Meditation

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours” (Lk 6, 29). This beatitude is the basis of all the others, because who is poor will be able to get the Kingdom of God as a gift. He who is poor will realize he must be hungry and thirsty: not of material things, but of the Word of God; not of power, but of love and justice. 

Today, I would like to center our thoughts on the first words of this Gospel: “Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God” (Lk 6, 12). Introductions as this one may go unnoticed in our daily reading of the Gospel, while —in fact— they are of the maximum importance. 
 

Love cannot be imposed but forces us to act, pulls us together and restores life totally. Jesus' command: “Come up and stand before us” (Lk 6, 8) has the vivifying strength of he who loves and responds to the Word. And, the last part of His order: “Stretch out your hand” (Lk 6, 10), that concludes the miracle, definitely restores life and strength to what was powerless and dead. 

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother” (Mt 18, 15). How beautiful and loyal is the fraternal relationship about which Jesus teaches us! When faced with an offense against me or someone else, I must ask the Lord for His grace to forgive, to understand,...
 

In this passage, Christ teaches the meaning of the divine institution of the Sabbath: God had instituted it to man's benefit, so that he could rest and devote his time with peace and joy to the divine worship. However, the Pharisees' interpretation had transformed this day into a day of anguish and worrying because of the many directions and prohibitions.
 

Today, Jesus' genealogy, the Savior that had to come and be born of Mary, shows us how the work of God is interwoven into human history, and how God acts in the secret and silence of every single day. At the same time, we can see his reliability to accomplish his promises. 

Today, we are still surprised at how those fishermen were capable of leaving everything behind, their job, their families, to follow Jesus (“They left everything and followed him” Lk 5, 11), precisely when He manifested Himself before them as an exceptional collaborator for the business from which they made their living. 
 

Today, we are facing a great contrast: people out in search of Jesus and Him healing all kinds of “sickness” (starting with Simon's mother-in-law); at the same time, “demons also came out from many, shouting” (Lk 4, 41). That is: on one side, goodness and peace; on the other side, evil and despair.
 

Today, we can see how His teaching activity was Jesus' central mission of His public life. Jesus' preaching, however, was very different from others, and this surprised and amazed people. Despite the fact Jesus had not studied (cf. Jn 7, 15), He, certainly, befuddled the Jews with his teachings, “because he spoke with authority” (Lk 4, 32). 

Today, "these prophetic words come true even as you listen" (Lk 4, 21). With these words, Jesus comments at the synagogue of Nazareth a text from the prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me" (Lk 4, 18). 

Today, we consider that to see Jesus and follow Him means to have a mature obedience that enables us to listen and respond (response-able). And this is possible only in the person who is truly liberated from the childish cravings of the ego and passions: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16, 24). 

St. Augustine says: “Those of us who preach the word of God to the people are not so far away from human condition and from the thinking supported by faith that we may not realize our own dangers. But we are consoled by the fact that where our risk lies because of our Christian ministry, we have the help of your prayers.”
 

Today, Friday, 21st week in ordinary time, the Lord, in the Gospel, reminds us of the convenience of staying always awake and ready to meet him. Whether at midnight, or at any other moment, a cry can ring out at our door to invite us to come out and meet our Lord. Death never makes appointments. In fact, “you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25, 13).
 

Today, the evangelic text speaks of the uncertainty of the moment when the Lord will come: “You do not know on which day your Lord will come” (Mt 24, 42). If we want him to find us on the alert when He comes, we cannot get absent-minded or fall asleep: we have to be always alert. 
 

Today, as in previous days, and in others to follow, we contemplate Jesus, beside himself, condemning those attitudes incompatible with a dignified and decent life, not only Christian but also human: "You appear as religious to others, but you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness within" (Mt 23, 28). 

Today, we remember the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, the Messiah's Precursor. All his life moves around Jesus, to the extent that without Him, the very existence and aim of the Messiah's Precursor would have had no significance whatsoever.
 

Today, once again, the Gospel shows how the goodness of God, who watches over our happiness, is poured out. It tells us clearly what the sources are: truth, goodness, righteousness, justice, love... and all the virtues. It also warns us not to fall into the traps - excesses, lusts, deceptions,...

Today, Peter's profession of faith at Caesarea Phillippi opens the last stage of the public ministry of Jesus and prepares us for the supreme occurrence of His death and resurrection. After the multiplication of breads and fishes, Jesus decides to retire with the apostles for a while to deepen in their formation;...
 

Today, once more, Jesus Christ presents to us a request for humility, an invitation to position ourselves in the true place we belong: “As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’… Neither should you call anyone on earth Father… Nor should you be called leader” (Mt 23,8-10). Before assuming all these titles let us try to thank God, for we have received from Him whatever we have.
 

Today, a teacher of the law asks Jesus “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” (Mt 22, 36), the most important one is the first commandment. The answer, however, speaks of a first commandment and of a second commandment. Two inseparable rings, which are the very same thing. Inseparable, but a first one and a second one, a golden one and a silver one. 

Today, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, apostle. Evangelist John so vividly narrates his first encounter with the Lord, that it is easy for us to visualize the scene. It is a dialogue between young, direct, frank... divine hearts!
 

Today, God's Word invites us to realize that divine “logic” goes beyond mere human logic. While we, men, calculate (“they thought that they would receive more” (Mt 20, 10)), God —who is a dear Father too—, simply loves (“Are you envious because I am generous?” (Mt 20, 15)). And the measure of love is to have no measure: “I love because I love, I love to love” (St. Bernard).
 

“Who then can be saved?” Jesus responds: “For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Mt 19, 26). —Lord, You know quite well men's skills to attenuate your Word. I must say it, Lord, help me! Convert my heart.
 

Today, the liturgy of the Word submits to our consideration the famous passage of the rich young man, that young man that did not succeed in reacting to the eye-beaming look Jesus Christ cast at him (cf. Mk 10, 21). St. John Paul II reminds us that we can recognize in that young man all those that approach Jesus Christ by asking him about the meaning of their own lives...

At times, God's silence torments us. We have often complained of such silence, haven't we? But the Canaanite woman kneels before Jesus. It is the worshipping position. He replies that it is not right to take the bread from the children to throw it to the dogs. And she answers: "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters" (Mt 15,26-27).
 

Today, we are presented a scene to contemplate that is unfortunately, a very real one now-a-days: “Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them” (Mt 19, 13). Children are especially loved by Jesus; but we, with our typical and characteristic reasoning of “adult people”, ...
 

In his catechesis on Genesis, Saint John Paul II said: “In his answer to the Pharisees, Christ put forward to his interlocutors the Total vision of man, without which no adequate answer can be given to questions connected with marriage.” Each of us is called to be the “echo” of this Word of God in our own day.
 

Today, asking “if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?” (Mt 18, 21), may mean: —These persons I love so much have their little ways and whims that bother me; day after day, they pester me every five minutes; they do not speak to me... Lord, how long am I supposed to put up with them?
 

Today, in this brief evangelic fragment, the Lord teaches us three frequently ignored but important ways to proceed. Understanding and advice for the friend or colleague. To warn him, in discreet intimacy ("the two of you in private"), clearly ("point out the fault"), of his erroneous attitude so that he can revitalize his way of life...

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in body and soul to Heaven. “Today —St. Bernard says— the Virgin, full of glory, is taken up to heaven, showering the celestials beings with joy.”