That superficial mediocrity and indolent lukewarmness that prevents us from reaching the road, to truth and life

The angle dell'omiletica of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

THAT SURFACE MEDIOCRITY AND INDOLENT SLOWNESS THAT PREVENTS US FROM GETTING TO THE WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE

We need so much he sees men who stand in the breach as defenders of a people now unable to find God, lost as an orphaned child. The current health emergency has unearthed the most hidden human miseries, even those miseries of the Christian people and his ministers both forgetful of the only life-giving relationship with Christ in favor of virtual relationships and alternative solutions not without noble intentions.

Author
Ivano Liguori, Ofm. Capp.

PDF print format article

The Gospel of St. John: 14, 6

Last Sunday Jesus presents himself to us as the door of the sheep and the good shepherd, as the one who is the sure guide to achieving true life [see previous homily, WHO]. In this Easter season, marked by the annoying Covid-19 pandemic, life can only yearn for truth, without capitulating to the lying fatalism of the world, so that it acquires more and more sensibility and value even in infirmity [Liturgy of the Word of this fifth Easter Sunday, WHO]. This high expectation of earthly existence can only come true in collaboration with grace, reaffirming the radical choice of the Risen Lord: in him the cornerstone every life grows in an orderly and well-organized and connected way to build itself as a holy place inhabited by the Spirit of God [cf. Ef 2,21; 4,16].

And inside the Church, risen bride, the Holy Spirit never ceases to make that question of the Psalm sound firmly 34 which constitutes one of the cornerstones of every interior renewal and of every sure vocational action:

"There is someone who wants life and longs for days to taste the good?» [cf. Shall 34, 13].

Let's ask ourselves really, there is still someone who wants to live fully or you want to settle only on the superficial mediocrity and indolent lukewarmness? Our Christian communities are still able to respond to God's invitation to the prophet:

«I sought among them a man who built a wall and stood on the breach in front of me, to defend the country so that I wouldn't devastate it, but I haven't found it» [cf. This 22,30].

In our hypocrisy, which is sometimes colored with disbelief and sometimes with bigotry, we forgot that we were created exclusively to get to know, love and enjoy God. The life of man on earth, even the most sinful and distant one, it serves no other purpose than to express this awareness: God loves me and I love him. And the measure of this love is the glorious Cross of the Risen One that never shines like this in this time of tribulation to the world as often unique.

God is looking for lovers, of men who want to live without discounts, without alibi, without compromises, without interference with the world. God makes himself - through the humanity of his Son - a beggar of love, so that man finds the richness of life in him. In this search for love and new life it is urgent to remove the personal self and graft the ego of Christ:

«I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me " [cf. GV 14,6].

The three predicates that we find in this Gospel verse are introduced by the solemn divine formula of theI am eimi, of the I Am, formula that leaves no possibility of appeal and misunderstanding but seals the essentiality of the disciples' vocational following. Christ is truly the face of the visible and knowable God who is the Way, Truth and Life. And whoever chooses Christ knows he has to go a different way, make an uncomfortable truth your own, take on a life that demands perfection beyond measure.

The Way that guides existence it is the Word of Christ, it is the new Torah that has brought the ancient Mosaic Law to perfection and fullness [cf. Mt 5,17], his Gospel is now rule and orientation without gloss.

The Truth that liberates it is no longer given by that subtle and malicious human wisdom, finally there is an embodied wisdom, pretty who reveals himself and communicates himself in the Word of God who became the son of Joseph and Mary, revealing the man to himself in his true face [cf. GV 19,5]. Life reminds us of the profound bond with God because he is the giver of all life through his Spirit, accepting life means unquestionably accepting God's signature on the created world. In the Gospel of John, Christ is the custodian of the Father's life, it is he who gives it to whoever he wants [cf. GV 5,21; 11,25-26].

Faith in the Risen One Via, Truth and Life allows us to reach God, this is the goal of every profession of faith so much so that the evangelist John tends to underline it very well in the end of his Gospel:

«Many other signs made Jesus in the presence of his disciples, but they were not written in this book. These were written, because you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and why, believing, have life in its name» [cf. GV 20,30-31].

Faith in him leads us to the breach, has us atHere I am, it makes it possible for us to embrace the Father in a time when hugs are denied us. Let's not waste time, we want life, we always want it, let's wish it now!

Laconi, 10 May 2020

To stay as close as possible to the faithful in this time of crisis and emergency, the editorial staff of The Island of Patmos informs readers that our author Father Ivano LIGUORI, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Care on Facebook the heading 'THE WORD NETWORK ", offering of three times a week meditations. You can access the edited page from our Father clicking on the logo below:

Visit the pages of our book shop WHO. Following the coronavirus emergency, the Amazon company that prints and distributes our books had to prioritize the distribution of basic necessities. Printing and distribution of books will then resume after 4 May.