Oct 20, 2024 Written by 

They let the Light through

All Saints, between religious sense and Faith

(Mt 5:1-12)

 

Embodying the spirit of the Beatitudes, we wonder what is the difference between common ‘religious feeling’ and ‘living by Faith’.

In ancient devotions the Saint is the composed man, perfect and detached [but predictable]; and the opposite of Saint is «sinner».

In the proposal of a full life in the Lord, the «holy» is a person of communicative understanding, and whoever lives for conviviality, creating it where there is not.

In the path of the sons the Saint is indeed the excellent man, but in his complete sense - full and dynamic, multifaceted; even eccentric. Not in a one-sided meaning.

 

In Christ, true man is a «detached» [‘saint’] from the common mentality, as faithful to himself, to his own Fire that does not become extinct - to the passions, to his unrepeatable uniqueness and Vocation.

And together, «separated» from external competitive criteria: of having, of power, of appearing. Self-destructive powers.

To the latter, it concretely replaces the fraternity of giving, of serving and of diminishing oneself [from the "role"]. Fruitful energies.

In this way, the «holy» lives the essential Beatitude of the persecuted (Mt 5:11-12; Lk 6:22-23) because he has the freedom to ‘descend’ to be in tune with his own essence; coexisting in his originality.

In terms of Faith, the Saint is therefore no longer a physically «separate», but «United» to Christ - and banished like Him, in the weak brothers.

In short, the Divine Plan is to compose a Family of small ones and shaky, not to carve out a group of strong and ‘better’ friends than the others.

 

The Appeal that the Word addresses is to undertake an itinerary; this is the point. And we have always been «those of the Way» and they who don’t pass beyond, do not look the other way [cf. Lk 10,31-33; FT, 56ff].

For the classical pagan mentality, woman and man are essentially ‘nature’, so their being in the world is conditioned, even determined by birth (lucky or not).

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

God is the One who «calls» them to complete themselves, recovering the different aspects.

Person’s holiness is therefore combined with many of dissatisfaction‘ states, border, and even of partial failure - but always thinking and feeling the reality.

For a New Alliance.

 

With Jesus, Perfection does not concern ‘thought’, nor respect for an abstract Code of Observance. Completion refers to a quality of Exodus and Relationship.

In Scripture the Saints know the problems, weaknesses, joys and sorrows of daily life, the search for their own identity-character, or deep inclination.

And the apostolate; the family, the education of children, work. Even the seduction force of evil.

Well, opposed to God are not ‘sins’, but «the» Sin [singular, theological term, not moralistic].

‘Sin’ is the inability to correspond to an indicative Call, which acts as a spring to complete us, to regenerate us as not-partial people.

This by harmonizing opposite sides - in being ourselves and being-With.

Here it is the Faith that «saves», at the point where we find ourselves - because it annihilates «the sin of the world» (Jn 1:29), that is, the disrespect and sense of guilt; the humiliation of unbridgeable distances.

 

In the Gospels, to no one Christ says «made yourself holy», but with Him, like Him and in Him - «be United», to meet unceasingly own deep states.

Recognizing them better, also thanks to the You and We: «coming to experience others as our “own flesh”» (FT n.84).

 

 

[All Saint’s Day, November 1st, 2024]

818 Last modified on Friday, 01 November 2024 12:31
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Jesus makes memory and remembers the whole history of the people, of his people. And he recalls the rejection of his people to the love of the Father (Pope Francis)
Gesù fa memoria e ricorda tutta la storia del popolo, del suo popolo. E ricorda il rifiuto del suo popolo all’amore del Padre (Papa Francesco)
Today, as yesterday, the Church needs you and turns to you. The Church tells you with our voice: don’t let such a fruitful alliance break! Do not refuse to put your talents at the service of divine truth! Do not close your spirit to the breath of the Holy Spirit! (Pope Paul VI)
Oggi come ieri la Chiesa ha bisogno di voi e si rivolge a voi. Essa vi dice con la nostra voce: non lasciate che si rompa un’alleanza tanto feconda! Non rifiutate di mettere il vostro talento al servizio della verità divina! Non chiudete il vostro spirito al soffio dello Spirito Santo! (Papa Paolo VI)
Sometimes we try to correct or convert a sinner by scolding him, by pointing out his mistakes and wrongful behaviour. Jesus’ attitude toward Zacchaeus shows us another way: that of showing those who err their value, the value that God continues to see in spite of everything (Pope Francis)
A volte noi cerchiamo di correggere o convertire un peccatore rimproverandolo, rinfacciandogli i suoi sbagli e il suo comportamento ingiusto. L’atteggiamento di Gesù con Zaccheo ci indica un’altra strada: quella di mostrare a chi sbaglia il suo valore, quel valore che continua a vedere malgrado tutto (Papa Francesco)
Deus dilexit mundum! God observes the depths of the human heart, which, even under the surface of sin and disorder, still possesses a wonderful richness of love; Jesus with his gaze draws it out, makes it overflow from the oppressed soul. To Jesus, therefore, nothing escapes of what is in men, of their total reality, in which good and evil are (Pope Paul VI)
Deus dilexit mundum! Iddio osserva le profondità del cuore umano, che, anche sotto la superficie del peccato e del disordine, possiede ancora una ricchezza meravigliosa di amore; Gesù col suo sguardo la trae fuori, la fa straripare dall’anima oppressa. A Gesù, dunque, nulla sfugge di quanto è negli uomini, della loro totale realtà, in cui sono il bene e il male (Papa Paolo VI)
People dragged by chaotic thrusts can also be wrong, but the man of Faith perceives external turmoil as opportunities
Un popolo trascinato da spinte caotiche può anche sbagliare, ma l’uomo di Fede percepisce gli scompigli esterni quali opportunità
O Lord, let my faith be full, without reservations, and let penetrate into my thought, in my way of judging divine things and human things (Pope Paul VI)
O Signore, fa’ che la mia fede sia piena, senza riserve, e che essa penetri nel mio pensiero, nel mio modo di giudicare le cose divine e le cose umane (Papa Paolo VI)
«Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; but he who loses will keep it alive» (Lk 17:33)
«Chi cercherà di conservare la sua vita, la perderà; ma chi perderà, la manterrà vivente» (Lc 17,33)
«And therefore, it is rightly stated that he [st Francis of Assisi] is symbolized in the figure of the angel who rises from the east and bears within him the seal of the living God» (FS 1022)
«E perciò, si afferma, a buon diritto, che egli [s. Francesco d’Assisi] viene simboleggiato nella figura dell’angelo che sale dall’oriente e porta in sé il sigillo del Dio vivo» (FF 1022)

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