "uniqueness" of the Saviour draws its origin from the very words of the Lord, who states that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45), i.e. for mankind, as St Paul explains when he writes: "One died for all" (2 Cor 5:14 cf. Rom 5:18). Christ obtained universal salvation by the gift of his own life: no other mediator was established by God as Saviour. The unique value of the sacrifice of the Cross must always be recognised in the destiny of every man.

4. And since Christ works salvation through his mystical Body, which is the Church, the way to salvation is essentially linked to the Church. The axiom extra Ecclesiam nulla salus - "outside the Church there is no salvation" -, enunciated by St Cyprian (Epist 73,21: PL 1123 AB), belongs to the Christian tradition and was included in the Lateran Council IV (Denz.-S. 802), in the bull Unam Sanctam of Boniface VIII (Denz.-S. 870) and in the Council of Florence (Decretum pro Jacobitis, Denz.-S. 1351).

The axiom means that for those who are unaware that the Church was founded by God through Jesus Christ as necessary there is an obligation to enter and persevere in it in order to obtain salvation (cf. Lumen Gentium, 14). On the other hand, for those who have not received the proclamation of the Gospel, as I wrote in the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, salvation is accessible through mysterious ways insofar as divine grace is bestowed upon them by virtue of Christ's redeeming sacrifice, without external adherence to the Church but always, nevertheless, in relationship with it (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 10). It is a "mysterious relationship": mysterious for those who receive it, because they do not know the Church and indeed sometimes externally reject it; mysterious also in itself because it is linked to the salvific mystery of grace, which entails an essential reference to the Church founded by the Saviour.

Salvific grace, in order to operate, requires an adhesion, a cooperation, a yes to the divine donation: and this adhesion is, at least implicitly, oriented towards Christ and the Church. Therefore one can also say sine Ecclesia nulla salus - "without the Church there is no salvation" -: adhesion to the Church - Mystical Body of Christ, however implicit it may be, is indeed mysterious, and constitutes an essential condition for salvation.

5. Religions can exert a positive influence on the destiny of those who belong to them and follow their instructions with sincerity of spirit. But if the decisive action for salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit, we must bear in mind that man only receives his salvation from Christ, through the Holy Spirit. It begins already in the earthly life, which grace, accepted and reciprocated, makes fruitful, in the evangelical sense, for earth and heaven.

Hence the importance of the indispensable role of the Church, which "is not an end in itself but fervently strives to be all of Christ, in Christ and for Christ, and all of men, among men and for men". A role that is therefore not "ecclesiocentric" as has sometimes been said: the Church does not exist or work for itself, but is at the service of a humanity called to divine filiation in Christ (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 19). It therefore also exercises an implicit mediation towards those who are ignorant of the Gospel.

However, this should not lead to the conclusion that its missionary activity is less necessary in such circumstances. Quite the contrary. In fact, those who ignore Christ, through no fault of their own, find themselves in a condition of darkness and spiritual famine with negative repercussions often also on a cultural and moral level. The Church's missionary action can provide them with the conditions for the full development of Christ's saving grace, by proposing full and conscious adherence to the message of faith and active participation in Church life in the sacraments.

This is the theological line taken from Christian tradition. The Magisterium of the Church has followed it in doctrine and practice as the path marked out by Christ himself for the Apostles and missionaries of all times.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 31 May 1995]

[…] we return to Jerusalem, in the Upper Room, as though guided by the two disciples of Emmaus, who had listened with great emotion to Jesus’ words along the way and then had recognized him “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk 24:35). Now, in the Upper Room, the Risen Christ presents himself in the midst of the group of disciples and greets them: “Peace to you!” (v. 36). But they are frightened and believe “that they saw a spirit” (v. 37), the Gospel says. Jesus then shows them the wounds on his body and says: “See my hands and my feet” — the wounds — “that it is I myself; handle me” (v. 39). And to convince them, he asks for food and eats it before their astonished eyes (cf. vv. 41-42).

There is a detail here, in this description. The Gospel says that the Apostles “still disbelieved for joy”. The joy they felt was such that they could not believe that this was true. And a second detail: they were bewildered, astonished; astonished because the encounter with God always leads you to astonishment: it goes beyond enthusiasm, beyond joy; it is another experience. And they were joyful, but a joy that made them think: no, this cannot be true!... It is the astonishment of God’s presence. Do not forget this frame of mind, which is so beautiful.

Three very concrete verbs characterize this Gospel passage. In a certain sense, they reflect our individual and community life: to look, to touch and to eat. Three actions that can give joy from a true encounter with the living Jesus.

To look. “See my hands and my feet”, Jesus says. To look is not only to see, it is more; it also involves intention, will. For this reason, it is one of the verbs of love. A mother and father look at their child; lovers gaze at each other; a good doctor looks at the patient carefully... Looking is a first step against indifference, against the temptation to look the other way before the difficulties and sufferings of others. To look. Do I see or look at Jesus?

The second verb is to touch. By inviting the disciples to touch him, to verify that he is not a ghost — touch me! —  Jesus indicates to them and to us that the relationship with him and with our brothers and sisters cannot remain “at a distance”. Christianity does not exist at a distance; Christianity does not exist only  at the level of looking. Love requires looking and it also requires closeness; it requires contact, the sharing of life. The Good Samaritan did not limit himself to looking at that man whom he found half dead along the road: he stopped, he bent down, he treated his wounds, he touched him, he loaded him onto his mount and took him to the inn. And it is the same with Jesus himself: loving him means entering into a communion of life, a communion with him.

And thus, we come to the third verb, to eat, which clearly expresses our humanity in its most natural poverty, that is, our need to nourish ourselves in order to live. But eating, when we do so together, among family or friends, also becomes an expression of love, an expression of communion, of celebration... How often the Gospels present us with Jesus experiencing this convivial dimension! Even as the Risen One, with his disciples. To the point that the Eucharistic Banquet has become the emblematic sign of the Christian community. Eating together the Body of Christ: this is the core of Christian life.

Brothers and sisters, this Gospel passage tells us that Jesus is not a “ghost”, but a living Person; that when Jesus draws near to us he fills us with joy, to the point of disbelief, and he leaves us bewildered, with that astonishment that only God’s presence gives, because Jesus is a living Person.

Being Christian is not first of all a doctrine or a moral ideal; it is a living relationship with him, with the Risen Lord: we look at him, we touch him, we are nourished by him and, transformed by his Love, we look at, touch and nourish others as brothers and sisters. May the Virgin Mary help us to live this experience of grace.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 18 April 2021]

The conception of closure and inquisition

(Mk 9:38-40)

It’s not strange that the holy Inquisition was born in the time of an absent ecclesiology.

The ‘leaven’ of the Pharisees and Herod (Mk 8:14) leads Christ's direct disciples to a sealed mentality - according to which if someone "is not one of us" [«he did not follow us» v. 38] he must be marginalized.

There is no trivial criterion that gives imprimatur of being able to discriminate “faithful” and “not”.

It’s worth: how important is the Person of the Son of man, for our life and in our daily choices?

For the Lord, what matters is not formal belonging - which tends to homologate.

In fact, we see that it’s precisely situations outside the lines that become a goad: they urge dull and opaque ‘christians’ to become a Seed.

Thus, even the "community" is not important because it considers itself as such.

The universal call to the promotion of humanity is divine: a wealth that flies over obstacles, a heritage of joy from wherever it comes.

If relegated and locked in the filing cabinets, the history of Salvation does not become life of the saved.

«But Jesus said: Do not prevent him. In fact, there is no one who does a powerful wonder in my name and immediately afterwards he can speak ill of me» (v.39).

With his intimates, the Master doesn’t use diplomatic language [expressions careful not to offend their susceptibility as experts].

The formation of the disciples is essential to the construction of the Kingdom with wide boundaries; above all, mental.

There are models in esoteric religions. Not here: only charisms, even very personal ones - a condition of true love.

We are ruled by God - the only one who knows what it arouses in each one, and ‘where to go’.

Jesus is the revelator and cornerstone of this happy, unthinkable News: but in the sense of intimate Motive and Motor, completely non-exterior - which calls the person in a way that seems incomprehensible to others.

Christ marks his friendship in the life of believers as the center and axis.  Yet there are many gestures and sensitivities that the new world arouses, and likewise make his Presence leak out.

Nor does He tire of repeating what we do not wish to understand.

He orders only to ‘perceive’ the reality well (Mk 8:27-29) where the secret of God is hidden - that conformist thought is not even remotely able to imagine (Mk 8:30-35).

‘Standard’ has no specific weight for the excess of the adventure of Faith.

The imbalance of love is personal: it serenely admits the diversity and eccentric increase of life, that follows.

Such is the new awareness of the Mission made in Listening, and in respect not only towards the intelligence and culture of others, but also towards oneself.

No one has a monopoly on Grace, which is why we do not shrink our hearts from canons or fashions.

In the truth of the Good, the sense of ownership is out of place.

To internalize and live the message:

What weight do material interests, the empty rigidity, or uninhibited fantasies of those who (without even having a title) ape petty hierarchies and fulminate the different with mediocre impersonal sentences have on you?

How do you live the Word: «Who is not against, is for»?

The relationship with the excluded and their (modest) needs

(Mk 9:41-50)

With the typical language of oriental vivacity, Jesus' exhortations to coexistence overturn the hierarchy between the strong and the weak.

In religions we find throngs of marginalized people who cannot access the preparations of the pyramidal religion.

On the contrary, those who like Jesus are able to give everything, must not forget the small gestures, which speak of a gratuitous not "exemplary" - therefore authentic [limited in the day after day].

It is this coming to meet in everyday life - little praised - that enhances the climate and doesn’t push the weak to resentment, and evil.

The new ‘doctrine’ of Jesus is wise and aimed at making decisions.  And it doesn’t lose enthusiasm; indeed, it already makes us experience the same quality of Life as the Eternal, moving away from what corrupts.

Those who are completely absorbed in “the great” and do not notice the details, never have a sense of the value of things, and sooner or later they will end up despising everything.

Jesus identifies with us (v.41) because he lives there: we are his real, incarnate Victory.

A stumbling block or even just a small stone in the shoe (v.42) leads the «mikròi» away from the path of Faith.

The «incipients» - in fact, those with little energy and relationships - are starting to take their first steps... they are still out of interest cartels.

Those who pretend and put themselves in the wrong way, or give dull and bad testimony, however, have more in store than a pebble: a grindstone around their neck and an unworthy end (deadly existence: v.42).

Not because God makes pay, but because they throw their lives away and ruin others, who finally walk away in repugnance - while the sharing adventure could be wonderful for everyone.

The choice - if there is one - is radical, or no longer convinces. And the smell that is released is worse than stinking (v.43).

Instead, the community in which joy is experienced is like that pinch of sapidity and wisdom that makes people's spontaneous vital wave full - beautiful.

It was customary in the religions of the empire to think this, even in the name of the law... so what is the difference?

«Having salt in ourselves» (v.50) means that in Christ we can give minimal and usual things that tone and ‘taste’ capable of transmitting to others the flavor of a life as saved - starting ‘from inside’.

In the culture of the ancient Middle East, «salt» was related to God and therefore also had a religious importance: a symbol of durability [for preserving food] and courage [flavor, seasoning, purification].

Salt had the power to cast out demons, which corrupted life and gave off stench. For this reason it was widely used in religious sacrifices and in establishing Alliances.

In short, the salt was a guarantee of genuine durability.

But the Christian salt is only... Love of neighbor and the ability to correspond to one's own Vocation.

If it were not there, the very character of life in Christ would disappear.

Therefore the «salt pact» is essential for credibility, for the announcement, for the standard of living; for the very survival of the communities, and their unmistakable touch.

No other defense work from the outside - inquisition, prevention or repression - can guarantee the survival of the Church.

For our human, spiritual and life progress, Jesus takes sides perhaps not as we would expect - because no one is given the exclusivity.

[26th Sunday in O.T. (B)  September 29, 2024].

(Mk 9:38-43.45.47-48)

The concept of closure and inquisition

(Mk 9:38-40)

It is not strange that the Holy Inquisition arose in the time of an absent ecclesiology.

The sickness of caste - always prone to kidnapping Jesus - and the sense of absolute monopoly... were already temptations of the first communities, particularly of the leading Apostles.

The super Apostles pretended to fix the typology of church members, including authorisations, deferences, characteristics.

On the other hand - albeit in simplicity - there is no trivial criterion that gives the imprimatur of being able to discriminate 'faithful' and 'not'.

It applies: how much does the Person of the Son of Man count for our lives and in our daily choices?

Feeling - or not - a friend to anyone who is committed to annihilating evil (perhaps by resorting to his free way of perceiving God) makes us reflect even today.

Are we only on the threshold of a journey in the Spirit? The sign of a de facto separation from God's plan for woman and man is perhaps concealed by epidermal expressions.

We have probably not properly understood that every step of liberation - wherever it comes from - brings us closer to the Father and also humanises our heads.

The leaven of the Pharisees and Herod (Mk 8:14) also leads Christ's direct disciples to a sealed mentality - according to which if someone "is not of ours" ("did not follow us" v.38) he must be marginalised.

The difference between religiosity and Faith: there is no longer any need to adhere to a recognised way of thinking or be a member of an official club.

Spiritual wisdom and Openness are the same thing. Every vital gesture opens up happy possibilities: being "drawn to God" is all of this.

In order to do good (casting out demons, v.38) it is not the badge (e.g. the name on the Baptism register) or being confirmed in exclusive circles that counts.

In the personal adventure of genuine Faith, there is no monopoly - not even for the Apostle John. No one is qualified to judge in the name of the assembly!

Holiness as separation concerns the criteria, the mentality, the concatenation of principles (or their reversal): not the election-predestination of a 'people of the pure'.

For Christ, what counts is not formal belonging - which tends to homologate - but what to do in the concrete (obviously on a vocational basis and of unrepeatable inclination).

It is not the feeling of being a disciple that counts, but being a disciple in fact. Love for the 'truth' does not exclude, but includes all those with high values (even supernatural ones, which we do not understand).

Authentic adherence is about the good - the only Victory of the people reborn in the Risen One. Work of life that even the official Church is called upon to build, without squeamish attitudes.

On the contrary, we see that precisely the situations outside the lines become a goad: they urge the dull and opaque 'Christians' to become seeds.

The 'community' is not important because it sees itself as such.

The universal call to the promotion of humanity is divine: a wealth that overcomes obstacles, a heritage of joy from wherever it comes.

If relegated and squeezed into filing cabinets, salvation history does not become a life of the saved.

The Mystical Body of the Lord shuns the ideology of power and the opinionated style of manipulators (spiritual grabbers) who imagine they are who knows what.

"But Jesus said, Do not hinder them. For there is no one who does a mighty wonder in my name and immediately afterwards can speak evil of me" (v.39).

To train disciples, Christ does not tickle self-love by setting up a festival or promoting fictions.

With his intimates, the Master does not use diplomatic language (expressions careful not to offend their susceptibility as experts).

The training of disciples is essential to the building of the Kingdom with wide boundaries, primarily mental.

In esoteric religions, there are models. Here no, only charisms, even personal ones - a condition of true love.

We are governed by God alone - the only one who knows what arouses in each one, and where to go.

Jesus is the revelator and pivot of this joyful, unthinkable News: but in the sense of motive and intimate motor, entirely non-external.

The Lord calls the person in a way that seems incomprehensible to others.

Christ marks his Friendship in the lives of believers, as centre and axis. Yet there are so many gestures and sensitivities that the new world arouses, and equally mark his Presence.

Interior education and the challenge of Faith reflected in activities prepare us for daily life, as well as for the great mission.

By training us in the straightforward Word-event, the resigned Messiah conveys his own experience of the Father.

He involves us with incredible and undeserved confidence in the work of evangelisation.

Nor does he tire of repeating what we do not wish to understand.

The Son of Man only commands us to perceive well the reality (Mk 8:27-29) where God's secret lurks (which conformist thinking cannot even begin to imagine: Mk 8:30-35).The Rule only applies to standardised devotion, which always poses more (already ancient) answers than questions.

The standard has no specific weight for the excess of the adventure of Faith.

The imbalance of love is personal: it serenely admits diversity and the eccentric increase of life that follows.

Such is the new awareness of the Mission made in listening, and in respect not only for the intelligence and culture of others, but also for oneself.

Even now in a thousand ways and finally with the help of a wiser ecclesial Magisterium, Providence encourages us to better position ourselves - in support of those excluded from the 'round'.

The work of 'evangelical conversion' comes to us loud and clear, overriding any considerations made from the standpoint of a triumphant Church or ancient right.

No one has a monopoly on Grace, which is why we do not shrink our hearts from canons or fashions.

In the truth of Good, a sense of ownership is out of place. 

To internalise and live the message:

What weight do the material interests, the empty rigidity, or the fleshless fantasies, of those who (without even having a title) ape small hierarchies and fulminate the different with mediocre impersonal sentences have on you?

How do you live the Word: 'He who is not against, is for'?

The relationship with the excluded and their (modest) needs

(Mk 9:41-50)

In language typical of the lively East, Jesus' exhortations to coexistence overturn the hierarchy between the strong and the weak.

In religions, we find droves of marginalised people who cannot access or participate in the set-ups of those who deceive the crowds (even themselves) using pyramid religion.

The cowardice of the wealthy classes produces the hesitation of the voiceless, indefinitely.

In the Church of God - a sign of an alternative society - there must be no doubt, starting with small deprivations.

Especially in the well-structured sphere of roles, the wretched would wait to see (I won't say their hopes for redemption realised, but simply) their modest needs fulfilled, for the sake of justice.

Unfortunately, they are still rather mocked and chastised - by those who fear losing visibility, privileges and roles.

On the contrary, those who, like Jesus, are able to give everything, must not forget the small gestures, which speak of a gratuitousness that is not 'exemplary' and therefore authentic (limited in the day-to-day).

It is this coming together in the summary - little praised - that enhances the climate and does not drive the weak to resentment and evil.

The new 'doctrine' of Jesus is wise and decision-oriented, because it does not lose enthusiasm. On the contrary, it already makes us experience the same quality of life as the Eternal, turning away from that which corrupts.

He who is all about the great and does not notice the detail, never has a sense of the value of things, and sooner or later will end up despising everything.

Jesus identifies with us (v.41) because he inhabits us: we are his real, incarnate Victory.

A stumbling stone or even just in the shoe (v.42) turns the "mikròi" away from the path of Faith.

The 'incipients' - precisely, the ones with little energy and relationships - begin to take their first steps... they are still outside the cliques and the (even internal) ranks.

However, those who pretend and stand in the way, or who give shabby and lousy testimony, have but a stone in store: a millstone around their neck and an unworthy end (deadly existence: v.42).

"Better" than the further mortification of all, from the top of the class forced to live badly.

Not because God makes them pay, but because they throw away their lives and ruin others, who finally turn away, rightly repulsed - while the adventure of sharing could be wonderful for everyone.

This non-sense (to use a euphemism) is the trait that drives crowds to seek a more authentic Christianity than the one lived only in signs, catwalks and formulas, or in the structures provided.

The choice - if there is one - is either radical, or no longer convincing. And the smell that is given off is worse than smelly (v.43).

By dint of professing, many are left without God and without humanity; they do not even realise that there are others - different and legitimate life aspirations (towards themselves well recognised and restrained).

Instead, the community in which one experiences joy is like that pinch of wisdom that makes the spontaneous life wave of people full - beautiful.

Ferment that does not leaven is of no use.

All the more so to the small and shaky ones who approach the Church in order to feel good, or finally no longer exposed to the ludicrousness of society's all external competitions.

An artificial atmosphere, good only to reduce the defenceless to silence, despised and reduced to obedience - and which makes a mockery of acceptance.

This was customary in the religions of the empire, even in the name of 'divine' law... so what is the difference?"Having salt in ourselves" (v.50) means that in Christ we are made capable of giving to the smallest and most ordinary things that hue and taste capable of transmitting also to our neighbour the flavour of a saved life - starting from "within".

In the culture of the ancient Middle East, salt was related to God and therefore also had religious importance: a symbol of durability (to preserve food) and of courage (savouriness, seasoning, purification).

Salt had the power to drive out demons, which corrupted life and caused stench. That is why it was widely used in cultic sacrifices and in sanctioning 'covenants'.

In short, salt was a guarantee of genuine durability.

But Christian salt is only... love for one's neighbour and the ability to correspond to one's vocation.

Without it, the very character of life in Christ would disappear.

So the 'salt pact' is essential for credibility, for the proclamation, for the standard of living; for the very survival of communities, and their unmistakable touch. 

Listening to the Spirit and to each other thus remains an indispensable ingredient of 'Shalôm'.

No other work of defence from outside - inquisition, prevention or repression - can guarantee the survival of the Church.

Difference between Religion and Faith? The norm, used to promote or legitimise situations (of marginalisation and domination).

For our human, spiritual and whole-life progress, Jesus takes sides (perhaps not as one would expect) - because no one is given exclusivity.

To internalise the message:

In your community, it is the little ones who have to conform to the big ones and their circles... or vice versa, is there serious listening to the new ones with low energy and relationships, shaky and maladjusted?

This Sunday’s Gospel presents one of those episodes in Christ’s life which, even if they are noted, so to speak en passant, contain a profound meaning (cf. Mk 9:38-41). The event involved someone who was not a follower of Jesus but who had expelled demons in his name. The Apostle John, a young man and ardently zealous as he was, wanted to prevent him but Jesus did not permit this; on on the contrary, he drew inspiration from this circumstance to teach his disciples that God could work good and even miraculous things even outside their circle, and that it is possible to cooperate with the cause of the Kingdom of God in different ways, even by simply offering a missionary a glass of water (v. 41). St Augustine wrote in this regard: “as, therefore, there is in the Catholic — meaning the Church — something which is not Catholic, so there may be something which is Catholic outside the Catholic Church” (cf. On Baptism, Against the Donatists, PL 43, VII, 39, 77).

Therefore if a stranger to the community does good works in Christ’s name, so long as he does so with upright intentions and with respect, members of the Church must not feel jealous but must rejoice. Even within the Church, people can find it difficult, in the spirit of deep communion, to value and appreciate good things achieved by the different ecclesial entities. Instead, we must all and always be able to appreciate one another, praising God for the infinite “creativity” with which he acts in the Church and in the world.

The stream of invective of the Apostle James against the dishonest rich who rely on wealth accumulated by abuse, rings out in today’s Liturgy (cf. Jas 5:1-6). St Caesarius of Arles says in this regard in one of his sermons: “riches can do no harm to a good man, so long as he gives them compassionately, just as they cannot help a wicked man, so long as he keeps them greedily for himself or wastes them in dissipation” (Sermons, 35, 4). While the Apostle James’ words put us on guard against the worthless desire for material goods, they are a powerful appeal to use them with a view to solidarity and the common good, always acting with fairness and morality at all levels.

Dear friends, let us pray through the intercession of Mary Most Holy that we may be able to rejoice in every act and initiative for good without envy or jealousy and that we may use earthly goods wisely, in the constant search for heavenly goods.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 30 September 2012]

The text of this Way of the Cross was written by a Christian layman, a member of the Orthodox Church. This layman feels he is an ordinary one, and accepted the invitation with great emotion and gratitude for at least two main reasons.

First of all, because on the path to Golgotha there can no longer be any separation. Christ's death of love makes any attitude that is not one of penitence and reconciliation derisory.

Secondly, because writing a Way of the Cross means meditating, through a strange mystical experience, on the words and gestures of God made man as he takes on our condition to the full, to know death from within and open it up to resurrection.

There are, as we have seen in recent years, two versions of the Way of the Cross. The more recent one only quotes and comments on texts from the Gospel. The older one adds stations born out of medieval sensitivity, especially Franciscan: such as the three falls of Jesus, or his encounter with Veronica, scenes that are commented on with texts from the Old Testament.

So many paintings or sculptures on the walls of churches, in Western Europe and now everywhere in the world, so many chapels and so many crosses erected along pilgrimage routes, on the mountains, have made the representations of these scenes of the Way of the Cross familiar to everyone. And this is why the commentator preferred to follow the traditional form, to enter fully, without losing anything of his own vision of redemption, into the sensibility of the Catholic world.

It is often repeated that the Christian West had placed the emphasis on Good Friday and the East on Easter. This would be to forget that the Cross and the Resurrection are inseparable, as this commentary points out. The stigmatised of the Catholic world knew (and know) that the blood flowing from their wounds is a blood of light, and the Orthodox, by celebrating during Vespers on Good Friday the office of the "holy sufferings", or by affirming that every man of prayer and compassion is a staurophore, that is, a "bearer of the Cross", have always understood that only the Cross is a bearer of resurrection.

For an Orthodox to enter into the Franciscan spirituality of the Way of the Cross was to attempt to emphasise its not only human but divine-human depth. For it is God himself who on Golgotha humanly suffers our desperate agonies in order to open up for us (perhaps unexpected) paths of resurrection.

The modern age, as we know, has waged a fierce and merciless lawsuit against God, whether He is the Almighty, in the human sense of the word (then why is the world absurd and evil?), or He who created us free, but knowing what we would do with our freedom. It had to be shown - attempted to be shown - that to the insoluble question of evil, the only answer is precisely the Way of the Cross.

God voluntarily descends into evil, into death, - an evil and a death for which he is not responsible at all, for which he may not even have an idea, as a contemporary theologian has said - he descends to place himself forever between nothingness and us, to make us feel, to make us live, that at the bottom of things, there is not nothingness, but love.

God beyond God, this 'ocean of clarity', and this man covered in blood and spit who staggers and falls under the weight of all our crosses, is the same, yes indeed he is the same in his transcendence and in his 'madness of love'. This antinomy makes the unimaginable originality of Christianity. The suffering of the body, the social mockery, the despair of the abandoned soul, all come together so that God is revealed here, not as a fullness that crushes, judges and condemns, but as the limitless openness of love in the limitless respect of our freedom.

Here the unthinkable distance between God and the Crucified One - "My God, my God why have you forsaken me? " - is all of a sudden filled with the breath of the Spirit, the breath of the resurrection.

The last stage of human history and the becoming of the cosmos opens: in the blood that gushes forth from the pierced side of Christ, the fire that he came to cast upon the earth now burns, this fire of the Holy Spirit that fertilises our freedom so that it becomes capable of changing the long passion of history into resurrection. An outpouring of peace and light that can only be manifested through this freedom that he liberates and that sets him free

Hence undoubtedly the last feature of this Stations of the Cross taken up in its traditional form: the greater role of women, the only ones left faithful, apart from John, the most exposed, the most capable of love. As shown by the gesture of Veronica who wipes Christ's Face with a veil on which it is imprinted and transmitted to our churches: so many Holy Faces in which the face of God is shown in its human flesh, so that we can see every human face in God.

[Olivier Clément, Via Crucis presentation 10 April 1998]

This Sunday’s Gospel (cf. Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48) presents us with one of those characteristics that are very instructive about Jesus’ life with his disciples. They had seen a man — who did not belong to the group of Jesus’ followers — casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and thus they wanted to forbid him to do so. With the zealous enthusiasm typical of young people, John refers the matter to the Teacher, seeking his support. However, quite to the contrary, Jesus replies: “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us” (vv. 39-40).

John and the other disciples display a ‘closed’ attitude when faced with a circumstance that does not fit with their programme, in this case the action, albeit good, of a person ‘outside’ the circle of followers. Jesus on the other hand, appears very free, fully open to the freedom of the Spirit of God, whose actions are not limited by any confines nor boundaries. Jesus wants to educate his disciples — and us today — on this inner freedom.

It is good for us to reflect on this episode and to perform a small examination of conscience. The disciples’ attitude is very human, very common, and we can observe this in Christian communities throughout history, probably in ourselves as well. In good faith, indeed with zeal, one would like to protect the authenticity of a certain experience, safeguarding the founder or leader from false impersonators. But at the same time, there is a sort of fear of ‘competition’ — and this is bad: the fear of competition —, that someone may steal new followers, and we are thus unable to appreciate the good that others do: it is not good because he is ‘not one of us’, they say. It is a form of self-referentiality. Actually, there is the root of proselytism here. And the Church — Pope Benedict used to say — does not grow through proselytism; it grows by attraction, that is, it grows by bearing witness to others with the strength of the Holy Spirit.

God’s great freedom in giving himself to us represents a challenge and an exhortation to modify our behaviours and our relationships. It is the invitation which Jesus addresses to us today. He calls us not to think according to the categories of ‘friend/enemy’, ‘us/them’, ‘those who are in/those who are out’, ‘mine/yours’, but rather to go beyond, to open our heart in order to be able to recognize God’s presence and action, even in unusual and unpredictable environments that are not part of our circle. It is a matter of being more attentive to the authenticity of the good, the beautiful and the true that is done, rather than to the name and the origin of the one who does it. And — as the remaining part of the Gospel suggests to us today — instead of judging others, we must examine ourselves and ‘sever’, without compromise, all that can scandalize those persons who are weakest in faith.

May the Virgin Mary, an example of docile openness to God’s surprises, help us to recognize the signs of the Lord’s presence in our midst, so that we may find him everywhere he manifests himself, even in the most unthinkable and unusual situations. May she teach us to love our community without jealousy or closure, always open to the vast horizon of the action of the Holy Spirit.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 30 September 2018]