From financial wolves to accumulators and rich in grace: “Poverty is lacking many things, all avarice

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

FROM FINANCIAL WOLVES TO ACCUMULATORS AND RICH IN GRACE: «POVERTY IS LACKING MANY THINGS, TO THE GREED EVERYONE»

 

“But God said to the rich farmer: "Fool, this very night your life will be demanded of you. And what you have prepared, whose it will be?”. So it is with those who accumulate treasures for themselves and are not enriched with God".

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

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Dear readers of The island of Patmos,

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In Gospel of this XVIII Sunday Ordinary Time, Jesus condemns greed or avarice, hence the immoderate accumulation of goods. A theme that may seem far from us small and medium-sized workers. Accumulation is not just about goods and treasures related to money or property. This was Jordan Belfort's experience, broker and financial entrepreneur, whose story was also told in the film 2013, The Wolf of Wall Street. At the beginning of his career he began with fraudulent investments and earnings, with an increasingly messy and flawed attachment to money. This will lead him to completely destroy his life by reducing him to drug addiction and the destruction of his friends and loved ones, up to prison.

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Today Jesus wants to offer us this teaching, he clearly says it in this pericope:

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“Be careful and keep away from all covetousness because, even if one is in abundance, his life does not depend on what he possesses".

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The life of each of us does not depend on good money. But it depends on the primary and essential good which is God. It is He who, if we trust, he gives us all the other goods and the means to reach the ultimate goal: Holiness and the eternal encounter with Him in Paradise. To clarify this, the Lord tells the parable of the rich man and his countryside. Here it calls again to the real dependence we have on God, that decides our life and our death. But even more: in this parable Jesus says a much stronger phrase, taking up the ending of his narration:

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“But God said to the rich farmer: "Fool, this very night your life will be demanded of you. And what you have prepared, whose it will be?”. So it is with those who accumulate treasures for themselves and are not enriched with God".

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True wealth to which we are all called is then the wealth in God. A wealth that does not accumulate by shopping on Amazon, playing on the stock market, or buying real estate. It is the wealth of those who truly have and are filled with the presence and grace of God.

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Jesus does not ask us to live as miserable, like poor people looking for a pauperistic form in which misery is our aim. He asks us to relocate all goods to obtain the richness of the Presence of God, which today you can get as a free gift, especially in the Sacraments and the Eucharist. A spiritual wealth that is obtained by free gift, when we grow in prayer and meditation: this is the treasure of the doctrine taught by Jesus which leads our every life. Got all this then, the Lord will not let us lack other material goods as well.

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The Roman author Pubblio Sirio wrote, in its Judgments: “Poverty is lacking many things, to avarice all".

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We ask the Lord to heal from the morbid attachment to all material and ephemeral realities, to learn to draw from the Trinitarian treasures of eternal life.

Amen.

Rome, 31 July 2022

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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Solemnity of Corpus Domini - The Eucharistic Mystery is the real sign and presence of Jesus, nourishment of joy for the Christian

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE EUCHARISTIC MYSTERY IS THE SIGN AND REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS, NURSING OF JOY FOR THE CHRISTIAN

 

Receiving Eucharistic Bread and Wine helps us to become “little” Jesus and to live every day with joy and spontaneity. So, from intimacy with him in the Eucharist, Charity arises, which Jesus himself describes in the Gospel.

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

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Dear Readers of The Island of Patmos,

tthe Dominican singers of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva perform the Eucharistic hymn composed by St. Thomas Aquinas

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi it shows us that at the Last Supper Jesus gave us the sacrament of his presence and deepest intimacy: the Eucharist.

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Let's imagine one of the last dinners which we did together with friends: their jokes, their jokes, also their many stories that often gave us joy and serenity. Here then is the Lord, at his Last Supper, he gives us his whole person, all his joy, serenity and grace. This last supper is presented to us from San Paolo, in the oldest account of the institution of the Eucharist:

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"Brothers, I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, he broke it and said,: “This is my body, that's for you; Do this in memory of me". In the same way, after dinner, also the cup, saying: “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood; do this, every time you drink it, in memory— of me "".

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Of that Holy Supper we know, from the evangelical chronicles and from the apostolic letters that Jesus and the apostles are gathered in a banquet to share food. This important moment is intertwined in their journey of faith with the Lord. They are officiating a Jewish dinner, that of Easter, still known today as order (seder), in which Jesus inserts two new elements: bread and wine. Elements of the fields and the fruit of human labor. The Lord blesses this bread and this wine that he has taken with him.

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Jesus blesses God for the gifts of the fruits of the earth. On the contrary, Adam and Eve had stolen the fruit, instigated by the snake: they had taken that food without blessing God and indeed almost cursing it. In this way, Adam and Eve created division between them and God. Jesus, on the contrary, bless that new food, reversing the perspective of sin: bread and wine become elements of communion between men and God.

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For this the Lord immediately offers the bread and wine to the apostles, changing its material and visible substance into His Most Holy Body and His Most Holy Blood. To be honest, I don't know how immediately the apostles themselves understood what was happening. At the end of the dinner they sang the hymn, the psalm 135 in which it says «Give thanks to the Lord for being good, because his mercy is eternal ". After consuming Jesus Bread and Jesus Wine, the apostles have a new heart: therefore only at the end do they intuit the great miracle that happened at the Last Supper.

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This miracle it is presented to us again every time when we participate in Mass. Every time we receive the Eucharist we assimilate Him, who at the same time assimilates us to him. It makes us full of new strength, bursting, Divina, with which no impediment can hinder us. Receiving Eucharistic Bread and Wine helps us to become “little” Jesus and to live every day with joy and spontaneity. So, from intimacy with him in the Eucharist, Charity arises, which Jesus himself describes in the Gospel.

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We ask the Lord the grace of today to make Holy Communion and to walk in the eternal paths of the love of Charity and to inflame the whole world with its grace.

Amen.

Rome, 18 June 2022

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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Dear Readers,
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With “The heart elsewhere” towards a path of obedience to the Father, to be truly disciples of Christ

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

CON THE HEART ELSEWHERE TOWARDS A PATH OF OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER, TO TRULY BE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

 

The new law of love is not the kind of emotional and sentimental love that today seems to be a bit’ what is sought by the current culture and by slogan of television and TV series on platforms online.

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

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PDF print format article

 

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Easter time it is time for personal rediscovery and rebirth in faith. A faith that requires love and obedient listening. A bit like in an old film from 2003, The heart elsewhere, in which the young Nello, professor of classical literature, falls in love with Angela, blind from birth. Angela trusts Nello, he knows how to listen to him and if necessary he knows how to obey him. And she does it not because she is blind, but because she loves him. There are so many difficulties that arise in the course of such a difficult and contrasted story, but what maybe, for this, leads to a surprise ending in this film in which love and listening are the heart of the whole story.

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The Gospel of Blessed John the Evangelist today offers a section of Jesus' long farewell discourse, in which the Lord speaks of these themes. In the first part of this section we read that the center of all the Lord's action is love:

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«I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. As I loved you, you also must love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples: if you have love for each other "

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The love of charity that's what Jesus asks: to love God and neighbor above all else. This concretely implies seeking with all one's strength the good of God and neighbor. Therefore, seeking the construction of the civilization of love, first of all, build a personal and community common good. Trying to avoid and avert the injustices that happen in our life, at work, with friends and even with family.

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From love for God the observance of the ten commandments comes to life, the exercise of the virtues and all the moral teachings of Jesus. Because here the Lord teaches us that Love is listening to a profound word, that of God himself who speaks to our lives to the point of filling them with hope, joy and serenity. So, the new law of love is not the kind of emotional and sentimental love that today seems to be a bit’ what is sought by the current culture and by slogan of television and TV series on platforms online. Jesus asks of us a love that is radically founded in the Trinity, in our faith and our existence. Because salvation sprang from the Trinity, especially in the glorification of Jesus on the cross. The Lord speaks of this glorification at the beginning of the passage:

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"Now the Son of man has been glorified, and God was glorified in him. If God was glorified in him, God too will glorify him for his part and glorify him immediately ".

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This glory it begins to materialize in the moment of Judas' betrayal, running away from the last supper, shortly after having received the Eucharist and the Sacred Priestly Order from Christ the Lord. Even in the moment of the greatest betrayal, like that of Judas Iscariot, the Lord teaches us that there is a moment of maximum self-giving to the other. It seems paradoxical, but it is the moment when the extremes meet, all not by chance. Because Jesus decided to love to the end, to the extreme. Therefore also to love Judas who betrays him to the end, without ever repenting. Judas is the one who disobeys the golden rule of love. He doesn't know how to welcome such a strong and totally innovative message and decides to love in his own way. He decides to love the idol, the idea of ​​God he has in mind: the idea of ​​a triumphant God over the Empire.

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The glory of the Lord it will also be transmitted to us. We will rise again post mortem if we act diametrically opposite to Judas. Learning to obey the Lord.

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The invitation of the Risen One it still gets so strong today in 2022. The whole community of believers in Christ, all of us, let us return to listening in filial obedience to the words that God inspires in us and that he says through the Church and her pastors. In this way we will be able to build the kingdom of Christ already now, a kingdom not made up of political offices or roles of power, but based exclusively on care and attention towards our neighbor, in which we will see the face of Jesus imploring our love.

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Lord today we ask you for the gift of your Life-giving Spirit, because we are witnesses and credible believers of your love, so that we arouse the yearning to pray to universal love throughout the world.

Amen.

Rome, 15 May 2022

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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Dear Readers,
this magazine requires management costs that we have always faced only with your free offers. Those who wish to support our apostolic work can send us their contribution through the convenient and safe way PayPal by clicking below:

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This Sunday's Holy Gospel reminds us that we are a bit traitors and adulterers’ everyone

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF THIS SUNDAY REMINDERS US THAT WE ARE A LITTLE ALL OF TRAITORS AND ADULTERS

 

"An infinity of passions can be contained in a minute like a crowd in a small space"

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

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Dear Readers of The Island of Patmos,

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The Holy Gospel of this fifth Sunday of the season of Lent puts us before a dimension of darkness and light. On one side, a story of betrayal and adultery. On the other, the great love and welcome of Jesus for those who are repentant.

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A little’ traitors and adulterers we all are, every time we sin out of weakness. We have a bitter absinthe to assimilate: we are sinners and tend to be fragile. We easily break up a bit’ to be carried away by passions, from affection, with anger, from rash judgment. Or as Gustave Flaubert writes in Madame Bovary:

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"An infinity of passions can be contained in a minute like a crowd in a small space".

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Pror for this very reason, we are loved more by the Lord who helps us recognize our sins and welcomes our forgiveness. Today, the gospel story tells us about the adulterous episode. The text tells us that it is early morning in the Temple. Jesus is there to teach after he had been on the Mount of Olives, plausibly in prayer. Scribes and Pharisees then try to set a trap for the Lord. Called an adulterous woman they ask Jesus:

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«”Maestro, this woman was caught in adultery. now Moses, in the Law, He commanded us to stone such women. What do you think?”. They said this to test him and to have reason to accuse him ".

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Jesus was being tested, closed in a dialectical trap: if in fact he had replied not to stone the woman, he would have explicitly said to disobey and therefore not to be consistent with the Mosaic law, of which Jesus himself had said he was a follower. But if he replied to stone her, scribes and Pharisees could have accused him of not being consistent with his teaching on love. In both cases, it was easy to accuse the Lord of inconsistency and discredit him.

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Test the Lord it is also the temptation of today's culture, for this the severe warning resounds more than ever: “It has been said: You will not tempt the Lord your God " [LC 4, 12]. It is easy to accuse always and in any case of inconsistency, of little witness and truthfulness the Church and the Catholics. In fact, it is easy to pretend that others are perfect, while we can afford any action. Here then is that Jesus, to the trap of Pharisaic perfectionism, responds with skill:

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"Which one of you is without sin, be the first to throw the stone at her ".

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An excellent answer. Able to synthesize human nature. Above all it is an answer for us: no one is without sin. No one can judge, let alone condemn another. We can judge and condemn the actions of another, but without ever establishing that our sinful brother is permanently lost. This we can also refer to the wrongs we have done, to sins committed towards others. But above all to the sins that others have worked towards us. Remind us of how much the one who has hurt us is a sinful and fragile person. This is why we can make the Lord's words our own:

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«Donna, where am I? Has no one condemned?» […] I don't condemn you either; go and from now on don't sin anymore ".

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This is the central teaching: the Lord came to try to make us overcome the hidden form of Pharisaic perfectionism. Being Catholic does not mean that you are already perfect and holy by now, but continually strive for this perfection and holiness. E, when we are wrong, we can do nothing but entrust ourselves to the Lord. Because He gives us the grace and all the help necessary to avoid sinning.

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We ask the Lord to grow in humility and in the acceptance of oneself, to welcome grace and spread the teaching of forgiveness in charity throughout the world.

Amen.

 

Rome, 2 April 2022

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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______________________

Dear Readers,
this magazine requires management costs that we have always faced only with your free offers. Those who wish to support our apostolic work can send us their contribution through the convenient and safe way PayPal by clicking below:

Or if you prefer you can use our
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The Fathers of the Island of Patmos

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The first meeting of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist in the womb of their mothers

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- homiletics -

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE FIRST MEETING OF JESUS ​​CHRIST AND JOHN BAPTIST IN THE WELLS OF THEIR MOTHERS

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“If I were a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, to show that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions when men become fully alive!»

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

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Dear readers of the Island of Patmos,

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imagine the expectation of a mother who has to give birth to her baby, but also that of her father who accompanied and protected the pregnant woman. Then there is also the expectation of all the other relatives. The days of childbirth are spasmodic days. In these cases, there is a feeling of joy in everyone, but also of curiosity, how to get to know the new unborn child, pick him up. There is the joy and curiosity of an intimate encounter. These sentiments are also the fruit of faith which is an intimate encounter with the Lord.

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Both Elizabeth and Mary knew this well. In the today's readings they teach us the beauty of faith in Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, small child ready to embrace our humanity and fragility. In those days Maria got up and went quickly to the mountainous region, in a city of Judah. Entry into the house of Zaccarìa, greeted Elizabeth. The passage from today's visitation shows us Mary moving in a hurry to Elizabeth's house. Why this rush? Because there is a certain anxiety to meet someone you love, when you are poured out by the love of God. It was just the case with Maria, who had received the Angel's announcement shortly before and was now pregnant with Jesus. Mary therefore, filled with the love of Jesus, runs to meet her cousin. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb.

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The Baptist, when it is a very small embryo in his mother's womb, he realizes that this is a special moment. The two children meet through their mothers: it is the moment in which there is the definitive passage between the Old and the New Testament. Between the Baptist, last announcer and forerunner of Jesus, and Christ himself. The encounter with Christ, which always makes us exult with joy, generates a start in the tiny John.

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This questions our faith and our life as believers. We can try to remember the moment when we too first encountered Jesus. It was a happy moment for everyone, unique and sacred. Also brought to our relatives and our mother par excellence, the church. Let's try, in these few days before Christmas, to remember and remember our first communion or a beautiful moment of intimate prayer of encounter with Jesus.

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Going further, as soon as Elizabeth hears her son start, she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Here then the joy is transmitted by John to her. At that point he can exclaim his profession of faith:

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«Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! To what do I owe the mother of my Lord to come to me? there, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the baby leapt for joy in my womb. And blessed is she who believed in the fulfillment of what the Lord told her "".

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Elizabeth asks Mary a question. Why did you come here, mother of the Lord? Immediately afterwards he recognizes bliss, once again the joy and satisfaction of those who have had an authentic faith. Elizabeth does not do an interrogation, but intelligently contemplates the great mystery of faith that lies ahead: God's salvation, who makes himself present before her in Mary. Elizabeth testifies that therefore faith in God is not theory, but concrete closeness. This healthy curiosity is a Christian virtue that we can all develop: it is a questioning of faith, to try to understand it and after being able to live better what we profess in the Creed. Faith in Jesus who comes this Christmas 2021 therefore it is not pure passivity but a harmonious exercise of our will, of our affection and also of our intelligence. The Irish writer Robert Wilson Lynd said:

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“If I were a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, to show that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions when men become fully alive!».

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We ask the Lord the grace of returning to have the joy and curiosity of a child, to welcome every day of our life with the simplicity of faith.

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Rome, 19 December 2021

 

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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«You will know the truth and the truth will set you free» [GV 8,32],
but bring, spread and defend the truth not only of
risks but also the costs. Help us supporting this Island
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This time of a more intimate love: the mystery of the Incarnation to be contemplated in Advent

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- homiletics -

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THIS TIME OF A MORE INTIMATE LOVE: THE MYSTERY OF INCARNATION TO BE CONTEMPLATED IN ADVENT

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I found one of the most beautiful answers in Sant'Agostino: "What is that, At that time, the weather? If no one asks me, I know; if I had to explain it to anyone who asks me, I do not know"

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

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Meditation for the beginning of Advent

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Dear readers and friends of the island of Patmos

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I am happy to write to you to wish you a fruitful Advent season. On this Sunday, in fact, a new liturgical year begins which, Sunday after Sunday, will take us until Easter night. It is a special time that God gives us.

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About the question of what time is, many philosophers, theologians and men of culture have produced research and reflections. I found one of the most beautiful answers in Sant'Agostino: "What is that, At that time, the weather? If no one asks me, I know; if I had to explain it to anyone who asks me, I do not know" [The Confessions, XI, 14 e 18]. Augustine, in reality, he had theorized his own personal philosophical doctrine on time, but this is not the place to deepen it. In fact, I think that the notion of time finds its foundation only if we consider it founded in the Creation and in the Creator. Or as the Catholic faith teaches us: It gave, who originated all things out of nothing by creating them out of nothing, it also originated becoming and time.

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It is therefore necessary to place oneself in this moment: a before and after that makes sense from that "in the beginning" of Genesis and that God fills with meaning and finality. That's why there is this time we all start today with the Lord, who is master of the world and of history and who started from creation to enter and be next to us. God becomes history among us. In this way, Eternity thus enters time with the mystery of the Incarnation. So let us take this precious period of Advent as a real strong time, that is, a period in which we strengthen our faith and also consolidate our prayer and devotion.

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I would like to stop briefly precisely on the intimate relationship that exists between Incarnation e Resurrection. Together with the Unity and Trinity of God, the second great mystery of the Catholic faith is precisely the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord of Jesus Christ. Incarnation and Resurrection are the poles that unite the whole history of salvation. Let's start from this certainty: we cannot have a happy Easter, deep, spiritual, authentic if we did not live Christmas well before.

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The mystery of the Incarnation it is also the mystery of Jesus who is true God and true Man. Of God that, to save us, assumes a human nature. In his great Love he decides to become like us, equal in everything except sin, so that we might be like him. It is from this that a great path of grace begins, starting precisely from what the Holy Fathers of the Church call amazing interaction / admirable exchange.

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So let's also try to meditate on God's love which is so big that it becomes more intimate to us after the Christmas party. Jesus Christ, the Logos, he takes on the mission of telling each of us that he loves us to the extreme consequences of the evening of Holy Thursday: but these extreme consequences begin with the assumption of extreme poverty in the manger of Bethlehem, which will pass through the glorious and joyful song of the angels. Since his entry into the world, Jesus shows us the face of an affectionate God, authentic and close, decides to be like us, equal in everything except sin, so that we might be similar to him.

Happy Advent everyone!

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Rome, 28 November 2021

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Staff Blog

Father Gabriele

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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«You will know the truth and the truth will set you free» [GV 8,32],
but bring, spread and defend the truth not only of
risks but also the costs. Help us supporting this Island
with your offers through the secure Paypal system:









or you can use the bank account:

payable to Editions The island of Patmos

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thanks [ isoladipatmos@gmail.com ]

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«In all the tears a hope lingers» because «heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never go away "

/in /by
- homiletics -

Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

"IN ALL TEARS A HOPE DELAYS" BECAUSE "HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS, BUT MY WORDS WILL NEVER PASS "

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If we are not more than cautious, a real form of neo-millennialism can arise, with excessive attention also to the modality of the so-called end of the world. Needless to say what can happen when certain Catholics do it yourself, with specializations and theological doctorates taken up Facebook, they mix together the return of Christ at the end of time and above all the most misunderstood and badly lived Marian devotions.

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

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PDF print format article

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Meditation on the Holy Gospel of the 33rd Sunday of ordinary time

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Dear Readers of the Island of Patmos,

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Lately, the Gospel readings have called us to attention, to prudence and vigilance. Especially vigilance is a theme that is sometimes experienced excessively, sometimes in a minimal way.

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As for the excessive way, exaggerated and exasperated I have already told you about the US movement of the preppers O survivalisti. If we are not more than cautious, a real form of neo-millennialism can arise, with excessive attention also to the modality of the so-called end of the world. Needless to say what can happen when certain Catholics do it yourself, with specializations and theological doctorates taken up Facebook, they mix together the return of Christ at the end of time and above all the most misunderstood and badly lived Marian devotions. But on this we speak in abundance, we Fathers de The Island of Patmos, in our book The Church and the coronavirus, published by our editions in October 2020.

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Cinematography helps us to get into this theme. In fact, it is enough to remember when at the end of the nineties, films such as Armagedonn - Final Judgment e Deep Impact. In these films one could almost materially perceive a certain fear for the end of the millennium and the century at the now imminent times.. After that, the curtain also fell on the night of the millennium, we had to wait twelve years, to see the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, with a film of the same name and another colossal catastrophe and end game for all of us. In short, we wanted at all costs to want to understand how the present time had to end. A desire that is healthy, he moved without faith, hope and charity.

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This is the theme of the Gospel of this XXXIII Sunday of ordinary time. With obviously different shades. The beginning of the gospel is a proclamation of future days that, at first glance, deadly sembrano.

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"In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers that are in the heavens will be upset. Then they will see the Son of man coming on clouds with great power and glory " (MC 13, 24-26)

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In short, a truly terrible scenario. Stay without light, with the stars, the moon and the sun that seem to devastate the entire universe. Yet this is the meaning of the parousia. A radical and definitive change in our whole person and in the relationship with God. In fact, our final vocation will be in the parousia: stop looking with the light of your eyes, to look at Jesus with the light of love and charity. With a light given to us by the Holy Spirit, the defined Light of Glory. We will therefore be gathered by the angels, for the most beautiful and final meeting. But don't worry! In fact, Jesus calls us to this meeting. To be ready to receive the light of glory, it is necessary to take a path of rootedness and union with God. This is possible if we follow the culmination of Jesus' teaching:

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' Verily I say: heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass " (MC 13, 31)

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That of heaven and earth is a Hebrew formula to indicate the entire cosmos. So the whole cosmos will pass, will have an end, It has and logoi, God's Word will remain forever. Jesus is in fact the Logos of the father. Every single cell of our being depends on Christ's eternal yes to us. We are radically dependent on God. This is the first and last sense of remaining in the word of God.

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So if we commit ourselves to continually listen to the word of God from now on we will draw on his glory, in its light, to the grace that will be our lamps to walk and face these dark times with serenity. Listen to the word of God, together with the Sacraments, it is the nourishment of charity and hope, it is remembering that we are living in the time of the end but with the joy of the beginning.

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Simone De Beauvoir wrote: "In all the tears a hope lingers". For this we ask the Lord to live every day anchored to his Word, aware that if we also experience existential moments of sadness, we will receive the Trinitarian embrace of the One who is the only and definitive winner and Lord of History.

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"Sweet Jesus, Jesus 'love' (St. Caterina da Siena)

Rome, 13 November 2021

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The problem is not wealth, but the man who instead of using wealth becomes a slave to wealth

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE PROBLEM IS NOT WEALTH, BUT THE MAN WHO BECOMES A SLAVE TO WEALTH INSTEAD OF USE OF WEALTH

Ithe famous Lutheran pastor Martin Luther King wrote: “Life is sacred. Property is meant to serve life, and as much as we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal essence: it is part of the earth on which man walks: it's not the man ".

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

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Meditation on the Holy Gospel of the XXVIII Sunday of ordinary time

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Prudence”. In the picture: Father Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci in prudent march on the Lungotevere with the scooter”

on this Sunday through the readings from the Liturgy of the Word, the Lord wants to give us advice on how to live a life of authentic faith more and more, the one that does not require a simple profession of I believe, but a lifestyle that is committed and strives to live what you believe.

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When learning first aid practices, or those of civil protection, there are theoretical principles of guidance and orientation to choices that must then be updated to take effective action to safeguard and defend citizens and the sick. On this XXVIII Sunday of ordinary time the Lord reminds us that the gift of Wisdom is necessary and indispensable to be disciples, so that all of us, however limited, fragile and sinful, thanks to this gift we tend to imitate Jesus and his life. The first reading speaks of Wisdom:

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«I prayed and prudence was lavished on me, / I begged and the spirit of wisdom came into me / I preferred it to scepters and thrones, / I estimated wealth in comparison to nothing ".

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The Author of the sacred text he admits that he prefers wisdom to even the greatest riches, even to royal power. Precisely because wisdom allows us to acquire the key to understanding the hidden treasures of the divine mysteries. Reality that if assimilated and made your own, they are not abstract theories or arid doctrines, but they change the gaze on the world and on everything that happens. This spirit of Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit who allows us to taste and assimilate all the truths of faith that we profess in I believe. It is therefore a vivid way, experiential and authentic to live the faith, an almost concrete contact with the sacred mysteries, that we can have during a deep prayer.

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Take a sapiential orientation on the world is what helps us to recognize also the path that God gives us. Today's Gospel tells of a rich young man who presents himself to Jesus with an enviable “curriculum”: he followed the commandments with heart from his youth. He probably did it with conviction. But now the passage is missing nail. And that's where the young man goes into crisis. Jesus asks him to follow him after he has sold all his possessions to obtain a treasure in heaven. At that point the young man leaves. In private, the Lord then explains to the apostles:

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«How difficult it is, for those who have riches, enter the kingdom of God! […] How difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, that a rich man enters the kingdom of God ".

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Jesus does not condemn the rich in and of themselves as rich, but in this case it exposes the difficulty of continuing on a path of holiness if material wealth is something rooted in man, when wealth tends to eliminate any spiritual and divine horizon. Or when at the same time, the richness, focuses all human attention on earning, on immoderate possession, making you forget that material goods, such as money or real estate, yes, they are very important means, but still means that must help us to become true disciples of Jesus.

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The Gift of Wisdom is the only true wealth, because together with grace it prepares us to evaluate all that we possess in the light of eternal life; it helps us to distinguish the ephemeral from the eternal, giving us a free look, right, prudent and harmonious. And with this freedom we can become generous in charity towards neighbor and prodigal only in the love of God. Ithe famous Lutheran pastor Martin Luther King wrote:

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“Life is sacred. Property is meant to serve life, and as much as we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal essence: it is part of the earth on which man walks: it's not the man ".

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We ask the Lord to be ready for his call to leave all superfluous, drop all the ballast of our life, to live an authentic Catholic life and walk the eternal paths of holiness.

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Amen.

Rome, 10 October 2021

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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«You will know the truth and the truth will set you free» [GV 8,32],
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From the flight of the hornet to the millstone tied to the neck

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

FROM THE FLIGHT OF THE CALABRONE TO THE MILL TIE TO THE NECK

The wing structure of the hornet, in relation to its weight, it is not suitable for flying, But he does not know and flies anyway". The hornet, according to this legend, flies according to a mysterious force. That he doesn't know he owns.

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

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Meditation on the Holy Gospel of the XXVI Sunday of ordinary time

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

the famous physicist Albert Einsten explained that “The wing structure of the hornet, in relation to its weight, it is not suitable for flying, But he does not know and flies anyway". Saccording to this theory, the hornet flies according to a mysterious force. That he doesn't know he owns. This story helps me introduce the today's readings on this XXVI Sunday of ordinary time.

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Each of us receives the power of grace from God. Even if we are weak and far from God, he always offers us the gift of being in communion with him. We see:

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During that time, John said to Jesus:

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«Maestro, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we wanted to stop him, because he didn't follow us ".

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But Jesus said:

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“Don't stop him, because there is no one who works a miracle in my name and can immediately speak ill of me: whoever is not against us is for us. In fact, whoever will give you a glass of water to drink in my name because you belong to Christ, verily I tell you, he will not lose his reward ".

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This is one of the most complex and most discussed pages by exegetes. In other places, Jesus had explained how to become his disciples; take up his cross, follow him and therefore welcome God's plan. Here it seems instead that a deeper question arises: whoever is not part of the group of apostles can do good.

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Having said that, however, it can be understood in one passage: whoever does good in the name of Christ is already Christ's. Therefore Jesus is already working even in those who are far away; because perhaps his faith is not yet strong, or if that person is on a journey of conversion. The Lord is the only one who knows hearts. Only He can truly evaluate each of our works. Here is what is the center of this teaching: not to prevent anyone from carrying out a spiritual journey, judging it on prepackaged schemes. This is also aimed at us. Let us not feel judged if our journey of faith is also full of doubts, anxieties, fragility, anger and even sins. If we gradually orient ourselves on a journey of being with Christ, every critical moment is a moment of growth and is overcome with the help of grace which is a force that helps us to be more and more of Christ.

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To achieve this it is good to purify yourself from everything that leads us out of communion with God. First of all, we must not scandalize the little ones who believe. That is, those who have a sincere and humble faith: when someone makes him a scandal, it hinders them from believing. To scandalize is to stand against God. Jesus is very clear in this:

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«If your hand causes you to scandal, cut it: it is better for you to enter life with one hand, instead of going to Geènna with both hands, in the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to scandal, cut it: it is better for you to enter life with one foot, instead of being thrown into Geènna with both feet. And if your eye causes you to scandal, throw it away: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, instead of being thrown into Geènna with two eyes, where their worm does not die and the fire does not go out ".

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This call to cut the hand, the foot and throwing away the eye are images, combined with those of the Genna fire, which symbolize a great work on ourselves: purify our gaze and our action. Therefore Jesus, so that we come into communion with him, it asks us to purify ourselves, to put us, that is, to take a look at the reality of things as believers and not as atheists. Therefore to change our way of life not only in a moralistic sense, but from a faith perspective with which to look at all things. In tal modo, we will be able to see our neighbor with a sincere and open heart, give him great works of charity. This purification also takes place with the help of grace, indispensable for our whole life to be elevated and divinized.

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We ask the Lord, the gift of sanctifying grace, to increase our journey of faith, and learn to love God and neighbor with a love of charity.

Amen.

Rome, 26 September 2021

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NICOLAI RIMSKY KORSAKOV "THE FLIGHT OF THE CALABRON"

 

 

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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«You will know the truth and the truth will set you free» [GV 8,32],
but bring, spread and defend the truth not only of
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The Little Prince traveling with Jesus Christ along the roads of Galilee

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE LITTLE PRINCE TRAVELING WITH JESUS ​​CHRIST ALONG THE STREETS OF GALILEE

The theme of welcoming children it is important and central in this passage. The children, generally, they are not paralyzing fear. They tend to have a simple look even in the face of difficulties and know how to welcome the embrace of the Eternal Father. With an innocent and clear look, they are not without great insights and great truths. In fact, children often say what they think bluntly.

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

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Meditation on the Holy Gospel of the 25th Sunday of ordinary time (year B)

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In his splendid masterpiece The little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry recounts in first person the imaginary encounter with the little prince, imaginative character with whom he begins a deep journey, between various planets and profound reflections on life and especially on childhood. He dedicates this book to a certain Werth, of which we know only what the Author illustrates:

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“I want to dedicate the book to the child this adult was a long time ago. All adults were first of all children ".

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On childhood issues, the Today's Gospel in its beautiful readings it contains Jesus' admirable teaching of service to one's neighbor and binds it to welcoming the little ones. In the text of the Holy Gospel it emerges above all that Jesus is on a journey:

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"During that time, Jesus and his disciples went through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know. In fact, he taught his disciples and told them: “The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him; ma, once killed, after three days it will rise again”. However, they did not understand these words and were afraid to question him ".

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On the way, Jesus announces this great mystery to them: passion, the Resurrection and therefore the Redemption. It is really difficult for the apostles to understand, on the contrary, this announcement gives rise to a profound fear. A fear that blocks, it paralyzes and does not allow even a simple clarifying dialogue. Fear is in fact the opposite of faith. There is a human fear in the face of an unforeseen event: it serves to activate our skills and knowledge to resolve the traumatic event. But there is also a profound fear that slows down our capacity for reflection and solution and above all paralyzes our entrusting ourselves to God. In deep fear, the sense of abandonment and trust in the God of Jesus Christ disappears.

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«They reached Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them: “What were you arguing about on the street?”. And they were silent. On the street, in fact, they had argued among themselves who was the greatest. Sitting down, he called the Twelve and told them: “If one wants to be the first, be the last of all and the servant of all "".

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Fear had brought the apostles to focus their attention on themselves to try to distract themselves; therefore they had begun to discuss about themselves improvising a sort of ranking on who was the best and most helpful. Jesus then intervenes; the Lord is aware of how much his beloved apostles have served and loved him. But it is not with a spirit of competition that this call must be lived. Being first and greatest means putting yourself at the service of God and others. This is the "fundamental law" of the Church. To work according to an authentic charity, alive and attentive to the need for truth, tenderness and eternity of our neighbor. We too can assimilate the teaching of Jesus: offer a service of charity, to be last in pride, in self-centeredness and perfectionism, to put God's love and simplicity at the center. In this service, we will be small living images of Jesus himself, true God and true man.

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«E, got a baby, placed him in their midst and, hugging him, he told them: “Whoever welcomes only one of these children in my name, welcomes me; and who welcomes me, does not welcome me, but the one who sent me "".

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The theme of welcoming children it is important and central in this passage. The children, generally, they are not paralyzing fear. They tend to have a simple gaze even in the face of difficulties and thus know how to welcome the embrace of the Eternal Father. With an innocent look, pure and clear, they are not without great insights and great truths. In fact, children often say what they think bluntly. Being then true and authentic servants of Jesus requires returning to this spirit of purity and innocence of spirit, not of the mind. A spirit that is always welcoming, with a look at the events that happen, that is not simply material or horizontal, but mainly confident and abandoned to the grace and action of God. Therefore welcome a contemplative gaze capable of embracing, with the light of faith, all of reality to grasp it, with divine amazement, goodness and beauty.

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We ask the Lord to become true authentic servants, through the intercession of our heavenly mother, Maria, to be credible witnesses of the Word of Eternal Life of Jesus.

Rome, 18 September 2021

 

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Visit the pages of our book shop WHO and support our editions by purchasing and distributing our books.

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News from the Dominican Province Roman: visit the official website of the Dominicans, WHO

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«You will know the truth and the truth will set you free» [GV 8,32],
but bring, spread and defend the truth not only of
risks but also the costs. Help us supporting this Island
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