Turnover in the Church, antidote to one-sidedness

(Mt 5:1-12)

 

In the Gospel of Mt Jesus is the new Moses ascending "the Mount". But the young Lawgiver does not proclaim rules on a stone code, but rather his own experience of the Father... "seeing the crowds" (v.1).

At the crossroads between divine condition and fullness of humanisation, the new Rabbi outlines a kind of self-portrait of himself: as a Son; on behalf of his brothers. Gathered in the spirit of Family.

A sprout of a hospitable world - which in his small churches Mt wants to encourage. Where there is no man above and man always below; or character in front and character behind.

Only humanising upheavals [such as the reversal of roles and conditions] that strengthen the concordant fabric.

Hence in the House of All there must be reciprocation and reversal of figures, situations and criteria of eminence, hence chains of command - signs of the Kingdom to come. 

Reversal capable of sharpening sensitivities to Communion [at that time there was lively friction between experienced Judaizers, first of the class, and latecomers at the threshold of the fraternities of faith].

 

At the time, the mentality of precedence and supremacy was ingrained to the point that all religions recognised hierarchies.

Those who considered themselves entitled to precedence [in the community!] always raised a question of seeming obviousness:

Is it not in the natural order of things that in human society there are first and last, learned and ignorant, sovereigns and subjects?

After all, the legal principle that once governed e.g. all private property law in the Latin world is also the motto in the epigraph of a well-known official Catholic newspaper: Unicuique Suum.

Even Leo XIII, pope of the Social Encyclicals, recognised that 'in human society it is according to the order established by God that there are princes and subjects, masters and proletarians, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, nobles and plebeians; the obligation of charity of the rich and the powerful is to help the poor and destitute'.

It was the mentality of a sin of simple omission: it is enough to do charity.

The Lord's position is very very different: the powerful are by no means the blessed of God - as the rich patriarchs of the First Testament were also supposed to be.

Their estranged world, their palaces, and even their fancy clothes, are perfect metaphors for the inner emptiness and ephemerality they enjoy.

Their gorging themselves is a sign of an inner abyss to be filled - a kind of nervous hunger that feels dizzy.

So on, from alienation to alienation.

On "the Mount", on the other hand, the discreet work of the Spirit is announced, which designates the character of a modest holiness, animated by the Love of gift, in itself divinising and humanising [a quality manifested in the so-called "poor in Spirit"].

Holiness that surpasses the ancient fiction of the dominators, who piled on top of one another reciting the same script.

For hitherto the masses remained dry-mouthed: whichever ruler seized power, the little flock remained submissive, sad and suffocated; unworthy even to present themselves to the Lord.

All condemned and inadequate.

The people of the disciples are also heartbroken, because they do not accept the inequalities of the pyramidal society, which tends to level and annihilate the Gifts of God spread throughout humanity - of whatever social class.

In fact, the authentic disciple goes as far as tears: they express the dimension of intimate energy that purifies external ideas; it makes us true from within, essential outside.

Affliction guides one back into oneself; it reintroduces contact with our earth and the primordial virtues, which regenerate.

Sadness that in the condition of finitude and conscious limitation, makes us empathetic, beautifully human.

Intimately dissatisfied: opponents of injustice. Because every person who is not placed in a position to express his or her abilities is an insult to the Plan of Salvation.

It is not a matter of charity or philanthropy: it is a precise, social choice (v.5).

In fact, each ostracised person is concealed as an artist who is not allowed to express himself, who is neither discovered nor valued in favour of himself and others; rather, considered an outsider or a deviant.

Indeed, Annalena Tonelli spoke of the last people whose pain she wished to diminish as 'murdered Mozarts': she wished to recover and involve them, to enrich them together. She had a mother's heart - and her heart in the misery of her abandoned brothers and sisters.

 

Identical severity prevailed in religions, whose leaders bestowed on the people a strong and vulgar nationalist horde drive, and the contentment of the gregarious.

In contrast, in the Kingdom of Jesus there must be a lack of ranks - which is why the plan of the ambitious and error-free does not match his.The Spirit of Christ spontaneously identifies itself not with the usual aggressive energy of the beasts, of those who prevail because they are more cunning and stronger - but with the person who makes himself available.

We are women and men characterised by a heart of flesh - not of beast (Dan 7).

 

The Beatitudes - the new Decalogue of "the Mount" - allude precisely to a kind of divine condition incarnate and transmissible to anyone, pacified and creative like love, therefore all to be discovered.

 

Blessed is the trait and outcome of the true and full development of the divine plan on humanity.

In the Gospels, this character is not hindered by the frequenters of bad places, but paradoxically by the habitués of the holy precincts.

According to Jesus, purity of heart is not linked to external legal purity - as was believed in all devotions - but to a purified gaze and lack of duplicity. 

The growth and humanisation of the people is thus not thwarted by sinners, but precisely by those who would have the ministry of making the Face of God known to all!

In short, the load of preconceptions with which they face reality and relationships, does not allow the established and fixed authorities to recognise the calls of the Lord in the facts of life and Nature itself.

Thus for the peacemakers.

They work for the complete reconstruction of Life and Fraternity, of Nature itself and of Equal Coexistence.

All of this, in the spirit of selflessness that integrates selfishness by recognising the poor We that expands in the world.

 

The self-portrait of Jesus as it transpires from the Beatitudes of Mt embraces the icon of a little boy - who at that time counted for nothing.

The Lord identifies himself precisely in a house valet; a shop assistant, who nevertheless has a mysterious and pleasant divine spark within him.

It is the only identification that Jesus loves and wishes to give us: that of the one who cannot afford not to recognise the needs of others.

A dimension of sacredness without distinctive haloes: not cynical, but shareable. Because it is linked to instinctive perception and reciprocity, to spontaneous friendship towards woman and man - experienced in the likeness of the Father.

Obviously: this is not a proposal compromised with the usual inexorable rigmarole [doctrine and discipline] that drives back eccentricities: on the contrary, it is very sympathetic and amiable, inclusive.

 

That of the blessed is therefore the condition that makes one unique - not sanctity regulated by procedures, which always abhors, exorcises, the danger of the unusual.

This is precisely why - instead - the fixation on antecedents has characterised the life of the Church for centuries; as has the feudal and monarchical idol of stability for life.

The Master does not exclude our right to do something great... but he does not identify it with having, power, appearance.

For a path of Bliss and Divinisation, the Master does not excite the impulses of holding, rising, dominating: they do not give Happiness.

Rather, he counts on our spontaneous freedom to give, to descend and to serve - a franchise entrusted first and foremost to the top of the class. Those who, throughout history, have made the callus to overwhelm others with moralism and guile.

 

God does not deny the legitimate urges of the self to be recognised. We do not participate in life as if we were destined to fail, but as those who are promoted - who do not suppress their own requirements.

But not to win 'the race'. In this way, the Lord makes us reflect on authentic fulfilment.

It is not an external achievement, but an intimate and self-made one. It is thus able to sculpt our profound inclination, in its wealth of faces and in the time of a Path.

Aristotle asserted that - beyond artificial petitions of principle or apparent proclamations - one really only loves oneself. This is no small question mark.

Granted and not granted, the growth, promotion and blossoming of our qualities lies within a wise Path.

An even interrupted path that knows how to give itself the right pace - even to encounter new states of being.

Genuine and mature love expands the boundaries of the ego lover of primacy, visibility and gain. It integrates it with primordial, dormant energies to which we have not given space - understanding the You in the I.

Itinerary and Vector that then expands capacities and life. Otherwise, in all circumstances and unfortunately at any age, we will remain in the puerile game of those who scramble up the steps to prevail.

As Pope Francis said about the mafia phenomena: "There is a need for men and women of Love, not honour!"

The Tao Tê Ching (XL) writes: 'Weakness is what the Tao uses'. And Master Wang Pi comments: 'The high has for its foundation the low, the noble has for its foundation the vile'.

 

We feel ephemeral and often disappointed, yet we want to be happy, not just here and there: we are uncertain, yet we seek full and lasting joy. Of course we can only find it in a disconcerting proposition.

In ancient times people thought they could meet God in the intoxicating emotions generated by successful experiences, typical of successful men. But the persecuted and crucified Son disputes the externality of this.

Other decisive appointments were considered to be those on the summits of suggestive heights, or the devout and paroxysmal rushing right into the sacred precincts that Jesus intended to dismantle, forcing the people out of them [Jn 10:1-16 Greek text].

Luther interprets the Son of God on the Mount as "Mosissimus Moses". However, Matthew speaks of "the Mount" - not a tribune - as the figure and context of an eternal call, not only intended for the members of the best equipped and most able institutes of perfection to ascend.

Specifically, it is about the moments when we ourselves incorporated into the human completeness of Christ feel fullness of being: like the passing of the bride-soul into its sacred centre, and a special attunement of ideas, words and actions between our nature - and the divine.

"The Mountain" is the (theological) place where the cunning, conformist thoughts, knowledge and calculations of the worldly plain are abandoned. Where the assumptions of hilarious and transient happiness [that which lasts a minute or an hour] are levelled.

So blessed are the poor 'to the Spirit' - that is, 'for the Spirit' - says Jesus [v.3a Greek text].

In the Christian community it is important (precisely) to enrich together.

The Lord delights in those who take this direction, where his feelings become deeply ours - and important are not the minutiae, but the direction of travel.

Particular details of the life of love are left to personal creativity and the variety of people; sensitivities, cultures, situations. 

What counts is the fundamental option for goodness and communion, understood not as uniformity - but conviviality of differences.

This is not to despise wealth hysterically: it is a matter of exchanging it, so that it multiplies, avoiding keeping it for oneself. Otherwise everything becomes an insurmountable obstacle to life, and the prerogative of the quickest.

He who has freely dispossessed himself of the superfluous in order to share it, does so 'by the Spirit', that is to say, out of Love: out of free choice, with passion and without distinction between circle and non-circle beneficiaries.

Thus the rich man becomes lord.

In turn, the wretch may not be poor "by the Spirit" if he is puffed up, boastful, haughty, disinterested in others; if he lacks openness of heart, estranged from dialogue, intent on improving his condition by compromise and deception - only desirous of substituting himself for the rich and then tracing their lying, subjugating and opportunistic ways.

 

The voluntary renunciation of the selfish and mediocre use of one's material and sapiential resources marks us out as children of God.

Consanguineous; already here and now able to experience the blessed life of Heaven: being with and for others, being oneself.

In fact, the promise accompanying the first Beatitude (v.3a) does not guarantee access to Paradise in the afterlife, in the distant future.

The exchange of gifts guarantees the experience of divine life itself, right on earth.

In pagan religions, the condition of blessed life was a jealous and exclusive characteristic of the deities, who unwillingly participated in it; and reassuringly, only after death. However, halfway.

In Christ and through Via, despite our partial failures, or our possible lack of natural abilities and frailties - indeed, because of them - we discover a Father who is the friend of full, charged Joy: immediate, energetic, limitless Happiness. Which arises even from shaky states.

The Father is not the God of religions that fog and whet life: he does not bless the gluttony of the few, which makes the multitudes needy.

Did the last of the commandments dictate to feel content and not covet the stuff of others?

The first of the Beatitudes proposes to desire that others also have the same things and possibilities of life as we do.

The dynamic of falling in love supposes in each of its declensions, a quivering Fullness that flows everywhere - recognising the opposites in us and the legitimate desire for expressive fulfilment in our brothers and sisters.

 

 

To internalise and live the message:

 

How do you overcome doubt by retreating? What do you announce with your life? Does it go beyond direct experience? Do you know realities that manifest the Risen One? How do you point out exuberant paths of hope? Or are you selective and silent?

 

 

 

They let the Light through

 

All Saints, Between Religious Sense and Faith

 

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

In ancient devotions, the Saint is the composite man sui, perfect and detached [but predictable]; and the opposite of Saint is 'sinner'.In the proposal of full life in the Lord, the 'saint' is a person of communicative understanding and who lives for conviviality, creating it where there is none.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As the encyclical Fratelli Tutti emphasises: 'A human being [...] does not realise himself, does not develop, cannot find his own fullness [... and] does not come to fully recognise his own truth except in the encounter with others' (No.87).

The authentic witness is not animated by contempt for existential chaos - nor eager to outsource the difficulties of managing one's own freedom by handing it over to an alienating agency with a secluded mentality (which solves the drama of personal choices).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Only this horizon of the Hearth drives us on.

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

 

Let us see again why (vocational and personal paths).

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

Surprisingly, the Lord Himself repeatedly experienced that it was precisely the devoutly deficient people who were prone to questioning, realising, reworking, deviating from habit - for the building up of new paths, even groping.

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

 

Questioning is fundamental in a biblical perspective.

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

For a New Covenant.

 

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

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

It sooner or later becomes a house of cards, shaky the more it points 'upwards'. All it takes is to lay one of them out clumsily, and the artificial construction collapses.

We realise our natural inability to meet such high sterilisations, (other people's) maps and standards.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

12. I think that in this very precise and permanently valid way, Augustine is describing man's essential situation, the situation that gives rise to all his contradictions and hopes. In some way we want life itself, true life, untouched even by death; yet at the same time we do not know the thing towards which we feel driven. We cannot stop reaching out for it, and yet we know that all we can experience or accomplish is not what we yearn for. This unknown “thing” is the true “hope” which drives us, and at the same time the fact that it is unknown is the cause of all forms of despair and also of all efforts, whether positive or destructive, directed towards worldly authenticity and human authenticity. The term “eternal life” is intended to give a name to this known “unknown”. Inevitably it is an inadequate term that creates confusion. “Eternal”, in fact, suggests to us the idea of something interminable, and this frightens us; “life” makes us think of the life that we know and love and do not want to lose, even though very often it brings more toil than satisfaction, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. To imagine ourselves outside the temporality that imprisons us and in some way to sense that eternity is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality—this we can only attempt. It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists. We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in Saint John's Gospel: “I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16:22). We must think along these lines if we want to understand the object of Christian hope, to understand what it is that our faith, our being with Christ, leads us to expect.

[Pope Benedict, Spe salvi]

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

1. After having celebrated yesterday the Solemnity of All Saints, today, 2 November, our prayerful gaze is directed toward those who have departed from this world and are awaiting arrival into the Heavenly City. The Church has always strongly advised that we pray for the dead. She invites believers to regard the mystery of death not as the "last word" of human destiny but rather as a passage to eternal life. As we read in the Preface of today's Mass:  "When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain an everlasting dwelling place in heaven". 

2. It is an important obligation to pray for the dead, because even if they have died in grace and in God's friendship, they may still need final purification in order to enter the joy of Heaven (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030). Prayer for the dead is expressed in various ways, one of which is also visiting the cemeteries. Pausing in these sacred places becomes an ideal occasion to reflect on the meaning of earthly life and at the same time to nourish hope in the blessed eternity of Paradise. 

May Mary, Gate of Heaven, help us never to forget and never to lose sight of the Heavenly Homeland, the final destination of our pilgrimage here on earth.

[Pope John Paul II, Angelus 2 November 2003]

Job, defeated, or rather, at the end of his life due to illness, with his skin stripped away, nearly at the point of death, almost without flesh, Job has a certitude and he states it: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth” (Jb 19:25). At the moment in which Job is at his very lowest, there is that embrace of light and warmth that reassures him: I will see the Redeemer. I will see him with these eyes. “I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another” (19:26-27).

This certainty, precisely at nearly the final moment of life, is Christian hope. It is a hope that is a dream: we cannot have it. It is a gift we must ask for: ‘Lord, give me hope’. There are many bad things that lead us to despair, to believe that all will be a definitive loss, that after death there will be nothing... And Job’s voice returns; it returns: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth... I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side”, with these eyes.

“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), Paul told us. Hope draws us and gives meaning to our life. I do not see the afterlife, but hope is God’s gift that draws us toward life, toward eternal joy. Hope is an anchor that we have from the other side, and we, grasping the rope, sustain ourselves (cf. Heb 6:18-19). ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him’. And repeat this in times of joy and in bad times, in times of death, let us say this.

This certitude is a gift of God, because we can never have hope by our own efforts. We must ask for it. Hope is a freely given gift that we never deserve: it is given; it is offered. It is grace.

And then, the Lord confirms this, this hope that does not disappoint. “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (Jn 6:37). This is the aim of hope: to go to Jesus. And “him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:37-38). The Lord who welcomes us there, where the anchor lies. Life in hope is to live like this: grasping, with the rope in hand, strong, knowing that the anchor is below. And this anchor does not disappoint; it does not disappoint.

Today, in the thoughts of many brothers and sisters who have passed on, it will do us good to look at the cemeteries and to look heavenward. And to repeat, like Job: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I myself will see him. My eyes shall behold him, and not another’. And this is the strength that hope gives us, this freely given gift that is the virtue of hope. May the Lord give it to all of us.

[Pope Francis, homily 2 November 2020]

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]

They brought the Light through

 

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

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

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

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

In the Latin language perfìcere means to complete, to go to the end.

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

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

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

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

As the encyclical Fratelli Tutti emphasises: 'A human being [...] does not realise himself, does not develop, cannot find his own fullness [... and] does not come to fully recognise his own truth except in the encounter with others' (No.87).

The authentic witness is not animated by contempt for existential chaos - nor eager to outsource the difficulties of managing one's own freedom by handing it over to an alienating agency with a secluded mentality (which solves the drama of personal choices).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Only this horizon of the Hearth drives us on.

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

 

Let us see again why (vocational and personal paths).

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

Surprisingly, the Lord Himself repeatedly experienced that it was precisely the devoutly deficient people who were prone to questioning, realising, reworking, deviating from habit - for the building up of new paths, even groping.

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

 

Questioning is fundamental in a biblical perspective.

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

The call that the Word makes is to embark on an itinerary; that is the point. And we have always been "those of the Way" and who do not pass by, do not look the other way [cf. Lk 10:31-33; FT, 56ff].For the classical pagan mentality, woman and man are essentially 'nature', therefore their being in the world is conditioned [I remember my professor of theological anthropology Ignazio Sanna even used to say 'de-centred'], even determined by birth (fortunate or not).

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

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

 

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

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

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

For a New Covenant.

 

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

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

It sooner or later becomes a house of cards, shaky the more it points 'upwards'. All it takes is to lay one of them out clumsily, and the artificial construction collapses.

We realise our natural inability to meet such high sterilisations, (other people's) maps and standards.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

The Saint is the little one, not the all-in-one, uniform, predictable hero.The saint is he who, walking his own path in the wake of the Risen One, has learnt to "identify himself with the other, regardless of where [or] from where [...] ultimately experiencing that others are his own flesh" (cf. FT 84).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Our Eucharistic celebration began with the exhortation: "Let us all rejoice in the Lord". The liturgy invites us to share in the heavenly jubilation of the Saints, to taste their joy. The Saints are not a small caste of chosen souls but an innumerable crowd to which the liturgy urges us to raise our eyes. This multitude not only includes the officially recognized Saints, but the baptized of every epoch and nation who sought to carry out the divine will faithfully and lovingly. We are unacquainted with the faces and even the names of many of them, but with the eyes of faith we see them shine in God's firmament like glorious stars. 

Today, the Church is celebrating her dignity as "Mother of the Saints, an image of the Eternal City" (A. Manzoni), and displays her beauty as the immaculate Bride of Christ, source and model of all holiness. She certainly does not lack contentious or even rebellious children, but it is in the Saints that she recognizes her characteristic features and precisely in them savours her deepest joy. 

In the first reading, the author of the Book of Revelation describes them as "a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues" (Rv 7: 9). 

This people includes the Saints of the Old Testament, starting with the righteous Abel and the faithful Patriarch, Abraham, those of the New Testament, the numerous early Christian Martyrs and the Blesseds and Saints of later centuries, to the witnesses of Christ in this epoch of ours. 

They are all brought together by the common desire to incarnate the Gospel in their lives under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, the life-giving spirit of the People of God. 

But "why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this Solemnity, mean anything to the Saints?". A famous homily of St Bernard for All Saints' Day begins with this question. It could equally well be asked today. And the response the Saint offers us is also timely: "The Saints", he says, "have no need of honour from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs.... But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning" (Disc. 2, Opera Omnia Cisterc. 5, 364ff.). 

This, then, is the meaning of today's Solemnity: looking at the shining example of the Saints to reawaken within us the great longing to be like them; happy to live near God, in his light, in the great family of God's friends. Being a Saint means living close to God, to live in his family. And this is the vocation of us all, vigorously reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council and solemnly proposed today for our attention. 

But how can we become holy, friends of God? We can first give a negative answer to this question: to be a Saint requires neither extraordinary actions or works nor the possession of exceptional charisms. Then comes the positive reply: it is necessary first of all to listen to Jesus and then to follow him without losing heart when faced by difficulties. "If anyone serves me", he warns us, "he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honour him" (Jn 12: 26). 

Like the grain of wheat buried in the earth, those who trust him and love him sincerely accept dying to themselves. Indeed, he knows that whoever seeks to keep his life for himself loses it, and whoever gives himself, loses himself, and in this very way finds life (cf. Jn 12: 24-25). 

The Church's experience shows that every form of holiness, even if it follows different paths, always passes through the Way of the Cross, the way of self-denial. The Saints' biographies describe men and women who, docile to the divine plan, sometimes faced unspeakable trials and suffering, persecution and martyrdom. They persevered in their commitment: "they... have come out of the great tribulation", one reads in Revelation, "they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rv 7: 14). Their names are written in the book of life (cf. Rv 20: 12) and Heaven is their eternal dwelling-place. 

The example of the Saints encourages us to follow in their same footsteps and to experience the joy of those who trust in God, for the one true cause of sorrow and unhappiness for men and women is to live far from him. 

Holiness demands a constant effort, but it is possible for everyone because, rather than a human effort, it is first and foremost a gift of God, thrice Holy (cf. Is 6: 3). In the second reading, the Apostle John remarks: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are" (I Jn 3: 1). 

It is God, therefore, who loved us first and made us his adoptive sons in Jesus. Everything in our lives is a gift of his love: how can we be indifferent before such a great mystery? How can we not respond to the Heavenly Father's love by living as grateful children? In Christ, he gave us the gift of his entire self and calls us to a personal and profound relationship with him. 

Consequently, the more we imitate Jesus and remain united to him the more we enter into the mystery of his divine holiness. We discover that he loves us infinitely, and this prompts us in turn to love our brethren. Loving always entails an act of self-denial, "losing ourselves", and it is precisely this that makes us happy. 

Thus, we have come to the Gospel of this feast, the proclamation of the Beatitudes which we have just heard resound in this Basilica. 

Jesus says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed those who mourn, the meek; blessed those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful; blessed the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted for the sake of justice (cf. Mt 5: 3-10). 

In truth, the blessed par excellence is only Jesus. He is, in fact, the true poor in spirit, the one afflicted, the meek one, the one hungering and thirsting for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemaker. He is the one persecuted for the sake of justice. 

The Beatitudes show us the spiritual features of Jesus and thus express his mystery, the mystery of his death and Resurrection, of his passion and of the joy of his Resurrection. This mystery, which is the mystery of true blessedness, invites us to follow Jesus and thus to walk toward it. 

To the extent that we accept his proposal and set out to follow him - each one in his own circumstances - we too can participate in his blessedness. With him, the impossible becomes possible and even a camel can pass through the eye of a needle (cf. Mk 10: 25); with his help, only with his help, can we become perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect (cf. Mt 5: 48). 

Dear brothers and sisters, we are now entering the heart of the Eucharistic celebration that encourages and nourishes holiness. In a little while, Christ will make himself present in the most exalted way, Christ the true Vine to whom the faithful on earth and the Saints in Heaven are united like branches. 

Thus, the communion of the pilgrim Church in the world with the Church triumphant in glory will increase. 

In the Preface we will proclaim that the Saints are friends and models of life for us. Let us invoke them so that they may help us to imitate them and strive to respond generously, as they did, to the divine call. 

In particular, let us invoke Mary, Mother of the Lord and mirror of all holiness. May she, the All Holy, make us faithful disciples of her Son Jesus Christ! Amen.

[Pope Benedict, homily 1 November 2006]

1. At the end of this solemn celebration in honour of All Saints, our gaze turns upwards. Today's feast reminds us that we were made for heaven, where Our Lady has already gone and now awaits us.

The Christian life means journeying here below with our hearts turned upwards, towards our heavenly Father's House. This was how the saints journeyed, as the Virgin Mother of the Lord did first of all. The Jubilee reminds us of this essential dimension of holiness: our state as pilgrims who each day seek the kingdom of God while trusting in divine Providence. This is genuine Christian hope, which has nothing to do with fatalism or an escape from history. On the contrary, it spurs us to concrete commitment, as we look to Christ, God made man, who opens for us the way to heaven.

2. In this perspective we are preparing to celebrate All Souls Day tomorrow. We go in spirit to the graves of our loved ones, who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and now await the support of our prayer. I promise to remember those who lost their lives this year; I am thinking especially of the victims of human violence: in God's heart may they all find the peace for which they long.

3. In this light, Mary appears even more as the Queen of saints and the Mother of our hope. It is to her that we turn, so that she will guide us on the way of holiness and assist us at every moment of our life, now and at the hour of our death.

[Pope John Paul II, Angelus 1 November 2000]

The Solemnity of All Saints is “our” celebration: not because we are good, but because the sanctity of God has touched our life. The Saints are not perfect models, but people through whom God has passed. We can compare them to the Church windows which allow light to enter in different shades of colour. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the light of God in their heart and have passed it on to the world, each according to his or her own “hue”. But they were all transparent; they fought to remove the stains and the darkness of sin, so as to enable the gentle light of God to pass through. This is life’s purpose: to enable God’s light to pass through; it is the purpose of our life too.

Indeed, today in the Gospel, Jesus addresses his followers, all of us, telling us we are “Blessed” (Mt 5:3). It is the word with which he begins his sermon, which is the “Gospel”, Good News, because it is the path of happiness. Those who are with Jesus are blessed; they are happy. Happiness is not in having something or in becoming someone, no. True happiness is being with the Lord and living for love. Do you believe this? True happiness is not in having something or in becoming someone; true happiness is being with the Lord and living for love. Do you believe this? We must go forth, believing in this. So, the ingredients for a happy life are called Beatitudes: blessed are the simple, the humble who make room for God, who are able to weep for others and for their own mistakes, who remain meek, fight for justice, are merciful to all, safeguard purity of heart, always work for peace and abide in joy, do not hate and, even when suffering, respond to evil with good.

These are the Beatitudes. They do not require conspicuous gestures; they are not for supermen, but for those who live the trials and toils of every day, for us. This is how the saints are: like everyone, they breathe air polluted by the evil there is in the world, but on the journey they never lose sight of Jesus’ roadmap, that indicated in the Beatitudes, which is like the map of Christian life.

Today is the celebration of those who have reached the destination indicated by this map: not only the saints on the calendar, but many brothers and sisters “next door”, whom we may have met and known. Today is a family celebration, of many simple, hidden people who in reality help God to move the world forward. And there are so many of them today! There are so many of them! Thanks to these unknown brothers and sisters who help God to move the world forward, who live among us; let us salute them all with a nice round of applause!

First of all — the first Beatitude says — they are “poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3). What does this mean? That they do not live for success, power and money; they know that those who set aside treasure for themselves are not rich toward God (cf. Lk 12:21). Rather, they believe that the Lord is life’s treasure, and love for neighbour the only true source of gain. At times we are dissatisfied due to something we lack, or worried if we are not considered as we would like; let us remember that our Beatitude is not here but in the Lord and in love: only with him, only by loving do we live as blessed.

Lastly I would like to quote another beatitude, which is not found in the Gospel but at the end of the Bible, and it speaks of the end of life: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord” (Rev 14:13). Tomorrow we will be called to accompany with prayer our deceased, so they may be forever joyful in the Lord. Let us remember our loved ones with gratitude and let us pray for them. May the Mother of God, Queen of the Saints and Gate of Heaven, intercede for our journey of holiness and for our loved ones who have gone before us and who have already departed for the heavenly Homeland.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 1 November 2017]

End of a "sacred" order

(Lk 13:31-35)

 

The context in which Jesus lives is threatening: the power [even of the periphery courts of the Empire] was absolute and he did not account to anyone for the small-scale management.

But the building up of the Kingdom of God does not depend on any authorization of rapacious rulers on the territory of the provinces.

Those who want to fulfil their mission cannot satisfy the «foxes» who usurp power.

They are small and harmful situation’s parasites, but quick - even if they are not big roaring fairs as in the roman and senatorial court.

With his cunning attitude, king Herod (astute collaborationist) had managed to secure dominance for several decades, and a life without big jolts.

Each village in Palestine was manned by officials and delators of the sovereign, as well as practitioners and subordinates of the official popular religion [including the Pharisees, which Jesus sends back to the sender: v.32].

 

Antipas always plotted to float on situations and be at peace. 

But after having deluded himself of having settled the Baptist and his school with him, here the king is again alarmed by the rise of a greater danger.

The young Rabbi spread deep confidence not in the strong, but in the weak. In this way, he was working deeply in consciences, and seemed to be able to outclass even the Prophets.

If the inspectors had rushed from the centre of power over the territory (v.31), Jesus must have made it really big. Thus demonstrating total freedom from conditioning.

Therefore, the success of his thought could have provoked disorder in the structure of the system.

But God’s messengers do not flee from risk. They do this not out of duty, but out of fidelity to themselves, and because they are attracted by a Vision that belongs to everyone: they manage to grasp and sense that the pains of childbirth will generate new Births.

 

In short, Jesus and his close friends live an existence marked by a kind of attraction of the Cross - out of Love that goes to the end, all the way, and does not disdain comparisons.

Jerusalem was the center of the people of God’ sons, "chosen" [only] to unfold the face of the Father.

Vocation of the holy city was not to surrender to a fox (v.32) but to become a brooding hen [v.34: properly, «hen»] that does not close but spreads wings for its little ones, gathering all the innocent.

Of course, their feeling for the fate of a homeland that lets itself go to vanities, to the ideology of power and its "advantage", embarking on the path of self-destruction, makes us weep with pain.

However - although defenestrated from his House in the holy city, as well as from the heart of those who demand only quietism - in Christ the authentic People of friends will propose themselves again (v.35) also on the path of failure.

Not colonizing the features, but in a simple way (not unilateral): inclusive; expanding the horizon and detaching from the tinsel and trappings.

Deviating from the cunning of Herod and all «foxes» (v.32).

 

 

[Thursday 30th wk. in O.T.  October 31, 2024]