Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci
Of the Order of Preachers
Presbyter and Theologian

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Father Gabriele

In the Old and New Covenants, we know that only the love of Jesus Christ is credible

- homiletics -

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

IN THE OLD AND IN THE NEW COVENANT, WE KNOW THAT ONLY THE LOVE OF JESUS ​​CHRIST IS CREDIBLE

Wrote the theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar: Only love is credible, aware of Dante's lesson in the Comedy: Love that moves the sun and the other stars.

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Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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Dear friends and readers of The Island of Patmos,

the future presbyter and theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar (Lucerne, 12 August 1905 - Basel, 26 June 1988), juvenile photo of the 1929, at the time he was a university student

we spend the Easter time together through the narration in which we remember the words of the Risen Jesus. These words make us aware that eternal life is not a mere theory, or a system of ideas, but it is a promise of something huge: the promise of resurrection in body and soul. Therefore our life is a vocation to a project of eternity.

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One of the themes who comes back today in the readings is the theme of Love. In fact, God's love is eternal and never ceases to love and to make itself alive and strong in our life: precisely because of its eternity it will not cease to give itself to us even after our death. Jesus himself is a witness of this great love, which he receives from the Eternal Father and then passes it on to us, as the Apostle John tells us in this Liturgy of the Word:

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«As the Father loved me, I also loved you. Remain in my love. If you will keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, as I have observed my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete " [cf.. 15, 9-17]

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The observance of the commandments it allows you to remain in the love of the Father and the Son. This observance of Jesus is not a military command, nor a moral blackmail. The Lord simply clarifies to his Apostles and to all those to whom the Jesus message will be transmitted, that this message does not abolish the Ten Commandments, which are an integral and fundamental part of our faith. In second place, Jesus is telling us that Love is not pure sentimentality, made of those dry sentimentality, sterile and dull, today so well represented by various television series or contemporary cinema. Loving one's neighbor by observing the commandments means loving him concretely, with a determined choice to accompany our neighbor to the greater Good: friendship with God.

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Friendship with God it is therefore the relationship that arises from the perspective of faith and love announced by Christ. A prospect that promises true joy, authentic, deep: the joy of the encounter with the One who gave us life on the cross. Precisely for this reason the gift of self becomes the commandment of love, the commandment par excellence. In fact, the Holy Evangelist John continues in another passage of this Gospel:

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"This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: give his life for his friends " [cf.. 15, 9-17].

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Here is the commandment of the New Law. The New Covenant of Jesus which integrates, completes and maximizes the Ancient Pact of Torah. The New Pact of Love is the gift of oneself to the point of extreme consequences for those we love, and especially for their friends. This reception of Trinitarian Love to then give it to others, it is expressed in our lives and in our concrete vocations. In marriage, the spouses give each other fruitful love, indissoluble and faithful of Jesus, groom, and the Church, the bride; in the Sacred order, the three different degrees that make up the diaconate, presbyterate and episcopate, they make the Love of Jesus really present in the Sacraments, in His Word and in the government of the parish or diocese; finally, consecrated life, it is an expression of the perfect love of Jesus, especially in the exercise of the three vows and in the specific mission to which each consecrated person is sent.

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Entering the love of God therefore it is being involved in a project of Charity and Truth. Nothing in God is left to improvisation, indeed, everything is aimed at generating a profound and intimate relationship with God. From the gift received from God for oneself, to the gift of oneself for others, the whole movement of Trinitarian Love in man is what makes the presence of Jesus in our lives current and credible.

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Wrote the theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar: Only love is credible, aware of Dante's lesson in the Comedy: Love that moves the sun and the other stars.

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Following the example of Mary handmaid of Trinitarian love, let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace to be more and more messengers and bearers of a greater love, a Charity that goes beyond the borders of nations and social distancing, and you give a horizon of a sense of eternity.

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Rome, 9 May 2021

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