News August 2024

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Today, I will postpone the usual catechesis and I would like to pause with you to think about the people who – even at this moment – are crossing seas and deserts to reach a land where they can live in peace and safety.

Sea and desert: these two words return in many testimonies I receive, both on the part of migrants, and of people who are engaged in coming to their aid. And when I say “sea”, in the context of migrations, I also mean ocean, lake, river, all the insidious bodies of water that so many brothers and sisters all over the world are forced to cross to reach their destination. And “desert” is not only that of sand and dunes, or rocks, but they are also those inaccessible and dangerous territories, such as forests, jungles, steppes where migrants walk alone, left to their own devices. Migrants, sea and desert. Today’s migratory routes are often marked by crossings of seas and deserts, which for many, too many people – too many! – are deadly. Therefore, today I want to dwell on this drama, this pain. Some of these routes we know well, because they are often in the spotlight; others, the majority, are little known, but no less

I have spoken about the Mediterranean many times, because I am the Bishop of Rome and because it is emblematic: the mare nostrum, a place of communication between peoples and civilizations, has become – the mare nostrum – it has become a cemetery. And the tragedy is that many, the majority of these deaths, could have been prevented. It must be said clearly: there are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants – to repel migrants. And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin. Let us not forget what the Bible tells us: “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him” (Ex 22:21). The orphan, the widow and the stranger are the quintessential poor whom God always defends and asks to be defended.

Some deserts too, unfortunately, are becoming cemeteries of migrants. And even here it is not always a question of “natural” deaths. No. At times, they have been taken to the desert and abandoned. We all know the photograph of the wife and daughter of Pato, who died of hunger and thirst in the desert. In the time of satellites and drones, there are migrant men, women and children that no-one must see: they are hidden. Only God sees them and hears their cry. And this is a cruelty of our civilization.

Indeed, the sea and the desert are also biblical places, loaded with symbolic value. They are very important scenes in the history of the exodus, the great migration of the people led by God through Moses from Egypt to the promised Land. These places witness the drama of the people fleeing oppression and slavery. They are places of suffering, fear, and desperation, but at the same time they are places of passage for liberation – and how many people cross the seas and the deserts to free themselves, today – they are places of passage for redemption, to reach freedom and the fulfilment of God’s promises (cf. Message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2024).

There is a Psalm which says to the Lord: “Thy way was through the sea / Thy path through the great waters” (77:19). And another says that He “led His people through the wilderness / for His steadfast love endures forever” (136:16). These words, blessed words tell us that, to accompany the people on their journey to freedom, God Himself crosses the sea and the desert; God does not remain at a distance, no; He shares in the migrants’ drama, God is there with them, with the migrants, He suffers with them, with the migrants, He weeps and hopes with them, with the migrants. It will be good for us today: the Lord is with our migrants in the mare nostrum, the Lord is with them, not with those who repel them.

Brothers and sisters, we can all agree on one thing: migrants should not be in those seas and in those lethal deserts. But it is not through more restrictive laws, it is not with the militarization of borders, it is not with rejection that we will obtain this result. Instead, we will obtain it by extending safe and legal access routes for migrants, providing refuge for those who free from war, violence, persecution and various disasters; we will obtain it by promoting in every way a global governance of migration based on justice, fraternity and solidarity. And by joining forces to combat human trafficking, to stop the criminal traffickers who mercilessly exploit the misery of others.

I wish to conclude by acknowledging and praising the commitment of the many good Samaritans who do their utmost to rescue and save injured and abandoned migrants on the routes of desperate hope, in the five continents. These courageous men and women are a sign of a humanity that does not allow itself to be contaminated by the malign culture of indifference and rejection – it is our indifference and that attitude of rejection that kills migrants. And those who cannot stay with them “on the front line” – I think of the many good people who are there on the front line, with Mediterranea Saving Humans and so many other associations – are not therefore excluded from this fight for civilization. We cannot be on the front line but we are not excluded; there are many ways to make a contribution, first and foremost prayer. And I ask you: do you pray for migrants, for those who come to our lands to save their lives? And then they want to send them away…

Dear brothers and sisters, let us join our hearts and forces, so that the seas and deserts are not cemeteries, but spaces where God may open up roads to freedom and fraternity.

28.08.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Jn 6:60-69) relates to us the famous response of Saint Peter, who says to Jesus: "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life." (Jn 6:68). It is a very beautiful expression that gives witness to the friendship and manifests the trust that bind him to Christ, along with the other disciples. "Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life." Beautiful.

Peter speaks these words at a critical moment. Jesus has just finished a discourse in which he said he was the "bread come down from heaven" (cf. Jn 6:41). It is a difficult language for people to understand and many, even disciples who were following Him, abandon Him because they did not understand.

The Twelve, however, remained with Him. They stayed because in Him they found "words of eternal life." They heard Him preach, they saw the miracles He performed, and they continue to share with Him public moments and the intimacy of daily life (cf. Mk 3:7-19).

The disciples do not always understand what the Master says and does. At times they struggle to accept the paradoxes of His love (cf. Mt 5:38-48), the extreme demands of His mercy (cf. Mt 18:21-22), the radical nature of His way of giving Himself to all. It is not easy for them to understand, but they are faithful. Jesus' choices often go beyond common thinking, beyond the very canons of institutional religion and traditions to the point of creating provocative and embarrassing situations (cf. Mt 15:12). It is not easy to follow Him.

Yet, among the many teachers of that time, Peter and the other apostles found only in Him the answer to the thirst for life, for joy, for love that animates them. Only thanks to Him did they experience the fullness of life they seek, beyond the limits of sin and even death. Therefore, they do not leave. Indeed, all but one, even amidst many falls and times of repentance will remain with Him to the end (cf. Jn 17:12).

And, brothers and sisters, this also concerns us. Even for us it is not easy to follow the Lord, to understand His way of acting, to make His criteria and His example our own. It is not easy for us. However, the closer we are to Him - the more we adhere to His Gospel, receive His grace in the Sacraments, stay in His company in prayer, imitate Him in humility and charity - the more we experience the beauty of having Him as our Friend and realise that He alone has the "words of eternal life."

Then we can ask ourselves: how much is Jesus present in my life? How much do I let myself be touched and moved by His words? Can I say that they are also "words of eternal life" for me? To you, my brother, my sister, I ask: Are the words of Jesus, for you - also for me - words of eternal life?

May Mary, who received Jesus, the Word of God, in her flesh, help us to listen to Him and never leave Him.

25.08.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today we will reflect on the Holy Spirit who comes upon Jesus in the baptism in the Jordan, and spreads from Him into His body, which is the Church. In the Gospel of Mark, the scene of Jesus’ baptism is described thus: “In those days Jesus came up from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased’” (Mk 1:9-11). This is the Gospel of Mark.

The entire Trinity met at that moment, on the banks of the Jordan! There is the Father, who is present with His voice; there is the Holy Spirit, who descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and there is He Whom the Father proclaims to be His beloved Son, Jesus. It is a very important moment of Revelation, it is an important moment of salvation history. It will be good for us to reread this passage of the Gospel.

What happened that was so important in the baptism of Jesus that led all the Evangelists to recount it? We find the answer in the words Jesus utters, shortly afterwards, in the synagogue of Nazareth, clearly referring to the event in the Jordan: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me” (Lk 4:18).

In the Jordan, God the Father “anointed with the Holy Spirit”; that is, He consecrated Jesus as King, Prophet and Priest. Indeed, in the Old Testament, kings, prophets and priests were anointed with perfumed oil. In the case of Christ, instead of physical oil, there is the spiritual oil that is the Holy Spirit; instead of the symbol there is the reality: there is the very Spirit who descends upon Jesus.

Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit ever since the first moment of His incarnation. However, this was a “personal grace”, incommunicable; now, instead, with this anointment, He receives the fullness of the gift of the Spirit, but for His mission which, as the head, He will communicate to His body, which is the Church, and to every one of us. This is why the Church is the new “regal people, prophetic people, and priestly people”. The Hebrew term “Messiah” and the corresponding Greek “Christ” - Christós, both referring to Jesus, mean “anointed”. He was anointed with the oil of joy, anointed with the Holy Spirit. Our very name of “Christians” was explained by the Fathers in the literal sense: “Christian” means “anointed in imitation of Christ”. [1] Christians, anointed in imitation of Christ.

There is a Psalm in the Bible that speaks of a perfumed oil, poured on the head of the high priest Aaron, and which descends to the hem of his robe (cf. Ps 133:2). This poetic image of the descending oil, used to describe the happiness of living together as brothers, has become a spiritual reality and a mystical reality in Christ and in the Church. Christ is the head, our High Priest, the Holy Spirit is the perfumed oil, and the Church is the body of Christ in which it spreads.

We have seen why the Holy Spirit, in the Bible, is symbolized by wind and, indeed, takes its very name, Ruah, from it. It is also worth asking ourselves why it is symbolized by oil, and what practical lesson we can draw from this symbol. In the Mass of Holy Thursday, consecrating the oil known as “Chrism”, the bishop, referring to those who will receive the anointing in Baptism and Confirmation, says: “May those formed into a temple of your majesty by the holiness infused through this anointing and by the cleansing of the stain of their first birth be made fragrant with the innocence of a life pleasing to you”. It is a use that dates back to Saint Paul, who wrote to the Corinthians: “For we are the aroma of Christ to God” (2 Cor 2:15). Anointment perfumes us, and a person who lives his anointment with joy makes the Church fragrant, makes the community fragrant, makes the family fragrant with this spiritual scent.

We know that, unfortunately, sometimes Christians do not spread the fragrance of Christ, but the bad odour of their own sin. And let us never forget: sin distances us from Jesus, sin makes us become bad oil. And the devil – let us not forget this – the devil usually enters via the pocket. Beware, beware. However, this must not distract us from the commitment of realizing, as far as we are able and each in their own environment, this sublime vocation of being the good fragrance of Christ in the world. The fragrance of Christ emanates from the “fruits of the Spirit”, which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22). Paul said this, and how good it is to find a person who has these virtues: love, a loving person, a joyful person, a person who makes peace, a magnanimous person, not mean, magnanimous, a benevolent person who welcomes everyone, a good person, a faithful person, a meek person, who is not proud, but meek… And someone will feel some of the fragrance of the Spirit of Christ around us, when we find these people. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to make us more aware that we are anointed, anointed by Him. Thank you.

[1] Cf. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogical Catechesis, III,1.

21.08.24

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Today, the Gospel tells us about Jesus, who says, very simply: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (Jn 6:51). Before the crowd, the Son of God identifies himself with the most common and ordinary food- bread: “I am the bread”. Among those who are listening to Him, some start arguing among themselves (cf. v. 52): how can Jesus give us His own flesh to eat? Even today, we ask ourselves this question, but with wonder and gratitude. Here are two attitudes to reflect on: wonder and gratitude before the miracle of the Eucharist.

Firstly: wonder, because Jesus' words surprise us. But Jesus always surprises us, always! Also today, in the lives of each one of us, Jesus keeps surprising us. The bread from heaven is a gift that exceeds all expectations. Those who do not grasp Jesus' way remain suspicious: it seems impossible, even inhuman, to eat the flesh of another (cf. v. 54). Flesh and blood, however, are the humanity of the Saviour, His very life offered as a nourishment for our own.

And this brings us to the second attitude: gratitude. First: wonder. Now, gratitude, because we recognize Jesus where He makes Himself present for us and with us. He makes Himself bread for us. “Whoever eats my flesh remains in me and I in him” (cf. v. 56). Christ, the true man, knows well that one must eat to live. But He also knows that this is not enough. After multiplying the earthly bread (cf. Jn 6:1-14), He prepares an even greater gift: He Himself becomes true food and true drink (cf. v. 55). Thank you, Lord Jesus! Let us say “Thank you, thank you” with all our heart.

The heavenly bread, which comes from the Father, is the Son Himself made flesh for us. This food is more than necessary because it satisfies the hunger for hope, the hunger for truth, and the hunger for salvation that we all feel not in our stomachs, but in our hearts. Every one of us needs the Eucharist!

Jesus takes care of the greatest need: He saves us, nourishing our lives with His own, and He will do this forever. And it is thanks to Him that we can live in communion with God and with each other. The living and true bread is not, therefore, something magical, no. It is not something that will immediately solve all problems, but it is the very Body of Christ, that gives hope to the poor and overcomes the arrogance of those who gorge themselves at their expense.

Let us ask ourselves, then, brothers and sisters: Do I hunger and thirst for salvation, not just for myself, but for all my brothers and sisters? When I receive the Eucharist, which is the miracle of mercy, do I stand in awe before the Body of the Lord, who died and rose again for us?

Let us pray together to the Virgin Mary, that she may help us to welcome the gift of heaven in this sign of the bread.

18.08.24

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Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel of the liturgy we contemplate the young girl of Nazareth who, having just received the Angel’s announcement, sets out to visit her cousin.

This expression in the Gospel is beautiful: “Mary set out and went” (Lk 1:39). It means that Mary does not consider the news she received from the Angel a privilege but, on the contrary, she leaves home and sets out with the haste of someone who wishes to announce that joy to others and with the eagerness to be of service to her cousin. In reality, this first journey is a metaphor for her whole life, because from that moment on, Mary will always be on the move following Jesus as a disciple of the Kingdom. And, in the end, her earthly pilgrimage concludes with her Assumption into Heaven where, together with her Son, she enjoys the joy of eternal life forever.

Brothers and sisters, we must not imagine Mary “as a motionless wax statue,” but in her we can see a “sister... with worn-out sandals... and with so much weariness” (C. Carretto, Beata te che hai creduto, Rome 1983, p. 13), for having followed the Lord and meeting brothers and sisters, concluding her journey in the glory of Heaven. In this way, the Blessed Virgin is She who goes before us on the journey, reminding us all that our life is also a continuous journey towards the horizon of the definitive encounter. Let us pray to Our Lady to help us on this journey towards the encounter with the Lord.

15.08.24

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Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Jn 6:41-51) tells us about the reaction of the Judeans to the statement of Jesus, who says: “I have come down from heaven” (Jn 6:38). They are scandalized.

They murmur among themselves: “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (Jn 6:42). And they murmur like this. Let us pay attention to what they say. They are convinced that Jesus cannot have come from heaven, because he is the son of a carpenter and because his mother and his relatives are common people, familiar, normal people, like so many others. “How could God manifest Himself in such an ordinary way?”, they say. They are obstructed in their faith by their preconception of his humble origins and they are obstructed by the presumption, therefore, that they have nothing to learn from him. Preconceptions and presumptions, how much harm they do! They prevent sincere dialogue, a coming together of brothers and sisters: beware of preconceptions and presumptions. They have their rigid mindsets, and there is no space in their heart for what does not fit into them, for what they are unable to catalogue and file away in the dusty shelves of their security. And this is true: very often our securities are closed up, dusty, like old books.

And yet they are people who observe the law, who give alms, who respect fasts and times of prayer. Indeed, Christ has already performed various miracles (cf. Jn 2:1-11,4,43-54; 5:1-9; 6:1-25). How is it that all this does not help them to recognize in Him the Messiah? Why does it not help them? Because they carry out their religious practices not so much in order to listen to the Lord, but rather to find in them the confirmation of what they think. They are closed to the Word of the Lord, and look for confirmation of their own thoughts. This is demonstrated by the fact that they do not even take the trouble to ask Jesus for an explanation; they limit themselves to murmuring among themselves against Him (cf. Jn 6:41), as though to reassure each other of what they are convinced, and they shut themselves in, they are closed up in an impenetrable fortress. And so, they are unable to believe. The closure of the heart: how much harm it does, how much harm!

Let us pay attention to all of this, because at times the same thing can happen to us too, in our life and in our prayer: it can happen to us, that is, that instead of truly listening to what the Lord has to say to us, we look to Him and others only for a confirmation of what we think, a confirmation of our convictions, our judgements, which are prejudices. But this way of addressing God does not help us to encounter God, to truly encounter Him, nor to open ourselves up to the gift of His light and His grace, in order to grow in goodness, to do His will and to overcome failings and difficulties. Brothers and sisters, faith and prayer, when they are true, open the mind and the heart; they do not close them. When you find a person who is closed in their mind, in prayer, that faith and that prayer are not true.

Let us ask ourselves, then: in my life of faith, am I capable of being truly silent within myself, and listening to God? Am I willing to welcome His voice, beyond my own mindset, and also, with His help, to overcome my fears?

May Mary help us to listen with faith to the Lord’s voice, and to do His will courageously.

11.08.24

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With today’s catechesis, we enter into the second phase of salvation history. After contemplating the Holy Spirit in the work of Creation, we will contemplate it for a few weeks in the work of Redemption, namely of Jesus Christ. So, let us move on to the New Testament, and see the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Today’s theme is the Holy Spirit in the Incarnation of the Word. In the Gospel of Luke, we read: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you” – to Mary – “and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (1:35). The evangelist Matthew confirms this fundamental fact that regards Mary and the Holy Spirit, saying that Mary “was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” (1:18).

The Church took up this revealed fact and very soon positioned it at the heart of her Symbol of faith. In the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, in 381 – which defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit – this article enters into the formula of the “Creed”. It is therefore an ecumenical fact of faith, because all Christians profess together that same Symbol of faith. Catholic piety, since time immemorial, has drawn from it one of its daily prayers, the Angelus.

This article of faith is the foundation that enables us to speak of Mary as the quintessential Bride, who is a figure of the Church. Indeed, Jesus, as Saint Leo the Great writes, “just as He was born by the Holy Spirit from a virgin mother, so He makes the Church, His unblemished Bride, fruitful with the life-giving breath of the same Spirit”.  This parallelism is taken up in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, which says: “By her belief and obedience, [Mary] brought forth on earth the very Son of the Father, showing an undefiled faith, not in the word of the ancient serpent, but in that of God’s messenger… The Church indeed, contemplating her hidden sanctity, imitating her charity and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will, by receiving the Word in faith becomes herself a mother. By her preaching she brings forth to a new and immortal life the sons who are born to her in baptism, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God” (nos. 63-64).

Let us conclude with a practical reflection for our life, suggested by the insistence of the Scripture on the verbs “to conceive” and “to bear”. In the prophecy of Isaiah we hear: “Behold a young woman shall conceive and bear a son” (7:14), and the Angel says to Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son” (Lk 1:31). Mary first conceived, then bore Jesus: first she welcomed Him into herself, in her heart and her flesh, then she gave birth to Him.

This happens for the Church: first she welcomes the Word of God, letting it “speak tenderly to her” (cf. Hos 2:14), and “fill [her] stomach” (cf. Ez 3:3), in accordance with two biblical expressions, and then she gives birth to it with her life and preaching. The second operation is sterile without the first.

The Church too, when faced with tasks beyond her strength, spontaneously asks the same question: “How is this possible?”. How is it possible to proclaim Jesus Christ and His salvation to a world that seems to seek only well-being? The answer is also the same as then: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). Without the Holy Spirit the Church cannot move forward, the Church does not grow, the Church cannot preach.

What is said about the Church in general also applies to us, to every baptized person. All of us sometimes find ourselves, in life, in situations beyond our strength and ask ourselves: “How can I cope with this situation?”. It helps, in such cases, to repeat to ourselves what the angel said to the Virgin: “With God nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37).

Brothers and sisters, let us too, every time, resume our journey with this comforting certainty in our hearts: “With God nothing will be impossible”. And if we believe this, we will perform miracles. With God nothing will be impossible. Thank you.

07.08.24

There are two signs that characterize this celebration. The first is the traditional “snowfall”, which will soon take place during the Magnificat. The second is the icon of the Salus Populi Romani. If we interpret these two signs well, they can help us grasp the message of the word of God that we prayed in the Psalms and heard in the Reading.

The “snowfall”.  Is it merely folklore or does it have symbolic value? This depends on us, on how we perceive it and the meaning we give it.  We all know that it evokes the extraordinary phenomenon that pointed out to Pope Liberius the place where the original basilica was to be built. Yet, the re-presentation of this sign on today’s solemnity, inside the basilica and during the liturgy, invites us to understand it symbolically.

I suggest, then, that we allow ourselves to be guided by a verse from the book of Sirach, which says the following about the snow that God causes to fall from the sky: “The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness, and the mind is amazed at its falling” (Sir 43:18). Here the book’s author highlights the twofold feeling aroused in the human soul by the natural phenomenon: marvel and amazement. Seeing the snow fall, “the eye marvels” and “the mind is amazed”. This leads us to interpret the sign of the snowfall, understanding it as a symbol of grace, that is, of a reality that combines beauty and gratuitousness. Grace cannot be deserved, let alone bought, it can only be received as a gift. As such, it is also totally unpredictable, just like a midsummer snowfall in Rome. Indeed, grace arouses marvel and amazement. Let us not forget these two words. We cannot lose the ability to marvel and the ability to be amazed, as they are part of our experience of faith.

With this interior attitude, we can now turn to the second, much more important sign: the ancient Marian Icon which, as it were, is the gem of this Basilica. Here, grace fully acquires its Christian form in the image of the Virgin Mother with Child. The Holy Mother of God. Grace appears in its concreteness, stripped of every mythological, magical, and spiritualistic vesture always lurking in religion. In this Icon appears only what is essential: the Woman and the Son, as in the text of Saint Paul that we heard a moment ago, “God sent his Son, born of a woman” (Gal 4:4). The Woman is full of grace, conceived without sin, immaculate as the freshly fallen snow. God looked upon her with marvel and amazement – God also amazes himself –, and chose her as Mother because she is the daughter of his Son, who was begotten of him before time began, and whose Mother she became in the fullness of time. The Child holds the Holy Book with his left hand, and blesses with his right; and the first one to be blessed is his Mother, Blessed among all women. Her dark coloured mantle allows her Son’s golden garment to stand out. In him alone dwells all the fullness of divinity; and she, with uncovered face, reflects his glory. Let us all take time to look at Mary. Look at her in silence, seeing all these things in an icon through which all of us are made holy. Afterward, let us take some time to look at it.

This is why the faithful come to ask the Holy Mother of God for a blessing, for she is the mediatrix of the grace that always and only flows through Jesus Christ, by the action of the Holy Spirit. In a special way, during the forthcoming Holy Year of the Jubilee, many pilgrims will come to this Basilica to ask our Blessed Lady for a blessing. Today, we are gathered here as a kind of vanguard, invoking her intercession for the city of Rome, our city, and for the whole world, particularly for peace, that peace which is true and lasting only when it flows from repentant and forgiven hearts; forgiveness brings about peace because to forgive is the noble approach of the Lord; that peace which comes from the Cross of Christ, and from his Blood that he took from Mary and shed for the remission of sins.

I would like to conclude by addressing the Blessed Virgin in the words of Saint Cyril of Alexandria at the end of the Council of Ephesus: “Hail, Mary, Virgin Mother of God, light bearer, incorrupt vessel. Hail, O Virgin Mary, Mother and handmaid; Virgin, for the sake of him who was born from you; Mother, for the sake of him whom you carried in your arms… Hail, Mary, you are the most precious creature in the whole world… inextinguishable lamp; for from you was born the sun of justice” (Homily 11, PG 77). Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

And now I invite all of you – let us see if you are able to do it – to repeat together three times: Hail Holy Mother of God. All together, Hail Holy Mother of God. Hail Holy Mother of God. One more time but louder: Hail Holy Mother of God.

05.08.24

Excerpt below, for the full transcript click on the picture link above

Today the Gospel tells us about Jesus who, after the miracle of the loaves and fishes, invites the crowds who are looking for him to reflect on what took place to understand the meaning of it (cf. Jn 6:24-35).

They had eaten the food that was shared and seen how even with few resources all had been fed and had their fill through the generosity and courage of a young man who made available what he had with others. (cf. Jn 6:1-13). The sign was clear: if everyone gives to others what they have, with God's help, even with little everyone can have something. Let us not forget this: if one gives to others what one has, with God's help, even with little everyone can have something.

The crowds did not understand: they mistook Jesus for some kind of magician and went back to look for him, hoping he would repeat the miracle as if it were magic (cf. v. 26).

They were the protagonists of an experience in their journey, but they did not grasp its significance: their attention focused only on the loaves and fishes, the actual food that finished immediately. They did not realise that this was only an instrument through which the Father, while satisfying their hunger, revealed something far more important to them. And what did the Father reveal to them? The path of life that lasts forever and the taste of bread that satisfies beyond any measure. The true bread, in short, was and is Jesus, his beloved Son made man (cf. v. 35), who came to share our poverty in order to lead us through it to the joy of full communion with God and with our brothers and sisters (cf. Jn 3:16).

Material things do not give fullness to life. They help us go forward and are important, but they do not fulfill our lives. Only love can do that (cf. Jn 6:35). And for this to happen, the path to take is that of charity which keeps nothing for itself, but shares everything. Love shares everything.

And does this not happen also in our own families? We can see it. Let us think of parents who struggle all their lives to raise their children well and leave them something for the future. How beautiful when this message is understood, and the children are grateful and in turn become supportive of each other like brothers and sisters! How sad, on the other hand, when they fight over inheritance – I have seen so many cases and it is sad - and they are fighting each other and perhaps they do not speak to each other again for years! The message of a father and a mother, their most precious legacy, is not money. It is the love with which they give their children everything they have, just as God does with us, and in this way, they teach us to love.

Let us ask ourselves, then: what kind of relationship do I have with material things? Am I a slave to them, or do I use them freely as instruments to give and receive love? Am I able to say "thank you" to God and my brothers and sisters for the gifts I have received. And do I know how to share them with others?

May Mary, who gave Jesus her whole life, teach us to make everything an instrument of love.

04.08.24