The fans of Mary co-redemptrix, a gross contradiction in theological terms

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THE FANS OF MARIA CO-REDEMPTOR, A GROSS CONTRADICTION IN THEOLOGICAL TERMS

Is anyone truly willing to believe that the Blessed Virgin, the one who defined herself as a "humble servant", the woman of gifted love, silence and confidentiality, the one who has the purpose of leading to Christ, can truly ask some visionaries or visionaries to be proclaimed co-redeemer and put almost on a par with the Divine Redeemer? One might reasonably ask: of when, the "humble servant" of Magnificat, she would become so pretentious and vain as to ask for and claim the title of co-redeemer?

— Theologica pages —

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Editors of The Island of Patmos

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On the occasion of the release of the doctrinal note Mother of the Faithful People, we propose the latest article on the topic written by Father Ariel S. Levi of Gualdoil 3 February 2024 his “Maria Corredentrice”, within which we refer to the following articles published previously: «Article of 3 April 2020 — We defend the Holy Father Francesco from flamethrower of mariolatri thirsty for new Marian dogmas: “Mary is not co-redemptrix”»; «Article of 14 August 2022 – Proclaiming new dogmas is more serious than deconstructing the dogmas of faith. Maria Corredentrice? A theological idiocy supported by those who ignore the bases of Christology»; «Article of 11 May 2023 – Bergoglio, heretic and apostate, blaspheme the Madonna". Word of a solar heretic with the obsession of Mary co-redemptrix who would ask for the proclamation of the fifth Marian dogma»

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Article dedicated to the memory of the Jesuit Peter Gumpel (Hannover 1923 – Rome 2023) who was my trainer and precious teacher in the history of dogma

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By frequenting enough i social media, reading and listening to priests and lay people, on biblical and theological topics, sometimes one gets the impression that no progress has been made on certain issues. It so happens that many inaccuracies are put into circulation on questions concerning matters of faith, or we continue on old registers, devotional and emotional.

Salvador Dali, The Madonna of Port Lligat, 1949, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI, USA. Detail.

The desire, perhaps a little utopian, it would be for the Readers to realize, with minimal effort, who could benefit from serious and precise insights. At least it is in my hope and that of our Fathers Patmos Island, be of help to those who manage to go beyond the four or five lines read on social media, where today unlikely theologians and Mariologists pontificate, with the consequences that we often know well: deviation from the true faith. And this is very sad, because i Social media they could be an extraordinary tool for us for the diffusion of sound and solid Catholic doctrine.

In the years following the Second Vatican Council Biblical science has made important strides, offering contributions that are now essential for theology in its various branches and for Christian life. This since when, since the time of the Venerable Pontiff Pius XII, in the Catholic Church the study of the Bible has been encouraged by giving the possibility of using all those methods that are normally applied to a written text. To cite just a few examples: rhetorical analysis, the structural one, literary and semantics have produced results that perhaps have sometimes appeared unsatisfactory, but they also allowed us to explore the text of the Holy Scripture in a new way and this led to a whole series of studies that made us know the Word of God better and more deeply. Or to reconsider ancient acquisitions, of tradition, of the Holy Fathers of the Church, which despite being true and profound, as well as works of high theology, however they did not have the support of a modern study of sacred texts, precisely because still, certain tools, at the time of their speculations they were missing.

Before continuing, an aside is necessary: i "teologi" da social media they need the fight, to unleash which it is necessary to choose and create an enemy. For certain groups the most popular enemy is Modernism, rightly defined by the Holy Pontiff Pius (cf.. Feeding of Dominic's Sheep). That doesn't mean that, But, than the actions of this Holy Pontiff, before that and of his Supreme Predecessor Leo XIII, has always produced beneficial effects in the decades to follow. Obviously, to make an objective critical analysis, it is imperative to contextualize the condemnation of Modernism and the severe canonical measures that followed in that precise historical moment, certainly not to express judgments using criteria linked to our present, because only misleading and distorting sentences would emerge. To briefly summarize this complex problem to which I intend to dedicate my next book, suffice it to say that the Church of those years, after the fall of the Papal State which occurred on 20 September 1870, it was subject to violent political and social attacks. The Roman Pontiff withdrew as a "voluntary prisoner" within the Vatican walls from which he emerged only six decades later. The anticlericalism of Masonic origin was raised to the maximum power and the Church had to seriously deal with its own survival and that of the institution of the papacy. It certainly could not afford the development of currents of thought that would have attacked and corroded it directly from within. It is in this delicate context that the fight of the Holy Pontiff Pius. With all the consequences, including negative ones, of the case: theological speculation was effectively frozen amidst a thousand fears and the training of priests was reduced to four formulas of decadent neo-scholasticism, which was not even a distant relative of the classical scholasticism of Saint Anselm of Aosta and Saint Thomas Aquinas. This produced such an unpreparedness and ignorance in the Catholic clergy that for clear proof it would be enough to read the Encyclical Back to the Catholic Priesthood written in 1935 of Pope Pius XI.

The consequences of the fight against Modernism they were in some ways disastrous, suffice it to say that when on the threshold of the 1940s, at the beginning of the pontificate of Pius XII, Catholic theologians and biblical scholars began to get their hands on certain materials and to carry out exegesis in the context of the Old and New Testaments, they were forced, discreetly and working prudently under the table, to refer to Protestant authors, who had been speculating and carrying out in-depth studies on certain topics for decades, especially in the field of biblical sciences. And so today, if we want to do a study and analysis of the text of the Letter to the Romans we must necessarily refer to the commentary of the Protestant theologian Carl Barth, which remains fundamental and above all unsurpassed. These too were the fruits of the struggle against Modernism, which the "theologians" certainly don't talk about social media that to exist they need an enemy to fight. But as already said, this theme will be the subject of my next book, but this aside was necessary to better introduce our theme.

What is still missing today is that these results obtained through modern exegesis or the study of the Old and New Testament texts become the prerogative of the majority of believers. And here I return to reiterate the extraordinary importance that the social media, to disseminate and make certain materials accessible. Too often they remain confined to specialist texts and do not pass, if not sporadically, in preaching and catechesis, encouraging a new awareness of the terms at stake and therefore a more solid and motivated Christian faith, not based only on acquired data that is often fragile and confusing, on the devotional, on the sentimental, or worse: about revelations, on real or alleged apparitions, or on the itchy trembling “secrets” of talkativeness Madam di Medjugorje (cf.. my video conference, WHO)…and so on to follow.

If certain madonnolatrous fans they had humility, perhaps even the decency to read books and articles by authoritative scholars, perhaps they could understand that not only, they didn't understand, but that they have understood nothing at all about the Mary of the Holy Gospels. It would be enough to take - I mention just one among many - the article written by Father Ignace de la Potterie: «The Mother of Jesus and the mystery of Cana» (La Civiltà Cattolica, 1979, IV, pp. 425-440, full text WHO), to thus understand what abysmal difference there may be between Mariology and Mariolatry.

When even today we still talk about the Virgin Mary, Unfortunately, even among certain priests - and even more so among certain devout believers - we witness the trite repetition of the usual devotional and emotional discourses, until reaching, with the step of elephants inside a glassware shop, the very delicate and discussed theme of Mary co-redemptrix, that as is well known - and as the last Pontiffs have pointed out several times -, it is a term that in itself creates enormous theological problems with Christology and the mystery of redemption itself. In fact, affirm that Maria, perfect creature born without sin, but still a created creature, he cooperated in the redemption of humanity, it is not exactly the same as saying that he co-redeemed humanity. It was Christ who brought about the redemption, who was not a created creature but the Word of God made man, begotten not created of the same substance as God the Father, as we act in the Symbol of Faith, the I believe, where we profess «[…] and by the work of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary". In Symbol of Faith, redemption is entirely centered on Christ. That's why we say that the Blessed Virgin “he cooperated” and say “ha co-redee” it has a substantially and radically different theological value. In fact, only one is the redeemer: Jesus Christ God made man "begotten not created of the same substance as the Father", who as such does not need any created creature to support or sustain him as co-redeemer or co-redeemer, including the Blessed Virgin Mary" (cf.. Ariel S. Levi di Gualdo, in The Island of Patmos, see WHO, WHO, WHO). Request: to the fans of the co-redeemer, how come it is not enough that Mary is the one who in fact cooperated more than any creature so that the mystery of redemption was realized? For what reason, but above all for what obstinacy, not happy with her role as a cooperator, at all costs they want her to be proclaimed co-redemptive with a solemn dogmatic definition?

From a theological point of view and dogmatic, the very concept of Mary co-redemptrix first of all creates big problems for Christology, with the risk of giving life to a sort of "quatrinity" and of raising the Madonna, that is perfect creature born without the stain of original sin, to the role of real gods. Christ redeemed us with his hypostatic precious human and divine blood, with his glorious resurrected body which still bears the signs of passion imprinted on it today. Mary instead, while covering an extraordinary role in the history of the economy of salvation, It cooperated in our redemption. To say co-redemptive is equivalent to saying that we have been redeemed by Christ and Mary. And here it is good to clarify: Christ saves, Mary intercedes for our salvation. It is not a small difference between “saving” and “interceding”, unless otherwise create a different religion from the one founded on the mystery of God's Word (cf.. My previous article WHO).

Mariology is not something in itself, almost as if he lived an autonomous life. Mariology is nothing more than an appendix of Christology and is inserted in a precise theological dimension of Christocentrism. If Mariology is somehow detached from this Christocentric centrality, one can run the serious risk of falling into the worst and most harmful Mariocentrism. Not to mention the obvious arrogance of the exponents of some young and problematic Congregation of Franciscan-Marian imprint, who did not limit themselves to making hypotheses or theological studies to support the peregrine idea of ​​the so-called co-redemptive, but in fact they instituted its cult and veneration.

Who proclaims dogmas that do not exist commits a greater crime than those whose dogmas deny them, because it operates by placing itself above the authority of the same Holy Church Mater et Magistra, holder of an authority that derives from Christ himself. And the latter yes, which is a dogma of the Catholic Faith, which was not reached by logical deduction after centuries of studies and speculation - as in the case of the dogma of the immaculate conception and Mary's assumption into heaven -, but on the basis of clear and precise words pronounced by the Word of God made Man (cf.. Mt 13, 16-20). And when dogmas that don't exist are proclaimed, in that case pride enters the scene in its worst manifestation. I have written and explained it in several of my previous articles but it deserves to be repeated again: in the so-called scale of the deadly sins the Catechism of the Catholic Church indicates pride in the first place, with painful peace of those who persist in concentrating the entire mystery of evil in lust - which we remember does not figure in first place at all, but not even to the second, to the third and fourth [See. Catechism no. 1866] ―, regardless of the fact that the worst sins ranging everyone and rigor from his belt to rise, not instead of his belt to fall, as I wrote in an ironic but theologically very serious tone years ago in my book And Satan became triune, explaining in one of my books 2011 how the sixth commandment has often been exaggerated beyond measure, often forgetting all the worst and most serious sins against charity.

If then all this is filtered through fideistic emotions - as if such a delicate topic centered in the most complex spheres of dogmatics were a sort of opposing fan base made up of Lazio fans and Roma fans -, in that case one can fall into actual Marian idolatry or so-called Mariolatry, which is to say: pure paganism. At that point Mary could easily take the name of any goddess of the Greek Olympus or the Roman Pantheon.

The fans from social media of co-redemption of the Blessed Virgin affirm as a sort of incontrovertible proof that it was Mary herself who asked for the proclamation of this fifth Marian dogma (cf.. among many articles, WHO). Something they say there is no discussion about, the Blessed Virgin herself would have asked it when appearing in Amsterdam to Ida Peerdeman. Given that no Marian apparition, including those recognized as authentic by the Church, Fatima included, it can be the object and binding matter of faith; given also that the locutions of certain seers are even less so, we can only smile at certain pleasantries of amateur theologians which make certain subjects difficult to manage for us priests and above all for us theologians, precisely because their arrogance goes hand in hand with their ignorance which leads them to treat such a topic as if it really were a heated exchange between Lazio fans and Roma fans who shout at each other from the opposite corners of the stadium. Even in this case the answer is simple: is anyone truly willing to believe that the Blessed Virgin, the one who defined herself as a "humble servant", the woman of gifted love, silence and confidentiality, the one who has the purpose of leading to Christ, can truly ask some visionaries or visionaries to be proclaimed co-redeemer and put almost on a par with the Divine Redeemer? One might reasonably ask: of when, the "humble servant" of Magnificat, she would become so pretentious and vain as to ask for and claim the title of co-redeemer?

Finally, here it is “proof of proof”: «several Supreme Pontiffs have made use of the term co-redemptive», Having said this, the list of their various speeches follows, although everything demonstrates the exact opposite of what the co-redemption fans would like to experience. It is true that the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, in a speech of his on 8 September 1982, stated:

«Maria, even conceived and born without stain of sin, he participated in a wonderful way in the sufferings of his divine Son, to be co-redemptor of humanity".

However, this expression demonstrates the exact opposite on the theological and Mariological level. Let's clarify why: from then on, following John Paul II - who was undoubtedly a Pontiff of profound Marian devotion -, he had others before him 23 years of pontificate. Come May, in this long period of time, as well as not proclaiming the fifth Marian dogma of Mary's co-redemption, he flatly rejected the request, when it was presented to him twice? He rejected her because between the 1962 and the 1965, the then young Bishop Karol Woytila ​​was a participating and active figure in the Second Vatican Council who in one of its dogmatic constitutions clarified how Mary had «cooperated in a unique way in the work of the Savior» (The light, 61). Statement introduced by the previous article where it is specified that the only mediation of the Redeemer «does not exclude, but it arouses in creatures a varied cooperation participated by the single source" (The light 60; CCC 970). And the highest and most extraordinary cooperation was that of the Virgin Mary. This should be enough to understand that the Supreme Pontiffs, when they sometimes resorted to the term co-redemptive in their speeches, never in encyclicals or solemn acts of the supreme magisterium, they intended to express with it the concept of Mary's cooperation in the mystery of salvation and redemption.

The very term co-redemptive it is in and of itself a theological absurdity that creates enormous conflicts with Christology and the mystery of redemption brought about solely by God the Incarnate Word, which does not need co-redeemers and co-redeemers, he repeated it three times, In the 2019, 2020 e 2021 also the Supreme Pontiff Francis:

«[…] Faithful to his Master, who is his Son, the only Redeemer, he never wanted to take something of his Son for himself. She never presented herself as a co-redeemer. No, discepola. And there is a Holy Father who says around that discipleship is more worthy than motherhood. Questions of theologians, but a disciple. He never stole anything from his Son for himself, she served him because she is a mother, gives life in the fullness of time to this Son born of a woman (cf.. Homily of 12 December 2019, full text WHO) […] Our Lady did not want to take any title away from Jesus; she received the gift of being His Mother and the duty to accompany us as a Mother, to be our Mother. She did not ask for herself to be a quasi-redeemer or a co-redeemer: no. The Redeemer is only one and this title is not doubled. Only disciple and Mother (cf.. Homily of 3 April 2020, full text WHO) […] the Madonna who, as the Mother to whom Jesus has entrusted us, envelops us all; but as a mother, not as a goddess, not as a co-redemptrix: as Mother. It is true that Christian piety always gives it beautiful titles, like a son to his mother: how many beautiful things a son says to the mother he loves! But let's be careful: the beautiful things that the Church and the Saints say about Mary take nothing away from the redemptive uniqueness of Christ. He is the only Redeemer. They are expressions of love like a son to his mother, sometimes exaggerated. But love, we know, always makes us do exaggerated things, but with love" (cf.. Hearing of 24 March 2021, full text WHO).

The mystery of redemption it is one with the mystery of the cross, on which God made man died as a sacrificial lamb. On the cross the Blessed Virgin Mary was not nailed to death like a sacrificial lamb, that at the end of her life she fell asleep and was assumed into heaven, she did not die and rose again on the third day, defeating death. The Blessed Virgin, first creature of the whole creation above all the saints for its immaculate purity, he does not forgive our sins and does not redeem us, he intercedes for the remission of our sins and for our redemption. So if he doesn't redeem us, because we insist on dogmatizing a title aimed at solemnly defining which co-redeems us?

Many fans of co-redemption are likely have never paid attention to the invocations of the Loreto Litany, which were certainly not the work of some recent pontiff smacking of modernism, as some would say, they were added to the recitation of the Holy Rosary by the Holy Pontiff Pius V after the victory of the Holy League in Lepanto in 1571, although already in use for several decades in the Sanctuary of the House of Loreto, from which they take their name. Yet it would be enough to ask this question: How come, when at the beginning of these litanies God the Father is invoked, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, let's say "Miserere nobis» (have mercy on us)? While just starting, with the invocation Holy Mary, to enunciate all the titles of the Blessed Virgin, from that moment on we say «Pray for us» (pray for us)? Simple: because God the Father who created us and who gave himself to humanity through the incarnation of the Word of God made man, Jesus Christ, who then brought the Holy Spirit who "proceeds from the Father and the Son", with compassionate mercy they give the grace of forgiveness from sins through a Trinitarian action of the triune God, the Virgin Mary does not, he does not forgive us our sins and does not forgive us, because in the economy of salvation his role is that of intercession. This is why, when we turn to her through prayer, both in the Ave Maria than in Hi Regina, of always, throughout the history and tradition of the Church we invoke her saying "pray for us sinners", we do not ask her to forgive our sins or to save us (cf.. My previous article, WHO). This alone should be sufficient and advance to understand that the term co-redemptive itself is a gross contradiction on a theological level, unfortunately enough to make those theologians who insist on calling for the proclamation of this fifth Marian dogma to be rude, charging and using as fans fringes of faithful, most of whom have deep and serious gaps in the foundations of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The person of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus, it is looked at and indicated with a theological depth that places it in close relationship with the mission of his Son and united with us disciples, because this is his role that the Gospels wanted to communicate and remind us of, all with all due respect to those who claim, sometimes even arrogantly, to relegate the Woman of Magnificat in a microcosm of emotional devotions that often even reveal the fumus of neo-paganism. The Supreme Pontiff Francis is therefore right, than with his very simple and direct style, at times even deliberately provocative and for some even irritating, but precisely for this reason capable of making himself understood by everyone, he specified that Maria «[…] he never wanted to take something of his Son for himself. She never presented herself as co-redeemer". And she did not present herself as such because Mary is the Woman of Magnificat: «He looked at the humility of his servant, from now on all generations will call me blessed"; blessed because I became a servant, certainly not why I asked, to some demented seer, to be proclaimed co-redemptrix.

 

the Island of Patmos, 3 February 2024

 

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The Mother of Jesus, the treasure hidden in the Gospels

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THE MOTHER OF JESUS, THE TREASURE HIDDEN IN THE GOSPELS

«The holy Council fervently and insistently exhorts all the faithful, especially the religious ones, to learn “the sublime science of Jesus Christ” (Fil 3,8) with frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. “Ignorance of the Scriptures, indeed, it is ignorance of Christ”. Let them willingly approach the sacred text, both through the sacred liturgy, which is imbued with divine words, both through pious reading, both through initiatives suitable for this purpose and other subsidies, that with the approval and care of the pastors of the Church, commendably today they spread everywhere".

- The Theological Pages -

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Ivano Liguori, Ofm. Capp.

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In the years following the Second Vatican Council Biblical science has made important strides, offering contributions that are now essential for Theology in its various branches and for Christian life. This has been the case at least since, since the time of Pius XII, in the Catholic Church the study of the Bible has been encouraged by giving the possibility of using all those methods that are normally applied to a written text.

The Announcement – Work by Salvador Dali, 1960, Vatican museums (click on the image to open the page)

How many are aware of the enormous benefits that exegetical studies have brought to the theology that investigates the figure and role of the Virgin Mary, the so-called Mariology. What a richness to be able to say today that the story of the annunciation (LC 1, 26-38) for its literary form, while preserving within it the communication of a miraculous birth, however, it is a story of vocation: Mary's vocation. But who knows? Who noticed that in the CEI version of the Bible of 2008, the one we currently read in our liturgies, the angel's announcement to Mary is made today with: «Rejoice»; when in the previous version of the 1974 it was read: «I greet you»; due to the great influence due to the prayer ofAve Maria? It was the Jesuit Father Stanislas Lyonnet[1] the first that in 1939 he pointed out that the imperative invitation to joy («cheer up», Kayre Of LC 1,28) referred to the prophetic texts addressed to the "daughter of Zion" (Sof 3,14). Change everything, no longer a simple greeting, but Mary is given an invitation that in the past was addressed to Israel, to whom the prophets addressed themselves as to a woman. In the Middle Ages they said that due to her maternal function Mary was "Figure of the synagogue"[2], today, thanks to exegetical acquisitions we give this statement a new and more solid connotation from a scriptural point of view.

When even today we still talk about the Virgin Mary, unfortunately also among priests and even more so among the faithful, we witness the trite repetition of the usual devotional and emotional speeches; at most we go so far as to follow the delicate and discussed theme of Mary co-redemptrix. How many homilies wanting to explain the Cana episode still speak of it as a simple miracle? This word is not present in the Gospel passage. Instead we speak of a "sign" - "Jesus did this as the beginning of the signs" (GV 2,11) - which in the Fourth Gospel has a completely different theological depth and significance. And Maria was present there, who isn't even called by name, but only identified as: «Donna». Yet all we hear is about the Madonna: The Madonna who forced the miracle. Who knows how many know that Jesus' sentence to his Mother is most likely a question - «My time has not yet come?» - as a talented exegete proved decades ago[3]. The new CEI Bible does not yet report it, but at least, from the previous version, the term miracle has been changed and now we can finally read the word "sign" (GV 2,11).

Another interesting change of perspective which slowly happened, while carefully scrutinizing the figure of Mary in the Gospels, was to set aside the traditional link between Her and the figure of Eve, protagonista del protovangelo di Genesi. Because it was instead more in line with the texts and rich in theological and ecclesiological perspectives to see Mary as an image of that biblical daughter of Zion (Shall 86 [87],5, 5 LXX), the new Jerusalem which becomes the protagonist of the new Covenant with Jesus.

This emerges clearly in the Gospel stories, especially in two Johannine texts that see Mary, never called by its proper name, but identified rather as «The mother of Jesus» or more curiously as «Woman». The episode of the wedding at Cana (GV 2, 1-11) and that of the "Mother" under the cross (GV 19,25-27) together with the beloved disciple, are directly connected precisely because of the presence in both moments of this "Woman".

In the first case, a Cana, we are at the beginning of the manifestation of Jesus, in the second episode we are instead at the end of this revelation, there: «Everything was accomplished» (GV 19,28). Revelation that represents the leitmotif of the Johannine Gospel: "It gave, no one has seen him: the only Son, who is God and is at the Father, it is he who has made him known " (GV 1,18). Cana is the culmination of a week in which Jesus begins to reveal himself to his first disciples, after the first big timeless day of the prologue; the cross is the final moment, before the resurrection of course, which sees Jesus reveal himself to the Mother and the disciple, the one who never stopped following Jesus from the beginning, the great mystery of the Church which looks with faith at what has happened and bears witness to it: «He who saw it bears witness» (GV 19,35).

A Cana, Maria, the Mother of Jesus, she is that Woman who represents humanity in poverty and Judaism that lived on messianic hope. The words so apodictic - «They have no wine» (GV 2,3) - they would signify Israel's desire to see the spread of the messianic wine or the definitive revelation of the New Covenant, according to the rich symbolism of wine in biblical and Jewish tradition. She invites, therefore, the disciples to renew that purpose already expressed in the ancient alliance of Sinai: «All that Yahweh said, we will do it"; «Whatever he tells you, do it" (Is 19,8; see also 24,3.7; GV 2,5).

Saint John the Evangelist, as he often does throughout his work, for example in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (GV 4,13-14), it asks us to elevate ourselves from the human and historical level to the more spiritual and theological one. Where spiritual does not mean less faithful to the truth, rather it designates and indicates the most hidden and profound meaning hidden within a story, in line with what modern hermeneutics is also discovering. Martin Heidegger in his writings says that language is found in the "unpronounceable" and meaning in the "unsaid" of the text, while the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas talks about going "beyond the verse", Gregory the Great, a medieval one, he even said that: «The text grows with the one who reads it».

Regarding Mary, the Gospel therefore takes us through the immediate and more evident meaning of her as the mother of Jesus because she carried him in her womb and gave birth to him, to that of a representative of an entire community that wishes to unite with Jesus who, given the context, she wants to bind herself to Him like a Bride to her Groom, for He is the One who brings salvation, the new wine symbol of the new messianic alliance. The whole passage and the use of the term "Woman" is an invitation to elevate ourselves from the historical and literal level to the most hidden and profound sense which is spiritual., theological and highly significant for believers. This is why the Cana episode takes place at the end of the first week of Jesus' manifestation to his disciples, curious to know who he is, what brings new respect to John who indicated it (GV 1,36) and where is his secret: «Where are you staying? » (GV 1,38). It is no coincidence that the evangelist comments at the end that Jesus did not perform a simple miracle at Cana, but "he manifested his glory and his disciples began to believe in him" (GV 2,11).

If the maternal role of the Woman towards the disciples, a Cana, it was sketchy or rather initial, under the cross this appears clearly. Right there Mary receives a new spiritual motherhood which is expressed in the mutual relationship between her and a disciple: «They were near the cross of Jesus his mother, his mother's sister, Mary mother of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene. Jesus then, seeing his mother and next to her the disciple he loved, He told his mother: «Donna, here is your son!». Then he said to the disciple: «Here is your mother!». And from that hour the disciple took her into his " (GV 19,25-27).

It is said that when someone is at the point of death usually pronounces important words, definitive. And these are Jesus' last words before dying, before uttering that definitive one: «On set». But once again St. John warns us that an important revelation is hidden here. He does this by using a scheme used many times in his work, or using the two verbs: see, to say; and then the adverb "here", in sequence. Scholars call this process: revelation scheme; because it indicates that the author is telling us something new is being illustrated.

In telling the passion, the crucifixion and death of Jesus, John does not contradict himself and brings together themes of great theological importance. The kingship of Jesus is universal, as the languages ​​of the title of the cross indicate: «It was written in Hebrew, in latino e in greco» (GV 19,20); all the scattered children of God are gathered together: "And I, when I am lifted up from the ground, I will attract everyone to me " (GV 12,32); his unusable tunic represents the unity of the Church, at least in patristic exegesis because of the verb sketch ("sliver") used here, hence schism: «Therefore they said among themselves: «Let's not tear it up, but let's draw lots whose turn it will be". He is the intact Passover lamb: «This in fact happened so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Not a single bone will be broken." (GV 19,36; cf.. Is 12,46). And at the culmination of this revelation there is Jesus' handing over of "his mother" to the disciple.

In fact, we note in the verses that the Mother of Jesus which is "his" (term repeated four times), it becomes through the words of Jesus to the disciple: "Your mother"; and vice versa he for her: "Your son". This disciple is loved because he is the one who has never stopped following Jesus from the beginning, from that initial week which flows into the sign of Cana which we mentioned above; what that, instead, it was not successful for Pietro who will have to resume his following later. In this sense he represents the disciple par excellence towards whom we should all conform, it is a symbol of every true disciple of Jesus, to be able, leaning over his chest, to grasp the most intimate aspects of Him. Mother, as we saw at Cana, represents the daughter of Zion, but now in her fully revealed maternal function. She is the one who sees her children previously lost, now gather (Is 60, 4-5 LXX). Be to Cana, in the initial phase, this relationship was mentioned, here it reaches all its evidence. The "Woman" now becomes the mother of the Church, represented by the disciple.

What does this new motherhood consist of? which we call spiritual, due to the fact that the true and only Son she had was Jesus? Precisely because of his indissoluble bond with Jesus, From now on she can only be for the new child, the church, the one who leads to Jesus, which invites us to enter into an alliance that is no longer initial as in Cana, but definitive, sanctioned by the saving death of Christ on the cross. She will be the one who renews towards the disciples what she was for Jesus in the incarnation: it will be the Mother. If already in Cana the disciples were not called slaves, but serve, i «diakonoi" Of GV 2,5, even more so here they are considered as children. And this motherhood, given under the cross, it expresses itself in helping the disciple, all of us, to understand the profound meaning of what happened from the beginning and what is happening at that moment on the ordeal. This is why the disciple, says the gospel, he immediately understands the words of Jesus and takes what is now His Mother into his heart. It doesn't take possession, as if a woman passed ownership from one to another, but he welcomes it for all that it now means, thanks to the revealing word just spoken by Jesus. For this reason the evangelist comments: «And from that hour the disciple welcomed her with him» (GV 19,27).

The disciple, participant in the messianic hour of the Lord and thanks to the maternal presence of Mary he can turn the gaze of the one who has understood towards Jesus on the cross, in the broadest sense of the term, that of carrying with him and within himself the great mystery of which he is a witness. And in fact these are his words: «He who has seen bears witness to it and his testimony is true; he knows he is telling the truth, so that you too may believe" (GV 19,35).

What does the disciple testify, just after receiving this new Mother? Who heard the last words of Jesus on his finished work and the others that expressed his desire to give the Spirit: «On set» (Gv 19,28b). It will be after the death of Jesus, which John will describe precisely as a delivery of the Spirit - «He gave up his spirit» (GV 19,30 Vulgate) – with the opening of the side from which blood drains, that is, the life of Jesus given so far, and water, symbol of the gift of the Spirit as had been announced several times in the Gospel (GV 7, 37-38), that his will finally and definitively be a gaze of faith directed perennially at Jesus: «They will look at the one they have pierced». (GV 19,37). A Father of the Church writes:

«No one can reach the meaning (of the Gospel of John) if he did not recline his head on the chest of Jesus and received Mary as his mother from Jesus, E, to be another John, so that he feels designated by Jesus as if he were Jesus himself. Because… Mary has no other children than Jesus; when Jesus says to his Mother: “Here is your son” and not: “Here this man is also your son”, it's as if he were telling her: “Here is Jesus whom you gave birth to”. In fact, everyone has achieved perfection “he no longer lives but Christ lives in him” and because Christ lives in him, Christ tells Mary about him: “Here is your son, the Christ”»[4].

If today I reread these bold words of Origen we realize how much theological truth and spiritual beauty they contain, we also owe it to the fact that the study of Mary in Scripture, which has flourished again in recent decades, it allows us to reap the fruits of a work of rigorous and loving analysis of the biblical texts and to enjoy ancient affirmations with renewed awareness. And the Church recommends not only that the text be studied by specialists, but that everyone can drink from the fountain of Sacred Scripture:

«The holy Council fervently and insistently exhorts all the faithful, especially the religious ones, to learn “the sublime science of Jesus Christ” (Fil 3,8) with frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. “Ignorance of the Scriptures, indeed, it is ignorance of Christ”. Let them willingly approach the sacred text, both through the sacred liturgy, which is imbued with divine words, both through pious reading, both through initiatives suitable for this purpose and other subsidies, that with the approval and care of the pastors of the Church, commendably today they spread everywhere. However, they should remember that the reading of sacred Scripture must be accompanied by prayer, so that dialogue is established between God and man; so long as “when we pray, let's talk to him; we listen to him, when we read the divine oracles”». (God's word, 25).

Here we are now at the purpose of this small contribution. Instill in readers a desire to love and learn about Scripture in a serious way, but also passionate. We have summarized a lot here, so much, because every single aspect would have required a more widespread treatment. Let's hope it serves at least as a stimulus or as a... input as they say in jargon, especially because the topic covered referred to the Virgin Mary. This little writing can help those who read to return to that source of revelation which is the Bible which can tell us so much about Mary, more than the circulating narratives, also on social, often not of excellent quality. Because as an ancient author said and I leave it in Latin it is so easy to understand: «All the Bible is one book, and that one book is Christ»[5].

Sanluri, 6 February 2023

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NOTE

[1] LYONNET S., Kaire, Kejaritomene, Biblical 20 (1939)

[2] An interlinear gloss by Gv 2,1: «The mother figure of the synagogue», in the sacred care of the Bible Glossary ordinary…, V, Antwerp, 1617, 1044; SAN TOMMASO D’AQUINO, Super evang. S. of John (ed. Cai.), n. 346: «[…] bearing in this the shape of a synagogue, who is the mother of Christ".

[3] VANHOYE A., Johannine questioning and exegesis of Cana (GV 2,4), in Biblica 55 (1974).

[4] Origene, Commentary on Saint John, I,4,23; SC 120,70,72.

[5] Hugh of St. Victor, De Arca Noe, 2, 8: PL 176, 642; cf Ibid. 2, 9: PL 176, 642-643; Catechism of the Catholic Church, no 134).

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Only Jesus could be so good and merciful as to cure and heal a mother-in-law

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

ONLY JESUS ​​COULD BE SO GOOD AND MERCIFUL TO TREAT AND HEAL A MOTHER-IN-LAW

«Simone's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever and they immediately told him about her. He approached and made her stand up by the hand; the fever left her and she served them. Evening came, after sunset, they brought him all the sick and possessed. The whole city was gathered in front of the door».

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The pericope of the Gospel of this V Sunday of Ordinary Time tells us again about Jesus' typical day in Capernaum.

"During that time, Jesus, left the synagogue, he immediately went to the house of Simone and Andrea, in the company of Giacomo and Giovanni. Simone's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever and they immediately told him about her. He approached and made her stand up by the hand; the fever left her and she served them. Evening came, after sunset, they brought him all the sick and possessed. The whole city was gathered in front of the door. He healed many who were suffering from various illnesses and cast out many demons; but he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him. Early in the morning he got up while it was still dark and, out, he withdrew to a deserted place, and there he prayed. But Simone and those who were with him set out on his trail. They found him and told him: «Everyone is looking for you!». He told them: «Let's go somewhere else, in nearby villages, because I preach there too; For this is why I came!». And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons". (MC 1,29-39)

If Mark's frequent use of the adverb "immediately" it served to speed up the narrative time, highlighting Jesus' haste regarding the announcement of the kingdom; in today's song, the locations here are also taken into account, like a space that tends to expand more and more. In fact, the movement of the story passes through the synagogue of the town on the lake (MC 1,29) to Peter's house, then again from the house to the open road in front of the courtyard door of Peter's house (v. 33), from a city to nearby villages (v. 38); at last, from the villages to "all Galilee" (v. 39). As if all space, quickly, must be occupied by Jesus, from his announcement and his works.

The characters of the story they are the disciples closest to Jesus, Simone's mother-in-law and above all the sick. These are the ones who take over the scene. They can already be found where Jesus arrives, like Pietro's mother-in-law, or they are brought to him; still others look for him spontaneously from dawn, when he is praying. Illness frames our song: be it a fever or a deeper suffering, spiritual or physical (like that caused by the impure spirits of v. 39), the vocabulary of the semantic field of the illness studs the story and is consistently present, including all the narration.

«And they immediately told him about her». The concern for this elderly woman is striking, because it shows attention towards the fragile and faith in the presence of Jesus. The elderly, feverish woman is not hidden from the Master as if she were a problem or someone to be ashamed of, so it wouldn't be worth bothering. The fact that the disciples immediately spoke to Jesus about Peter's mother-in-law shows that that woman was a priority for them. They don't ask for healing, they do not exploit the presence of the Master for their own purposes, they simply indicate the sick woman: this person is important to them. From this we can understand the meaning and value of intercession as of speaking on someone's behalf. Jesus appreciates it, so much so that he immediately does something: he holds out his hand to her, he lifts her up and then heals her of her illness. Jesus wants to be disturbed by the sick. Jesus appreciates and admires the intercession on behalf of the sick, as in the case of the centurion who intercedes for his sick servant (LC 7,1-10).

The theme of illness, we were saying, runs through the entire text of St. Mark. Suffering touches every man, but «experiencing one's own impotence in the illness, the man of faith recognizes that he is radically in need of salvation. He accepts himself as a poor and limited creature. He relies totally on God. He imitates Jesus Christ and feels personally close to him." (Adult Catechism, The truth will set you free, 1021). It is the "conversion" to which the sick healed by Jesus are called, rather, to which we are all called.

Thus we discover another meaning of Jesus' first words in the Gospel of Mark: «The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near» (MC 1,15). Time and space, but men and women are also touched by the fullness of God's presence and the kingdom is that reality in which the encounter with Jesus is possible. Jesus does not only carry out therapeutic activities, because his gestures are accompanied by words, from teachings. In fact these are signs to say that the kingdom is near: miracles announce and inaugurate the kingdom of God and correspond to Israel's expectations, where it was believed that the Messiah would come with thaumaturgical abilities. For this reason the announcement that "the kingdom is near" is complementary to the word "repent and believe in the gospel", because the crowds that flock to Jesus, before these divine gestures, they are called to believe and convert. If this doesn't happen, miracles are useless, as Matthew explains in another passage: «Then he began to rebuke the cities in which he had performed the greatest number of miracles, because they did not repent: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida. Because, if in Tyre and Sidon they had been done the miracles that were done among you, some time would have repented, wrapped in sackcloth and ashes" (Mt 11,20-21). The greatest healing that God can bring about is from our unbelief.

Finally, perhaps related to what we just said, we note the small discrepancy between the "all" who flock to Jesus to be healed (vv. 32.33.37) and the "many" who instead, actually, they are healed: «He healed many who were afflicted with various diseases» (v. 34). That, But, it is superseded by the resurrection vocabulary used by Mark. In fact, the verb that Mark uses to narrate the healing of Peter's mother-in-law - "he lifted her up" in v. 31) — is very important in the New Testament, because it does not only occur in healing contexts (MC 2,9.11; 5,41; 9,27), but above all in the story of the resurrection of Lazarus (GV 12,1.9) and of Christ (ad es.: At 3,15; RM 10,9). How Jesus was able to lift up Simon's mother-in-law, thus he will be able to give life to the dead, to everyone. The path that Mark wants us to take to come to know who Jesus is then becomes clear. He who in the opening of the Gospel is defined as "Son of God" (MC 1,1), as the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit (v. 8), as the "beloved Son" (v. 11) he is finally revealed in his being towards men: he is the one who "came" («exited», verbatim, from the verb exérchomai; cf.. v. 38) to men to listen to him and be healed of their infirmities.

The story of Jesus' day continues with rest, but then «early in the morning he got up while it was still dark and, out, he withdrew to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Simone and those who were with him set out on his trail. They found him and told him: «Everyone is looking for you!» (MC 1,35-37). We do not know which desert place the evangelist may be referring to, but it certainly couldn't have been far from the lake. Mark has already mentioned Jesus' prayer, in the form celebrated in the synagogue. This morning prayer is personal, as we also learn from other evangelical traditions, it seems to be the Lord's way of bringing everything back to the Father: what he experienced since the previous evening, what will await him in the day that continues. Thus Jesus teaches his disciples that prayer is essential to create unity in one's life.

From the Hermitage, 4 February 2024

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Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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A good priest is such if he waits for the end of his mandate to praise his Bishop: Andrea Turazzi, from today Bishop emeritus of the Diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro

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A GOOD PRIEST IS SUCH IF TO PRAISE HIS BISHOP HE WAITS FOR THE END OF HIS EPISCOPAL MANDATE: ANDREA TURAZZI, FROM TODAY BISHOP EMERITUS OF THE DIOCESE OF SAN MARINO-MONTEFELTRO

«Venerable Bishop, I want you to know that during your episcopate you gave me the ten best years of my priesthood, this is something for which I will always be deeply grateful to you"

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From today H.E. Mons. Andrea Turazzi he is Bishop emeritus of San Marino-Montefeltro, my Diocese of belonging.

My Bishop for a year, after meeting me he told me in that distant May 2015: «You were born to be a hunter and I was born to be a veterinarian». He smiled at me fondly and continued: «Both hunters and veterinarians are needed in the Church, just please don't shoot with heavy buckshot, if anything use smaller pellets".

For a priest, not loving a Bishop who presents himself in this way is impossible. And I loved my Bishop, even though I have never said it publicly, because it would not have been appropriate and prudent.

Last year, while a controversy was raging into which I had directly dived with my cassock on without even undressing and putting on my bathing suit, mi said: «I don't question your reasons, impeccable on a doctrinal and theological level, I just ask you to try to be a little more moderate". After extending this invitation to me he added: "Sure, no one can say that you lack courage, maybe you even have too much of it. For this I don't feel like addressing you in any way, for this is your nature and the character God has given you, no one can ask you to be different than you are, I only ask you for a little moderation in the legitimate controversy, nothing more".

As always I listened to him. And a few days later I sent him a private message in which I thanked him in these terms: «Venerable Bishop, I want you to know that during your episcopate you gave me the ten best years of my priesthood, this is something for which I will always be deeply grateful to you".

If to use these words of affection he's someone like me, that I did not hesitate to publicly call a powerful Cardinal a criminal, stating that I would have preferred to deal with those of the Banda della Magliana rather than with him and his henchmen (cf.. WHO), this means that I had the grace of having as Bishop an authentic man of God and a true model of a Pastor in the care of souls, something that is increasingly rare in these sad times that the universal Church is experiencing. In his life and in his episcopal government my Bishop was an elevated model and living realization of the teaching of the Fathers of the Church who exhort:

«All the priests, in union with the bishops, they participate in the same and unique priesthood and ministry of Christ, in such a way that the same unity of consecration and mission requires the hierarchical communion of presbyters with the order of bishops […] The bishops therefore, thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit which is granted to priests in sacred ordination, they have in them the necessary collaborators and advisors in the ministry and in the function of instructing, sanctify and govern the people of God […] For this common participation in the same priesthood and ministry, bishops should therefore consider priests as brothers and friends, and take care of them, in everything they can, their material and above all spiritual well-being" (See. By decree of the Presbyters of the Order, n. 7).

Only now who no longer has the power of pastoral governance over the Diocese and over me, I can publicly say how much I revered it, appreciated and loved my Bishop. And how difficult it wasn't for me at all, with a Bishop like that, put into practice this exhortation of the Fathers of the Church:

«I presbiteri, for their part, keeping in mind the fullness of the sacrament of orders enjoyed by bishops, let them venerate in them the authority of Christ the supreme shepherd. Let them therefore be united to their bishop with sincere charity and obedience. This priestly obedience, pervaded by the spirit of collaboration, it is based on the same participation of the episcopal ministry, conferred on priests through the sacrament of orders and the canonical mission" (See. By decree of the Presbyters of the Order, n. 7).

To the bishop It is due filial respect and devout obedience by the presbyter, We solemnly promise this on the day we receive priestly consecration. And I respected and obeyed my Bishop, because it was due to him. Then I also respected and loved him, but not because it was due to him, because neither esteem nor love is due to any Bishop as such; if I poured them on him, it's because he deeply deserved them.

Sorry for the Brother Priests and it hurts believers of Christ of this Diocese of Feretra that the mandate of the Bishop has not been extended. One would almost scream "wasteful".!” in front of a man of 75 years in perfect physical health, equipped with all the necessary human and spiritual strengths, of knowledge and wisdom. But on the other hand, the Rome of the "field hospital Church" and of the "existential suburbs" seems accustomed to it, today even more than yesterday, to decide on the dry cards, especially when it comes to the much vaunted "suburbs".

I have no idea who his successor is because I don't know him, I only know that his name is Domenico Beneventi, 49 year old, priest of the Diocese of Acerenza, a Diocese particularly dear to Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, very active and industrious in recent times in presenting new suitable candidates for the episcopate. From now on I wish the new elected Bishop not only to be respected and obeyed, as due to him by sacramental bond; I also wish him to be loved and esteemed as his predecessor was. But the love and esteem of the clergy and the faithful must be earned at a high price, often even at the cost of tears and blood, precisely because they are not necessary things. This is the hardest work for any Bishop, which always translates into success only in authentic men of God, ready to conform to the mystery of the Cross of Christ the Lord.

 

the Island of Patmos, 3 February 2024

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That day when a demoniac immediately recognized Jesus Christ as divine power

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

That day when a possessed immediately recognized Jesus Christ as a divine power

«In their synagogue there was a man possessed by an impure spirit and he began to shout, saying: “What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth? You come to destroy? I know who you are: the saint of God!”. And Jesus ordered him severely: “Crazy! Go out of him!”. And the impure spirit, Strarking it and shouting strong, He left him ".

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This Sunday's evangelical song It forms part of what is commonly defined as the "day of Jesus in Capernao".

"During that time, Jesus, Entering Saturday in the synagogue, [the caférnao] he taught. And they were amazed at his teaching: In fact, he taught them as one who has authority, and not like the scribes. And here, In their synagogue there was a man possessed by an impure spirit and he began to shout, saying: “What do you want from us, Jesus of Nazareth? You come to destroy? I know who you are: the saint of God!”. And Jesus ordered him severely: “Crazy! Go out of him!”. And the impure spirit, Strarking it and shouting strong, He left him. Everyone was taken by fear, so much so that they wondered each other: “Which is never this? A new teaching, given with authority. He even commands impure spirits and obey him!”. His fame spread immediately everywhere, throughout the Galilee region ". (MC 1,21-28).

It is a collection of short episodes ranging from MC 1,21 until 1,34 that the evangelist contains over twenty -four hours. It starts with the morning prayer in the synagogue, described by the V. 21- Prayer still celebrated today by the Jews, which provides for the proclamation of the Torah, of the prophet and the subsequent sermon held by the rabbi - to get to the sunset of the sun, when now, finite lo Shabbat, It is allowed to bring the sick before Jesus. Jesus' activity is hectic: has no time except to teach and to heal. There is an adverb, "right away" (straight, euthys), Very important for Marco, which is repeated in vv. 21.23.28 - Unfortunately not caught by the Italian translation, but present in Greek - and even twelve times only in the first chapter, Forty -five in the entire Gospel of Marco; It indicates the haste of Jesus for which "time is accomplished" (MC 1,15): If the weather is accomplished, There is no time to waste to show how the kingdom has arrived among men.

The first activity that Marco tells us On Jesus is the fact that he taught with authority. The first miracle, Let's call it that, that performs is not a healing or an exorcism, But teaching. E, in proportion, Mark presents Jesus as a teacher, more than the other gospels: Five times the word in his regard Didachē - "teaching" - and ten times he calls him "teacher", reporting this title only to him. Teaching is one of the ministries of which Paolo speaks in the letter to the Romans (12,7), And it is perhaps the charity that we need most in times when it is difficult to transmit faith.

The others, to which Jesus is compared, are the scribes. But they do not have its own "authority". Even if they are not despised or decreased by the evangelist, Marco underlines twice (vv. 22 e 27) which he teaches in a very different way than them. The difference between him and the other "rabbini" could be at two levels. The first is that of the authoritativeness with which Jesus says things. Reading the texts of the rabbinic tradition, which were collected starting from the fall of the second temple, in the second half of the first century AD, We remain affected by the attachment to the "traditions of the ancients" - of which Marco in 7,1-13 - handed down with a long chain of these and sentences, but above all from the way these are listed one after the other, like a collection of different opinions but of the same value. The word of Jesus, on the other hand, has a more creative character and a greater weight: refers directly to the law and to God and, acquiring strength, His word is never just an opinion. But there is more and here we are at the second level of the authority of Jesus. His are not simply words, but they perform what they say. He is the "saint of God" (MC 1,24) and therefore his authority expresses the power of God himself: For this he teaches, exorcizes and heals, but always through a word that frees and saves.

The kingdom of God is a new creation in which, as already in the first, The words profitablely realize what they utter. This becomes evident in the second activity that distinguishes the advent of the kingdom in Jesus: the healing of the sick and the exorcisms. Where there is God with his kingdom, There is no room for evil and its powers: if they have to go.

In fact, Jesus does not let the unchanged spirit speak: «Take Tour», orders him. He does not want Satan to open his mouth and not only because the devil is "lying and father of lies" (GV 8,44). In fact it had already happened once the snake had spoken, And the sad story of man's sin began: The ancient snake to try to evil Adam had in fact inculcated the poison of doubt in Eva: "It is true that?» (Gen 3,1). If then he had been silenced, Adam would have won the temptation.

In this part of the Gospel according to Marco Christology is centered on the idea that Jesus is capable of recovering the fate of the first man. Who, When the devil is silent and also in the desert scene, or in the story of his temptation. Jesus is "chased" in that place (MC 1,12) Just as Adam had been "chased" by Paradise (Gen 3,24), thus sharing its misfortune, but leaving victorious from the test. At the end of it, Register Marco, Jesus "was with the fairs", that is, again in peace with creation, like Adam, "And the angels served it", that is, receiving the same honor that, according to a rabbinic tradition, God had given his most beautiful creature, The honor of being nourished by good spirits. Jesus, at last, It appears in Marco's Gospel not like a child, As instead in the Gospels of Matteo and Luca's childhood, but it arrives on the already adult scene, man made, As Adam was also created adult.

The day of Capernao takes place on a Saturday, The day when God rested after creating man. On this day Jesus can bring the world back to his original beauty, through the same creative word who made the universe and which allows him to exercise his strong authority; but also exercising on that day, Saturday, a special lordship. The "Son of man", how we will listen to another Sunday, It is "Lord also on Saturday" (MC 2,28). The time is of God and Jesus affirms this sovereignty over time by making healing on Saturday. And they are healings that touch men and women who had lost the reason for their disease because of their illness. For a healthy person, The development of the activities along the arc of the week aimed at a fulfillment in sabbatical rest: the encounter with God and with his word permeated with meaning and hope the existence.

For a disabled person, which was excluded from the sabbatical rest and the space of the temple, Here every day of the week was loaded with the same pain and suffering. The healings of Jesus on Saturday interrupt this indistinct flow of time in the body of the sick and restore to men and women who have lost sense of time his full value through Saturday. The healing of that man "possessed by an impure spirit", that that day of Saturday was right there where Jesus was also present, It is the beginning of a new Saturday, that is, a new creation, in which in the center there is the life of every person to be saved. As the rabbi and philosopher Heshel wrote:

«We must feel overwhelmed by the wonder of time if we want to be ready to receive the presence of eternity in a single moment. We have to live and act as if the fate of all the time depended on a single moment " (Heshel A. (J), On Saturday, Garzanti, Milan 2015, p. 96).

 

From the Hermitage, 27 January 2024

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Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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Charity washes and makes even dirty money clean, The great Saints of Charity teach us this in the history of the Church

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CHARITY WASHES AND MAKES EVEN DIRTY MONEY CLEAN, The great saints of charity teach it in the history of the Church

Some bishops of Migrantopoli and Pauperopoli seems to want to present themselves more pure and immaculate today than the Blessed Virgin Mary, in order to please the world and please it. Until not to understand that charity "everything covers" and "everything transforms", which, however, cannot grasp and understand, If like their president they find themselves a subject who affirms: "The Gospel is not a distillate of truth".

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When the blessed apostle Paul he composed praise to charity also spoke to the present day. This is the characteristic of the Word of God: An eternal language that communicates to men of all time and that over the centuries reveals new messages enclosed in those same words.

The Holy Scriptures they have a style and apocalyptic language in the etymological sense of the term. Although the term apocalypse is spoken in current language, the greek revelation, is erroneously used to indicate a catastrophic event or the end of the world, Its true meaning is "to be dischedamed", "Remove the veil that covers", then discover. Between the term apocalypse and the term epiphany, deriving from the Greek recover, which means "I make myself manifest", There is a close link. Epiphany intended as a manifestation of divinity is a continuous "unfortunate" of the contents enclosed on the lines, within the lines and beyond the lines themselves of the Holy Scriptures that enclose the Word of God.

In the song in question, also known as Hymn to Charity, The blessed apostle Paul expresses:

“Charity is patient, love is kind; It is not envious, It does not brag, not puffed up, no disrespect, does not seek its own interests, don't get angry, ignores the evil received, does not rejoice, but rejoices with the truth. It bears, Love believes, It hopes all things, It endures all things. The charity will never end. […] And now these three remain: faith, hope and charity; but the greatest of these is love!» (The Cor 1, 1-13)

We compare this song Paolino, Easy and understandable only apparently, with a recent fact of ecclesial news:

"" The Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital of Rome has done well to refuse the rich donation of the Leonardo company "because" it's dirty money, weapon, blood -dirty, dirty war ". Mons. Giovanni Ricchiuti National President of Pax Christi and Bishop of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti, takes a more clear position after that The Republic He wrote that one and a half million euros would be refused. "Finally," he says "we are in line with a church that truly frees himself of these conditioning, of these donations that come, as in the case, from an industry that produces weapons. The Vatican did well to refuse this offer. I say it as a bishop: It is a church that loves the truth "" (cf.. WHO e WHO).

First a question. After the president of Peace of Christ He announced that our current "is a church that loves the truth", It would be necessary to clarify two fundamental things. The first: earlier, the church, For two thousand years which truth loved, assuming that she loved her? The second: what is the truth?

Recently, The President of the Bishops of Italy, In the total silence of our national episcopate, he said that "the Gospel is not a distillate of truth" (cf.. WHO). At least, Pontius Pilate, At the time he did not have a statement like that of the President of the Bishops of Italy, in a much more elegant way he asked Christ a question: «What is truth?», What is the truth (cf.. GV 18,38).

It is not easy to talk about truth In today's emotional church of Migrantopoli and Pauperopoli. Let's try to make up for that St. Thomas Aquinas than in the lounges of the increasingly ignorant clerical radical chic It is variously indicated as "old" and "outdated". For the Angelic Doctor O Doctor Common The truth is God himself the very highest and the first reality (Summa Theologica, I q. 16 a. 5 (c)). The truth is never fully deceived, For this reason «truth and incorrect opinion, Truth and lie in the world are continually mixed in an almost inextricable way […] it becomes recognizable, if God becomes recognizable. He becomes recognizable in Jesus Christ. In him God entered the world, And he raised the criterion of truth in the middle of the story " (Joseph Ratzinger, in Jesus of Nazareth, Pilate's question, pp. 216-218).

By the will of his divine founder The Church of Christ was not born for pleasure in the world and pleased him, but to fight it:

"If the world hates you, know that it hated me before. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you from the world, that's why the world hates you " (GV 15, 18-19).

If incorrect opinions overlap with the truth who come to life from subjective or collective emotional elements, It remains completely hidden in the emotional church of Migrantopoli and Pauperopoli, Where he does not hesitate to say that "the Gospel is not a distillate of truth", All in the silence of the whole the Italian episcopate.

Refusing that donation He was still tried once to please the world, In particular, the one composed of people who far from going to the Holy Mass for Easter and for Christmas, They don't even know how to get the sign of the cross. This is the world to which our church visible with an increasingly exotic flavor wants to please at all costs, forgetting one's history, starting from that of the great saints of charity.

Let's start with the Jesuits, to which in the historical moment present it is right to confer a deserved right of priority: The pharaonic institutes built around the world, megalomania is not infrequently, Together with the churches adjacent to their colleges, who on many occasions have made so much irritating the diocesan bishops, because they are deliberately built larger, rich and solemn of their cathedral churches, with the money and contributions of those who were built? Because the Spaniards and Portuguese who offered them ample funding were the same as they managed the slave trafficking market or that if necessary administered justice in a casual way, that means: first they cut your head or implies you, then they possibly evaluated if you really did something wrong. Today's Jesuits, that of migrantopoli and pauperopoli are the propulsion ideological engine, A minimum of history have not really have it?

To the great saints of charity and to the great pedagogues to which we owe the foundation of precious assistance institutes for orphans, abandoned elderly, for the education of poor children and for the welcome and care of the disabled, it gives San Filippo Neri but to San Giovanni Bosco, passing through San Vincenzo de 'Paoli and reaching the most recent St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, San Giovanni Calabria and San Luigi Orione, who provided the necessary money funds for the realization of their works? when in 1980 It was blessed Luigi Orione, Shortly thereafter various protests were raised by circles of people who did not even know the first six words of Our father, including the pathetic Anpi protest (National Association of Italian Partisans) who accused him of being a supporter of the fascist regime thanks to which he had funds for the realization of his works; protest that was then repeated in 2004, When Blessed Luigi Orione was canonized.

The great works of these saints of charity they are still active, some of which constitute clinical and assistance centers considered to be of true excellence at European level: The Turin Opera of San Giovanni Benedetto Cottolengo, The enormous welfare works of Genoa of San Luigi Orione, The Sacro Heart Hospital of Verona of San Giovanni Calabria ... Someone, He ever wondered where and who came from the money? More than anything else, he wonders if today, especially in the face of certain absurd protests, The visible church would have had the courage to body them and canonize them, or if instead he would have sold to groups of people who do not even know the first six words of the Our father but who pretend despite the fact that they dictate the law, with our ecclesiastical authorities that bend their heads and give in to political and ideological whims by non -Catholic and non -Christian environments. In this regard, I refer to my works Herbs Amare e Pius XII and the Shoah in which I explain the external influences exercised by certain fierce groups that they attempted with any unfair means, Until the manufacture of real false historians, to block the cause of beatification of Pius XII and the ceremony of father's beatification Leon dehon for which the date had already been set 24 April 2005 in St. Peter's Square, but which was canceled for improbable accusations of anti -Semitism moved to him by some Jewish circles. Given that never and in no case the Church can take orders from the modern great Sanhedrin and accept its protests, The question to ask was the following: Assuming that his father Leon Dehon wrote some critical phrases about Jewish entrepreneurs - who were rigorously read and contextualized historically in the context of the industrial revolution -, Given that his beatification process lasted almost half a century, because certain Jewish circles they attest to patients until ceremony of beatification set to give life to the public controversy in the world press? Simple: even if those writings had always known them, they had to demonstrate, with a real proof of strength, that they were able to give orders to the Church and induce it to relegate not only from a decision taken, but even from a beatification ceremony already made official and set. This was the real purpose, which was widely obtained for their arrogance and our weakness. The problem was not the beatification in itself and in itself of Father Leon Dehon, The Church can be blessed those who want and must never accept protests for this purpose, since the Jews have no kind of obligation to venerate our blessed and saints in their synagogues, Just like certain fringes of political Zionism, born and developed from the breast of Judaism, They do not accept criticisms aimed at the Israeli army when it is unwilling, except to shout as prefiche to anti -Semitic to anyone who dares to disagree with actions that do not constitute a legitimate defense but real crimes against humanity.

These great saints of charity they did not hesitate to accept money from the assets of known and known subjects for their immorality and for the somewhat casual way with which they carried on their business without getting too scruples. Li boni Jesuit who were, whose rigid moral was well known and which for a long time attempted to transform teenagers into the prey to hormonal crises into a bead army of San Luigi Gonzaga, There have never been particularly scruples in accepting conspicuous donations from the greatest whores and phenomenon of the Spanish courts. Puri and Casti had to be only teenagers, to which he imposed themselves in their colleges, up to time far from remote, to sleep with your hands out of the bed sheets in order to avoid the risk of committing “abominable impure acts”, while at the same time, Under the sheets of those to whom they owed great donations of money for the construction of their pharaonic structures, Instead, you could do everything and more, In impure acts truly abominable.

The big problem - Place that "the Gospel is not a distillate of truth" - is given by the inability to read the words of the blessed apostle Paolo on charity, For example the statement that it "covers everything". If his words were read and included in their depth, It would come to understand that for the realization of works of charity, not only the money of the companies that manufacture weapons should be accepted, But even the money donated by Mexican drug traffickers. Because if that dirty money is entirely used for works of charity in favor of poor people, weak, oppressed, disabled and sick, they will still become clean, because charity "everything covers" everything, or if we prefer: "Everything transforms", because only the divine charity, which is Christ, it can change the evil to good, So the dirty money in clean money. Otherwise a theological problem of no small importance may take over: deny that the grace of God can change the evil in good. As is well known, however,, One of the things that these days are less fashionable in the Church of the emotional and the politically correct is theology.

Certain bishops of Migrantopoli and Pauperopoli They seem to want to present themselves today more pure and immaculate the Blessed Virgin Mary, in order to please the world and please it. Until not to understand that charity "everything covers" and "everything transforms", which, however, cannot grasp and understand, If like their president they find themselves a subject who affirms: "The Gospel is not a distillate of truth".

the Island of Patmos, 23 January 2024

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«Come behind me, I will make you fishers of men ". And immediately they left their nets and followed him

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

«COME BEHIND ME, I WILL MAKE YOU BECOME FISHERS OF MEN". AND IMMEDIATELY THEY LEFT THE NETWORKS AND FOLLOWED HIM

How might we describe the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus? The main difficulty is that Jesus never used any definition to talk about it. Rather, he used parables and images, paragonaldo, to always remain with the Gospel of Mark that we will read this year, to a sower who throws seed on the ground or to a mustard seed and so on.

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Left behind is the passage in the Gospel according to John last Sunday, the lectionary takes us back to Mark, who, the exposition of the trilogy common to the synoptics has been completed (John the Baptist, Baptism of Jesus and trial in the desert), resumes the narrative giving us an important temporal indication that we learn from the beginning of today's Gospel.

«After Giovanni was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and he said: «The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near; convert and believe in the Gospel". Passing along the Sea of ​​Galilee, he saw Simone and Andrea, brother of Simone, as they cast their nets into the sea; they were in fact fishermen. Jesus said to them,: «Come after me, I will make you fishers of men ". And immediately they left their nets and followed him. Going a little further, vide Giacomo, son of Zebedee, and John his brother, while they too repaired the nets in the boat. And he immediately called them. And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the boys and went after him. (MC 1,14-20).

Marco writes that Jesus begins to proclaim the kingdom of God "after John was arrested" (MC 1,14 cf.. also Mt 4,12). Many imagine that the chronology of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry unfolded like this: from Galilee, region he comes from, Jesus goes down to the Jordan to be baptized. Immediately afterwards, attempted, he remains for forty days in the desert before returning to Galilee. But instead more time must have passed and the turning point, what makes Jesus return to Galilee is represented by the arrest of the Baptist. Perhaps it is at that precise moment that Jesus becomes aware that it is time to assume his responsibilities.

The voice that cried in the desert, for it has been silenced, now move on to the Word that announces the kingdom. This interpretation helps us believers in times of difficulty and suffering, what John's arrest must have been like for Jesus and he makes us say it: something must be done. It is in such situations that, if you don't go, no one can go in your place. The call that Jesus will now make of his disciples, he experienced it firsthand; he saw the kingdom he announces arrive first, even in the painful news that Giovanni can no longer speak.

But here we are at an important theological question. How might we describe the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus? The main difficulty is that Jesus never used any definition to talk about it. Rather, he used parables and images, paragonaldo, to always remain with the Gospel of Mark that we will read this year, to a sower who throws seed on the ground (MC 4,26) or a mustard seed (MC 4,31) and so on. The kingdom, says Jesus, not only is it close, but we must welcome him as children do (MC 10,15) and get inside, although it's not that easy, especially if you have a lot of wealth (MC 10,23). It is present, that is, here or near, but it is also the future, like the one in which Jesus will drink, together with us, the new wine, other wine than that of his last dinner (MC 14,25). Christian theology has developed a formula for this purpose, that of "already" but "not yet", almost an oxymoron which says however that we can already inherit the kingdom and live in it, even if it is not yet accomplished. It is not yet extended to all men, ma, as the document of the Second Vatican Council teaches The light "he is already present in mystery" with the Church (cf.. n. 5).

In this sense Jesus distinguishes himself from the two main conceptions of the kingdom that circulated in the Judaism of his time. In fact, he did not invent this idea, already known to the Old Testament (cf. 1Cr 28,5) and did not apply it to that way of thinking that saw the kingdom as a "nationalistic" reality, all present, to be implemented perhaps at any cost, nor even to the opposite conception, apocalyptic type, who saw the kingdom as possible only as a future realization that denied the present. If we want to trace these two extremes in the history of humanity, we could say that materialism has often been based on the illusion that everything could be resolved here, now; but on the other hand it is easy to recognize in certain spiritualistic movements the devaluation of the present, viewed negatively.

Jesus instead used the idea of ​​kingdom to say first of all that it has arrived and therefore we can enter. But to do this we need to change our mentality, way of reasoning and thinking; to say it in the words of Jesus: «convert» (MC 1,15). "Come your kingdom!», pray to the Church again, today, after two thousand years. The kingdom already exists, but it must still be welcomed as a gift and found there even where it is difficult to see it.

Therefore in conformity with the Jewish eschatological expectation, but with the decisive difference that it is no longer a matter of waiting, the Kingdom of God is the effect of the messianic event announced by Jesus and present in him. The full unfolding of his redemptive sovereignty has not yet been realized, but the time of the end has come and therefore to speak appropriately there is no longer historical development, but rather a recapitulation of the whole story called to trial.

«This is the content of the “gospel of God” which is briefly reported to us by the most ancient tradition collected by Mark: «The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is near: convert, and believe in the gospel" (1,14-15). What is announced here is the time (the kairos) of definitive fulfillment, the promised coming of the Kingdom, the great turning point of the world inaugurated by Jesus whose final act is about to take place with his parousia. Evidently it cannot be the historical Jesus speaking here, but rather the Risen One preached by the evangelist, which precisely marks the time of the end between resurrection and parousia, as a unique event where all the time, the whole story condenses, including the life of Jesus itself. For this now, unlike Jewish eschatology, "faith in the gospel" is needed, that is, in Jesus Christ, in the Messiah, who is present as the one who came and who is coming. Therefore, by virtue of this faith, everything precipitates and concentrates in the present, there is no longer oscillation between past and future, tradition and expectation; but only the current hour in which the past is redeemed and the future is only the desire for fulfillment: «Come Lord Jesus» (AP 22, 20).[1]

The Gospel continues describing Jesus' haste to bring his word about the kingdom to fruition, because “the time is fulfilled”. The concept emerges very clearly in the Gospel of Mark, where the adverb abounds euthus (straight), "right away", repeated dozens of times. This concern finds its first application in the call of the four disciples (vv. 16-20) and in the episode of the teaching in the synagogue of Capernaum, accompanied by the liberation of a demoniac (next Sunday). Jesus, with gestures and words, it really shows how the kingdom came to be, and he says it: to the disciples (just called to him) and its people (in the synagogue). So the kingdom can only be a space in which God is present, where is that, precisely, only he reigns. The other powers can do nothing but recognize his authority («I know who you are: the saint of God" of MC 1,24) and submit.

The Fathers of the Church they were impressed by the way Jesus called the first to follow him: they note that they were simple and illiterate people (Origene), who will probably have objected with their inadequacy (Eusebio); we are also surprised by the fact that these "immediately" leave the networks and follow him (cf.. MC 1,18), but above all for the fact that even today, after many years, Jesus still "steps by" (MC 1,16) to our situations, to our daily life, to our networks, and invites us to follow him to be with him.

Each of us he is called where he is and every beginning always has a before that prepared it on which something new is then grafted, a change: just as the seed that has been sown has a different shape from the plant that will then sprout, so we too are taken by the Lord starting from our stories and our today to develop those potential for good and life that are contained in the "little seed" of our life and that only the Lord can open up and transform with the strength and imagination of his Spirit. We are asked to pay attention to his calling voice, filial and trusting abandonment to his words, and the readiness to respond without delays in time or attachments to the "already", to that known and known that reassures us but also risks blocking us: «And immediately they left their nets and followed him».

 

From the Hermitage, 21 January 2024

 

NOTE

[1] Gaeta G., The time of the end, Any, 2020

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Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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A charitable mastery: «Rabbi, where you live? Come and see"

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Homiletic of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

A CHARITABLE MASTERY: «RABBI, WHERE YOU LIVE? COME AND SEE"

Isaac Newton wrote «The more I learn, the more I realize how many things I don't know". Today it seems that many do not want to learn even though they are certain and sure that they know.

 

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

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Dear Readers of The Island of Patmos,

one of the most natural attitudes we all have is that of research. When we are children we often ask ourselves the why of things. As we grow up we then find answers, and we continually renew our search for the meaning of truth in things. Isaac Newton wrote «The more I learn, the more I realize how many things I don't know".

In today's Gospel Jesus shows us two men in search and the path to follow to find the definitive answer. The answer is very beautiful: go with Him and see where the Lord dwells.

«Jesus then turned and, observing that [John and two disciples] they followed him, he told them: “What are you looking for?”. They answered: “Rabbi — that, translated, means teacher , where you live?”. He told them: “Come and see”».

We therefore find a very beautiful scene. Giovanni, Andrew and another disciple whose name we do not know move following Jesus. He notices this and questions them. They answer and thus recognize him as a teacher and want to know where he lives. And that's when Jesus invites them to come and see.

It is a vivid and strong dialogue between the three and Jesus. The Lord with his divine human gaze captures a heart and a mind ready to seek the house of God. Ready to search for that place where they can find the truth that unlocks their mystery and that of God.

Jesus is truly a teacher for them because as a son of God he can lead Andrew, John and the other disciple to a mastery, to a knowledge that becomes love. A knowledge of God that allows him to love himself and others in a concrete and practical way.

We are also in this meeting. We could say that we are symbolized by that unnamed disciple. The nameless one is the one who listens and asks Jesus what his home is today in 2024.

The Lord asks all of us to seek him first and foremost in the Church, lto his main residence, because in it the Eucharist is lived and celebrated, that is, the real presence of Jesus in the body, blood, soul and divinity. If we follow and see Jesus in the Church that celebrates the Eucharist, and therefore makes us actively participate in the encounter with Him, we can all also grow in learning communion with others. Because, effectively, the second home where we can meet Jesus today, he is our neighbor. In fact, all of us are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the temple of the Eucharist. Therefore, let us learn to look at our suffering and needy neighbors, the same Jesus who asks us for help.

So we must first learn to listen to the voice of Jesus who today asks our hearts “What are you looking for?”. Let's ask ourselves if our desires are holy, just and good, and we will truly feel the Lord inviting us to walk on the paths of Eternity.

We ask the Lord for the gift of research that leads us to authentic life, life in Him and in his Church, to become seekers of the Eternal Light.

 

Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 14 January 2024

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The divine provocateur Jesus to the Apostles: «What are you looking for??»

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Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THE DIVINE PROVOKER JESUS ​​TO THE APOSTLES: «WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?»

This first meeting of Jesus with his first disciples is a mix of glances and testimonies that converge towards the Lord. The profound mystery of his person begins to reveal itself, as well as the names of the first followers. This moment must have been so significant that they even kept the timetable: four in the afternoon, the tenth hour.

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In the Gospel of this Second Sunday of Ordinary Time let's read: «At that time John was with two of his disciples and, fixing his gaze on Jesus as he passed by, he said: «Behold the lamb of God!». And his two disciples, hearing him talk like that, they followed Jesus. Jesus then turned and, observing that they followed him, he told them: «What are you looking for??». They answered: «Rabbi – what, translated, means teacher –, where you live?». He told them: «Come and see». So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day; it was around four in the afternoon. One of the two who had heard John's words and followed him, it was Andrea, brother of Simon Pietro. He met his brother Simon first and told him: “We have found the Messiah” – which translates as Christ – and led him to Jesus. Staring at him, Jesus said: «You are Simone, the son of John; you will be called Cephas" – which means Peter». (GV 1,35-42).

The Church has understood the unity of the three mysteries that relate to the revelation of Jesus, and he already linked them in the ancient antiphon of the Second Vespers of the day of the Epiphany:

«Three wonders we celebrate on this holy day: today the star guided the magi to the nativity scene, today the water changed into wine at the wedding, today Christ is baptized by John in the Jordan for our salvation, alleluia».

This year the third mystery relating to the manifestation of Jesus it is always announced through the Gospel according to Saint John, but instead of the episode at Cana, the liturgy proposes that of the first manifestation of Jesus to the disciples, following the indication of John the Baptist who defines him as "Lamb of God".

The evangelical episode takes place on the third day of the inaugural week of Jesus' ministry, week that will culminate in the manifestation of his glory in Cana before his disciples who "believed in him" (GV 2,11). The text offers the Johannine version of the call of the first disciples narrated by the synoptic tradition, but with notable differences. John presents a scheme in which the mediation of a witness who confesses faith in Jesus and leads others to encounter him is fundamental: it is like this for John the Baptist with regard to two of his disciples (1,35-39), for Andrea towards Simon Pietro (1,40-41), for Philip who turns to Nathanael. In particular John the Baptist who, after a negative testimony about himself ("I am not the Christ") and a positive one about Jesus («Behold the Lamb of God»), he reveals in front of two of his disciples the identity of the one of whom he was the precursor and leads them to become disciples of Jesus. He who was sent by God as a witness of the Word "so that all might believe through him" (1,7) He thus fulfills his mandate by letting his disciples become Jesus', asking them to join him.

That we are faced with the manifestation of a mystery is also signaled by the “revelation scheme”, often used by the evangelist in his work and which can be summarized in the three phases of seeing, say and pronounce the adverb: «Ecco». The evangelical passage opens, like this, with John who "fixes his gaze" (1,36) about Jesus and says: «Behold the Lamb of God» and ends with Jesus who «gazes his gaze» (1,42) about Simon Peter tells him: «You are Simone, the son of John, you will be called Cephas – which means Peter". It deals with, in both cases, of an intense gaze, a seeing in depth, a discernment of a person's identity. Vocation is not just a calling as in the synoptics, but also a look like here in Giovanni. The look, like and perhaps more than the voice it is communication and revelation. In John the most neutral verb is to perceive, they see (Blepein). We find it for the initial scene of the baptism in the Jordan. John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to him and says: «Behold the lamb of God». But we can already see in this episode a transition from seeing to contemplating (GV 1,32) and then to the "I saw" of GV 1,34, come in GV 14,9.

To the most complete verb form we arrive in GV 14,9, where the verb «see» will be used in the perfect tense: I'm sorry (Euraka). Applied to Jesus, describes what the attentive and amazed gaze has discovered in him and of which the discovery is preserved in the memory. We can observe that every time John uses this verb "I saw" (and I cherish the memory of it) Jesus is recognized as the holy place where God manifests himself, the temple of divine presence, home, that is, the abode in which God himself lives. In such a context the meaning of the verse becomes clear Gv14,9: "Whoever has seen me has seen the father". Having seen Jesus and preserving his interior vision in memory means recognizing Jesus as the Father's dwelling place, present in his Son as in a dwelling. Because of this, returning to this Sunday's Gospel passage, it must be said that the renewed version of the CEI Bible in an adequate manner 2008 he translated v.38 as: «Rabbi where do you live?» and not «where you live?» as it was in the previous version, given the presence of the verb stay (Meno) which has particular importance in the fourth Gospel. The theme of dwelling runs, indeed, like a red thread through the entire fourth Gospel, progressively enriching itself. Broadening our gaze to the whole of the Gospel and trying to draw the threads of our discussion we can affirm that the same evangelist in 1,14 invites us to understand that in the man Jesus - the Word made flesh "full of the grace of truth" in which the witnesses "contemplated the glory of the only begotten" - there was a mystery, "unfathomably hidden" but which is revealed to us "symbolically" (St. Maximus the Confessor). It is the mystery of the "only begotten from the Father", who "came to pitch his tent among us". Thus he becomes the abode of the Father (GV 14,10), the new temple of God's presence (GV 2,21; cf.. GV 4,20-24). A beautiful passage by Saint Maximus the Confessor, sep­pur difficile, says the essential:

"The Sir […] he became his own precursor; he has become a type and symbol of himself. Symbolically he makes himself known through himself. That is, he leads all creation, starting from itself as it manifests itself, but to lead her to himself as it is unfathomably hidden".

Perhaps more intelligible and at the same time admirable is this phrase from William of Saint-Thierry, the friend of Saint Bernard, who interpreted the question of the first disciples in a spiritual and Trinitarian sense:

«Maestro, where you live? Come and see, He said. You do not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? Thank you, man! […] We have found your place. Your place is the Father; it's still, the place of the Father is you. You are therefore located from this place. But this localization, which is yours, […] it is the unity of the Father and the Son"[1].

This first meeting of Jesus with his first disciples it is a mix of glances and testimonies that converge towards the Lord. The profound mystery of his person begins to reveal itself, as well as the names of the first followers. This moment must have been so significant that they even kept the timetable: four in the afternoon, the tenth hour. This is how we begin to get to know Andrea, Simon Pietro's brother, (1,42) who from Jesus receives the vocation to become a "rock" (this means «Cephas»), among his brothers. Who is the other disciple who was with Andrew? We can hypothesize that he is "the beloved disciple". He is the one who, present at the cross of Jesus, seeing Jesus die as a Lamb whose bones are not broken (GV 19,33.36) "He testifies so that you may believe" (GV 19,35), just as John the Baptist testifies of Jesus, after having seen him and indicated him as the Lamb of God so that all may believe (GV 1,34.36.37). The parallelism between GV 1,38 («Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them») e GV 21,20-21 («Turn around, Peter sees the disciple whom Jesus loved following... and says to Jesus") shows that next to Peter, at the beginning of the sequel and after Easter, there is, in all likelihood, the beloved disciple who followed the Lamb faithfully from the beginning. And Peter, while he is made shepherd of the Lord's sheep and invited again to follow Jesus as a sheep himself (cf.. GV 10,4), receives the revelation that following the Lamb and pastoral ministry find their outcome in giving one's life for the sheep, in glorifying God with martyrdom. This will be Peter's testimony: in death on the cross the apostle will find himself where his Lord was: «If anyone wants to serve me, follow me and where I am, My servant will also be there." (GV 12,26).

From the Hermitage, 13 January 2024

 

NOTE

[1] GULLIEM OF SAINT-THIERRY, Contemplation of God. The oration of Dom Guillaume, Paris, Ed. Deer, 1959 (Coll. Christian Sources, n.61), 124-125.

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Sant'Angelo Cave in Ripe (Civitella del Tronto)

 

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Giuseppe Betori, a man of culture and a Bishop who succeeded in the difficult task of making himself well-liked by the Florentine presbytery

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GIUSEPPE BETORI, A MAN OF CULTURE AND A BISHOP WHO SUCCEED IN THE DIFFICULT TASK OF MAKING THE FLORENCE PRESBYTERY WELCOME

While a miserable poison dealer states: «Without forgetting that the clergy of Florence is fed up with Betori who has done more damage than anything else», Instead, a question resonates in all of us which, if desired, arouses anxiety in our souls: and then?

- Church news -

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Author
Simone Pifizzi

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PDF print format article

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Starting from the last week of Advent and followed by the solemnities of Holy Christmas, the Fathers of the Island of Patmos - who before being scholars and publicists are first and foremost priests - were engaged in pastoral activities. Certain solemnities, in particular Holy Christmas and Holy Easter, they are always preceded by sermons, confessions and spiritual directions, today more than ever anything but easy, considering the times of confusion that the Catholic faithful are experiencing on the one hand, we priests on the other hand. We therefore resume our publicity activities on this magazine of ours with the presentation of a very interesting video which we recommend you watch..

At the end of next February Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Metropolitan Archbishop of Florence, will celebrate his 77th birthday. He has spent many of these years of his life 16 at the head of the Florentine Church, which is coming soon’ to leave in the hands of his successor.

Despite the malicious judgements recently spread by some obscure, painful character who has set himself up as an intransigent judge of the entire ecclesiastical hierarchy (cf.. WHO) and who usually states «we in the Vatican… here in the Vatican…», except not being able to even get close to the entrance gates of that small Sovereign State, among the majority of the Florentine clergy there is the awareness that this Umbrian bishop - despite the limitations of every human being - has truly made a great contribution to his particular Church and to the entire Italian Church. For this reason it will undoubtedly be regretted for the balance, the clarity and theological and cultural depth that he demonstrated in his apostolic service.

Doing a realistic analysis of the last twenty years it will emerge that we have had the opportunity to experiment with two completely different types of bishops. In the past, between the end of the pontificate of the Holy Pontiff John Paul II and the pontificate of the Venerable Benedict XVI we had the season of "professor bishops". Understandable, the crisis of doctrine had generated situations that he illustrated well 14 years ago our Father Ariel S. Levi di Gualdo in one of his books on the analysis of the Church:

«The crisis of doctrine has generated a profound crisis of faith which in turn has given rise to a moral crisis within our clergy» (cf.. And Satan became triune, Editions The island of Patmos, 2010).

On this issue Our Father Ivano Liguori also recently returned with a precise and dramatic article of his:

«From the doctrinal disorientation of the Church to the sin of the priests and the recycling of the laity. Prospect of an intransigent culture which while condemning sanctifies and condemns by sanctifying" (cf.. WHO).

The so-called “professor bishops”, in light of these issues, in themselves they weren't a bad idea, but the results are not always happy, when we began to have people catapulted from a university chair to an episcopal chair at the head of the dioceses, because they are two substantially different professorships. Bishops often lacking pastoral experience who tended to relate to their priests as teachers with students or who transformed assemblies and meetings of the clergy into academic lessons, ignoring, often not understanding at all, the problems that their priests experienced and had to face every day.

At the next change of wind the need for "shepherds with the smell of sheep" began to be invoked, which in itself would not be a bad idea at all, just as that of the "professor bishops" was not. Unfortunately, when ideology undermines behind the apparent good intentions, or if we want real prevention towards the "princely" (!?) Italian episcopate, the results can only be unfortunate. And today we find ourselves with a substantial number of bishops pulled out of Caritas centers or from unspecified "peripheries", only capable of talking about the poor, migrants and the «Church on the move».

Instead of moving forward we were catapulted backwards, in the early seventies, when the sixty-eighters spoke of "forbidden to forbid" and of "imagination in power". On the doctrinal and theological preparation of these bishops all projected into a social system that we have already seen abundantly fail in the various social-welfare and political fields, let us draw a compassionate veil out of Christian charity. In fact, when the President of the Bishops of Italy responds by stating that "the Gospel is not a distillation of truth" (cf.. WHO), there's not much else to add, both regarding the "frontier" or "street" priests, both regarding the "Church going forth" that appears to us, more than "outgoing", on the verge of bankruptcy, proof of this is the fact that for some years we have been trying to resolve the problems by placing all possible and imaginable commissioners under commissionership, with one exception: the Society of Jesus.

Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, perhaps one of the last of a generation now in extinction, he was able to put his science and culture at the complete service of pastoral care. Character at first approach introverted and shy, in his relationships with his clergy he showed great listening and welcoming skills, he was a teacher and a guardian of the faith, not a professor in the chair. He loved his Church and knew how to make himself loved, even by those who welcomed him upon his arrival with that air of condescension, suspicion and distrust typical of us Florentines, that we are historically subjects that are not exactly easy to handle, treat and govern. His homilies, always profound but at the same time clear and understandable, have aroused esteem and respect on the part of the Catholic faithful.

And while a miserable poison dealer states: «Without forgetting that the clergy of Florence is fed up with Betori who has done more damage than anything else» (cf.. WHO), Instead, a question resonates in all of us which, if desired, arouses anxiety in our souls: and then?

Florence, 12 January 2024

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