3. What does Christ say in this regard in the Gospel we have heard today? At the end of the Sermon on the Mount he said: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded upon the rock” (Mt 7:24-25). The opposite of the man who built on the rock is the man who built upon sand. The house he built could not stand. Faced with trials and difficulties, it fell. This is what Christ teaches us.

A house built upon rock. The building that is one’s life. How should it be built so that it does not collapse under the pressure of this world’s events? How should this building be built so that from being an “earthly dwelling” it may become “a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1)? Today we hear the reply to these fundamental questions of faith: at the basis of the Christian building there is the hearing and keeping of the word of Christ. And in speaking of “the word of Christ” we have in mind not only his teaching, the parables and promises, but also his works, the signs, the miracles. And above all his Death, the Resurrection and the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Further still: we have in mind the Son of God himself, the eternal Word of the Father, in the mystery of the Incarnation: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).

[Pope John Paul II, Biskupia Góra (Pelplin), 6 June 1999]

To base one's life "on the rock of God" and on the "concreteness" of acting and giving oneself, rather than "on appearances or vanity" or on the corrupt culture of "recommendations". This is the indication that Pope Francis suggested - during the Mass celebrated at Santa Marta on Thursday, 6 December - for living the Advent journey coherently.

Simple and challenging guidelines at the same time, which the Pontiff drew from the readings of the day, in which there are three significant groups of opposing words: "saying and doing", "sand and rock", "high and low".

Regarding the first group - "saying and doing" - the Pontiff immediately recalled the words of Matthew's Gospel (7:21): "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father". And he explained: 'One enters the kingdom of heaven, one matures spiritually, one goes forward in the Christian life by doing, not by saying'. In fact, 'saying is a way of believing, but sometimes very superficial, halfway': as when 'I say I am a Christian but I don't do the things of a Christian'. It is a sort of 'making up', because 'just saying, is a trick', it is 'saying without doing'.

Instead, "the proposal of Jesus is concreteness". And so, "when someone approached and asked for advice", he proposed "always concrete things". Moreover, the Pope added, "the works of mercy are concrete". And again: "Jesus did not say: 'But go to your home and think of the poor, think of the prisoners, think of the sick': no. Go: visit them'.

Here is the contrast between doing and saying. Necessary to highlight because 'many times we slip, not only personally but socially, into the culture of saying'. In this regard, Francis pointed to an unfortunately widespread practice, that of the 'culture of recommendations'. It happens, for example, that for a competition at university "one who has almost no merit" is chosen over many good professors; "and if you ask: 'But why this one? And these other good ones?" - 'Because this one was recommended by a cardinal, you know... the big fish...'". This is the Pope's comment: 'I don't want to think bad, but under the table of a recommendation there is always an envelope'. This is just one example of the prevalence of 'saying': 'it's not the merits, it's not the doing that gets you ahead, no: it's the saying. Making up your life'. And it is precisely 'one of the contradictions that today's liturgy teaches us: to do, not to say'. Even, the Pope explained in closing this first part of the reflection, "Jesus advises" to "do without saying: when you give alms, when you pray... secretly, without saying it. Do, not say".

The second comparison refers to an image used by Jesus in the Gospel: 'a wise man builds his house on rock, not on sand'. The parable has its own evidence: 'The sand is not solid. And a storm, winds, rivers, many things, rain bring down a house built on sand. Sand is a weak concreteness'. The Pontiff explained: "Sand is the consequence of saying: I make myself up, as a Christian, I build a life but without foundations. Vanity, vanity is saying many things, or making myself appear without foundation, on sand'. Instead, one must 'build on rock'. In this regard, the Pope invited us to grasp the beauty of the first reading of the day, taken from Isaiah (26:1-6), where we read: "Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord is an eternal rock".

It is a closely related juxtaposition between saying and doing, because 'many times, he who trusts in the Lord does not appear, is not successful, is hidden... but is steadfast. He does not have his hope in saying, in vanity, in pride, in the ephemeral powers of life", but he trusts in the Lord, "the rock". Francis explained: 'The concreteness of the Christian life makes us go forward and build on that rock which is God, which is Jesus; on the solidity of divinity. Not on appearances or vanity, pride, recommendations.... No. Truth."

Finally the "third group", where the concepts of "high and low" are confronted. It is again the passage from Isaiah that guides the meditation: "Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord is an everlasting rock, for he has brought down those who dwell on high, he has overthrown the lofty city, he has razed it to the ground. The feet trample it down: they are the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor'. It is a passage, the Pontiff noted, that recalls the 'song of Our Lady, of the Magnificat: the Lord raises up the humble, those who are in the concreteness of every day, and brings down the proud, those who have built their lives on vanity, pride... these do not last'. And the expression, Francis emphasised, "is very strong, even in the Magnificat we use 'has overthrown', and even stronger: that great beautiful city is trampled underfoot. By whom? By the feet of the oppressed and the steps of the poor". That is, the Lord 'exalts the poor, exalts the lowly'.

The category of 'high and low', the Pope added in comment, is also used by Jesus, for example, when he 'speaks of Satan: "I have seen Satan fall from heaven". And it is the expression of a "definitive judgement on the proud, on the vain, on those who boast of being something but are pure air".

Concluding his homily, Francis invited us to accompany the Advent season with reflection on "these three groups of words that contrast one with the other. Say or do? Am I a Christian of saying or doing? Sand and rock: do I build my life on the rock of God or on the sand of worldliness, of vanity? High and low: am I humble, do I always try to go from the bottom, without pride, and thus serve the Lord?". It will help to answer such questions; and, he added, also to take the Gospel of Luke and pray "with Our Lady's song, with the Magnificat, which is a summary of this message today".

[Pope Francis, S. Marta homily, in L'Osservatore Romano 06/12/2018]

Forgers & Co: as if we did not exist

(Mt 7:15-20)

«By their fruits you will know them [...] so every good tree bears good fruit, but the dead tree bears bad fruit» (Mt 7:16-17).

As in the time of Jesus, even today there are heralds announcing all kinds of messages.

Even in the narrow ecclesial domain, it is often not easy to evaluate the various interpretations.

From the earliest times the Master distinguished himself because He did not impose a strict selection among his followers: the field of Love is that of Freedom.

The richness of the vital wave of the Father remains exuberant everywhere.

In fact, the Lord himself favored the universal character of the calling... by Name.

Yet, in spite of the wide-meshed welcome, in today’s Gospel passage He seems very concerned.

Indeed, from the early Church it became necessary to resort to principles of simple understanding of the spirits.

Elements of discernment still essential, to protect the weakest: those who have a «good» character and roots but risk being plagiarized by opportunists.

The theme recurs in all times: the wise guide does not underestimate the disciple, doesn’t inoculate him fears of not being up to the task; he values and does not discard what the same disciple loves.

He does not ask him to immediately annihilate the "defects" but makes them his travel companions and participants in the realization.

In this way, the believer’s soul assumes its ‘overview’, takes breath, conquers more complete balance, is realized according to its own Calling. Which does not claim to make every heart a stranger to itself: in every story there is a secret to be found, and characteristic one.

Spiritual guidance according to Christ will not impose to make everyone look like his favorite models, so he will not make us rigid [in danger that any adversity will break us].

And when we are not underestimated, we will feel adequate - at the height that belongs to us: the fruits will bloom spontaneously.

«A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a dead tree make good fruit» (v.18).

Whoever is happy does Good.

«Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravening wolves» (v.15).

Disguises of holiness are a serious pitfall: they extinguish our signature; distinctive and creative identity.

One can almost describe them as real masters, because they resemble and seem similar to the authentic ones. In reality they scourge the soul with thoughts and gestures that do not belong to us.

Instead, it is worth looking at the roots, more than the leaves: first the sap flowing into the trunk, only then the number and conspicuousness of the fruit.

Our vocation is stimulated and accompanied and stems from a desire, a voice and an image of the soul that acts as a guide.

Manipulators tend to replace their suggestion to ours, very personal.

The «false prophets» (v.15) do not start towards the future, from the intimate Source of the person. They always go in search of a confirmation of their own.

As if we do not exist.

To internalize and live the message:

What do you think of wolves in angelic garb?

Do roughnesses close or expand your discoveries? Or do they guide you to compromise with the forces in the field?

[Wednesday 12th wk. in O.T. June 25, 2025]

Counterfeiters & Co: as if we did not exist

(Mt 7:15-20)

«By their fruits you will know them [...] so every good tree bears good fruit, but the dead tree bears bad fruit» (Mt 7:16-17).

As in the time of Jesus, even today there are auctioneers who announce all kinds of messages.

Even in the narrow ecclesial domain, it is often not easy to evaluate the various interpretations.

Generally speaking, we can say that the Pontiffs warn us both against 'cheap' proposals of salvation [Pope Benedict], and against the mannerist exercise of an empty spirituality, which tends to seek consensus - typical of those who 'stroke the sheep' [Pope Francis].

But from the earliest times the Master distinguished himself because he did not impose a strict selection among his followers: the field of Love is the field of Freedom.

The richness of the Father's life-wave remains exuberant everywhere.

I remember from personal experience that in the time of John Paul II the criteria of discernment for the access of candidates to seminary life were in fact rather wide-ranging; then perhaps there was a canonical tightening, which however did not produce pastoral results.

Indeed, the Lord himself favoured the universal character of the call... by Name.

And yet, despite the wide-ranging reception, in today's Gospel passage He seems quite concerned.

Indeed, since the early Church it was necessary to resort to principles of elementary understanding of spirits.

Elements of discernment that are still essential, to protect the weakest people: those who have 'good' character and roots but risk being plagiarised by opportunists.

The theme recurs throughout: the wise guide does not underestimate the pupil; he does not inoculate him with fears of not being up to scratch. He values and does not discard what the disciple loves.

He does not ask him to immediately defeat the "faults" but makes them his fellow travellers and participants in the realisation.

In this way, the believer's soul assumes its "overview", takes breath, conquers more complete equilibrium; it realises itself according to its own Calling. Which does not pretend to make every heart stronger than it is, or estranged from itself: there is a secret to be found in every affair, and it is characteristic.

Spiritual guidance according to Christ will not demand that all pupils resemble his favourite models, so he will not make us rigid [in the danger that any contrariety will break us].

And when we are not underestimated, we will feel adequate - at the height that belongs to us: fruit will flourish.

"A good tree cannot make bad fruit, nor a dead tree make good fruit" (v.18).

He who is happy does Good.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravening wolves" (v.15).

Disguises of holiness are a serious pitfall: they extinguish our signature; distinctive and creative identity.

The needs that matter would never be ours [in any case, everything would be number and stock - indeed, chaff and fodder].

They can almost be described as masters, because they resemble and seem similar to the authentic ones. In reality they scourge the soul with thoughts and gestures that do not belong to us.

Conforming to their usual concert (or newsletter). Distant from our Calling and the unprecedented personal way of being in the field. This is the point.

They flatter everyone, but they already know everything. And it is noticeable that they only demand to be considered.

They ceaselessly point the way, but always remembering a past (even a recent past), to chronicle it.

Or a glamorous future; today dehumanising it.

In this way, they have their heads full of thoughts and wind, advocating disembodied, abstract paths, not cast upon nature, person and its rhythm.

They lull and caress, or rather scold harshly - accusing everyone - but they take away the sting that corresponds and belongs to us.

An infallible test to recognise them is to test them on public and private relations, on false prestige, on the renunciation of rapacity and celebrity; on the love of power even over the thoughts of others.

Beware of forgers who manifest excellent intentions, and then impose at least a few postures on people that make them feel inadequate.

Inside their festival is the enslavement of a mysticism set up pro domo sua [only in favour of one's own cause], falsified upstream.

Instead, it is worth taking care of the roots, more than the leaves: first of all the sap that flows within the trunk, only then the number and conspicuousness of the fruits.

Our vocation is stimulated and accompanied and stems from a desire, a voice and an image of the soul that acts as a guide.

Manipulators tend to substitute their suggestion for our own, very personal one.

The "false prophets" (v.15) do not start towards the future from the intimate source of the person, but always seek confirmation of their own. 

As if we did not exist.

To internalise and live the message:

What do you think of wolves in angelic robes? Do roughnesses close or expand your discoveries? Or do they guide you to compromise with the forces at work?

Snake charmers

What forms do false prophets take?

They are like "snake charmers", i.e. they take advantage of human emotions to enslave people and lead them where they want to go. How many children of God are enticed by the flattery of the pleasure of a few moments, which is mistaken for happiness! How many men and women live as if enchanted by the illusion of money, which in reality makes them slaves of profit or petty interests! How many live thinking they are self-sufficient and fall prey to loneliness!

Other false prophets are those 'charlatans' who offer simple and immediate solutions to suffering, remedies that turn out, however, to be completely ineffective: how many young people are offered the false remedy of drugs, of 'disposable' relationships, of easy but dishonest earnings! How many more are ensnared in a completely virtual life, where relationships seem easier and faster only to turn out to be dramatically meaningless! These swindlers, who offer things without value, instead take away what is most precious such as dignity, freedom and the ability to love. It is the deception of vanity, which leads us to look like peacocks... only to fall into ridicule; and from ridicule there is no turning back. No wonder: the devil, who is "a liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44), has always presented evil as good and false as true, in order to confuse the human heart. Each of us, therefore, is called to discern in our own heart and examine whether we are threatened by the lies of these false prophets. It is necessary to learn not to stop at the immediate, superficial level, but to recognise what leaves a good and more lasting impression within us, because it comes from God and is truly for our good.

[Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2018].

Saviour on the cheap?

Is the humanity of our time still waiting for a Saviour? There is a feeling that many regard God as unrelated to their own interests. They apparently have no need of Him; they live as if He did not exist and, worse, as if He were an "obstacle" to be removed in order to realise themselves. Even among believers, we are sure, some allow themselves to be lured by alluring chimeras and distracted by misleading doctrines that propose illusory shortcuts to happiness. And yet, despite its contradictions, its anxieties and its dramas, and perhaps precisely because of these, humanity today seeks a path of renewal, of salvation, it seeks a Saviour and awaits, sometimes unconsciously, the advent of the Saviour who renews the world and our lives, the advent of Christ, the one true Redeemer of man and of all mankind. Of course, false prophets continue to propose a 'cheap' salvation, which always ends up generating bitter disappointments. The very history of the last fifty years demonstrates this search for a 'cheap' Saviour and highlights all the disappointments that have ensued. It is the task of us Christians to spread, with the testimony of our lives, the truth of Christmas, which Christ brings to every man and woman of good will. Being born in the poverty of the crib, Jesus comes to offer to all that joy and peace which alone can fill the expectation of the human soul.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 20 December 2006]

Is the humanity of our time still waiting for a Saviour? One has the feeling that many consider God as foreign to their own interests. Apparently, they do not need him. They live as though he did not exist and, worse still, as though he were an "obstacle" to remove in order to fulfil themselves. Even among believers - we are sure of it - some let themselves be attracted by enticing dreams and distracted by misleading doctrines that suggest deceptive shortcuts to happiness.

Yet, despite its contradictions, worries and tragedies, and perhaps precisely because of them, humanity today seeks a path of renewal, of salvation, it seeks a Saviour and awaits, sometimes unconsciously, the coming of the Saviour who renews the world and our life, the coming of Christ, the one true Redeemer of man and of the whole of man.

Of course, false prophets continue to propose a salvation "at a cheap price", that always ends by producing searing disappointments.

The history of the past 50 years itself demonstrates this search for a Saviour "at a cheap price" and highlights all the disappointments that have derived from it. It is the task of us Christians, with the witness of our life, to spread the truth of Christmas which Christ brings to every man and woman of good will.

Born in the poverty of the manger, Jesus comes to offer to all that joy and that peace which alone can fulfil the expectations of the human soul.

[Pope Benedict, General Audience 20 December 2006]

Spiritual life needs enlightenment and guidance. This is why Jesus, in founding the Church and sending the Apostles into the world, entrusted them with the task of teaching all nations, as we read in the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 28:19-20), but also with the task of "preaching the Gospel to the whole creation", as the canonical text of Mark's Gospel says (Mk 16:15). St Paul also speaks of the apostolate as "enlightening everyone" (Eph 3:9).

But this work of the evangelising and teaching Church belongs to the ministry of the Apostles and their successors and, in a different capacity, to all the members of the Church, to continue forever the work of Christ the "one Master" (Mt 23:8), who brought to humanity the fullness of God's revelation. There remains the need for an interior Master, who makes the teaching of Jesus penetrate the spirit and heart of mankind. It is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus himself calls the "Spirit of truth", and whom he promises as the One who will guide into all truth (cf. Jn 14:17; 16:13). If Jesus said of Himself: "I am the truth" (Jn 14:6), it is this truth of Christ that the Holy Spirit makes known and spreads: "He will not speak of Himself, but will tell all that He has heard . . . he will take of mine and proclaim it to you" (Jn 16:13-14). The Spirit is Light of the soul: "Lumen cordium", as we invoke it in the Pentecost Sequence.

2. The Holy Spirit was Light and inner Master for the Apostles who had to know Christ in depth in order to fulfil their task as his evangelisers. He was and is so for the Church, and, in the Church, for believers of all generations, and especially for theologians and teachers of the Spirit, for catechists and leaders of Christian communities. It has been and is also for all those who, within and outside the visible confines of the Church, wish to follow God's ways with a sincere heart, and through no fault of their own find no one to help them decipher the riddles of the soul and discover the revealed truth. May the Lord grant all our brothers and sisters - millions and indeed billions of men - the grace of recollection and docility to the Holy Spirit in moments that can be decisive in their lives.

For us Christians, the intimate teaching of the Holy Spirit is a joyful certainty, founded on Christ's word about the coming of the 'other Paraclete', whom - he said - 'the Father will send in my name. He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have spoken to you" (John 14:26). "He will guide you into all truth" (Jn 16:13).

3. As is clear from this text, Jesus does not entrust his word only to the memory of his hearers: this memory will be assisted by the Holy Spirit, who will continually revive in the apostles the memory of events and the sense of the mysteries of the Gospel.

In fact, the Holy Spirit guided the Apostles in the transmission of the word and life of Jesus, inspiring both their oral preaching and writings, as well as the writing of the Gospels, as we have seen in the catechesis on the Holy Spirit and Revelation.

But it is still He who gives the readers of Scripture the help to understand the divine meaning included in the text of which He Himself is the inspirer and main author: He alone can make known "the depths of God" (1 Cor 2:10), as they are contained in the sacred text; He who was sent to instruct the disciples on the teachings of their Master (cf. Jn 16:13).

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 24 April 1991]

Let us listen to the Gospel passage and try to understand the guise such false prophets can assume.

They can appear as “snake charmers”, who manipulate human emotions in order to enslave others and lead them where they would have them go. How many of God’s children are mesmerized by momentary pleasures, mistaking them for true happiness! How many men and women live entranced by the dream of wealth, which only makes them slaves to profit and petty interests! How many go through life believing that they are sufficient unto themselves, and end up entrapped by loneliness!

False prophets can also be “charlatans”, who offer easy and immediate solutions to suffering that soon prove utterly useless. How many young people are taken in by the panacea of drugs, of disposable relationships, of easy but dishonest gains! How many more are ensnared in a thoroughly “virtual” existence, in which relationships appear quick and straightforward, only to prove meaningless! These swindlers, in peddling things that have no real value, rob people of all that is most precious: dignity, freedom and the ability to love. They appeal to our vanity, our trust in appearances, but in the end they only make fools of us. Nor should we be surprised. In order to confound the human heart, the devil, who is “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44), has always presented evil as good, falsehood as truth. That is why each of us is called to peer into our heart to see if we are falling prey to the lies of these false prophets. We must learn to look closely, beneath the surface, and to recognize what leaves a good and lasting mark on our hearts, because it comes from God and is truly for our benefit.

[Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2018]

Prophetic ardour, Salvation that doesn’t repeat

(Lk 1:57-66.80)

Salvation - the cue for a full existence - runs through increasingly vast spaces and breaks into in a peremptory way, without ever repeating itself.

It doesn’t ask for authoritative permits, nor does it wait for a beautiful swept and adorned dwelling.

It even enters the House (Israel) in which nothing was done but to commemorate, with no possibility of renewal and progress.

It transforms it, though scented with incense and pureness.

In that context, unfortunately, the Waiting had become a habit [to wait] that no longer expected anything.

The announcement of the new times, conversely, arouses contagious joys, a desire to make and affect the ancient habitual enclosure - in all aspects of mentality, suddenly no longer compliant.

Change ushers in an era of redemption: concretely, a life as people saved.

Trajectory now able to open loop holes on the great wall of conventions that bridle the freedom to be and to do.

Zechariah [«God makes memory»: the usual God and the usual memory] generates a Promise that is being fulfilled before the eyes.

Word-event that really visits the people - here and now, every dawn - imposing the «none of your kinship» (v.61) ie of the custom: here is Johanan [«God has made Grace»].

The Merciful Living One is no longer exactly that of the bloody and propitiatory cults at the Temple - but of the perspectives, of the deployed horizons. 

You find lightness. No conditioning blockage, no guilt sense for having diverted. In His proposals for dilated life, He is and remains «Favourable».

The Name to be imposed by ancient tradition conveyed a culture and a role (even) with sacred accents, reassuring.

By changing it, destiny is modified. Thus we doesn’t fall into a garment, in a part to be recited; we grasp the essence of the expected Face.

The Eternal is not the One who invites to a series of identified roles to trace without respite: his unconditional initiatives offer every day a decisive field’s opening.

The Most High creates, and calls for development, for the better and further: the categories of possibilities are overflown!

The ancient barriers between Heaven and Earth, between Tradition and Manifestation, are about to fall in favor of a world prone to life.

Redemption begins to make sparks with textbook choices: they can't stand each other anymore.

Even in our journey, accepting different horizons from the expected we allow the divine soul of salvation history to visit us.

This is so that the essence of our deep states detaches itself from the common judgment, and re-tunses on how much is still Unknown but we feel it belongs to us.

In each shift of gaze we will find another cosmos, a discreet, reserved Beauty - in which the Secret for each is nestled, a stage of complete realization for all.

Fulfilment is now «fortified in Spirit and in deserts» instead of according to manners and measure - in special places (v.80) from which one can push oneself out, even irregularly.

[Nativity of st. John the Baptist, June 24]

Prophetic Ardour, Salvation that does not repeat

(Lk 1:57-66.80)

The new Creation announced in the periphery invests the territory that still hesitates over what is certified, proven and reassuring - because it is considered (around) pure and quoted.

Salvation - the cue for a full existence - travels ever wider spaces and breaks through in a peremptory manner, without ever repeating itself.

It does not ask for authoritative permission, nor does it wait for a beautifully swept and adorned dwelling.

It even enters the House (Israel) in which it did nothing but commemorate, with no possibility of renewal and progress.

He transforms it, albeit already perfumed with incense and purity.

In that sphere, unfortunately, the Waiting had turned into a habit [of waiting] that was no longer waiting for anything. One just held back, without much expectation.

On the contrary, the announcement of the new times arouses contagious joy, a desire to do and break the old habitual enclosure - in all aspects of mentality, suddenly no longer conforming.

The change ushers in an era of redemption: concretely, a life of the saved.

A trajectory now able to open up gaps in the great wall of conventions that bridle the freedom to be and to do.

Zechariah ["God makes memory": the usual God and memory] generates a Promise that is being fulfilled before our eyes.

Word-event that really visits the people - here and now, every dawn - imposing the "none of your kinship" (v.61) i.e. the custom - even priestly: here is Johanan ["God made Grace"].

The merciful Living One is no longer exactly that of the bloody and propitiatory cults in the Temple, but of perspectives, of unfolding horizons. 

One finds lightness. No conditioning blocks, no guilt for deviating. In His proposals of expanded life, He is and remains "Favourable".

The Name to be imposed by ancient custom conveyed a culture and a role (even) with sacred, reassuring veins.

Changing it changes destiny. One does not cast oneself in a robe, in a part to be played; one grasps the essence of the awaited Face.

The Eternal One is not the One who invites a series of pious and archaic identified ritual customs, to be followed relentlessly. His unconditional initiatives provide a decisive opening of the field every day.

The Most High creates and calls for development, for the best and the further super-eminent: the categories of possibility are surpassed!

The ancient barriers between Heaven and Earth, between Tradition and Manifestation, are about to fall, in favour of a world inclined to life.

Redemption begins to spark with textbook choices.

Writes the Tao Tê Ching (xix), which deems the most celebrated virtues external: 

"Teach that there is more to stick to: show yourself simple and keep yourself raw".

Master Wang Pi comments: 'Formal qualities are totally insufficient'.

And Master Ho-shang Kung adds: 'Forget the regular and the creation of saints, return to what was at the Beginning'.

Even on our path, by accepting horizons other than the expected, we allow the divine soul of salvation history to visit us.

This is so that the essence of our deepest states can detach itself from common judgement, and re-tune to what is still Unknown rather than useful - but we feel belongs to us.

In each shift of gaze we find another cosmos, a discreet, reserved Beauty.

It leads back to our natural Core, to the Calling by Name in which lurks the Secret for each one, and a stage of full realisation for all.

The Fulfillment is now "fortified in Spirit and in deserts" instead of according to custom, measured - in the deputed places of the priestly liturgy (v.80) from which one must push oneself out, even irregularly.

To internalise and live the message:

How many times have you heard that you are not doing well?

How do you realise the timing of God's change?

What astonishment have you experienced in your spiritual journey?

What difference have you measured against your expectations and intentions?

How do you plan to build your dignity as an outrider?

What principle of discernment is used in your community? Do you start from your unrepeatable Vocation or is there an addictive and homologising cliché, other names that you have to repeat and copy?

"What do you think he will become, this son of mine?" [by Teresa Girolami]

Today's Gospel presents us with the birth of John, the prophet of Christ, and the amazement of onlookers:

"What shall this child be? And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him" (Lk 1:66).

In the life of Francis, from his birth, a visible sign of God's predilection was manifested on him and his mother Mona Pica.

The Sources make this clear:

"In fact, she was made to share, as a privilege, a certain resemblance to the ancient Saint Elizabeth, both by the name imposed on her son and also by the prophetic spirit.When neighbours expressed their admiration for Francis' generosity of spirit and moral integrity she would repeat, almost divinely inspired:

"What do you think he will become, this son of mine? Know, that by his merits he will become a son of God'.

Indeed, this was also the opinion of others, who appreciated Francis as already grown up for some of his very good inclinations.

He shunned anything that might sound offensive to anyone and, growing up with a gentle spirit, he did not appear to be a son of those who were called his parents.

Therefore the name of John is appropriate to the mission he then carried out, that of Francis to his fame, which soon spread everywhere after his full conversion to God.

Above the feast of any other saint, he held that of John the Baptist to be most solemn, whose distinguished name had imprinted in his soul a sign of arcane power.

Among those born of women there arose none greater than this, and none more perfect than this among the founders of religious orders. It is a coincidence worthy of note' (FF 583).

[Teresa Girolami].

According to which image and likeness?

Our gaze goes to Giulio Romano's painting above the high altar of this church: it shows the Holy Family, with John the Baptist still a child, the Apostle James and the Evangelist Mark, the latter already adults.

The Baptist briskly points with his left hand to the Child Jesus, depicted in his infantile weakness. To the question of the relatives and neighbours of Elizabeth and Zechariah: "What is to become of this child?" the painting seems to give us this answer: John the Baptist points with all his attitude to Jesus to the visitor James who is close to him; he bows deeply in the awareness of his littleness: I am not worthy to untie the strap of the sandal to him who comes after me, but who is before me. This word has nothing to do with false humility. The Baptist is too upright, too sober for that. He certainly recognised human helplessness better than most men.

The preacher of penitence who questions men in their innermost being, who shakes them out of their certainties and transforms them, who snatches them from the superficiality of a purely earthly materialistic attitude, still belongs to the Old Covenant, he is just the one who points the way to the Kingdom of God; and this Kingdom of God is near, one hears the voice of the one who calls in the wilderness. The Baptist's humility is authentic. But God exalted the littleness of the Baptist with the greatness of the task entrusted to him; indeed, he had already exalted him in his mother's womb: before he was even born, he was in fact already 'reborn' by the Spirit of Christ. Human greatness is nothing compared to the smallness that is called to participate in the greatness and holiness of God.

For us priests, John is a model. He seeks nothing for himself, but everything for the one he now points to. The child already represents in a certain way the word transmitted to us in the fourth Gospel: "He must increase and I must decrease" (John 3: 30). John was to lead men to Jesus and bear witness [...].

John and the story of his life are like a slide on which a name and a truth are indicated. It remains dark until a source of light is lit behind it. Thus says the Gospel of John: 'He was not the light, but he was to bear witness to the light' (John 1: 8). The light of God is decisive in his life and mission. By its light we become seers, to recognise God's will. This is often contrary to our desires and our own will. When it came to naming the newborn John at his circumcision, tradition was decisive: he would receive his father's name. But Elisabeth decided otherwise. She knew God's will and gave the child the name 'John', which means 'God is merciful'.

Why should it have been so only then?

We can all experience the power and goodness of God in our lives when we trust in him and strive earnestly to do his will. But this requires from us humility and the realisation that man does not possess the measure of all things. We cannot see ourselves as the yardstick of every thought, every morality and every right. We too easily succumb to the belief that everything can be made, heaven as well as earth, indeed man himself, according to our own image and likeness.

[Pope John Paul II, S. Maria dell'Anima homily 24 June 1990].

“All four Gospels place the figure of John the Baptist at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and they reveal him as the one who prepared the way for Jesus. St Luke presents the connection between the two figures and their respective missions at an earlier stage.... Even in conception and birth, Jesus and John are linked together” (Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, p. 14).

This setting helps us to realize that John, as the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, both from priestly families, is not only the last of the prophets but also represents the entire priesthood of the Old Covenant and thus prepares people for the spiritual worship of the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus (cf. ibid., pp. 18-19). In addition, Luke discredits all the mythical interpretations that are often made of the Gospels, by putting the Baptist’s life in its historical context and by writing: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor... in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” (Lk 3:1-2). The great event, the birth of Christ, which his contemporaries did not even notice, fits into this historical framework. For God the great figures of history serve as a frame for the lowly!

John the Baptist is described as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight” (Lk 3:4). The voice proclaims the word, but in this case the Word of God comes first, since the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness (cf. Lk 3:2). He therefore plays an important role but always in terms of Christ. St Augustine comments: “John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning (cf. Jn 1:1). John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives for ever. Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless sound. The voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart” (In ev. Johannis tractatus 293, 3: pl 38, 1328).

Today it is up to us to listen to that voice so as to make room for Jesus, the Word who saves us, and to welcome him into our hearts. Let us prepare ourselves in this Season of Advent to see, with the eyes of faith in the humble Grotto of Bethlehem, God’s salvation (cf. Lk 3:6). In the consumer society in which we are tempted to seek joy in things, the Baptist teaches us to live in an essential manner, so that Christmas may be lived not only as an external feast, but as the feast of the Son of God who came to bring men and women peace, life and true joy.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 9 December 2012]